The hunt, p.23
The Hunt, page 23
Donatti caught her arm. “Juleen, it’ll be okay.”
She bit her lip and nodded. He let her go.
A moment later, his phone rang. The voice on the line said, “Satisfied?”
“I need a video of the two of them from you. I need to hear their voices.”
“That wasn’t part of the agreement.”
“Well, now it is. You change conditions all the time and so do I. This is what I want on the video. I want the two of them to be comfortable. I want them to be smiling. I want the boy to say, I’ll see you soon, Mommy. I want the man to say, Thank you, Chris, for all your help. Then afterward, I want you to take the man and put the fear of God in him and get him to sign the papers he needs to sign. I’ll send you one hundred now and four hundred when I get the video.”
Donatti hung up and was about to knock on Juleen’s door when his phone rang. The voice said, “Four hundred now and one hundred after I send you a video. It will take time. I have to make it first. I need to charge you extra for it.”
“This is what I’m willing to do: two-fifty now and two-fifty after I get the video.”
There was a pause. “We’ll talk in twenty-four hours.”
“Fine with me, but you’re not getting a penny more than two-fifty until I see the video.”
“I’ll need more from you now that we have the man. The boy takes directions. The man is a liability.”
“The man is a coward and he’s scared shitless. I’m sure he’ll be no problem.”
“He can be stubborn.”
“I’m sure you’re used to dealing with stubborn people.”
“What we do with stubborn people is arrange a permanent solution. Of course, that will cost you more.”
“Right now, I’m not interested in a permanent solution.”
“Every day he’s alive is a liability. If you neutralized him now, there is no need for him to sign papers. But as I said, that will cost you more. Neutralizing has to be planned carefully.”
“Keep him healthy,” Donatti said. “I’ll send you the two-fifty and the second installment after you send me the video. And it needs to be exactly like I said. I’m showing it to her, and if I don’t have a smiling kid, it’s useless to me.”
He hung up.
His heartbeat had slowed during the conversation. His breaths were even and deep. Not even a scintilla of anxiety. If it weren’t costing him so much money, he’d be enjoying the process. He went over and gave a hard knock on Juleen’s door. “You can come out now.”
She opened the door. Her eyes were red.
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“I didn’t hear a thing. I lay down on my bed and put a pillow over my face.”
“That’s a little extreme.”
“I didn’t want you yelling at me.”
“Don’t take my yelling personally.” Donatti checked his watch. “Your next tutor will be here in forty-five minutes. You can take a break until then.” Her eyes focused on the floor. “Not a word to your mother.”
“I know.” She looked up at him with Terry’s face but her own dark eyes. “My father went to be with Sanjay?”
Once they put a gun to the back of his head. Donatti said, “Yes, he did.”
“So, he’s not a coward.”
“Nope. He’s a brave man and a good father.”
She nodded, tears bursting from her eyes. “Will they be okay?”
“I hope so, Juleen. It’s costing me a lot of money for them to be okay. Does your mother ever talk to you about it—about what happened to Sanjay?”
“No.” Juleen shook her head. “We don’t talk about that day.”
“She doesn’t ask you questions about Sanjay? What I might be doing?”
“No. I don’t think she wants me to think about it.”
“That’s good.” Donatti paused. “What do you want for dinner?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Rule number one: Take care of yourself. I repeat, what do you want for dinner?”
“I’m glad my father is with Sanjay. It won’t be as scary for my brother.”
Donatti looked at her downtrodden face. “I know you miss them both. I’m really hoping we can get everything settled. Then you can see them again.”
“You’d allow me to see my father?”
“Of course, once everything is over. You won’t live with him, of course. You and Sanjay will live here with your mother. But you can visit him in Mumbai … or Goa. I think he’s living in Goa now. And he can visit you. Your father is your father, and he will always be your father.”
“Then we are going to live here?”
“Not here with me, but you’ll live in Nevada with Mommy.”
