Читать книгу Reluctant Gemini - Lawrence BSL Warren - Страница 5

Rudy raced the Lincoln down the rutted dirt road at a jarring speed. If the car did not survive after the drive back to New York City that was of no concern to him. He was determined to make it back before night fall. He fished the cell phone out of his front trouser pocket and dialed information for the number for New York General Hospital. After the operator had connected him with the hospital he asked to speak to Dr. Pamela Bean. “I’m sorry, she has not checked in,” the woman replied.

“What time is she due in?” Rudy asked.

“I believe she’s scheduled for the late night shift,” she answered.

“I thought she said she’d be working a double shift today,” Rudy insisted. “I’m sorry sir, she has not checked in,” she repeated. “Okay, thank you, I’ll try back later.” he said and ended the call.

Maybe she was still at home. He dialed information again and asked for New York City and the number for Doctor P. I. Bean. The operator read the number and then connected him and he waited for someone to answer. “You have reached the home answering system of Doctor Pamela Bean. If you are calling with a medical emergency, I can be reached at 212-555-0277. All other callers may leave a message and I’ll return the call as soon as possible. Thank you.”

Rudy suddenly thought that maybe it was too late. Maybe the killers had already been to her house. Maybe they would hear his message. Maybe she had already told them about having had breakfast with him and that she had a dinner date with him. She would be in grave danger if they decided to use her as a way to get to him. He decided to leave a more formal doctor-patient type message. “Yes...hello Doctor Bean. This is Rudolph Rodriguez. You may not remember me. You attended to my shoulder wound last night in the emergency room. I’m having a big problem and will need to see you immediately. Please check your caller I.D. for this cell number and call me back as soon as you receive this message. It’s very important.” He ended the call and dialed the number she had given in her message. It rang twice and then went dead. He re- dialed and the same thing happened, two rings and the line went dead. “This is not a good sign, something is wrong,” he said out loud. He must be farther from the city than he thought. At that moment the dirt road came to an abrupt end. He slammed on the brakes and the Lincoln slid to a dust clouded stop. Rudy sat motionless, gripping the steering wheel, waiting for the dust to settle for what seemed like minutes. The dirt road ended and became a two lane blacktop road. He looked left and then right and then left again. There was no indication which way to New York City. Rudy shoved the gas pedal to the floor and turned the wheel to the right and down the mountain. The first signed of civilization was a highway marker that read, Route 74 East. Well at least he was headed in the right direction, east toward the coast. Within a few miles Rudy came to another road sign informing him that the town of Centreville was nine miles ahead and New York City was 286 miles. “286 miles,” he shouted. He did a quick calculation in his head. If he could average 60 miles an hour it would take him nearly five hours to get there.

He glanced at the clock on the dash. 4:17 P.M. It would be after 9:00 P.M. by the time he arrived in the city. He began to wonder what the two men would do next. Did they have a second cell phone? Would they call someone in the city to report that he had gotten away? Would they somehow be able to free the guy handcuffed to the tree? Even if they didn’t have another cell phone, they would be able to walk to a phone booth in Centreville before he could reach New York City. Would other men be waiting for him when he arrived at his hotel, or would they steal a car and try to chase him down? One thing was sure, going back to the hotel suite was definitely not a good idea. He needed to have someone immediately collect his belongings from his room. The police had warned him not to leave the city without getting their okay first.

He picked up the cell phone and dialed information and asked for the New York City Ritz Hotel and had the operator connect him. “The Ritz Hotel,” a young woman answered.

“I’d like to speak to the weekend manager on duty,” Rudy said.

“One moment sir.”

“Hello, this is Mr. Jackson.”

“Mr. Jackson, this is Roberto Rodriguez. As you know, my twin brother Rudy and I are registered at your hotel in Penthouse Suite G. As you also know, Rudy has had some unpleasant problems over the last few days during our stay with you.”

The manager immediately interrupted, “Yes, I do know and I want to assure you Mr. Rodriguez that the Ritz Hotel is in no way responsible for any of the unpleasantness with your brother. We want your stay with us to be of the highest quality and comfort.”

