Take the Money: Romantic Suspense in Costa Rica (9 page)

A nocturnal gloom was descending upon the city--leaden skies, blue exhaust fumes, sooty cars, cranky people scurrying along the sidewalks with heads against the wind.  But Mike’s news about Julie had given Maggie a flutter of hope that banished her usual end-of-the-day letdown.  For the first time, she admitted to herself that she’d feared Julie might be found in a ditch.

She hurried down the dark alley to the parking lot, trying to recall where she’d left her car.  Second from the end, first row.  She popped open the lock, lowered herself into the cold leather seat and began fumbling with the seat belt.  Then she heard a click at the passenger’s door as a dark shadow fell across the windshield. Cold wind swept through the car; in one paralyzing instant, she realized someone was climbing into the seat beside her.

“You’re in the wrong car!” Maggie cried out.  She smelled it again, that rancid chemical odor of the man who’d slashed her coat yesterday afternoon.  A scream came from her throat while he held her shoulders and brought his face close to hers.

“I’m not in the wrong car, lady,” he said in the thick voice of one whose tongue is too large for his mouth.

“You’ve followed me from the hospital, but why?”

“Why do you think?  I want to know where Julie’s at.”

“You know Julie?”

His lip shot up in a sarcastic snarl. “Why?  You think your precious daughter’s too good for a scum bag like me?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Maggie said, although that’s exactly what she’d thought.  How could this filthy redneck have anything to do with Julie?

“Quit stalling!” he yelled. “I want to know where’s she’s hiding.”

Maggie tried to think fast, but her mind was mush.  Finally she said, “all I know is that she worked for Kevin DuFrain and that he was killed last week.”

“Worked for DuFrain?” he snickered. “Fucked him was more like it.”

Maggie sucked in her breath. “He was nothing more than her employer,” she said.

The man stared at her for a moment, then loosened his hold.  “I don’t care one way or another,” he said through his teeth, “but Kevin and me was partners.”

“Then you know about the wreck, what happened that night.  Was it really an accident?”

“ I don’t know. Anyways, he had some money in that car and it belonged to me.  Now she’s gone, and it’s gone.”

“Couldn’t it have burned up in the fire after the car exploded?”

“There wasn’t no burned money.”

“How do you know that?”

“None of your business. Cut the crap, tell me where she is.”

“You’re acting like I know.”

“Come on, lady, her and you was tight.”

“Not as tight as you think. Julie’s travels a lot. There are often months when I don’t know where she is.”

He banged his hand against the dashboard, his voice vibrating with rage. “She’s got my money and I want it back.”

“How much money?”

He wiped a string of saliva from his lower lip. A lot.”

“Julie isn’t a thief, she wouldn’t steal your money.”

“I’m telling you, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll tell her to get her ass back here.”

“She hasn’t called or contacted me in any way, I don’t even know if she’s alive.” Maggie tried to fight back tears, but they spilled out over her cheeks.

“All right,” he said abruptly.  “You want to play games awhile.  But you tell her she may never see you again if she don’t get back here pronto.”

“You mean you’re threatening me?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“But what good will it do, if I honestly don’t know where she is?”

“Look, all I want is my money. A hundred thou.”

“If you don’t leave me alone, I’ll go to the police.”

“Oh, yeah, the police.  You’re scaring me to death.” He pulled out a knife.  “See this?”  He held it to the light and clicked a switch.  The metal blade glittered as he brought its tip close to her face, his eyes bulging with rage.

She’d faced this kind of anger before, in her ex-husband’s fists.  The thing to do was try and stay calm. “About the money,” she said. “I couldn’t borrow that much even if I wanted to.”

“Come on, you work at the hospital, your husband’s a professor.”

At the mention of her husband, Maggie gripped the steering wheel.  Jed was in danger, too. “You’re wrong, we aren’t rich.  Look at this old car. Think I’d be driving this rattletrap if I didn’t have to?”

