Blood Money Read online

  Around four o’clock, she made the decision to go home early to jog. Earlier that morning, when Susan returned home from her computer room, she had set her alarm for six, determined to stick to her usual routine, but her heart wasn’t in it. Maybe a run would be different. She got into her car and drove directly home. She parked her car in the garage, closed the garage door and walked down the driveway to pick up her mail. She stood at the mail box for a minute while she made a quick scan through a stack of envelopes and ads. When she entered the house, she laid the mail and her handbag on a small table in the hallway and went directly to the bedroom to change. She didn’t want anything to delay her from the three-mile run she felt she needed. It took her only a few minutes to change into her running gear, get a bottle of water from the refrigerator and start out for the running path. As Susan ran, she went over the events of the day. She was mostly satisfied with the way she handled things with Portman, although she wished that she had not provoked him as much as she did. Nothing was gained by that. It was just that he was so arrogant, so cocksure of himself. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was that he was right. She was the guilty party. What she really hated most of all was the fact that he was on to her. In a classic “cat and mouse” game, she was the mouse and she was trapped in the corner. However, in the cartoons, the mouse usually got away. She felt certain that that would be the case here, too. Then her mind moved to how they discovered what she had done. What a fluke it was that their internal people had been testing the same processing run on the exact day and time she chose to break into their files. Again, the odds of that occurring fascinated her, as did most things mathematical and intellectual. All the mental activity made the run pass quickly, but when she returned to her condo she realized that she felt worse and more fearful than when she had started. The run failed to mellow her out as it usually did at the end of a trying day.

  It was around six on the hallway clock when she got back. Sue headed directly for the shower. After she dried off, she put on some casual clothes and headed to the kitchen for a glass of Chianti and some cheese and crackers. An hour later, she was feeling a little better. She turned on the TV hoping to be distracted while she waited to call Mark. She knew that she needed to present a calm take on the situation. He was already edgy over the news about Portman’s arrival, and she knew that he would completely flip out if he knew the full story of Portman’s visit. She needed time to figure out how to sugar coat the news before she made the call. Susan turned on the local news and settled back with the wine and cheese. The news was depressing. Story after story of soldiers dying, earthquakes and storm damage. She closed her eyes for a minute to ponder a world where everybody got along and Mother Nature blessed the world with pleasant, non-threatening weather year round.

  It was almost seven when the wine glass was empty and the crackers were gone. It was time to head to the kitchen for refills. She was feeling much more relaxed.

  CHAPTER 18

  During the ride to Susan’s condo, George and Karl went over the details of their assignment. It was after seven when they drove down Sue’s street. They drove by her condo to check out the street and pulled out of the “The Withers” east entrance. On the first pass, things looked all right. They turned around and drove down the street again, this time parking by the lot next to her unit. There was no activity in the street, no dogs, no children and no one out walking a dog. That was all good. George removed a small bottle of chloroform and a large gauze pad from a satchel and put them in his pocket, while Karl took a blackjack from the glove box. These were, of course, tools from a bygone era, but the two thugs seemed to be very comfortable with them. “Let’s go and get it done,” George said, as he exited the car. They hurried up the front walk and George pressed the doorbell. There was no answer. He waited only a few seconds and rang it again.

  After the second ring, Sue called out, “Who is it?”

  George flashed a fake badge in front of the peep hole.

  “Detectives Paine and Marshall. We need to speak with you about some burglaries in the neighborhood in the last two weeks.”

  Sue released the chain and opened the door a crack. “I haven’t heard anything about any burglaries.”

  That was all she was able to get out before her world caved in on her.

  George threw his shoulder against the door and the force pushed Susan back into the hallway. Before she could recover her balance, Karl rushed in and his blackjack caught Susan on her left temple. She went straight down. George quickly closed the door. He unscrewed the cap from the chloroform bottle and poured some on the gauze pad. He held it over her nose and mouth for about twenty seconds. “That should take care of her for now. I’ll get the car and back it into the driveway. It will make a perfect cover when we carry her out. Let‘s make this quick, now.”

