Finder's Fee

by Alton Gansky

  “It helps us because that particular design flopped big time. I lost a truckload of money on that design. No one knows why, but it took off like a herd of turtles.”

  “You have a way with words, lady. I’ll give you that. Still, I don’t see — ”

  “I think I can track the few sales we had. It won’t be easy, but a few calls might narrow the field for us.”

  “You’re saying that we might be able to find the address where the boy is being held?”

  “Not just by that.” Judith looked at the image again. “I also recognize the Persian rug.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not at all. Remember, this is what I do. My company specializes in interior design products. We’re one of the top players in the field and we’re not a one-pony show. We design and manufacture everything from paint to light fixtures. It’s a multibillion-dollar business and we make our money by being informed and putting out the best product. Two years ago, we retained an overseas company to manufacture a line of Persian inspired rugs.”

  “And you know for a fact that that rug is one of yours?”

  “I do.”

  The pilot’s voice came from the overhead speakers, announcing their descent into Fresno. The table had to be stowed and the computer put away. Both were done reluctantly.

  “Here’s the thing.” Judith stacked the printouts. “I might, and emphasize the word might, be able to track where the flooring went and compare it to where that style of carpet was sold. It’s possible that the numbers will be too large, but we won’t know unless we try.”

  “You keep that kind of data? You know who bought what?”

  “No, we don’t, but the retailers do a pretty good job. I’ll start by seeing what outlets sold that type of flooring. It went out in trial, which means there were a limited number of retailers stocking the item. The rug may be more difficult but it might work.”

  Luke narrowed his eyes.

  “What?”

  “I’m trying to calculate the odds that two products from your company would appear in a photo of a missing boy you’ve been asked to find.”

  That had crossed Judith’s mind as well. The odds were astronomical and that made it all the more frightening.

  thirteen

  I assure you, Officer, it’s nothing more than a malfunction in the phone.” Terri could see the tension on Marlin’s face.

  “I plan to call the manufacturer and give him a piece of my mind.”

  Better keep what you have left. Terri stood to one side, rubbing the palm of her left hand. It had ceased to hurt and the redness had almost faded completely.

  The focus of Marlin’s attention was a trim, black man in a black suit coat over a gray dress shirt with a maroon silk tie and charcoal colored trousers. Terri noted his shoes were shined, his tie hung straight, and the coat looked expensive. A definite clotheshorse, she decided.

  “We’re already here, Mr. Find. We might as well take a look. I’d hate to think that I called out a county bomb expert and not put him to good use. I’m sure you understand.”

  “But …” He trailed off.

  Marlin could be obnoxious but he wasn’t stupid. This battle was lost to him. He had no choice but to play along. He turned his heated gaze to Terri. It was going to be a rough time after the cops left. She hoped Judith would be back soon. Terri could use her protection.

  The bomb squad, three men with electronic equipment Terri didn’t recognize, made their way to the elevator. They had cleared the room, examined Terri’s damaged phone, and checked Judith’s desk phone. In both, they found a device that couldn’t be classified as a bomb, but didn’t belong in any business phone. The detective thanked the men and released them.

  Detective Wilson served the City of Ontario, but all matters dealing with explosives fell to the county sheriff’s office. Only after the office had been declared safe had Terri, Marlin, and everyone else on the floor been allowed to return.

  Wilson looked at Terri and his eyes drifted to her hands. “Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor?”

  Terri stopped fidgeting. “Um, no, I’m fine. Just a little unsettled by all of this. The paramedic said I was okay.”

  The last hour had been filled with excitement. Terri had used the pay phone in the first floor lobby to call the police. Once the dispatcher heard the phrase, “phone blew up,” she dispatched not only the police but fire and paramedic units. The entire building was cleared and the county bomb squad went into action. Every phone on the floor had been examined but only Terri’s and Judith’s had been tampered with. Bomb sniffing dogs had searched every floor.

  Things were returning to normal but Terri knew the talk would continue for weeks.

  “Now that we know that there are no bombs in the building,” Marlin said, “maybe we can all get back to work.”

  “I am working,” Wilson said.

  “Of course. I didn’t mean you. I meant my employees.”

  “I need you and Ms. Penn a little longer.”

  Terri watched Marlin work his jaw as if to object but he said nothing. To protest too much might make him look like he was covering something up.

  “Do either of you know of any reason someone would plant electronic devices in Ms. Penn’s and Ms. Find’s phone?”

  “No,” Terri said. “And I’m worried about her. She went to an unscheduled meeting this morning and hasn’t returned. I was talking to her when the phone did what it did.”

  Wilson nodded. “I have a crime scene investigation team coming over. They’ll take the phones and dust for prints. I’m afraid they’re going to leave a mess.” He looked around the office, clearly impressed by the luxury and design. “Pity.”

  “I understand,” Terri said.

  “You said you were talking to Ms. Find on the phone when it shocked you.”

  “It rang, I answered, then zap. I got shocked.” She rubbed her palm again.

