Amateur Hour

Janice

For a moment after Ted hung up, Janice and Hannah could only stare at each other.

“I don’t know how to feel,” Janice said, at last. “Of course I’m glad they didn’t find Nina, hurt, or worse…”

“But, now she could be somewhere else, hurt, or worse,” Hannah nodded. “I guess we have to focus on the good, and stay determined to find her. The worst part of getting old, Janice, is becoming useless. There’s nothing I can do, to help.”

“You’re not useless, Hannah. You’ve been Nina’s rock, for much of her life. That hasn’t changed. And, Ted needs your clear head, right now.”

“Maybe. It’s hard to be clear headed, when I’m as distracted as he is.”

“Nina’s lucky, to have such a mother-in-law. Mine is very nice; don’t get me wrong — but, in the same situation, her concern would be more for Liam, than for me.”

“Give her time, to know you, and for you to get to know her. I’ve known Nina, all her life.” Hannah paused. “She was such a pert little thing, before she lost her brothers and her sister. Then, so sad. After that, so angry.”

“You saw her through all of that.”

“I did what I could, to help. Everyone did. I never would have seen it coming, her attraction to Ted. He’s stable, bad temper aside, but so much older. I advised her to rethink it, but she always has had a mind of her own.”

“Do you still think they don’t suit each other?”

“No. Nina was right, and I’m glad I didn’t meddle, more than I did.”

“He is a good man.”

“He is. Still, I know him. He isn’t the bully his father is, but he can be domineering, in his own way. I can soften that, but I haven’t been able to do much, to help Nina find her own spine. I can only guess that she tells you things she wouldn’t tell me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Janice tried to disclaim.

“I do. It’s good, Janice — for both of them.”

“I was afraid I might give her bad advice.”

Hannah chuckled. “There’s a lot you don’t say, isn’t there, dear? If you’re not careful, one day you’ll be that old lady that everyone tells everything.”

*******

Ted

It was nearly noon, before he got back to the house, armed with takeout lunch.

“Thank God, you’re back,” Hannah exclaimed, as Ted set the bags on the table, well clear of their card game. He picked up the score pad, and smirked. Hannah had lost three of the four hands they’d played.

Janice picked up a card, discarded another and said, “Gin.”

“Serves you right,” Ted grinned, at his mother. “So much for those gator teeth. She actually made you dig those out?” he asked Janice.

Janice only smiled.

“Hope you like fried chicken,” he said.

“I’ll get some plates, and utensils,” she replied, hopping up. “Do we need anything else?”

“I don’t think so.”

Ted unloaded the bags, while Hannah put the cards away.

“I got a lot of pictures,” he said, when they were all seated. “It was a great idea, Janice. Sorry I was a smartass, about it.”

“No… I can’t imagine the stress you’d been through, by the time you called.”

“Speaking of calls,” Hannah said, “did you ever hear back, from the detectives?”

“No. They’ve only been open, for three hours,” he added with more than a little sarcasm.

“That’s unconscionable,” Janice frowned. “The only thing I can think is…”

“What?” Ted’s tone was sharper than he’d intended. “I’m sorry. That’s not directed at you. You have an idea what the holdup could be?”

“I suppose I can tell you, since she’s not there, anymore. Steph Howard,” she hastened to add. “Steph Howard was one of the operatives, within the school. They think she’s missing, legitimately missing, but she’s not. Her partner told Liam that she’s fine.”

Ted was bewildered. “So, she left, of her own accord, but the agency doesn’t know it. Is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m sure they know it, by now. She was next in line, for whatever is going on, at the school.”

“She was next in line, and they didn’t pull her out? Did they know?”

“They knew.”

She was furious about this. Ted wasn’t pleased, either.

“My point is, the agency might be so busy, trying to figure out where she went, that they might be distracted. She didn’t go missing, from the school. Liam said she had been called home, which is what the agency does, for debriefings. According to the partner,” she added.

“So, they did pull her out.”

“Not permanently. They were going to send her back in.”

“What kind of operation is Serrano running, that employees would rather vanish than just quit?”

“Not the best kind, for employees, it sounds like. But, maybe the voicemail just malfunctioned.”

“Three times? I called twice, this morning.”

“Eat, both of you,” Hannah advised. “You can be annoyed, and chew, at the same time.”

They applied themselves to their food, for about a minute. Ted didn’t taste a single bite.

“I think it’s time you told me who the other partner is, Janice,” he said, at last. “I didn’t want to know, but it sounds like there’s just too much going on, that I don’t know about. I know the individual investigators can’t be incompetent. I never would have guessed Steph Howard was anything other than a student, with a great enthusiasm for writing demerits.”

