The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.)

by Marnie Perry

  When she awoke an hour later she felt very refreshed…and hungry. She showered and changed then made herself beans on toast. After she'd eaten she remembered that she had not called David and Sally for almost three days, she reached for her phone and realised it was dead. That's what you get she thought, for only just coming into the techno age, you forgot that these things needed an energy supply every now and again. She plugged the phone into the charger, put on her sunglasses and went outside.

  There were less people, about now, just the elderly couple still sitting on chairs outside their cabin. She went over and introduced herself.

  They were very friendly. Adela hoped they would not be too friendly, then felt awful. She felt safer with them here but at the same time she did not want them invading her privacy, her space, as her brother Daniel would have said. She felt as though she was using them somehow.

  Their names were Connie and Cliff Young and they were from Maine. Adela asked them about Maine and said it sounded very nice indeed and she would certainly try to get there on her next trip. She told them about her tour of the southern states, they said that she was very brave to be doing this alone and if they could do anything for her while she was here she was to let them know at once.

  She thanked them then said she was going to go for a walk, they told her to be careful and she showed them her alarm thingy. (Which she had recharged not wanting to be caught out again.) They laughed and said they would keep an ear out for it, Adela said it was so loud they wouldn’t be able to do anything else. They laughed and Adela reassured said goodbye and went for her walk. She strolled into town and caught a shop, very much like Rose Hosewater’s in Alban only much bigger, just closing its doors. She asked if she could possibly have some chocolate and sweets. The owner, who Adela discovered was called Annie Bloom, laughed heartily and called over her employee Iris Johnson to come listen to the lady’s accent.

  They made her say sweets several times and then asked could she possibly say tomatoes. She did and they laughed again even more heartily. Adela did not take offence at their laughter; they meant no disrespect to her she knew that. They both told her to come back very soon when the shop was full so she could meet some more residents of Eden.

  She said she would, and leaving them laughing she made her way down the street, taking in her surroundings as she did so. There were several café’s, two bars, food and clothes shops, and to her great pleasure, a bookshop. Unfortunately it was closed but the notice on the door said it opened at 8.00am, Monday to Saturday, today was Sunday so they would be open tomorrow. Oh she would enjoy browsing around in there tomorrow that was for sure.

  She strolled along smiling at people, saying hello to some as they closed their shops or walked along the narrow pavements heading home or maybe to the bar for a quick drink. People smiled back and said hello in some surprise at her accent. She was feeling very much at home already. She felt so much better now, although she knew she would continue to think about Olivia, particularly while she was in this country. Nevertheless she intended to enjoy the rest of her vacation.

  By the time she had finished her exploration she was tired again so headed home to eat her chocolate bars and finish of the novel she had begun the day she had met Olivia.

  Then she got ready for bed, but sleep eluded her for a long time, which was not really surprising considering everything that had happened. She lay there staring at the ceiling well into the night and only eventually dropped off through sheer exhaustion.

  **********

  In the morning Adela rose early to a beautiful warm day although it did not seem quite as hot here as in Alabama, or maybe she was just getting used to the heat now.

  Despite the lack of sleep she felt surprisingly refreshed and optimistic. She showered and ate breakfast then went outside. She had decided she would visit the town again, maybe call in at Annie Bloom’s shop and give them all a laugh again.

  Then she would explore the woods that surrounded the cabins, but she would not go far and she would make sure there were others around. She would not venture into places alone, not just yet anyway, not until she was sure in her mind that the two men would not come looking for her. But she felt safe here, she was surrounded by people, and the town was only two or three hundred yards, the cabin was alarmed and she had her phone and alarm thingy.

  She stepped out into the sunshine, the first thing she would do is buy a hat, she would definitely need one. She made her way into the town again first stopping off at the book shop she had found the day before; it was almost 9.30 so the shop was open. A man was standing on a ladder which had wheels on the bottom so he could move around the shelves without climbing down.

  She said, ‘good morning.’

  He turned around and she noticed that he was about forty five, with brown hair just beginning to grey at the temples. Through his spectacles she could see his eyes were a pale blue. He was wearing that surprised look which almost everyone she had met wore the first time she spoke to them. He said, ‘good morning, ma’am.’ He climbed down from the ladder and removed his spectacles, ‘is there something I can help you with in particular today?’

  Up close he was bigger than first appeared maybe six feet and very well built, he obviously worked out, his muscles stretched the fabric of his shirt. She smiled at him, ‘well, I’m fond of crime.’

  He looked bewildered. She smiled and added, ‘I mean I like crime novels.’

  He grinned, ‘well I didn’t think a nice lady like you would be into crime, novels or otherwise.’

  She laughed, ‘maybe I’m not as nice you think.’

  He laughed loud and heartily then asked the inevitable questions, what she was doing here, where she was staying etcetera.

  As he showed her around he told her his name was Dean Maxwell and she told him her name. He and pointed out his best crime novels, surprisingly he had a very good selection for such a small shop. Michael Connolly, Robert Crais, Sam Smith, all of her favourites. She told him she had found heaven and he laughed that big laugh again.

