Ruthless (5 page)

CHAPTER 16

The stranger carefully studied apartment 103. All of the lights were dark, which was odd. Normally, the lights would be still be lit on the days the two occupants took separate cars to work. Pam Edwards had left by herself shortly after 7:00 a.m., so why weren’t the lights still on?  Chelsea’s car was in the parking lot, but it hadn’t moved since yesterday. Perhaps Chelsea had left town. If so, she must have traveled in someone else’s vehicle.

The stranger waited until there were no drivers or pedestrians in the parking lot. He casually walked toward the door and made a show of patting his pockets as if looking for a missing key ring. He then twisted the doorknob to Chelsea’s front door but found it locked. He could see that the door was also deadbolted.

He walked around the apartment building and found the unit’s rear door, which was also deadbolted. The patio outside the rear door was surrounded by a six-foot fence, which provided the stranger an opportunity to test the two rear windows without being observed. They were also shut tight and locked.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” grumbled the stranger to himself. “I’ll have to get better tools for the job and come back later.”

CHAPTER 17

The next day was Saturday, and all the occupants of the Blackwell house in Tifton breakfasted together. After doing justice to Gail Blackwell’s home cooking, they lingered over the meal.

“So tell me, Miss Blackwell—,” began Mallory.

“It’s ‘Gail,’ dear,” said Alton’s mother. “Only my students call me Miss Blackwell.”

“That’s right—you’re a teacher. What subjects do you teach?” asked Mallory.

“AP Literature. I usually specialize in ‘Brit Lit,’ British literature over the last few centuries. But I’ve also taught the standard freshman classes a few times.”

“Cool. I can see some of that in Alton in the way he thinks and talks. To be honest, though, I expected you to say you teach history, since Alton seems to be steeped in it.”

“His father teaches world history. That’s how he and I met. We taught at the same high school. Alton’s always soaked it up like the proverbial sponge.” She shook her head. “Alton’s Dad—Ben—and I divorced years ago.”

“Yes,” said Mallory gently, “Ben moved to St. Louis, right?”

“That’s right,” replied Gail.

“So you all are both teachers,” said Mallory, perking up. “That explains why Alton seems to be a walking encyclopedia of history and literature. It also explains why he seems so passionate whenever he starts talking about those subjects. I assume he witnessed your and Ben’s interest in your respective topics?”

“That’s true, now that I think about it,” interjected Alton. “Mom and Dad were always enthusiastic about their work. We’d usually talk about it around the dinner table. I guess it just seemed like the natural way to learn.”

Gail nodded in assent.

“So what was Alton like as a kid?” asked Mallory with a twinkle in her eye. “Did he get in trouble very often?” Alton knew Mallory could not resist the urge to dig up a little dirt from his childhood, as it would give her more material with which to tease him later.

“Oh, he was a bit of a rascal when he was younger,” replied Gail with a chuckle. “He loved to explore the woods around here and about gave me a heart attack a few times when I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t intentionally bad. He would travel to the woods to play or explore, usually with Billy, who lived near us back then. Once, he went out there by himself and fell asleep up against a tree.”

“And when he was a teenager?” prompted Mallory.

“In his younger teen years, Alton was fairly studious, but honestly, he liked sports more than school. He did the usual YMCA soccer thing for a few years and seemed to enjoy it, but his true love was football. But then Ben left, and Alton changed. He became more serious, more of an adult than his years would have led you to expect.”

“Mom—,” began Alton.

“Tut, tut. She asked the question, son,” said Gail, who turned back to Mallory. “As much as I love teaching, it was tough to support three kids on a teacher’s paycheck back then. Alton kept playing football, but he also started working part-time at Chick-Fil-A to help support the family and to set a little aside for college. He became much more focused on school, too. Academically, he hit a new level after the divorce. I’m proud of Alton for everything he did for us—and himself—during those years.”

