He heard yelling behind him. He slowly turned and smiled. The old guy and his wife were out on the sidewalk yelling at him. He shook his head and turned back north, looking for Ellie. They couldn’t touch him. He was invincible.
Sampson pulled into the long term parking lot at the north end of Venice Beach. He hopped out of his car and opened the back door. Lisa, his eight-year old Golden Lab, lifted her head and thumped her tail against the back of the seat. He clipped a lead on her collar. ‘Let’s go, old girl. Let’s go find our friend Ellie.’
At the sound of Ellie’s name Lisa’s tail beat faster and she hopped out of the car. He laughed and started walking. He called the last number he had for Ellie, not bothering to leave a message when he got her voicemail. ‘No joy, girl. We’re going to have to do some hard work here.’ They strolled south. If he had something of Ellie’s it would be a lot easier. Lisa was a trained sniffer. Retired, but one of the best in her prime. ‘Ellie will be hanging out with some of the less advantaged residents of this little burg.’ He scrolled through the pictures on his phone, stopping when he got to a headshot. ‘That’ll do.’
The population along the boardwalk was still thin. The majority of the people were still setting up stalls and cleaning up the mess from the previous night’s storm. Those not working were skating or walking along the boardwalk getting an early start to the day.
He scanned the people looking for someone of the right socio-economic class and spotted one almost immediately. A tall man, dark hair, unshaven and younger than he would have expected was walking toward him, slightly off-center.
‘Excuse me, can I have a minute?’
The man stood and cocked his head. ‘Who the fuck are you? Never mind. Don’t matter who you are. Outta my way.’
‘Hang on, pal. Detective Sampson.’ He lifted the side of his jacket and realized he didn’t have his gun and badge with him. ‘Currently off-duty. It’ll only take a minute and you could be saving a life. What’s your name?’
‘Kent Williams.’ He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose.
Sampson smiled at the whistling sound. ‘You break that in a fight?’
‘Fell off my bike. What do you want?’
Sampson held out his phone and showed Kent the picture. ‘I’m looking for this girl. Her name is -‘
‘Ellie Bourke. Every sentient being on the face of the earth knows who she is. Why do you think I’d know where she is?’
Sampson stowed his phone. ‘Maybe not you specifically, but I believe Ellie is in danger and she knows it. She’s been located around here a couple of times now, so I think she’s staying in the area, but gone to ground. Living with homeless people trying to stay below the radar.’
‘So?’ He stepped away from Lisa, who was sniffing around his feet. ‘Hey, call the dog off.’
‘She’s a little baby. Wouldn’t hurt a fly unless it was wrapped in sausages and barbecue sauce.’ He scratched the corner of his eye. ‘Look, I’m just thinking, seeing as you appear to be living on the streets too, you may have seen her, maybe point me in her general direction since you’ve probably crossed paths with her.’
Kent squared off, feet shoulder width, hands at his sides and fists clenched. ‘What the fuck? You think I’m homeless?’
Lisa backed up, hackles raised. Sampson did pretty much the same, sans hackles. ‘Back it up, son. You don’t want to go where you’re thinking. Have you seen her?’
‘I’m not homeless. I am not a failure. I’m not a crazy fucking bat-shit loser who can’t manage to keep it together.’
Sampson automatically reach back to unclip the restraint on his holster to find it not there. He left his hand on his hip. ‘Relax Mr. Williams. You’re not homeless. Great. Fantastic for you to be paying rent. I’m impressed. Now let’s just get past that and you tell me when and where you’ve seen Miss Bourke.’ He held up the phone again, showing him the picture.
‘Yeah, fine.’ He was breathing heavily. ‘I saw her on the TV. She was doing that red carpet thing for her next movie. And then after when the news put her picture up.’ His cheek throbbed. His blood pressure was rising and the increased blood flow to the cut on his cheek caused pain. ‘Is that all? I need to find somewhere to eat.’
‘Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Williams. You’ve been a great help.’ He watched Kent walking away and shook his head. ‘What do you think, Lisa? Whack job?’
