New York Strip

by W. J. Costello

  “Not for everybody. But it is for me.”

  “Why’s it a bad idea for you?”

  “Tried it once. Didn’t work out too great.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  I nodded and looked out the window.

  New York is a beautiful state. Nice scenery.

  It was midafternoon when we got to Syracuse.

  We napped in the car for a couple of hours. Rain drummed furiously on the roof. Ironically the rain drowned out other sounds. It became a white noise. The constant sound made for good napping.

  By the time we woke up the rain had stopped. Trees dripped. A mild breeze stirred them a little.

  I yawned into my fist. I stretched my arms. I knuckled my eyes.

  “Ready to get some dinner, Sam?”

  “You bet. I’m starving.”

  “Where you want to go?”

  “You choose.”

  We drove around for a while before we found a good restaurant.

  We took our time eating. Enjoyed ourselves. No rush.

  After dinner we drove directly to Harper’s house.

  Night had fallen.

  The house stood in darkness.

  “No lights on,” I said. “Guess she’s not home.”

  “Maybe her power went out,” Sam said.

  I gave him a Don’t be stupid look.

  Darkness prevented him from seeing my face.

  “Let’s go,” I said and got out of the car.

  He followed me to the front porch.

  I tried the door.

  Locked.

  “First rule of burglary,” I said. “Look for a key.”

  We searched.

  Under the doormat?

  Nope.

  In the flowerpot?

  Nope.

  Behind the thermometer?

  Nope.

  Damn.

  “What’s the second rule of burglary?”

  “Check the windows,” I said.

  Minutes later we found an unlocked window.

  We opened it and entered and shut it behind us.

  “Guess we don’t need to worry about the third rule of burglary.”

  “Good thing too,” I said. “I don’t have my bump key with me.”

  We searched the house.

  No Harper. No husband. No kids.

  Not even a cat.

  A burglar’s dream.

  “Hope she comes home soon.”

  “Me too, Rip. I hate waiting.”

  We sat waiting in the dark.

  “Tell me about your friend Kelly.”

  “She’s the daughter of a man I used to work with. He’s dying of lung cancer. Hasn’t got much time left.”

  “A smoker?”

  “A lifetime smoker.”

  “What a shame.”

  “Anyway I made him a promise. A promise to deliver Kelly to Rochester and help her find an apartment. She’s going to attend the University of Rochester School of Nursing.”

  “A future nurse. Good for her.”

  “Her father’s very proud.”

  “I bet he is.”

  Headlights swept the windows.

  A car pulled into the driveway.

  The headlights died. The engine died.

  A car door slammed shut.

  Heels clicked on the driveway.

  Sam and I went to the front door and stood waiting.

  “Here’s your gun back,” I told him.

  “Thanks.”

  I still had two guns. I drew one.

  Keys rattled at the front door.

  The lock clicked. The door swung open. The lights came on.

  A woman entered.

  And dropped her groceries when she saw us.

  “Oh my God!”

  “Nope,” I said. “Just us.”

  “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “Have a seat, Harper.”

  She ran.

  Out the door. Down the driveway. Into the street. Heels clicking. Arms pumping. Legs stretching. Mouth screaming.

  Fortunately no neighbors lived within hearing distance.

  Sam and I stood looking out the front door.

  “You want to go get her?” he said. “Or should I?”

  “Be my guest.”

  He ran after Harper.

  Meanwhile I picked up the spilled groceries and set them on the kitchen counter.

  Minutes later the two of them returned.

  “Have a seat, Harper,” I said.

  She sat down on a flowered sofa.

  Sam leaned against the wall.

  I sank into a plush armchair.

  “I have money,” Harper said. “Cash. You can take it. Take all of it. Just don’t shoot me.”

  “Nobody’s going to shoot you,” I said. “We’re not interested in you—we’re interested in your friend Inna.”

  “Inna? She’s not here.”

  “We know that.”

  “Why do you want Inna?”

  “Her father took a friend of mine. He’s holding her captive. I want her back. The best way I know to get her back is to take Inna and then exchange her for my friend.”

  “Boris is holding a woman captive? I doubt that.”

  “It’s true,” Sam said. “Boris did it to me once too. He took my wife. Held her captive. She died in captivity.”

  Harper frowned skeptically.

  “We need you to do something for us,” I told her. “No harm will come to you. No harm will come to Inna. We just want to get my friend back.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Phone Inna. Tell her you need to meet with her. A private meeting. Nobody else around. Ask her where she is. Tell her you’ll drive there tonight. Tell her you’ll phone her when you get there so you can set up a place to meet.”

  “I’m not going to do that. Inna is my friend. My best friend. You’re not going to use me to get to her. You can beat me. You can shoot me. But you can’t make me betray my friend.”

  Sam and I exchanged a look.

  “She thinks we’re a couple of thugs,” I said. “Lying thugs. We’ve got to prove otherwise. Maybe we should show her some online articles. Articles about you. Articles about me.”

