Deadly Interpretations

by Andie Alexander

  “It’s been two long years. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  “I guess I just have to have a chat with Billy and find out then.” Jim pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “I’m sure he’ll tell me what he’s holding over your head.”

  “No. I’ll tell you, but it has to be on my own time.”

  He checked his watch. “Time’s up.”

  He opened his cell phone, but I ran around to his side of the bed and grabbed it. “No, I’ll tell you. When I got back from Switzerland, I got this apartment and took Scotty out of a foster home. He’d been there for a few days and was a mess. We were arranging Mom and Dad’s funeral, and I’d taken Scotty downtown for dinner. We were both crying, and some guy came up and stole my purse. Billy was sitting near us at the restaurant, and he saw the whole thing. He took off after the guy, and brought me the purse with everything still in it.”

  “Including the pen?”

  Sudden realization set in. I covered my mouth. Billy didn’t…he couldn’t be involved…could he? “You don’t think Billy—”

  “You never know. What happened next?”

  “He sat with us and we talked, then he paid the bill. I didn’t see him for a few days. I was strapped for cash because of my parents’ funerals, and tried to take out a loan from a bank. But because I’d just gotten back from Europe, they thought of me as a flight risk and weren’t too happy to lend me money. So, I borrowed it from a guy who knew Ali.”

  “Ali?”

  “Yes. Ali was hitting on me like crazy, but for some reason I didn’t feel good about going out with him. The people who loaned me the money changed the rules after I took out the loan and it was almost impossible to pay them back. I’d made a huge mistake, and one day after work, this giant thug stopped me as I got to my bike, demanding I pay off the loan, one way or another.”

  “Meaning?”

  I sighed, falling onto the bed. “I either had to turn tricks for money or be killed.”

  Jim studied me from head to toe, almost looking like he thought I was a prostitute. “What happened?”

  “Billy happened, and I’m not a hooker. He’s loaded. He just happened to wander into the parking garage at the right time, and paid the guy off with cash. Twenty thousand, which included interest.”

  “He was carrying that much money on him? Didn’t you find that odd?”

  “Very. And he demanded that I never stop going out with him. I have to pay him back at a lower interest. I’ve been paying him ever since. My parents had some money in retirement, and I finally got that out about a month ago, paying Billy his final payments. I also could quit my part-time job doing translations on-line, and finally have more of a normal life.”

  “On-line translations? So Scotty was here alone a lot?”

  “No, I bought a used laptop, signed up for a really cheap dialup service, and got the work online. I worked at home. I’ve put the laptop away and stopped the service. I don’t need it anymore.”

  “Who were you doing translations for?”

  This didn’t look good for me. “Anyone at the United Nations. I was hired by many of the ambassadors, so I know most of them very well.”

  Jim fell to the unmade bed, shaking his head. “No wonder you were considered subversive.”

  “What did I do wrong? Could I have changed the past?”

  “Not now, but you can change the future. I’m going to make it happen. I want to see that laptop.”

  I went to the closet and removed it from the floor. “I saved everything I translated, in case they’d lose the documents.”

  He took the laptop from my hands. “Sweetheart, you did something right.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and took me out to the kitchen, then handed the laptop to Archie, the bald goon. “Get this to the top man. There are translations on there from members of the United Nations.”

  “I did a lot, maybe hundreds?” I said.

  Jim raised his eyebrows. “Tell them it’ll take some time, but might be worth it.” He picked up the diary and handed it to Archie. “Give them this, too. It’s the diary I told them about.”

  Archie took everything in his hands, winked at me, and left the apartment. Jim dragged me back to the bedroom, and we finished making the bed in silence.

  “Do you hate me now?” I asked.

  “Hate you?” He had a puzzled look on his face while shoving a pillow into the pillowcase. “Not at all. Why would you ask me that?”

  “I have…baggage.”

  “Baggage? Not really. I’m trying to figure out why you still stay with Billy. What’s he holding over your head now if you paid him off?”

  “My past loan to him. I’m not happy about it at all.”

  “But it was just a loan. It’s done and over with. He can’t hurt you. You owe him nothing, right?”

  “He still thinks I owe him something and really wants to collect. He’s ready to sue me over it, too.”

  “What?”

  “Six thousand more and a night of sex with him and another partner…or two.” I shuddered, just thinking about it.

  He lowered his eyes and shook his head, then threw the pillow onto the bed, landing exactly in the right spot. “I understand the sex part, believe it or not, because he’s not your normal man. But six thousand more?”

  “He said I owed him a signing bonus or something.”

  “Let me guess. No contract.”

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  “Stupid move.”

  “I know, but I was desperate.”

  “You’ve never slept with him, either, have you?”

  “No, but he didn’t really want me to. He wants the other partner…a male friend of his.”

  “You’re living a soap opera,” Jim muttered. “Now it’s all starting to fit together. I can fix this for you.”

  I sat down on the made bed. “But at what cost? I can’t pay you, and still owe him that signing bonus.”

  “That won’t be the end of it. He’ll still want more. He doesn’t want you out of his life for a reason and I intend to find out why. I have my suspicions, too.”