“The other is Guillermo Ramirez.”

“The hell, you say! That smartass little punk?” Ted didn’t know whether he was more incredulous, or amused.

“The same.” Janice told the tale of how she had put it together, and had called him out as a cop. “He wasn’t, though. He’s one of your PI’s,” she finished.

“Unbelievable.” Ted shook his head, slowly. “You and Liam have been working your respective butts off, behind the scenes, haven’t you?”

“We’ve been helping Guy, where we could. Steph never confessed, to me. She’s was good, I think. Never overplayed her hand, like Guy did.”

“He’s sure she’s safe?”

“Liam says Guy said so. I don’t think he would have volunteered that, if he wasn’t sure, himself. He didn’t want me to worry about her. She was at my table, you know, in the refectory.”

“I hadn’t really noticed. The refectory is kind of a blur, to me, beyond the students at my own table.”

Ted pondered everything Janice had told him, while they finished their lunch. Just what kind of outfit was Serrano, anyway? He couldn’t fault the two investigators. They relied on Serrano, for support, which they didn’t seem to be getting, and he relied on the agency for information, which he didn’t seem to be getting.

Did he really want to trust the agency, to augment what the cops could do, to find Nina? In a straight up missing persons case, he might. Maybe. But this wasn’t so simple, was it? It had to be tied, somehow, to what was going on, at the school.

It had gone beyond intimidation. Yet, he didn’t – couldn’t–think Nina was dead. It would have been simpler, and more effective, to have killed him.

For the hundredth time, since Nina had disappeared, he wondered why they hadn’t. Someone was wise to what he was doing, at least to part of it. Killing him would certainly put an end to it.

**************

Steph

She still couldn’t believe her eyes, or her ears. Yet, there it was: Windows Vista — an operating system that had been all the rage, when she merely an amorous gleam in her father’s eye.

The laptop, itself, wasn’t so old. It was a Dell, circa 2017, and had belonged to a hobbyist who had liked playing with old software. She had gotten it, for a song. It was outdated, but in good shape. If it could connect to the motel’s WiFi, it would do. If not, she could always play Wolfenstein (whatever that was), or Solitaire.

It had been a busy day. After breakfast, she had called Christina, and arranged for her things to be sent on to her, after they were delivered to Christina’s house — addressed to her husband. This would cause even more delay in her getting them, but it was a layer of protection for her, and for Mom, if anybody happened to be watching the Fed-Ex office. By the time anyone figured out a box had gone to Guy’s sister’s address, it would already be on its way, to her.

The next call had been to Mom and Galen, to give Mom the shipping address, and a list of the things she needed, and to talk to Galen. Her son had been full of news about school, his best friend, Aaron (who had gotten ten stitches in his forehead, after a bike jump that went south), and his progress on the model.

The thrift store hadn’t offered as much as she’d hoped it would. Most of the shirts had been too large, but she’d found two pairs of jeans that fit. She had also bought two packs of underwear, at the dollar store, and a few food staples.

Back at the motel, she’d put everything away, feeling like a squirrel, stowing nuts in its nest. The heat, by then, had been serious, so she’d taken a lunch break, to cool off, and rest up, before her last foray.

Finding the cheap computer had seemed like incredible luck, until the pawnbroker had fired it up, to prove that it was functional. Steph had never seen a Vista logo, before, or heard the four-note fanfare. There was a charm to it, she had to admit, a completely unnecessary charm. She bought it, for a hundred (non-refundable) dollars.

After a few tries, the computer did connect to the WiFi. She probably wouldn’t be streaming movies, on this baby, but all she needed, for the present were the local ads, and other basic information. Still, she had to wonder at the mind that would erase a perfectly good operating system, in favor of an antiquated one.

About a hundred years later, she had her first local advertising app downloaded. She perused it, for a while. There were a lot of cars and trucks, for sale, but many of them were too far away. Others were too expensive. She found a few prospects, however, and she jotted the information down, on a paper towel, because, of course, she’d forgotten to pick up a tablet.

The sound of the phone startled her, and she realized the hour, from the darkness pressing at the windows.

“Did your student get a good grade, today?” she asked.

“Good enough. Damned if he didn’t get a B plus.” Guy sounded pleased. “I should be immune from demerits, for a while.”

“I wouldn’t count on it, if I were you.”

“Probably too much to hope for,” he agreed. So, watcha wearin’?”

“Pervert. I did buy some clothes, today, on your dime. Four shirts, two pairs of jeans, and some underwear. Twenty bucks, total.”

“Oof. I don’t like the picture I’m getting, in my head.”

