Blood Money Read online

  “There’s two of us,” Kelton said.

  “Go ahead and take row two,” she said.

  They proceeded to the second row.

  Behind them, the same question was asked. One of the children answered, “Five,” and the line operator sent them to rows 3 and 4, filling out the rest of the boat.

  The makeup of the rest of the boat was perfect for his purposes; there was no chance that one of the other members of their boat was an agent in disguise. He allowed himself a satisfied smile.

  He realized too late that Jessica was looking at him.

  “What’s up with you?” she said. An empty boat came to a stop in front of them.

  “Nothing,” Kelton said as they stepped into the boat. “I’m just excited, that’s all.”

  She continued to stare at him for a few moments before shaking her head. “You are one strange dude, Kelton.”

  “Yeah, I think you’ve mentioned that before.”

  They sat down and started moving forward, the slow-moving water pushing their boat along the track at a crawl. The first minute or so of the ride was out in the open, in full view of the various walkways throughout the park, but soon enough they would enter one of the many connected buildings that housed the majority of the ride, where they’d be invisible to the possibility of prying eyes.

  And then they were inside.

  The music kicked in, a chorus of children singing the repeating lyrics to the song loud enough to preclude anyone not on their boat from overhearing them.

  Kelton turned towards Jessica, pointed at one of the hundreds of animatronic puppets to their right, and said, “We need to talk.”

  She started to turn towards him. “What do you mean?”

  Kelton put his hand on her thigh. “Just act natural, like you’re enjoying the ride. We don’t know who’s watching us.”

  “Watching?” Jessica said, a fake smile plastered on her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “We’re being followed,” Kelton said.

  “Right now?”

  “Yes.”

  “By who?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Kelton said. “But someone is definitely shadowing us. And most likely listening to us too, whenever they have the chance.”

  Jessica started to shake her head, but quickly caught herself and turned her attention back to the ride. “I freaking knew it. So that’s why you kept me in the dark for the last half of the day, because you were afraid they could hear us talking?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Even in the car?”

  “Especially in the car,” Kelton said. “They could have easily wired it up while we were inside our hotel room last night.”

  “Wait a minute, they’ve been on to us since last night?”

  “Probably longer.”

  Jessica’s face started losing color. “Are you serious?”

  “Completely.”

  The ride shifted to a room that resembled the North Pole and the song switched to what sounded like Swedish.

  Jessica took a deep breath, exhaled audibly. After a full ten seconds of silence, she seemed to have herself back under control. “So that’s why we didn’t meet up with Walter today.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And that’s why you wanted to go on this ride first, because it’s one of the few places where we can talk without fear of being overheard.”

  “You got it.”

  Jessica pointed towards a group of puppets dancing merrily on top of a snow-covered mountain and said, “How the hell did they find us?”

  “They’ve been on to us since I pulled you out of the safe house,” Kelton said.

  “They’ve been following us the whole time?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Are you sure?” Jessica said.

  “Yeah.”

  “But how is that even possible with all we’ve gone through?”

  “We figure they planted a location transmitter on you while they had you in custody.”

  “Where did they put it?” Jessica said.

  “In your shoe.”

  The ride shifted to a South American theme and the lyrics switched to Spanish. The kids behind them started singing along. Kelton knew from experience that the ride—and with it the ability to talk freely—was nearly over. Three minutes left, at the most.

  “Have you actually seen anyone following us?”

  “No,” Kelton said. “But Walter saw someone. A few people, actually. Back at the mall, and then at the warehouse.”

  “So that’s why he had us running all over the place?”

  “Yeah. He caught wind of something going on, and wanted to be sure that it was safe to meet up with us. Obviously, it wasn’t.”

  “But why are they just watching us?” Jessica said. “If they knew where we were the whole time, why didn’t they just pick us up somewhere along the way?”

  “We figure they also want to capture the man behind the plan, so they’re waiting until we meet up with him.”

  “So you think they’re really after Walter?”

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  Jessica sighed, started to shake her head before catching herself. She turned her head back towards a group of dancing puppets and said, “I don’t know. It all seems kind of crazy to me.”

  Kelton shrugged. “It’s a crazy world.”

  “I guess,” Jessica said. “But still—”

  “I know we’re taking a lot of this on faith, but all we can do is deal with the situation as best we know it,” Kelton said. “And even if this is all a paranoid fantasy dreamed up by Walter—which I don’t believe for a second—until he is certain things are safe, he’s not going to meet up with us. So we have to proceed as though we are being followed. Whether or not we truly are is moot at this point.”

  “Fine,” Jessica said, her tone flat. She was clearly not happy. “Then how do we proceed?”

  “Simple. First we lose the bug and then we lose our observers.”

  “And how are we going to do that?”

  “I’ve got someone working on that part right now,” Kelton said.

  “Who?”