She woofed. A whack job.
Chapter Thirty-One
I was snug in bed, twelve-years old, cuddled up with my mother on a cold winter’s night. It was July. We were talking about heading up to the Blue Mountains for a Christmas in July dinner. Cold wind blew through the house. A window must have been left open. Dad would be pissed.
I tried to snuggle in closer, but my mother had put on weight and when I took her hand it was hard and calloused, not the soft I knew it should be. The hand squeezed back and a voice not my mother’s whispered in my ear.
‘It’s all right. You had a nightmare.’
I pushed her away and tried to stand, falling into the side of the container, cracking the side of my head against the wall.
The previous two days came screaming back at me and I retched. My head hurt. Not just from the growing lump above my right eye, but also from a deep, behind-the-eyes pervasive headache.
And I had to pee.
I steadied myself against the wall, standing on the thin mattress and blankets and looked around. The light was poor, thin shafts of sunlight forcing themselves in wherever they could find a crack.
‘Ann.’
She scowled and pulled her coats tighter.
‘Sorry, Ann. I was in the middle of a dream when I woke. My mother and I. Years ago. I was a little disoriented. Are you okay?’
She grumbled something and stood there, looking at me like I just kicked her puppy.
‘Really sorry. And I really need to pee. Where do you go to the bathroom around here? Do I have to walk down to the public toilets on the beach? That’s got to be almost a mile away.’
She reached into one of her pockets and gave me a small plastic package of tissue. ‘Around the back.’
‘Of the container?’
She nodded and sat down on her bed.
‘You mean around the back where I’ve been standing, and sometimes sitting while I’ve been making phone calls?’
She cracked a small smile and nodded again.
‘Well, thanks for letting me know. Although a heads up yesterday would have been brilliant. I’ll be right back.’
She grabbed my arm. ‘Be careful. It’s not safe out there.’
I gave her a hand a reassuring pat. ‘I’m always careful. And I know it’s not safe. Let me relieve the pressure and I’ll tell you what I’ve got planned.’
I peered around the edge of the door, made sure the coast was clear and slipped around to the back. The storm was well and truly gone. The sky was blue and the sun promised a very warm day. In the daylight I could barely see where Ann and others had peed. But I could see I’d been sitting in one of those places last night.
I’d been out here on the streets too long. I didn’t even notice the smell.
When I went back in Ann was sitting up and staring at the wall. I wasn’t sure if she had slipped off to some private world of her own or was just trying to think things through. I’d been in that vacant stare space many times myself. Almost missed auditions a couple of times.
Regardless which state she was in, it was time to go. I needed to find some food and needed to find a place suitable for a final standoff. I was pretty sure how I was going to so it; I just needed to stay alive until I did.
I placed the remaining tissue beside her and quietly collected my phones, battery pack and tried to slip out the door.
‘I’m coming with you.’ Ann stood and stretched. ‘Sorry for startling you this morning, but you were having a nightmare earlier and some strange motherly instinct came over me.’ She smiled. ‘Very foreign feeling, trust me.’
I peered closely in her eyes. ‘You’re home?’
She tapped her head. ‘Up here? Yeah. As home as I’ve been in a long time. It’s you, I think.’
‘How is it me?’
‘I don’t know. You’ve been kind. You’re concerned about my welfare. You treat me like a real human being instead of an aberration messing up the streets.’
‘It’s the least I could do for all the help you’ve given me.’
‘Let’s not get all lovey-dovey. What are we up to now?’
I didn’t like this. I shook my head. ‘This is going to be dangerous. I need to set this guy up and lure him into a trap at the same time I lure the police to the same place. I don’t want you getting in the middle of it.’
‘Honey, I’m in the middle of it. I saw his face. He knows me. He knows my haunts. If he gets you, he’s coming after me next. I’ve got as much invested in taking this guy down as you do.’
‘That’s where I have an advantage, Ann. He knows you know him. He doesn’t know I know who it is. I didn’t get a look at his face when he was attacking me. I’ve got a leg up. If he sees you with me, he’ll know his anonymity is blown.’
