“Are you saying a frog killed him?”
“No, of course not, or at least not directly,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t see this as in any way humorous. The man is dead, killed while protecting me.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound flippant,” she said, truly dropping the smile as one would drop a hot potato. “Assassinations have become quite sophisticated these days, so I’m not so surprised by the device used. We all liked Sterling very much. He had a sense of humor about his work and was quite competent. We’re all highly trained.”
“Isn’t this unusual work for a woman?” I asked, still not stepping back to let her in.
She laughed.
“Now, Kate, you, of all people, don’t want to be accused of gender discrimination, do you? There are women FBI and CIA agents, of course, as well as regular police, highway patrol, and private detectives. I assure you I have been as well-trained as any man in our company, and I have nearly twenty years of experience in the security field. Actually, more time than Sterling had.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “All this has made me…nervous. Please. Come in.”
I stepped back and she entered and closed the door.
“I’ve been fully briefed up to the events of yesterday,” she said. “Can you bring me up to date after that, I mean, after you returned home from the plant?”
“Yes,” I said. I felt a slight trembling through me just thinking about reliving the events, however. She saw my hesitation.
“Just the broad strokes. You don’t have to go into great detail.”
I nodded.
“I was just going to make myself some coffee. Would you like some?”
“Sure,” she said. She looked about. “Very nice house and beautiful area.”
“Thank you.”
I led her into the kitchen and told her to sit at the table in our nook. As I prepared the coffee, I described the events of yesterday, breaking them up into the incident with the photograph, the phone calls, Sterling’s death and my own troubled reactions. She listened, taking some notes and then before I served her any coffee, she asked if she could look through the house and check out the grounds around the pool and the casita.
“I’m making myself a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich, baby bib lettuce and Spanish onion. We make our own dressing. Would you like one?”
“No, thank you. Just coffee. I’ll be right back,” she said, and went off to do her reconnaissance.
I had just sat at the table to eat my sandwich, when she returned. She carried a plastic bag with what looked like plain paper in it.
“What’s that?”
“Sometimes, people who use this particular poison load their dart into the blow gun with a funnel to keep themselves protected. This looks like one. I found it behind one of the bushes out there. I’ll have it checked for fingerprints. We have something of a list of the people and full files on each involved in this sort of intimidation.”
“Intimidation? It’s more than intimidation. They killed him.”
“I meant what they are trying to do to you.”
“Yes, why didn’t they kill me, too?”
“They’re hoping you’ll take their orders and get an abortion,” she said. “In their way of thinking, they see you as being a victim.”
“A victim?”
“Seduced into doing this unnatural, evil thing,” she said, “which can result only in an evil child.”
She smiled and hummed the theme music to some horror movie.
“And if I don’t get an abortion?”
She stopped smiling.
“They’re determined. I’ll give them that,” she replied, and had some coffee. I didn’t take much comfort in her answer, nor did she look like she was trying to sugarcoat anything.
“You seem to know a lot about them. You’ve had experience with this group before then?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “But not working for Genitor specifically.”
“Are they always this violent?”
“Not until just recently. Up until now they were mainly a pain in the ass and we could usually scare them off, but their success in pressuring politicians and getting their way on other issues as well has swelled their ranks and brought in some more, shall we say, proactive members?”
“So what do I do?”
“Nothing. We’ll do it all,” she said.
“Like Sterling did it all?” I countered. If she was going to be blunt, so could I.
She shrugged. I imagined she had to have a thick skin to do the work she did. Staying calm, being centered was critical and could mean life or death. For a moment I envied her. She reminded me a little of Willy with that inner strength, that muscular self-confidence.
“As I said, we liked Sterling. He was good, but I don’t think he took this particular assignment seriously enough. You don’t relax on the job, not for a second. I wouldn’t exactly have sprawled on a pool lounge at night.”
“He had the pool light on as well.”
“Or they put it on.”
“They put it on? Why would they do that?”
“So you’d find him quickly,” she suggested. “Remember, they’re trying to intimidate you.”
“That light is worked from a control inside my house. Are you saying they were in the house?”
She shrugged.
“If that’s the only way it gets put on, obviously yes.”
“How familiar are they with my house?”
She shook her head, glanced about and then said, “My guess is one or more of them have been through it recently. Maybe even when you were in it.”
“When I was in it? You make them sound more like ghosts.”
“Maybe you were in a deep sleep. They are what they are and as I said, not to be underestimated. They killed a pretty good man, saw an opportunity and took it.”
“Sterling did tell me they could easily get into the house without triggering any alarm.”
“Most people have a false sense of security because of what these alarm companies claim,” she said.
If she was supposed to be providing me with some comfort and self-assurance, she was failing miserably, I thought.