  The door to the apartment opened and I glanced at my watch. “Gosh, Archie’s fast.”

  “The center of operation’s less than a mile from here. You’re right in the middle of everything.” Jim helped me to my feet and directed me into the kitchen.

  The goons, Jim, and I ate at the dining room table for a peaceful meal, without my brothers, Ray, or a screaming baby.

  “How are you doing?” Chris asked me.

  “Fine, why?”

  He glanced downward. “Did you like the steak?”

  I stared down at my empty plate. “I guess so. I had no idea I ate the whole thing, though.” I looked up at him. “That’s kind of embarrassing when you think about it.”

  “No, you’re a lot nicer,” Jim said. “I think Dr. Bond is the best doctor there is.”

  I smiled at him. “I think you have a few tricks up your sleeve that actually work, but we’ll test out that theory about you being the best.”

  “Much nicer,” he said to Chris’ nod. They were both nuts.

  After dinner, Jim sent everyone home, because the apartment was being watched from the outside. We sat down on the dry side of the living room couch to watch television.

  Just as he kissed me, his cell phone rang. With a grunt, he grabbed it, pressed a button, and put it to his ear. “Hello.” He glanced over at me, in frustration. “Sure. I understand. No, we were just playing cards.”

  “Cards?” I mouthed.

  He smiled and got off the couch, pacing. “Yes, I understand. An hour. Right.” He ended the call, and sat down beside me again. “Now where was I?” He leaned over and kissed down my neck.

  “Who was that on the phone?”

  “The chief. You’re going to have a slumber party tonight.”

  I moved away from his lips. “What?”

  “Elizabeth is coming over to spend the night. They want her protected and n
ow that you have a free bed, it’s easier to protect her here than at her place.”

  “Is she out of the hospital?”

  “Yes. They’re bringing her over as soon as she gets her stuff. She has major morning sickness, and they figured her doctor and I could take care of her because I’m such a great physician.”

  He leaned toward my lips again, but I held him back with my hand to his mouth. “What background do you have for morning sickness? You’re just a general practitioner, right?”

  He kissed the palm of my hand, then reached up and moved it away from his mouth. “I wanted to be an OB/GYN but didn’t have the money. I was studying on the side while working during the day.”

  “For a free peek, probably,” I muttered.

  He grinned. “You know me better than you think.” He returned to my lips but someone knocked at the door.

  “Bad timing,” he whispered.

  We both got off the icky couch. Jim opened the door to an older, balding man who was holding Elizabeth upright. She looked like walking—or in her case, standing—death.

  “Come on in.” Jim shook the man’s hand. “Holden, how’s it going?”

  “Not good.” The man had a British accent and helped Elizabeth into the apartment. She looked horrible, with her head hanging down and her face a pasty white color. Jim grabbed her other arm and they took her into Scotty’s room. I followed along, not sure what to do.

  “I need a wet washcloth and a bucket,” Holden said. They helped her onto the bed.

  I took off and got a washcloth from the linen closet, then got it wet. On the way back to the bedroom, I grabbed a bucket from the shelf above the washing machine.

  Holden took the washcloth and laid it on her forehead while she moaned.

  “Just morning sickness, right?” Jim asked Holden.

  “We think so. She’s been like this since she woke up.” Holden took the bucket from my hands and put it beside the bed.

  “Did you bring an IV in case we need it?” Jim asked.

  “An IV?” Elizabeth lifted her head. “I don’t want an IV.”

  “Yes, in the car,” Holden whispered. “I’ve never seen a case as bad as this, but we couldn’t keep her in hospital. It wasn’t safe.” The man turned to me. “I’m Holden, by the way, and a doctor. Thank you for letting us use your apartment.”

  “No problem.” I shook his hand. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “Sure,” Holden said. “Jim and I’ll keep her alive. I think she’ll be okay by morning. I’m giving her anti-nausea medication.”

  “It looks like it’s working,” I said, then added ‘not’ in my head. If I ever looked that bad, I’d rather be shot.

  I stared at Jim and he sighed. “Go watch some television,” he said. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  I heard Elizabeth vomit as I left and closed the door on the way out. There was no way I wanted any part of being pregnant, other than having the kid after it was all done. I’d seriously have to kill or castrate any man who’d put me in that predicament, and definitely wouldn’t reward them with anything like Ray had done.

  I sat in front of what seemed to be a mindless sitcom on television until Jim came out to sit beside me.

  “You’re watching the news?”

  The more I stared at it, I realized it wasn’t a sitcom at all. Maybe that’s why there were dead bodies and talk of the stock market. “I guess.” The show droned on and on about a missing college student named Brian Karlson, son of billionaire Barry Karlson. There was a huge reward, and the father was beside himself hunting for his son. They showed pictures of the good-looking missing guy. They never mentioned his major in college, but I was sure it was business, from the pictures of him working at his father’s high-rise building in the richest section of the city.

  “I thought it was a sitcom,” I said to Jim.

  He chuckled. “If you want to think this is a sitcom, that’s fine. Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not. I want my life back and want to be alone.”

  “You don’t want me around?” His voice poured out sadness to me.