“Yes, it has been and I find no fault with you or the hotel,” Rudy assured him, “But I do find myself in an embarrassing position that requires your discreet assistance. I had an urgent and unexpected meeting come up and had to leave town suddenly. Please have my clothes and personal items packed into the two suitcases that you will find in our room. My passport is in the hotel safe. Please retrieve it and place it in one of the zippered pockets of my luggage. You can leave them with the Bell Captain and I will send someone around to pick them up shortly. You have my pre-signed American Express card on file so please close out the bill and add an additional $1,000 for yourself. That should cover all of the trouble we have caused you and express our gratitude for your assistance. Is that satisfactory Mr. Jackson?”

“Yes sir Mr. Rodriguez, that will be very satisfactory. I will attend to it personally.

“Thank you Mr. Jackson, and remember, this is to remain between just the two of us. If anyone comes asking for me, tell them that I’ve checked out but that I plan to return next week. Please reserve the penthouse suite G for me again for next Friday. I’ll be staying for four days.”

“Yes, I understand and you can count on me anytime Mr. Rodriguez.”

With that Rudy disconnected the call feeling reassured that he was one stop ahead of the their next likely move. He knew he should call the police and inform them that he had moved out of the hotel but he decided that could wait until he got back to the city. Besides, he was not sure if he should trust them. The fewer people that knew his whereabouts, the better.

When Rudy reached Centreville he had the gas station attendant fill the Lincoln with gasoline and check the oil. Anxious to get back on the road, he ordered a cheese steak sub and a black coffee to go.

The four hour drive to New York City was uneventful. After the first hour he started to let himself relax. He kept a keen eye on the rearview mirror, making sure that no suspicious looking vehicles were following him. After the second hour, the drive settled into an ordinary routine. By the third hour boredom began to take over. He tried Pamela on the cell phone. Again, no answer. The weekend traffic into the city was very heavy. By the time Rudy could see the familiar skyline, traffic was at a standstill.

Rudy turned on the car radio and was surprised to learn that it was tuned to the local Spanish station. The two big men speak Spanish, he thought. The commentator was reporting the up-to-the minute events of the day’s city news for his Spanish listeners. Two drug related street corner shootings, a high-rise apartment fire where ten people suffered burns and smoke inhalation and the big story of the day, a commuter train derailment. Over 200 people had been seriously injured and over 30 people had been killed. The 8:30 A.M. westside commuter express had jumped the tracks and slammed into a concrete bridge abutment.

The city’s emergency crews were extended beyond their abilities to cope with the catastrophe. He switched off the radio and picked up the cell phone and called New York General Hospital. “Please connect me with Doctor Bean,” Rudy said.

“I’m sorry but she has not signed in yet” was the reply.

“I’m looking for Doctor Pamela Bean,” Rudy repeated. “Yes sir, she’s the only Doctor Bean on staff.”

“Perhaps you can tell me what time she was supposed to check in?” “One moment sir...she’s scheduled for the 1:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. shift and the 9:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. shift.”

“Thank you,” he said as he disconnected the call and looked at his watch, 9:45 P.M. She has missed two check in times. That didn’t seem like the dedicated young doctor he’d met the night before, he thought.

She had turned him down for a dinner date for tonight because of her prior commitment to work a double shift. What could be keeping her? He feared for her safety now. He decided to go directly to the hospital to see for himself if she was there. After an hour and a half of stop and go, bumper to bumper traffic, Rudy arrived at the hospital parking garage. He picked up the cell phone and the gun and shoved them into his dirty, ripped, trousers and pulled on the dark grey suit jacket that he had found across the front seat of the car. The jacket must have belonged to the smaller of the two men, but it still was much too big for him and it hung past his hands. He had rolled the sleeves up when he wore it in Centreville and while it was obvious to him that it looked ridiculous, it covered the dirty, bloody shirt he was wearing

He locked the car and made his way to the hospital’s main entrance. A young woman in mint green scrubs with round, yellow smiley faces on them asked him if she could help him. “Yes, I need to find a washroom,” Rudy replied.

“Down the hall on the right,” she said and motioned her head in the direction to his left. She made no reaction to how he was dressed and made him feel a little less conspicuous.

