Amateur Hour

Guy

The feminine “oof” wasn’t enough to make him release his tight grip on the wrist, or the pressure of his other arm across the shoulders of his assailant, where he had her pinned to the wall.

“Ramirez — let me go, asshole!”

The voice was familiar, but Guy was so charged with adrenaline, that he couldn’t place it, at first.

“Let me go!” she repeated.

It was Kayla. Of course, it was. Guy gave her a final press into the wall, then stepped back, still breathing fast. He couldn’t believe his own fury. His foremost desire was to knock her block off, so he leaned back against one of the half-walls of the nearest cubicle and crossed his arms. By the time she had turned to face him, he was wearing his best lazy smartass expression.

“I heard you made Honors student,” he said. “Congrats, Chica.”

Kayla looked offended, by this, and Guy felt his pulse slow, as his sanity returned.

“And, I heard your conversation,” she countered. “All of it. What the hell is going on here, Ramirez?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” he shrugged. “So long as you stay out of my way, keep your head down, and do what Julio tells you, you’ll be okay,” he added.

“And, if I don’t?”

“You’ll have blood on your hands, but you’ll be okay.”

“Julio told me to keep an eye on you. He didn’t say why.”

“I imagine he didn’t.”

“I kept an eye on you. I haven’t told him about your phone, or your conversations, with Steph. I’m sure I didn’t hear them all, but I heard enough of them.”

Guy didn’t know whether he was more disgusted with Kayla, for eavesdropping, or with himself, for being arrogantly sure he wasn’t being overheard. He decided it was the latter. Eavesdropping was just one of the tools in an investigator’s toolkit. He’d gotten cocky and careless.

“You haven’t told him, because you haven’t gotten the chance.”

In response, Kayla reached into the front of her own blouse, and produced a tiny cell phone, measuring just over four inches in length.

“Technology is a wonderful thing. The screen quality is trash, and the camera could be better, but it works just fine, for making a phone call. I won’t bore you, with how I smuggled it in.”

Guy ignored the bait.

“What’s your plan, then, Chica? I’m sure there’s a promotion, and a bright future with Serrano, in this, for you.”

“You know, Steph Howell is the only woman in the firm, who can stand working with you, and that’s why — your attitude that women will stop at nothing, to get ahead. Somehow, she got past it. And from the sound of your parting words, tonight, she got to you.”

“Spare me. You don’t know me, Kayla. You only know what you’ve heard about me, from unimpeachable sources, like Julio.”

This gave her pause.

“Fair enough,” she replied, at last. “But, it’s a reputation you don’t bother to refute. You didn’t give me much choice, or much of a chance, did you?”

“You gonna cry? To Julio, maybe?”

“I don’t cry. But, I do think I have the right to know just how much danger I’m in.”

Guy thought about it. If she was on the level, she was right. She wasn’t much more than a kid, and a newbie. On the other hand, baby snakes were venomous, too.

“I told you the truth, about that. Carry on, as you are. This investigation is moot, now. Julio will pull you out, and you’ll be safe, and happily employed. If you have a shred of decency or conscience, you won’t mention my plan to save just one more kid — not for my sake, but for his.”

“What would I know about any plan, or any kid? You didn’t like me, and we seldom spoke.”

“That’s right,” Guy nodded in grudging approval. “Beyond that, my best advice to you, is to get out of Serrano’s agency, the minute you can. Leave on good terms, but leave. He’ll use whatever talent you might have, then he’ll devour you.”

Kayla nodded, then detached herself from the wall she’d been leaning against, and straightened.

“You hurt?” Guy asked, as her face twisted into a slight grimace.

“No more than the last time I fell, skating,” she shrugged. “I shouldn’t have startled you.” She took a moment, to dig out her flashlight, and turn it on. “See you, someday, maybe.”

“Maybe.”

She nodded, once more, and was gone.

***

When Guy rapped lightly on Franklin Riley’s door, there was no answer. He wasn’t surprised. The kid had been sleeping badly, for days. The human body could only go for so long, fueled by anxiety.