  “A guy I’ve worked with a few times,” Kelton said. “He owns a security firm down in San Diego. He knows what he’s doing.”

  The ride had transitioned into the last section, where all the countries were united in a show of world peace. Less than a minute left now before they were back out in the open.

  Jessica said, “How does this guy know what’s going on?”

  “I gave him a call while I was in bathroom at the Chinese restaurant, after I talked to Walter.”

  Jessica scoffed. “I knew you were up to something in there.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t mention it to you at the time.”

  “That’s all right,” she said. “But you are going to let me in on what the plan is before it happens this time around, right?”

  Kelton fought the urge to glance over at her. “If it’s feasible.”

  Jessica shook her head. “That’s not good enough,” she said. “In case you haven’t realized it, I have just as much at stake in this situation as you do. More, in fact. But for the most part, I’ve been kept in the dark as things moved along.”

  “You’re right,” Kelton said. “You have been outside the loop. But most of the time it was out of necessity. Especially the last few hours.”

  “I understand that,” Jessica said. “But we haven’t been operating under these circumstances the whole time. You’ve been like this even before you knew people were on to us.”

  Kelton’s eyes remained fixed on the last group of characters dancing in harmony with one another. He’d known this moment was coming; if anything he was surprised it had taken so long to get here.

  “What are you proposing?” he said.

  “That you find a way to keep me informed,” Jessica said. “I’m sick of being led around on a leash.”

  “Funny, I got the imp
ression that you liked that kind of thing.”

  “I’m serious here, Kelton. I can’t stand being kept in the dark. It drives me crazy. We talked about this earlier. I need to at least feel like I have some control over the situation.”

  The end of the ride was now in sight. Fifteen seconds left, at the most, and then they would be out in the open.

  “I guess that’s a reasonable request,” Kelton said. “I’ll do everything I can to keep you involved as much as possible. But we can’t talk about anything out in the open. We have to assume someone is listening at all times.”

  “Got it,” Jessica said as the flume carried them back out into the bright afternoon light. She put her hand on his leg, rubbed it gently with her thumb. “And that quip about the leash?”

  Kelton felt a rustle in his stomach and groin. “What about it?”

  “You’re right,” Jessica said, her mouth turned up in a half-smirk that Kelton found incredibly sexy. “I am into that sort of thing.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  It was no coincidence that Kelton and Jessica were inside The Haunted Mansion at 5:58PM, about to get onto the little one-person cars that made up the majority of the ride.

  They had gone on five other rides in the three hours since they climbed off It’s a Small World, but they hadn’t said a word to each other about the situation at hand the entire time. The rides were meant to serve as decoys, partially to put pressure on whomever was watching them, and partially in an effort to get them to accidentally expose themselves.

  The former was most likely working, as maintaining surveillance at the park was extremely challenging, but the latter had utterly failed. So far, Kelton hadn’t been able to pick out a single person shadowing them, which only meant that they were very good at their jobs. But still, the day had to be taxing on their followers, which would hopefully pay dividends for Kelton and Jessica later that night.

  Also, their time at the park had served an additional purpose; it had given Willis time to make the arrangements for their upcoming attempt to slip their tails.

  Kelton stepped onto the moving walkway and was led to the next open car by the line operator. Jessica took a seat next to him just as the front of the chair-shaped car closed, trapping them inside.

  The Haunted Mansion Ride was perfect for clandestine conversations; the isolated nature and enclosed shape of the cars made eavesdropping virtually impossible, and the near-total darkness and twisting nature of the track made it just as difficult to maintain visual contact. So not only would Kelton be able to talk to Willis with impunity, but he would be able to do so without anyone even knowing he’d made a phone call, which was just as important right now.

  Shortly after leaving the station and heading into the heart of the building that housed the ride, Kelton pulled the cell from his pocket and dialed Willis’s number. He pressed the phone tightly against his right ear and stuck his finger into his left to help dampen the sound of the recorded narrator that played during the five-minute travel through the mansion.

  “Right on time, as always,” Willis said after answering.

  “That’s me, Mr. Reliable,” Kelton said, being careful not to speak too loudly. Between the intermittent screams, the constant jabbering of the narrator and the comically-spooky music, he could barely hear his own voice. “How’s it coming?”

  “It’s all set.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Kelton said. “All that’s left is to figure out where to meet up.”

  “Do you trust your connection enough to talk specifics over the phone?” Willis said.

  “I figure if someone’s listening to us, they would have moved in a long time ago.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “A reluctant one.”

  “All right then,” Willis said. “We’ll meet up at the Orange County Hospital in Irvine. Enter the main underground parking garage and head down towards employee parking. You’ll come to a mechanical arm with a key pad. Punch in the number 6-6-6 followed by the pound sign and the arm will let you in. Keep going down to the bottom level. I’ll be waiting for you there with everything you need.”