Rudy walked to the mens’ washroom and noticed the hospital seemed to be very quiet. The night before the place had been a flurry of commotion and activity. Logically Saturday night would be their busiest time, he thought, as he filled the washbasin with warm water. He removed the jacket and his soiled shirt. Using wet paper towels, he did the best he could to remove the dust and perspiration from his chest and arms. The bandage on his left shoulder was bloody and in need of replacement. He knew Pamela would change the dressing once he found her. He splashed the soothing water onto his face and ran his wet hands through his oily hair. Under the circumstances, that was the best he could do to make himself more presentable. He desperately needed a shave and a very hot shower. He put the stained shirt and oversized jacket back on and headed to the Emergency Admissions Desk. He asked the nurse on duty if Doctor Pamela Bean was available. The striking young black woman smiled at him from behind her desk and said that Doctor Bean had not signed in for her shift. For a moment he just stood there in silence. “Where the Christ is everyone? I’ve been looking for her all day.” Rudy blurted out.

The young woman’s smile waned and her eyes widened. “I don’t know sir,” she said sheepishly. “I’m new here, this is my first week.” He turned way from her without saying a word and walked out of the hospital and into the warm night air. Rudy had an uneasy feeling. The thought that he might be the cause of harm coming to Pamela was starting to haunt him. What should he do next?

A cab pulled to the curb along side of him and opened the rear door Rudy aimlessly climbed into the backseat. “Where to?” The driver asked in a heavy New Yorker accent.

“Park Avenue, Central Park main entrance,” Rudy said without knowing why. The cab ride only took a new minutes. Rudy handed the driver a ten dollar bill and jumped out of the cab. He crossed Park Avenue and climbed the front stoop of Pamela’s brownstone. Anxiously he rang the doorbell and knocked on the oak door at the same time. No one answered. After a few minutes Rudy decided to go to the rear of the house and try there. The back porch light was off, but he was able to see from the light coming through the kitchen window. Cautiously he made his way up the stairs along the porch wall to the door. The curtain was parted and it was easy to see inside. The room was in disarray as if a struggle had taken place. What appeared to be blood was smeared over the sink and faucet. Now his heart was pounding and he was desperate to get inside. Rudy tried the doorknob but it was locked. He took the pistol from his waistband and used the grip as a hammer to break the glass, then reached through the broken pane and unlocked the door. Slowly stepping inside, Rudy moved through the kitchen into the front room and foyer. He paused every two or three steps listening for any sounds. After he was convinced no one was moving inside, he went about searching the rest of the house.

A trail of blood drops lead through the foyer and up the main staircase. He followed the blood trail to the second floor master bedroom. Holding his breathe, he slowly pushed the door open with the tip of the pistol and surveyed the disrupted room. Finding no one, he had a moment of relief. An overturned vanity chair lay atop the blade of a large bloody knife. He stood the chair upright and picked up the knife by the back side of its serrated blade. At close range he could see that it was butcher knife, not the kind of knife that would be carried around as a concealed weapon.

Rudy carried the knife to the master bathroom and shoved the door open with his foot where he found no sign of a disturbance. He laid the pistol on the sink top and dipped a finger into the blood along the edge of the knife. It was not yet dry. In his estimation it was about two hours old. The blood was along the cutting edge and not covering the entire blade. It had been used to slice he thought, not to stab. For a moment his thoughts flashed back to his dark hotel suite and the swishing sound of the knife blade slicing through the air and across his left shoulder. He tried to find some similarity between the two events but couldn’t. For one thing, the knife was all wrong. This was a tool found in a kitchen, not a killer’s companion.

He placed the knife in the sink and ran cold water over it and his hands. He dried his hands on the white bath towel hanging on the towel bar so he could put the pistol back in his waistband and then he picked the knife back up. At that moment he could hear the telephone ring in the other room. Rudy rushed to the night table beside the king size bed and hesitated for a moment before picking it up. “Hello,” he answered.

“Hello....who is this?” asked Pamela in surprise.

“Pamela...Pamela is that you?”

“Yes, who is this?” she asked again more sternly.

“It’s Rudy,” he replied with a hint of relief.

“Rudy?...what are you doing in my house?”