“I can see how that would cause his personality to lean to the serious side,” said Mallory, “especially since he grew up in an academic environment. Studying and contemplation seem second nature to him.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t just the home environment that molded his serious nature,” began Gail, “He faced other trials. Did Alton tell you about his senior-year sweetheart?”

“Mom—,” said Alton again, this time with a pleading note in his voice.

“But we don’t need to go into that now,” said Gail, much to Alton’s relief.

Buster, Alton’s Labrador, sauntered into the dining room, wagging his tail at each person in turn and inspecting the floor for scraps.

“Look what I taught him to do,” said Mallory. She walked Buster through “shake,” “lie down,” and “roll over.”

“How in the heck did you get him to do that?” asked Alton. “I’ve been trying to get him to sit up for over a year, and he hasn’t done it once.”

“Perhaps he just needed a woman’s touch,” replied Mallory with a smirk.

Alton scratched his noggin in perplexity. In the past, he had observed Buster cock his head to the side when confounded, and he had to resist the urge to do so himself.

“I suppose you’ll have to show me your technique,” he said at last with a crooked smile. “You’ve clearly figured out something I haven’t.”

CHAPTER 18

As the breakfast crowd began to break up, Alton’s cell phone sprang to life. He stepped onto the front porch to improve the call’s reception.

“Hello?” he said.

“Alton. I am Fahima. How are you?”

“Hi, Fahima. I’m great,” replied Alton, instantly struck by a vague sense of guilt. “Hey, I have a confession. I haven’t called David yet about your inheritance. I left a message for Professor Riley the evening before last, but he hasn’t called me back yet. As we agreed, I was waiting to get the professor’s opinion on your chances of getting a visa before I called David.”

“Do not worry, Alton,” said Fahima. “I now have visa.”

“What?” exclaimed Alton. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, no,” replied Fahima, laughing. “Is true. I am so happy. I will soon be with my David.”

“Fahima,” stammered Alton. “I’m speechless—truly. I’m so happy for you and David. After waiting all this time…” He broke off in a kind of reverie. Shaking his head, he continued, “How did this happen?”

“In my country, a person with money does not wait—as long as they are willing to share some of it with others.”

“And what did David say when you told him?” asked Alton, scarcely able to imagine his boisterous friend’s seismic reaction.

“David does not know,” said Fahima. “He works today for two or three more hours. I will call him when he is finished working. He will be very excited, I think.”

“That’s the understatement of the year,” said Alton, chuckling. As the euphoria of the initial surprise began to fade, a notion passed through his mind. “Say, Fahima, can I run an idea by you?”

“Yes. What are you thinking?” she asked.

Alton took a few minutes to explain his brainstorm. “What do you think?”

“I think is good plan,” confirmed Fahima. “Will you call me and let me know if it will work?”

“Absolutely. Will you be up for a few more hours?”

“Yes—you can call whenever you are ready,” said Fahima, clearly excited over the prospect of her impending reunion with David.

“Okay. Let me do some checking on my end and I’ll call you back in an hour or two, okay?”

“Okay—bye bye.”

Alton immediately placed a phone call and conversed for nearly ten minutes. After completing the conversation, he sought out Mallory, who had remained in the kitchen to help Gail wash and dry the dishes. Mallory also agreed with Alton’s idea.

Alton placed a call to Fahima. “Everything’s arranged on my end. You can proceed with your part.”

“Okay, Alton.”

“And you’ll tell me how you’re progressing, right?”

“Yes. I will let you know,” said Fahima. “You are good man—like my David.”

Alton smiled and shook his head. “You’re a good woman—the perfect one for David.”

As fate would have it, Professor Riley returned Alton’s call only minutes later. Alton shared the happy news of Fahima’s visa approval.

“Ha!” exclaimed the professor. “I was just preparing to tell you she should have no problem getting her visa. Three hundred thousand is well beyond the threshold needed for entry. I’m pleased it’s turned out so well.”