“Nevada?” She looked puzzled. “Is that a city or a state?”
“It’s a state.”
“Does it have an ocean?”
“No, it’s inland. But it does have mountains and a desert and a big, natural lake called Lake Tahoe where a lot of movie stars have homes. One side of the shore is Nevada and the other side is California. You and Sanjay and Mommy could live there. Or you three might like a bigger city called Reno or maybe a bigger city called Las Vegas. No matter what Mommy chooses, the place will seem tiny compared with Indian cities.”
“I’ve heard of Las Vegas,” she told him. “My father talked about taking a holiday there.”
I bet he did. Donatti said, “Mommy will visit me some weekends, but most of the time it’ll be the three of you. Do you want spaghetti for dinner?”
She nodded. “Spaghetti is fine. Mommy likes spaghetti. Can she even eat spaghetti yet?”
“I don’t know, but Mommy’s having dinner with me tonight. But we’ll make it around eight, eight-thirty, so she can spend time with you.”
“Thank you, Chris.” More tears.
Donatti stared at the girl. “You need to be happy, Juleen. If you’re sad, then Mommy gets sad. And I like a happy Mommy instead of a sad Mommy. A sad Mommy is a pain in the ass.”
She blurted out, “Do you hate me?”
He regarded her face: so earnest it was comical. “No, I don’t hate you. Why would I hate you?”
“I’m not your child.” She looked down. “I feel like a burden.”
“You’re not a burden,” Donatti said. “But the reality is I don’t have much use for you. You take Mommy away from me and you don’t make me money, so from my standpoint you don’t do me much good. But I don’t hate you.”
“But you like Sanjay?”
“I don’t even know Sanjay enough to like or dislike him.”
“But you’re paying money for him.”
“That’s for Mommy. I want her to be happy.”
“Would you pay money for me?”
“Of course I’d pay money for you. Mommy loves you. She’d really be unhappy without you. My goal in life is to keep Mommy happy.”
“Do you love Gabe?”
“Lots of questions, Juleen.”
“Do you? Love Gabe?”
He rolled his eyes. “Gabe is my son. I’d do anything for him. If that’s love, then I guess I love him.”
“Why is Gabe’s last name Whitman and your last name is Donatti?”
“I was born Christopher Whitman. When I met your mother, I was Christopher Whitman. When I started working for my uncle, Joseph Donatti, he asked me to change my name to his.”
“So why didn’t Gabe change his name?”
“I didn’t put the name on your brother’s birth certificate, Mommy did. Now no more questions.”
“Mommy loves me, you know, even if you have no use for me.”
“I do know that.”
Her chin jutted outward with defiance as she spoke. “She loves me more than she loves you.”
“That is for damn sure. For the last time, what do you want for dinner?”
“I thought we agreed on spaghetti.”
“Yes, we did. My bad.” He started to walk away. This time she caught his arm. “What?”
“Thank you for helping Mommy. And thank you for helping me, especially since you don’t have any use for me. And no, I’m not being sarcastic.”
He took his arm back and studied her. “You’re a pretty girl, Juleen. One day you’ll be a beautiful woman. My sole advice to you is to keep your legs together. You don’t want to end up like your mother with a dog like me. You can do better.”
“I don’t like boys.”
“Yeah, you already told me that. One day you’ll change your mind.”
“No, I won’t!”
Donatti thought a moment. “Do you like girls?”
“No. Gross! I mean I love Mommy, but she doesn’t count.” She sighed. “I’m sorry if I was rude to you, Chris.” Tears in her eyes. “I’m … I’ll do better. I’m sorry.”
He knelt down, put his hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. “It’s hard to live in chaos. You’re holding up well.”
“Thank you.”
“But you’ve got to remember that I’m the boss here. You don’t mouth off to the boss. It’s not good to be mouthy, period. It pisses people off.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not chastising you, Juleen. I’m just telling you that it’s a poor strategy to disrespect anyone. It’s a really poor strategy to disrespect me.”
