3 PM
Renee Charnquist pushes aside a faded curtain to look out the window at the one-armed man crossing the street. As he looks up in her direction, she steps back from the window and moves over to the computer screen. The message board of dr-richard-kimble.com is displayed on the screen. Renee closes the browser and shuts down the laptop, tucking it under the bed. Seconds later, there is a knock and she opens the door and steps aside.
Charnquist
looks around at the dingy room and its second-hand furnishings. “You’re coming
down in the world, baby.”
“Thanks to you, sugar!” she says in disgust. “You fool! Using that FBI agent’s gun and proving to the whole world you’re alive! Span-All was after me within the hour, demanding the insurance money back. They even sent the police to grill me about what I knew about the disappearance of Buddy LaRue!”
Charnquist grabs her roughly by the arm and pins her against the wall. “You sound like you care more about the money than me.” He squeezes her wrist until she gasps. Satisfied he has made his point, he releases her and turns away.
Renee composes herself, putting on a fake smile. She reaches over to grab Ben shoulders, giving him a back rub while suggestively pressing against him. “I’m sorry, Ben. You know its you I care about. Kimble has you tied up in knots, baby. You need to relax…”
Ben is having none of it. He shakes her off. “So you’re working for Palazollo now?”
“What
else was I supposed to do?” she asks indignantly. “He owes me. Didn’t I persuade
you to turn your back on the CIA and work for him instead of spying on him?
Didn’t I take that dying man to the hospital and claim to be his wife and
play the part of the grieving widow so the CIA would think you were dead?
You lied to me all those years! Claiming to be working on oil rigs, while
all the time you were traveling all over the world, working undercover as
a spy. And they cut you lose in the end, didn’t they? Where would you be without
me?”
Ben looks around at the dingy room and its tattered furnishings with disdain. “Yeah, we’re riding high, aren’t we?”
Renee grabs him by both arms, masking her distaste at the feel of the prosthetic arm. “We will be! Once this job is over, you and I will be off to an island paradise with money in the bank.” She opens a dresser drawer and reaches inside, opening her hand to reveal a sparkling diamond. She watches as his eyes light up with greed and smiles. “There will be more. One of those containers of diamonds is going to get ‘lost’ in transit.”
“Where is it?” He grabs her.
“After the job is done.” She looks up at him suggestively, pressing against him.
Charnquist relaxes. “I knew I could always count on you, baby.” He kisses her and as he loosens her arms, she pulls free and puts them around his neck. He begins to unbutton her blouse.
8:30 PM THE MAJESTIC HOTEL
Kari is sitting at her laptop instant messaging with Jason Merriman. Merriman’s message reads, “You’ll have the search warrant secured at 9:00 AM tomorrow. Everything is set for the 1st.”
Kari writes, “Sounds good. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
Jason writes, “It’s a little off topic, but you asked Lang to find out more about Jenny Butler in California if there was anything new to report since she seemed to have a close relationship with Kimble.”
Kari’s eyes get wide and she writes, “Don’t keep me in suspense, Jason, is there anything to report?”
“Yes, she sold that bed and breakfast that
she used to own with her late husband. She moved to
Kari breathes a sigh of relief and says, “No, I agree. Thanks for checking it out though. Until we meet on the first!” She turns off the laptop and hears a knock at the door. She gets up to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
Kari
opens the door and lets Kimble in. They look at each other, each realizing
this is the first time in months that they’ve been able to see each other
without any watchful eyes around them. As if on cue, they throw their arms
around each other with a very relieved hug. Richard says, “Kari, I was starting
to wonder if I’d ever get to see you again.”
Kari lets go, smiles and says, “It was inevitable. I just wish it didn’t have to be like this. I’d love to go out to a wonderful Cajun restaurant with you but since that’s not an option, I ordered a late night snack. Thankfully, you’re right on schedule.”
Richard smiles and says, “Well, I wasn’t
expecting food when I got here but I’ll take it. Fate must be with us because
there were no delays with the bus. I made my transfer in
Kari pauses before taking a mouthful. “Let
me bring you up to date on what I’ve learned about Charnquist and Gagamiros.
He was the FBI agent who tried to kill you in
Richard looks perplexed. “He’s rich?”
“Oh yes at least at one time, which just goes to prove that the theory that people who are born in poverty are more likely to become criminals than people who are born into money is total rubbish. People become criminals because they choose to be. Ben Charnquist is the product of a relationship his mother had in high school. She was seventeen when she gave birth. Her name was Marilyn and she never named who his father was…it’s possible she was never sure. In doing a background check on her, it was discovered that she dated several guys in high school. Instead of giving her baby up for adoption as most young women did in that era, she had the fortune or misfortune of having a very rich father who was a widower for quite some time. Marilyn was his only child and when she gave birth to a son…well, baby Gerald Jr. was the son Gerald Sr. never had.”
“So far he sounds like he was lucky.”
“Not so lucky. According to interviews done by CIA psychologists, Ben was at least psychologically abused by his grandfather. Marilyn ran away from home when Ben was three because she couldn’t take her father’s high expectations and disappointment when she got pregnant. She left Ben behind. He never saw her again. The stigma of illegitimacy was obviously a tough one for Gerald Sr. because he apparently thought Ben never did anything right or was never quite good enough. Ben scored 95% on a test and Grandpa Dearest wanted to know why it wasn’t 100%. This in turn led Ben to start taking part in criminal activity as a teenager. After all, if you’re going to be treated as a loser, you might as well act like one. You name it, Ben did it, burglary, car theft, assault, drugs…selling and using.”
“Good Lord, Kari, how did a guy like this end up working for the CIA?”
“Well, here’s where it gets interesting. The last time Ben was busted which was in 1987, shortly after his incident with me. He was given the choice to either join the Army or go to jail. He opted for the Army. When he was in basic training, he was given a psychological test and he tested very high for having a very amoral personality. The Army decided he could be used in better places, which is where the CIA came in. He initially was partnered with Dennis Gagamiros. They worked special ops together and did some very, shall we say, unconventional things for this country. Ben however, seemed to miss the high life of having money. It appears his grandfather died seriously in debt so the family fortune was eaten up by the creditors, so he sold out to the highest bidder, enter Frederico Palazzolo.”
“Organized crime?”
“Yeah to put it mildly, we suspect that the diamonds are all part of helping to fund terrorism and Becca Ross was putting a damper on that. Palazzolo wanted Ross Industries as a legitimate front. He obviously knew Ross was not known for high ethical standards. But Becca blocked the deal…”
“So he wanted her eliminated. So where are we at now?”
“Tomorrow I’ll get the search warrant. If we can find the diamonds in the warehouse, we’ve got some hard evidence providing a motive for the kidnapping.”
“Maybe we can find something else. Chuck told me he found out the password into Crystal Clear’s system. Unfortunately, even he can’t get past their firewall. But when we go in there, I can get on their computer and download the financial files.”
“I’m glad he’s on our side! I think the FBI needs to pay Chuck a visit when this is all over.”
“Kari, you wouldn’t!”
“Of course I would! That boy’s talents are being wasted! He needs to come and work for the FBI.”