by Simon Wood
kitchen. She arranged the flowers in a vase and placed it on the kitchen table.
In the living room, Josh flopped onto the couch, exhaled and ran his hands through his hair. Kate came
into the living room and sat on the coffee table in front of him.
“How did you get on?”
“Okay, I guess.” He paused. “I don’t know. We
didn’t find anything out really.”
“Tell me,” Kate said.
Abby bounded down the stairs and ran into the living room.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said.
Standing over Kate, looking as menacing as an eightyear-old could, Abby asked, “Can we go now?”
Kate smiled and slipped an arm around her daughter.
“I suppose so.”
“Go where?” Josh asked.
“The zoo,” Kate said. “I was waiting until you got back. You coming?”
The zoo brought back a recent unpleasant memory.
“No, I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ve got some paperwork to put together for the FAA.”
“Okay. Your loss.”
She got herself and Abby ready for their afternoon at the zoo. Josh saw them out. Before he closed the door, Kate said, “Miss you.”
He busied himself with the task of producing the
documentation for the destroyed Cessna. In his office, he removed his copies of the certificate of airworthiness, technical logs, insurance certificates and other
mandatory documentation that would be requested for inspection.
He still had to inform the insurance company that the airplane had been destroyed. That was a nuisance he could do without. Insurance companies were the bane of his life at the moment. He picked up the phone and started to dial the claims line.
The doorbell chimed.
Josh put the phone down and answered the door, his thoughtful mood shattered upon opening it. Belinda Wong stood on the porch.
“You asshole!” Her beautiful oval shaped face was screwed up in hate. She pushed the door wide open and walked in without invitation.
Josh checked that none of his neighbors had seen
Bell’s arrival and quickly closed the door behind her.
“What are you doing here?”
“You know why I’m here, Josh.” She spat his name
like she had venom in her mouth. “And don’t worry.
Your wife and kid didn’t see me. I can see the look on your face.”
She was right. Her invasion of his home in broad
daylight terrified him. But she didn’t have to rub his face in it. Throwing her out by the scruff of her neck seemed a very appealing option, but the undesirable scene it would bring prevented him.
“I’ve been waiting for your family to leave all morning,”
she continued.
“What do you want, Bell?” Josh demanded.
“You coward. Sending your fat friend, Bob, to tell me not to ruin your little family unit.” She mocked him by speaking in baby talk. “Did you tell him to do that?”
“No, I didn’t. And I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
Bell shook her head in disgust.
“Why did you crash the party, Bell? I paid you as you asked and I shouldn’t have seen you again.”
“Because I wanted to, because I want you to know
that I can drop into your life any time I want and I don’t need to ask.” She scraped an index finger with a wicked looking manicured nail under Josh’s chin. The nail rasped against his stubble when she curled her finger back sharply.
Anger, hate and frustration welled up inside him. He should have known that Bell’s return hadn’t been intended to be a brief encounter. She toyed with him like
a cat with a mouse and he wondered when would she go in for the kill. He’d had enough.
“How much to make you disappear forever?” he
asked.
“Josh, that’s only half your problem. You think
money will solve everything. If you hadn’t been so fascinated with the stuff, you would never have gotten
yourself into this shit pile you’re in now.”
“That’s bullshit, Bell. I took that money because I needed it for Abby’s medical treatment and you know it.”
Suddenly, Bell softened. She became seductive, sexual.
“Josh, you know it doesn’t have to be like this. You know what you have to do to stop all this …”—she searched for the word—“unpleasantness. Don’t you, Josh?”
Josh allowed her to come close to him. She slipped an arm around his neck and looked into his eyes. His body went rigid, unbending to her will. He resisted her.
“No, I don’t, Bell.”
“Leave that wife and brat of yours for me, of course.
Silly boy.” She oozed sex and temptation.
Raising a hand to his face, Bell caressed his cheek and kissed his mouth. The kiss was brief. He slapped her hand down, then gripped her wrist and twisted it behind her back. The kiss had been broken before she could make it openmouthed. Bell released a short
laugh, taking pleasure from Josh’s rough play.
“I don’t think so,” he whispered.
She laughed. “You seem in the mood to play. Are you sure?”
“Never in a million years would I ever want you
back.”
He released her arm and pushed her away with a
sharp shove to the chest. He’d washed his hands of her.
He didn’t want her.
Bell stumbled back, nearly falling, but saved herself by steadying herself against a small table with the telephone on it. The impact rocked the table and the telephone fell, the receiver clattering to the hardwood
floor.
Hatred consumed her face again. “You prick, Josh.
You think you’re so righteous, so perfect. Well, I’m not the one who took a bribe, cheated on my wife and
screwed my secretary. Josh, you’re going to be so sorry when I’ve finished with you.”
“And are you going to do that alone, Bell? Or are you going to get your new friend involved?”