“I know.”
“On the other hand, it’s not good to be a dishrag, either, especially because you’re a girl. Guys are going to try to push you around and talk you into things. Don’t get sucked into their bullshit. Choose what’s important to you and go for it. If anyone gives you a hard time, you tell me. I’m not your father. I will never be your father. Furthermore, I don’t want to be your father. But you are Mommy’s daughter, and because of that, I will take care of you forever.”
“Thank you.” Juleen dried her eyes on her yellow top. “And you’ll take care of Sanjay?”
“Once he’s here, of course I will.”
“And Mommy too.”
“Especially Mommy.”
Tears overflowed from her eyes. “She needs protection.”
“Yes, she does.” Donatti nodded. “I’ve got it covered.”
CHAPTER 16
McADAMS TRIED THE doorknob of Micky Anderson’s Bar and Grill. Discovering it locked, he knocked on the door. When there was no response, he peeked through the window. All seemed quiet, chairs upside down on tabletops and the ceiling lights off. He called Decker. “I’m not having any luck. Anything nice is closed until four in the afternoon. I’ve gone into two coffee places, both of them to-go. One of the baristas recognized Pauline, but he didn’t know Brock Baer. The other was blank on both.”
“The one you got a hit on … What did he say?”
“He said that Pauline would come in and buy a cup of coffee—a mochaccino, I think. Pauline was friendly, but it was like a thirty-second interaction. Did you get anything?”
“Like you said, the nicer places aren’t open. I went to a bakery/coffeehouse. No one remembered Pauline. Then I went to a sandwich shop in the supermarket. The person behind the counter remembered Pauline’s face, but that was about it. There was a seventeen-year-old stock boy in the market who definitely remembered her. He said she was flirtatious.”
“Wow. She’s picking them a little young.”
“He didn’t mind,” Decker said. “But then he told me that she stopped showing up, which was consistent with the checkout cashiers that I talked to. A few remembered her, but they hadn’t seen her for a while—months more than weeks. And that would jibe with her moving in with Elsie Schulung.”
“Is there a grocery store that’s closer to Elsie’s house?”
“Don’t know for sure, but I seem to remember an independent grocery store about five minutes away. I never bothered talking to anyone because it wasn’t our case and Quay made it clear that we should stay away.”
McAdams said, “How far is Elsie’s house from town?”
Decker said, “Walkable. Fifteen to twenty minutes, I’d say.”
“Are there restaurants near there?”
“Not that I remember. I think there’s a convenience store at a gas station where you can buy coffee and a doughnut, but nothing sit-down.”
“Then if you wanted a legitimate restaurant, you’d have to go into town,” McAdams said.
“Looks that way,” Decker said.
“Well, nothing is open now. Where do people eat lunch?”
“At home. Lots of the lunch trade was wiped out by COVID.”
McAdams said, “I’m looking at my map and there’s a place called Burgers and Dogs about two blocks away. I don’t know if it’s a counter takeout or an eat-in, but I’m going to try that next.”
“Burgers and Dogs,” Decker echoed. “It’s five blocks away from me. Wait for me.”
“I’m kinda hungry. You want a burg—Wait, what am I saying? I don’t suppose they have vegetarian options.”
“It’s fine. But I could use something to drink. It’s hot out here.”
“It is,” McAdams said. “Let’s go in and bother the locals.”
A few minutes later they were standing in front of a diner. The interior smelled like fried meat, bacon, and melted cheese. The floor space held about a dozen tables with linoleum tops that held settings for two to four people. The seating was mismatched: a combination of metal, wood, or cane-backed chairs. The counter was generous and doing a brisk business. They found an open table, and a server came by with menus. She was in her twenties with a long blond ponytail, a round face, a prominent forehead, and wide-set blue eyes. She wore a long denim dress over a long-sleeved black T-shirt. Her name tag said MARY.