“They’re fine. They’ll do, until Mom sends some of my own stuff. I kind of like the shirts — they’re vintage Caribbean Soul.”

“If you say so. How are you functioning without a car? I got to thinking about that, last night.”

“I’m shopping, right now. I’ve got a couple of leads.”

“Can you get on another bus, to Columbus?”

“What for?”

“To meet Christina and her husband. I asked them, if they’d be willing to drive my car down there. They said they would.”

“That’s too much trouble, for them.”

“It’s not that far. They can leave it in the lot, or a lot nearby, with the key in the wheel well, in a magnetic box. You can just pick it up, whenever you get there.”

It was tempting. The car was a Mustang, sure. But it wasn’t a red one, or a black one. It was pearl, with an iridescent sheen, when the sun hit it, at the right angle. Pretty, but not the kind of muscle car that drew undue attention.

“I hear your gears turning,” Guy said. “It’s not good on gas, but it’s reliable.”

“It’s your baby. I don’t know if I want to be responsible for it.”

“You drive like my abuelita. You need something that won’t leave you stranded, waiting for a tow truck, and cursing at some jerk you paid too much money. I only wish I’d thought to have Christina give it to you, in Atlanta, and take a cab home.”

“The bus was probably better. There was an off chance that someone could have followed me.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I’ll have her drop the car, tomorrow.”

“Hold on, I haven’t —“

“You will. It’s as irresistible as I am.”

She had to laugh. He was impossible.

“Good. That’s settled, then.”

“Thanks, Guy. I’ll take good care of her.”

“I know you will. Now, what else is new?”

“I got a computer. It runs Vista.”

It was Guy’s turn to laugh.

“Hush, or someone will hear you!”

“Nah. I’m in the old dispensary. I have a date, in an hour, if she ever figures out how to get here.”

“That was fast.”

“No — you know I belong to you.”

“I mean, Julio didn’t waste any time, dropping Kayla in,” she stated with all the gravitas she could muster, while grinning.

“She got here, around lunch time,” he replied, more seriously. “I hope I remembered your route, the way you described it. It would be a terrible shame, if she got caught.”

“Tell me you didn’t send her on a goose chase.”

“Nah. It’s not her fault, she’s here. It’s not even her fault she’s here to snitch. Knowing Julio, she may not even know that’s what she’s here, to do.”

“Ask her about Abernathy cocktails.”

“What? What does that pompous goat have to do with anything?”

Steph steeled herself.

“Abernathy has his own little concoction he uses for some debriefings. It’s supposedly a memory enhancer.”

“Let me guess — it makes you sing like the lead soprano in a Broadway show.”

“Yeah, vato. It does.”

Guy was silent, for a long moment. “We all make mistakes,” he said, at last. “It sounds like Julio has been trying to catch me out, for a while. I wonder why.”

“I’m sorry, Guy.”

“No, don’t worry about it. You can’t have told him anything that I wouldn’t have told him, myself.”

“I might have told him some of your opinions, about him. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know, because I don’t remember.”

“Stop it. It’s in the past, and I don’t give a damn if he knows what I think of him. Especially, now. We both know what he is. It might have been nothing more than a tool to drive a wedge between us.”

“That doesn’t make much sense,” she ventured, sure she was on thin ice.

“Doesn’t it, though? Think about it, Steve. The juice didn’t enhance your memory. It screwed it up, a little, in fact. It was something you felt you couldn’t tell me about. Mistrust is a wedge.”

“But why would he want to mess up a good team?”

“Because he knows we’re more loyal to each other, than to him. That hasn’t changed, by the way. He tried to use you. I don’t blame you, for that. I blame him.”

“I failed you.”

“You didn’t. If you had, you’d have taken it to your grave, instead of warning me. Put it out of your mind, now. Just go and get the car, and carry on, from there.”

Steph sighed, quietly.

“Do I dare ask if you’ve heard anything else about Mr. Billie’s wife?”

“You can ask any damned thing you want. You’re my partner. The rumor was true. She is missing. I didn’t want to spend too much time with Mr. Miles, asking questions. He did confirm that, though. She ran out to the store, and disappeared. They called in the Sheriff, of course.”

“There’s no way it’s not connected.”

“No,” Guy agreed. “Did I mention Mr. Miles has a white noise machine, on his desk?”

“You didn’t.”

“I noticed it, when he gave me the phone.”

“He’s worried about bugs?”

“Seems like it, doesn’t it? What other use is there, for a white noise machine in a classroom? The last thing a teacher wants, is to help the students sleep, right?”

“At least, he’s aware.”

“Julio likes bugs. He likes them, a lot.”

