ROMANTIC SUSPENSE : DEATH WHISPERED SOFTLY (7 page)

“You are smart aren’t you Neal?”  Ricardo sneered “Yes I do have the finer details. On a decided day, around midnight, you will enter the café. The graveyard shift has only one on staff. So there will be just one person, a server, there apart from the Kingsbury girl.  All the other staff leaves the café at eleven p.m. since the early morning hours yields hardly anyone till five a.m. when customers start coming again, for their pre-work cup of Joe’. This makes our job easier.”

Steve, who was all attention, nodded in agreement. 

“But remember Steve, and this is extremely important, you
won’t
enter the café as a killer” Ricardo cautioned, an edge to his voice. “You will come in as a burglar, a random thief who wants to steal money and jewelry of customers, taking advantage of the dead of night.  Now the Kingsbury girl wears an expensive ring on her hand. I have never seen her without it. It’s a solid rock and should be enough of an incentive for any robber to steal.”

Steve absorbed all this. And although he hated the vicious cold-hearted thug sitting in front of him, giving him details about murdering an innocent girl, he acknowledged the fact that Ricardo had hatched a perfect murder plan.
The bastard must have worked hours to perfect this devious plan!
Keeping his face expressionless.

  “Remember Steve”, cautioned Ricardo, “We
must
make it look as if it were an attempted robbery, and
not
a preplanned murder. We don’t want the feds after us, do we amigo? It must look like a robbery that went horribly wrong.”

Steve noted Ricardo’s emphasis on ‘must’. It sounded more like a warning than advice. But he knew that Ricardo was right. The cops wouldn’t investigate too much if they thought it was a robbery which went badly wrong. But if they suspected it was a calculated murder of an heiress, all hell would break loose! 

Ricardo had finished revealing the details of his plan, and now looked searchingly at Steve. Now that he had given Steve every detail of the plot, it was important, that Steve approved and went ahead, and not tried to duck-out. For, if he did anything like that, he would have had no option but to kill Steve. He couldn’t afford to let Steve out, now that he knew the whole plan. And this tensed Ricardo.

But his apprehensions quickly faded when he saw that Steve looked completely relaxed. Although Steve strongly disapproved of Ricardo for his cruel and callous ways, he conceded that he had come up with an excellent plan. The timing, the place, the approach—everything sounded perfect. He was impressed with Ricardo’s plan and couldn’t pick a hole in it. He extended his hand to seal the deal. The two men shook hands.

    The realization that he had found his hit man and that his plan would now be executed pleased Ricardo immensely and a wide crooked smile came to his lips. 
This dude was the right choice! The plan has begun!

“Now listen carefully Steve. At about 12.30 a.m., a week from now, you will enter the cafe with a hood, wearing horn rimmed glasses—a week old stubble on your face. The hood, the glasses and the stubble should be enough to hide your face. And your gloves will help you from leaving your finger prints. Don’t forget the FBI has your fingerprints, from your arrests, Carlo has told me everything about you! If you leave even one damn finger print, you are doomed. Make sure to wear woolen gloves before you enter the café. The crisp cold autumn night will make the Kingsbury girl and the waiter think you are cold and douse their suspicions.

Also, don’t forget there will be cameras the cops will be looking at, after it’s all done.  So you enter the café with your hood on and you walk up to the counter, and in a soft and polite, but disguised voice, ask the waiter for a cappuccino. You talk to him while he prepares your coffee. Be blithe and cheery so that both, the waiter and the Kingsbury girl will relax and be unsuspecting.  While you are sipping your coffee and the other two get busy with their things—the waiter will probably be cleaning the glasses and the girl will continue playing her piano—you will suddenly whip out your pistol and aim at the girl directly and bark that this is a hold up and you want the girl to take her rings off and hand them over to you along with her purse.   The Kingsbury girl will be too stunned to do anything but obey you. And the waiter would freeze too, petrified by the gun. While she takes her rings off and looks for her purse, I want you to look around everywhere furtively Steve –as if you are nervous and anxious of the robbery. Remember the waiter will be watching you very closely, and it is the waiter’s testimony that will enforce the robbery story and keep the cops focused on it other than the real plan! You have to look nervous and look around everywhere and then you look at the girl while she takes her rings off, and
before
she can hand over the rings to you, you have to act like you lost your nerve and patience, and in a bout of annoyance and panic, you  yell at her
‘Give them to me now!
’  Then let her have it in her face, two times. And then you shout,
‘Oh my god! Oh my god! I did not want to kill you, I did not! Just wanted the diamonds damn it!’ 
You scream this looking back and forth from the waiter to Grace so that he doesn’t get a clear look at you but will be staring at you in horror, fearful for his own life.  But he
will
remember (later) what you yelled and he
will
tell the cops exactly that. You will now pick up the rings and the purse and look once more in the direction of the waiter and run out of the café.   My car will be parked a block away from the scene and I will be waiting for you there and we will get the hell out of there, for good! A cruel smug grin came on Ricardo Lopez’s face as he thought of executing his cleverly devised plan flawlessly.