  While George backed the car into the driveway, Karl found Susan’s purse and removed her keys. Out of habit, he also removed the ninety-three dollars she had in her wallet and put the money in his pocket. He didn’t mess with the credit cards because they could be traced.

  George returned. “Okay, let’s get her ready to travel.” He rolled a sock into a ball and shoved it into her mouth. He used duct tape to seal across her mouth and eyes, and taped her hands behind her. While he did that, Karl taped her legs at the ankles. George checked to make sure she was breathing all right.

  Karl stood up to admire their work. “Hey,” he said, “This is some hot looking dame. I’m going to enjoy this.”

  “Keep your mind on the job, Karl.”

  “I am. I was just saying what a looker she is.”

  They quickly carried her to the car and laid her in the open trunk. As they were about to close, it a man stepped out of the shadows. “I’m John Portman.”

  They were expecting him. George and Carl just nodded.

  John looked into the trunk. There was a big smile on his face. “Good job, men. Close it up, and get going. Who has her keys?”

  Karl stepped in front of George and handed them to Portman. “Here they are.” “Good. Now get her to the warehouse. Dick’s going to give her a shot to make sure she’s quiet until tomorrow morning. If she should come to, I don’t want you to speak with her. Keep the blindfold on her at all times. You can give her a little water, but no food. I want her weak and scared. Do you understand what I‘m saying?”

  George responded, “Yes, sir, we do. Perfectly!”

  “I’ll be out there around noon tomorrow. I want someone in that room with her at all times. No exceptions! It’s okay to keep the lights on at night. The windows are completely sealed off. Do you have any questions?”

  “No sir. Dick told us what we’ll be doing. Everything will be done exactly the way you want it.”

  “Good, then get going. I‘ve got some work to do here.”

  They drove off as Portman headed up the walkway to Sue’s condo. He had a lot to do before he visited the warehouse tomorrow. He already had a plan all worked out. He was planning to take out a little insurance.

  On the way to the warehouse, George took out his cell phone and pressed a speed dial code. “We’ll pick you up in about three minutes.”

  Minutes later, they stopped at a street corner to pick up Dick Schaeffer. They drove directly to the warehouse.

  “Let’s get this done,” Dick said as they approached the rear of the warehouse. “I’ll open the door. Give me that flashlight. The only light is in the office at the other end of the building. Be very careful carrying her, we do not want to damage the merchandise. There is crap on the floor all the way to the office.” He unlocked the door as they removed Susan from the trunk and hustled her into the warehouse. Dick led them across the warehouse floor until they came to a door on the far wall. He was right about the floor. It was like moving through an obstacle course. Dick fumbled with the ring of keys until he found the right one. He finally opened the door and stepped inside. He flashed the light around the room and found a wall switch. An old fluorescent fixt
ure flickered on. Two of the four bulbs were burned out, but the two that were left lit up the room sufficiently. On the far side of the room there was a queen-sized mattress on the floor. Next to it was a hospital bedpan, a roll of toilet paper and an unopened bottle of water. George and Karl carried Susan’s limp body over to the mattress and set her down. She was still unconscious, but was breathing normally. Dick went over to check out the closet. There was nothing inside but broken mops, some brooms, two spare bulbs and bottles of disinfectant. He returned to the mattress and removed a small box from his pocket. It contained a hypodermic needle. “I’m injecting her with a sedative that John gave me. It’ll keep her quiet for the night. You two get all the rest you can. Tomorrow you get to do your stuff.”

  “What are we supposed to sit on?” George asked.

  Dick answered, “That’s a good question.”

  Karl piped in, “There were chairs on the floor where we came in. They were torn, but at least they will keep our butts off this cold floor. When you leave, Dick, I’ll go with you and bring a couple back with me. I need to bring in our stuff from the car anyway.”