  He nodded. Then turned to Harper.

  “Where’s your computer?”

  “In my bedroom.”

  In her bedroom I sat down at the computer. The two of them stood behind me.

  I hit some keys. A few mouse clicks brought up an article in the Chicago Tribune. A photo showed me with a group of men. I pointed to my image on the screen.

  “Recognize that man, Harper?”

  “That’s you.”

  “Read the caption under the photo.”

  “It says all the men are deputy U.S. marshals. You’re a marshal?”

  “Used to be. I’m retired now.”

  “That could be a fake photo.”

  “In the Chicago Tribune?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Moments later I brought up an article in the New York Post. A photo showed me speaking to students at an elementary school in Harlem.

  “Read the caption under the photo, Harper.”

  “That one says you’re a marshal too.”

  “Convinced yet?”

  “If you used to be a marshal, then why are you doing this?”

  I brought up Kelly’s Facebook profile page.

  “Who’s that?”

  “My friend. Her name’s Kelly Wright. Right now she’s being held captive on Boris’s yacht. I want her back. That’s why I’m doing this.”

  I told Harper about Kelly’s life. Her mother dying in childbirth. Her father raising her. Her job as a stripper. Her pregnancy. Her acceptance to the University of Rochester School of Nursing. Her father battling cancer.

  That made Kelly a real person to Harper. A living and breathing human being. A daughter. A soon-to-be mother. A real person.

  My goal? To get Harper to develop feelings for Kelly so she would cooper
ate willingly with the rescue scheme.

  “Let me sit there,” Sam said to me.

  We exchanged places.

  He hit some keys and clicked the mouse.

  An article came up. I recognized it. The headline said EXPLOSIVES EXPERT MARRIES VICTIM OF LAND MINE.

  “Read the article,” Sam told Harper.

  She did.

  Tears filled her eyes.

  “You married a woman with no legs. You built ramps in your house so she could get around in her wheelchair. You must have loved her very much.”

  “Still do.”

  “You both look so happy in that photo.”

  “We were.”

  “But now she’s dead?”

  “Yes. Because of Boris.”

  Tears rolled down Harper’s cheeks.

  A Kleenex box sat on a table. I picked it up and held it out.

  Harper took one.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She dabbed at her eyes.

  Then she looked at Sam.

  “How did your wife die?”

  Sam told Harper the story. How he met Boris. His job at Boris’s limestone quarry. Boris’s enforcers taking Nika. Boris forcing Sam to burn down the apartment building. The former Army Rangers storming Boris’s warehouse. Nika getting killed in the crossfire.

  By the time Sam had finished he had wet eyes.

  “Take one” I said and held out the Kleenex box.

  He took one.

  Harper touched his arm.

  “So you’re not in the Army anymore?”

  “I got out a few years ago.”

  “A former soldier and a former marshal. How did you two meet?”

  “Through Boris,” I said. “He used Kelly as leverage to force me into finding Sam for him. Finding him and bringing him back to Boris.”

  “Why does Boris want him?”

  “So he can kill me,” Sam said.

  “But that’s not going to happen,” I said. “We’re going to work together to free Kelly and stop Boris.”

  “Stop him from what?” Harper said.

  “From forcing women into prostitution. He’s a sex trafficker.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “We need your help, Harper. So does Kelly. So do other women who are being forced into prostitution. Will you help us? Will you phone Inna? Will you tell her you need to meet with her? No harm will come to her. We promise you that.”

  “Inna will ask me why. What will I say?”

  “Tell her you’re in a desperate situation. A situation you can’t explain over the phone. Tell her you really need her friendship now. You need her to trust you. Can you do that?”

  “I can do that.”

  CHAPTER 61

  “PUT YOUR PHONE on speaker,” I told Harper.

  She put it on speaker and hit the speed dial for Inna.

  “Hey Harper.”

  “Inna! I need your help.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Something happened. Something bad.”

  “Slow down. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I can’t tell you over the phone. I need to meet with you.”

  “Why can’t you tell me over the phone?”

  “It’s sensitive. They might be listening.”

  “Who’s they?”

  “You need to trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  “Where are you?”

  “On Father’s yacht on Lake Ontario.”

  “What city are you closest to?”

  “Rochester.”

  “I can be there in an hour. Will you meet with me?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll phone you when I get there. Then we can set up a place to meet. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “See you soon.”

  “Drive safe.”

  CHAPTER 62

  THE THREE OF us got into Sam’s car.

  Sam got in behind the steering wheel while Harper and I got into the back seat.

  “Don’t you ever clean this car?” Harper said. “Fast-food wrappers everywhere. Empty soda cans. What a mess.”

  “I’m not commenting on that,” I said.

  “Wise choice,” Sam said.

  I took out my phone and punched in the number for Blake’s hospital room.

  “Hello?”

  “Blake? It’s Rip.”

  “The last time we spoke you said you should have Kelly by sometime today. Tell me that’s still true.”

  “Might take a little longer.”

