“Why would you lie to us? Didn’t you know we would find out some time?” The words poured of me. Stoaffer’s blank face made me slow down before continuing, “What the hell do you want from us?”
He calmly replied, “I want you to kill Theresa.”
Something in Stoaffer’s matter-of-fact answer hit like a kick in the stomach. The thought of the young woman we had seen made me warm and the idea of harming her seem ridiculous.
When I was able to regain my voice, I stammered, “Why would you want to kill her?”
“I believe you misunderstood me,” he smiled coldly and stared straight into my eyes. “I don’t want to kill Theresa. I want you to kill her.” Ignoring my horrified expression, Stoaffer continued in a casual tone as if he was talking about some television program he had seen, “Of course, I would find doing so difficult or impossible. My emotions…well…they are complicated with regard to Theresa. This gives her a kind of power over me. There is serious doubt as to whether I would be able to end her life. Neither of you, on the other hand, has such restraints.”
Joey had been watching and listening to the discussion. Finally, he contributed, “Yeah, I got no problem doin’ this. But I wanna know is what do I…we get.” He grinned in my direction.
A roar of laughter burst from Louis. “I knew I could count on you, Joey! You certainly have a talent for cutting through to the heart of the matter. As I said before, Gary had been embezzling from the company for a number of years. I am offering you a cut of all the money he stashed. The money is mine, and I intend to, with your help, take what is mine.” Joey was clearly satisfied with the answer.
As strange as the idea was, I provided the lone voice of sanity within the car. “That’s all fine, Louis, but why do want the girl dead?” There was whininess in my voice which I had not intended but which only became more obvious as I continued speaking, “I thought you had some feelings for her.”
“Let me try to explain it to you, Thomas,” Stoaffer spoke in a voice dripping with condescension. “I will be the first to admit Theresa is indeed a delightful young woman. I am happy to see she has turned out so well.” His voice turned quieter, darker, and more intense. “In every life, there are certain people with whom we share bonds. I am sure you have experienced such special connections with people, Thomas. There may be no rhyme or reason to them, but they are present nevertheless. We even give names to such links like love at first sight and déjà vu. Just think of all the people making their livings by pointing out such connections to us. Psychologists, counselors, psychiatrists, fortune-tellers, and others claim to posses some expertise in the threads connecting us. While such assertions of special knowledge or talents regarding the connections are often bogus, this does not disprove their existence. In addition, I would posit each of the connections is either dominant or submissive in nature. That is, some people with whom we are connected tend to control us and others tend to be controlled. I am sure you can think of a number of people in your life that fit into each category.”
I ran through all the people with whom I had felt connected in my life and dropped them into either the dominant or submissive group. I wondered if Joey was doing the same and whether he put me into the group submissive to him. The number of people in my group was sadly limited to a couple of teachers, one or two guys in juvenile hall, my sister, and Joey.
Louis smiled as if he sensed my sadness at being able to think of such a small number of people. “Okay, now consider just those people who are placed in the dominant group. Get a picture in your mind of those people. A true picture. Notice how they regard you. Now how do you feel? Be honest. Isn’t there at least a kernel of resentment there? Maybe full-blown hatred. Am I correct?” He looked at me as if he already knew the answer and said, “If you happen to be someone like me who thinks of himself as an extremely independent creature, then being aware of someone with any sort of control over you is intolerable. Such is the dilemma I have faced for years regarding Theresa. On the one hand, I love her more than anyone in my life. However, on the other hand, I despise her with my entire being.” A cold, humorless chuckle dribbled out of his mouth. “So what am I supposed to do? My adoration of Theresa prevents me from doing what must be done and so-”
“You brought us here,” I finished his thought.
“You are correct,” Stoaffer replied with pride at having led me to the proper conclusion. “You seemed to be what I needed to help me through my predicament, a way to do what I am unable to do.”
“Did you ever think maybe the reason you can’t kill Theresa is because you don’t need to kill her?” I watched Stoaffer as I spoke and found him only half-listening. My voice got louder as I continued, “Why can’t you just stay away from her?”
Stoaffer nearly screamed his answer, “Don’t you think I made every effort to stay away from her? You never even met her! You never got close enough to take in her perfume! You never-” He stopped as if he catching himself before becoming completely unhinged. After a moment, he smiled and continued with a calmer voice, “Well, it seems I made an error in judgment. When I first caught sight of you in the grocery store, I thought I had found the answer to my prayers. Wait … I should correct myself. I thought Joey might be the answer to my prayers and you would come along with him. Sort of like a package deal. However, I made a mistake. I used to be a better judge of people.” He shook his head slowly as if lamenting his loss of skill.
I was feeling sort of bad for him. I had not lived up to his expectations. In the next instant, I realized this was the same emotion I used to get from my dad’s speeches starting with “Thomas, I am not angry, but I am dis-appointed in you”. The realization brought a smile to my lips. It was not the reaction Louis expected, and he scowled at me.
“Thomas, why’re you always messin’ stuff up? We just do this shit, and we gotta chance to score some real cash. The kinda cash so we wouldn’t hafta do nothin’ else,” Joey’s voice sounded more tired and sad than angry. “We never even met this bitch, so what’s the problem?”
