The Kidnap Victim Page 2

  Nicole politely raised her glass. She had to admire Bell’s strategy. She couldn’t compete with the dead wife and mother. This was going to be a tough couple of weeks.

  Denison paused for a moment, then raised his glass. “To your mom.”

  Later that afternoon, the tide receding down the shore and the sun far to the west, Denison and Bell were walking barefoot along the beach in the damp zone between the rushing waves and the dry sand. Bell had changed into a long, loose sundress, and Denison wore a T-shirt and old cargo shorts. “Dad, I know you’re lonely, that you miss Mom, that Nicole and her partner—whatever that means—helped you out at Nohamay City. I still don’t really understand what happened there.”

  “Long story short, you remember how your mother loved Cellini’s work? I was trying to buy a jewelry casket for her. Beautiful little box. Turned out it was stolen. Nicole and John kept me from getting into trouble.”

  “John? That’s her partner?”

  Denison nodded.

  “What’s he like?”

  “He’s one of those hard-nosed business types. Easy to get along with if you’re on the same side. But not the kind of guy you’d want to cross.”

  “And what’s their business?”

  “Nicole would have to explain that to you.”

  Bell looked at him over the top of her sunglasses. “Why? Why can’t you just tell me?”

  “Because you have to ask her.”

  “This is exactly the kind of thing that has me and Skip worried, Dad. You’ve only known her a few months, and you’re thick as thieves. Don’t you think it’s too soon to get involved in a serious relationship?”

  Denison picked up a flat stone and sailed it into the surf. “It’s not serious.”

  “Not serious? You emailed me and Skip that she was moving in.”

  Denison smiled and shook his head. “I know you and your brother are just concerned that it’s only been a couple of months since your mom passed, and that’s why I’m not mad. Reread the email. I said she was visiting.”

  “She’s been living here for a month.”

  “I asked her to come out; she doesn’t have anywhere to stay; of course she’s going to stay at the house. She has her own room.”

  “Since I got here.”

  He shrugged. “Fair enough. But I’m still your dad. I don’t have to explain myself to you. You’re just going to have to trust me. I’m going slow. I haven’t given her anything and she hasn’t asked for anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s just that right now I just need someone who’s only for me.”

  “Only for you? There’s nobody like that, Dad.”

  “Give her a chance. A real chance. I think you’ll like her.”

  “Dad, what do you really know about her? I mean real, verifiable fact. What do you know?”

  That evening, Nicole, Denison, and Bell sat at a candlelit table in Jerry’s Surf House, a seafood restaurant located in the old village by the docks. It was decorated in a pirate motif. Fishing nets, fake swords, treasure maps, and black skull and crossbones flags hung from the walls. The restaurant was Sunday-evening empty, the vacationing families having come and gone earlier, and the weekend visitors already on the road headed for home. Nicole, Denison, and Bell were lingering after their meal, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet.

  “I told you this was still the best restaurant in town,” Denison said.

  “And still the kitschiest,” Bell replied. “Remember when they had the skeleton hanging up between the doors to the restrooms?”

  Denison chuckled. “Your brother wouldn’t go to the bathroom by himself.”

  “How long have you been coming here?” Nicole asked.

  Bell shrugged. “We’ve always come here.”

  “We bought the beach house back before all the development,” Denison said. “The businesses on the highway, the access road, the chain restaurants—all that came later. This was a sleepy village. And this restaurant was one of its best-kept secrets. The kids grew up coming here—what? Two or three times a year?”

  Bell nodded. “Mom loved this place. She liked the beach here better than the beach in California.”

  He nodded. “Of course, Bell and Skip come out here whenever they want now.”

  “Really?” Nicole said. “That must be nice.”

  “I hardly have the time,” Bell said. “And then when I do go on vacation, I want to try something new. I haven’t been here in two years.”

  “Well, at least you got a chance to come down before school starts,” Denison said. “The season will be over in a few more weeks and things will quiet down around here.”

  “What are you teaching this fall?” Nicole asked.

  “Three classes,” Bell replied. “Two I taught last fall, but I’m having to revamp my Intro to Western European, so it’s going to be a lot of work getting all the new images prepared.” She turned to her father. “So how much longer are you planning to stay out here, Dad?”

  Denison looked down at his coffee cup. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been avoiding the Palo Alto house. Not sure if I’m ready for all the memories of your mom. But Jody called from the Institute. I should be there making sure the fall kickoff starts strong.”

  “The homeless women’s program?” Nicole asked.

  “Yeah,” Denison said. “A lot of the women are moms, so we have a big fund-raiser that coincides with the start of school.”

  “It will do you good to do some work,” Bell said.

  “You’re probably right.”

  “And Angela can help you with Mom’s stuff, unless you want to wait for Thanksgiving break.”

  “Angela shouldn’t have to do it.”

  “Then I’ll fly out in November.”

  “Maybe I should just sell the Palo Alto place, move into San Francisco for a change.”

  “You don’t have to decide now. You could rent something in town. Then you’d be able to start on the fund-raiser without thinking about the house, and you could make up your mind later.”

  “True enough.”

  Bell turned to Nicole. “And how about you? Have you got any plans for the fall?”