He sank his thumb into her shoulder. “I’m letting you go now,” he said, “but you ain’t rid of me until I get what I want.  Now listen to me.  As soon as I get out, I want you to start the car and drive away without looking back. And don’t you go trying to stir up no trouble. You’ll be hearing from me soon.”

“But who are you?  What’s your name?”

“Name’s Cody.”

“ What if I wanted to call you?”

Cody peeled back his rubbery lips. “Don’t worry, lady,
I’ll
call
you
.”

SIX

Cody Jeffrey was pissed.  It was ten after four and that freaking jerk Jason Weathers had agreed to meet him at the Red Bandanna before the Kensington House opened at five.  He sat with his back to the wall, looking out the greasy front window, watching columns of black smoke rising from the paper mill across the street. He supposed Weathers thought he was too good to set one of his polished leather shoes into a dump next to the railroad tracks. Those phonies at his snooty restaurant wouldn’t be caught dead in this part of town, shootin' the shit with the bikers and guys from the factories.    But he’d scared him into coming; hinted that there might be another accident like the one that killed DuFrain if Jason refused to meet him.

“What’cha want?” Cody looked up to see the dopey waitress who always worked this shift looking straight at him with her right eye, the other eye veering off to the left.  She seemed unfazed by the sudden blast of a train whistle as the southbound neared the crossing, making the building shudder from the force of clattering wheels.

“A shot of whiskey and a pitcher of beer, Goddam it.  And bring two glasses.”

“Expecting company?”  She tossed her head, silver earrings glittering in the reflection of lights from the bar.

“None of your business,” he said. “Bring me three hot dogs and a double order of fries.”

The waitress kept her head down, scribbling on her order pad. “Those guys been asking for you.”

“What guys?” Cody ran his hand across the brush of hair on his head and swallowed hard.  Why couldn’t they understand he didn’t have their money?

“Drove up on a couple of cycles.  Some of them Diabalos, I’m thinking.”

Cody rested his hand against the knife in his pocket, his body tensed for action.  He checked the tables around him for room to maneuver, hoping there were only two of them.  Satisfied that he was ready, he looked toward the pool table in the rear. “Tell ‘em I’m here.” he said.

She snickered.  “What’s it worth?”

“Don’t give me no shit.”  Cody showed the bitch the back of his hand.

“All right, all right.” To Cody’s relief, it was only a couple of his suppliers.

The men slowly sauntered over to his table, their heavy boots thudding against the wooden floorboards. They wore black jeans and black T-shirts stretched tight across massive chests, their ham-hock arms gleaming with purple tattoos.               

“You got the goods?” he asked

The one with the black curly hair and pointed beard said, “depends on what you’re willing to pay.”

“$200 a gallon.”

“You’re shittin' us. Anhydrous ammonia goes for $400 a gallon and you know it. 

“Okay.  $300.”

“What’s your problem, Cody? You think we’re some kind of stupid ass bastards?  We almost got caught siphoning this stuff off.   Anyway, we hear you’re in deep doo-doo.  You still owe some guys up north for a bunch of crank and they’re about to take you out if you don’t pay up soon.  You need our product for a fresh batch.”

The bastards had fucked up and now they thought he was desperate enough to pay their jacked-up prices.  He said, “how’d those dumb farmers even know you was there?”

“The feds was doing a stake-out, they’re all over the county.   Hell, everybody in this Goddamn town’s got a meth lab.  They’ve even got ‘em in their cars, for Chris sakes.”

“Look,” Cody said, “about those guys up north, they’ll get their money. I’m just in a temporary financial bind, I got double crossed by Kevin DuFrain.”

“But he’s dead,” the dark one said. “Are you the one who ran him off the road?”

“He screwed with me. Only paid half of what he owed me, and him driving a new Porsche.”

“So you killed him?”

“It was an accident. I was trying to get my money and his damn car blew up.”

“You mean he had ether in the back of a Porsche?”

“Must have, he was always stupid.”

“So what happened?  To the money.  Was it in the car, or what?”

“Not exactly sure.   His partner at the restaurant may know something.  He’s meeting me here tonight and I intend to find out where it went. He had his girlfriend in the car with him that night, but she’s disappeared.”