In this two-against-one situation, I had little hope of things going my way. Looking back, many opportunities for me to change directions, to stop going with the flow, had presented themselves. This was another chance to stop and step off of the path I followed. I should have simply gotten out of the car, walked away, and not looked back. Sure, like I ever did anything I should do. If I did, I would never have listened to anything Joey said. Never spent so much time in trouble with the law, and never been in a car on the side of a street in San Pietro listening to the story of a strange old man. Of course, I always listened to Joey, and I was in the car listening to Louis Stoaffer. I was also thinking about something else. I kept asking myself why I was so worked up about killing some woman I didn’t know at all, some woman I only saw once in my life from a distance.
I forced the best smile I could manage to my lips and said, “You’re right. I don’t know this woman. If killing her is going to give us the key to the easy life, let’s kill her.”
“Yeah!” Joey cheered.
Louis looked a little hesitant for a moment before a grin grew on his mouth. “Glad to see we all appear to be on the same page here.” He regarded me as he spoke. A twinkle of doubt in his eyes contradicted his words.
I shared a little of that doubt and asked, “But why would you come up with this detailed story about being framed for killing your partner, being married to Theresa, and all of that?”
“Well, to be honest,” Stoaffer slowly answered. “I didn’t think that you and Joey would follow me if you thought I was just some deviant child molester.”
“I hafta say yer prob’ly right there, Lou!” Joey added with enthusiasm.
“Therefore, I twisted the truth a little to make it more … uh … more motivational.”
A long pause filled the car after Louis finished talking.
All of a sudden, a roar of a laugh burst from my throat. The absurdity of the situation sort of over-whelmed me. The pictur
e of Stoaffer as a motivational speaker standing in a huge arena filled with a faceless mob flashed into my head.
“So what’s the next step in our little scheme?” I asked once my laughing fit stopped.
Louis continued to watch me closely as he replied, “Well, we could either break into the house now and lay low until Theresa returns or leave now and return tonight to-”
The sound of the door opening and Joey scurrying out of the car interrupted Stoaffer. We both sat there stunned as he jogged right up to the front door of the house. After a moment, Louis chuckled. “Guess our impulsive friend got tired of waiting!” He got out of the car, and I followed after him.
By the time we got to the front of the house, Joey had peered in all the windows and moved to the right side of the house.
“The alarms not turned on!” He called to us and then headed around the corner.
The sight of three strangers on the streets of the neighborhood might draw the attention of anyone around. One thing we did not need right now was attention.
I looked around to say as much to Louis and realized that I was the only one in front of the house. I quickly moved around the corner the way Joey had gone. The gate on the tall wooden fence was open just enough to slip through, and I did. The yard was a huge terraced area with many well-manicured shrubs and trees. Next to the black swimming pool was a small fish pond with a waterfall. I stood there admiring the yard for a moment before turning back toward the house. There was Joey slipping through a window just to the right of the back door and just to Joey’s right was a smiling Louis.
“Looks like this is going to be easier than I ever imagined,” Louis squealed with delight.
After a few seconds, the back door opened a bit, and Joey’s smiling face emerged from within. “Why doncha come in?” Joey laughed as he swung the door completely open. Louis was quickly inside, and I was right behind him.
I stepped inside the doorway and was struck by how inviting the place seemed. The sense of comfort seemed to be all around. The house was luxurious with marble floors and high ceilings. Walking from the sunroom near the back entryway to the kitchen, I became aware of my constant smile. I glanced over at Joey and Louis to see their faces stretched with similar smiles. An aroma com-bining the smells of vanilla, cinnamon, and baking cookies floated through the house. The kitchen sparkled with white tile countertops, brushed metal appliances, and pots and pans hanging from an overhead carousel. In the living room, a set of old-fashioned high-backed chairs, loveseats, and couches with flower prints hanging on the walls welcomed visitors. Over the back of one of the couches a pink and blue comforter hung. I found myself strangely interested in the comforter and picked it up. It felt wonderfully soft and warm as if the blanket had just come from a dryer. I raised it to my nose. The scent filled me at once. The radiant young woman who I had seen earlier in front of the house suddenly stepped into my view. She smiled like she had been expecting me. I shook with the shock of her appearance and then realized she was not in the room but only in my mind.
“I found sumpthin good!” Joey called from a room down the hall. I hurried toward him. Louis was walking in as I reached the room. Joey stood inside facing a painting of a man and woman sitting close together on a white metal bench. Even from a few yards away, I could see their joy. As I was gazing at their smiling faces, Joey stepped forward, ran his hand along the right side frame, and pushed. The frame and painting swung away from the wall revealing a small gray safe beneath.
I walked closer to check out the safe and noticed that Louis showed no interest in the discovery. Instead, he focused on the dark wooden desk which took up the middle of the room. Stoaffer was staring down sort of petting the top of the desk and appeared to be near tears.
“You okay, Louis?” I asked with a grin.
He did not answer for a moment then raised his eyes and said, “I always loved my old desk.”
Joey walked over and looked at the desk. “Wait, this is yer pardner’s old house, right? So howdjer desk end up here?”