  I never looked at him, but kept watching television. “You’re fine, but I want my life back.”

  He was silent for a moment. “I understand. You know this is worrisome, right?”

  I finally looked over at him. “Why?”

  “They could do the same thing to you that they did to Elizabeth. I think I need to put you back on the pill, just in case. If you are raped, then at least you won’t get pregnant.”

  “I’m a little bit tougher than Elizabeth, I think. I could probably beat them up if they tried.”

  He chuckled. “Probably, but that’s beside the point.” He leaned closer to me. “Elizabeth told them more in the hospital. She was having an affair with Sami, the Arabic guard who held the gun to your head. She told him everything she’d heard from the Russians and the Chinese.”

  “So that’s why he was trying to kidnap me. They said I had information, but I don’t know what it would be. Maybe she told them a lot and they wanted to get the rest of the story.”

  “Maybe. It seems that the major countries in the Middle East are gearing up to start a war with the Chinese. Any inside information they could get would be beneficial to their cause.”

  How interesting. “Even with all the problems over there in the Middle East?”

  “They hope it’ll solidify everyone against a common enemy,” he said. “Then they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

  “So if they kidnap me, they’ll be able to start a war in Asia from any information I get?”

  “Yes. You’re more important than you know in more than one way.”

  “But I don’t know anything yet. Do they realize that?”

  He blew out a big breath and sat back on the couch, near the part where Ray had been sitting. “They probably wanted to bug you somehow so they’d have the information instantly. When you want to go to war with someone, if you have intelligence before any event happens, you could thwart it. If they did get any bit of intelligence, it could start World War III. If they see a weakness in China, they could move in, and the entire world would be thrown into turmoil.”

  I instantly wanted to run away and hide. Life sucked and I was at the center of all the suckiness.

  Chapter 17

  The night was awful. Jim and Holden kept watch over Elizabeth while she moaned and screamed out in pain and sickness. I tried to sleep, but it wasn’t happening.

  By four in the morning, I got out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed. I made a pot of coffee and sat down with my head falling to the dining room table.

  Jim walked into the kitchen. “You look great.”

  “Shoot me and get it over with.”

  “Did you get any sleep?”

  “No.” I lifted my head. “Did you?”

  “A little bit. She dozed off about two hours ago and I slept on the couch. I think Holden slept on the floor.”

  Yuck. The couch. I wondered if it was still wet.

  I pushed back my hair, not even caring if it was a mess. “How can you function?”

  He grinned. “You get used to it.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down beside me. A pill appeared in front of my plate. I guessed he put it there.

  “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the pill.

  “Your new prescription. I was at an all-night pharmacy around midnight and got it for you. It’ll take a few days to get used to it, but I think you’ll feel better. I know we’d all appreciate it if you felt better.”

  “I don’t even care right now.” I sucked up the medication, took a sip of coffee, and let my head fall back to the table. “I need a cigarette and I don’t have any here. I thought about wine, but I don’t think I can function to pour any.”

  “Good thing, too. Go back to bed. You don’t have to get up until the party tonight, right?”

  I tried to look at him, but my head fell onto the table again. This was miserable
. “I have to tutor today.”

  “Tutor? In what?”

  I lifted my head, just long enough to answer him. “Spanish. I work with the local high school to help them study enough to take my job. Good luck with that. I don’t think they know how dangerous it can be.” My head hit the table again with a thud, telling me what was in my brain.

  “What time?”

  My voice reverberated against the wooden table. “Ten.”

  He helped me to my feet and took me into the bedroom. “Go back to sleep or I’ll give you something to make you sleep.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  He put me back in bed and made me lay down again, talking the whole time. “Try me. I need you in top form tonight, and not tired. It’s a crucial meeting for world peace.”

  “I feel like a beauty queen contestant. ‘World Peace.’ I hate beauty contests. They’re so underhanded and snotty, just like when I lost that one to Sabrina Kowalski when I was a kid. I hated her, hated her family, and hated her money.”

  “You’re worse than ever.” He covered me with a blanket. “Want me to stay here until you fall asleep?”

  “No. Go away. I want everyone to go away.”

  He stared at me, spun on his heel, and left the room. The tears started down my cheeks and I turned away from the door. Yes, I was so tired, I even cried, which was very unlike me. I closed my eyes, and as I began to drift off to sleep, I felt a jab in my arm.

  I snapped my head to the side. “What was that?”

  “A sedative. Good night, Harley.” He chuckled and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

  ~~~~~

  Someone shook my arm. “Are you ready for dinner?”

  I covered my face with my hands. It was that late? I peeked out to see Jim and Holden staring at me. “Dinner?”

  “Yes,” Jim said. “You slept around the clock. That was one powerful sedative.” Jim looked over at Holden. “I’ve never heard her so quiet and pleasant.”

  “Nice comment.” I sat up and lowered my head. “Now I feel awful. I got too much sleep.”

  “That’s not possible.” Jim pulled me out of bed.

  “I need a cigarette and a bottle of wine.”

  “No, you don’t.” Jim made me stand beside him, with his hand on my waist. “A cigarette and wine will make you feel even worse. Trust me.”