“I came to warn you that you may be in serious danger. I’ve been looking for you for hours. I went to the hospital and they said you hadn’t checked in so I came here.”

“Did Inez, my housekeeper let you in?”

“No....no one is here. I let myself in.”

“Rudy, Inez is my live-in, she has her own room. She wouldn’t be out this late at night by herself.”

“Yes, that’s why I needed to see you, to tell you to be very careful. Today two men came to my hotel suite pretending to be policemen. They abducted me and took me up into the mountains more than 200 miles from here. They were going to kill me but I was able to get away. I think they are now after you to get to me. Your house has been ransacked and Inez is not here.” The telephone was silent.

“Rudy is Inez going to be okay? What can we do? Pamela was panicked.

Rudy tried to think of something encouraging to say, “I don’t know....I hope so. Whatever happens, we’ll share it together. Please do not go off with anyone you are not absolutely sure of, even if they show you a badge and claim to be policemen. Where are you now?”

“I’m on the west side at Saint Mary’s Hospital. I’ve been working with the emergency crews tending to the casualties form this morning’s train wreck. I’ve been here all day. “That’s why I’m not at General, but I should be there in an hour or so.”

“Will you still be getting off at five o’clock this morning?” he asked.

“Yes, I’d like to think so.”

“I think it’s best if you do not come home for a few days, until we can figure out what to do next. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Okay....and Rudy....if you see Inez, please have her call me. I’m worried about her and I’m the reason she was to stay at the house today. I had plans to fly to St. Louis on Monday. I asked her to pack a few things for me and she gave up her weekend off to do it. I feel so bad....I have to get back to the emergency room. I’ll see you in the morning,” she hung up the phone.

Rudy felt relieved that she was okay and that he would be seeing her soon. He wanted to hold her and tell her that he wanted her beside him forever. In time, he thought, in time.

Rudy was brought back to reality by the ringing of the cell phone in his pocket. He placed the butcher knife he was still holding on the night table and fished the cell phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear. “Carlos...Carlos, answer me,” the hoarse voice demanded. A cold chill ran up Rudy’s spine as he recognized his Uncle Juan’s voice. Carlos was one of the two big men that tried to kill him that afternoon. The same Carlos his Uncle had ordered to bring a sword to his hotel that morning. Rudy said nothing and laid the cell phone on the night stand. He was confused and bewildered. He needed to think things through. He needed to have a plan. It was going to be difficult eluding Juan and all his resources, but he had to make sure Pamela was safe. He turned and walked out of the bedroom and down the wide staircase to the front door. He opened the door and paused....what had he told Uncle Juan that morning about Pamela? He tried to remember if he told him any little details about her. In what way had he implicated her that she too was now a target? She and Inez were innocent bystanders, now in danger because of him. He had to protect them at all cost.

He slammed the front door shut behind him and ran to the street hailing a cab. Within a few minutes he was back at the hospital parking garage and sitting in the front seat of the Lincoln. He would need a car, but not this one. Juan would report it stolen as soon as he learned from Carlos that Rudy had taken it. He had to ditch the Lincoln and get another one before picking Pamela up in the morning. He started the car and drove to the Ritz Hotel and collected his luggage from the Bell Captain’s station. He then drove out to the airport. He could hide the Lincoln at the long term parking lot and he’d have no problem getting a rental since the booths were open all night. He thought about the gun and wondered if it was too much of a liability to be caught with or would it be better to leave it in the Lincoln’s glove box. He would change clothes in the front seat of the Towncar in a dark parking spot, then rent a very plain sedan. He would need to return to Pamela’s house and pick up her luggage and then rent an out-of-way motel room before picking her up at the hospital. By 5:00 A.M. he was waiting outside of the emergency room entrance in a white Ford rental.

The automatic double doors opened to let four women leave the hospital. Pamela was one of them. Her youth and beauty could not hide the stress of the last 20 hours. She looked tired and depressed. Rudy lowered the power window and called out to her. A smile crossed her lips and she appeared to have had a moment of freshness. She hurried to the driver’s side of the car and asked, “Have you heard from Inez?”

“No...no I haven’t. I’ve been busy with the car and picking up our luggage. We can drive past your house to see if there is any change, if you’d like.”