“But remember Steve, you will have to hang low and live with me for a few days, since everything will be red-hot after the shooting, and every cop and Good Samaritan will be looking for “the killer” who took the life of Grace Kingsbury. But no worries boy—nobody knows you, nobody has seen you. Remember the waiter will only remember a man in a hood with an unshaven face, wearing thick horn rimmed glasses. And by the time you shave, ditch the glasses and wear sporty clothes you will look like any other guy on the streets of New York City.
There is no way in hell he would know it was you, even if he were to walk by you on the street” Ricardo winked fiendishly. 

“The cops will conclude this to be a robbery since you will be taking off with the purse and her precious rings. The purse and the rings will convince the cops that it was a robbery that went terribly wrong and the robber shot the victim in sheer panic.  Even if they suspect otherwise, they won’t have much to go on.  There would hardly be any physical evidence since you will touch nothing.  You will be a nameless, faceless man. Nobody knows you and nobody will remember you, and we will have pulled off a great job, the perfect murder!” Ricardo declared triumphantly as if he had already accomplished his mission!

“Once the job is done, you will have all that money you desired Steve. Carlo has told me everything.  You can do much with it amigo”

But if Ricardo Lopez was excited about his plan, Steve was guarded in his response. He was most certainly not as excited as Ricardo.
No one knows me or will remember me, except YOU Ricardo!
Steve thought.
You will always know it was me who did it, and that it was no robbery, but a meticulously planned murder that could get me a death sentence or even worse, get me to spend the rest of my life in a sordid prison!
The thought of going to prison for the rest of his life made Steve squirm, but he was too deeply committed and this man, who looked as happy as a kid who had just received a present from Santa Claus, would become vicious and dangerous if he were to back out now. Besides if he elected to back out, his hopes and aspirations of becoming wealthy and making something of his life would vanish into thin air.

The one thing which gave him comfort was that Ricardo was
as much
into it as he was. There was no way Ricardo could blackmail him without risking his own skin. Steve knew he was safe as long as he did the job. But it would be an entirely different story should he elect to back out.

As if reading what was going on in his mind Ricardo asked Steve quietly “What are you thinking amigo?  Don’t tell me you think I will rat on you?”  Ricardo sneered. “Or are you having second thoughts about going ahead with this?” Ricardo asked- a snap in his voice.

But Steve shook his head, looked straight into Ricardo’s eyes and gave Ricardo a ghost of a smile “Don’t worry Ricardo, I
will
go ahead with it, but remember, you are
as much
in this as me and so is your rich friend Gustav Nilsson. If you decide to blow the whistle on me, be sure that I will blow it on both you and Nilsson” Steve told Ricardo—an unmistakable threat in his icy cold voice.

Ricardo was surprised by Steve’s reaction. He knew this man was not joking and he could only nod. “Cool it amigo, I am not blowing no whistle”.

In Ricardo’s black furtive eyes, void of emotion, Steve saw that they had come to an understanding, and he smiled mirthlessly. 

Both men recognized the fact that they were immersed deep in this plan and it would be hard pressed for either of them to turn on each other now. The ‘hit’ was now in place and Steve was committed and he knew there would be no turning back from here on without dire consequences. 

“Let’s drink to the success of our plan Steve. What would you like, Whiskey or Vodka? I keep both” Ricardo asked cheerfully.

