Blood Money Page 10

  “I must have,” Kelton said. “That was the first time I’ve seen you speechless since I met you.”

  “How the hell was I supposed to react?” Jessica said. “If I laugh, I’m a bitch. If I apologize, I’m a condescending snob. And if I start probing around, I’m a psycho-analyzing weirdo.”

  “So you just shut down completely.”

  She shrugged. “Seemed like the wisest choice at the time.”

  “I just can’t believe you bought it,” Kelton said. “How sad for me that you thought it might actually be possible.”

  “Well, you are a pretty strange guy,” Jessica said. “And you are acting like a prude for some reason that is still, as of yet, unexplained.”

  “It’s a pretty simple explanation, actually,” Kelton said. “I’m just old-fashioned.”

  “Like, no sex unless you’re married old-fashioned?”

  “More like, no sex with someone I’ve known for less than 24 hours old-fashioned,” Kelton said. “Especially when said person is going to be out of my life within a very short period of time.”

  “Ah, I see. You’re of the belief that sex actually means something beyond physical contact.”

  He nodded.

  “I can respect that,” Jessica said. “Doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with you, but I see where you’re coming from. It’s kind of cute, actually.”

  “Yeah right. Don’t give me that crap.”

  “It is,” she said. “And to prove to you that I’m serious, I won’t mess with you any more tonight. Hell, you can even go back to sleeping on the floor if you like.”

  “That’s all right,” Kelton said. “This bed is pretty comfortable. I think I’ll stay, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.”

  DAY THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kelton was halfway through his fourth set of 50 pushups when the cell phone started buzzing.

  Not wanting to wake Jessica, he grabbed the phone and walked out into the hall before flipping it open. As always, he and Walter ran through the all-clear signal before getting to anything important.

  “Good news,” Walter said after they’d finished the formalities. “The Feds are still working from behind.”

  “How much do they know?” Kelton asked.

  “From what I can gather, they’ve connected the two episodes, but that’s about it. Their search is focused mostly on San Diego and they’ve issued alerts throughout the state, but because of the inflammatory nature of the case, they’re keeping things under the radar for the most part.”

  “And the murder case?”

  “They’ve enveloped it into their larger case and taken the locals out of the loop.”

  “So we don’t have much to worry about.”

  “That’s right,” Walter said. “We can make the exchange with relatively little anxiety.”

  “How soon?” Kelton said.

  “That depends on where you are.”

  Kelton paused for a moment before responding.

  “Well?” Walter said. “How are we supposed to meet up if you won’t tell me where you are?”

  “You know how I feel about cell phones . . .”

  “The line is secure. I already told you that.”

  “So you say.”

  “You think I’d be using it if I wasn’t 100% certain it was safe?” Walter said. “Just tell me.”

  Kelton took a deep breath, exhaled audibly. As much as he didn’t want to, he said, “Riverside.”

  “That’ll work. Do you know where the Riverside Valley Mall is? Off the 91 Freeway?”

  “No, but I’m sure we’ll be able to find it.”

  “Be there at noon,” Walter said. “Take a seat in the outdoor porch area of the food court. Buy a drink from Hot Dog on a Stick if everything is kosher. If you think something might be amiss, get your drink from Burger King.”

  Jessica was sitting up in bed when Kelton came back into the room.

  “Where did you go?” she asked.

  “I was just out in the hall,” Kelton said. He dragged his gaze away from her exposed ankle and looked her in the eyes. “Walter called.”

  “Why did you take it outside the room?”

  “Because I didn’t want to wake you up.”

  She smiled and said, “Oh, how sweet,” without any trace of irony.

  Kelton felt a dull warmth spreading throughout his chest and immediately scolded himself for being such a softie. This was no time for emotion. This was work.

  “Did you two work something out?” Jessica said.

  Kelton nodded and rehashed the conversation for her.

  Jessica took it all without comment. After he was finished, she said, “So I guess that means we’re in the clear with the Feds?”

  “It appears so. For the time being at least.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Jessica said. “Maybe you can actually get me off your hands this time. If you’re lucky.”

  Kelton faked a smile and nodded his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe.”

  Jessica gave him a funny look, as though she could see right through his façade, but thankfully she didn’t call him on it.

  Three hours later, Kelton and Jessica were sitting at a table on the outdoor balcony of the food court at the Riverside Valley Mall. Directly in front of them was a courtyard with a large fountain. To their right was the main entrance to the movie theatre, and on their left was a row of restaurants. A large lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick sat in the middle of the table.

  Even though Walter had said the Feds were nowhere near the area, Kelton had followed his general rule of always being prepared, and had chosen a table that had easy access to multiple escape routes. There were three different avenues leading to the enormous parking lot that surrounded the mall like a moat, an escalator to the second floor was ten feet away, and the entire mall with its multiple exits was at their back. In addition, they were both wearing hats and sunglasses that they’d picked up on their way to the mall.