  He asked if she had read any Charles Dickens and she said, ‘is he a cop or a private investigator?’

  He looked at her for a moment obviously trying to figure out whether she was serious. The big grin that appeared on her face gave him the answer and he burst out laughing.

  He showed her into the back of the shop where several tables and chairs, a sofa and half a dozen bean bag seats where laid out.

  He told her this was a place where people could come to read or chat and drink coffee…or tea; he smiled pointedly when he said that.

  She said she had seen these kinds of bookshops on the T.V but never in real life; there were certainly none in her home town. He told her that she would be very welcome to come here any time she wanted too. She said she would love a cup of tea now if it was not too much trouble. He told her that it was most certainly no trouble and bid her sit while he prepared it for her. She smiled to herself at the word prepare, he made it sound as if he was going to go through a ritual, like the Japanese tea ceremony.

  She sat and looked through some of the books that were left on the coffee tables until he came back with the tea. He watched her intently and expectantly as she sipped it waiting and hoping she knew for her approval. She told him that it was an excellent cup of tea.

  He beamed and said coming from a real English lady that was a compliment indeed. She had not needed to lie; it was indeed a very nice cup of tea.

  He said, ‘oh, I have something you might be interested in.’ He went to the front of the shop and pulled down a book from the travel section.

  He handed it to her saying, ‘that is a history of Mississippi, with lots of interesting and amusing stories. It also has an extensive list of places to visit, things to do, places you really should avoid. There are also maps of how to get there and how best to travel.’

  She was very interested in this and told him so, he was delighted.

  Just then the doorbell sounded indicating som
eone had come into the shop; he excused himself it seemed to Adela with reluctance.

  She sat and sipped her tea and looked through the book he had given to her. It was indeed very interesting and informative.

  He came back about ten minutes later, ’some people expect you to give away your stock, they don’t seem to know the difference between something you can pick up at any large bookstore, and rare.’

  Adela agreed, ‘I suppose people think they can get whatever they want to read at a library, so not many bother to buy books these days.’

  ‘That’s true…unfortunately for me.’

  She laughed, ‘well, you have a buyer here; I’ll take this very interesting book on Mississippi, these three crime novels and the Oscar Wilde.’

  He made no attempt to hide his pleasure; he obviously did not get such a big sale everyday.

  She paid cash for the books, which surprised him. She told him that she had drawn out too much money from the ATM and now wanted to get rid of some of it; she did not like to carry a lot of cash around with her. He understood.

  In truth she had a lot of the money she had drawn out for Olivia. She had given her 8,000 in dollars and Euros. She had also paid for the taxi, her own train fare and the motel with some of it, so now she was stuck with the rest until she could get to the bank and put it back in. She did not want to admit to herself that she was still nervous about using her credit card, but if someone was tracking it, therefore her, they would wonder why she wasn’t using it, that she had something to hide. Talk about second guessing. Talk about being paranoid.

  She put these thoughts from her mind as she said goodbye to Dean Maxwell and exited the shop. She had had a nice morning chatting and reading and talking about books. It was an excellent start to her stay in Mississippi.

  She strolled down the street until she found the shop owned by Annie Bloom. She needed to get a hat pretty quickly as the sun was burning “fierce like,” as the waitress, Jill had said.

  She was smiling as she entered the shop. Annie bloom almost screamed from the other end of the shop, ‘here she is, here’s the English lady.’

  Six heads and twelve pairs of eyes turned in her direction, she felt more on display than the mannequins in the window but she kept the smile saying, ‘good morning.’

  Annie came rushing over took her arm and said, ‘come right in, Miss. Faraday and welcome.’ She introduced the three customers, all women, and the other employee Adela had not met the evening before.

  Then Annie said, ‘what can we do for you today, Miss. Faraday.’

  ‘Well first, you can call me Adela.’

  ‘Well isn’t that mighty friendly of ya now.’ She called out to everyone present, ‘ain’t that mighty friendly of her?’

  They all nodded and agreed that it was indeed “mighty friendly.”

  Adela could have stood here all day and just listened to them talking. She said, ‘I need a hat, this one is a little, well, dull, and obviously it’s too hot out there to go without so...

  She was interrupted by Annie, ‘that’s very sensible, very sensible indeed. Isn’t that sensible everyone?’

  They all agreed that it was very sensible indeed. To have laughed as she so desperately wanted to would appear rude, so she just smiled a very big smile as Annie took her arm and led her towards a wide assortment of hats arranged according to size, not head, but hat size.

  She picked up one that was very similar to the one she had given to Olivia but she wanted, or rather needed, something different.

  She picked up a pale blue wide brimmed cloth hat, it had flowers around the brim as her own had had, but these were purple and lilac and orange, and the ribbons for tying the hat under the chin were dark blue rather than yellow. She liked it; she liked the contrast of colours.

  She tried it on and the other women oohed and aahed and told her that it suited her just fine.