  “Okay, but don’t you guys forget, someone has to be with her at all times. She’s going to be a big payday for us; don’t screw it up. And you guys remember, keep your hands off the merchandise. That’s not part of the deal unless John says so. Is that understood?”

  “Don’t worry, we know what to do. We won’t do anything to screw this up, but it’s not going to be easy. She’s one hot looking piece of ass.”

  “We’ll see,” said Dick. “The bag I brought with me has some burgers, fries and pop. They might not be too warm right now, but they will fill your stomachs for tonight. I’ll bring them in and help you with the chairs, then I’m out of here until ten tomorrow. I will call you before I come. I’ll have some coffee and doughnuts with me. You keep this flashlight, there’s another one in the car. You never know when the juice might go off or when either of those light bulbs may give out. If you need them, I saw two spare bulbs in the closet before. They looked new. That should do it.”

  Twenty minutes later, George and Karl were settled in for the night. They took three-hour shifts watching Susan. It was a long night for them. The off-duty guard slept on the mattress, being careful to keep a safe distance from Susan. The on-duty man sat on a rickety armchair with a split plastic seat. They dreamt about the five grand each that Dick had promised them. This would be the best payday in a long time for both of them. The money was as good as spent.

  CHAPTER 19

  At half past ten Mark began to be concerned. Susan should have called. He dialed her home number and her cell phone. There was no answer at either. Then he called her office. They told him that she had left earlier in the afternoon to go home and no one had heard from her since then. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary as far as they could see. Twice more, he called her home and cell numbers. Finally Mark called her office again and asked if they knew the name of the visitor she had from the NRBA earlier that day. After a while, Deborah, Sue’s night supervisor, returned to the phone. “I’m sorry for taking so long. He didn’t have an appointment, he just dropped in. I finally found his business card in a box on Mary’s desk. I guess she holds them or a while. His name is John W. Portman. He’s their Director of Security. His office is in Denver, Colorado.” She gave him the office and web addresses and the office phone numbers. “I hope that helps. You know, it is possible she is having dinner with a client, maybe even Mister Portman. If I hear from her, I’ll tell her you called. I’m sure that everything is all right. Have a good evening, Mister Matthews.”

  Mark didn’t know how he was going to use the information, but his gut feeling was that Portman had something to do with Susan being missing. Of course, there could be any number of reasons for her to be incommunicado. As Deborah suggested, she could be having dinner with someone, but it certainly wasn’t with Portman. After all, he really didn’t know that much about her personal life, and he certainly had no right to pry. He tried unsuccessfully to read a novel. Finally, he turned on the television. It was just a bunch of images moving around on the screen to him. He decided not to call her again. She would call when she is ready. There was a good chance that her meeting with Portman went well. In that case, she wouldn’t be in any hurry to call. Susan was entitled to her privacy. He’d talk to her tomorrow. Right now he needed to get a good night’s sleep. Mark set the ring tone volume on his phone to the loudest setting, just in case she did call. Sometimes Sue was oblivious to time. He tossed and turned for quite a while, his mind too active for sleep. Around midnight, Mark took two sleeping pills from a prescription bottle he’d found in his father’s room after he passed away. His father was never big on pills, except for an occasional aspirin. He couldn’t remember him ever taking any meds. He only took the sleeping pills for a short time after Mark’s mother died. The expiration date on the bottle had long since passed, but he swallowed them anyway. He wasn’t sure if they would work, but knew he had to get some sleep if he was going to be of any use to anyone the next day. The pills knocked him out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was dead to the world.

  CHAPTER 20

  John Portman returned to his motel room around two o’clock in the morning. He and Dick Schaeffer had just finished cleaning up a loose end; a loose end by the name of Roland Phoebes. It was all a part of his plan to get Susan to talk. It was an insurance policy.