  They had arrived a full hour before they were supposed to meet Walter and had been people-watching the whole time. At first, the crowds were minimal, but as the morning wore on, the number of people began to slowly increase. Now, at just before noon, the courtyard below them was a mass of activity, with the vast majority of the patrons being either under 20 years old or over 70.

  “Seen anything suspicious yet?” Kelton asked Jessica.

  “No. Have you?”

  “Nope. I’ve been watching the outskirts of the area, but haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary. Of course, from where we’re sitting, it’s impossible to pick everything up.”

  “I’m sure we’re fine.”

  Kelton looked at his watch. 11:45. He stole a glance at Jessica, caught her profile as she gazed out at the courtyard. He took in her face—thin, pouty lips, slightly upturned nose, smooth, tea-colored skin—as though allowing himself to truly see them for the first time.

  He was surprised to feel a anxious flutter in his stomach; nervousness was not an emotion he had experienced in at least five years. After all, to be nervous, one had to care. And he hadn’t cared in a long time. About anything.

  Apparently things had changed. He could only hope it was just a temporary phase.

  “So what’s your story,” Kelton said, mostly to take his mind off the idea that he only had fifteen minutes left to spend in Jessica’s presence.

  She gave him a curious look. “Why? I thought you didn’t care.”

  “When did I ever say that?”

  “You didn’t,” Jessica said. “But you certainly never asked me about myself, even when I was probing about your past, so I just figured that you weren’t interested.”

  Kelton shifted in his chair. “Sorry if you got that impression. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I try to keep things professional when I’m on a job. The less I know, the less chance of me getting emotional.”

  “What’s wrong with emotions?”

  “The
y can skew your decision-making process,” Kelton said. “Compel you to do things that you know aren’t in the best interests of the job.”

  Jessica smiled. “Somehow I just don’t see you making that mistake.”

  He chuckled under his breath, looked down at the table. “Oh, you’d be surprised,” he said, thinking specifically about Jason Preston. “For the most part, I’ve learned to control myself, but back in the day, I was a bit of a firecracker. I could go off at any time.”

  “Really?”

  Kelton nodded. “I’ve spent the last couple of years systematically altering my nature, forcing myself to become a new person, one step at a time.”

  “Why? Just for the hell of it?”

  He shrugged. “I just didn’t like the old me. I didn’t like feeling like I wasn’t in control. So I decided to make a change.”

  “Well, it seems to have worked,” Jessica said. “I don’t think I’ve ever come across someone with your self-control.” She smiled, cocked her head slightly. “Although, if I would have had a couple more days . . .”

  “Yeah, I think you might have broken me,” Kelton said.

  “Might have?”

  He smiled. “I guess could have is a better phrase.”

  “Would have is the term you’re looking for,” Jessica said, smiling herself now. “Another 24 hours and I would have broken you.”

  “Perhaps,” Kelton said. “Too bad we won’t have the chance to find out.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her eyes boring into him. “Too bad.”

  Kelton held her gaze for a moment, then looked down at his watch. Three minutes until noon. Three minutes until he was alone again. Three minutes until his life was back to normal. He didn’t know if he should feel relief or disappointment.

  His cell phone rang.

  He pulled it out of his pocket, flipped it open.

  “Hello, my friend,” Walter said. “How are you doing?”

  “Better than you, old man,” Kelton replied.

  “Oh, I beg to differ.”

  “Beg all you want, it won’t change anything.”

  “Glad to see you could make it,” Walter said. “But I’m afraid we have to take the party elsewhere.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Walter said. “I just prefer to make the exchange someplace where there aren’t so many potential witnesses.”

  Kelton shook his head in annoyance. Then why did you set up the meeting here in the first place, he thought. But all he said was, “Where?”

  “A warehouse on the other side of town,” Walter said. He proceeded to give Kelton detailed directions, adding, “I’ll be waiting for you inside,” before ending the call.

  Kelton closed his phone and stuck it in his pocket.

  “Was that him?” Jessica asked.

  Kelton nodded, pushed his chair back, and stood up. “Come on,” he said.

  “Where are we going?” Jessica said.

  “To meet Walter.”

  “I thought he was going to come here.”

  “So did I,” Kelton said. He started walking towards the parking lot. “But apparently he has something else in mind.”

  “Why? What’s going on?” Jessica said as she came abreast of him. “Is everything all right?”

  Kelton nodded. “My guess is that Walter was never going to meet us here. I think he just wanted to get a look at things in a public setting, make sure nothing funny was going on.”

  “You think he was watching us?”

  “Most likely,” Kelton said. “And after he saw that everything was kosher, then he decided to move on to stage two.”

  They stepped off the curb and onto the cement surface of the parking lot.

  “Is there any way to know if he’s actually going to be at the next place?” Jessica said.

  “He said he’d be waiting for us.”

  “He also said he would meet us here at the mall, and that didn’t happen.”

