Blood Money Read online

  Mark met with Dennis Peterson in his office. It was time to talk business, and to make his appointment official. “I am sure glad that you are on board, Mark. One of the first things you’re going to need to do is hire an assistant for your PI business. We want you to continue to operate down in Centerville. I have an approval to expand your office. I’ve checked, and there is a larger office available in your building row. It is already sub-divided into three sections. You will need to get back down there and set this all up. I want you operating within thirty days. Does that sound like a reasonable schedule to you?”

  “Well, yes, I guess so. Is the FBI supplementing my operating budget? If I add a person, I will also need to get full time secretarial help. The extra rent, salaries and taxes will add at least fifteen to twenty thousand dollars to my monthly operating expenses.”

  “It will all be covered, Mark. Just submit a detailed expense report at the end of each month. I will make sure that you are reimbursed within a week. We do the same thing for Susan’s business.

  They went on to discuss salary, administrative procedures and working relationships. “As soon as Susan is able, I’ll expect you to learn her operation. I’ve also got to get you to Quantico for training. I’ve scheduled that for the fifteenth of next month. Both will require you to spend considerable time away from your business. That’s why it’s important that you find the right person to run things in Centerville. Do you have anyone in particular in mind?

  “Actually, I do. There is a friend of my father that he knew from church. He’s a retired Dayton police lieutenant, so he knows all about investigations. We’ve talked about my business on occasion, and he has always been interested in what I do. I think he would be an ideal candidate. His name is Bruce Crandall. He’s about fifty-eight, married, with one child in college. I’ll give him a call right away.”

  “That should work, Mark. I will trust in your judgment. Just be sure he can handle things administratively while you’re gone. You’re going to have a full slate for at least the next six months. I want your mind to be on FBI work. You should plan on returning to Centerville first thing in the morning. I have arranged for your transportation back to Dayton International. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I know you will want to go to the hospital to visit Susan before you go. I hear she is coming along well.” He rose and extended his hand. He pumped Mark’s hand vigorously. “Mark, it’s really great to have you on board.”

  “Thanks, Dennis. I’m really proud to be working here with you. I feel a lot like I did when I joined up with “Hide & Seek.” I guess it’s the feeling of being a part of something that is much bigger than yourself.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s a great feeling.”

  When Mark got to Susan’s room, he showed his ID to the guard on duty. The guards would insist on checking ID’s every time a person entered the room, regardless of who it was and how many times they’d seen you. It was getting to be a bit bothersome, but Mark preferred that they err on the side of overzealous security than on less. When he entered Susan’s room, he saw an entirely different person than he had seen a few days ago. She was sitting up in the bed watching television. An IV was still connected to her arm, but the oxygen tube was gone. She was wearing light pink pajamas. Her beautiful red hair had been brushed. It framed her face, which was still very pale. The bruise marks on her neck were starting to turn a dark olive as the healing of the damaged tissue was taking place.

  “Well, you’re sure looking a lot better. It looks like this pampered life agrees with you.”

  “You’re on to me, Mark. I just can’t get enough of this ambiance and the great hospital cuisine. Please don’t let on, though. They might send me home and I’ll lose all this.”

  He could tell that Susan was really glad to see him. Mark gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He handed her a large bouquet of flowers that he had picked up at the gift shop.

  “They’re beautiful. Thank you, Mark. Would you put them over there on the table with the others?”

  The “table” looked more like a florist shop. He had to move five vases to make room. The nurses must have anticipated the arrival of more flowers, because he found two vases already filled with water at the back of the table. He placed his flowers in front where Susan could see them. He did it at the expense of the others. He caught himself doing it, but didn’t care, feeling justified. After all, the other flowers had been already been seen and enjoyed. His were the newest and had a right to be open for viewing. His intentions were good, or so he wanted to believe. When he returned to her bedside, he said, “Let me update you on the progress we’ve had in rounding up your abductors. He spent several minutes telling her about the arrest of George and Karl and the shooting death of Schaeffer and Portman. The FBI and Cleveland Police Department needed for her to confirm their identities as her captors, but she wanted to hear everything from his perspective, so she let him go on.

  “I didn’t get a chance to fire my gun, but it was great being in on the raid. Boy, I sure have had an exciting introduction to the Bureau.”

  “You can say that again. I’ve never even been out in the field. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be in on a kill. I know it is not nice to say, but I am really glad that they stopped that awful man. I guess he is the closest I’ve seen to what you would describe as a psychopath. Murdering innocent people meant nothing to him.”

  From what Dennis and you have told me, I think that would be a very apt description of him. He showed no mercy with either you or with Roland. At the end, he shot Dick Schaeffer in the back with a shotgun. By the way, they confirmed that he used your gun to kill Roland.”

  “Oh God! Poor Roland, he was completely innocent. He was just trying to help me out. I should never have used his data input without his knowing about it. His death was strictly my fault. I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

  “I know how you feel, Sue. It’s always tragic when innocent people get dragged into our work. As much as we try to protect everyone, bad things sometimes happen to good people. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Try not to think about it. I’m just relieved to know that we got them. Knowing that they were out there somewhere was starting to get to me.”