  “How much longer?”

  “Not sure yet. But it’s a necessary delay. One that improves the chances of getting her back safely. How you holding up?”

  “Still hanging in there.”

  We got to Rochester about eight p.m. We drove around looking for a good location for the meeting. It took us half an hour to find one.

  The Seabreeze Amusement Park would stay open until ten p.m. That would give us enough time to conduct our business there.

  We bought three tickets and entered the park.

  Crowded. Happy kids. Happy parents. Happy place.

  We studied a park map.

  Arcade. Bobsleds. Bumper cars. Carousel. Gift shop. Helix. Park office. Scenic train. Wave pool.

  We walked around. We saw the whole park. It took us five minutes to reconnoiter the place.

  “Go ahead and phone Inna,” I told Harper. “Tell her to meet you by the bumper cars. Put your phone on speaker again.”

  Inna answered on the second ring.

  “Where are you, Harper?”

  “Seabreeze Amusement Park.”

  “I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “Meet me by the bumper cars.”

  “Okay.”

  “Come alone.”

  “Why?”

  “Just trust me.”

  “See you soon.”

  Twelve minutes later Inna entered the park.

  “Who are those two men with her?” Harper said.

  “Guards,” I said. “Boris has lots of them. I’ve met three. But I’ve never seen those two before.”

  “Me neither,” Sam said.

  The three of us stood hidden behind a row of evergreen bushes.

  “I told her to come alone,” Harper said. “You heard me say that.”

  “Not a problem,” I said and turned to Sam. “Is it?”

  “Not a problem at all.”

  “Go ahead and meet with her, Harper. Try to get a little distance from the guards. We’ve still got guns. Don’t forget that.”

  “Okay.”

  She stepped out from behind the bushes and waved to Inna.

  Inna waved back.

  Neither guard waved. Their eyes swept around. Taking in everything. Looking for danger. Finding none.

  Moments later Inna hugged Harper.

  They spoke. But not loud enough for Sam and I to hear.

  Then Inna motioned for the guards to give them a little privacy.

  The guards frowned. Then stepped away.

  I elbowed Sam.

  “Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  We took out the guards.

  Nine seconds from start to finish.

  Nobody noticed.

  Not even the guards.

  They never saw us coming. Arms hooking around their necks. Squeezing tight. Causing asphyxia.

  The guards sank to the ground.

  We hid them in the bushes.

  “Get Inna,” I told Sam. “Take her out to the car. I’ll join you shortly.”

  “Don’t linger.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  I waited behind the bushes while he drew his gun and strolled over to the two women. I hid because I didn’t want Inna to see me just yet. That might cause her to put up even more of a struggle.

  Sam waggled the gun at the two women.

  Inna flinched.

  Harper tried to look shocked.

  Sam spoke to
them for a moment. Then he marched away with Inna in front of him. They headed toward the park exit.

  When they had gone I went over to Harper.

  “You’re free to go now. Don’t contact the cops. Not unless you want your friend Inna to go to prison for kidnapping Kelly. Understand?”

  “No police. I understand.”

  “Inna doesn’t have to know about your involvement in this. We’re not going to tell her. You don’t have to either.”

  “She’s not stupid. She’ll figure it out.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Either way you might want to start thinking up a credible reason for having set up a meeting with her.”

  “What are you going to do to her?”

  “I told you: No harm will come to her. We’ll exchange her for Kelly.”

  “I’m free to go now?”

  “Yes. Sorry for your inconvenience.”

  “Me too.”

  CHAPTER 63

  BY THE TIME I got to the car Sam already had Inna bound and gagged.

  I got into the back seat beside her.

  Her eyes widened when she saw me.

  “Hey Inna. Surprised to see me?”

  Sam started the engine and we drove off.

  I patted Inna’s thigh.

  “How’s Kelly doing? You been taking good care of her?”

  Rhetorical questions. No response expected. Especially because Inna wore a gag in her mouth.

  Twenty minutes later we found a secluded hotel. Few vehicles in the parking lot. That meant few guests.

  “Pull in here,” I told Sam. “This place should give us some privacy.”

  As soon as he parked I got out of the car and headed toward the hotel entrance.

  “I got us a room on the ground floor,” I said when I returned to the car. “Pull around back and park.”

  He did.

  We brought Inna in through the back door of the hotel. We got her into the room without anybody seeing us.

  I went back out and got my suitcase from the car.

  When I returned to the room I saw Sam tying Inna to a chair.

  “Might as well tie her to one of the beds,” I said. “We’ll probably go to sleep soon.”

  “We’ve got two beds in here but we’ve got three people. I’m not sleeping in bed with a bound woman and I’m sure as hell not sleeping in bed with you.”

  “Pull the mattress off that bed. Tie her to the mattress. I’ll sleep on the box spring. You can have the other bed.”

  “Works for me.”

  I showered while he tied her to the mattress.

  Then he and I sat down at the table and started talking about how to handle the hostage exchange.