Between HeVan and Hell

by Lucy Kelly

  Suzanna then walked back to greet the movers. Rune and Marta had heard the truck also and had come to the back door. Two large barrel-chested men with curly red hair and beards climbed down from the cab, along with an average-sized woman. Two more men came around from the back; they’d obviously been riding inside the truck. The men were all close enough in size and looks that she knew they were brothers. They’d all worn jeans and plain white T-shirts and she was glad none of them wore a uniform or T-shirt advertising their business; Miranda had passed the word.

  The driver, who was about six foot six, stepped forward with his hand outstretched to Rune. “Hi, I’m Mike Mackey of Mackey Moving and Storage. I hear you might need a little help.”

  Suzanna gestured to the doorway. “Let’s take this conversation inside. I don’t want the merchants next door to overhear anything,” she said in a low voice.

  The merchants had snooped a little, but gone away when they weren’t given any information. One older lady had gone straight to Gilda and Carol, exclaiming how wonderful it was that the two sisters had found each other. She and Gilda exchanged a look; she would tell the neighbors that Gilda was closing shop after the robbery scare and going to live with her baby sister for a while. She finally went away, when her husband called her back into their shop. Suzanna was worried that if she heard the truck, she might pop back out again.

  “Did Miranda tell you what this situation is all about?” asked Suzanna.

  “Yeah, she said the owner here had a run-in with some mafia type and would be testifying against him,” said Mike.

  “That’s correct; just this afternoon, in fact. The police officers that arrived on scene are delaying entering the reports in the system until after nine p.m. tonight. So we have a brief window of time to remove all traces of Gilda and her granddaughter from these premises.

  “These guys will try to come here to get her. When they see she’s not here, they’ll search for any trace of her. They’ll look for relatives, friends, anyone who can give them a lead. And that would then put all those people in danger, too. So we need to clear this place, make sure there isn’t anything left to point them in our direction,” concluded Suzanna.

  “You want we should take everything down here, too?” asked Mike.

  “Yes, if you can. They will most likely have to move their business.”

  Rune offered to help and so did Marta. So Suzanna went back to the van with the two older ladies while Marta and Mrs. Mackey packed and the five men hauled out the furniture. By seven thirty, the moving van was loaded and on its way. Suzanna had asked them if they were willing to drive it out to DeKalb instead of storing it, as she handed Mike the two thousand dollars she’d promised. Mike said that would be fine and Suzanna gave him the address and directions. As he was getting in the truck, she thought of something and called out to him.

  “Hey, Mike? Do you have Heidi’s stuff in a trailer or in your warehouse?” she asked.

  “We put it in a portable pod in the warehouse yard. That way no one will even see the stuff to wonder about it. As far as they know, the pod in the yard is empty.”

  “That’s great. We’re going to be moving Heidi tonight to the same place as we’re stashing Gilda. They can be company for each other and it’ll be nice to have someone who understands the need for secrecy nearby. Do you understand?” at his nod, she continued, “Well, if you can drop off her pod in DeKalb too, that will be great. We’ve got kind of an underground railroad going for women who need to disappear. When you get to DeKalb, Addie will give you more information if you’re interested in helping out,” she concluded.

  “My aunt was a battered wife. She kept it to herself and hid the bruises because she was so ashamed. Her bastard husband killed her when I was still in high school. He’s still in prison. Tore up my mom. She never recovered, as my aunt was her twin. Tell Heidi she’ll get her stuff. We’re in,” he said. He swung up into the cab, reached over to give his wife a hug and a kiss then drove away.

  After the moving truck drove away, Suzanna told Rune she wanted to make a last pass through the premises. She concentrated on her own gift, the one that showed her where to find things she needed to find.

  She started in the shop without turning on the lights; the summer sun was still coming in the front of the shop well enough to see. The Mackeys had stripped the room bare. The linoleum floor was old, but it was clean and waxed. Just a few scuffmarks marred its surface. She took a close look at the walls and knew there was nothing there to find.