She sighed, thinking about something. ‘Look, I’ll hang back a bit. I’m feeling really protective right now and I can’t let you go on your own. Look at it this way: either I come with you and we work together, or I skulk around in the shadows and you’re never really sure what I’m up to.’ She smiled. ‘Easy decision to make now, isn’t it?’
She had me there. ‘Okay. First things, first. We need food.’
‘I could eat.’
‘You never eat. You’re like a bird. How do you keep from passing out?’
She laughed. ‘Spend enough time out here and you’ll develop the same skill. I can go quite awhile without food. Water I need every day, but food is as I can get it.’ She chuckled. ‘All this talk now has me hungry.’
‘I’ve got a treat for you.’
‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s?’
I laughed. ‘A movie buff. Perfect. I’ve got friends. We’ll sneak around the back way.’
I led her down side roads, past two houses partially constructed and abandoned, past an empty lot with a couple of abandoned cars and to the back of Emily and Henry’s place and rapped on the door.
‘You sure this is okay?’
I nodded. ‘These people are okay.’ I waited another couple of minutes and knocked again.
Emily opened the door. ‘We aren’t expecting any deliveries, Henry. How would I know who it - oh.’
She stopped in mid-sentence and looked at me, then at Ann, and then at me again. ‘You look like hell.’
I grinned. ‘Excellent. My disguise is working. Emily, this is my good friend Ann. Ann, Emily. She and her husband run a very nice cafe. I hope one day to enjoy a sit-down meal with you there. In the mean time, Em, you wouldn’t have some fruit or rolls you could spare?’
She looked up and down the alley. ‘Get the hell in here. Both of you.’ She pulled door closed behind us and snapped on the light. ‘Explain?’
We were squeezed in pretty tight. I’m sure we didn’t smell that great, but Emily made no mention of it. ‘Ann has been a fantastic help keeping me below the radar. There’s a guy trying to kill me, the police want to arrest me and I’d love nothing more than to get them all in the same room and duke it out. That’s my plan, anyway.’ My stomach growled. ‘But first, food. I can pay you if you want. I’ve still got a couple of hundred dollars on me.’ I fished in my pocket and took out a couple of twenties. ‘That should cover it.’
‘First you take off and we think you’re maybe dead and now you insult me with money? I thought we were friends.’ She looked at Ann. ‘And any friend of Ellie’s is a friend of ours. I’ll get you some food.’ She stopped herself as she was opening the door to the restaurant. ‘One exception to that “friend of a friend” thing. You know those guys you brought over for breakfast? The taller one? He’s not so much a friend. He came by here earlier today looking for free food. Looked terrible. Henry asked if he’d mind sitting outside and the lanky asshole threw one of the chairs though the front window.’
Kent. I looked at Ann and gave her a small shake of the head. ‘Is he still here?’
‘No. He marched up the beach on the hunt for something. The guy’s crazy.’
Ann finally spoke up. ‘I’ve seen crazy. Hell, I’ve been crazy and that guy is so far beyond crazy he’s scary.’
‘She speaks the truth. Wait here and I’ll get you some grub. On the house.’
‘And I’ll pay for your window.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s drawing a paying crowd and the insurance will cover it. Everyone thinks the storm was worse than it really was. I’m not going to set them straight. Stay here and stay quiet.’
She closed the door and Ann turned to me. ‘You trust her?’
‘With my life.’
‘Yeah, you just did. I hope you’re right.’
We stood in silence for a couple of minutes, my nerves stretching to the breaking point. You never really knew someone and while I thought I knew Emily, there was a small sliver of concern.
Unfounded, it turned out. She came through the door, opening it just wide enough to let herself through with two bags of food.
‘You might want to hightail it out of here.’ She handed a bag to Ann and then one to me. I liked that. Ann looked like every caricature of a bag lady you’ve ever seen, and by giving her the food first she was telling her she considered her an equal to me. I’d never doubt her again.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Your old friend Sampson is out there, with his pooch. Doing a door to door search for you.’