“My partner couldn’t find the picture on him when she went out and searched him.”
“Picture?”
“The picture I just described, the one in the car.”
“Oh yes.” She shook he head and sipped some coffee. “I heard nothing about it. As far as I know, he didn’t turn anything over to us. Maybe he was planning to do that today.”
“If he didn’t turn it in and it wasn’t on him and it’s not in his car, where did it go?”
“The killers took it, I imagine.”
“Why would they take it back?”
“Who knows?” she said. “Maybe to cover up their tracks, make you question your own sanity. They love doing that. They get their targets questioning what they saw and didn’t see.”
“There definitely was a picture,” I stressed. “No matter what you’ve been told.”
“No one told me either way,” she said. “Why would anyone doubt you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.”
“Try to take it easy. Rely on me.”
I couldn’t help looking skeptical. It only brought a smile to her face.
“We’ll get you through it, Kate. Once you give birth, they’ll disappear.”
“How do you know that?”
“They’ll have failed to prevent it; they’ll move on to someone else. That’s been my experience with them.”
I thought for a moment.
“Well, they’re not that smart. They don’t know that I’m not pregnant yet.”
“Oh, you’re not?”
I didn’t want to get into the whole story of pseudocyesis. “No, but my next insemination is already scheduled.”
“Right. Well, that’s enough to get them to work on you,” she said. “And continue to work on you. We
have to assume they know your schedule, your doctor’s visits, etc.”
“I have a friend here who has just become involved with Genitor.”
“Oh?”
“Janet Madison. She’s a schoolteacher and lives alone. She should be warned about them.”
“I’ll look into it,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s right for Genitor to protect its interests by risking the health and welfare of its clients,” I added firmly. “She should have been told before she agreed to their insemination program. I should have been told. Not that it would have dissuaded me. It’s just good to know what could happen.”
Trinity nodded.
“I’ll make sure that’s understood,” she said, but not with any real enthusiasm. “What I’ll need from you every day is your schedule, where you want to go, how long. I work differently from how Sterling worked. I’ll be sticking so close to you, you’ll try to brush my teeth.”
I had to smile.
“You’re not afraid of another dart?”
“You can’t protect yourself or anyone from everything possible, Kate, but if you let them intimidate you and make you afraid to move, they’ve won without blowing a single dart your way. It was smart to call us to take care of Sterling, by the way. Keeping it out of the papers and away from anyone else’s attention denies them the publicity and the chance to intimidate other people.
“In fact, if the media stopped reporting terrorist attacks, they’d lose their reason to attack.”
“But what about protecting people by warning them, making them more aware and alert?”
“It’s a trade-off that in time would work. That’s my opinion,” she said. She rose. “I’m going to phone this in and have someone pick it up,” she said holding up the plastic bag. “I’ll be right outside and I’ll be making periodic sweeps around the house all day. Are you going anywhere today?”
“I thought I would check on my business,” I said.
“Good. Follow your normal routine,” she said, and left.
Feeling a little better, I showered and dressed. I was excited about the preparations for the White Party and wanted to be a part of it. After all this was my achievement as much as Willy’s, maybe even more. I should at least show my face, I thought.
I put on a relatively new skirt and blouse with matching sandals, fixed my hair, and put on some makeup to get rid of the dragged-down, dark look I had been wearing. Cheered by my bright, revitalized appearance, I hurried out to first visit the plant and then go to the convention center to see how the preparations were preceding. Trinity was waiting outside the garage as the door lifted and I backed out.
“Why didn’t you come out to tell me you were leaving already?”
“I just assumed you would follow me.”
“You can’t assume anything anymore, Kate. I’ll ride along with you, if you don’t mind,” she said.
I waited for her to get in.
“Going directly to the plant, then?”
“Yes.”
“I put a tracer on your phone line, by the way. If you get any more calls like that at home, try to keep whoever it is talking a while. Chances are, he or she is using a cell phone, but we can track that location pretty quickly.”
“Okay.”
“This business, the things they do, are enough to discourage anyone,” she said. “I’m happy you’re not intimidated.”
“Oh, I’m intimidated,” I said, “but I’m still going through with it. We want a child.”
“That’s what I meant,” she said.
“How did you get into this line of work?”
“I was with the FBI. I hit the glass ceiling and left when I got an offer from the Godfather.”
“What?”
She laughed.
“You know, an offer you can’t refuse. It was too good an opportunity and far less demanding work. I enjoy meeting people, too, and in my line, you meet them from all walks of life.”
When we arrived at the plant, we saw Eve running the loading operation. She told me Willy was over at the convention center overseeing the setup of the various kiosks and organizing the supply line and the kitchen. The plant buzzed like a hive of frantic bees. I noticed that even though Trinity moved about to look at various machinery, products, she kept a close steely eye on me.
