Deadly Treatment (20 page)

R
osehill Cemetery is the largest and some would say the most beautiful cemetery in Chicago. Its vast three hundred and fifty acre grounds was the resting place of Mayors, Generals, leaders of empires; it had even been the set for a couple of movies. Mr. Paxton felt it would be a more than suitable place to bury his colleague.

Anthony Cain’s mother had taken a bit more persuading than he’d expected, but he put it down to grief and lack of funds; the latter, he’d assured her, would be taken care of by the Corporation: ‘it’s the least they can do,’ he’d told her.

The funeral’s attendance was bigger than he’d expected. It turned out that Cain was more popular than he’d been aware; but it didn’t matter, there was more than ample catering. The thing that did concern him though was the presence of the media; however, he was not as concerned as Elwood was.

‘What are they doing here?’ he whispered aggressively to Mr. Paxton who’d been the deceased’s boss.

‘Don’t worry; they’re just looking for crumbs. Must be a slow news day. Mind you, considering his position and the way he died, I can see the news angle.’ His smile changed abruptly as he turned to look solemnly at one of his department heads.

They joined the people at the graveside, and Elwood moved to the rear of the crowd as Gerard Paxton went to stand next to Anthony Cain’s mother. A fitting tribute was said by the priest, and the coffin slowly disappeared into the ground.

‘I’m so very sorry for your loss,’ Paxton said turning to speak to Mrs. Cain.

‘I’m sure you are,’ she said in a tone that bordered on cynicism.

Even though they kept a respectable distance, he could hear the click and whirr of the cameras as the press snapped away. He was about to ask her what she meant when they were interrupted by mourners offering Cain’s mother their condolences. Paxton decided to let the comment go, and went back to stand with Elwood.

‘So, where are we at?’ Paxton asked as he and Elwood started walking through the gravestones. The call Paxton had made to Elwood was to invite him to the funeral; he’d even sent the corporate jet to pick him up; he thought it would be a good idea for Elwood to see how the corporation valued their employees even in death — and even if they strayed a little at the end. More importantly though, it had been a while since they’d caught up face-to-face; phone and e-mail reports were fine for day-to-day things, but he was old school; to him nothing beat in-the-flesh meetings.

‘His last couple of weeks were action packed, especially when you think of the pain he must have been in. New York, Ohio, Texas, Albuquerque, and then California — I’m tired just thinking about it,’ reported Elwood

‘Were they all on the list?’

‘Yeah, and some. I’ve got a few more names you should keep an eye on. Plus, he didn’t make it to Mexico, so there’s some unfinished business there.’

Paxton nodded. ‘It will have to be another time; it’s not a job that can be pieced together on the road. I’ll need to be more involved so that it gets better planning.’

Elwood was annoyed at Paxton’s arrogance.

‘What happened in LA? According to your previous reports, the office shouldn’t have been there. Did your contractor screw up?’ asked Paxton.

‘As I said in the report, the activist there was the biggest threat on the list, and the Texas doctor let slip that he knew he’d managed to get copies of the San Diego paper that ran Rife’s story years ago — plus actual manuscripts of the all-important ‘Admission’ correspondence between Rife and the AMA.’

‘Ah yes, Raymond Rife, a name from the past, someone who was not good for our organization,’ Paxton interrupted.

‘They were in the process of getting thousands of copies made to distribute. A meeting with Cain and what we think is on that flash drive would have been hazardous,’ Elwood continued.

‘Yes, I get all that; but what I don’t get is why the office was still standing when you got to LA, why Cain was dead in there, and why your contractors stole the damn flash drive.’ Paxton’s voice was slightly raised.

‘They’ve never let me down before, and rest assured, they’ll never let me down again.’ Elwood was unimpressed by Paxton’s verbal attack.

‘Anyway, it was just as well I found Cain before the office burned; it would have been harder to explain him dying in a fire!’

Paxton conceded, ‘It would have been impossible to explain how Anthony Cain was able to burst into flames in a private hospital. The practicalities of trying to get his charred body mysteriously lost, or God knows what, would have been a nightmare. So, yes, I’m pleased you stumbled upon him.’ Paxton thought about the scandal surrounding Royal Raymond Rife, a man who’d spelled the demise of one of his predecessors.

‘I thought we’d got rid of all copies of that paper.’

‘Apparently not — but I now have the name of the guy with the last copy; I’m in the process of getting his location details,’ Elwood said, and then changed the subject.

‘Do you know
exactly what’s on the flash drive yet? Do I need to go back out there and get it?’

