by Alton Gansky
Judith stopped listening. “Turn it off.”
“Don’t like it?”
“Do you?” Judith asked.
Terri shook her head. “Not in the least. Exactly what is new classic furniture? Isn’t that an oxymoron?”
“It’s some kind of moron.”
She stepped back to the desk but not before hearing, “I’m Judith Find — Find everything you need at Judith Find’s.”
“Send it back, Terri. It stinks. Tell them I’ll call later this week. Let them stew awhile.”
Terri retrieved the DVD. “Will do. Anything else?”
“Not now. I have plenty of work to do. Please shut the door on the way out.” She sipped from the coffee.
“Oh.” Terri pulled up short of the door. “Marlin called and would like some time this morning.”
A hot coal dropped in Judith’s stomach. Marlin Find was her stepson and her biggest critic. “I’ll think about it.”
“And if he should call again?”
“Tell him you passed on the information and that I haven’t got back to you yet.”
“Got it.” Terri started to exit. “One last thing: could I leave a little early today? There’s a baby shower at my church this evening and I said I’d swing by and help decorate if I could.”
“I don’t see why not.” Judith knew the next comment before Terri uttered it.
“How about going with me? I’ll introduce you to some of my church friends.”
Judith smiled. “Thanks, Terri, but no.” Her assistant had been trying to get her to attend church for the last year. She always refused. Business and faith never seemed like a good mix to Judith.
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. We have a woman who makes the world’s best deviled eggs.”
“They allow devil eggs in your church?”
Terri grinned. “Cute. I’ll have to remember that.”
Judith thought she heard a phone ring.
two
Hutch’s Diner sat at the north end of the Ontario Mills Mall near Fourth Street. The mall complex was one of the Chamber of Commerce’s talking points. One point seven million square feet under a single roof provided a home for two hundred retailers that saw over twenty million visitors each year. Judith knew the stats because one of Find, Inc.’s stores took up its share of the complex.
Major chain restaurants dotted the perimeter of the parking lot. Only one had the distinction of being unique: Hutch’s. Like the other eateries, Hutch’s served patrons from the mall. Here a hungry patron could buy a double cheeseburger for just a little over twice what she would pay elsewhere. Decorated like a Southern roadside café, the environment drew as many people as the food.
Waitresses dressed like carhops from the forties and fifties. They served up heart-damaging food and did so with attitude.
Judith pulled her silver Lexus SC convertible into the first open parking stall she found, exited, and walked into the restaurant. It took several steps before she realized that she moved with her head down and eyes fixed on the concrete walk. She forced her head and eyes up, reached for the door, and walked into the unknown.
Inside, the Andrews Sisters were singing something about a bugle boy in the army. The aroma of french fries, burgers, and grilled-cheese sandwiches attacked her nostrils. Noises of people about the business of visiting with friends and coworkers reflected off the tile floor and Formica table-tops. The decor was a mix of postwar simplicity and midcentury modern. Judith decided that the theme was mixed but it worked well.
Just inside the door stood a podium with a sign that read: PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED.
Judith waited, but her eyes worked the room, searching for whomever it was that she was supposed to meet. Should she allow herself to be seated? What if he had already arrived and the hostess seated her on the wrong side of the restaurant?
Her heart fluttered as she studied the customers. A few looked her way but immediately returned their attention to their companions. None made eye contact; none motioned to her.
“Just one, ma’am?”
A young woman, maybe twenty-two, stepped to the podium and removed a menu. Judith hated the question, “Just one?” It implied that something was missing if you dined alone. She had been just one for half a decade now, but had yet to adjust to the idea.
“I’m meeting someone here.”
The hostess reached for another menu. “Is he here yet? Or is it a she?”
Judith had to think for a moment. What had the caller said? “A man will meet you …”
“A gentleman. We haven’t met yet so I don’t know what he looks like.”
“Would you prefer to wait or should I seat you?”
How should I know? The caller didn’t say. “Go ahead and seat me. Do you have anything … a little more private?”
“No, ma’am. What you see is what you get.”
“I understand.” I suppose a clandestine meeting is best held in a public place.
The hostess pivoted and marched to the back of the restaurant, seating Judith in a corner booth with a view to the chugging traffic of Fourth Street. Menus were placed. “Enjoy your lunch.” She started to leave when Judith stopped her. She remembered something.
“I need to order.”
“Before your party arrives?”
“Yes. I’m … on a tight schedule today.”
“I’ll get your waitress.”
Judith thanked her and wriggled farther into the booth until she reached the best level of comfort she could hope for. She set her handbag on the table and tried to calm herself.
In the time from her arrival at her office until she left to make her way to Hutch’s, Judith pretended to work but her mind rehashed the phone call countless times. In an effort to assume some control of the situation she exited her office, which she now assumed was infested with electronic listening devices, and prepared to quiz Terri. She stopped short realizing that anyone who could bug her office could bug Terri’s as well.