  She repeated the procedure in the back and found a small hidey-hole under a floorboard. Inside was a velvet pouch. She pulled it out and then continued to look. Finding nothing else, she proceeded upstairs.

  Once again, everything was gone except for the sheers hanging in the windows. The living room, kitchen, and bathrooms were all bare, but she went through every drawer and cabinet anyway, pulling each drawer out all the way and looking behind and underneath.

  She found an envelope behind the drawer in the bathroom, added it to the case under her arm and kept looking, jacking up her powers again. In the smaller bedroom, there wasn’t anything to find. In the larger bedroom, she felt pulled to the closet.

  She saw a crack in the wall above the closet shelf. She debated calling Rune and checking the solidity of the shelves built in on the right side, and decided she could do it herself. She put the velvet case on the floor, along with the envelope. Then she turned to the closet, and using the overhead shelf as a brace, climbed up the side and pulled herself up onto the top wide shelf. She reached over and got her fingernails under the edge of the crack and pulled. A small space appeared between the joists. She pulled out a metal box and then put back the piece of drywall. Turning to make sure she wouldn’t hit her head when she hopped down, she spotted another envelope taped to the wall over the closet door. Bracing one foot on the doorframe, she reached over and pulled it down.

  Finally, she jumped down and then reached up to grab the box and the envelope. Picking up the velvet pouch and the other envelope, she was sure she’d found everything, so she went downstairs and left.

  They locked the back door and drove away by eight p.m. They had enough time to swing by the police station and sign off on the report and have evidence photos taken before they headed back to DeKalb.

  “What do you guys say we stop for some Chicago, deep, dish pizza? I’m sure everyone’s hungry. It’ll be a celebration,” said Suzanna, helping Gilda into the van in the police station parking lot. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starved.” Everyone thought it was a great idea. Suzanna also knew that if their stomachs were full, the ladies would doze off on the ride home. Rune called Arjun and filled him in on the plan. The pod wasn’t expected until two or three in the morning so they had plenty of time.

  Chapter Seven

  Grace, Jalen and Jett walked through the doors of Hell a little before ten o’clock that night. The crowd was happy and easy going, mostly made up of people that had eaten dinner out or seen a show. Now they wanted to take a chance, roll the dice, and see what the night would bring. The serious gamblers were sprinkled here and there. They would stay late, sign IOU’s, and lose everything they had, just like those young scions of the nobility in times gone by in the Hells of England that this club was named for.

  A cocktail waitress walked by wearing a red bustier, a red micro-mini with black stockings and garters showing below the hem, the devil tail and horns completing her outfit, and ruining the ambiance.

  Grace had only been on the job for three days. As part of her undercover persona, she’d let part of her mind see this as her job and what she would want to change if she were really a full-time employee of this casino. So tonight she wore her hair in an elegant chignon—no horns, just a small red hairpin shaped like a pitchfork. A long, floor-length red silk dress was cut on the bias like the glamour gowns of the thirties. It hugged her body and showed every curve as she glided across the carpet in comfortable two-inch red heels
. The pattern of the dress was subtle, a red on red design of pitchforks and roses.

  As they walked through, she nodded hello to several of her co-workers. Sharon, over at the craps table, mouthed the word ‘hot’ with a tilt of her head. Grace gave her a grin and put her hands around both men’s elbows. Sharon was man-hungry and would want to be introduced to the brother of her fiancé, and Grace was flaunting them both.

  They were headed to the Lounge when Jett gave her the signal that Kadyrov was approaching from the left. She waited a beat and then stopped, pulling Jalen around to face her when he took a step past.

  “Come on, honey, let me check you over one more time. I don’t want you looking like a slob in front of my boss,” she said.

  “I know you like this new job, babe, but why do I have to be all spit and polish?” asked Jalen.

  “There’s an unwritten rule that on the night you ask a woman to marry you and she says yes, you do everything she asks. That way she won’t change her mind and say no.”

  She could hear Jett chuckling behind her. “She’s got you there, bro.”