“Yes, I would like to do that.” With that said, she lowered her face to his and kissed his lips. “Good morning, it’s good to see you,” she added.

“Buenos días, it’s good to see you too.”

Opening the car door he stepped out and took her hand leading her around the car to the passenger side to help her in. He was quickly back in the driver’s seat and pulling away from the hospital parking lot. “We can drive past your house, but we must be very careful not be to be seen by anyone who might be waiting there. I now know who’s behind this and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. They plan to kill me, and if you or Inez get in their way, they will kill you too.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she took his hand in hers. “Why is this happening?” she asked through tears.

“Because money makes men do bad things and lots of money makes bad men do evil things. You and Inez just had the misfortune of meeting me. It’s that simple,” Rudy said while trying to smile.

“Oh Rudy....please don’t say that, don’t even think that. You’re not the one causing us this trouble, someone else is.” Tears were now freely streaming down her cheeks. She put their cupped hands to her lips and kissed his. Rudy guided the car to the curb and stopped. He put his arms around her and held her as tight as he could. She cried and they held each other until her sobbing slowed and then they kissed. Rudy used his fingers to wipe the tears from her beautiful face.

“We’re going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. This is about money, my money, and they want it. If it takes giving it to them, then they can have it. What I want is you and for you to be happy. Damn the money.”

“Oh Rudy, she began to cry again. “I want you to be happy too,” she said. He held her to him until she started taking deep breaths and calming down.

Then he said, “Now listen, we’re just about a block from your house. You’ll have to sit up and act like nothing is wrong as we drive by. We can’t draw attention to ourselves....okay?”

She nodded her head yes and pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her eyes.

Maintaining the speed limit as he drove past the brownstone, Rudy glanced at the parked cars along the curb making sure no one was staking out the area while Pamela watched the house for any sign of activity.

“All the lights are on,” she said in a whisper as if someone might overhear.

“Yeah, I turned them all on a few hours ago when I went inside for your luggage. I wanted to see if anyone would turn them off. So....my guess is that Inez has not made it back yet. Do you know of any place she may have gone if she were in trouble?” he asked.

“No, she has no relatives in the States that I know of. She was to take a trip back to Mexico for a few weeks and was going to take the bus to El Paso, then cross over into Juarez.”

Rudy thought for few minutes and then asked, “What’s her last name?”

“It’s Martinez, Inez Martinez”, she replied.

Rudy’s right eyebrow arched, “We just can’t catch a break with this. There are over two million people in Juarez and about half of them are named Martinez. It’s like Jones or Smith.”

They drove past Central Park without speaking. Rudy finally said, “We need to get some coffee and a quick breakfast then go get a few hours sleep before we can do anything else. I got us a motel room on the other side of town and I saw a 24 hour diner about a mile from the motel.”

Pamela’s apprehension showed in her eyes as she said, “Mmmm....a hot meal and a hot bath sounds wonderful.”

When they arrived at the diner parking lot it was less than a quarter full. “I wonder if the food’s that bad or that it’s just too early on a Sunday morning,” Rudy mused.

Pamela shrugged her shoulders with an I’m too tired to care attitude. Rudy opened the door for her and they found an isolated booth next to a window. The waitress brought menus and asked if they wanted coffee, decaf or regular?

“What’s your pleasure,” Rudy asked Pamela.

“Regular is fine with me,” she said, “I may regret it in an hour but right now I need the caffeine.”

“We’ll have a pot of regular,” Rudy ordered. They looked over the menus and Rudy asked “what sounds good this morning?”

“The eggs benedict has my vote,” she replied. The waitress delivered the pot of coffee and Rudy ordered two eggs benedict.

They drank coffee and watched each other. Pamela said, “You look like you have something you want to say.”

