Brainstorm (16 page)

“Ferdy!” I couldn’t take it in! “What the hell are you doing
here? You were driving this car?”

He held both hands up defensively, “Don’t be upset,” he
said. “Don’t be mad.”

Harley said, “That’s what I need to talk to you about.”

I couldn’t catch my breath. “What the hell are you two
doing
together?” I stared at Harley.
“You’re with
Ferdy
? Oh my God – are
you in on all of it Harley? With the three guys?” Behind me, waves pounded the
shore, sounding cold and dark – a warning perhaps.

“Yes,” she said.

She reached for me, but I pulled away. “Don’t touch me.”
I turned to Ferdy, “And you!” I screamed. “I thought I knew you, and I worried
so much when I thought you’d been
kidnapped!”
I spun around again to Harley. “And all the time you knew nothing had happened
to him! You saw how devastated I was, and how his brother” - I spun back around
to Ferdy. “Do you even know or care how distraught Sean has been? Do you?”

Harley took my arm, and this time I had no strength left
to fight her off. “Let’s go inside,” she said. “We’ll tell you all about it.”
Ferdy picked up my duffle and led the way. I followed them inside, all the
while staring at the back of Ferdy’s head and the stupid driver’s cap he was
still wearing. It was like being in a dream – a really bad dream. I looked back
at the car, hoping I was still inside sleeping. But, no.

The beach house was full of bamboo, glass, ceiling fans,
potted palms, and casual furnishings, done in turquoise and white stripes. And
Ferdy. “This just doesn’t play right,” I said. “Why would you two be living
here together?”

Ferdy took off the cap and poured himself a drink. He
held the glass up in my direction. “Want one?”

I ignored him, unable to stop the flock of questions that
were flying through my brain, most of all the question of how I could have been
so stupid. Would I never learn?

Harley pointed to an overstuffed sofa. “Sit,” she said,
and she folded herself onto the other end of it. “I was unhappy, and afraid of
Carl; you know that. Ferdy was around a lot, and eventually a client of yours,
and we just became close.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t become a client because you’d
heard how talented I was,” I said to him. “And,” I said, as it dawned on me, “
you
were the one who recommended Harley
to me!”

He nodded. “Audrey, you are talented. But you’re right.
Carl had me contact you.”

I envisioned a wounded animal, separated from the herd,
with jackals closing in; a perfect analogy for what had happened to me. And
here, in front of me, were two of the jackals.

I looked at Ferdy, “Why would you want to kill Tony? How
could you have done that?”

Ferdy said, “I wasn’t trying to kill him. He’d made
emergency landings before; I thought he’d do it again.”

“His career is over!” I shouted. “And you almost did kill
him! And when you disappeared the same day we all thought you’d been kidnapped
– do you know what hell you’ve put all of us through?”

“The consequences were devastating for a lot of people,”
he said. “I regret that.”

“Regret? Are you serious?” I stood up and looked at
Harley. “I can’t stay here with him. I thought I was coming here to be with
you
. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you wouldn’t have come, obviously,” she said.

“You walked out on your job at Carrie’s after I helped
you to get away from Carl, and when you left without a word, I thought he’d
found you. But what – you were just running away with
Ferdy?”

“Yes,” she said, “he had to hide.”

I began to cry, and knew that hysteria was only a gasp or
two away. “I have to go.”

“Go where?” asked Ferdy.

“Anywhere. I have to get away from the two of you.”

“You’re certainly not in any danger,” Harley said,
“Please, just get some rest. Come on, I’ll show you to your room. You can get
some sleep and we’ll talk later.”

I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t even know where
the hell I was. I followed her down a long hallway, into a room filled with
more bamboo and wicker.

“Audrey, please don’t pass judgment until you hear
everything, okay? I know this is not what you expected to find when you came
here, but I promise, you won’t be unhappy if you just wait until I get a chance
to explain. I’ll send Ferdy out and we’ll talk alone, okay?”

I did not respond, but sat down on the bed. One side of
the sliding glass doors was open, and a warm breeze stirred the gauzy strips of
cloth that made up the drapes. It was a stunning home but Hell on Earth to me;
I wanted nothing more to do with it, and wondered how long it would be before I
would be rescued.