Bewilderment crossed Bell’s face.
“You know, the guy who pushed me off the bridge. I saw you with him at the party.”
After a long moment, recognition, then a malicious grin spread across her face. Still slumped against the table, Bell righted herself. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Well?” Josh wanted an answer. Was James Mitchell her partner?
“Fuck you, Josh. I think I have the answer I was
looking for from you. And you will be hearing from me … in one way or another. Or your wife will.”
“Get out!” he barked, shaking with rage.
“Suit yourself,” she said, the evil grin still present on her face. She opened the door and let herself out.
“Dammit!” Josh said to himself, his hands balled up into fists.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The park was a full city block of grass in the downtown area, one of several plots scattered throughout downtown like green property squares on a Monopoly
board. The children’s playground occupied one corner of the park. Unsupervised and shrouded by trees, it was home to tire swing sets, slides, monkey bars, seesaws and a merry-go-round, all contained in a sandbox.
Abby had the playground to herself. It was late in the afternoon, and she had free run of the amusements and no petty arguments about whose turn was next. It was every child’s dream and today, Abby’s had come true.
Abby’s good fortune wasn’t because of good timing or knowing an out-of-the-way place. She had the playground to herself because most of the city parks were
populated with bums spending their days lounging or panhandling, and parents feared their children coming in contact with an undesirable. They would rather take them to more secure places. However, this park playground was th
e exception. Not in a part of town heavily
populated with city workers who had money to
give, the park was virtually unmolested by bums who gravitated to places with better pickings.
Squealing, Abby came down the slide, her dress riding up and wedging under her bottom. Wagging his
tail, Wiener waited at the bottom of the slide and barked in time to Abby’s squeal. She ran back to the steps to climb up for another go.
Josh and Kate occupied two of the swings. The
adults looked like giants on the swingset designed for children. Josh stretched out his long legs far in front of him, his heels digging into the sand. Kate rocked slowly back and forth. They watched their daughter at play.
Neither said anything to the other.
Low in the sky, the sun cast shadows on the narrow streets. A gentle breeze ruffled the trees, producing a sound similar to waves lapping a sandy beach.
Kate shuddered. “I’m getting cold. What time is it?”
Josh looked at his watch. “Just after five.”
“I think we’ll go in a minute,” Kate said to Josh; then called to Abby, “Another five minutes then we’re going, sweets.”
Both Abby and Wiener looked Kate’s way at the bottom of the slide. “Oh, Mom! Can’t we stay longer? I’m not tired or anything,” Abby whined, as only kids can.
“We’ll have five minutes to think about it and let you know. Okay?” Josh said.
Abby nodded happily and ran off toward the monkey bars, Wiener bouncing after her.
“Why the delay?” Kate asked.
Josh started to speak, but the words didn’t come.
Kate turned in the swing, twisting the chains above her. “Come on, Josh, spit it out. You brought us here and you haven’t had two words to say in the last hour.
I’ve talked and you’ve stared into the distance.”
Josh took a breath and released it as a sigh. After Bell’s visit yesterday, he knew it was better he told her now rather than Bell telling her later. He turned to face Kate. “There’s something I want to tell you. It’s something I should have told you a long time ago. It’s something I did. Something that I think is coming back to
hurt me and indirectly can hurt us.”
Fear passed across Kate’s face like a shadow and the sparkle in her eyes dulled. He saw her mind working, trying to guess what he’d done. Would she be close?
Could she imagine the things he’d done? If she couldn’t, he would hurt her with his next statement. If she could, what did that say about them? Either way, it made this confession all the more difficult. Josh wrung his hands together and looked at them.
“Remember when Abby had that kidney and liver infection after she was born? She was in the hospital for
such a long time and you didn’t leave her side. You were with her virtually day and night.”
Memories of that time bombarded him, cutting short his explanation. He relived those terrifying weeks seeing his first child fight to survive and him powerless to do anything to save her.
“Yes, of course I remember,” she said softly.
“You’ve got to understand I did it for the right reasons and I didn’t want to worry you.”
Fear forced Kate to squirm. “Josh, tell me. Please.”
“You were so scared for Abby. Worried whether she would pull through. I don’t know what I would have done if she’d died.”
Kate grabbed his wrist. “Jesus, Josh, don’t say that.
Don’t even think things like that.”
Josh stopped rocking on the swing and he stared into her eyes for recognition. “But I did and you can’t say you didn’t think the same, either.”
She looked away from him. “Oh, Josh.”
“It’s okay to admit it. Look, she’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with her and she’s great.” He lifted Kate’s face so she looked at him, then turned his gaze to Abby.
Red-faced, Abby hung upside down from the climbing frame, her hair hanging down. Her arms outstretched, she stroked Wiener, who stood beneath her.
She spotted her parents looking at her. “Are my five minutes up?”