‘We’re still not exactly sure what’s on it, but I’m sure it can’t be good. The problem is Cain had almost the same access as I do, so it could be virtually anything. We haven’t heard from your friends Vince and Scott, so I’m sure they don’t know what they’ve got — and from what I read in your report, you would have confused the crap out of them: a dead body just ups and leaves — priceless!’ He paused and smiled. ‘But, whatever’s on the flash drive is ours, so I want it back. Take a day to get rested, and then, yes, you’re going to have to go get it,’ Paxton replied.

‘So Cain was seriously keen on bringing down the Corporation before he died!’ Elwood said.

‘Looks that way. That’s the trouble with sick and dying people; they’ll try anything to appease their souls. Unfortunately, Cain was delusional. Years of listening to idiots selling potions, witchcraft, and old wives’ tales messed with his brain. Science really has proved to be the best form of success. If only Cain had stayed on the recommended treatment, things could have turned out differently.’

‘Still, cancer’s a nasty way to go,’ Elwood sighed with a touch of compassion.

S
hannon and Daniel had agreed to meet each other again after her shift finished at six. Although she’d had a better day at the tables, Shannon was still distracted and found herself looking at her watch far too often as she waited for her shift to end. Right on the button of six, Daniel came through the doors of the casino, which immediately brought a smile to her face.

Again, Shannon smoked as they walked the strip, and again, they found a diner in which to take up residence for a while. This time it was an old favorite —
Denny’s.

Shannon asked Daniel how his day had been, and while he spoke, her mind drifted back in time a couple of decades.

After murdering Ginger, she’d returned to her bedsit wired and full of adrenaline. She’d found a rest stop on the drive back and changed out of her blood-covered clothes that now lay beside the crowbar in a bag at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to pull the whole thing off — and how great it had felt to kill him. She was free! Free and alive with cash in her pocket — Ginger’s cash. She wanted this feeling to last forever, this high, this total release. She checked herself out in the mirror above her sink, her eyes were bright, and her skin was glowing. Only once had she ever remembered feeling better than this, and as she stared at the wad of Ginger’s money, she decided it was time to feel that good again.

Finding a supply that night wasn’t difficult; scoring hard drugs in a city such as San Francisco was almost as easy as hailing a cab — which by some strange and ironic coincidence was how, in fact, she managed to get her fix. She’d hailed a cab with the intention of going to the Tenderloin area, then got talking with the driver who said he knew of a place — and hey, presto, mission accomplished.

The mixture of adrenaline and drugs reintroduced her to what her life had lacked since the untimely departure of DC. It had been one hell of a day, and as the drugs washed over her, she immersed herself in her own sense of achievement, taking huge gulps of joy from her imaginary cup of success.

She awoke the next morning back in her bedsit having no idea when or how she got there. A groan from beside her made her jump, and she lifted the comforter to see where the noise was coming from — and more importantly, from whom. Both riddles were solved as the crumpled face of the cab driver looked up at her. She dropped the comforter back down and slowly got up. With her head pounding, she carefully made her way down the hall to the bathroom.

Having got rid of the cabbie with promises of a rerun sometime, she showered, dressed, and ventured outside in search of coffee and something to eat. She would have thought breakfast, but really had no idea what the time was. The local coffee shop was alive with people. Raised conversation and crashing crockery did nothing to ease the aching in her skull, but at least her dark glasses shielded her from some of the bright light torture she knew existed beyond them. She made her way to the counter and slumped down on a stool.

‘What can I get you, doll?’ the waitress boomed from behind the counter.

‘Black coffee and an aspirin,’ Shannon replied in a voice several decibels quieter.

Smiling, the waitress slapped a mug down, filled it to the brim with thick java, and moved on to the next customer. Shannon picked it up and held it in both her shaky hands, choosing to move her face to the mug rather than risk spilling its scolding hot contents all over herself.

After several hits of coffee, a modicum of normality gradually crept back into her head, and she began to take in some of her surroundings. The café was filled with suits, and the food coming out looked more like lunch than breakfast;
at least it’s not dinner
, she thought to herself. She’d almost completed a full scan of the room when her eyes fell on a man reading the San Francisco Chronicle. Instantly, the air was sucked from her lungs, and she let out an audible gasp. It wasn’t the man who caused the reaction, but the headline on the front page:

LAWYER BLUDGEONED TO DEATH AT HOME!

‘Are you okay, honey?’ the waitress asked.

‘Wha.. Sorry, yes, yes, I am. Just got a slight burn from the coffee,’ she said trying hard to act normally.

‘Our coffee’s not for the faint-hearted. Can I get you some milk or anything else, hun?’

‘Actually, can I get this to go?’

