by Dan Kelly
For an uncomfortable minute, there was no response from the Chameleon, but then he answered with, “The situations called for my actions. “King’s behavior in refusing to obey my command to come back to me was very strange. It raised alarm bells in my mind that told me to make myself scarce as fast as possible. Fortunately, I came prepared for just such an emergency. As for the Go For It encounter, I went there to try to intimidate Red Borman, to try to provoke him into doing something physical, so that I could use my stun gun on him. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as I had hoped. When the security guy approached me asking why I was annoying people by staring at them, I knew I had to get out of there pronto, so I zapped him and beat it.
“I’m tired of playing the hit and run game I’ve been playing, Ms. Prevot. I’ve decided to change the rules and pick up the tempo.”
“Well then, does this mean that you don’t want any more help from me? Are you just going to concentrate on continuing to create havoc wherever Mr. Borman is concerned, hoping to bring enough pressure to bear on him so that he’ll throw in the towel and on his colleagues and friends so they will abandon him? This would ruin him in this town that’s for sure, but so what?
“Mr. Borman hasn’t done anything to you. He’s just a means to an end. Your entire purpose for dumping on him is to punish his brother Nate. Is this all you want to do? Shouldn’t you be striving to have the authorities take a closer look at the roles Nate Borman and the apartment building owner played in the fire that caused your brother’s death? Shouldn’t your energy and abilities be focused on uncovering who and what was responsible for that fire and not on hurting the brother of someone you suspect, suspect mind you, not know, suspect, might be involved in a cover up?
“I can understand you wanting to vent your anger. I’ve been there and done that. Trust me when I say it won’t solve anything.”
Looking at the Chameleon while waiting for some answers, Jillian is beginning to think she’s stepped out of line. “Oh boy, if the stoic expression on this guy’s face is any indication, he’s tuned me out. I’m blowing it.”
Before she can think of anything else to say, the Chameleon’s face turns beet red and all of his pain, frustration and anger come pouring out of his mouth in a tirade of epithets, accusations and condemnations. If anger was a liquid, the SUV would be overflowing. “They are all going to pay. They are all going to experience the anguish I’m going through before I am done. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get even. The first one on my list is Nate Borman and then I’ll go after the apartment building owner.”
By this time Jillian is truly frightened and is afraid to say anything for fear it will direct his anger at her, so she remains quiet as the proverbial church mouse. Gradually, the color of the Chameleon’s face, his breathing, the viselike grip on the steering wheel all return to normal. After about ten minutes he says, “ In answer to your first question, yes I want you to continue working with me, but I’m going to stay the course I’ve chosen unless a better one comes along.”
Even though he’s talking more civilly, Jillian can still see signs of a great deal of tension in the set of his mouth and in the stiffness of his posture. She’s got to be very careful about what she says and how she says it. She doesn’t want to set him off again.
“Mr. Carducci, you might be interested in hearing about a meeting that’s going to take place aboard the Floating Fantasies tomorrow afternoon. Red Borman, his brother Nate, Clyde Crowley the apartment building owner, Sergeant Chuck Corrigan of the Bettendorf Police Department who’s the investigating officer on the robberies that took place at the Palladian Palace and the Go For It as well as the incident with the Floating Fantasies on its latest cruise up the Mississippi, and myself are getting together to discuss what can be done to defuse the highly volatile ambience that permeates the atmosphere wherever Red Borman might be, thanks to you. We’re going to try to come up with a course of action that will more expediently address your concerns over how the investigation of the fire was handled and hopefully resolve the issue of impropriety to everyone’s satisfaction.
Even though the Chicago Arson Department has reopened the apartment house fire investigation, the bureaucratic wheels can take a lot of time to get up to speed.
“All of us are deeply concerned over the possibility that the initial investigation was not through enough, was not conducted properly, that someone caused material facts to be covered up. This is going to be a “no holds barred’ type of meeting where people will be questioned by everybody and expected to answer. Responses will be evaluated, assimilated and conclusions drawn. If it is determined that one or more people present may have conducted themselves in an inappropriate manner, the findings will be turned over to the authorities for confirmation of our findings and the guilty party or parties will be prosecuted.
“Would you be willing to hold off on whatever you’re planning to do next and give us a chance to put an end to all of this once and for all?”
Surprisingly without hesitation the Chameleon responded with, “I’ll have to think about it.”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear. A yes would have been a lot better, but it’s a lot better than a no.”
“When will you let me know?”
“I’ll let you know when I know.”
“How will you let me know?”
“Through my actions. I’ll either do nothing or something.”
