by Ward, Steve
“Do you always have trouble remembering your name?” she teased.
The waitress returned, and he ordered a Maker’s Mark double.
A couple of those and this guy will put himself to sleep, she thought. “I’ll take another white wine, only give me the good stuff this time won’t you? He’s buying.” She turned back to Scott and reached out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Tom Foley. My name is Shirley Wingo. I just love the way you explain all those complicated fronts and high pressure thingies. For God’s sake, how do you do it?” she drawled as she bent in his direction. His eyes bulged as she almost fell out of her blouse. She reached out and put her hand on his leg.
After two drinks and the most boring small talk she had ever heard, he was practically drooling. “Why don’t we get out of this smoky place?” she suggested.
“Let’s. Would that be your place or mine?”
“Depends,” she said shyly. “I hardly know you, and I’m not that kind of a girl.” She raised her hand and stared at her nails. “I don’t go out with perfect strangers.”
“But you already said you know me.”
“Yeah, I guess I did. Well, since you’re a TV person and all, that should rule out axe murderer. So what’s your place like?” She batted her eyes trying to fake innocence.
“I have a huge house overlooking Moonlight Bay near Clearwater. The hot tub has an amazing view. I think you’ll find it very appealing. I have a large screen theater in the basement. Do you like old movies?”
“Love ‘em,” she said in her sexy voice. She sat up, took a deep breath and her wonder-bra almost exploded. “Do you have An Affair to Remember?”
“Yep. Got it. That’s a classic.”
“First, let me call my mom.” Heather thought it would be a nice touch. She dialed Christina and said, “Hi mom, guess who I just met? No, not some loser. . . It’s the weather man, that guy on channel 47. Just wanted to let you know I’m going out with him. . . No, no, I’ll be fine. Don’t wait up.”
Heather got in her rental and followed him for the thirty minute trek to his house. He was driving a 2009 Mercedes SLK-Class sports car. Not bad, she thought. He was visibly weaving. I hope he’s sober enough to make it home. The house was in a secluded area with a long paved entrance, and it sat right on the bay. What a beautiful evening, she thought, and a gorgeous property. Too bad I won’t get to enjoy it for long. She was amazed when she walked inside through huge stained-glass doors. Holy bejesus, this place is worth millions!
“Not bad digs,” she said putting a hand on his shoulder. “They must pay pretty well for weathermen these days.”
“No, truth is, they hardly pay at all; I just do it for fun. It’s my wife that has all the money.”
“Your wife? You didn’t mention you were married, and no wedding ring either. . . .shame on you Tommy boy.”
“Isn’t everyone married at one time or another. My wife is hardly ever here; we’ve been estranged for years.”
“So, where is she now?” Heather asked.
“She’s in Boston. We have another house there. Now let’s change the subject. How about a dip in the hot tub? It hangs right over the bay, and the Moon is full. You’ve got to see it.”
“But I didn’t bring my swimsuit,” she giggled shyly.
“It’s an adult hot tub, doll. You don’t need one.”
“Oh, I guess so, but how about a drink first?” She walked over to the bar. “Why don’t you go get a couple of bath robes, and I’ll fix us a Maker’s Mark neat?”
He almost ran for the bedroom. “Great idea,” he said over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hall.
She took the Rohypnol pill out of her pocket and dropped it in a short glass. She poured him a double and a tiny bit of Maker’s Mark for herself. Before he could return, the Ruffy had already dissolved.
“Can I see the master bedroom?” she asked as she walked in his direction, a drink in each hand.
“Sure, follow me,” he said, grabbing his drink and leading the way.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. “This thing’s bigger than my mother’s house.” The bedroom was huge, with another large room attached as a sitting area. There were two fireplaces and a large flat screen TV built in. The walls were adorned with thick layers of crown molding and very expensive looking art. It smelled like money. The master bath was massive, gold plated, and it connected to a monstrous walk-in closet. All the clothes were in neat rows and everything aligned and pressed to perfection. Wonder where he throws his dirty underwear? she giggled. She took a sip of her drink and tried not to gasp. The bourbon was good, good and strong.
“Do you like it?” He sat on the bigger-than-king-size bed as she explored.
“Cheers,” she said as she clinked his glass. “Well, I have to say, I’ve seen some pretty nice bedrooms, but this takes the cake. I can’t imagine living in such grandeur. I’d be afraid to touch anything.” She walked over and sat beside him.
“It can be quite lonely,” he said fishing for sympathy. “If I only had someone to share it with.”
She grabbed one of the robes and stood. “Feel free to share it with me, honey,” she purred. “I’m going in the Lady’s room to get out of these tight jeans. I won’t be long. Will you wait for me right here?”
“Whatever you say, kid, just don’t be too long. I’m not a patient man.”