  Jalen gave her a pained look and said, “I’m standing here, aren’t I? Do I get credit for that, at least?”

  “Yes, you do,” she answered. She was just brushing her hands over his shoulders, throwing dust into Kadyrov’s eyes, when Kadyrov reached them.

  “Ah, Grace, you have come as you promised. And this is your young man?” he asked, as he stood there blinking.

  “Mr. Kadyrov, are you alright? Do you have something in your eye?” Grace asked.

  “You will have to excuse me…” he started to turn and she lightly stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  “Now, don’t rub it. You’ll only make it worse.” Spotting a cocktail waitress walking by, she spoke up as she guided him over to a chair. “Margie, bring me a glass of water, will ya hon?”

  “Sure thing, Grace,” Margie said as she hurried away.

  Jalen and Jett stepped back so they weren’t crowding Grace. Mr. Kadyrov’s men were all around and they wanted to be seen as separate from the incident. Grace got him seated and asked, “Which eye is it?”

  He lifted his hand and pointed to his right eye. She took his face in both her hands and looked into his eye. “I can see the speck; it’s in the corner. May I borrow your handkerchief, Mr. Kadyrov?”

  He pulled it out with his other hand and waved it at her just as Margie came up with a glass of water on a tray.

  “Thanks, Margie,” said Grace.

  Then she dipped the corner of the handkerchief into the water and used it to pull out the speck. She put both her hands on his face again and stared into his eyes, looking for more dirt. “I don’t see anything else. Blink a few times. Are you better now?” she asked as she stepped back to stand by Jalen and Jett.

  “Yes, my dear, though I’m afraid I’m a bit damp. Thank you for your help. Please introduce me to these two men,” he said with a warm smile as he used the dry portion of his handkerchief to mop up the damp spots on his face.

  Gesturing to her right, Grace answered, “This is my fiancé, Jalen Contadina.”

  “How do you do, Sir? I apologize if a speck of dust from my jacket hurt you. Grace was determined that I look fit to be seen,” said Jalen, holding out his hand.

  “I asked Grace to bring you by. I think of all my employees as mine, you see. And Grace is without parents of her own, so I take a paternal interest in her. And this is your brother?” he asked, having shaken Jalen’s hand he turned to give Jett a perusal.

  “Yes, Sir. This is my youngest brother. Justyn drove the last leg of the trip back and wanted to rest. He didn’t come with us tonight.”

  “A pity. Some other time, perhaps. For now, let’s go back into the Lounge. We will open some champagne and drink a toast to your upcoming marriage.” When he finished shaking Jett’s hand, he spun around and walked into the Lounge, expecting them to follow.

  Grace gave Jalen a big smile. “I think he likes you.”

  Just before they entered, a woman walked up, interrupting them.

  “Excuse me, what time does the floor show start?” she asked.

  “There’s one at Nine, Eleven, and the last is at One A.M.,” she answered.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Kadyrov pause and then proceed inside. As they were walking to the owner’s table, she said, “Now, doesn’t this outfit match the theme of your club better than those other ones? That nice lady could tell I worked in the club even without the horns and the tail.” She did a little twirl in a circle.

  “She probably saw you directing the staff, but I’ll take it under advisement,” he said in a crisp voice. He didn’t appreciate having his grandson’s taste criticized, even though he agreed with her.

  She turned to Jalen. “That’s his way of saying no. He likes to soften the blow,” she said with a wink.

  “I’ll remember that after we’re married,” he answered, raising his hand to the small of her back and guiding her to the table. The waitress came over and Mr. Kadyrov ordered the champagne as they settled into their chairs.

  “You malign me, my dear. I will discuss it with my grandson. He chose the current designs. He should have a say if we change them,” he said.

  Well, that’s that, then. That perv won’t change a thing. Anton Kadyrov is totally tacky, Grace thought to herself. Hopefully after we shut this place down, new owners will make changes.