“Whiskey” replied Steve. And as Ricardo got up to walk across to the shabby bar across the room, Steve lapsed once again into thoughts. Although he looked calm and composed on the outside, he didn’t feel very serene or peaceful inwardly. He was interiorly trying his utmost to inhibit his mind from dwelling on the “hit”—for it was too troubling for Steve to evaluate why he was prepared to murder a young lady who was grieving the tragic loss of her father. He wanted this dreadful incident to be over as quickly as possible so that he can get the money he desperately needed to accomplish his burning ambition of establishing a chain of restaurants in California.  But netting money at the cost of taking someone’s life, a totally innocent girl’s life, was a highly tormenting thought. And it was already disturbing Steve profoundly. It was like a nightmare, being chased by a wicked monster, you find yourself standing at the edge of a lake peering into the deep abyss of cold dark water, to get to the other side and away from danger, and your only option is to swim across.  Nervous about diving in, but once in the lake, all you can do is swim hard, get across and get away from what’s pursuing you!   This is exactly how Steve felt, and he now wanted to get through with this as soon as he could and get the hell out of New York, to lay low in California, for a while until the case became cold and then he could begin a brand new life, with his restaurant!

He didn’t know where he would go, Florida? Texas? California wouldn’t be safe he thought. “I still have a fortnight to go,” he reminded himself. “There is plenty of time to think about that!” 

But there was a hitch; he needed some money. The little money he carried from LA was now running out. He wondered if he should ask Ricardo for an advance. Even as he was contemplating whether to ask Ricardo for an advance or not, Ricardo returned with a bottle of scotch and two surprisingly clean glasses.

He placed the glasses next to the bottle and fetched some water and ice from the fridge. “Let’s drink to our agreement Amigo” Ricardo announced.

But he saw Steve hesitate. As if reading Steve’s mind, Ricardo opened the drawer of his desk, and fished out three wads of neatly stacked hundred dollar bills. “That’s thirty thousand in advance for you Steve. You will need clothes, a gun, a

  pair of thick horn rimmed glasses, gloves, some make up, and whatever else you will need to complete the job.  Don’t run away with it Amigo!”  But before Steve could respond he heard a man’s deep gruff voice say, as if whispering, “He isn’t running anywhere Ricardo”.

    A surprised Steve spun around to see a tall and lanky man in his mid-twenties standing next to Ricardo, smoking an expensive looking cigar blowing out pungent smelling smoke rings.  He was wearing a dark satin shirt and black trousers which immaculately fit him. He was wearing well-polished shoes made out of rich leather with soles that added couple of inches more to his 6 ft. 2 inch tall frame. His clothes were expensive and meticulously chosen.  He had a deeply tanned face—of someone who spent a lot of time on the beach—and his features were sharp and his nose aquiline.  He had a pencil lined moustache that belonged more to the 1950s, Steve thought, than the present day. He was handsome in a devilish way. And when he smiled, showing his small white even teeth, Steve was reminded of a vulture waiting for his prey to die so that it could feast on it.

Steve had spent many years serving as a gang member, ands wasn’t easily daunted.  But this man fazed Steve. He was easily one of the most dangerous men he had seen or met in his life. There was something sinister about him, something which could unnerve the bravest, toughest man.  He had materialized out of nowhere, silently and noiselessly—like a ghost. As Steve stood speechless, staring fixedly at the man, he heard Ricardo say, “Steve, meet my buddy Gustav Nilsson”. Gustav this is Steve Neal.”

Chapter X

   Gustav Nilsson extended his lanky sweaty hand and as their hands clasped to shake, the sliminess of his moist hands gave him an eerie feeling he had gripped a snake, and he experienced a sudden urge to let go of Gustav Nilsson’s hand. But he controlled himself and managed to say “Hello Gustav”. 

“Hi Steve, I am happy to see you are working for us—Nilsson said in his deep baritone voice, and with a mirthless smile, that never reached his eyes. “You
will
do what you agreed to, won’t you Mr. Neal?

Before Steve could reply he heard Ricardo saying “He
will
do the job he has come here for” Ricardo winked at Steve, who was quick to detect the veiled threat in Ricardo’s voice.

“Of course, he will do the job Ricardo” Gustav replied. “I have no doubt. No one comes to Gustav Nilsson and then goes back on his word or anywhere without finishing their job” Nilsson said with sudden viciousness. The oil and the charm had faded. A mean expression had come on Gustav Nilsson’s face, making him look hideous. His vile face shocked Steve, but he kept his face dead-pan so not to let on that he was fearful of this
evil and
spiteful dude. There was suddenly an uncomfortable silence. The room was filled with a tension so thick, that you could cut it with a knife.

