ROMANTIC SUSPENSE : DEATH WHISPERED SOFTLY (6 page)

Steve’s prompt and unreserved acceptance impressed Ricardo.

“This man’s passion attests to what he is saying and he surely looks capable
”—Ricardo thought to himself and gave Steve a nod of approval.

“Let’s go to my office amigo. I will tell you the rest there. Ok?”

Steve wanted to hear what he got himself into, so he nodded.  Ricardo paid the check and the two men got up, went out of the bar and walked to Ricardo’s dark blue Cadillac, looking ominous against the dark of night. Ricardo drove the car skillfully to a shady part of the city, which carried a reputation and many were cautious upon entering.

He parked the car in front of a small grayish building which was surrounded with plenty of trees.  “Well this is my office” Ricardo smiled crookedly as he led Steve inside the building. Ricardo’s office looked straight out of a B grade Hollywood gangster movie. It was dark and dingy. There was a large desk at the end of the sparsely furnished room, with a large executive chair behind the desk and two smaller chairs in the front. There was a carpet which had outlived its good years and looked as if it was craving for a cleaning. There was a large bookshelf right behind what was obviously Ricardo’s chair.  One look at the bookshelf told Steve that the books that sat there had never been touched. The furniture in the room was not cheap, but it badly needed to be cleaned and dusted.  The room had the aroma of sweat and dust infused with the odor of stale food.
The smell in the room made Steve want to wrinkle his nose in disgust. But he didn’t – he was mindful that Ricardo was watching him closely.

The room was cool, but Steve felt suffocated there. He wanted to open a window to get some fresh air, but was surprised to see there was no window!  This man was surely wary of many people and mindful of his surroundings!

    Although feeling slightly uneasy, as in being dealt a bad hand, Steve managed to keep his poker face on but Ricardo Lopez could gauge what was going on in his mind, and he chuckled evilly. “Sit down Amigo”, he said, his words piercing the silence in the room.

Steve sat down, his face completely inexpressive.

“Here is the dope Steve. Have you heard of a man by the name of Kingsbury, the guy who owns a chain of Cafes in New York?”  Ricardo asked, probingly at Steve. But Steve shook his head. He had no idea who Kingsbury was, neither had he ever heard of his name before. His unfamiliarity of Kingsbury seemed to please Ricardo, who preferred the fact that Steve didn’t know Kingsbury.

“This will be far more uncomplicated than I had expected
” Ricardo thought, inwardly pleased with himself.

“Sherman Kingsbury is a multi-millionaire, who owns more than thirty cafés in New York and other cities on the east coast. He recently died leaving his only heir, a beautiful twenty-seven year old daughter, to inherit his business and millions. The girl is smart like her father, and has a Harvard MBA, but the death of her father has impacted her greatly—she is devastated by his death. Most people in New York know that Kingsbury was a self-made man who through sheer determination and exceptional vision created and established a chain of cafés in New York—a business which generated a profit of millions of dollars for him each year.  What few people know about Kingsbury is that he had a partner, a smaller partner, who owns fifteen percent of Kingsbury’s business. The guy’s name is Erik Nilsson, and he was a close friend and confidante of Sherman Kingsbury.  Mr. Nilsson actively helped Kingsbury set up his chain of cafes. Although the café business was Kingsbury’s brainchild, Mr. Nilsson worked equally hard to convert Kingsbury’s dream into reality.  And as a reward for his hard work and faithfulness, Kingsbury made Mr. Nilsson a junior partner in his business and gave him a fifteen percent share in his business.  A significant stake in Kingsbury cafes meant a lot to Mr. Nilsson. It was both, a financial reward and recognition of his efforts in helping Kingsbury establish his empire. Mr. Nilsson acknowledged the fact he could have never lived a life of luxury that he enjoyed, had it not been for Kingsbury’s benevolence, and he was extremely grateful to Kingsbury for that. He knew that there was nothing he could have done, had Kingsbury chosen to
not
give him anything. Mr. Nilsson now makes a million dollars a year from his share. Plenty of reason to be eternally grateful to Kingsbury one would think, right Steve?  But Nilsson’s son Gustav does not think that way. He thinks Kingsbury was not fair to his father. Gustav is just twenty-eight and recently took over the business from his father, who retired a few months before Kingsbury died.