  “Mr. Kadyrov, I can see that you care for Grace. She is wonderful, isn’t she?” Jalen asked. “Still, she’s been working for you less than a week and I’d like her to quit. I’m concerned she’s picked up a stalker.”

  “A stalker! But this is horrible. Why do you say that?” asked Kadyrov.

  “We went to pick out rings today. The jeweler called us. About twenty minutes after we left, some man went into the store. He told the owner, an old woman, that he was Grace’s brother. She’s a charming lady, and as she was talking to him, he grew enraged and struck her. He must be a crazy person. So you understand why I’d like to keep her near me where she will be kept safe,” said Jalen.

  “Awful; what is the world coming to, I ask you. And the store owner, she is well?” he asked.

  “Her granddaughter is with her. She told us she was calling the police and that she wasn’t hurt too badly. Since this crazy person seems fixated on Grace, I don’t believe she’ll be attacked again. I told her to call us back if she needed anything and she didn’t call us back. So I suppose the police were able to help her,” answered Jalen.

  Mr. Kadyrov turned then to Grace. “Good, that’s good. Grace, have you noticed anybody following you around?”

  “That’s just it. I try to be aware of my surroundings so I look around. Guys are always trying to pull something with me. I haven’t noticed anyone following me. Or even seen the same person over and over again,” she said seriously.

  I can’t play the airhead here; he knows me. I have to just be oblivious.

  Then she turned to Jalen and said, “I’m not sure about quitting my job, though. I don’t want you to have to support me. I think I should work until we start having children.”

  Their champagne arrived, and as the waitress was putting down Jalen’s glass, Jett turned to Grace and said, “If my brother has his way, you’ll be married within days and the babies will follow as quickly as possible. We like children in our family.”

  When she huffed, they all chuckled.

  “Grace can work here as long as she likes. She is friendly and a good worker,” said Kadyrov. He took a sip of his drink and turned back to Jalen. “Grace tells me you are a broker, Mr. Contadina. What do you broker?”

  Jalen gave Grace a sharp look and then answered the question, “My specialty is ancient weapons, though I will broker other related antiquities, as well.”

  “How interesting. I’ve never heard of you but perhaps we can do business.”

  “That would depend on whether you were buying or selling, Sir. I only accept commi
ssions from a small group. They know me well and trust me to get them top dollar for their merchandise with the least amount of fuss. Of course, I’m always looking for new buyers,” Jalen said with a smile.

  “Unfortunately, I just delivered my latest commission and transferred the payment to the seller. I have nothing to offer at the moment. Are you a collector of ancient weaponry? It’s a rather small community and I’ve never heard of you, either,” said Jalen.

  Damn, I wish Jalen wouldn’t anger Kadyrov; we might not leave here alive, thought Grace.

  “If you gentlemen are going to talk business, I’m going to powder my nose,” said Grace.

  Jalen and Jett rose as she stood up. “Hurry back,” said Jalen, with a brush of the lips. After she left, Jalen turned to Kadyrov. He didn’t have much time before the nano-patches Grace had managed to transfer to the old man’s face became fully integrated in his brain and started recording data.

  “Mr. Kadyrov, why did you really want to check us out? Grace has been working for you for a total of three days. She may believe you’re a kindly old man. I don’t think she’s watched the news or read anything other than gossip magazines for years. She doesn’t have the first idea about the allegations made against you and your people.

  “I love her and want to marry her. I worry about her working in your establishment. I don’t care if you’re the crime czar the papers make you out to be or not. My only concern is for Grace. Had I been in town when she went looking for a new job, to tell you the truth, I would have done everything in my power to convince her not to work here,” said Jalen.

  “Strong words, young man. Look around you. Do you see sleazy criminals and people doing drugs? This is a respected business establishment. I take care of my people. I don’t like you accusing me of not having Grace’s best interests at heart. It makes me angry to hear you say these things. Look, over there is the Superintendent of Police. Currently at the Baccarat tables are two City Councilmen. Would they come here if they thought I was a crook?” asked Mr. Kadyrov.