Ida sat in the business jet’s leather seat shaking and rocking like a metronome. When Judith first met the woman she noticed her red and swollen eyes — that condition had worsened. Awash with pity, Judith sat in the seat closest to the woman and wondered what to say. What opening lines could be used with a woman who two weeks ago lost a husband unexpectedly, then had a child kidnapped from her home, only to have two strangers come by and ask for answers she couldn’t know, then hear the sound and see the smoke of an explosion that surely devastated her house.
Instead of words, Judith reached across the narrow aisle and laid her hand on the woman’s arm. “Can I get you anything?”
Ida didn’t respond. She rocked. She quaked. She stared straight ahead.
Looking forward, Judith watched as Luke spoke to the pilots. They nodded and he came back to where Judith and Ida sat. He hunkered down on one knee. “I think it’s best if we get going soon. I’m not sure what happened at the house, but I know it means nothing good for us.”
“Couldn’t it have just been an accident? A fluke?” Judith already knew the answer was no.
“We’re alive,” Luke said looking at Ida. “That’s what matters. Staying alive and finding Abel.”
“Why would someone do that?” Ida asked. The question came with childlike innocence.
“I don’t have many answers, Ida.” Luke looked exhausted. He had saved them from serious injury, probably saved their lives, and it had taken its toll on him. After the explosion, Luke led them to the strip mall and made a call for a cab which brought them back to the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Ida gave no sign of hearing the words.
“Ida, look at me.” Luke touched her knee. “Ida, I need your attention.”
As though climbing out of a hypnotic trance, Ida turned her face to Luke. To Judith she looked like a porcelain doll with too many years of hard play on her.
“Ida, I know you don’t know us, but we are your friends. What has happened is horrible. We can’t bring back your house. We can’t bring back your husband. What we can do — at least what we can try to do — is help find Abel. To do that, we will need your help. Do you understand?”
She nodded without conviction.
Luke continued. “We are alive. You must focus on that and on helping us locate Abel. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know. I’m so confused.”
“We know you are,” Judith said. “You are not alone.”
Ida dissolved into tears.
Luke rose and stepped to the front of the plane motioning for Judith to follow.
“I’m going to get you some tissue. Would you like water or juice?”
Ida didn’t respond. Judith moved forward to the small galley behind the cockpit.
He whispered. “What are we going to do with her? She’s a wreck.”
“You’d be a wreck too if you endured all she has. Give her time; she has to let all that out before she can reason clearly.” She opened a small refrigerator and removed a bottle of water. She then picked up a couple of napkins. The galley didn’t have the tissue she promised.
“I asked the pilots to take us to San Diego.”
“What? Why did you do that?”
“Remember the document. The only other physical location we have is Torrey Pines. That’s in San Diego County.”
“As I recall, all we have is the name of the town and the fact that it was the boy’s birthplace.”
“True, but I’m betting on your ability to use those sales and distribution records.”
Before the plane had landed in Fresno, Judith placed a call using the business jet’s phone. The very act of making the call had frightened her. The scream from Terri still rang clear in her ears. She could never forgive herself if she caused her assistant pain, but she was the best one to get the job done.
At first she tried Terri’s cell phone. Like all key personnel, the company provided her with the phone. Unhindered communication remained one of the key business principles for Find, Inc. It began with her husband and she continued the practice.
The moment she dialed the number she received an automated voice informing her that the party could not be reached. Judith felt no surprise. Her phone ser vice had been decommissioned; she assumed it might be true for every phone on the account. But Judith had an ace in the hole — Terri carried more than one cell phone, a practice she began when her aging mother began to call during business hours to ask her daughter to pick up milk or the latest TV Guide. In her eighties, she could no longer comprehend that her daughter went to work and attended meetings with the president of the company. The second cell phone could be silenced, granting Terri the power of answering only when appropriate.
The second call went through and Judith learned that Terri was out of the office while the crime scene techs examined the scene.
“The detective thinks that your office is bugged.” Terri sounded frightened. Judith thought she had a right to be.
“I know this is weird, Terri. I don’t pretend to understand all that is going on, but I need your help.”
“You know I’ll do whatever I can. Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you that; I can’t even tell you why. Don’t ask questions, Terri. It might make things worse.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I but that’s the way it is. I need some research done and you’re the best person in the company to do it. But here’s the thing: You have to do it on the sly. Don’t tell anyone what you’re up to. Don’t talk to the police about it.”
“This doesn’t sound right, Judith.” She could hear the stress in Terri’s voice.
“I know. Believe me, I know. Given those constraints, are you still willing to help?”
There was a pause. “Yes, of course.”
“Okay, here goes. Do you remember the Bertinelli rugs we experimented with about eighteen months ago?”
“I do. I remember thinking how odd it was to hire an Italian company to make Persian rugs.”
Judith had taken Terri with her to Italy to approve designs, tour the factory, and ink the deal. The trip brought fond memories.
“One of the rugs in the design series had a narrow beige border with a field of gray patterns. I think it was the second in the series.”
“It was.”
“Good. Now, do you remember the laminate flooring we did two years ago? The Stewart Blink design?”
“It’s hard to forget. It didn’t do all that well.”
Judith gave a mirthless chortle. “You’re being kind. I’m still answering questions about how much we lost on that pattern. Here’s what I want you to do. I need to know if there’s a house out there with both the rug and flooring.”
Another pause. “You want me to find a single address that has both the rug and the flooring in common?”
“I know I’m asking a lot.”
The sound of Terri’s long exhalation carried over the miles. Judith gave her time to think.
“The flooring went out under trial, so the number of retail stores is limited to maybe fifty or so. As I recall, we tested in the western states only: California, Arizona, and …”
“Washington and Oregon. That’s it.”
“I suppose I can find out which stores returned the flooring and how much. That will tell me how much they sold. Same thing with the rugs, although some may still be hanging in stores. When do you need this?”
“Yesterday.”
“I’ll head back to the office now. I might have to invade someone else’s space if the crime scene people aren’t done spreading fingerprint dust everywhere.”
The thought of black smudges all over her walls and furniture made Judith shiver. “Find out who’s on vacation and borrow their work space. It might be safer anyway.” She assumed Terri understood the reference to the listening devices.
“How do I get hold of you?”
“You don’t. I’ll be out of touch for a few hours. I’ll call you when I can.”
“I understand.”
“Terri? You’re the best.”
“That’s what I keep telling people.”