  Nicole shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t heard anything from my partner, and as long as he doesn’t need me…”

  “And what is it you do for work?”

  “It’s difficult to explain.”

  “Try me.”

  “We rob criminals.”

  “You’re joking.” She turned to her father. “That’s what she told you?”

  He nodded.

  Nicole continued. “That’s what he’s seen us do. We crossed paths in the process of recovering a stolen object. The Cellini casket. Maybe you heard the news report about its return. James fell into the middle of it. We helped him out.”

  “How?”

  “Proved to him it was stolen. Helped him avoid a charge of receiving stolen property.”

  Denison squeezed Nicole’s hand. “If you’re not busy, you should just come out to California with me. There’s plenty for us to do.”

  “Dad,” Bell said, “she can’t put her life on hold forever to keep you company.”

  Nicole smiled. “It’s sweet of you to be concerned about me, but there’s nothing I’d rather do than be with your father.”

  Bell let out an exasperated sigh, and then caught herself. “Sorry. I just…”

  “Let’s change the subject and get the check,” Denison said.

  Outside, a warm salt wind was blowing off the ocean, and a few clouds skittered across the night sky. Nicole was walking across the well-lit parking lot in front of Jerry’s Surf House with Denison and Bell. They were halfway to their Ford Explorer when a voice called out.

  “Sally. Sally Jones. That’s you, isn’t it?”

  Nicole turned. A fat man with a thin comb-over and jug-handle ears was gaining on them. It was Fred Stein. How long ago had it been? He’d put on weight.

  “Don’t deny it,” he said. “You’r
e Sally Jones. Are these your partners—the ones I never met—or are you running a con on them?”

  “You’re talking crazy, mister.” She stepped back. Denison moved up beside her. “Don’t come any closer or I’m calling the police,” she said.

  Bell backed up against a parked Nissan Sentra. “What makes you think she’s this person you know?”

  Stein looked Nicole over. “The hair is different. The clothes are different. Even your manner is different. But you’re definitely Sally. You cheated me out of sixty thousand dollars.”

  “I don’t know you,” Nicole said.

  “How long ago was this?” Bell asked.

  “Five years.” He turned to Nicole. “Knock it off, Sally. You know who I am.”

  “Five years ago,” Nicole said. “I had different hair, different clothes. I acted differently. That sounds like I was a different person. Why do you think I’m her?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I’m calling the police.”

  Stein stared hard at her face. “You’re calling the police?”

  “Right now.” She started tapping the screen on her phone.

  Stein muttered something and sighed. “I guess I must be wrong. My mistake. Sorry.” He turned away.

  They continued across the lot to the Explorer. “Sorry about that,” Nicole said. “Occupational hazard.”

  “You did know him?” Bell asked.

  “He went to jail for stealing credit card information, which is why he didn’t want the police involved.”

  “That guy was a crook?”

  “Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

  “So you’ve worked here before, scamming criminals?” Bell asked.

  “Never. I’ve never been here before. This is the kind of place we go to in between jobs. Never work and play in the same place.”

  Denison unlocked the SUV with the key fob. “That sounds like one of John’s rules.”

  Nicole nodded. “One of a long list.”

  Fred Stein watched the three as they continued across the parking lot. He looked directly at the brunette, studying her, watching the way she blinked, turned her head, smiled. How could he have been wrong? She was the spitting image of Sally Jones, the swindler who’d cheated him out of $60,000 and put the police on him. He’d never been arrested before, but he got two years in prison for stealing those credit card numbers. He hadn’t been able to get an IT job anywhere since he got out. He’d slept with Sally for three weeks, and he’d never suspected a thing. The brunette shrugged her shoulders and swiveled her hips as she reached for the Ford Explorer’s door handle. An image of Sally Jones opening a car door the last time he saw her flashed through his mind. It was her. There was no doubt about it. God, she was convincing.

  He jogged over to his Toyota Corolla and backed out of his parking space just in time to follow them out of the lot. They took a right onto Campbell Street and then another right onto Lighthouse Boulevard. Traffic was sparse, and the full moon lit up the road, so he dropped back about a city block, watching their taillights. When they turned left into Sandy Run Estates, he followed. They were in one of the old, upscale neighborhoods now, palm trees and iron gates. What were they doing? Casing a house for a robbery? He watched them pull into a driveway and park in the garage. He pulled over on the opposite side of the street and wrote down the address before he made a wide circle and drove away.

  His cell phone rang. It was his wife.

  “Carrie, I was just about to call you.”

  “How was your day?”

  “Long. How was yours?”

  “I caught a double. Just got home. Timmy and Lori stayed at my mom’s.”

  “You must be dead.”

  “My feet are killing me. But I made enough in tips to pay the school supply fees. How did your interview go?”

  “I think it went pretty well,” he lied. “I’m supposed to hear back in two days.”

  “I’ve got my fingers crossed.”

  “Me too.”

  “You coming home tomorrow?”

  “I’ve got another lead, so it may be a few more days.”

  “That’s great. What is it?”

  “Another office equipment maintenance job. I’ve got to hustle if I hope to get an interview.”