“No, not yet,” Josh said.
“Cool.”
Josh couldn’t help smiling.
“What did you do, Josh?”
His smile melted. “She wasn’t getting better and the medical bills were piling up. The insurance was stretched to the max and MediCal couldn’t help us.”
“Josh, you said the insurance would cover it.”
“It didn’t.”
“What did you do?” she repeated, dread eating up
her face.
“I remember the crying. I couldn’t bear to listen to it.
It was like listening to fingernails being drawn down a blackboard.” He shuddered at memories of years past, the despair rising to the surface. “The insurance was saying they wouldn’t pay out any further and the doctors said they needed to carry out more procedures. I
didn’t know what we were going to do.”
Kate placed a comforting hand on Josh’s knees.
“Tell me.”
“I was carrying out building inspections on an apartment development in Dixon. The construction company
had cut corners to make a profit and they knew it would never make the grade.” He stopped looking at Kate again and stared into the sand at his feet
“What did you do?” she whispered.
“They offered me ten thousand to sign the development off as safe.”
“And you took it.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Josh.” Her hand slipped from his knee.
“I took it happily,” he blurted. She needed to understand.
“I saw it as our way to save Abby. You’ve
got to understand I didn’t do it for greed. I did it out of necessity.”
Kate’s face said it all. Disappointment scarred her expression, but Josh expected that. This kind of news didn’t come with a round of applause and a ticker tape parade. He was just glad she wasn’t angry.
“How dangerous is the development?”
“Not very. The owners are likely to have problems with subsidence or structural integrity over time. I don’t know how well it would hold up in earthquake conditions, but it would have to be a very large quake to have an effect in Dixon and that’s very unlikely.”
“Josh, why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“I couldn’t. You were too preoccupied with Abby at the time and too happy when she was well. I didn’t want to burst your bubble. But I promised myself I would tell you when the time was right.” He paused. “I never found the right moment.”
“Until now. Why?”
“Someone knows and they used it against me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Blackmail.”
“How much?”
“Fifty-five thousand, so far.”
“Fifty-five thousand? Where did that money come
from? You haven’t been taking more bribes, have you?”
Josh recoiled. “Christ, no. I only did it the once. They did try me again, but I left rather than be in someone’s pocket. That’s why I got out of the construction business altogether. I didn’t want to get involved again.”
“So how did you pay the blackmailer?”
“With a life insurance policy. I sold it.”
“You sold your life insurance? What if you’d been killed last week, what would have happened if you had no insurance?” Kate’s temper began to slip.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got insurance. I started a new policy after I sold the other one. It was a quick way to raise money.”
Kate calmed down. “So why the big confession all of a sudden?”
“I think what’s been happening to me recently has something to do with it—the car accident, the wreath, the guy at the party. I think the blackmailer is calling in the marker. I think someone is going to release my part to the press.”
“D
o you know who’s doing this?”
“Yes.”
“Was it the man with Bob?”
“No. I think he’s a hired hand. We checked him out and he doesn’t work for Pinnacle.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t want to say.”
“I think it’s a bit late for what you want,” Kate said sternly.
Josh had hoped to keep this detail from Kate. “It’s Belinda Wong.”
“Your secretary?” She was incredulous. “How did
she find out?”
“She overheard a phone call,” Josh lied. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her about their affair. He would, but just not now. Neither of them could handle the enormity of it all. That was what he told himself.
“Go to the police.”
“I can’t.”
“I don’t care.”
“I’ll be ruined.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Let me deal with it. I’ll finish it.”
“Abby, we’re going,” Kate fired across the playground.
“Oh,”
she whined.
“Now, Abby,” Kate snapped. She stood up from the
swing and walked away from her husband.
“Kate, tell me what you’re thinking. Kate, Kate,
please,” Josh called after her.
She didn’t answer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sitting at the front desk, two security guards occasionally glanced at the surveillance monitors. The main focus of their attention was on the fourteen-inch portable television perched on top of the bank of monitors. One guard got up from his seat and changed channels. The other guard checked his watch.
“Patrol time.” He picked up his walkie-talkie and set off for the elevator. “Tell me if anything good happens, eh?”
“Sure,” the other guard said, without taking his eyes off the screen.
At seven p.m., they were only two hours into their shift and a shitload of television would be watched before their time at Pinnacle Investments was over at
seven the next morning.
The building was quiet in its slumber. The burble of activity of buying and selling investment interests was on hold. The only sounds came from the television and its bored viewers, the hum of the fluorescent lights and the bleeps of a phone being dialed from an office on the top floor in the east wing.
In his office, Dexter Tyrell tapped a number into a cellular phone. The phone was registered neither to him nor to Pinnacle Investments, per the professional’s instructions. He was contacting his hired killer. He wanted a progress report, and more importantly, he wanted results. He needed results.