Guy considered waiting until morning, to deliver his news, but something made him turn the knob and open the door, as quietly as he could. The bed was askew, with pillow and covers on the floor. A paperback copy of Animal Farm lay in a puddle of water from the plastic tumbler that had overturned on the nightstand. Franklin Riley was gone. Guy felt sick.

There was nothing to do, but return to his room, so he did that, lying down on his bed, still fully clothed. He wanted nothing more, than to call Steph, but whining to her, about the situation wouldn’t do either of them, any good.

Damn Kayla Sawyer, anyway. If she hadn’t chosen just that moment, to stop him, he might have at least been here, to follow Franklin’s kidnappers, at a distance. He might have gotten some idea of who they were, or… But, no. He would have gotten no farther than the doors to the guarded area, and every camera, on this side of those doors would have recorded him.

He rolled onto his side, and crunched the thin pillow up, the better to support his neck, and closed his eyes. He needed to sleep – to be at his best, for tomorrow.

All he could see, against his closed eyelids, was Franklin’s book, soaking up the water, from the overturned tumbler. He’d been reading a book, that wasn’t assigned for a class. Forming thoughts and opinions. It was just too much.

Guy uttered a frustrated growl, and sat up. Again, he considered calling his partner, and again, rejected the idea. What could she do? What could he do?

He could do only the thing he was here to do – get evidence. He’d take some pictures of Franklin’s room, for starters. It occurred to him, also, that there were still records, to be had. Old ones, sure, but they were accessible. It wasn’t a grand plan, but it was better than nothing.

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

Steph

The morning was almost too hot and muggy, for coffee, but Janice had been right about the weather forecast. It was going to pour. Steph needed coffee. The gloom demanded it, and so did her eyelids, which felt glued to her eyeballs.

When Liam had shown up at the designated meeting place, to pick her up, Steph had been surprised to see him arrive, alone.

She hadn’t known what to say, beyond, “Good morning,” when she’d climbed into the Suburban. It was evident that the previous night’s discord between Liam and Janice had carried over, into the next day, and it didn’t seem like the topic to open a conversation with.

She needn’t have worried. Liam had greeted her pleasantly enough, then had fallen into his own silence, after the initial small talk. Steph was left to sip her coffee, and think her thoughts, most of the way, to the boat ramp.

“Love you,” Guy had said. Like a typical woman, Steph had been analyzing that, since it happened, covering the same ground, repeatedly, in her mind. How had he meant that? Probably in the same vein as he might have said it, to his sister.

If not, did it mean he was worried about his chances of making it safely back, to her? It might have been — like his ongoing pretense of being a masher, on the phone, a lighthearted joke.

What if he’d meant it, though? Did she want him to feel that way, about her? Did she feel that way, about him?

“He beat us, here,” Liam said, interrupting these thoughts on a loop.

Steph blinked. Liam had to mean the red-haired young man, who was waiting to back his trailer onto the ramp, to launch a 16-foot Jon boat.

“It’s not very big,” she remarked.

“It’s plenty big enough, for four guys. Big enough for six, even. Sure you don’t want to come along?”

Steph glanced at him. He was joking, of course. She’d made it clear, last night, that she didn’t care for small boats.

“I’d only be in the way,” she smiled, shaking her head. “And, the rain might drown me, even if I didn’t fall overboard.”

“It might,” Liam agreed. “Who knew Jan had a minor in meteorology?”

The downpour that had threatened, seemed about to become a reality, as bigger drops began to strike the windshield. Liam parked the SUV, and killed the engine.

“I’d better see what I can do, to help. You can wait here, and I’ll introduce you to Will, later.”

“I should at least say hello. A little rain won’t melt me.” She was out of the car, before Liam could object, and together, they walked over to Will’s truck.

Will turned out to be a sturdy, well-built young man, with an air of habitual casual courtesy. He shook her proffered hand, with a smile, but she could see that he was a bit concerned, by her presence.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Caine,” she smiled back. “I won’t be asking to join you. I don’t like boats, or alligator hideouts. I just want to be here, to see my partner brought safely in.”