  “You’ll get one.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Well, I’ve got the breakfast shift tomorrow, so I need to go to bed. Just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “Kiss the kids for me.”

  “I will. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Stein pulled into the parking lot of the Ocean Surf Inn. He had to find a job, and he couldn’t lie about his prison record. When they’d found out about it on his last job, they’d fired him on the spot. Not even an “I’m sorry” or a “We know you were a good worker.” Jesus. One mistake. Carrie waiting tables. No health insurance. And the mortgage falling further and further behind. Pretty soon they’d be getting an eviction notice. He watched a family get out of their car and walk into the motel. Mom and dad holding hands. The two middle schoolers laughing and running ahead. Vacationers. Making carefree memories together. What was that like? He deserved that. His family deserved that.

  He got out of his car. Sally Jones. How strange was it running into her? He took out his phone. He needed to talk to someone who knew the whole story. He found Rudy Grissom’s number in his contacts list. “Rudy? It’s Fred. You’ll never guess who I ran into.”

  Grissom sighed. “Okay, I’ll humor you. Who did you run into?”

  “Sally Jones.”

  “The bitch who conned you? Come on, Fred, that was, what? Five years easy. How can you be sure?”

  “It was her all right. I confronted her.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She denied it. But I’m telling you, it’s her. I followed her back to the house she’s staying at.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  “To see if she’s up to something.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe I can get her into trouble.”

  “Fred, how can you be sure it’s really her?”

  “She was my girlfriend, remember?”

  “Don’t start something you can’t control, that’s all I’m saying. How did the job interview go?”

  “As soon as they found out about my conviction, it was over.”

  “Tough break, man. If you need the money, I can put you on here at the club until you find something else.”

  “Doorman at a gentlemen’s club? I appreciate the offer, but really, Rudy, I’d just look silly.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Catch you later.”

  “Keep your head down.”

  Stein headed into the motel. Sally Jones living in an upscale neighborhood. It didn’t make sense. As soon as he got up to his room, he was going to do an Internet search and find out who owned that house.

  Nicole, Denison, and Bell got out of the SUV in the garage and entered the house through the mudroom, turning on lights as they went. “It’s so hard to believe,” Bell said.

  “There’s a lot of people in this world who believe they deserve to get something for nothing,” Nicole replied.

  “Don’t you think that’s kind of cynical?” Bell asked.

  “Just my experience.” Nicole walked into the kitchen. “White wine?”

  “Nothing for me,” Denison said.

  Nicole took the bottle from the refrigerator and waved it around. Bell held up her thumb and index finger to indicate a small amount. Nicole poured wine for both of them and handed a glass to Bell.

  “So how do you find out about these people?” Bell asked.

  “Sometimes they find us.”

  “And you make friends with them.”

  “You can call it that.”

  “Then you steal what they’ve stolen and put them in jail.”

  “Sometimes.”

  “But the people who were robbed to begin with…”

  “Not
my problem. They’re usually culpable anyway.” Nicole leaned back against the counter and sipped her wine.

  “How’s that?”

  “In the case of the guy we just saw, he was stealing credit-card info from a grocery store chain. How is that possible? The grocery store chain didn’t want to pay for the protection they needed, so they put their customers at risk. If they had done the right thing to begin with, their customers, and their customers’ banks, would have been safe. As it was, we exposed the problem, which was then fixed. Crazy, huh?”

  “But you kept the money?”

  “Yeah. That’s how we make a living.”

  “It’s still hard to believe.”

  Denison nodded. “I’d have a hard time believing it too, if I hadn’t been pulled into that scam in Nohamay City. I was so preoccupied with your mom that I thought I was dealing with a legitimate seller. If Nicole and John hadn’t realized I’d been duped, I could have been on the evening news.”

  Bell put her glass on the counter by the sink. “I’m going to turn in.” She hugged her father. “Good to see you, Dad.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said.

  Denison waited for Bell to leave the room before he spoke to Nicole. “See, I told you she’d warm up after she got to know you.”

  “Maybe,” Nicole replied.

  “Do we need to be worried about that guy?”

  “Fred Stein? I don’t think so. He seemed more pitiful than dangerous.”

  Denison reached for her hand. “You coming to bed?”

  She smiled. “Don’t we have to keep up appearances for Bell’s sake?”

  “She’s a heavy sleeper.”

  “Let’s let her settle in a bit first.”

  Bell, her red hair tied back in a loose ponytail, stood naked in her bathroom, rubbing lotion on her arms and legs. Nothing was as she’d expected it to be. She’d been imagining a younger woman, a casino divorcee in flashy clothes who’d cast a spell over her father that she’d be able to see right through. Instead, Nicole seemed genuine, authentic, as if she really did care about Dad. And Dad was obviously in love with her. It hurt so much. And was she really telling the truth about her work? Who would claim to be a thief if they weren’t? The situation was much more complicated than what she and Skip had talked about. What time was it? She wondered what Bobby was doing. She pulled her nightgown on over her head and picked up her phone from the counter on her way into the bedroom. She climbed into bed in the dark with her phone in her hand and called home. The phone rang again and again. She was ready to leave a message when Bobby finally picked up. “Hello?”