  Adela looked at herself in the mirror turning this way and that and agreed with the ladies assessment that it did indeed suit her just fine. She told Annie that she would take it.

  The women applauded her choice and Adela felt as if she should bow but restrained herself.

  She was made to sit and drink a glass of lemonade and chat with the women, and so passed another very pleasant hour.

  She eventually left Annie Bloom’s shop but not before she had promised to come back again very soon. She made the promise and meant it. As she left the shop she wondered if the three customers stayed in there all day just chatting.

  She felt like singing as she made her way along the street, stopping to look in shop windows as she went. She saw a diner, barbers shop, a feed store and a computer shop, which seemed out of place somehow. A hardware store, a drug store and a police station not much bigger than the little barbers shop. As she passed she saw a man sitting at a desk a mug of something, probably coffee, in his hand, and a woman talking on the phone and laughing, they both seemed very relaxed. Maybe they didn’t have much crime here in Eden. Eden, she thought, it was aptly named. She was to remember that thought later.

  **********

  Hennessey having gotten rid of Sammy was sitting in his car his knees on the steering wheel, his laptop resting on his thighs. Getting information from Sammy had not been very difficult at all. Sammy was a talker and once he trusted someone that was it, they got everything, even stuff they didn’t need to know, or at least Hennessy didn’t. He had gotten frustrated with him but tried not to show it. He discovered that Sammy had seen The Target and a young girl in Mobile in a big white car. Two men had been with them talking. Then the older woman, (The Target obviously) had signed something then the men had gotten into another car and left. The two ladies had gotten into the big white car and driven down the street towards the interstate heading north, the younger woman driving.

  Trying not to be too obvious, Hennessey had asked if he was sure it was the same lady who was doing a tour of the southern states. Sammy after frowning deeply had said he was very sure, well, as sure as he could be, he was almost certain. Hennessy had felt like doing him there and then but resisted the urge. He did not ask Sammy to describe the younger girl; wherever she went she would alter her appearance anyway.

  So he had come to the conclusion that both women had left town in a hire car and headed north, but to where. But Sammy did say that a lot of people seemed to be very interested in the foreign woman with the hat and at Hennessey's querying look told him about being questioned by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which Hennessey already knew of course, but it proved once again that Sammy was as he's thought, guileless and innocent.

  But Sammy looked also looked concerned and Hennessey came to the conclusion that Glissando's two goons had probably said too much and aroused even Sammy's suspicions. Hennessey did not make that mistake and said no more about the woman.

  Now he was checking on credit cards transactions that The Target might have made in the last few hours. He didn’t really expect anything so he was surprised when an amount for twelve thousand dollars came up. When he saw what the twelve grand was for he laughed so hard he expected a passer-by to knock on his car door asking if he was all right and did he need a doctor?

  A private plane, of course. This woman had money then, more money than she had transferred into an American bank account to use as spending money while she was here, a lot more.

  Again he let his admiration for this woman take hold of him. She would not be the easy prey he had thought she would be. She was smart and savvy, but she had a weakness, a weakness he didn’t have, she was compassionate. She cared about people, cared enough to spend fifteen thousand dollars on a private plane for a stranger in need. And this weakness had enabled her to be tracked down and would ultimately lead to her downfall.

  He said out loud, ‘it’s a shame, Miss. Adela Faraday, under normal circumstances I would have liked to get to know you better, but right now you’re just an information receptacle, a job worth five million dollars to me. Pity.

  But had she
gone with the girl to wherever the plane was heading? And if so would she come back or go home? He picked up his cell phone and dialled a number when it was answered he gave no preliminary greeting but said abruptly, ‘I need you to check something for me.’

  The person on the other end of the phone was hesitant but said, ‘what do you need?’

  ‘I need you to check the flight manifest for a private plane that may have left yesterday or early today,' he gave him what details he had, 'I want to know when it will take off if it hasn't already and where the plane is headed. I want the name or names of the passengers. Also, check with Hertz and find out where a car that was leased by them to Adela Anne Faraday was driven too and if she’s bringing it back to Alabama.’

  There was a deep sigh at the other end of the line, ‘I’ll call you back.’

  The phone went dead and Hennessey switched it off. His source didn’t like him, was afraid of him, but he didn’t need him to like him as long as he continued to get information for him as and when he required it. And it was sometimes a good thing to have people afraid of you; they worked all the harder to please.

  While he waited he sat and thought about how he would spend his five mil. Maybe he would write a book about his exploits. Maybe he would buy his own island. He would certainly buy his own plane, not a big Lear jet or anything poncey like that, no, a little light aircraft, just to take him from A to B. Or maybe the idea of the ranch like his grandparents had would be the best way to go. Somewhere in Mississippi perhaps, somewhere isolated. But he knew he would never do that, if he had learned nothing else it was that you could never go back, could not and should not, ever go back.

  Just as he was daydreaming about planes and islands his phone rang, he said, ‘what kept you.’

  The guy said, ‘if you want things done right try to learn a little patience.’

  ‘Oh aren’t we feeling brave.’

  ‘I’m just saying is all.’