  They had followed Roland from his office to an apartment complex. As soon as Roland entered number 5A, he heard a knock on the door. When he answered, he was met by John and Dick, and a gun that was aimed directly at his heart. He stepped back as he said, “What on earth do you think you’re doing, Portman. What’s the gun for?”

  “I’ll ask the questions,” replied John as he and Dick entered the apartment, locking the door behind them.

  With fear obvious in his eyes and voice, Roland said, “You’ve got no right to come barging in here. I told you everything that I know the other night. Now, you two get out of here or I’ll call the police.”

  “We’re not going anywhere until you tell me the truth about hacking our files. I spoke with your confederate, Susan Harrigan earlier today and she denies everything too, but I can tell when people are lying to me, and you’re a regular fibbing Phoebes.” He smiled at his spontaneous humor. “You are going to tell me the truth about everything before we leave here. Understand?”

  “She couldn‘t tell you anything because there is nothing to tell. Can’t you get that into your head? You have no right to be doing this. I want both of you to leave my apartment at once.”

  “I don’t believe you, Phoebes, and we’re not going anywhere.”

  As John was speaking, Dick grabbed Phoebes by the arm and escorted him to the bedroom at the back of the apartment. The rooms were unusually clean for a bachelor pad. When they got to the bedroom, John closed the door behind them. Dick tore the bedspread and pillows off the bed and tossed them onto the floor.

  “What on earth do you think you’re doing? Stop that!”

  “He’s just making it comfortable for you,” John said. “Now lay down on the bed.”

  “I’ll do nothing of the kind and you can’t make me.”

  Dick put his gun on Roland’s forehead and pushed. Roland fell back onto the bed. “You’ll do as you’re told, if you know what’s good for you.” John approached the bed. He placed a gun in front of Roland’s face. “I am not kidding around. This is your last chance, Phoebes. I don’t want to hurt you. I believe you are just an innocent pawn in this business, so you can still escape unscathed. Now tell me what you two did and why, and we’ll be out of here.”

  “This is insane. I can’t tell you any more than I have already. I swear!” he said, his eyes wide open in fear.

  Dick looked at Portman. “This isn’t getting us anywhere, John. This creep isn’t going to tell us anything. Off him!”

  Before Roland could say a word, John pulled the trigger
. The shot splattered blood and brains all over the bed and headboard. John took out a handkerchief and wiped some of the spray off his hand and the gun. While he was doing that, Dick placed some personal things that belonged to Susan around the bedroom and bathroom; items that Portman had picked up at her condo. Then John took a few Polaroid pictures of Roland’s body and returned the camera and gun to the bag. He examined the pictures. He smiled as he said, “Mister Phoebes is going to help us in more ways than he could have imagined. What is it that they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? These pictures speak volumes. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  It was ten minutes after eleven when they left the apartment. John didn’t arrive back at his motel in Hudson until one. It had been a full but very productive day. He could feel victory within his grasp. He was now prepared for his next encounter with Susan Harrigan. This time he had no doubt she would see the wisdom of telling him everything he wanted to know. John decided to catch up on his phone calls. He spent about a half hour with Mel before he called Dr. Orwell at home to give him a brief update on his findings to-date.

  “I’m sorry to be calling so late, but things are really heating up out here. I’m pretty sure that a woman that operates a local software service is responsible for stealing that file, and I expect to persuade her to tell me who hired her.” He smiled as he added, “I’m having another meeting with her later today. She’s being very cagey, but I feel quite confident that eventually we will have a meeting of the minds. If everything goes as I expect it to, I will be out of here by tomorrow night.”

  Orwell knew better than to question how Portman got things done. In fact, he knew better than to ask too many questions at all. He remembered very well that Dr. Cartwright was pressured out of the company for asking too many questions. He did not want to suffer the same fate. He also knew that John had friends on the Board. “It sounds like you’re on the right track, John. I will be happy to put this whole episode behind us. I’ve got a Board of Governors meeting coming up shortly and I can’t afford to have this kind of a problem looming in the background.”