“Who is that?” Eve finally broke away to ask.
“The new security from Genitor.”
“She’s kind of sexy in an androgynous sort of way,” she whispered. She smiled licentiously. “Or have you already noticed?”
“I hardly think I’m in the mood to be thinking those thoughts, Eve.”
She shrugged and went back to work.
Trinity worked her way around the plant.
“Do you know everyone working here?”
“Not anymore,” I said. “Eve and Willy hired the new employees relatively recently.”
“When I get a chance, I’d like to look over what they have on everyone. The easiest way for the creeps to infiltrate your life would be through the business.”
I nodded and gazed around suddenly more keen to the way any of them were looking at me. Maybe she was better than Sterling. He never mentioned this possibility.
“Let’s go to the convention center,” I told Trinity, and we left and got back into my car.
“Quite an operation you guys got going. I’m impressed. I didn’t expect so much,” she said as I pulled away.
“It wasn’t until recently. Almost overnight, matter of fact.”
“Impressive,” she said again, nodding. I saw her making some notes in a PDA.
I found Willy in the thick of it at the convention center. One of the committee members was not happy with the way Willy had designed the arrangement of the kiosks. Willy was trying to explain how her way made for easier restocking.
“It’s like planning a battle,” she explained. I could see the frustration in her face, the slight redness in her cheeks, trickling down into her taught jaw. The committee member wasn’t convinced and went off to talk to other members.
“What a dork,” Willy said. “You run into these self-important assholes every time you deal with any committees. They compensate for their otherwise empty lives,” she muttered, and then finally realized I was at her side. “You okay?”
“Fine.”
She looked over at Trinity.
“Who’s that?”
“My new security agent.”
“No shit,” she said. “She looks like she has a pair of balls.”
“I haven’t gotten to know her that well yet,” I said.
Willy laughed.
“You look good,” she said. She kissed me.
“I feel better.”
“Great. Do me a favor, will you. I’m going into the kitchen. You check out the setups for the mixed drinks. I don’t trust Tommy with the job. I trust him with the actual intercourse, but not with the necessary foreplay.”
“Okay,” I said, laughing.
Trinity watched me cross the room. I noticed how she kept back, but moved almost precisely with my every twist and turn as if there were invisible wires connected to us. I began to feel as if I were being guarded by the secret service.
Tommy did look overwhelmed. I started to check the stock and saw immediately that he had under-stocked club soda. Soon, I was in the thick of it, confirming glasses, mixes, condiments. There were so many new employees, I did not know names and I thought again about what Trinity had said. I knew many were only temporary, but one blond-haired man of about thirty-five looked familiar. I noticed he had an air of self-confidence about him and other employees were listening to him.
“Hi,” I said, approaching him. “I’m Kate Dobson.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said shaking my hand. “I’m Peter Teller. I used to manage for Isler. We’ve done this party for the last five years.”
“Oh. I’m sorry about him.”
“Yeah, it was quite a shock, especially with the new information.”<
br />
“What new information?”
“Everyone believed he suffered heart failure and drifted into the opposite lane.”
“Didn’t he?”
“Autopsy report said he had no heart problem and the police now believe it was the truck that had drifted too far to the right. Here’s the best part. The truck driver has disappeared, or should I say evaporated?”
“Evaporated? What do you mean?”
“That truck wasn’t supposed to be on the road and the driver not only had what the police think now was a phony license, he never worked for the company.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Yeah. Poor Glen. Wrong place, wrong time. The driver was probably stealing the truck,” he said.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Well,” he said, looking around. “I can’t blame you guys for jumping in. This is a major payday. What do they say, someone’s bad luck is usually someone else’s good. Thanks for hiring me at least,” he said, and jumped quickly when an employee nearly dropped a case of tequila.
I watched them for a while and then, when I turned, I found Trinity so close behind me, I almost turned into her.
“You all right?” she asked.
“Yes, why?”
“Just checking. That’s my job,” she said. She looked at all the activity and the employees. “Any one of these people could be planted,” she repeated.
“You know you’re scaring me a lot more than comforting me,” I said.
“Sorry. It’s not my intention. We just want it all to go well for you and when you’re pregnant, the baby,” she added. “Everyone has an interest in your having a successful birthing.”
If I were told that one more time, I’ll scream, I thought, then sucked in my breath and went to see how Willy was doing. I was still quite disturbed about the news concerning Glen Isler, and I wondered how much of it Willy knew.
She shook her head when I told her and said she hadn’t heard anything like that.
“Doesn’t it just make you sick, Willy?”
“Unfortunate, but we can’t dote on it.”
“Dote on it? We have all this because of that truck driver apparently,” I said, thinking about my conversation with Peter Teller.
Unholy Birth Page 18