After the excitement of the unexpected news dissipated, Alton and Chelsea set up their laptops on the dining room table to spend a few hours working on their respective Kruptos projects, leaving Mallory with time to kill.

“Would you like to go with us to the grocery store?” asked Kayla. “Now that I have my license, I go more often than Mom.”

“Sure,” replied Mallory, welcoming the opportunity to become better acquainted with Alton’s family.

Ruth tagged along, and their discussion naturally centered on Alton.

“So, what is Alton like as a big brother?” asked Mallory. “Is he protective?”

Both girls grinned. “Yeah,” replied Kayla. “At times he’s more like a dad than a brother. That can be annoying at times, but he has a good heart.”

“Once, when he was home from college, he almost got in a fight with Buck down the street,” said Ruth. “Kayla and I were riding our bikes out front. Buck was riding his bike, too, and ran into me on purpose. As soon as Alton saw my skinned knees and learned what happened, he tore off down the street to Buck’s house. Buck didn’t run into me any more after that,” she said with a smirk.

Mallory couldn’t help but smile.
So his protecting nature started early.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, is he okay with you dating, Kayla? I know a lot of dads find it, um…disquieting when their daughters start to date, so I’m wondering if it was hard for Alton, as your big brother.”

“Ha—yeah! He’s pretty cool about it, though. As long as the guy is nice to me and respects me, he says.”

Mallory nodded.
Again—Alton the protector
. She looked out the window and asked as nonchalantly as possible, “So what kind of girls did he date back in high school?”

“Hmmm…all types, I guess,” said Kayla. “I was pretty young back then, so I don’t remember a lot. But I do remember one girl, Sheila. That’s the girl Mom was getting ready to tell you about at breakfast.”

“What’s so special about Sheila?”

“She dumped him. She was a cheerleader when Alton played linebacker. He was really into her. She
said
she was into him, too, but once she found out the quarterback liked her, she starting going out with him the very next day. She was just hoppin’ around.”

“That must have been hard on Alton.”

“Yeah, I remember he was really upset. He and Sheila were pretty serious. He didn’t date anyone for a while after their breakup. I think he didn’t want the drama or backstabbing after that.”

“Kayla, I don’t think Alton wanted you talking about that,” said Ruth.

“Oh, dingleberry—you’re right,” said Kayla. Turning to Mallory, she asked, “Can you not mention this to Alton?”

“Mention what?” replied Mallory with an innocent expression.

No one spoke for a few minutes.  Finally, Ruth asked, “Did you know I have a bird?”

“No, I didn’t,” said Mallory.  “What kind is it?”

“An Amazon parrot. He used to belong to George, our neighbor who got sick last year. George knew I always got along with Ruso—his bird—really well. When George went to the hospital last year, he gave Ruso to me.”

“That’s cool,” said Mallory. “Does he talk?”

“Oh yeah—a lot. I make up a sentence, and before you know it, it’s coming out of his mouth. He’s so funny sometimes.”

“You make up sentences just for him?”

“Well, yes,” said Ruth, looking away. “I like to write stories. So when I come up with a good line, sometimes I teach it to Ruso.”

“I’ll have to have a chat with Ruso when we get back home,” said Mallory.

“Okay. You could teach him something if you want to. He learns fast. Sometimes he only needs to hear you say it once.”

They arrived at the grocery store, and Kayla slowly pulled into a parking spot. While Kayla and Ruth shopped, Mallory remained in the car and called Agent Stewart to get up to speed on the Mancini case. She ended the call as the girls approached.

When they arrived back home, Mallory looked for Alton to share the latest information from Stewart. His laptop remained in the same spot on the dining-room table, but Alton himself was nowhere to be seen. Mallory moved from room to room with a growing sense of unease, still unable to locate him.

She moved to the back bedrooms and swung open the door to Ruth’s room.

She smiled when she saw the parrot, but its words sent a thrill of fear through her body: “And now you die!”