Heather slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. She took her sweet time primping. Not sure how long the drug would take, she decided to take off her clothes just in case and wrapped herself in the terrycloth robe. Finally, she walked out to find him sitting naked as a jaybird on the side of the bed. She saw the drink was only half empty. Dang! Did he drink enough? She was horrified at the prospect of making out with him, but she didn’t want him to pass out in the hot tub either. Do, do, do whacha gotta do, she sang to herself.
“Hey big fella, where’s your robe?”
“Don nee dit,” he said in a slur. “Com ‘ere.”
She stood in front of him trying to look interested. His eyes were half-closed when he opened her robe, but they almost popped out of his head when he saw the full extent of her amazing body. “Maah G-Gaad,” he sputtered. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out cold, falling back on the bed.
Heather picked up her cell phone. When the connection made, she quickly exclaimed, “Geronimo!”
* * *
Christina’s pulse raced with excitement. Michael and Billy stood beside her at the massive front door for only a couple of minutes before it opened. Heather was still adjusting bra straps when she greeted them. “Hi y’all, wanna see my new digs?”
“Nice work Heather,” Christina chuckled. “You’re a real pro. Yes ma’am, a real pro. Maybe you should finish dressing before these boys pass out too.”
“Shut up girl. Just trying to help. By the way, I looked around and didn’t see any cameras inside or out. Doesn’t mean they’re not hidden somewhere. He didn’t say anything about a security system. We just walked in.”
“You’d think a place like this would be loaded with security,” Christina said. “Let’s get busy.”
“It’s the best security of all,” Michael said. “When you don’t have any security, no one expects you have something to hide.”
“Makes sense,” Christina agreed. “Billy, if you’d keep an eye on our boy in the bedroom, we’ll go through some of the other rooms and see what we can find.”
“Okay, where is it?” Billy asked.
“Down that hall, third door on the left.” Heather pointed.
Billy didn’t look too happy and gave her a sneer that said, So what did my girl do with that asshole in the bedroom? He stomped down the hall without a word.
Christina gave more orders, “Split up, go through the rooms quickly and see if anything looks promising. Meet back here in five minutes. I’ll take the upper floor, Heather the lower level, Michael this one.”
They checked their watches and moved away at a fast clip. Christi
na ascended the huge spiral staircase and looked through the rooms on the second floor. She was shocked at the lavish setting; it was more of a castle than a house. Everything looked clean with little potential for clues until she came to the last door at the end of the hall. It was locked. Now why would someone lock a door inside their own house? she wondered. Turning the knob and leaning into it, no luck, it wouldn’t budge. She backed off and looked over the banister to see Michael and Heather below in the atrium. “Hey guys, come up here and bring all the stuff.”
Michael tried prying it open, but it was tough, a big metal door with a heavy lock. Billy came up to help, and they grabbed a battering ram like those used in drug busts.
“Where’d you get that, Billy?” Michael asked.
“My dad knows some cops,” he replied.
“On three, let’s drive it through,” Michael said. “One, two, three. . .”
With a running start they blasted the door open with a loud Bang! After the metallic recoil, there was dead silence as all four walked inside and took in the awesome scene. They twisted around staring at the contents as if standing in the vaults of Fort Knox.
Christina finally spoke, “Holy Mother of God! Have you ever seen anything like this? The room was relatively small, but it was filled floor to ceiling with bundles of cash. The bundles were wired into bales and stacked like hay in a barn.
Michael picked up one small wad of twenties, fifties and hundred dollar bills. “Must be selling cocaine. We’re talking hundreds of millions here. . .all cash.”
“Billy get some pictures of this.” Christina snapped to. “Look, is that a filing cabinet?”
Being the professional he was, Scott had kept immaculate records of every receipt. The boxes were missing, but every shipping label was neatly filed according to date with a dollar amount written on the back. There was a manila folder with a sheet of paper showing what looked to be a running total. Each label was addressed Fed Ex overnight, to Rahni Hussein, apparently hand delivered to the Scott mansion. Christina’s eyes almost fell out of her head when she saw the number at the bottom of the sheet. “Good eye, Michael, three-hundred and twenty-seven million to be exact. All right people, I want more photos and copies of those receipts. Grab one of the bundles, and we’ll see if it can be traced. Then we can get the hell out of here.”
Billy pulled a small copier out of his large bag. After he set it on the cabinet and plugged it in, he started copying the entire file. In less than an hour, they walked out of the room into the open hallway. There was an odd noise downstairs, and Christina could see Scott staggering through the atrium. She pushed everyone back against the wall and kept her eye on him. He looked like he was going to be sick and fell down on all fours at the bottom of the stairway. In a couple of minutes he passed out again face first onto the stairs.
“Let’s go, he’s out.” A cold chill ran down her spine as Christina tiptoed passed the incapacitated, naked body of her boss. Please God, don’t let him wake up.