With the coffee in her hand, she walked to the newsstand at the end of the block and bought a paper; then she scurried back to the bedsit to read it. To her relief, the sensational headline had touted a rather lackluster news article. Opening with loose and basic details about the murder: quiet suburb, early hours of the morning, violent and senseless murder, blah, blah, blah. It then moved on to some of the highlights of Old Ginger’s life: highly respected, generous contributor to this and that fund… Then the story just petered out. It announced that due to the ferocity of the attack, the SFPD were looking for a very violent and motivated individual, which intimated they were looking for a male, but ended with the usual — police are asking for anyone who saw anything or could help with their enquiries to please call their 1-800 hotline. She dropped the paper and let out a huge sigh of relief.

Of course the cash wasn’t going to last very long, but Shannon knew how to open up connections — new-found friends who wanted the same things from life that she did: fun, freedom, and of course, escape. Escape from some of the demons of the past, but more importantly, escape from the here and now, a chance not to judge or be judged, a chance to just…well…be. She would, of course, be immediately accepted; how could she not be; after all, aside from the last two years, most of her life had been about being seen and fitting in.

‘Shannon?’ Daniel repeated.

‘What?’ she asked a little startled.

‘I asked how your day was.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘my mind was on other things.’

‘I figured.’ He smiled, and then his tone changed. ‘You were telling me this morning about the man with the evil eyes. Who was he? Why did he want to take me?’ he asked directly.

Shannon took a slurp of her Oreo shake, and then told him a very abridged and very censored version of their blackmail scam. She omitted the murder of Ginger and danced around the details of the murder of his father, DC, saying that Ginger ordered a hit on him, a job that the man with the evil eyes took care of.

When she’d finished, Daniel was shocked.

‘What? Ginger had my dad killed?’ Daniel asked flabbergasted. ‘So did you go to the police? Is he in jail?’ He was suddenly filled with anger and rage.

‘Calm down, Daniel. I think we should change the subject for the moment.’

Shannon reached across and took his hand. Daniel composed himself a bit, then excused himself and went to the bathroom.

As he walked away, Shannon thought about the man with the evil eyes, and she was immediately back in her bedsit in San Francisco.

‘I’m so sorry; I just didn’t know what to do?’

Shannon had no idea how her friend Jackie from the woman’s refuge had found her, but there she was, standing in the bedsit’s doorway — frightened, apologizing, and begging for forgiveness.

‘He had my children and…’

‘Stop Jackie – Stop!’ Shannon interrupted. ‘I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. Come in, and for god’s sake, calm down.’ Shannon ushered Jackie into the room and curiously checked the corridor both left and right before closing the door and following her in.

Jackie was pacing around the tiny room.

‘He had my kids and said he was gonna do horrible things to them unless I told him all I knew.’

‘Who did, Jackie? Who had your kids?’ Shannon tried to make eye contact with her friend.

‘I knew he meant what he said; I knew he would hurt my babies.’ Jackie continued to pace and blabber.

Shannon had heard enough; she grabbed her by the shoulders and stared right at her.

‘Jackie!’ She yelled. ‘Who are you talking about? Who had your kids?’

Jackie came to an abrupt standstill.

‘I don’t know his name; he was just this big, no-necked man. But it was his eyes that were the worst thing; they were full of hate, unnatural…’

‘Evil,’ they both said in unison.

Jackie was agape.

‘How did you know?’ she asked.

It was Shannon’s turn to be frightened. She quickly moved to the window and looked down at the street, fervently scanning for any sign of him. Flustered, she looked back at Jackie.

‘What exactly did you tell him?’ she asked sternly.

‘He wanted to know where you were. I, I told him I didn’t know. Which is true, I didn’t. How did he find me, Shannon? How did he know we were friends?’

Shannon’s mind was racing; internally, she was asking all the same questions — and more to boot, but first, she needed to know what Jackie was sorry for.

‘Jackie…look at me… You said you were sorry. What are you sorry about?’

‘He said he had my children, and unless I told him what he wanted to know, I would never see them again. He kept asking me where you were, and how he could get hold of you. I kept telling him I had no idea where you were. That you had left the refuge saying you were never going to come back. But he wouldn’t stop. He had question after question, and with each one he threatened my children…’

She stopped mid-sentence, and looked directly at Shannon.

‘I told him where Daniel was.’

Shannon went pale and her legs felt like lead. She sank down to the bed.

‘I’m sorry, Shannon, but he had my children. He…’

Shannon raised her hand to get her to be silent.

‘Shush Jackie; let me think.’

Images of that night with Ginger and the man with the evil eyes flooded her mind. She thought about his strength, how easily he had disabled her partner DC, his powerful grip making DC’s veins bulge and balloon up like a network of rivers about to burst their banks. But most of all, she thought about those eyes, black as the dead of night and cold as a mortuary slab. How he stared unconnectedly at her as he thrust the needle into DC’s arm and plunged the poison into his blood stream.

‘Please forgive me,’ Jackie sobbed.

Suddenly, Shannon jumped up to the window again and desperately scanned the city street.