  “I know I have a guard out there, Mark, but potential witnesses have been killed before. What about Portman’s assistant, Mel Tarkington? Did they ever catch him?”

  “Unfortunately, he got away, but they are almost certain that he fled to Canada with whatever money he was able to get from that safe deposit box, and they’re still searching for one of the Board members that was involved in the illegal payment scheme. But you don’t need to be thinking about any of this. You’re perfectly safe. Chief Jacobsen insisted on keeping the guard posted until you are able to leave the hospital. He’s an ex-agent, you know.”

  “So I heard. He is such a sweet man. He came to visit me to ask if there was anything else he could do for me. Can you imagine that? He brought a large bouquet with him, the one in the blue vase that you hid behind yours. He said it was from the department, but I really think it really was from him.”

  Mark’s face reddened a bit.

  “It’s okay, Mark. I had two days to enjoy them.”

  He changed the subject, hoping to lighten things up a bit. “Dennis and I had a long talk this morning about my new career. I am going to be hiring an assistant to run my business when I’m working on cases. I think I have the perfect candidate. I’m going to expand my office space and hopefully make Brenda full time.” He came up for air before continuing. “Dennis is arranging for my home computer to be updated with the same bells and whistles that you have. I will be your computer alter ego. They are even going to build a faux wall to hide the center. Of course, the best part of all of this is that I’m going to have to spend a lot of time up here learning what you do and how to operate all the gizmos. Now that’s what I refer to as a fringe
benefit.”

  She smiled her signature smile. “I know you won’t have any problem learning. But if you do, you will just have to stay after school so I can tutor you properly. If you are a bad boy there will be detention, maybe even a spanking.”

  Now they both laughed. Mark was happy to see her in high spirits after all she had been through. They agreed that he should stay at her condo when he was either in Cleveland or working with her in Hudson. If he encountered any of her neighbors or fellow employees, he could pass himself off as her brother. It was a perfect cover for their operation.

  The Cleveland Plain Dealer had run a brief story about her shooting. With the help of Chief Jacobsen, it was reported that Susan had been shot during an attempted robbery. A day later they ran a story about the FBI raid at a Snow Road house that was reported as an unrelated incident. It listed John Portman and Richard Schaeffer as being killed in a suspected drug deal gone bad.

  No charges were filed against Susan for the shooting death of Roland Phoebes. Portman’s feeble attempt to frame Susan for his death was seriously flawed. Roland was a homosexual, which was attested to by his lover, a man who worked with him at Central Data Processing and who found Roland’s body. Susan’s personal items in his bedroom were obvious plants. The finishing touch was the discovery of Susan’s gun with Portman’s prints on it and the pictures of Roland’s body, which were found at Dick Schaeffer’s hideout. Ballistics showed that the bullets recovered from Phoebes’ body and Susan’s shoulder came from her gun.

  “You know, Susan, when you went missing I was really scared for you. It wasn’t just fear and concern. I would really miss you if you weren’t a part of my life. I guess what I’m trying to get at, in my ever so suave way, is that I’m in love with you.” He looked into her eyes to see if there were any corresponding feelings. There were.

  “Mark, I love you too. When I was down to your place it took all the restraint I could muster to keep from throwing myself at you. On my way home, I was tempted to turn around and go back to your house. I wish now that I had.”

  “That’s funny, because I had the same temptation to call you and ask you to come back.” Mark leaned over and cupped her face in his hands to kiss her. She pulled away in fear.

  He stepped back and asked, “What’s wrong? What did I do?

  “I’m sorry, Mark. It’s not you. That man, George. He held my face like that with his hands before he pressed his fingers into my eyes. I’ll never forget it.”

  Mark moved forward and put his arms around her. She held him very tight. “I’m sorry, Sue. I had no way of knowing. I will move more slowly.” He held her at arm’s length as they both moved their heads forward to kiss. It was a long, deep kiss. His mind raced back to their Washington days. The thought came to him, and he asked, “You don’t suppose that Dennis has a ‘no fraternization’ rule, do you? Once again, I didn’t check the small print when I signed up.”

  She didn’t answer right away. After a while she said, “Well, we’ll just have to keep a low profile, won’t we? After all, we will be working closely on a lot of assignments. I’ll be staying at your place, and you will be at mine. You will always need more tutoring on some of the technical stuff. I can even assign make-up classes.” Their laugh was a nervous laugh. They had already missed out on a lot of years they could have had together. The idea that something could tear them apart again was unthinkable. They were not ever going to let anyone or anything get between them again.

  “How is that shoulder of yours coming along, by the way?”

  “It hurts quite a lot. I think that they are going to have to operate on it soon. There are a lot of shattered bones in there. I can feel the pieces pressing on muscle and nerves. The doctor says that it will take up to six months before I’ll be completely healed. They hope to operate within a month or so.”

  “I feel so bad for you. I really hate that you have to go through all this.”

