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I DREAMED I WAS FREEZING cold and drowning. Someone poured a bucket of ice water over my head shocking me to consciousness. Intense pain and freezing sensations seared throughout my skull and down my neck. I struggled to remember what happened. I had been from behind with a blunt instrument. It was when I tried to touch the large lump on my head, I realized I couldn’t lift my arms. I was tied to a chair. My neck was sore from being unconscious in a sitting position with my head slumped forward. Not only were my hands tied behind my back but they bound my feet to the front chair legs.
I looked up. There was a bright ceiling light overhead. It triggered another wave of dull pain, this time accompanied by nausea.
I saw Natalie. Next to her I saw a tall man with salt and pepper colored hair. He was older, good looking and solidly built. He wore a tight tank top t-shirt which showcased his well-defined chest and muscular arms. Even though I knew the man who stood before me to be in his mid-sixties, he looked much younger.
“She’s awake,” I heard Natalie say.
“I see that,” he said, kneeling over me to get a closer look. “Can you speak?”
“Billy Caesar, I presume,” I said.
He smiled and extended his arms, bending his waist in a small bow. “In the flesh.”
“How much did your fake passport cost you?” I asked.
“How does she know you have a fake passport, Billy?” Natalie asked. “What else does she know? What are you not telling me?”
Natalie was losing it. She was showing signs of a woman on the verge of freaking out.
“Relax,” he said. “She probably checked my actual passport activity before she drove over here. She thought I was still in Mexico because there would be no record of me using my actual passport to get back into the states.”
Ok, Billy Caesar was no dummy.
He looked at me and smirked. “I’m right, aren’t I?” he said with a condescending tone that made me want to rip out his Adam’s apple and feed it to him.
“You need to let me go,” I replied. “Do you have any idea who I am?”
“Yes, Agent Fortune Redding,” he replied. “I searched you thoroughly; no ID; no weapon. What kind of CIA Agent doesn’t carry a weapon? I read the texts between you and your partner—Harrison, is it? The texts convinced me you really were CIA.”
“I am,” I said, fighting back the urge to vomit at the thought of this asshole’s hands on me while he was searching for ID. “I can give you the name and telephone number of my partner, if you’d like to call and check it out.”
“I’m more interested in how you found me after thirty years,” he said.
“Why do you need a fake passport, Billy?” I asked.
“Until you barged in unannounced and unexpected, I wanted anyone who was looking to think I was still in Mexico,” he said.
“Sorry to have ruined your plans,” I replied.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re sorry,” he mocked. “Tell me how you found me.”
I cautiously glanced around the kitchen. I saw a knife block on the counter behind Caesar. The large steak knife in that set that would do the trick if I could get to it, but it was too far away. I tested the strength of the duct tape they had used to bind my hands behind my back and my ankles to the chair legs. I could not manipulate myself free, not with them watching me. Even alone, it could take hours.
“If I were in your position, I’d be more interested in how I would defend myself in a court of law,” I said.
“What have I done?” he replied.
“How about assaulting a Federal Agent for starters,” I said. “We’ll add false imprisonment, and that’s before we get to the murder of a seventeen-year-old girl in 1986.”
“You can’t prove that,” Natalie said. I saw a tiny bead of sweat forming on her forehead.
“You need to shut up, Natalie,” Billy said. “She has nothing concrete. Otherwise a whole S.W.A.T. team would have been here.”
“Maybe they’re on their way already,” I said.
“We both know that’s a load of crap,” he mocked.
He smiled at me with his movie star smile. It was a wicked grin. It gave me chills. There was a ceramic cup on the table within reach, I noted. If they left me alone long enough, it might be possible for me to retrieve it, break the cup and use the sharp edge from a piece to cut the tape.
“My partner knows I am here,” I said. “The cavalry will come soon. You’d better let me go. Every minute you detain me you are only making it worse on yourself.”
He clapped his hands in faux applause. “Nicely done, Agent Redding. Great performance.” He touched my hair. I recoiled as much as I could. “From the looks of you, we could land you a great part in one of my movies. Your chest is a little small but the rest of the package is nice.”
“What do you mean, nice performance?” I asked.
“Your partner knows where you are, true,” he said, chuckling. “Harrison, right? Remember, I read his texts on your phone. You work alone and are off the grid. He’s been providing you information about Natalie and me. He’s not expecting to hear from you for several days. That gives me plenty of time to figure out what to do with you.”
“I have friends, too,” I said. “They’ll be looking for me.”
He chuckled again. “Nice try. I know that too. You got a call from one. She left a voicemail. Let me play it for you.”
He punched my voicemail button and hit the speakerphone. I could hear Ida Belle’s voice, Hi Fortune. Just wanted to let you know we got home safe and sound. We waited a while at the gate. I guess you didn’t make standby. Sleep in. Get rest.
“I sent her a text from your phone,” he said. “Here’s what I wrote... rather here’s what you wrote: Thanks for checking on me Ida Belle. I decided to hang out in Santa Monica for a day or two. I need time to myself. See you at the end of the week.”
I had to admit that text was pretty well written. It was possible Ida Belle and Gertie would not think twice about it.
“She’ll call me anyway,” I said. “She always does.”
“I doubt it,” he replied. “Here’s what she wrote back: That sounds good. Have a good time. Relax. Have fun. See you soon.”
He laughed.
He handled it perfectly. It would work. I was screwed.
“That will never work,” I barked. “You’re an asshole.” I threw that in at the end to at least get one thing right.
He raised his arms and shook his head.
“Why do so many women call me that?” he replied.
“Yeah, I wonder.”
“No one is looking for you at the moment, Agent Redding,” he said. He then smashed my phone into a hundred pieces on the counter.
“GPS is disabled,” he said in a false robotic voice. “You are officially off the grid.”
“How long have I been out?” I asked.
“Over twenty-four hours,” he said. “I hit you harder than I intended.”
“Just like Glory Peterson?” I snapped.
“Shut up, Agent... Fortune.”
“Just let me go, and turn yourself in,” I replied.
His face turned dark. “I’ll be the one making the demands,” he said. “I need to know how you found me. It’s been thirty years, and no one has ever contacted me or questioned me about that girl’s death. Now, suddenly, you show up.”
“Ask your girlfriend,” I said, nodding to Natalie.
“I have,” he said. “She told me you found Steven Teller. Good detective work. What I don’t know is...how? What else do you know?”
“I know you killed a seventeen-year-old girl.”
“You can’t prove that. We both know it.”
“Looks like you’ve got it all figured out. So, what do you intend to do with me?” I asked.
“We have a plan for you,” Natalie said.
Billy nodded in agreement, smiling at me, “You will not like it.”
“You stupid woman!” I yelled at Natalie. “I can’t believe you’re protecting a pathetic human being like him, a man who uses his celebrity status to prey on women and then beats and even kills them. You’re disgusting, lady. You’re no better than him.”
“I think it’s time for you to shut up now, Agent Redding,” she replied, scowling. She moved to a kitchen drawer and reached inside. She pulled out a wooden rolling pin.
“Don’t let him make you a victim, too,” I yelled. “It’s only a matter of time before he...”
“She said, shut up!” Caesar screamed.
He raised his foot and kicked the chair hard. I fell sideways onto the kitchen floor, noticing of all things, the pink marbled tile. Natalie stood over me.
“I tried to get you out of the house,” she said. “You had to come in and make a stink, didn’t you? Well, Miss Fortune, this time it will cost you. I wanted to let you that tomorrow you will die.” She swung the rolling pin.
I felt the dull thud. It was not a hard blow but hard... enough... to... make... me... pass... ou...