Soul Hostage (11 page)

     Joey’s reaction wasn’t missed by Louis.  “Joey, I ap-preciate your sympathy for me and what happened to me. I do. And I can tell you honestly I spent many years being consumed by the fire of hatred for the woman.  But the time for hatred has passed.  It is now time to be focused on making things right.  Putting the world back into balance.” Stoaffer’s words had a calming effect on Joey.

     “Remember when I mentioned how I learned about meditation?” Louis didn’t bother for any response to the question.  “Well, during my research, I also learned a bit about something called
feng shui
.  It is a school of thought which involves creating harmony through a balance of energy and elements. Now, it may sound like a pretty far-fetched concept, but I have come to accept the idea that anger and hatred are symptoms of a world out of balance.  Furthermore, I think settling matters in San Pietro will help to restore
feng shui
to the world.  

     A sort of respectful silence filled the car for a few sec-           

onds before I broke it with a loud snicker. “Two ques-tions, Louis.” I said trying to sound as serious as possible. “First, are you on medication? Second, can I have some?” 

     I let loose a big laugh as I turned to look at Joey expecting he would be joining me in the fun.  I was very wrong.  All I got from him was silence and a look of strong irritation. 

     “Ah, c’mon, Joey!  Don’t tell me you’re buying into this cosmic bat
shit!”  I was practically pleading with him not go for it.    

     “I realize how ludicrous the whole thing sounds, but nonetheless this is what I believe.” Stoaffer’s voice was calm and confident.

     Joey was still glaring at me so I simply gave up on the whole subject of balance, harmony, peace, love, and understanding.  Instead, I focused on the money.  

    “So okay, Louis, you can have your balance and
fong goo
just tell me how we’re going to get to these stashes of yours.” I looked up at his smiling face in the rearview mirror. Joey’s glaring had now turned into sulking.

     “Actually, I was hoping you might have some ideas about the best methods.”  Stoaffer replied. “This might surprise you, but I have no experience with criminal enterprises such as burglary.  However, I think burglary may very well be the best method for approaching this matter.”

     “Hmm, yes, about this matter,” I started and was enjoying needling Louis a bit, but I also wanted to understand exactly what we were getting into. “Is this
matter
about retrieving around six and a half million in cash and coins? A little while back, you mentioned wanting to see the look of shock and fear in the eyes of your ex.  So is it about money or is it about some revenge shit?”

     Irritation flashed across the old man’s face and then was replaced by an amused expression.  “Well, Thomas, I would be lying if I denied seeing a pained expression on Theresa’s face would give me extreme satisfaction.  After all, I spent eight years in prison for a crime which I did not commit.” Stoaffer’s voice grew louder as he con-tinued. “I spent eight years in prison for a crime for which my wife framed me.  Is it any wonder I spent eight years in prison dreaming about the moment I could see a flash of pain in her eyes?”

     Joey seemed to have been shocked out his doze.  “He’s gotta point, Thomas!”

     Joey’s sudden, unquestioning support of our passenger was beginning to get on my nerves.  “Joey, I don’t give a damn!  He could have the best reason in the world for wanting to fuck up his ex. And I agree he’s got a helluva reason!  But the thing is I don’t want to get caught in the middle of some shit that I don’t want to be caught in the middle of.  Besides, when did you become the president of the Louis Stoaffer fan club?”      

     There was another tense silence for the next several seconds.  A voice from the backseat scattered the quiet. 

     “Wait!  I have a fan club?”

     Stauffer’s question filled the car with roars of laughter from all of us. This laughter went on and off for over a minute. It is an undeniable fact that once an uncon-trollable fit of laughter has broken out it is difficult if not impossible to return to seriousness. I knew better than to even try.

     “Okay, all I am saying is I’m not going to San Pietro just so Louis and Theresa can work on their marriage issues,” I commented.  “I’m only here for a big score to set me up for the rest of my life.  Sorry Louis.”

     “No apology necessary.” Louis was leaning forward in the backseat to hear everything being said. “I never expected anything from you but assistance in getting to the assets hidden in my home. Any interactions between my dear ex-wife and I will be handled between Theresa and me.”