“I’ll see you later,” she said. “We all need to sleep.
It’s only 5 a.m. – sleep till noon if you can. I didn’t answer, and she left. I
went to lock the door and found that I couldn’t. Scrapes and scars from an old,
larger door knob were visible on the wood around the new, smaller one they must
have put on especially for me.

I went into the bathroom where the door did have a lock,
and sent a text to Jack:
I’m in a house
somewhere on a beach about eight hours from the airport. Harley had a car
waiting at LAX. Ferdy is here!

Almost immediately a text came back:
What happened? No one saw you get off the plane. Thank God you’re okay.
Do you feel safe for the time being?

I texted back
: I’m
pissed but I don’t feel threatened. Harley had me change my appearance in the
Philly airport so the police in LA wouldn’t recognize me.

Take a pic of
yourself,
he wrote,
and email it to
me so I can forward it.

I held up the camera and snapped the photo; the first two
words of his quick response came back:
Holy
shit.
Then he continued
: We’ll find
you. Just hang in. Be nice, understanding, whatever you have to do. Carl
confessed, hoping for leniency. Before you moved into your office, he hid the
money under the floorboards in one of the bedrooms. There’s a team in there
now, pulling up the floors trying to find it. The plan was to put your largest
clients out of business so you’d lose so much income you’d have to close and
they could retrieve the 3 mil. Ferdy – wow! I love you.

I looked in the mirror, then quickly stripped and got
into the shower. I scrubbed my face clean and shampooed until I’d removed all
of the product from my hair. As the water pounded down on me, I wondered how I
would ever be able to sleep here, under the same roof as these people, who had
hidden stolen money in my office and tried for years to figure out how to get
at it. At least I’d screwed them up by moving in and running my agency for so
long.

Actually, I realized, my being there had worked to their
advantage; no one would have thought to look inside my office building for the
money. But eventually, tired of waiting me out, and wanting to get their mitts
on their ill-gotten gains, they’d come up with a way to
force
me out. Poor Tony. Poor Miller. All because they did business
with me. I soaped up and rinsed off, but remained under the spray, letting it
wash away the tears that kept coming.

Jack and Matt and I had wondered how everything tied
together with me in the middle, and now it was all becoming clear. So many
details, so many people, so much secrecy. I pictured the officers pulling up
the floorboards and wondered what they’d find.

Suddenly, I remembered that when I was folding up the
cots, part of the carpet had come loose. A chill went through me. I got out of
the shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and sent another text to Jack –
Have them look in the front bedroom. The
carpet was loose in the far right corner.

Could the money already be gone? I put my dirty clothes
in my duffle and hung up my towel. Now, feeling more than a chill, I dressed
and got into bed, pulled up the covers, and hoped that Jack would get back to
me before Harley and Ferdy woke up.

Half an hour later another text came in:
Money gone. Floorboards right where you said
showed evidence of being removed and then replaced.

So, who had it? And when had it been taken? Circumstances
suggested that Ferdy had ended up with the money. It was probably where got the
funds for that car. And this beach house. Harley had referred to him as the
money guy, and certainly, career-wise, that was true. Perhaps he was having the
last laugh.

Another text came in:
Take
a pic of the outside of the house. They’re working on finding it.
How was I
supposed to do that without being seen? At last the warm breeze got to me. Comfy
on the plush bed, I felt myself slip away.

I dreamed I was outside, on a beach so dark I couldn’t
see where the sand met the ocean. But waves lapped at my feet, and soon the
water had risen to my knees. Jack came running toward me with his hand extended,
hoping to keep me on the shore, but a rip tide, that turned out to be Danny
Stearns, dragged me out deeper and deeper, until the water swirled under my
chin. Jack’s grasp grew weaker, until he was only holding onto my fingers. I
turned to look at Danny, and saw that Ferdy and Harley had formed a human chain
behind him, tugging, pulling all of us further and further into the black
water. Lights flashed, as if someone was taking pictures of us for some
gruesome photo album, and I shouted to the unseen photographer, “No! Take a
picture of the house! That’s what I’m supposed to do!” But the cold, salty
water filled my mouth so that only gurgles escaped. I could see the horrified
expression on Jack’s face, as the ocean continued to cover mine.