Although Gustav Nilsson co-operates with Grace Kingsbury and helps her run the business, he secretly despises her. He thinks it’s unfair that she got eighty-five percent of the business from her father while he gets only fifteen percent from his father, even though his father had worked equally hard in setting up this money spinning business for Sherman Kingsbury.  But Gustav is smart. He has never let Grace Kingsbury have the remotest inkling about his deep resentment for her and her father.  He bided his time, knowing fully well that sooner or later time and opportunity would come his way, when he would strike the Kingsbury’s down.

And when Sherman Kingsbury died, Gustav found the opportunity he was looking for; if he could somehow get Grace Kingsbury out of the way, he would automatically become the sole and absolute owner of the Kingsbury empire and all the cafes it possessed.  With Sherman Kingsbury out of the way, Gustav considers Grace Kingsbury a “soft target”. And this is where
we
come in Steve.
”
Ricardo’s wicked grin affixed on his face.

    “She is terribly disturbed by her father’s death, and this disruption in her life has clouded her alertness to danger.  Her father was her rock; with him around Grace felt secure and safe. But the huge protection she had in form of her father is gone now, leaving her weak and vulnerable.  She is an easy target now Steve. Gustav feels this is the perfect time to strike Grace Kingsbury. The perfect time to murder her!”

Once Grace Kingsbury is out of the way, Gustav Nilsson will be the only one at the helm of the Kingsbury Empire.  He will become the sole owner of the company—which he feels his father created and was unjustly cheated. This transfer of power and ownership would be sweet revenge and justice, for the wrong done to his father and their family.

With these words Ricardo concluded his story and looking directly into Steve’s eyes said “Interesting isn’t it Steve, any questions?”

Steve’s thoughts were whirling in his head as he listened to all this information with fascinated attention. He wanted to absorb every detail Ricardo was divulging.
Nodding at Ricardo he quietly said “It sure is.  But how do
you
know all this Ricardo?”

Ricardo looked surprised for an instant.  He hadn’t expected this question and it threw him off-guard for a moment; but he regained his composure quickly, his eyes transfixed at Steve, smiled and said “Good question Steve…my compliments. Gustav and I are buddies. There is nothing that he knows that I don’t. The man confides in me, and there is nothing that he asks me to do, that I don’t.  I love the man Steve, he is like my brother. If anyone gets in his way, I will kill him” A vicious look traversed Ricardo’s face and it startled Steve, but he managed to keep his face unreadable. He knew this man was as lethal as a black Mamba and as brutal as a Pit-bull, which would go to any length to protect its master.  Here was a man who was desperately loyal to his friend Gustav and would do anything his friend would ask him to do. In this case, murder. 

    Steve also realized that if for some reason he should fail, this man would go after him with all he had. He knew Ricardo was a vicious, experienced and ruthless killer, and for a fleeting moment he considered backing out of this murder plan.  But he calmed himself silently. “What the hell can this thug do, if I were to say
buzz off
and just vanish into thin air?” he asked himself. But he knew it was too late to back out now—he should have done that
before
listening to Ricardo’s diabolical plan.  Plus backing out would also mean bidding goodbye to this golden opportunity of beating the life of crime and accomplishing his dream. It was ironic that it was this vicious killer who held the solution to escape his bitter and worthless life, and all that stood paramount to accomplishing his goal of becoming an owner of a chain of successful restaurants, and living a clean, wealthy, and respectable life.  And if the price for realizing his goal was murder—then so be it!

“Steve!” snarled
Ricardo when he saw Steve had drifted into cavernous thoughts. “My buddy want’s this woman out of his way; and trust me, she
is
going out. I promised that to Gustav, and I keep my promises!” His voice lashed out and it shook Steve out of his deep thoughts, and he found Ricardo staring at him with his eyes steadfast and peering. Steve
knew at that moment that the man staring at him through his bleak steely eyes would do anything for his friend.
Anything!