  “True enough,” Kelton said as they reached the car. He turned off the alarm and opened the driver’s side door. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Welcome to the bowels of hell,” Jessica said under her breath.

  They were driving along West 47th Street in a desolate part of Riverside, surrounded by abandoned warehouses, the empty streets littered with trash, the buildings dotted with graffiti. The sun was buried behind a thick, overcast sky, giving the day a gray tint that only added to the dreariness.

  It was 12:17 when Kelton saw the warehouse that Walter had designated as the exchange point. He pulled to the curb on the opposite side of the street and parked. Reaching under his seat, he pulled a Smith and Wesson M1911 .45 caliber pistol from the quick-release holster, double-checked the magazine, then stuck it in his waistband.

  “Do you really think you’re going to need that?” Jessica said.

  “No,” Kelton said. “But you know my motto.” He looked in his rearview mirror, saw no cars approaching. “Are you ready?”

  Jessica nodded and they both stepped out of the car.

  The warehouse looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The floor was empty, save for scattered trash, loose piles of ashes, and various other signs of previous squatters. The windows were blacked out, limiting the amount of light throughout the empty space.

  “Hello,” Kelton said. “Anyone here?” The only reply was his own echo.

  Jessica sighed. “What now?”

  “Good question,” Kelton said. “I guess we wait for a little while, see what happens.”

  “How long do we give him?”

  Kelton shrugged. “Ten minutes. Fifteen at the most.”

  “And if he still doesn’t show up?”

  “We’ll figure it out then,” Kelton said. “But for now, we’ll just wait.”

  His cell phone started ringing. He dug it out of his pocket and flipped it open.

  “Hello, my friend,” Walter said. “How are you doing?”

  “Better than you, old man,” Kelton replied, his voice reflecting his annoyance.

  “Oh, I beg to differ.”

  “Beg all you want, it won’t change anything,” Kelton said. Then, before Walter had a chance to say anything, “This is getting a bit ridiculous, all this running around. I feel like a chicken with its head cut off.”

  “I know,” Walter said. “And I apologize. But there’s a good reason for the madness, I can assure you.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “You’ve got company.”

  This caught Kelton completely off-guard. He took a moment to gather himself, then said, “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Walter said.

  Kelton pinched the bridge of his nose, fought the urge to scout the surrounding area.

  Jessica mouthed the words, “What’s wrong?”

  Kelton held up a finger. Into the phone, he said, “Who?”

  “We’ll get to that later,” Walter said. “Right now, I just need you to listen. Our connection is safe. But that doesn’t mean they can’t hear what you’re saying by using traditional listening devices. So what I need you to do is find a place where you can have some privacy, and call me back. Until then, watch what you say. We have to assume that they can hear everything that comes out of your mouth. Especially while you’re in the open, or in your car. If you can, mislead them.”

  “Okay.”

  “And don’t worry about getting intercepted,” Walter said. “They’ll let you go unmolested. They don’t want to make their presence known yet.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” Walter said. “I’ll explain it all to you later, don’t worry.”

  “All right,” Kelton said. He closed the phone, stuck it in his pocket and looked over at Jessica. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  “What about Walter?”

  “Something came up,” Kelton said. “He couldn’t make it.”

  “Shit.”

&
nbsp; Kelton nodded.

  Jessica said, “So what happens now?”

  “We wait to hear from Walter again to set up another rendezvous,” Kelton said. He turned and started walking back towards the car.

  Jessica hurried to catch up.

  They had just pulled away from the curb when Jessica turned towards Kelton and said, “So, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on here or what?”

  “What do you mean?” Kelton said, keeping his eyes on the road.

  “I mean this pathetic cover story about Walter not being able to make it to the warehouse.”

  “It’s not a cover story.”

  “Oh come on,” Jessica said. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”

  “I’m not,” he said.

  They arrived at a stop sign, and even though there were no cars visible, Kelton came to a full and complete stop. He turned towards Jessica, and talking slowly and distinctly, said, “Something came up. Walter couldn’t make it to the warehouse. He’ll get back to us in a few hours and we’ll set something else up. It’s that simple.”

  Kelton let his gaze linger on her for an extra beat, hoping she’d get the point, then started making his way through the intersection.

  Jessica shrugged and said, “Whatever.” She was clearly upset.

  That was fine with Kelton. As long as she wasn’t asking questions, he was a happy man.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  They stopped at a tiny hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant a few miles east of Riverside for some lunch. Kelton had chosen the place simply because of its size; there were only eight tables in the whole place, making it easy to keep track of any new customers arriving after they sat down.

  After sitting at a table in the back corner and ordering their food from a Chinese man that resembled Yoda, Kelton excused himself and headed towards the bathroom.

  He’d figured a restaurant this small would have a single-inhabitant bathroom, but he was mistaken. Inside was both a urinal and a stall. The door had no lock. Undeterred, he entered the stall and pulled the cell from his pocket. In order to keep up appearances, he dropped his pants to his ankles and sat on the toilet before dialing Walter’s number.