Steve decided he had to do something to ease the tension that had suddenly consumed the room. So he forced himself to smile and say “Don’t worry Mr. Nilsson, I will do the job I have come for. You won’t regret hiring me”

Steve’s words had a magical effect on Gustav Nilsson who suddenly relaxed and smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. It was a smile that sent a chill up your spine.  Steve decided that Nilsson was the most evil dude he had ever encountered. 
“Who is more dangerous among these two thugs?”
Steve wondered, not knowing the answer. When he met Ricardo, earlier, he had decided that Ricardo was a cruel, dangerous, and a ruthless killer. But Nilsson seemed to be much more dangerous than his counterpart Ricardo as far as evilness was concerned. “Who the hell have I got myself involved with!” he thought angrily.  He suddenly didn’t want anything to do with these two malicious people! But how could he get out of this—even before he could meditate on a solution, Nilsson, who was standing right next to Steve,  suddenly pulled out a gun, and started to prance around the room like a crazy man, pointing his gun at Steve’s head, then at Ricardo’s and then even at his self! 

Steve was stunned to see the sight of a gun wielding Gustav cavorting round the room. Then after what seemed like an eternity, he suddenly stopped near Steve and pressed his gun at the temple of Steve’s’ head—a crazed expression on his wicked face. Steve was eye to eye with Gustav, and for one horrible moment he thought Nilsson would pull the trigger. And even as he braced himself for the bullet, afraid for his life, he stood firm. But nothing happened. Gustav Nilsson—who was inches away from Steve—suddenly broke into a loud guffaw that was both, repulsive and sinister.  “Got ya!” he roared and then continued to laugh devilishly. His friend Ricardo seemed equally amused and joined him in his merriment.

    Steve knew at that moment that Nilsson was not just highly dangerous, he was also deeply demented! He swallowed hard and took a deep breath to recover from his shock. He was now furious with himself for letting himself get involved with these two crazy and dangerous men.

But he also knew it was too late to back out. He should have done that
before
hearing the plan. Now that he knew what Gustav and Ricardo were planning, there was no way for him to back out without having these two dangerous loons gunning for him. He was in and stuck with them. This thought hit Steve hard and he felt crushed.
What have I gotten myself into?
Is there some way I can get out of this hellish predicament?
Should I beat the hell out of here?
He rummaged feverishly. But the solution eluded him and he felt beaten. And when finally he managed to recover from the bout of quick and hectic thinking, he noticed both Ricardo and Nilsson were looking suspiciously at him. It was Gustav who spoke first “Thinking of running away with my money Neal?”

Steve detected a distinct threat in Nilsson’s voice, but managed to look straight into his eyes and snapped “I am not running anywhere Nilsson”.  He had got his second wind and his fury became evident at these two mad men.

It was obvious that Gustav Nilsson did not like being called “Nilsson”, and he took two steps forward and stood perilously close to where Steve was standing, his face inches away from Steve’s face—their eyes locked.

Steve was in no mood to back off. He had had enough of these crazed killers and he didn’t care a damn what intimidation they tried anymore. It was Ricardo who sensed the situation was quickly getting out of hand and before it could deteriorate further, he jumped in between the two contending men and separated them saying “Come on guys, we are all friends here, let’s drink to our partnership and success!” And before either Steve or Nilsson could say anything, Ricardo was pouring generous amounts of whiskey in the glasses.

Ricardo’s intervention proved timely and fruitful. Soon the three men were drinking and the tension that had suddenly cropped up, dissipated considerably. Steve needed the whiskey and drank it in a single gulp, and poured himself another liberal shot. Ricardo and Nilsson drank theirs more slowly.

Gustav, standing next to Steve with his glass of whiskey, looked at Steve and said in a friendly tone of voice “Sorry Steve, I know you are in this with us and we are all partners. I am not comfortable with strangers and sometimes I lose my patience with them.  But I know you are a man of your word and you will do precisely what you agreed.”

Steve noticed the change in Gustav’s tone. His oily charm had magically returned. But he was not fooled a bit by Nilsson’s charm and charisma. He knew this man was as dangerous as a Cobra. The only difference between a Cobra and this demented dude was that the Cobra could be entranced!

He also knew he had to bide his time and watch his step. He decided he wouldn’t give Nilsson another opportunity to go berserk, confirming his thought that
“This loon wouldn’t hesitate to strangle his own mother, if she were foolish enough to provoke him,” Steve
thought to himself, but he was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself and not escalate the situation.