“Marlin called again,” Terri began. “I put him off best I could but he seemed really irritated — ”
“Walk with me.” Judith didn’t wait for an answer. She marched through the door, into the wide hall by the elevators.
“Where are we going?”
“The bathroom.”
It took a second for Terri to respond. “Is something wrong with yours? Should I call a plumber?” Judith had a private restroom as did Terri. Other employees on this floor shared a restroom. Executives had an executive toilet to call their own.
“Nothing’s wrong with my bathroom.”
“Then why — ”
“Terri. Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Fifteen steps later, Judith pushed through the door into a wide room filled with partitioned stalls, sinks, and white floor tile.
Judith pushed open each stall door and peered inside. Satisfied that theirs were the only ears in the room, she faced Terri.
“There were three packages on my desk this morning, one was marked ‘private.’ Where did that come from?”
Nonplussed, Terri replied, “I don’t know. It didn’t have a return address.”
“I know that. What I mean is: who delivered it?”
“UPS, I assume. Is there something wrong?”
Judith ignored the question. “The UPS man brought all three packages to you?”
“No. Not really. I ran late this morning.” She looked as if she were confessing a crime. Terri usually arrived before eight and spent the hour straightening Judith’s desk, laying out needed files, and fielding calls from early risers and East Coast associates. “When I got here, the packages were on my desk. The delivery guy has left stuff on my desk before when I’ve been gone so it didn’t strike me as odd.”
“There was no UPS sticker on the third package.”
“I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”
Judith fought off a frown. “You did nothing wrong. I’m just curious.”
Terri
looked around the room but didn’t say what Judith knew was on her mind. Meeting in the restroom was an unusual place to ask questions about a package.
“So you didn’t see the UPS guy?” Judith asked.
“No. Like I said, I found all three packages on my desk when I got in.”
If the package had gone through the UPS system, then it should bear the company’s familiar sticker. Someone had either slipped the package into the UPS delivery or deposited the envelope on Terri’s desk before she arrived for work.
“Was your office locked when you arrived this morning?”
“Of course … but …” Judith could see Terri’s mind trying to put the pieces together. “How did the delivery guy get into my office?”
“Could he have left it last night while you were out on an errand?”
“I would have noticed. I stayed late and only left my desk once to use the restroom, but there were no packages when I got back.”
Judith’s mind raced with questions that had no ready answers. One thing she grew certain of — she was not dealing with a prankster.
After returning to her office, Judith waited as the minutes dripped by. At 10:45, she left her office for Hutch’s.
The waitress, a slightly older, slightly larger, slightly surly woman with bright red hair took a position near the table. “Welcome to Hutch’s, is this your first time with us?” She asked the question like she had asked it a hundred times a day, which she probably had.
“Yes. This is my first time. I’d like a bowl of chili.”
“You look familiar to me. Are you sure this is your first time here?”
“I look familiar to many people. I have one of those faces.”
“No, that’s not it. Haven’t I seen you on television?”
Of course she had, but Judith didn’t want one of those “aren’t you somebody famous” moments. “Water. I’d also like a glass of water with lemon, no ice.”
The waitress studied her for a moment, looked down at the extra menu then shrugged. “Anything else?”
“No.”
“Cheese and onions on the chili?”
“Um, no.”
The waitress left and Judith resumed her gaze out the window. A tapping sound got her attention and she realized the noise came from her own fingers as they drummed the table-top. She folded her hands in her lap.
The waitress returned with a large, steaming bowl of dark chili and set it on the table along with a glass of water. The bowl rested on a saucer and two packages of crackers were wedged along the rim.
“Anything else?”
Judith told the waitress no. Alone again, she stared at the bowl, picked up the spoon but couldn’t bring herself to eat. She pushed the concoction around as if waiting for it to cool. There had been nothing in the strange message that said she had to eat the chili.
“You must be the one.”
She jumped at the sound of the voice. Standing next to the table was a thin, handsome man in blue jeans and a black T-shirt. His blond-brown hair was parted along the side and reached the tops of his ears. His eyes were blue and a day’s growth of stubble covered his cheeks, jaw, and chin. He didn’t smile.
“The one what?” Judith knew the answer but wanted to be sure the man beside her was the contact she had been ordered to wait for.
“You’re the only woman eating chili.” He slipped into the booth.
“It’s not by choice.” Her words were hard and icy.
Before the man could speak again the waitress appeared. “May I get you something to drink?”
“No,” the man said. “Nothing to eat either.”
“Okay, if you say so.” The waitress paused and looked at Judith again. “Wait. I got it. You’re that Judy Finder person. You used to have a television show or something.”
“Judith Find and I still do.”
“See, I did know you.”
“You’re very perceptive.” Judith set the spoon down.
“Hey, I don’t suppose you have a picture or something. The owner likes to put up pictures of famous people who eat here.”