  “Where is Ms. Find now?” Wilson stepped to Terri’s desk and examined the phone again.

  “Like I said, I don’t know.” Terri tried to prevent the stress she felt from coloring her tone and words but the effort was useless. “She got a package she didn’t expect. Something was wrong. She quizzed me about it before she left. I didn’t know what to tell her.”

  “Does she normally get packages?”

  “All the time. Three or four a day. Usually from designers and the like.”

  “But something was different about this one?”

  Terri nodded. “We don’t know where it came from or how it got here. That’s why I’m so concerned about her. And when the phone went ballistic I got even more worried.”

  The forehead of the detective furrowed. “Tell me more about the package.”

  “I don’t see what a package has to do with all this,” Marlin said. “And we know Judith is fine because she called in before the telephone mishap.”

  “I’m suspicious by nature, Mr. Find,” Wilson said. “You share a last name with Ms. Find. What’s your relationship to her?”

  “I’m her stepson, as if any of that is your business.”

  If the jab bothered the detective he didn’t let it show. His patience with Marlin impressed Terri, but she wished the officer would put him in his place.

  “You’re not worried about your mother?” Wilson asked.

  “I’m certain she is well. She has a very independent streak.”

  “Ms. Penn, you said that Ms. Find was upset about the package?”

  “I don’t think upset is the right word. She’s not the kind to be intimidated, but I know she was puzzled and maybe even a little put out. In the bathroom she said — ”

  “In the bathroom?” Wilson raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, sir. That was weird. She insisted that we meet in the ladies’ room.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “She didn’t say. I asked, but she told me to hush and follow her, which I did.” Terri felt stupid for not having pressed the issu
e.

  “Does she often tell you to hush?”

  “No. I can’t remember her ever saying that to me. It made me think something was really wrong.”

  “I can imagine. Then what happened?” Wilson took no notes but Terri was certain he was memorizing every word.

  “She asked about the package. We discussed how it could have gotten on my desk. You see, I left last night and I always lock my office. When I came in, there were three packages on my desk.”

  “And you don’t know how they got there?”

  “Detective, the woman is just an administrative aide. Surely she just forgot to lock the door and the UPS guy set the packages there.”

  “I locked the door last night.” Terri had given up hiding her emotions.

  Wilson raised a hand. “Mr. Find, your office is on this floor, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you wait for me there? I need to ask Ms. Penn a few more questions.”

  “But — ”

  “I appreciate your help, Mr. Find. Thank you.”

  The words carried an unspoken message. Marlin took his time leaving, like a child hoping a father would change his mind about exiling a child to his bedroom. No change of mind came.

  Alone with the detective, Terri relaxed some but her stomach still twisted and churned.

  Without a word, Wilson walked into Judith’s office and began looking around. He stood in the middle of the expansive office, slowly turning, his eyes moving as if they were video cameras capturing every detail. “It’s a nice room.”

  Terri tilted her head. The words were true but spoken in a way that made her think the detective’s thoughts rested elsewhere. “Ms. Find is very proud of it.”

  Wilson strolled from the center of the room to the desk, to the fireplace, to the artwork that hung on the walls, back to the seating area. His steps were leisurely. He returned to the desk and paused behind it. He stopped and stared at a spot low on the wall. Terri moved closer and followed the detective’s gaze. He stared at an electrical outlet on the wall. It looked like every other outlet in the office — except this one tilted slightly to the right, so little that Terri would never have noticed it had the detective not been staring at it. She also saw a slight scratch in the paint.

  He turned. “Ms. Penn. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to accompany me to the station. I have more questions for you.”

  “What? But what if Ms. Find comes back?”

  “You may leave her a note, but I must insist. Come with me.”

  He took her by the elbow and led her from the room.

  fourteen

  Terri almost melted in relief when Detective Wilson told her that he had no intention of taking her to the police station.

  When she confessed her confusion, he led her to a quiet corner of the first floor lobby. Outside, beyond the glass wall of the reception area, the last fire truck pulled away. Two patrol cars were parked by the walk that led from the parking lot to the front of the building. A uniformed officer chatted with a news reporter, a woman who held a microphone in front of the cop who seemed to be enjoying the attention. A cameraman stood a few feet away. It took a moment before Terri realized that it wasn’t a cameraman but a camerawoman. The sight of them reminded her of an appointment that Judith had made for that afternoon. She wondered if the reporter in the lot was the same that was supposed to be in Judith’s office. Terri wondered what they were saying.

  “I think your company may have a problem. You saw the electrical outlet?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know why an outlet is so important.”

  “You noticed the faceplate was crooked and that someone scratched the paint. That was the only mark I could see on the walls.”

  “Ms. Find is picky about such things.” Terri still struggled to follow the detective’s logic.

  “Why do you suppose your boss took you to the ladies’ room to ask you about the package?”

  “I don’t know. This whole thing is out of character for her.”