“I think you need more sleep, vato. Or more fiber, in your diet.”

“You think I’m full of shit?”

“I think your focus might be shifting.”

“Maybe. It doesn’t make sense, to go there, but, I can’t help it. It could be because I don’t have anything else.”

“No files, then?”

“What? Oh, not new ones, no. I did get some of the old archived ones, that are over here, in the old wing. That’s why I’m here, early. Haven’t photographed them, yet. Naturally, I’m not going to tell Kayla about them.”

“You might want to keep that phone under wraps, too.”

“Good point. I’ll call you tomorrow, then.”

“Good night, Guy.”

“Good night, Steve.”

“Don’t call me —”

Guy hung up before she could finish, grinning.

He dropped the phone into his undershirt, in its usual place. The files, in their stiff folders lay along his back, separated from his skin by his undershirt. He hoped Kayla would make an appearance, before he sweated through the first one.

It was warm, down here, and a bit musty, where the air conditioning wasn’t a priority. It would have been cooler outside, and the air would have been fresher, but he didn’t expect Kayla would be able to locate him, on the verge of the cemetery.

Steph had blazed a trail, for her, at least. He lit a smoke, and leaned back against the wall. Where had he gone wrong, with Steph, he wondered. He had thought she trusted him, implicitly.

You’re too judgmental. You don’t even try to hide it.

Okay, yeah he was judgmental, but he was honest.

Then, be honest. You made her afraid to talk to you. End of story.

But, no — that wasn’t quite the end, was it? The end was that Julio had capitalized on that. When you came right down to it, he had used Guy, too. He allowed that bitter pill to dissolve on his tongue, for a moment.

Well, Julio had failed. Steph was safe, now, and by tomorrow, she would be tooling around in his Mustang — driving like his grandmother, no doubt. Guy grinned at the picture.

The curtains surrounding the cot belled slightly, in the draft from the door being opened.

“Ramirez?” a young woman called, in a half whisper.

“Move toward the light,” Guy replied, dryly, at a normal volume.

He heard her approach. Sheesh — was she tiptoeing?

“You made it; congrats,” he remarked, when she pulled the curtain aside.

“You gave good directions.” She tucked her skirt neatly under her, and sat down in Steph’s usual seat — or, the seat Steph had used, when she was pissed off. She regarded him with her big, owly, blue eyes, waiting for him to speak.

“Steph and I usually meet outside, in the graveyard, but I didn’t want you to have to look for it, without a drawn map.”

“I won’t be doing that,” she replied, flatly.

“Won’t you?” Guy and offered her his menacing grin.

“No, I won’t. It’s unnecessarily dangerous. I take chances, Ramirez, but not stupid chances.” She blinked her huge eyes.

“Such as?”

“Dealing with nocturnal Florida wildlife.”

Guy’s grin broadened. There was no doubt, in his mind, that he was the wildlife, to which she was referring.

“You’re fun, at parties, aren’t you?”

“Probably not as much fun as Steph Howard.”

Repulsive little twit. It was a swing, and a miss.

“No, probably not,” he acknowledged, and took a deep drag of his cigarette. “So, we meet here, then,” he shrugged.

“How often?” she asked.

“As often as necessary. It’s not a scheduled corporate status meeting. This is how it works: I gather info. You gather info. We meet and share info. How often, depends on how important the info seems to be.”

“I see.”

“How much do you know, already? I have to know what gaps to fill in, for you.”

“Everything, up to Steph’s last debriefing, before she took a powder. Got anything new?”

“Nope. Just thought we ought to touch base.”

“I’ll be getting back, then.”

“Hope nothing ate your breadcrumbs. This part of the place has rats.”

“Rats,” she smiled slightly. “Good one, Ramirez.” She rose, and stepped toward the curtain, then stopped, and faced him. “You know, it’s not my fault your partner lost her nerve. I wonder… Was that a vote of ‘no confidence’ in you?”

“You’re out of your league, Chica. Go to bed.” Guy dismissed her, by turning his attention to his cigarette pack, and drawing out another, as if to light it off the end of the one that was all but finished, between his lips. From the corner of his eye, he saw her part the curtains, and step out of the cubicle.

This time, she didn’t tiptoe, to the door. The curtains stirred again, as she opened it. Guy dropped his butt on the floor, mashed it underfoot, and moved quickly to the door. He caught sight of her, heading down the short hallway.

When she had turned the corner, and he was satisfied that she wasn’t going to backtrack, he moved to the nurse’s desk, cleared off a spot, and pulled the files out of his shirt. It seemed more expedient, and safer, to photograph them, here.