They made their way past Scott in single file with Heather in the rear. She was on the last step when Scott grabbed her leg. She screamed instinctively, as Christina turned from the door. Heather’s eyes were wide with panic. She jerked her leg, but he wouldn’t let go.
“Wha. . .Whaaa…” was all he could manage.
Christina hustled back and karate-chopped his hand away.
He looked at her with glassy eyes and mumbled, “Stick?” Then he fell limp.
She grabbed Heather by the hand and hauled her out of there. They all ran outside slamming the big door behind.
“For God’s sake!” Heather shivered visibly. “Yuckity-yuck, I almost had a cow when that bastard grabbed my leg.”
“I wonder if he’ll remember?” Christina said to no one in particular as she stopped to look back at the house.
Michael grabbed her arm with panic in his eyes and shouted, “Let’s go!”
Chapter Nine
Christina had been on edge for days, wondering about Director Scott and Rhani Hussein. The very prospect of a conspiracy was mind boggling. All that money. . .what could it mean? She could still see Scott’s drugged face when he looked at her and said, “Stick?”
She was having lunch with Michael in JSC’s private cafeteria reserved for astronauts. It had been almost a week now, and there was no indication that Scott was onto them. Every time she saw him, her heart stopped and her mind reeled in anticipation. She tried to act cool when she passed Scott in the hall or saw him in meetings, but it was impossible to avoid the image of him lying naked on those vomit-stained stairs.
Scott had returned to work the Monday after, wearing a cast on his left wrist, but word had it he had fallen in the shower. It was also rumored that he was having a very sophisticated security system installed at his home. He went about business with his usual arrogant demeanor as though nothing had transpired.
“I wonder why Wallace hasn’t contacted me?” Christina asked Michael.
“I don’t know. Did he say what he wanted, and when?”
“No, he just said he needed my help, no specifics.”
One of her bodyguards came into the room, walked through the maze of empty tables and handed her a note. A pang of worry grabbed her by the throat as she read. Not good, no not good at all. Her heart sank to her toes as she slowly looked up at Michael.
“What?”
She just stared at him.
“What? Come on, what the hell?”
“He. . .he wants to see us. Urgent.”
“Who?”
“The boss.” she gulped.
Michael turned white as a sheet. “Scott? And, uh, who might us be?”
She choked on her mashed potatoes, coughing and hacking until her throat cleared. She held up her hand in a gesture for Michael to give her a minute. Finally, she showed him the note, “Us would be,” she coughed some more, “Twinky and Stick.” She tried to remain calm but she was scared. “Oh my God! What if he had cameras in the house? What if he remembers me?”
He looked around as if to make sure no one was listening. “Shit! What do we do now? C’mon, you’re the genius that got us into this.”
She tried to compose herself thinking it through carefully. “We finish our dessert and stroll down to his office with security in tow. What are we, ten? It’s not like we’ve been called to the principal’s office. What can he say? We’ve got the goods, so we have nothing to worry about,” she lied.
“Oh hell yes, we got plenty to worry about. We’re in trouble! To tell you the truth, I’m not very good at conflict. Don’t know if I can look him straight in the eye.”
His hands were shaking, and she feared he was coming unglued. Michael was usually so calm, but not now. Not knowing what he might do or say made her nervous.
“Listen Michael, we have to play it cool. He was spaced out on Ruffies. He won’t remember a thing. If he was going to confront us, don’t you think he would’ve done it by now?”
“But he looked right at you, Christina. He saw us! And what will your security people say?” He sounded desperate.
“Listen, Michael, we have to act like nothing happened, nothing at all. According to Wallace, our lives may depend on it. Don’t you remember? It was Friday night, and you were at the movies. Our good friend Billy met you there. As far as my security team knows, I was home in bed. We both have solid alibis, and there’s no reason to panic.” She reached out and put her hand on his. “Come on, honey, relax. Let’s go see the boss.”
They put up their trays and, escorted by four bodyguards, made the long walk across campus to headquarters and down the hall to Scott’s office. Anxiety built with every step, and she did her best to control it. Calm down girl; it’s come to Jesus time.
Scott’s secretary stared at her with her usual look of contempt and said in a snotty voice, “Go on in, don’t mind me.”
Christina waved security in behind her, and the entire group shuffled through the door in single file.
“What th
e hell is this?” Scott shouted. “Get those goddam thugs out of here!”
The bodyguards looked embarrassed as they bumped into each another trying to get out the door. They shuffled outside, one by one, and pulled the door to.
Christina almost croaked when she saw Rhani sitting beside the Director’s desk. The young man looked like the cat that just swallowed the canary. What in God’s name is he doing here? she wondered. She looked over at Michael, and he was white as a sheet. He’s gonna crack!