“I think we can manage that for you, Miss Stephanie. This is no fit weather for a lady to be sitting out in, anyway.”

Coming from someone else, this observation might have been irritating, but somehow, Will made the word, ‘lady’, sound like the noblest of compliments, though he placed no particular stress on it.

She stood well back, to watch the two men launch the little craft. In a few minutes, they were on their way, and Steph got back into Liam’s car, where her mind resumed its previous loop of thoughts.

*******

Liam

The brim of his ball cap was sufficient to keep most of the rain off the lenses of his spectacles, but it did nothing to protect Liam’s neck. In no time, the cap was well soaked, and droplets ran down, past the collar of his shirt, to trickle unpleasantly along the skin of his back.

“We’ll be fine, as long as there’s no lightning,” Will called, from his position at the stern. “You might want to stand by the sump pump, though. We’re taking a little water.”

“You know the way?” Liam asked, moving to do as he was asked.

“I think so. Generally, at least. It’s between two piers that are marked on the chart. I’ll slow down, when we get past the first one. You keep your eyes peeled, and sing out, when you see something familiar.”

“And, if I miss it?” Liam asked.

“We double back, and keep trying.”

Muted thunder rumbled overhead.

“That’s not good,” Will observed.

It wasn’t. The boat was aluminum.

“I should have listened to my wife.”

“The famous last words of many a great man,” Will laughed.

Liam rolled his eyes, but he grinned, too. Will, at least, was enjoying himself.

“Not yours, though?”

“I didn’t get a lecture,” Will shook his head, rain sluicing off the brim of his straw Stetson. “I just got The Look. But, I got it, from Toni, and from Lisa. I figure, you’re doing something right, when the women in your life don’t want you to get yourself killed.”

Liam considered this, for a while. It probably hadn’t been fair, to be so hard on Janice. He’d forgotten, when they were fighting, that she would have had to go to work, today. They couldn’t both play hooky, two days in a row. While he might be ducking lightning, on the river, Jan would be sitting behind her desk, worrying about it. He couldn’t say that he would be happy to trade places, with her.

To top it off, she was truly alone, today. Ted was still on leave, Steph was gone, and now Guy would be, as well. Liam made up his mind to call her, first thing, when he got back to the car, even though they seemed to be ‘not talking’.

Before long, Will cut his speed, and Liam began to peer for breaks in the foliage, along the bank, to his left. There were more of them, than he had expected, and one or two had telltale slide marks, made by alligators entering and exiting the water. He pointed the first one out, to Will.

“Never mind, unless you see an actual gator. I’ll watch the water. You watch the bank.”

Liam was beginning to question his powers of observation, when, fifteen minutes later, he saw the hint of something large and white, through the scrub. It was the mausoleum.

“There —” he alerted Will, pointing.

Will didn’t ask him if he was sure. He merely swung the boat toward the bank, bringing it very close to the tiny beach that Liam hadn’t known existed. He’d never had any reason to get so close to the water, from the other side.

“Now, you can help me watch for anything that slithers, or has big teeth,” Will said. He turned the boat to face the way they had come.

The rain was picking up, and the lightning flashed, behind the clouds, though there were no streaks, yet. At one point, Liam glanced at his companion, only to see that Will looked uneasy, too.

“That one of your boys?” he asked, indicating a slight, dark haired figure, pounding toward them, carrying a plastic-wrapped bundle.

“That’s Guy,” Liam nodded, preparing to stand, once Will maneuvered the boat closer. “But, where’s Franklin?” He peered beyond the young man to look, but saw no one.

“He’s not with me,” Guy called, answering the question he hadn’t heard. He scrambled down the steep part of the bank.

Liam stood, braced himself, and held out an arm. Guy grabbed it, and, between his jump and Liam’s yank, landed in the boat, without so much as getting his loafers any wetter than the rain had made them. He did fumble his bundle, however, and it fell into the bottom of the boat.

Lightning cracked overhead, startling a profanity out of Guy.

“You should both crouch down, in the center,” Will advised them.

“Franklin?”

“Not coming,” Guy panted. “Gotta catch my breath.”