  “You’re so sweet, Mark. Don’t feel bad for me. Remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

  “Somehow, I don’t find that very comforting. Well, I think I need to be going now. I have to get back to Centerville to hire an assistant. The middle of next month I have to go to Quantico for training. I’ll sure be glad when that is out of the way. I hate being away from you for so long a period.”

  “You go and do what you have to. I’m in good hands here. Most of the time while you’re gone I’ll be here resting and recuperating. Mark, before you go, I need to ask you a question.” Her face turned crimson. “It’s sort of personal. I can’t think of anyone else I could ask.”

  He moved closer to the bed. “What is it, Susan?”

  “Mark, did I pee my pants back there? You know, while I was in the warehouse?”

  He knew where she was coming from. It was embarrassing when your bladder gave out under duress. It’s very natural, it even happens to the most macho of men. “No, Susan, you didn’t.” He told a little white lie. To his way of thinking, she was going through enough. She sure didn’t need to have something like that on her mind.

  “Thank God,” she said. “That would be so embarrassing.”

  “I know what you mean.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. “You take care of yourself, Irish. Do everything the doctors tell you to do. They know what’s best for you. I’ll call you when I get to Centerville.”

  Mark turned and left the room. It looked like the road to recovery would be a long one for her, but they now had a lifetime together to look forward to.

  CHAPTER 29

  It was time for Peter Thurston to unveil his plans to Dr. Cartwright. The Dayton Daily News had a story about the federal government raids on the NRBA. He was certain that Dr. Cartwright would be anxious to know how his operations team fit in. A day had already passed.

  “Dr. Cartwright is here to see you,” Mrs. Barth announced. She escorted the Doctor into the room.

  “Please come in, Doctor. Have a seat. Today, your patience will be rewarded. I got a call this morning from a friend in Washington. I’m sure that you have been following the news about the NRBA. It looks like you were right on the money with your concern about their financial dealings. They have been implicated in some serious money laundering that funneled large sums of money to terrorist sympathizers abroad. For all intents and purposes, what was the National Rare Blood Association has ceased to exist. The Board of Governors have been stripped of all their power.”

  Now that he had laid the foundation, he was ready to break the good news. “Now for the good part. Doctor, under an executive order released earlier today by the White House, Thurston Electronics, acting under the name Lifeflow Laboratories, has been chosen to become the administrators of the National Rare Blood Association, effective at noon today. National headquarters will be moved to Dayton, and all thirteen laboratories will report directly to you as the National Director. That, too, is effective at noon today. The White House is anticipating only a minimal lapse in service to result from the turnover. Your work of the past several months should assure that. Congratulations!”

  Dr. G. Mason Cartwright was speechless. He had assumed that the problems of the NRBA would result in significant changes, but by no stretch of his imagination did he think that his team would take over the entire operations. “What can I say? I’m dumbfounded. This is such great news.”

  Thurston smiled. “Doctor, this is the chance of a lifetime for you. I can’t think of anyone more qualified and deserving than you to carry on such an important undertaking. You know the operation better than anyone. I’ll trust you to determine which people will stay and which need to go. You will have carte blanche to make whatever decisions are necessary to make a smooth conversion over to Lifeflow Laboratories. I’ve instructed all of my department heads to work closely with you. If you run into any roadblocks at all, come directly to me.

  “The President is very concerned that the trust that people have in the blood bank system might be compromised by all the neg
ative publicity. He wants it restored quickly, and he is counting on you to make that happen.”

  “Thanks for your confidence in me, sir.”

  “No thanks are necessary. This is the result of your own hard work and unwavering dedication,” he assured the doctor. “All members of the Board of Governors of the NRBA have resigned. Some have become fugitives. Their last official act was to issue orders to their thirteen laboratories to cooperate with the turnover of authority to Lifeflow. You need to keep the transition from having a deleterious effect on either the collection or distribution of the blood. I’m sure, in an emergency such as this, even non-participating blood banks will help with any supply shortages. Mention the White House if you have to. Who knows, maybe the change will even bring more blood banks aboard. I’m sure the NRBA made a lot of enemies over the years.” He reflected for a second. “Well, look at me telling you how to do your job.”

  “That’s no problem, sir. Your advice will always be appreciated. Again, I want to thank you for your faith in me. You will not regret it. My crew is ready, and I do know who the good guys are at the NRBA. Lifeflow Laboratories will make you proud. You have my word on it.”

  Thurston thought he detected a tear or two welling up in the Doctor’s eyes. Tears of joy? Tears of pride? It was probably both. “I’m certain that it will, Doctor. You’ve been preparing for this day for a long time. Even I didn’t envision things turning out so well. Now it’s time for you to ‘bring-it-on-in’, as they say. Touch base with legal, accounting and customer service. They are all standing by, ready to support you with whatever help you need.” Thurston got up and walked around the desk. As the Doctor rose, Thurston put his hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, my friend,” he said as he shook the Doctor’s hand. Then he walked him to the door.