“Yes, I do. I’d like you to change the dressing on my shoulder when we get the chance ....and I also would like you to know the truth about something that I lied about. I’m very sorry but at the time I didn’t know how important it would become to me. I didn’t know how important you would become to me. I lied when I told you about my shoulder wound being a self inflicted accident. You were correct, it was a knife.” Rudy lowered his eyes to his coffee cup. “And it was from a fight I had with two guys in my hotel room. Maybe if I had been truthful about it you wouldn’t be in this mess. Maybe telling the police from the beginning would have saved a whole lot of grief for you and Inez. I’m so sorry. If I had known that any of this was going to happen I would have told you the truth. I just hope you can understand the position I was in and why I did it....When I left my hotel room and went to the hospital that night I thought that during the fight I had killed those guys in self defense. They had come to kill me but now I’m not so sure that they were dead.” When I got back to my room they were gone. No sign of them, just a lot of my blood to show they had been there.”

Pamela was silent for a moment waiting for him to continue his story. “Rudy....what were you thinking....what did you think was going to happen?” She was disappointed that he had lied to her. “I wanted to believe your romantic sword practice explanation that night....and I want to believe you are telling me the truth now, but what were you going to do with two bodies when you got back to your room?”

“I don’t know....my first thought was to wait until morning and then call my Uncle Juan, as my attorney, and have him there when we called the police. But that has all changed now, because he’s the one behind everything that’s happening to me. He’s the one who sent the two killers to my room that night and the fake cops the next day to take me into the mountains to kill me....When I told the lie about the sword to the police that morning, Juan had a sword delivered to the hotel to set me up, so that he could abduct me later to have me killed. I believe he’s the one who called the police with the anonymous tip claiming I had killed my brother. He would plant the suspicion to make sure that the police would not permit me to leave the city. That way he would then have his second chance to have me eliminated and it would look like I ran away and was hiding out somewhere while he continued to control the trust fund.”

Pamela watched Rudy nervously fumble with his napkin as if his confession to her was not an easy thing for him to do. “It must be hard for you to face the fact that your Uncle Juan would have you murdered....What about your brother? Is he in danger too or is he in this with Juan?”

“Roberto will share my fate.”

Both were silent for the next few minutes gazing out the window at nothing in particular. Their breakfast was served and Rudy was the first to break the silence after the waitress had left. “I know that this is all coming about very quickly for both of us and that we’ve only spent a few hours together but I have a very strong attraction to you and I’m hoping you have the same feelings towards me. I don’t want a mistake I made at the beginning to come between us and end something that I think we both want....I’m sorry....is all that I can say. I wish I could place my hand on a Bible and tell you that it will never happen again. I wish that I could take it back, but I can’t. There are parts of my life that are very complicated and may never be fully explained to everyone’s satisfaction. Things aren’t always the way the appear.”

Pamela slid her hands across the table and placed them on top of his. “I’m sorry too Rudy. If I had been in your place I don’t know what I would have done either. I’m sorry I prejudged your actions.” She smiled. “Let’s talk about this after we’ve both had our breakfast and some sleep. I’m too tired to make sense and I don’t want to say something that may be hurtful.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement and tried to smile too.

They ate while looking into each other’s eyes. The waitress returned to their booth with the check and asked if they needed anything else. Rudy shook his head no and thanked her while handing her two twenty dollar bills. The short drive to the model seemed tense, both of them not sure what do say. Rudy pulled into the motel courtyard and parked in front of their bungalow. The sun was just starting to rise at 6:01.

As they entered the large room with two queen size beds, Pamela said, “Let’s have a look at that shoulder.” Rudy stripped to the waist and presented his left should for her inspection. With care, she removed the blood stained bandage and cleaned the areas around the wound. After applying a clean dressing she said, “You’re going to need to be more careful how you use your arm and shoulder. It’s not going to heal without complication or infection if you don’t.”

With a smirk he replied, “Thanks, now all we need to do is get Juan and Carlos to agree to that and all of our problems are solved.”

“There’s no need to be sarcastic,” she chided back. “I simply want you to take better care of yourself.”

She turned away and walked to the stand holding her suitcase. She rummaged around inside for a moment and then said, “I’ll take my bath first, if that’s okay with you.”

Rudy pulled of his loafers and laid down on his right shoulder. He would need to explain to her, after she finished her bath, that he wasn’t trying to be sarcastic, he was just stating the facts. His activities over the last few days had been caused by others and were not of his choice, is all that he meant. He pulled a pillow under his head, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.