“Oh great! Being on pins and needles is not my favorite position.”
“I guess that will have to do. Please take me back to the parking lot now. I’ve got a busy afternoon ahead of me. Oh, one more thing. How do I get ahold of you when I want to talk with you?”
“You can continue to use the code we agreed to on your web site. I’ll get back to you by phone or hook up with you in person like I did today.”
They drove back to the parking lot in silence. He dropped her off without saying a word and drove away.
“Whew, that’s not the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but at least we’re still talking and we’re still in the game.”
Chapter 40
Jillian showed up at Red’s office a half hour late and with a somewhat mischievous smile on her face said, “I’m sorry for being late, but do I have an earful for you. Let’s go. I’m starved. I’ll fill you in over lunch.”
It was a beautiful sunny day, the sky was cloudless, the temperature in the low 80s but moderated somewhat by a gentle cool breeze blowing across the deck from the river, so they decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the on deck snack bars out by the pool.
When Jillian finishes telling Red about her little ride with the Chameleon, Red is staring at her in amazement. Once again he’s impressed by her courage, but his growing affection for her compels him to chide her for taking such a risk.
“Jillian, it took guts to get into that SUV, but it was a very foolish thing to do. This guy’s behavior is so unpredictable and he’s getting more and more aggressive with each passing day. He’s teetering on the edge of losing all self-control and if that happens berserk won’t begin to define what he’ll become. Please don’t take any more chances like that. I want you to be around, so I can get to know you better.”
“Now you’ve done it, Casanova. When are you going to learn to keep your big mouth shut and not make a fool of yourself?”
With a slight raise of an eyebrow and casual tilt of her head to the side, a very provocative grin broke out on her face as she said, “Well, that’s sounds interesting.”
“Okay, chowder head, it’s your move. What’s it going to be?”
Fortunately, Red’s saved by the bell, literally, when his cell phone rings. It’s Bill Kieffer calling to tell him he picked up Red’s mail at his house like Red asked him to and it appears that Red has received a summons to report for jury duty.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope, it’s the real deal.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m heading over to C
huck’s office to finish our discussion on the best stake out scenario for the little charade we’re putting on for the Chameleon. We got interrupted yesterday by the robbery at the Go For It.”
“Okay, Bill, thanks for touching base. I’ll get back to you with the time our little show will go on. It will be sometime tomorrow afternoon. Jillian and Sylvia still have some work to do on the dialogue which they should finish by, hold on a sec.”
Looking at Jillian to fill in the blank, she says, “We should be done by four this afternoon.”
“Bill, the ladies should be ready to go by four this afternoon. Nate and Clyde Crowley should be here by that time as well, so we can get right at doing some practice reading. Try to be here by then, okay?”
“Will do, Red. Bye.”
With a questioning look on her face Jillian asks, “What was the surprising news Bill had for you? The look on your face when you heard it wasn’t a happy one.”
“I’ve been summoned for jury duty. The way my luck’s been running lately I’ll be picked for one of those long running trials that lasts for months. Ah, nuts, nuts, nuts!”
With a soft laugh she says, “Hey, Red, stay cool. If it wasn’t for bad luck or bad timing once in a while, we’d never appreciate the good. We’re going to get this guy. We just have to hang in there.” Slapping the table she added, “I’ve got to get a move on and get back to Sylvia’s office so we can finish up with the dialogue. Thanks for lunch and I’ll see you at four in your office.”
With that she rose and quickly disappeared down the promenade, leaving Red to wonder what the hell was going to happen next?
He didn’t have to wonder long. As he was walking back to his office, Popeye comes running down the deck behind him and yells, “Hold up a minute, Red.”
When he catches up with him he says, “I just got a call from a reporter at the Bettendorf Bugle. He said he just received an anonymous phone call from some guy claiming that he has planted a bomb on the Floating Fantasies that’s set to go off in one hour. The caller said he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wants to destroy the ship. When the reporter asked him why he was doing this, the caller hung up.
“I’ve told Bill what’s happened and he’s called Chuck who is having the bomb squad dispatched as we speak. It’s going to take them way more than an hour to search this ship, so I’ve got to evacuate her. It could be a hoax just to create havoc. There are a lot of kooks out there who get off on something like this, but my money’s on the Chameleon. No matter who’s behind it, I can’t take the chance that there’s no bomb and do nothing.”
“You’re right, Popeye, you can’t gamble with people’s lives. I believe you’re also right in thinking that this is another of the Chameleon’s tricks. What really scares me is that he might be getting desperate enough to bring me down that he would actually plant a live bomb on the Floating Fantasies.
