Blood Money (16 page)

The former was most likely working, as
maintaining surveillance at the park was extremely challenging, but
the latter had utterly failed. So far, Kelton hadn’t been able to
pick out a single person shadowing them, which only meant that they
were very good at their jobs. But still, the day had to be taxing
on their followers, which would hopefully pay dividends for Kelton
and Jessica later that night.

Also, their time at the park had served an
additional purpose; it had given Willis time to make the
arrangements for their upcoming attempt to slip their tails.

Kelton stepped onto the moving walkway and
was led to the next open car by the line operator. Jessica took a
seat next to him just as the front of the chair-shaped car closed,
trapping them inside.

The Haunted Mansion Ride was perfect for
clandestine conversations; the isolated nature and enclosed shape
of the cars made eavesdropping virtually impossible, and the
near-total darkness and twisting nature of the track made it just
as difficult to maintain visual contact. So not only would Kelton
be able to talk to Willis with impunity, but he would be able to do
so without anyone even knowing he’d made a phone call, which was
just as important right now.

Shortly after leaving the station and
heading into the heart of the building that housed the ride, Kelton
pulled the cell from his pocket and dialed Willis’s number. He
pressed the phone tightly against his right ear and stuck his
finger into his left to help dampen the sound of the recorded
narrator that played during the five-minute travel through the
mansion.

“Right on time, as always,” Willis said
after answering.

“That’s me, Mr. Reliable,” Kelton said,
being careful not to speak too loudly. Between the intermittent
screams, the constant jabbering of the narrator and the
comically-spooky music, he could barely hear his own voice. “How’s
it coming?”

“It’s all set.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kelton said. “All
that’s left is to figure out where to meet up.”

“Do you trust your connection enough to talk
specifics over the phone?” Willis said.

“I figure if someone’s listening to us, they
would have moved in a long time ago.”

“Is that a yes?”

“A reluctant one.”

“All right then,” Willis said. “We’ll meet
up at the Orange County Hospital in Irvine. Enter the main
underground parking garage and head down towards employee parking.
You’ll come to a mechanical arm with a key pad. Punch in the number
6-6-6 followed by the pound sign and the arm will let you in. Keep
going down to the bottom level. I’ll be waiting for you there with
everything you need.”

The ride moved past a cemetery filled with
mummified bodies popping up randomly in a half-hearted attempt to
startle. Kelton didn’t flinch.

“What time?” he said.

“Right at eight o’clock,” Willis said.
“That’s when the night shift ends. We’ll do a quick change, get rid
of all your old clothes, then leave the garage amidst all the
hospital employees heading home. If the group following you is as
small as you say, there will be far too many cars leaving for them
to keep track of.”

Kelton was nodding his head absently.
“Sounds like a solid plan.”

“Did you expect anything less?”

“I wouldn’t have called you if I did.”

“Then stop insulting me with your
compliments.”

Kelton chuckled softly as the ride passed a
ballroom full of dancing ghosts. “Fair enough,” he said. Then, “I
assume you’ll make sure we slip away unnoticed?”

“Counter-surveillance is part of the
package,” Willis said. “Just tell me where you’re heading and I’ll
personally make sure you arrive sans baggage.”

“I’ll fill you in on the destination and
traveling route once I figure it out.”

“Whatever floats your boat,” Willis said.
“Is there anything else you need to know?”

“Just how much this is going to cost
me.”

Willis sighed. “Again with the insults?
After what you’ve done for me over the years, how can I possibly
charge you for a little favor like this?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t let
you take this risk without some compensation.”

“Then you can compensate me later, after
this thing is all over,” Willis said. “I’m sure I’ll stumble into
something that you can help me out with in the near future.”

“All right then,” Kelton said. “I’ll see you
tonight.” He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his
pocket.

“I assume that was your friend?” Jessica
said.

Kelton nodded.

“Well, what did he have to say?”

“That we’re all ready to go. We’re meeting
up with him tonight and he’ll help us slip away.”

“How?”

Kelton told her.

“Will that work?”

“It should,” Kelton said.

“And if it doesn’t?”

They passed by a mirror that reflected a
ghost sitting in the space between them. Kelton looked at the image
and shrugged, “We’ll leap off that cliff if we come up to its
edge.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

They pulled into the underground parking
structure at the Orange County Hospital right at 8 o’clock. It was
an older-style garage, with narrow lanes that barely fit two cars
abreast and tight corners, making it virtually impossible to be
seen from any reasonable distance.

They drove towards the lower floors,
eventually coming to a mechanized arm and keypad, just as Willis
had said they would. Kelton punched in the code and the arm raised
and he continued driving down the narrow space between the parked
cars.

Three right turns later, they came to the
bottom floor. There were far fewer cars parked on this level than
any other, and all except one were empty. In the second to last
spot before the cinderblock wall that signified the end of the
garage was a beaten-up, late 90’s, wide-bodied sedan. Sitting in
the driver’s seat was Dave Willis.

Kelton pulled into the empty spot between
Willis’s car and the wall and shut off the engine. Without sharing
a word, both he and Jessica climbed out of the car.

Willis had come around the back of his car.
Kelton and Jessica headed towards him.

“Glad you could make it,” Willis said. He
was a huge, imposing figure, standing 6’5” and topping 250 pounds.
He popped open the trunk and pulled out two plastic trash bags. He
handed one to Kelton and one to Jessica. “We don’t have much more
time alone, so make it quick.”

