“I am hungry, thank you. I notice that you know my name?” inquired John.
“My house lady told me about you, Mr. Russo.” said the house maid.
“Oh. Thank you. I will be at the lunch table in a few minutes.” said John, heading to the washroom.
When he returned, the table was laid out for him. It was a small lunch table, with enough space for two guests. John took the seat to his left and the maid started serving him. John was about to start eating when he heard a familiar voice.
“Starting without me, detective?” asked the Lipstick Woman.
“Well, I was hungry. I also did not think you would mind.” said John.
“I don’t mind at all.” she said, taking the seat opposite him. The maid had already laid out a place setting for her as well. With her job done, the maid retired to the kitchen.
“She seems really nice. This is the first home cooked food I have eaten in almost three days. It’s really tasty.” said John, enjoying the food.
“She has been taking care of me ever since I was a young child. She is all the family I have.” said the Lipstick Woman.
“Oh. I am sorry to hear that. Your parents, I mean.” said John.
“That is alright, detective. My parents died a long time ago. I have also gotten over it a long time ago. I do miss them occasionally, but that is just how it is.” said the Lipstick Woman.
The two ate their lunch casually, as they still had only so much time to spare. An hour passed and a few minutes after that, the trackers on the screen started moving. The container vessel was moving across the map and her computer was tracking its progress. The vessel must have travelled for about thirty minutes, when it stopped abruptly. Then, something odd happened. Of all the trackers that had been placed, two of them started moving while the rest stayed stationary. The Lipstick Woman refocused the map and zoomed in on the relevant location.
They noticed that the two trackers were being moved slightly to the right of their current location. They kept moving slowly for about five minutes, and then they both stopped. After a few minutes, the trackers started moving again. The two trackers started moving in one direction and the remaining three resumed the previous path that they were already set on. John appeared surprised by this, but the Lipstick Woman kept her expression intact, almost as if she was expecting something like that to happen. They kept watch on the map, even as the trackers kept moving. About thirty minutes later, the two trackers stopped moving after having arrived on an island that was not too far from Primer City. The Lipstick Woman made a note of the location. With this information in their pockets, they decided to leave her home.
They left the Lipstick Woman’s apartment at 4 o’clock. As they drove from the apartment, the Lipstick Woman explained what they were to do next.
“That went just as I expected, John. I am guessing you are still not fully clear about what just happened with those trackers. I don’t mind explaining the situation to you.” she replied.
“I would appreciate an explanation at this point. I was rather intrigued with the way the trackers moved in two different directions.” said John, who was sitting on the passenger seat.
“I am sure you have figured the part where we placed the trackers so we could track the movement of those five containers. According the informant who provided me with the container information, either all five or at least some of them contained chemicals that were being smuggled to this person. This person, Jory Hunger, is a smuggler. You are probably not familiar with that name. To the public, he is a well-known and respected businessman. Behind the shadows though, he is a sinister person. He has many operational sites around the city. You are clear, so far?” she asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the road.
“So far, so good; continue.” said John.
“I did not know which of these sites were his. I needed to find out. I knew that at least one of the five containers were going to his operation site, but did not know exactly how many of the five would be making the journey. My informant was clear about one thing. This was the last time he would be able to give shipment related information. He said that he had taken enough risks to provide me with this information. That meant I only had one chance to do this, and I had to increase my chances of success.” said she.
“That seems like the smart thing to do. That is what I would have done. I know how finicky informants can be. Especially when, for most of them, a simple mistake could mean the difference between life and death.” said John, agreeing with her decision making.
“This is one of the things I like about you, John. You are someone who is almost in the same line of work as I am. As you have rightfully agreed, John, I had to do something to increase the rate of success. So, I decided to attach trackers to all five containers. It was risky, and if you weren’t there, I would not have been able to do that. That is why I needed your help, John. They could have caught us in the act, and that could have been the end of me. I have already lost one partner, and I would be damned if I lose another partner.” her voice was shaky, and it startled him.
“Another partner?” asked John, a little surprised at this new piece of information.
“I used to work with another partner. We both had been working on this for a while. She was taken away from me a few weeks ago.” she said, her voice going a little slow.
“Was she killed?” John asked, feeling sorry for this person.
“I don’t know. I really hope she is alive, though. I haven’t heard from her in a while. This mission was our job and I have to complete it, whether she is there or not.” she said.
“I can agree with that. If I was in your place, I would have done something similar.” said John.
As she kept speaking, John could not help but collate that information with what he had found about Todd Luck from the school. John was also provided with the information Drake hacked out of the phone data. Now, this woman was talking about an operation to bring down a smuggler. All this led to a single logical conclusion. Sure, John met this Lipstick Woman at the villain’s place. Except for that one fact, this woman seemed to be on the good side. Perhaps she had some connection to Todd Luck. She had already promised to take John to the location of Todd Luck, if John helped her out.