Instead he looked at Nilsson and gave a broad smile and said
“No offence taken bro”.  The whiskey was hitting Steve and he was feeling more relaxed, even reckless.
I hate these bastards, but I need their stinking money. Let’s play this out smartly Steve and in no time they will become a distant worthless memory”
he encouraged himself inwardly.

Steve’s words and smile had cleared up the tension in the room. Ricardo’s expression showed his relief. This told Steve that despite his toughness Ricardo wanted the money as badly as he did.  And he was also convinced that Ricardo was getting way more than a hundred grand from Gustav Nilsson. But Steve didn’t care about that. He was satisfied with what he was offered. He now wanted to go back to his hotel room and sit down and do some serious thinking. He wanted to wrap his arms around the situation which was threatening to get out of hand. He wanted to contemplate on finding a way out of this predicament.

But at this moment he couldn’t do that, so decided he would relax and take it easy. “If these bastards think they can intimidate me with their crazy acts, they have another thing coming! They don’t know who they are messing with. I have spent ten years of my life with dangerous thugs on the treacherous streets of Los Angeles. I will teach them a lesson they will never forget in their demented lives! “He promised himself. But he knew this wasn’t the time. He would wait patiently for an appropriate time to get even with them.

So he let himself unwind and drank a few more drinks with Nilsson and Lopez who became friendlier after throwing back a few more drinks.

They had both realized Steve was not easy to subdue. If they wanted him to carry out their plan, they would have to be cautious and civil to him in the future. This Steve understood when he saw Ricardo and Nilsson exchange glances between their drinks. An hour or so later, after Steve had knocked back couple of more drinks, he cautiously informed Nilsson and Ricardo that he would like to leave. He then proceeded to pick up the thirty thousand dollars lying on the table, stood up, and began to walk out of Ricardo’s office, when he heard Ricardo’s strident voice call out “Wait!  What did you plan to shoot the girl with Steve? Hope not with that little toy concealed in your pants!” Ricardo roared with laughter as Gustav Nilsson joined him with his shrill laugh and their evil merriment filled the room, even as it jarred Steve’s ears.

Their crazy laughing continued for a bit but it didn’t amuse Steve who glared at the duo.  The members of his gang—although dangerous—looked like a bunch of school boys, compared to these two. And he began hating them, from that moment onward. When they had had their fill of crazy laughter, Ricardo suddenly hurled his gun at Steve yelling “Catch!”
That
will take care of business and it’s untraceable!

Although surprised by the suddenness of the act, Steve caught the gun effortless.

“It’s fully loaded Steve. You won’t need more bullets. Understand?” Ricardo said with a sly look.

“Understood” Steve replied stoically.

With the loaded gun in his hands, for a brief moment he was tempted to shoot these two wild thugs. But he resisted the urge, controlled his rage, managed a drawn smile, and then turned around and walked out of the room into the hot humid night, leaving Nilsson and Ricardo staring after him.

Chapter Xl

    The next few hours turned out to be the most nerve wracking moments of Steve’s life, as he paced up and down in his sordid hotel room. “What a fool I was to have anything to do with these two crazy killers! Why the hell did I become so greedy for their damn money!”  Steve was furious and could have kicked himself. He was bitterly regretting having come to New York to do this job. He had no idea Ricardo would turn out to be such a vicious cold-hearted killer. But If Ricardo’s ruthlessness surprised Steve it was his partner, that loon Gustav Nilsson who had really stunned him. “That bastard is totally demented! He belongs in a freaking nuthouse and not in society!”

Even though the past years that he had spent with members of his gang had toughened him considerably, the thought of murdering an innocent twenty-five year old unarmed woman troubled him enormously. But was it his conscience that was troubling him or was he developing cold feet about doing the job? He wondered uneasily.  He wanted to know the answer.

Sitting alone in his hotel room Steve did some intense thinking and soul-searching “Am I scared? Am I a coward, a spineless man?” he asked himself, even as he deeply probed his heart. But he soon discovered it was not fear that was bothering him.
So
what’s biting me?
He wondered.

It didn’t take Steve long to discover that it was not fear that was troubling him; rather it was
guilt
which was gnawing at his conscience. In a moment of illumination, his mind wrestled with him, “What has this girl done to me that I should take her life, a girl who’s suffering in bereavement and grief?” What could be more shameful than that?