“What makes you so sure she was there to begin with?”

“Whaddaya think makes me sure?  I seen her in the car before it crashed, but they didn’t find her body. I think she took off with my money. Why else would she run away? The guy I’m meeting here tonight works at the restaurant; he may know where she’s at.”

Jason Weathers, assistant manager of the Kensington house, walked in the door.  He was a slender man of about five six, with small features and prematurely white hair.  In contrast to the other customers, he wore a long navy cashmere overcoat over a gray sport coat, white shirt, and striped tie.  He removed his leather gloves, his thin lips pressed together as he surveyed the messy table.

“About time you got here.” Cody motioned for him to sit down.  “Have you found out where she ran off with my money?”

“You could at least wait till I’ve had something to drink.”  Jason held the extra glass to the light and wiped the rim with a clean white handkerchief.

“You’ll be more than thirsty if I don’t get my money, “ Cody said. 

“Do you think I’m stupid?  If I had any idea where it was, you’d have it.  I know how you people operate.  Kevin left when the restaurant was full of customers.  I was busy in the kitchen sautéing meat and dipping plates, I wasn’t part of the deal.”

“But when I called, you said you knew something. Spit it out.”

“Julie Lawson left the country.  Took a plane out of Indy for San Jose, Costa Rica.”

“How’d you find that out?”

“I have a friend who works in one of the restaurants there. He knows some of the airline personnel.  After you called, I had him check around.  She stuck out like a sore thumb that night, paying cash for a ticket that cost over a thousand bucks.  Ridiculous. If she had booked ahead, she wouldn’t have paid half that much.”

Cody pounded the table.  “That’s my money she’s spending.  Bitch. Jesus Christ.  How in the hell am I going to find her down in Costa Rica?”

The bearded cyclist leaned forward with a sly grin.  “
No Habla Espanol, Senor
?” he asked, taking a paper napkin and wiping Cody’s greasy chin.

“Espanol
?  What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about me, man.  Carlos Lopez. You’re in luck, my mother’s Puerto Rican.  I can speak the language.   Looks like you and me will be taking a trip.”

“A trip?  Where?”

“To Costa Rica,
Amigo
.  I’m going to help you find this lady that ran off with your money.”

Cody’s stomach quivered and some of his hot dog backed up in his throat.  “I ain’t never been on no airplane,” he said

“There’s always a first time,
Amigo
. For a price, I’d be willing to go down there.”

“Price?  What price?”

Carlos lowered his voice. “Expenses.  And a percent of what we get.”

“Percent?”  Cody didn’t like the sound of that.  “No way.”

“How about we split it?”

“Split it?  Are you kidding? It’s going to cost me plenty just to get us there.”

“If I find her in a week, it should be worth $5,000 to you.  If I don’t find her, I’ve had a free trip at your expense.  Fair?”

Cody dipped his finger in ketchup and sucked it thoughtfully.  “You don’t know nothin’ about her, not even what she looks like.”

“We’ll need a few pictures.” Carlos turned to Jason. ”Don’t you have some at the restaurant?”

“If we do, they wouldn’t be any good. She’d be in a group, like a wedding party or something.”  Jason sniffed and moved his chair a few inches from Cody.

Carlos turned his back on Cody and spoke to Jason. “What about where she lived?  Did she have a roommate, an apartment somewhere?”

Jason said. “She lived with her parents; actually, her mom and stepfather. She was always bitching about it.”

“Bitching about what?”

“Having to live with them.  Being too broke to do anything else.”

“But how the hell did she get away so slick and out of the country so fast?”  Cody asked.

Jason took a small sip of beer.  “Julie is a bright girl.  Ivy League education, if you know what that means.”

“So she ends up workin' for a coupla jerks like you and Kevin DuFrain?  Can’t be too smart.” 

Carlos slammed a beer can on the table. “Why not go after the parents?  See if they know anything about where she went.”