“We can go, then?” Will asked.

“Yeah,” Guy managed. He eased himself down onto a seat, in the center, and bent low. With a grunt, he dragged the object he’d been carrying, onto the seat, next to him.

Liam sat, as well. From this angle, he noticed that they were taking on rainwater as fast as the pump could toss it into the river. As long as it didn’t get any worse, they should be all right, he supposed. He turned his head, to gaze at the bank, as Will pulled away. Guy hadn’t been followed.

It didn’t take long, for the investigator to recover. He was no athlete, but he was young and in good shape.

“What happened to Franklin?” Liam asked.

“He vanished. Like the others. It happened last night, while we were all talking. When he didn’t answer his door, I opened it, and he was gone.”

Guy looked both bitter and sad.

“That’s not your fault.”

“In a way, it is. Usually, they don’t come, until long after everyone is asleep. It’s got to be the Hermes guys — the ones who bring some of the most reluctant kids into the school. That’s their MO. If I had been there, I might have heard them.”

“Maybe it wasn’t the same guys. And, what could you have done, either way?”

“He didn’t leave, without a struggle, Liam. His bed was torn up, and some things knocked over. His book was on the floor, in a puddle of water. Dammit!”

It was the last detail that upset Guy, the most, clearly.

“Was there something special about the book?” Liam asked. It was a question Jan would have asked, in this situation.

“Yeah. It was Orwell, and it wasn’t assigned reading.”

Liam nodded, understanding, at once. Franklin had figured out that he had a mind and he was starting to use it. Guy had been tutoring the boy, and had been as proud as a father, when Franklin had earned a B plus, on an essay, in Ted’s class.

He couldn’t think of anything to say, that might be comforting, so he merely put an arm around Guy’s shoulders, briefly, then turned to check on the pump.

“Does it look like we’re gonna have to bail?” Will joked.

“Not just yet. Give it about five minutes, if this doesn’t slack off.”

It did exactly that, as they neared the first pier, and passed it. The lightning had ceased, as well.

“How far are we, from port, Captain?” Guy asked, seeming to have regained some of his sense of humor.

“Not far, now. ‘Bout ten minutes.”

“I’m Guy Ramirez,” Guy introduced himself.

“Will Caine. Liam’s nephew, by marriage.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed, by marriage. You have the same hair.”

Will grinned. “I’m not related to any of the adults, in my family.”

“Well, Captain Will, if you or anyone you know ever needs anything, you get in touch, with me.”

“I’ll do that, thank you.”

*******

Steph

At some point, she had nodded off, coffee notwithstanding. It wasn’t the storm that woke Steph, but its cessation into a quiet sprinkle on the roof of Liam’s car. She checked her watch and found that nearly an hour and a half had passed. By rights, they should be back, soon.

There was a bit of coffee left, in her insulated cup, and she took a cautious sip. It was still warm enough to be palatable, so she finished it off, then hopped out of the car and stretched. There was no one else, in evidence. Of the few cars and trucks that had been there, when she and Liam had arrived, only Liam’s green Suburban, and Will’s Ford truck remained.

The deserted atmosphere of the place, was eerie. Steph walked closer to the water, keeping a wary eye on the ground, for snakes. As she stood at the water’s edge, she could see the boat, with three men, come gliding toward the launch area. Only three, but one of them was Guy, his hair plastered to his skull, clad in part of a school uniform.

Somewhere, along the line, her partner had discarded his blazer and tie. Steph grinned. He looked like a refugee, from a flood. At the sight of her, he waved, and before the boat was quite in, climbed over the side, into waist deep water, heading straight toward her.

“You’re getting soaked, dumbass!” she called to him, when he was hip deep.

Guy laughed. “I can’t get much wetter,” he called, back.

Steph, realizing his intent, began to back away. He was thigh deep, then knee deep.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?” He was calf deep, and closing, fast.

Steph pivoted, and ran toward the car, to the sound of mad splashing and male guffaws, at her back. The splashing ceased, replaced by the sounds of crunching gravel, then she was bear-hugged, from behind, by a very wet bear.