Although Steve was impressed by Ricardo’s loyalty for his friend, he wanted to know more before accepting his offer. He looked directly at Ricardo and said quietly “How much are you getting out of this Ricardo?”

“That’s none of your concern Neal, but hell if you wanna know, I am getting a hundred grand, Ricardo lied glibly.

“But more important than the hundred grand is the satisfaction of not letting my friend down. Know that if you fail, I will come after you amigo” warned Ricardo.

Ricardo’s vicious and cold hearted ways would have fazed many, but they did not totally rattle Steve. Although he was taken aback initially by his brutal wickedness, he had recovered and was not scared of Ricardo’s cold ruthlessness; for  he knew rather well the likes of Ricardo from his days on the streets with the gang.

Although Ricardo was deadly dangerous, and would do exactly as he was promising, Steve felt he had no real reason to worry
, for he had no intention of double-crossing Ricardo.
He was as eager as Ricardo to lay hands on the money. And he could have the money only if he was successful in eliminating the Kingsbury girl.

So he simply nodded and asked Ricardo, “How do I eliminate the Kingsbury girl Ricardo, have you figured a way out yet?”

Steve’s cold and professional response seemed to have a calming effect on Ricardo and he suddenly relaxed.  “Man, the moment I saw you at the airport, I knew my stupid cousin Carlo had made no mistake, for a change! I must confess that I had my doubts, but he sent the right dude to me”, Ricardo declared, thumping the table loudly, almost triumphantly, with his right hand. 

He looked straight into the eyes of Steve “You need the cash real bad, don’t you Steve?

Steve didn’t say anything. He stared right back at Ricardo and nodded.

“Steve you know what, we will both make lots out of this, Ricardo said in an affable tone of voice.

    “Here is the plan: Kingsbury’s daughter goes every single day to this isolated café on the outskirts of New York each day. I have been watching her the past six months. She sits there from ten p.m. to about two a.m. playing piano, sipping coffee and occasionally drinks a couple of shots of brandy, which she brings concealed in her fashionable flask, since the café doesn’t serve alcohol.  It seems to take the edge off her nerves” Ricardo said with a wink. This daily routine of hers makes her an easy target, don’t you think Steve?” Ricardo asked puckishly.  Steve, who was listening, just grunted.

Ignoring Steve’s nonchalant response Ricardo continued: “I am sure the girl realizes that this routine can be treacherous for her, but either she is too foolish to disregard it, or too darned depressed to care. But either way she becomes an easy target for us, a sitting duck, doesn’t she Steve?

Steve did not like the fact that Ricardo had now used “us” instead of “me”.

It implied that this thug had presumed that he was going ahead with the job of assassinating Grace Kingsbury.  Although he had quickly said “yes” to Ricardo’s plan, it bothered Steve that he was getting deeply entangled into a plot to assassinate the innocent daughter of a millionaire who had recently died.
“What the hell am I doing with this lousy son of a bitch, who is planning to murder an unarmed innocent girl, struck by a monumental tragedy—the loss of her father?”
Steve was agitated.  And even as he pretended to hear Ricardo, he found
his mind was spinning, as his thoughts raced by like a slide show—from his loving and upright parents being abruptly ripped from his life, the torment-filled life with his
perfidious foster parents, and finally the streets, where his only refuge was the bad guys that swept him up, gave him a place to belong and taught him a life of crime.

    Steve was acutely aware of the depth, severity and the consequences of the crime he was being asked to commit, in order to get what he wanted.  But the exciting thought of starting life all over again, getting the hell out of the gang life, and accomplishing his dream of becoming the owner of a chain of successful restaurants, was too great a motivation for Steve to bother about anything else—even taking an innocent person’s life. It masked any apprehensions or compunction he may have had of going through with this plan of murder.

It also enabled Steve to wrench himself free from the whirlpool of thoughts. He looked up at Ricardo Lopez who was staring at him as if he knew what was going on in his mind,  nodded and said “Yea she is an easy target Ricardo, but you must have more elaborate details to pull off the perfect murder, don’t you Ricardo?