She said, “Our soup is navy bean, and our pie is strawberry.”
“Thank you.” After she left, Decker looked at McAdams. “Remember Eli Wolf?”
“She’s Mennonite?” McAdams said. “Could be. The dress and the look. We’re in the right geographical location. I mean not Baniff specifically, but we’re not that far away from Lancaster.” A pause. “You ever speak to them? The Wolfs?”
“No.” Decker shook his head. “If I thought about all the suffering people that I’ve met …” A sigh. “It’s really hard, but you just have to close the case in your head and go on to the next.” He looked at the menu. “I’ll stick with coffee. I wonder if they have iced coffee.”
“There’s a veggie burger.”
“Fried on the same grill as the burgers. But get what you want, Tyler.”
“I’ll take the veggie burger.”
“You can have the real thing.”
“Trying to watch my intake of red meat.” McAdams put the menu down, and Mary hopped up and came to the table.
“What can I get you, folks?”
Decker said, “Do you have iced coffee?”
“We sure do.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“How about a scoop of ice cream with it?”
“Actually, that sounds pretty good.”
“Whipped cream?”
“Sure.”
She turned to McAdams.
“A veggie burger, no fries.”
“You want to sub a side salad?”
“Sure.”
Decker said, “How long have you been working here, Mary?”
The server looked momentarily stunned. “Me?” Decker nodded. She said, “Five years.”
“Long time.”
“Yes. I’m very grateful to have this job.”
“I bet.” Decker pulled out a picture. “Have you ever seen this woman before?”
“That’s Pauline. She used to come here two, three times a week.”
“Used to come here?”
“I haven’t seen her for a while. Why are you asking?” When Decker pulled out his badge, she said, “You’re the police?”
“Detectives,” McAdams said.
“What happened to Pauline? If you’re here, it must be bad.”
“It is. She’s unfortunately deceased.”
Mary looked at the pad in her hand. “I gotta put these orders in.”
Decker said, “If you have a moment …”
“I hardly knew her.”
“Anything you can tell us.” Decker looked around. “Obviously not now. It’s busy. But maybe in an hour or so?”
Mary nodded and was off. When she brought over the food and drinks, Decker sensed a cooler attitude.
So did McAdams. He picked up his veggie burger and said, “We’d better leave a nice tip.”
Decker sipped his ice cream and coffee. “This is really good.”
“Tasty,” McAdams said after taking a bite. “Want to split this?”
“No, I’m fine. I suppose we should let Quay know what we’re doing.”
McAdams said, “I think she’ll talk more freely if the local law isn’t here.”
“That’s a good point. I’ll text him and tell him we’re eating lunch in our car. That way, he won’t want to join us.” Decker’s fingers tapped across his phone. A moment later, he heard a ding. He read the text and responded. “Quay’s going back to the station. I told him we’ll phone him in an hour and compare notes.”
“Did he find anything?”
“No idea.” Decker polished off his iced coffee. “I could use some water.”
“So could I.” McAdams managed to get Mary’s attention. He mouthed, “Two waters.” Within a minute, the glasses were on the table. Her disposition hadn’t turned any friendlier.
When they paid the bill with a credit card, they left an enormous cash tip. Mary noticed. Right after she squared the tab and handed them back the plastic, she sat down at their table. “I can give you five minutes. But honestly, you won’t even need that. Like I said, I didn’t really know her.”
“Ever see her with this guy?” Decker took out the snapshot of Brock Baer and placed it on the tabletop.
She stared at it. “Not with Pauline. She was alone when she came in here. After she moved away, she came in a couple of times with Elsie.”
“So you knew Elsie?”
“I didn’t know her. Pauline introduced her to me.” Mary bit her lip. “They were living together. I sensed that they were more than just friends.” She shrugged. “Modern world.”
“Indeed.” Decker tapped the picture. “Then you don’t recognize this guy?”