The old man shook his head and answered, “I wish I knew, Joey.” Then as if a pleasing thought occurred to him, a broad smile took shape on his mouth. “Maybe Theresa wanted to have something around to remind her of her Uncle Lou.” He continued rubbing the desktop.
Finally, Joey said, “Uh, Lou, maybe yuh can stop fondlin’ the desk fer a second and take a peak at this safe.” He turned and walked back to the safe. I went with him. After a second, Louis joined us.
“So any ideas about opening this thing?” I spoke and at once realized how stupid my question sounded. To confirm this judgment, Stoaffer and Joey turned to look at me with rolling eyes.
“Well, Thomas, my idea would be to get the combination and enter it.” Louis replied, and Joey snickered.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go with Lou on this one, Thomas,” Joey commented before the two of them burst into mocking laughter.
The laughter went on for nearly a minute. Once it stopped, I said flashed the best smile I could manage and said, “Okay, sorry for stating the obvious, but can we get serious here?”
“Sure, Thomas,” Stoaffer said obviously amused. “Let’s get serious.” The smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by an exaggerated scowl. He turned to face Joey with the solemn expression, and Joey responded with a sticking out his bottom lip. The two of them then exploded in a new round of laughter.
“Okay, okay!” Despite my best efforts, my companions managed to irritate me. “Maybe we should take a look around to see what else we can find before … uh … Theresa … comes back.” I was surprised at my problem, with even saying the name. This did not go unnoticed by the others.
“Good idea!” Joey was headed out of the room before anyone had a chance to respond.
Louis and I were left alone in the room staring at each other.
“You know that you must overcome your infatuation with her, don’t you?” Louis spoke quietly.
“What do you mean? I haven’t even met her. I said I would go along with the plan, didn’t I?” My response sounded weak even to me.
He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. “Yes, Thomas, you did, and I have no reason to doubt your word.” Stoaffer turned and walked out of the room.
I stood alone there for a minute staring at the wall safe and wondered if I had reason to doubt my own word.
Chapter 12
Climbing the stairs, I kept thinking about what Stoaffer had said about my feelings toward Theresa and trusting me to keep my word. The conversation gave me a sense of dread about how the plan I had agreed to follow would turn out. My stomach twisted in knots, and I felt like puking. In the middle of my inner storm, Theresa’s face came into view. I was again struck by her light blue eyes and bright smile. In an instant, the nausea and dread was gone. My mouth curled into a smile. Every negative thought was instantly gone.
At the top of the stairs, Joey stood watching me with a curious expression. “Thinkin’ happy thoughts, Thomas?”
The question killed my moment of contentment. “Imagining how I’m gonna enjoy heading off to some warm beach.”
“Now that sounds good!” Joey commented with enthusiasm. “How ‘bout we spice up this dream with some hot babes?” With his loud laugh, the nausea began bubbling up once more but I managed to squash it back down.
The bedroom straight ahead had clearly not been used in some time. Another bedroom to the left seemed to be just for guests and also appeared to have been unused for quite a while.
“Apparently, Theresa lives alone and doesn’t entertain much,” I thought to myself. For some reason, the thought blossomed into another smile. I wondered for just a second about the effect the young woman was having on me. I entered her bedroom and forgot everything else.
The huge room held an off-white stained canopy bed. White and pink material hung from above with linen decorated with roses. Lots of pillows and stuffed animals covered the pink comforter on top of the bed. It reminded me of my sister’s bed wh
en she was about ten. I could not remember the last time I had thought of Mary.
Enormous glass doors leading out to the balcony drew my attention away from the bed and thoughts of my little sister. The balcony overlooking the backyard. From this view, the backyard resembled one of those old paintings of the land around palaces in Europe and places like that. The groups of plants were organized into a living patchwork quilt.
The place, the view, everything about it seemed right. I pictured myself sitting in a chair on the balcony with a glass of wine, enjoying the view, and chatting with the person in the chair next to me. I turned to offer a toast to that person and realized Theresa was sitting there. A smile turned my lips before I gasped like a punch had landed in my stomach. It took a moment to regain my breath, and when I did, the image of Theresa had left my head. Yet I still felt uneasy about my thoughts of a woman I had not even met, uneasy with such thoughts of a woman who would soon be dead.
My discomfort must have been clear to Stoaffer as he came up behind me and asked, “Are you all right, Thomas?”
I jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly answered, “Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
“You look pale, ‘like you’ve seen a ghost’ as the saying goes.” His face could not hide his amusement. “You didn’t, did you?”
“Didn’t what?” I snapped.
“See a ghost,” he answered and let lose a huge belly laugh which echoed through the yard.
I managed to squeeze my words through a tight smile, “No, I didn’t see any ghosts yet. How about you?”
“How about what?” Joey asked walking onto the balcony as if on cue.
“Thomas and I were discussing the presence of any disembodied spirits in the vicinity.” Louis answered.
“Yeah, whatever, Lou,” Joey replied as he looked over the balcony at the yard below. “So I’m inside lookin’ fer jewl’ry or another safe or sumpthin’, and you guys’re out here enjoyin’ the view.”
Soul Hostage Page 17