I sat upright in bed, sweating, my lungs expanding and
deflating as fast as my heart was beating. I fell back onto the pillow.
Breathe…one…two…three…four…five…six. Eventually my breathing and my pulse
returned to normal, but the traumatic dream had left me with a pounding
headache. I went to the window and took in the spectacular view. The ocean,
unlike in my dream, was a beautiful blue, and waves rolled gently onto the
shore.

I ran my fingers through my hair, smoothed my shorts and
shirt, and made the bed, then went to listen for voices at the door. Hearing
none, I headed toward the sliders, hoping to get at least one shot of the side
of the house for Jack.

I jumped at a knock on the bedroom door. “Audrey?” called
Harley. “Can I come in?”

“I don’t feel well,” I said. “I’m going to rest a little
longer.” I shoved the phone into a pocket and hopped back into the just-made
bed. I wasn’t ready to face her yet.

“I want to talk to you. You don’t have to get out of
bed.”

“Please, Harley, later.”

She opened the door a crack and stuck her head in.
“Pretty please?”

Before I could answer, she was in the room and had closed
the door behind her. “I won’t bother you, I promise,” she said. “I’ll be quick
and then you can rest. I just didn’t like the way we left things earlier.”

“And I don’t like that you put me in a room without a
door that locks, so you can walk in whenever you want.”

“We didn’t do that, Audrey. Whoever lived here before
must have. Honest. All the bedroom doors are like that. Maybe they were
swingers,” she smiled. “Anyway, I feel bad about how you’re taking this. I know
it’s not easy.”

Anger built quickly inside of me. “Taking what? How you
made a fool of me? Or that you got me down here without telling me that Ferdy
was with you? No, you’re right. Not easy.”

She sat on the edge of my bed, and in my mind I had a
vision of police creeping up on the place with their guns drawn. How was I
going to get rid of her? “I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Let me sleep now and
you’ll have my full attention later. Can you please just leave me alone in
here?”

“I have the money,” she whispered.

“What?” I sat up and stared at her, wondering if she’d
actually said what I thought I’d just heard.

She looked at my shirt. “You’re already dressed.”

“I thought I’d feel better,” I said, thinking fast, “if I
showered and dressed, but I didn’t, so I got back in bed. You have what money –
from the robbery?”

Excitement fairly exuded from her. “I overheard a phone
call between Carl and Danny, and Carl told him where he’d hidden the money. I
just waited them out, same as they were doing to you.”

“So you
did
know.” Another lie. “And Ferdy?”

She shook her head and gave me a wicked grin. “Nope. He
took care of all this,” she said, as she waved her arm around at the house in
general. “The guy is loaded. He thinks the 3 million is still hidden in the
office.”

“Where is it?”

“The money? Right here, divided up in three of my
suitcases.”

“And Ferdy has no idea?”

“He could care less about my luggage; how much I unpack
and how much I don’t. We’re never in the same place long enough for me to
unpack everything anyway.”

“So that’s why you escaped by car. Airport security.”

“I could eventually have found a way to move the money,
but it would have taken me too long to figure out how. That’s not my strong
suit. I don’t know about off-shore accounts and that stuff. Ferdy does, but
he’d want a cut.”

The minutes were ticking away in my head. How close were
the police now? How soon before they broke into the house? “Where’s Ferdy?” I
asked.

“Sleeping it off on the lanai – that’s what they call a
patio down here,” she said. “He didn’t realize how hard it would be to face you
and he drank way too much, way too fast. I tried to tell him you’d be fine once
you had some time. Anyway, Aud,” she continued, “I want you to come with me.
Tomorrow I’ll send Ferdy out for something. He’ll put on one of his disguises –
he does it all the time to buy food and stuff. Then the two of us can take the
money and go! We can leave every damn thing here and just go.” She took my
hand. “I’ve been
waiting
for you. I’m
willing to share the money with you. What do you say?”