     “I’d hafta say the bitch has gotta get what’s comin’ to her!”  Joey added with enthusiasm. 

     I could hear Stauffer chuckling from behind me before he replied, “I can’t argue with you there.”

     “Now I don’t want to be the turd in the punch bowl here.”  I started out hesitantly.  “I mean we had a big laugh and all. We’re getting along like old buddies. But I would still like to hear just how we’re planning on getting to the stuff stashed inside the house.”

     Louis leaned forward and stuck his head over the front seat. “First of all, I need to find out if the code for the burglar alarm has been changed.  If it has not, that would make it easy for you to simply go in when the place is empty and grab the items.” 

     “Uh, Louis, by
make it easy for you
, do you mean Joey and me and not you?”  I asked.

     “Well, to be honest, I am something of a bumbling old man.  I just thought it might be easier for you to do the job without me getting in the way.”  He answered. “I can join the two of you if you wish.”   

      “What do you think, Joey?”  I was genuinely curious about Joey’s opinion on this.  “Should we go in by ourselves and leave Louis safe outside somewhere?” 

    He appeared to give the question very careful con-sideration. After a moment, he said, “Well, I guess, it uhd be better if alluh us went together. We’re s’posed to be like a team, right?”

     “Go team!”  The sarcasm in my voice seemed to go unnoticed.

     “It’s settled. I will accompany you into the house.” Louis offered cheerfully. “Thanks for making me part of the team, Joey.”          

     “No problem, Lou.”  Joey replied with a broad smile.   

     “Great, now we’re a team so maybe we can get uniforms and a clubhouse!  How about a secret handshake.”  I can be a total prick sometimes, but it sure seemed I was the only one with any grasp of reality. “Well, if we are going to be a team, don’t you think we should start making some sort of game plan?”     

     “Good idea, Thomas.  As I mentioned, entry into the house should be rather simple provided that the alarm code has not been changed.  If it has been changed… Well, I trust at least one of you has some experience with circumventing security systems.”  I could almost feel Stoaffer’s grin coming from the back seat.  

     “If ‘circumventing’ means fuckin’ with, then yer talkin’ ‘bout Thomas,”  Joey offered.

     “Thanks for the recommendation, Joey, but it really depends on the system.  Let’s hope the code hasn’t been changed.  So, Louis, once we get inside the house, how tough is it going to be to get to your stashes?”

     The old man was quiet for a moment. “Well, it is not an undertaking which can be completed quietly.  Several of the caches are located within walls and a few are under the marble floor.” 

     “Damn, Louis!  How many of these things are there?”  I asked trying to make sense of what he was saying.

     “There are seven total.”  Louis answered with pride.

     “Seven! What the fuck, Lou?” Joey exclaimed with typical energy and style.

     I took a second to calm myself before asking a question, “Uh, was there some reason that you felt like you had to put the stuff in seven different places?”

     “Maybe … Maybe I was a little paranoid, but I just didn’t want anyone to be able to stumble upon one of my caches and thereby take everything I had.”

     Joey was quick to comment, “You weren’t a
little
paranoid, Lou! I’d hafta say you were
a
lot
paranoid!”

     “Sounds to me like it wasn’t simply paranoia, Louis.”  I surprised myself with the observation.  “It sounds to me like you were expecting someone to come looking for the money.  Am I right?”

     Stoaffer’s voice once again became that of a proud teacher. “Thomas, your powers of perception are truly impressive. Yes, you are correct in your assumption. You may have heard the expression
just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you
!”

     What followed was more of a screech than a laugh.  But whatever it was called, the noise was disturbing.  This time Joey and I did not join in.  Instead, we glanced at each other and then sat silently until the sound died away and the old man took a deep breath.  

     “Please excuse my outburst.” Stoaffer said with something like embarrassment. “Back to business.   There is no reason for us to be concerned regarding the motivation for choosing to stash the resources in various sites around the house. However, as I mentioned, retrieving them cannot be done without some noise and effort.  Tile flooring has to be pried up and walls broken.  Therefore, we need to do this while the house is empty.  I estimate that the entire task will take about thirty to forty minutes.”         