“Okay, Popeye, do what you have to do. I’ll get ahold of Jillian, Sylvia, Bill and Rex and we’ll head over to the Go For It and wait to hear from you there. I’ll call Nate and Clyde Crowley and let them know there’s been a change in plans and to meet us at the Go For It.”
Red hightails it back to his office and manages to alert everyone about the latest development and instructs them to meet him at the Go For It in the main lounge ASAP.
A half hour later there all assembled and Red says, “This is where we stand folks. It’s going to take the bomb squad awhile to search the Floating Fantasies. Popeye knows we’re here and will keep us informed as to what’s happening with the search. In the meantime, Jillian and Sylvia can continue working on the dialogue for the meeting. Did you ladies bring your notes with you?”
Sylvia said, “Everything we worked up so far is on my laptop which I’ve brought with me, so we can pick up where we left off.”
“Good. Bill, let Chuck know what’s going on and that we’ll get back to him when we’re ready for some practice reading. I know you didn’t have any time to talk with him since I called you back here while you were on your way to meet with him. How long do you think it will be before you guys get the security arrangements worked out?”
“We discussed the arrangements over the phone during my drive back to meet with you folks. We’ve worked things out as best we can with the manpower that’s available. With Popeye’s buddies blocking all possible avenues of escape, we should be able to get the job done.”
“I sure hope so.”
Red paused for a moment as he was in the process of making a decision and then he continued with, “I was going to call Nate and Clyde Crowley to let them know what’s going on and ask them to meet us here at the Go For It, but I realize now that they’re probably in the process of boarding their flight for the trip down here.
“I could call the airport and try to arrange for someone to get a message to them when they arrive to call me here, but the way my luck’s been running lately it wouldn’t get to them. The next best thing for me to do is meet them at the airport, so that’s what I’m going to do. Rex, since events have probably totally screwed up the rest of your schedule for today, would you like to join me?”
Rex nodded his head and said, “Let’s go.”
On the way to the airport, Rex was quiet and Red decided to break the silence by saying, “I’m sorry I’ve brought this kind of trouble down on you, Rex. I know how much you love that fifteen million dollar lady of yours and, if there was any way I could changes things, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to do so.
“Unfortunately, the only course open to me is to deal with this maniac head on. Just like the bomb he may have planted on the Floating Fantasies, he has to be defused, disassembled and made harmless.”
Looking over at Red, he responded with, “Don’t be misled by my silence, Red. I’m not sitting here worrying about what might happen to the Floating Fantasies although it would make me extremely unhappy if she was damaged in any way. She’s fully insured. What I’m thinking about is what I’m going to do to this guy if I ever get my hands on him. I don’t care about what his personal problems are. He’s messing with me and what I care about and he’s going to regret it.
“I told you when I hired you that I would stand behind you in this one hundred percent. I’ve told you this before and I don’t want to have to say it again, you got me?”
“I got you.”
“Good, now I do have one concern that’s rapidly swelling into a major tumor of apprehension. What do we do if the time required to sweep the Floating Fantasies for a bomb or, God forbid, they find a bomb and it has to be defused or delicately removed to be defused someplace else, what do we do if either one of these scenarios doesn’t leave enough time for the hologram techs to set up for the meeting tomorrow afternoon? Do we go live? If we do, the risk level is going to go through the roof.”
‘I don’t have an answer for you. We’ll just have to wait and see. If we’re left with the choice of going or not going live, I’ll put it up for a vote. The only way we’ll go live is if everyone is willing to take the risk.”
Not completely mollified by Red’s response, Rex went back to being quiet and staring at nothing in particular.
The flight arrived as scheduled and Red and Rex met his brother Nate and Clyde Crowley in the Arrival Lounge.
“Hi, big brother, it’s good to see you again.”
“And hi to you, little brother. It looks like I’ve got to bail your butt out of a jam again. Aren’t you ever going to change?”
“I’m trying, Nate. I really am, but I just can’t seem to pull it off”
With big grins on their faces, they gave each other big hugs and several hardy slaps on the back and then stepped back to exchange introductions.
Clyde looked a lot like his brother, but that’s where the similarity apparently ended. On the drive back to the Go For It, after Red had filled them in on the bomb threat, they all had a chance to engage in a little getting to know one another chit chat. Unlike his brother Curtis, Clyde seemed to be a laid back k
ind of guy with a keen sense of humor and a genuine people person who didn’t always put himself first. Red liked the guy right off the bat.