The more she spoke, the more John was convinced that she had to be a nice person. Then again, John was trained to be a detective. He always had to keep an eye out that even the nicest looking folks could have a dark side to them. For all John knew, this woman might be making a big fool out of him. His gut feeling and his heart suggested that she was a nice person. John couldn’t take such leaps of faith. He might take a leap of faith when he was dealing with something non-human, like a dog that was about to attack him, or bad weather. Those things were ideal subjects for leap of faiths. Human beings, on the other hand, not so much. John had learned the hard way that people could not always be trusted, especially when you knew them for less than three days.
They soon reached the edge of Primer city, and John noticed that they were back in the vicinity of the dock that they were on about 16 hours ago. They parked outside an outlet that rented out boats for fishing trips and casual water travel. This outlet was located near the main docks. John waited outside the booking office, as the Lipstick Woman went in to make a booking for a boat. She returned a few minutes later and informed him that they would be travelling to that island location that was marked by the tracker, by a boat that she had rented. They would board their boat in about 30 minutes at a marina beside the main dock. They decided to drive to the marina and wait until their boat was ready for the trip.
The boat she had rented was named Aurora. Given the nature of their business, she had decided against taking a captain or a guide with them. If someone really wanted to, they could easily track their travel route since all boats GPS location systems were installed in all boats. Just before they got on the boat, the Lipstick Woman grabbed John
suggestively and gave him a deep kiss. John understood that she wanted the people at the marina to believe that they were a couple who just wanted to spend a nice evening alone on the harbor. That may have thrown off any suspicions anyone might have had.
Once the boat left the marina, the Lipstick Woman set the course for that location on the map. Based on the speed at which they were travelling, they would reach the island in less than an hour. The sea was quiet, and at a distance the sun was a few minutes away from sinking into the ocean. It would be dark soon, and that made perfect sense for their mission at hand. It was always easier to sneak around at night instead of during the day time. It was also the more dangerous option, John thought. After the last two days of hectic action, John was mentally prepared for almost anything. The good sleep had also helped his recovery, and he was no longer restricted in his movements.
“It is going to be a short journey, John. Assuming that the winds and the weather hold the way they are doing right now, I guess a total travel time not more than sixty minutes. Hope you don’t mind a little sea travel, John. There is a deck below if you are feeling uncomfortable.” said she.
“I am fine. I don’t particularly enjoy water rides, but it’s manageable. If I am to continue working in my line of work, I better get used to doing things that I normally do not do.” said John.
“I suppose so. You are, after all, a private detective. If you don’t get used to this, who else would?” she replied, laughing.
“I guess so.” said John, looking out in the ocean and becoming quiet.
“There was something I wished to tell you, John. Like an apology.” she said.
John simply looked at her and said nothing. He had a hunch that she was about to give him more details about herself and her operation. He thought that the journey which began a few days ago was going to end shortly. John might finally get some answers that had been bothering him, mentally and physically, for the last couple of days.
“I wanted to apologize for getting undressed in your apartment that night. I think, in hindsight, I should not have done that.” she said. For the first time since he had met her, John saw her like a normal person. She had a haughty expression about her all the time, and that was gone now. It seemed like she was a different person, although appearance wise, she looked the same as before.
“That is alright. If I wasn’t working on a case, I would have probably had more time to appreciate your beautiful looks.” said John.
“I was surprised by your reaction. I expected the night to end differently.” she said.
“Sorry to disappoint you. Although, is that all you wanted to say? Like you said, we still have a lot of time to kill before we reach that island. Are you sure you still want to hide your identity and continue to be referred to as the Lipstick Woman? One of the guys who works for me told me that your name is Christie Palmer. I know that is not right. It cannot be, mostly because that name sounds like it was pulled from a James Kipling novel.” said John, pushing his luck, trying to find out more about her.
He was almost baiting her, hoping to get leverage on her, based on all the things that they had done together. She kept quiet. John could see that she was thinking really hard, trying to figure out where all of this was heading. John could imagine that she was having an internal conflict of faith. Sitting in front of her was a man she hardly knew. Could she trust him? What if this man was not who he seemed to be? There were probably questions that John himself would ask if he was about to tell something, a secret that no one else knew. She continued to keep silent, and John did not wish to interrupt her. Patience had many rewards, and John was a firm believer in that. Then, as if she had made her decision, she started speaking.
“My name is not Christie Palmer. I have many fake identities and one of them is that. You are right in your guess, John. I did take that name from a novel that I was reading while creating the identity. My real name is Diane Crowe. I work for the city police department. I have been undercover for a while now, and part of that cover is working for Mr. Dragon.” she said, stopping to take a breath.