     Joey put my thoughts into words.  “Shit, Lou, thirty’r forty minutes is a long time to be inside a place!”

     “Perhaps, it could be done in less time.”  Louis an-swered like he was nervous about losing our support for the plan.  

     “We would need to know what exactly we were going to face once inside the house in order to do the job quickly.” I spoke the words but didn’t really recognize how they got into my head.

     Something about the situation suddenly made me feel like I was some master thief.  Nothing could be farther from reality.  My criminal life had amounted to a couple of stolen cars, three burglaries, a couple of robberies, and the events of the last few days.  I had Joey to thank for raising my status to accomplice to murder.  Still, at that moment, I felt like a criminal mastermind.

     “We need to be sure the house will be empty for a long time before we go in.  To do this, we need to know about the schedules of anyone who lives in the house.  The best way to get such information is to spend some time watching the house and recording the times people leave and come back.” I finished and felt pretty satisfied with myself for laying out an intelligent strategy.

     My satisfaction was almost instantly brushed away by a snicker from Joey.  “Yeah, we cud do that!  Or we cud just watch ‘til the house is empty then go in and do it!” 

     I felt my face getting red with embarrassment but said nothing. 

     “Of course, I have no experience with this sort of enterprise. But you have presented excellent strategies. Depending upon the situation we confront in San Pietro, I think we can then choose which approach is more appropriate.” Stoaffer’s diplomatic idea reminded me of a parent settling a dispute between children. 

     “I guess we’ll just have to wait to see.”  I said pouting.

     “Yeah!”  Joey answered with arms crossed over his chest. 

     The silent tension filled the car for several minutes.  Finally, Louis broke the silence, “Okay, so when we get to San Pietro, we need to find a place to lay low while we figure out just how we are going to proceed.” 

     Neither of us responded for a moment, and then I said, “Any ideas about where we might find a place to lay low?  Our money is not going to last too long if we have to pay for a motel.”

     “Good point, Thomas.”  Joey’s comment was clearly made to lighten the mood between us. “You got any good ideas ‘bout what we oughta do?” 

     “Well, I’ve never been to San Pietro, but maybe we can find an abandoned house to spend a couple of days in.” I answered in a way to keep things light.  “How about it, Louis?  Do you think we can find an abandoned house in San Pietro?”

     I glanced up at the rearview mirror to see his grinning face and again got the impression of a parent watching children.

     He answered after a moment, “A very good question, Thomas. However, I am not certain I can give you a good answer.  As I have said, I have been residing out of the area for the last seven years.” Again, Stoaffer followed his comment with a long, irritating laugh. Thankfully, this outburst ended fairly quickly. 

     “Yeah, Louis, you were in prison.  I got that.”  My voice had a much stronger twinge of irritation than I had intended.  “But we need ideas here.  Do you know of any areas where we might find abandoned houses?”

     Stoaffer was quiet for a moment before answering, “I apologize for my lack of solemnity in this matter, Thomas.”  His voice made it impossible for me to judge his sincerity.  “San Pietro like other communities  has been afflicted by the rash of home foreclosures and glut of homes for sale. Although I  haven’t been here for nearly a decade, I can only presume we will find unoccupied houses in any recent housing developments. Some which were  being started when I was sent away.”

Chapter 6

     We drove through the night stopping to get coffee and gas up and to use the toilet at a couple of 24-hour stations. 

     A couple of times I caught myself dozing. I was not sure just how we stayed on the road for the last few miles. A pretty good sign I should not have been driving. But Louis never offered to drive, and I did not really trust him to drive. Joey had never driven in the time I had known him.  I am not sure if he had a license. I just knew he did not offer to drive. 

     In truth, I did not want anyone else to drive.  Maybe it was some sort of control issue, but I was never very comfortable with anyone else driving. Maybe I liked being in control of where I was going. The master of my own destiny and all of that!  After all, I had done a wonderful job steering my fate so far.