Bernard DeLeo - Cold Blooded

“I don’t think Nick gets scared, Mom,” Jean replied, looking over the rail.

On the balcony with Deke at their feet, Nick poured wine for Rachel and himself. Jean sat as close to the railing with her juice as she could get, looking out at the incredible view of Pacific Grove and the ocean beyond. The fog had begun moving in ever so slowly, beginning to obscure the housetops below them.

“I’m no wine connoisseur. I hope this Berringer White Zin is okay.”

“Wow, something you’re not an expert at,” Rachel said in mock surprise. “White Zin is my favorite. I don’t know how you ever leave this place. It’s incredible.”

“It’s not easy to leave here, but it makes me appreciate what I have more when I finally return. I’m going to like seeing it through your eyes. I take a lot for granted.”

“It gets pretty cold down here, huh?” Rachel pulled up the collar on her jacket more as a chilly breeze blew in off the ocean.

“I hate hot weather. I can adapt to about anything, but I sure wouldn’t choose to live in a furnace like Pleasanton. Then again, you didn’t either. What -”

Jean nodded off where she sat, nearly pitching off the chair. Nick righted her in the chair before she ever knew what happened, stunning Rachel with how fast he moved.

“I think someone needs some sleep if they want to hit the beach tomorrow.” Nick leaned down to look into Jean’s half-lidded eyes.

To Nick’s surprise, Jean wrapped her arms around his neck. With a smiling nod from Rachel, he picked Jean up gently and carried her to bed. Pulling the covers down, Nick tucked the little girl in. It was the first time he had ever tucked anyone in. He turned on the miniature lighthouse nightlight, and turned off the room light. Nick returned to the balcony.

“Jean and I are kind of pushy, huh?”

“I’ll get over it. Did you think any more about how you want to handle your stay here?”

“If Grace or Tim don’t come unglued, I’d rather live like a normal person.”

“Tanus is dead, Kim. Why -”

“My name is Rachel Hunter,” Rachel interrupted. “I don’t like the name Kim and I detest the name Kimmy.”

“Which is why Grace calls you Kimmy.” Nick laughed. “I like the name Rachel; but unless we’re alone like this, I think you’d better stick with Kim. Why do you think they’re still taking shots at you, since Tanus is dead?”

“My husband worked as a computer security consultant for Tanus’s firm.” Rachel took a gulp of wine and looked at the eerie fog-covered vista below. “We lived in a tiny apartment on the East side. Rick was always complaining about money. He tried blackmailing Tanus, threatening to turn the flash drives he’d made up over to the FBI. I had no idea what he was doing.”

Nick watched Rachel pause as she glanced over at him speculatively. She maintained eye contact with him in the low light of Nick’s balcony.

“I had taken Jean to school, hanging around as a teacher’s aid in the mornings to cut down on our tuition costs. Returning to the apartment, I fumbled with the keys at the door, and heard Rick’s muffled screams…and…and I ran.”

“Lucky you did,” Nick replied gently. “If you hadn’t, you would have joined Rick. You didn’t actually see Tanus then?”

“I ran to the end of the hall. We were only a few doors down from the stairwell. I hid in the stairwell and phoned 911. Only a minute after I called, our apartment door opened, and Tanus came out with two other men. Thank God they took the elevator. I stayed in the stairwell with the 911 operator on the phone until the police arrived. They didn’t get what they wanted from Rick. That’s why they’re still trying to kill me.”

“Meaning the flash drives are in a safety deposit box somewhere and there’s someone a rung up the ladder from where Tanus was.” Well, maybe I’ll get off Frank’s shit list after all .

“I know where the box is located and I have the key.” Rachel leaned over and took Nick’s right hand in both hers. “I didn’t know if the Marshalls could actually protect us. I didn’t turn over the key because I figured if they found us, I could buy Jean’s life with it.”

I have fallen into the shit pile and emerged smelling like the proverbial rose .

“Nick, aren’t you going to say something?”

“Putting aside your seemingly legitimate distrust for the US Marshalls’ service, I think you acted very well under pressure. You did consider Tanus’s boss is implicated on one of those flash drives, right?”

“Yes…but listen…those guys have more money than God. They buy and sell politicians, police, and judges. I’d hand over the key. The cops get the files. The files get lost, and I’m a dead mom with a dead little girl. Fingering Tanus was my ticket out of New York to a new life and possible safety. Even after a year, Tanus was only now coming up for trial to be indicted. The chance of anyone arresting the guy above him is a joke.”

“I’m having trouble faulting your logic,” Nick admitted. “Since you have to be signed in on their list to get into the safety deposit box, having the -”

“I am signed in on the box,” Rachel cut in.

“Where’s the box located?”

“Sarasota, Florida. Rick opened an account with five hundred dollars and obtained a safety deposit box attached to the account. Any fees would be debited from the five hundred dollar balance. He did it while we were on vacation with Jean and the account is under my maiden name. Jean is my daughter’s real name.”

“Jesus…” She’s good . “I can really understand your reticence in giving over the key. I’m sure the same questions popping into my head would have been popping into the cops’ heads.”

“I didn’t know what he was doing, Nick.” Rachel squeezed his wrist with attitude as if she could physically press the point into Nick. “Rick put gold and silver coins in the box he had showed me. He said they were our little nest egg the government wouldn’t know about and if something happened to him I would have a little safety line. I saw him put a small plastic baggy with the flash drives in there. Rick told me they were backups to our financial records.”

“Easy, Rachel… I believe you.” No, I don’t. You picked the wrong guy to tell this story to. I don’t believe anyone. Shit list, here I come . “Your explanation is plausible. I only meant I can understand how you would think the FBI might look at what you’ve told me.”

“No one will believe me now. I am so screwed.”

Birds of a feather . Nick smiled at his own weird commiseration with Rachel.

Rachel let go of Nick’s wrist. “You think this is funny?”

“I write fiction for a living. That means I’m a paid liar. Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a computer security guy, married to a beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed woman and they had a beautiful little blonde haired, blue-eyed daughter. The computer security guy tells his wife all about some of the very strange dealings the company he’s working for is into. Wifey suggests digitizing the strange dealings for a rainy day, just in case they run across something they need. The computer guy’s a little uncomfortable with this idea but it sounds like a nice insurance policy.

“Computer guy copies the company’s strange dealings. He and wifey then take the daughter down to Florida on a nice vacation, where they set up their emergency nest egg. Low and behold the day arrives when wifey thinks they’re not living quite the way she thinks they should and talks computer guy into cashing in on their insurance policy.”

Nick paused, watching Rachel’s shoulders slump as she turned in the chair, picked up her glass and drained the wine. She poured another glass out of the bottle on the table with a shaking hand.