“Guy!” she shrieked, shrinking into herself, like a turtle.

“I thought you’d be happier to see me,” he purred, next to her ear.

It was a joke, but there was enough seriousness in it, to make her stop resisting, for a moment. His arms tightened around her, and he kissed her neck.

“Are you cold?” she asked. He was shivering.

“Not very. I’ll warm up, once I’m dry.”

He half released her, and she turned to face him. He looked battered, somehow, though there were no cuts or bruises, on his face. When he smiled, some of the look went away.

“You look great, Steve. Freelancing agrees with you.”

Steph touched his face. “I can’t lie. You’ve looked better, vato.”

“Rough night. They snatched Franklin, right out from under me.”

His pain was more than hurt pride. She saw it, more clearly than Liam had.

“We’ll find him,” she said. “It’s what we do.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, more genuinely. “It is.” He turned to look at the other men. “I better see if I can help, with the boat.”

“Looks like they have it, under control.”

Liam was backing the trailer into the water, as Will guided him, from the boat. Steph could see, even from where she stood, that the teacher’s face was tense, with concentration on the unfamiliar task. Will, on the other had, was completely relaxed. When the trailer was far enough in, to suit him, he held up a hand, and Liam braked.

“Perfect,” Will called. By the time Liam had set the parking brake, exited the truck, and made his way to the winch cable, Will had deftly aligned the boat and was nudging it forward.

In a few moments, the boat was snugged up, to Will’s satisfaction, and he got into the cab of the truck to bring the boat and trailer out of the water.

“Nice job,” he congratulated Liam, when everything was secured. “Most people don’t do so well, the first time.”

“It’s more like the third time, but, it’s been a while. I hate to send you home, without coffee, or something.”

“Toni made me a thermos — right after giving me The Look. I’m good. Miss Stephanie, it was a pleasure to meet you.” He turned to smile at her, and shake her hand, again. “Guy,” he nodded, and shook hands with him, as well. “Y’all come up with Liam and Janice, sometime. I know Rob would like to see you again.”

“I’d like to see him, too. Tell him ‘hi’, for me?” Guy said.

“Will do. Catch ya later, Liam.”

He got into his truck, started it, and with a final hat tip to them all, Will was on his way.

“You can both sit in the back, if you want to,” Liam offered. “I don’t mind playing chauffeur.”

“Shouldn’t Guy —” Steph began.

“That would be great, Liam. Thanks.”

“You guys mind if I make a quick call to Jan, before we get on the road?” Liam asked, as they were all settling in.

“Go right ahead,” Guy replied.

Liam dialed, and put the phone to his ear. “Hey,” he said, after a moment. “Yeah, we’re back, all in one piece.” He listened, then said, “Okay, bye.”

It was one of the coldest conversations, Steph had ever heard.

“Is… everything all right?” she ventured.

“No,” Liam smiled sadly at her, in the rear view mirror. “Hopefully it will be, soon.”

There wasn’t much conversation, on the way back to Guy’s car.

“I guess everybody’s got their stuff,” Guy remarked, as Liam drove away.

“I guess.” Steph dug the keys out of her bag, and offered them to their owner.

“Nah, you drive,” he said. “You already know the way, and I’m wrecked, after last night.”

“Okay.”

“Were you able to get another room?”

“Two doors down from me. It’s just a room, not an efficiency,” she apologized.

“That’s fine. As long as I can take a shower, and get horizontal.”

“We can switch, if you want. Your money is paying for both.”

“Why would I want to do that? If one of us has a kitchen, that’s a bonus, for both of us. You overthink things, Steve.” He paused. “I’d almost forgotten there’s a real world, out here,” he observed, changing the subject. “One that isn’t a plane ride, to Atlanta, a debriefing with Julio, and an overnight in a motel with amenities that I won’t have time, to use. How long has it been, since we were riding alone, in a car, together?”

“Months. Why don’t you put the seat back, and get some shut-eye?”

“I’m too wet, to sleep.”

“We can stop somewhere; grab you a change of clothes. You’re going to need one, anyway.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Before I mildew,” he added, with a half smile.