“I’ve already cornered the mother,” Cody said.  “Tried to scare her, but it didn’t work. She says she has no idea what happened to her precious daughter.”

“That settles, it then,” Carlos said. “We’ll go down and find her. We’ll have to get into this Julie’s house and find a picture.  Mothers always have pictures of their kids sitting around.”

“You mean do a break in just for a picture?”  Jason shook his head.

“Sure, why not. We’ll need it to show around in San Jose to see if anyone’s spotted her.”

  As Carlos moved closer, the yellow-blue lights from the Michelob sign in the window gave his skin a ghostly pallor that made Cody uneasy. He wasn’t sure he could trust this guy.  “Maybe I should put more pressure on the mother,” he said.

“And what if she still can’t tell you anything?  It’s too late for that.” Carlos said.  “Do you want my help or not? If you do, we need to get in that house.  Now where is it?”

“I can give you the address,” Jason said. “They live across from the park, I know that.  I gave her a ride home one time, when her car broke down.”

Carlos licked his upper lip.  “Is it well lit?  What’s the situation with the doors and windows?”   

“It’s an old wooden house.” Jason said. “And they both work, so you should be able to get in during the day.”

Carlos said: “The thing is to look like we’re some kind of workmen.” 

His buddy nodded. “Me and him’s busted into a lotta houses.”

“Yeah.  But this is different,” Cody said.  “We don’t want them to know we’ve been there, do we? If they see that we’ve come in and taken some pictures, they might warn her, or tell the police.”

Carlos’ cheek bulged from the pressure of his tongue. “Do you want this money or not?”

“All right,” he said. “Let’s meet at my place tomorrow morning about 9 o’clock.”

Cody and Carolos wore overalls, black boots, and quilted jackets so they looked like ordinary workers. “First thing we’ll do,” Carlos told Cody, “ is knock on the door and pretend we’re there to fix the washing machine.  If someone answers, we’ll say we’re at the wrong house.”

They were in luck; no one came to the door.  But unfortunately, the Carrithers weren’t like a lot of stupid people in Lewiston who left their houses unlocked, so Carlos had to use his lock busting tools while Cody stood guard. The place was set back at the end of a wide lawn and had a large front porch shadowed by trees, which made for a nice cover.  It wasn’t long before they were inside.

They found what they were looking for on a small end table in the living room.  It appeared to be a senior graduation picture: a dark-haired girl with high cheekbones and a soft full mouth, wearing a prim high-necked blouse trimmed with lace. 

“She looks kinda prissy.” Carlos said. “Are you sure this is Julie?”

“Yeah, I seen her working at the restaurant. That’s her. Only she’s thinner now. Kinda looks like that Angelina Jolie in the movies.” Cody rearranged several other framed pictures surrounding it. “If we’re lucky, they won’t notice it’s gone.”  He looked over the small room furnished with white linen sofas and chairs, old fashioned tables, and worn oriental rugs. “Geez.” he said. “They can’t even afford a TV set.  They probably couldn’t borrow much money even if they tried.”

Carlos said.  “ Now, let’s go upstairs and see if we can find anything else.”

While Carlos went through Julie’s room, Cody surveyed the master bedroom.  He opened a jewelry box and found a locket with a watch on one side, a painted picture of an old fashioned lady on the other.  He slipped it into his pocket.

“Come here,” Carlos called. “I’ve found some picture albums.”

There was one of her in a pair of khaki shorts and a tank top, taken next to a tall monument that looked like an Egyptian pyramid.   Everything in the picture was various shades of brown, except for a bright blue sky. The hair was long, and it bore a closer resemblance to the girl he’d seen working for DuFrain than the corny school picture downstairs. They took that, and a couple of others that seemed fairly recent. 

“Good,” Carlos said, rubbing his hands together. “It looks like we’re out of here and on our way.”

* * *

Cody shut his eyes and gripped the armrest as the plane lost altitude.  He was relieved, then terrified when the pilot announced they were ready to land.  Nearly blind with fright, he watched as the sparkling lights in the mountains grew brighter and the plane bucked against the wind.