  Wilson frowned and looked like a man trying to explain calculus to a preschooler. “Let me cut to the chase. I think someone has bugged your boss’s office and yours as well. I can’t be certain without removing the cover, but there may be a listening device behind the outlet faceplate. Your boss figured that out somehow. It must have something to do with that mysterious package. Did she tell you what was in it?”

  “No.”

  “There may be video surveillance going on. I don’t know much about your industry. Is it competitive?”

  “Well, yes. Of course. Very much so.”

  “Is it the kind of business that attracts industrial spying?”

  “I suppose so. I know the executives have to sign nondisclosure agreements, go through background checks. Judith … Ms. Find is very secretive about new products and designs. Do you think one of our competitors planted the listening device?”

  “I’m just guessing at this point.”

  Terri bit her lip. “What do I do? And what about Judith? How do we find her?”

  “She made an effort to contact you. It’s a shame you couldn’t hear what it was she had to say.”

  “I’m really worried. Are you going to put out a missing person’s report or whatever you call it?”

  “She’s only been gone a few hours. She may not be missing, but I promise to stay on this. For now, I want you to go to lunch, take a walk, hit the gym, do something that will eat up a couple of hours before you go back to work. I want the spies to think you went to the station with me.” He pulled a card from his wallet. “Call me if Ms. Find comes back or contacts you. My pager number is on there. It pages my cell phone. Call it anytime and I’ll return your call.”

  “How can I work knowing that someone is listening to everything I say?”

  “I’m going have our tech guys come over. They work with our crime scene techs. They’ll sweep the area and seize any spy devices. That will tip our hand that we know about them, but that’s probably already been done. Can’t unwind the clock.”

  Terri felt pulled down by the quicksand of worry and fear, but she was determined to do exactly as told.

  Karen Rose turned from the sheriff’s deputy and faced the camera. “For the employees of Find, Inc., and the dedicated police and fire personnel of Ontario there is a great sense of relief that what was thought to have been a bomb turned out to be nothing more than a faulty phone. This is Karen Rose reporting from the parking lot of Find, Inc.” She continued to stare into the lens for several seconds then lowered the microphone.

  “Not bad,” Cindy Chu said, relaxing and pointing the business end of the camera down. “Serendipity, baby. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.”

  “Too bad it was nothing but a cranky phone.”

  “You’re not saying that you wanted there to be real bombs in the building, are you?” Cindy unloaded the camera from her shoulder.

  “You know better than that.” Karen began to loop the mike cable. “I don’t want disasters to happen; I just want to be there when they do. That’s the news business.”

  “Do you think the interview is still on? Or are we going to have to settle for this story?”

  Karen started to reply when she noticed a woman approaching. Her eyes were fixed on Karen but her steps were timid. “I wonder what all this is about.”

  “Excuse me,” the woman said. Karen figured her to be close to fifty and she had an air of authority about her. “You’re with KTOT?”

  With the call letters painted in bright yellow on the side of the blue news van Karen knew the question was rhetorical, a way of starting a conversation.

  “Yes,” Karen said. “I’m Karen Rose. How can I help you?” The woman’s voice seemed familiar.

  “We’ve spoken. I’m Terri Penn, Ms. Find’s administrative assistant.”

  “Yes, I recall. We spoke on the phone. You helped arrange the interview.”

  “That’s me. I’m afraid the interview is
off for the day. I’m sure you understand.”

  “Actually, this would be the perfect time for the interview. We could show how a woman executive of Ms. Find’s stature deals with an emergency like this.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Terri said. She started to turn.

  “Wait a minute. We had a deal. It costs the station a lot of money to send me and a camera tech out. You can’t just brush us off.”

  Karen watched Ms. Find’s administrative assistant frown. There was something else in her face; something that said a dark secret was hidden behind the mask. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but you did get a story. Granted it wasn’t planned, but you were here at just the right time. I don’t see any other television media. Do you? It looks to me like you got a scoop.”

  She may look a tad mousey but there’s a little hint of fire in her. “Is Ms. Find here?”

  “No.”

  Unlike buildings in major cities, the Find, Inc., building didn’t have basement parking. Karen returned her gaze to something she had seen earlier: a series of parking stalls with aluminum poles. One post bore a small sign that read: J. FIND. In the stall sat a late model silver Lexus.

  “Isn’t that her car?” Karen nodded in the direction of the vehicle.

  “I parked it there.”

  “You drive your boss’s car, or are you just using her parking place?”

  “Ms. Find is not in the building. The appointment you had with her must be postponed. Please call again and I’ll see when Ms. Find can fit you in.”

  “Wait — ”

  Terri Penn didn’t wait; she didn’t look back.

  “Weird,” Cindy said. “Of course, they just had a bomb scare. I suppose I would shy away from the media too if I was a bigwig like Judith Find.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Karen wasn’t convinced. Her reportorial instincts were chiming like Big Ben. “There’s something wrong with the picture.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like why Find’s right-hand woman is leaving the building when everyone else is going in. I’d think that there’d be a ton of calls to make, people to direct and the like.”