“Not with me. When I get back to the office, I’ll make sure one is sent.”
That pleased the woman and, to Judith’s relief, she left.
As soon as the server moved out of earshot, Judith leaned forward and said in a harsh whisper, “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, mister, but I’m not going to put up with it. If you think you can extort — ”
“Whoa.” He held up his hands. “You got the wrong guy. I’m the victim here.”
“You’re the victim? Not likely.”
“I’m not the bad guy. I got a call and was told to meet a woman here. The only information was that you’d be eating a bowl of chili. Although I don’t know why. That stuff looks awful.”
“You got a call?”
He nodded. “On a cell phone, and not my cell phone, I might add.”
“Let me guess. Somehow you came into the possession of a strange cell phone. It rang. You answered and a strange voice started telling you what to do.”
“I guess we have something in common. The phone was in a padded envelope.”
“Was it delivered to your office?”
“I don’t have an office. I work from my home. The package was on my doorstep. I found it when I left to grab coffee this morning. If I hadn’t been going out, I might not have seen it for hours.”
“You go out every morning?”
“Well, yeah. I suppose I do. You’re saying the caller knew that?”
“Most likely he did.”
“How do you know it’s a he?”
“You couldn’t tell by the voice? It was definitely a man’s voice.”
“Michael – 16.”
“Excuse me?”
“First things first. It’s awkward to carry on a conversation without names.” He smiled and Judith sensed his confidence. It made her uneasy. “My name is Luke Becker and you are?”
Judith always felt a little offended when others didn’t recognize her. She had been on television for years and her face had appeared in magazine ads, articles, and news reports. Sometimes it took folks a while to put name to face but most at least showed some recognition.
“Judith Find. Just like I told the waitress.”
“I wasn’t listening to her. Judith Find,” he repeated. “Sounds familiar.”
“I’m CEO of Find, Inc.”
“The home decorating business? Now I know why your name is familiar. I almost bought stock in your company.”
“Almost? ”
“That’s what I do now. I play the stock market.”
She started to ask why he didn’t invest but thought better of it. It didn’t matter in this context.
“You were saying something about the voice. You said Michael – 16.” She pushed the chili away.
“It’s a synthetic voice created by AT&T. Several companies make them. It’s a voice used with TTS software — ”
“TTS?”
“Text-to-speech. It’s software that reads computer documents. Type a letter, highlight the text, click on a button, and your computer reads it to you. It’s great if you have poor eyesight or if you just prefer to consume documents audibly.”
“I figured I was talking to a machine. When interrupted it started over.”
“I got the same thing. I’ve heard the voice many times. I have it on my computer. It’s easy to get off the Internet.”
“So are you saying someone had their computer read a message to us?”
“Basically. I noticed that it responded to certain voice commands. That’s not unusual. Certain businesses like banks use the same procedure. You call the bank and speak your account number. The computer recognizes the numbers and takes you to the next step.”
“What did the voice tell you to do?”
“To come to this place and find a woman eating a bowl of chili.”
“And?”
He looked to the street, breaking eye contac
t. “There was a threat.”
“To expose a secret you have?”
“How’d you know … ? Oh, you got the same thing.”
Judith gave a nod. Since she didn’t want to talk about her secret, she didn’t ask about his. “There was another part to the message.”
“He will die?” Luke returned her gaze.
“That’s it. But who will die?” She lowered her voice.
“I have no idea.”
She started to ask another question when a teenage boy in baggy pants, a black shirt with some logo she didn’t recognize, and a baseball cap turned sideways on his head approached. He carried a package.
“Hey, lady. Your name Find?”
“Yes.”
“This is for you.” He held out the package.
“Where did you get this?” Judith asked.
He didn’t answer.
Luke raised a hand then reached for his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and placed it on the table. “The lady asked you a question.”
The youth shrugged. “Some guy came up to me in the mall and offered me fifty bucks to bring that to you.”
“What did he look like?” Luke pressed.
“He was about my age. He said some guy gave him fifty to get someone like me to make the delivery.”
Judith knew their tormentor could have done the same thing several times, creating a chain of innocent messengers. It would be impossible to trace the trail. Luke must have come to the same conclusion because he handed the twenty to the kid, who immediately left.
Judith picked up the package. It had her name on it as well as Luke’s.
She ripped it open and looked inside.
three
Well, what’s in it?” Luke’s eyes were glued to the envelope in Judith’s hands.
Judith tried to ignore the heated battle between fear and anger raging inside her. She glanced in and saw a lone piece of white paper. She removed it and laid it on the table.
“It’s a map,” Judith said. Straight lines formed white streets that contrasted with gray areas. In the center of the map was a green square with a name printed across it.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Luke pulled it close and studied it. “Golden Oak Park on the corner of Sixth and Golden Oak Road. Ever been there?”