John had figured out much of this on his own, but was glad to have the information come from the horse’s mouth. He let her continue.
“Todd Luck, he was my partner. I am searching for him because he went missing a few weeks ago.” she said.
“Earlier today, you said your partner was a female. Another attempt at throwing me off the scent?” asked John.
“I am so used to lying, John; it comes out naturally for me. I am sorry about that. I had to do what I had to do. I am sure you understand.” she replied.
“Of course I forgive you, Diane. You are the one who said that we are in the same line of business. I have a couple of fake identities of my own, and I use them constantly. It is hard to get anything done in this world, especially when everything is so connected. You are saying that Todd Luck went missing a few weeks ago. That would explain why he has not contacted his sister in such a long time. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place. Do you think something has happened to him? What is your theory on this?” asked John, fully aware that she had taken him completely into confidence.
“As I told you, we were both assigned to this mission. That was almost six months ago. We are partners, but we joined the organization as individuals who didn’t know each other. Todd has been doing this for years, and he is one of our most efficient and useful undercover officers. I was his understudy. The mission was considered a simple one, and I was trained by him. It made sense that I would work with him on my first mission in the field. Todd expected me to make mistakes, and just as he predicted, I did make some mistakes. Most of them weren’t that bad, and it was all okay for a while. Then, three weeks ago, I made a mistake, and Todd did everything he could to cover it up. One thing led to another, and his identity was revealed. In the process, he managed to keep my cover as it is. They took him away, and that was the last time I heard from him.” she said.
“If this happened three weeks ago, I am guessing he is in some danger. I am sorry for putting it so bluntly, but he could be dead. Do you not think so?” asked John.
“I won’t lie to you, John. There is a good chance that he is dead. At the same time, from what Todd has taught me, I think he is more valuable to them alive than dead. I am pretty sure he is still alive.” said Diane.
“What makes you think that?” asked John.
“This is one of those things that Todd taught me. He told me that many undercover police officers end up becoming corrupt, and start working for the bad guys that they are supposed to be catching. He also told me that if I should ever get caught, a simple way of keeping myself alive would be to agree to join the bad guys. The longer a cop has been undercover, the more he or she knows about the workings of the two systems. Such a cop becomes both an angel and a demon, being able to walk on both sides. Don’t you agree?” asked Diane.
“It makes perfect sense. I would agree with you on that.” said John.
“That is what I am hoping for. I know that Todd is smart. He is a hell of a lot smarter than any person I have met, ever. If I know him well, and I do, he would immediately pretend to start working for them. He would have told them that he would change sides, make some money, and such motivations.” said Diane.
“Would that not have given him his freedom? He should have called you by now?” said John.
“I don’t think he would contact anybody. He would wait it out, till they were entirely convinced of what he was capable of. That means he might lie low for a seriously long time. He could lay low for a month, six months, or may be a year, if that is how long it takes for them to be convinced of him. My guess is he is alive and well, just cut off from the rest of the world.” said Diane.
“You think where we are going right now will lead us to him?” asked John, linking what she had just told him with what he knew about the actions that had taken place so far
.
“About a week ago, I got some new information. An informant told me that he became aware of a person being held under house arrest. As with any criminal organization, there are some people who are good at specific tasks. One such specialist is Jory Hunger, the guy whose base we are about to break into. His job is a simple one. He holds onto things. It could be anything. He can hold onto money, goods, gold, and even people. He does not care about the value of the item that is given to him. As long as he is paid his fee, he will guard over an item without asking any questions.” said Diane.
“Did your informant say that they were holding Todd hostage at this Jory Hunger’s place?” asked John.
“Not really. He said that there was a person of high interest who was being held hostage. He did not, or could not, give any more details. I am, again, running on hunches, John. We won’t find out until we reach there. For all we know, this high value subject could be someone else. It could be something else entirely. I have to give this a shot.” said Diane, her voice growing anxious.
“The more I hear you speak, the more I get the feeling that you don’t really have everything fully under control. I suspect that this is the case because you seem to be pretty much on your own in your first assignment. I can understand that feeling. I felt lost in my first case. I guess things became really bad when your mentor was captured.” said John, trying to sympathize with her.
“Thank you, John. I am sorry I did not put faith in you earlier. I was forced to play all those mind games with you. I wish I had not. I am still new in this business. I hope you will accept my apology, detective.” said Diane.
“That’s quite alright. I mean, everybody makes mistakes, don’t we?” said John, trying to think hard about a way of calming her down. He noticed that she was getting increasingly excited. The place they were going to seemed to be dangerous, and he wanted her in the best state of mind. He thought hard about what she had shared with him so far. Suddenly, John realized that despite spending almost two days with her, he knew nothing about her.
UNDERCOVER The Secret of Luck Page 26