  The ride moved past a cemetery filled with mummified bodies popping up randomly in a half-hearted attempt to startle. Kelton didn’t flinch.

  “What time?” he said.

  “Right at eight o’clock,” Willis said. “That’s when the night shift ends. We’ll do a quick change, get rid of all your old clothes, then leave the garage amidst all the hospital employees heading home. If the group following you is as small as you say, there will be far too many cars leaving for them to keep track of.”

  Kelton was nodding his head absently. “Sounds like a solid plan.”

  “Did you expect anything less?”

  “I wouldn’t have called you if I did.”

  “Then stop insulting me with your compliments.”

  Kelton chuckled softly as the ride passed a ballroom full of dancing ghosts. “Fair enough,” he said. Then, “I assume you’ll make sure we slip away unnoticed?”

  “Counter-surveillance is part of the package,” Willis said. “Just tell me where you’re heading and I’ll personally make sure you arrive sans baggage.”

  “I’ll fill you in on the destination and traveling route once I figure it out.”

  “Whatever floats your boat,” Willis said. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

  “Just how much this is going to cost me.”

  Willis sighed. “Again with the insults? After what you’ve done for me over the years, how can I possibly charge you for a little favor like this?”

  “I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t let you take this risk without some compensation.”

  “Then you can compensate me later, after this thing is all over,” Willis said. “I’m sure I’ll stumble into something that you can help me out with in the near future.”

  “All right then,” Kelton said. “I’ll see you tonight.” He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

  “I assume that was your friend?” Jessica said.

  Kelton nodded.

  “Well, what did he have to say?”

  “That we’re all ready to go. We’re meeting up with him tonight and he’ll help us slip away.”

  “How?”

  Kelton told her.

  “Will that work?”

  “It should,” Kelton said.

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  They passed by a mirror that reflected a ghost sitting in the space between them. Kelton looked at the image and shrugged, “We’ll leap off that cliff if we come up to its edge.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  They pulled into the underground parking structure at the Orange County Hospital right at 8 o’clock. It was an older-style garage, with narrow lanes that barely fit two cars abreast and tight corners, making it virtually impossible to be seen from any reasonable distance.

  They drove towards the lower floors, eventually coming to a mechanized arm and keypad, just as Willis had said they would. Kelton punched in the code and the arm raised and he continued driving down the narrow space between the parked cars.

  Three right turns later, they came to the bottom floor. There were far fewer cars parked on this level than any other, and all except one were empty. In the second to last spot before the cinderblock wall that signified the end of the garage was a beaten-up, late 90’s, wide-bodied sedan. Sitting in the driver’s seat was Dave Willis.

  Kelton pulled into the empty spot between Willis’s car and the wall and shut off the engine. Without sharing a word, both he and Jessica climbed out of the car.

  Willis had come around the back of his car. Kelton and Jessica headed towards him.

  “Glad you could make it,” Willis said. He was a huge, imposing figure, standing 6’5” and topping 250 pounds. He popped open the trunk and pulled out two plastic trash bags. He handed one to Kelton and one to Jessica. “We don’t have much more time alone, so make it quick.”

&nb
sp; Kelton opened the bag, pulled a pair of shoes and a blue painter’s coverall out, and set them both down in the trunk. He slipped out of his shoes, pulled his pants and boxers down, stepped out of them, and pulled the coveralls on.

  He turned to Jessica, intent on reminding her that they needed to ditch everything, including socks and underwear, but when he saw her, he realized it was unnecessary.

  Showing the same lack of humility that she had displayed earlier in their travels, she was completely naked from the waist down, and already pulling the coveralls up over her body. She stripped out of her shirt and slipped her arms into the coveralls, and zipped it shut. If getting naked in a dirty underground parking structure in front of a complete stranger bothered Jessica in the least, she didn’t show it.

  Kelton again found himself impressed with his companion. She was one tough cookie.

  Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Kelton stuffed his old clothes into the now-empty bag, popped his own trunk, and dropped the bag in. Jessica followed suit, tossing her bag in after his. Kelton then dropped his keys and the phone Walter had given him into the trunk and shut it.

  Kelton looked at Jessica and nodded. She winked at him and flashed a smile. He smiled back, then turned, walked over to Willis’s still-open trunk, and climbed in.

  There was plenty of space inside, easily enough room for both of them, and the bottom was lined with a thick blanket to ease the journey. Willis had left a couple of heavy jackets inside, presumably to use as pillows. Kelton turned on his side and slid to the rear of the trunk, stopping only after his butt began pressing against the back seat.

  “How long are we going to be in here?” Jessica said as she climbed in.

  “About twenty minutes,” Willis said. “Thirty tops.”

  Jessica nodded and slid her body up against Kelton’s, her back to him.

  “Comfortable?” Willis said, flashing Kelton a sly smile.

  “As a bug in a rug,” Kelton replied.

  “What about you, honey?”