‘The cops are here looking for us? Shit. That’s too early.’
’No, he’s not identifying himself as police. Just a concerned friend. You’ve got a lot of them.’
I took her by the arm. ‘Em, he is a friend, but he’s also a cop. He’ll do what he has to do as a cop if he finds us, so please don’t let him know. Which way is he traveling?’
‘Your secret’s safe with me. He’s going south, toward the pier. How long is this going to go on?’
‘It’ll be finished tonight, one way or another.’
‘I certainly don’t like the sound of that.’
‘It’ll be good. Ann here’s going to help me out.’ I hefted the bag of food. ‘And you’ve helped also. Immensely. We’ve got to go so you don’t get into any trouble. And if the insurance people take too long, I’m serious, I’ll pay for the window.’
I reached for the back door and she intercepted me. ‘Let me check first.’ She poked her nose out and looked both ways before opening the door all the way. ‘It’s clear. Come back when all this shit is settled, will you? Henry’s come up with this fantastic warm chicken salad with rocket, avocado and balsamic vinegar that is to die for.’
I smiled. ‘We will. It’s a date. The both of us will be back, a little less worse for wear.’ I stepped out and closed the door behind us.
‘Dig in Ann, they make good stuff there.’
I looked over and she was finishing her first roll and digging out a banana. She smiled and nodded. ‘Very good.’
So part ‘A’ was accomplished. We had enough food to last us the day. Emily had been very generous. We walked slowly north up the alley until we reached a cross street, about half a mile away from the cafe. Safe enough to get back out on the main thoroughfare. Ann was dragging her heels, a few yards behind me when I turned the corner.
I stopped and backtracked. ‘Stay here.’
‘What?’
‘Stay here. He’s just around the corner. You don’t want him to see you.’
‘Is he coming this way?’
I shook my head. ‘Sitting on a bench. I’ll just be a minute. I’ll come back for you.’ I saw the look in her eyes. She’d been lied to non-stop for the last two years. ‘Honest. Here, you hang on to my food.’ I handed her the bag and walked
around the corner like it was any other day of my life.
Kent was sitting on a bench, facing away from the beach, looking at skaters and boarders pass in front of him. I slipped through the foot traffic and sat beside him. I don’t think he saw me coming. He started and stared at me.
‘Hey, mate. What are you doing down here?’ I was shaking. I wanted to drop him right there, but there were too many people around now, and I still didn’t have enough proof to back up my claims.
‘I thought you were on the run.’ He sniffed and shivered. ‘Where you been hanging out?’
‘Here and there.’ I leaned in close. He stunk worse than either Ann or I. And he was radiating heat. I rested a hand on his arm. ‘You’re burning up. You should see a doctor.’
His hand started moving toward his face and he stopped. The cut on his cheek looked inflamed. It was harsh red a good half-inch either side of the cut and it looked like there was pus in it.
‘That looks nasty. You really should see a doctor. How did it happen?’ This would be good. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to throttle me, but he couldn’t.
‘My bike. Stupid fucking piece of shit bike.’ His voice rose in a crescendo, spittle building up in the corners of his mouth. He leaned forward and grabbed my wrist. ‘I’m going to find that fucking bike and I’m going to dismantle it until it’s in its smallest component parts, then I’m going to throw it, one piece at a time, into the ocean. I’m really going to enjoy doing that.’
His grip tightened to the point of being painful. I tried to wrench it free and he squeezed tighter, pulling my hand toward him. ‘Do you understand what I’m saying?’
I twisted my arm free and stood. ‘You don’t like your bike? You don’t like all bikes? You’re fucking bat shit crazy? I don’t know. Listen, do me a favor and don’t tell any of the cops I’m around, okay? The place is swarming with them.’
He scowled and rubbed his arms. The fever was getting to him.
‘And look, be a mate, I might need some help later today. If I text you where I am, can you come and help out? I’ve got some stuff to do. Nothing definite. Might not need it, just would like to know it’s there if I do.’
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