Kelton opened the bag, pulled a pair of
shoes and a blue painter’s coverall out, and set them both down in
the trunk. He slipped out of his shoes, pulled his pants and boxers
down, stepped out of them, and pulled the coveralls on.

He turned to Jessica, intent on reminding
her that they needed to ditch everything, including socks and
underwear, but when he saw her, he realized it was unnecessary.

Showing the same lack of humility that she
had displayed earlier in their travels, she was completely naked
from the waist down, and already pulling the coveralls up over her
body. She stripped out of her shirt and slipped her arms into the
coveralls, and zipped it shut. If getting naked in a dirty
underground parking structure in front of a complete stranger
bothered Jessica in the least, she didn’t show it.

Kelton again found himself impressed with
his companion. She was one tough cookie.

Turning his attention back to the task at
hand, Kelton stuffed his old clothes into the now-empty bag, popped
his own trunk, and dropped the bag in. Jessica followed suit,
tossing her bag in after his. Kelton then dropped his keys and the
phone Walter had given him into the trunk and shut it.

Kelton looked at Jessica and nodded. She
winked at him and flashed a smile. He smiled back, then turned,
walked over to Willis’s still-open trunk, and climbed in.

There was plenty of space inside, easily
enough room for both of them, and the bottom was lined with a thick
blanket to ease the journey. Willis had left a couple of heavy
jackets inside, presumably to use as pillows. Kelton turned on his
side and slid to the rear of the trunk, stopping only after his
butt began pressing against the back seat.

“How long are we going to be in here?”
Jessica said as she climbed in.

“About twenty minutes,” Willis said. “Thirty
tops.”

Jessica nodded and slid her body up against
Kelton’s, her back to him.

“Comfortable?” Willis said, flashing Kelton
a sly smile.

“As a bug in a rug,” Kelton replied.

“What about you, honey?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Jessica said.

“Oh, I’m sure you could,” Willis said. “But
I wouldn’t fit in the trunk, so you’re stuck with Kelton.”

Jessica laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kelton said. “Let’s get
this show on the road.”

Laughing himself, Willis closed the trunk,
enshrouding them in darkness.

The ride seemed to last closer to two hours
than the promised twenty or thirty minutes.

Kelton and Jessica had started the trip
trying to hold a conversation, but had quickly realized the
futility of such an endeavor and fell quiet.

As the ride progressed, every little bump
became more and more magnified and the air grew hotter and more
stuffy and the smell of exhaust became more potent and Kelton’s
legs began to cramp and his head ached more and more. By the end of
their journey, Kelton swore to himself that he’d never ride in a
trunk again.

But the trip was not without benefits.

He’d found a certain kind of peace while
lying in the trunk, snuggling with Jessica. It had been years since
he’d held a woman in his arms for any extended period of time, and
despite all the physical discomfort, he felt a fleeting sadness
when the car came to a stop and the engine fell quiet.

“Are you all right?” he whispered into
Jessica’s ear as the closing of the driver’s door reverberated
throughout the car.

“I’m fine,” Jessica said. “Good, even.”

Kelton was smiling when the trunk
opened.

“We’re here,” Willis said.

They climbed out of the trunk, Kelton
glancing about at their surroundings while he did so. They were
inside what appeared to be yet another underground garage. This one
was empty, save for three cars parked nearby that were virtually
identical to the one they had left the hospital in. Each one of
these cars was occupied by two people: one in the driver’s seat and
another in the passenger’s.

“You two have fun?” Willis said as Kelton
and Jessica stretched out.

“Tons,” Kelton said.

“You didn’t leave a mess in my trunk, did
you?”

“Nah, he kept it in his pants,” Jessica
said.

“Yeah, but it dried up pretty quickly,”
Kelton added. “So where are we?”

“Under an office building in downtown Los
Angeles,” Willis said.

“And who’s in the other cars?”

“Friends of mine. They watched our back
during the drive over from the warehouse, making sure we weren’t
being followed.”

“So we’re clear?”

Willis nodded.

“Now what?” Kelton said.

“You guys take this car and go wherever you
want,” Willis said. “I’ll follow you to make sure you’re still
alone when you arrive at your destination.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“Necessary? No. Advisable? Yes.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose--”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Willis said. “You
asked me to help you disappear. I mean to see the job through to
the end.”

Kelton shrugged. “If you insist. But we’ve
got a couple hours of driving ahead of us tonight. We’re heading
north, out towards the desert.”

“Do you have a destination in mind?”

“Yep,” Kelton said.

“Where?”

“Death Valley.”

DAY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-
ONE

By design, the drive to Death Valley took
nearly twice as long as it normally would have.

In an effort to maximize Willis’s chances of
picking out any possible observers, they avoided the direct route
through the desert—straight up Interstate 15—instead opting for a
more circuitous path, using a variety of older, far less traveled,
two-lane highways. They saw very few cars on the road during their
journey north, and although it was impossible to be certain until
he heard from Willis, Kelton was confident they had made it through
the desert alone.

At Kelton’s insistence, Jessica had slept
the majority of the ride up, which had given him time to think. His
thoughts mostly revolved around his future, and more specifically,
whether or not he wanted to try and figure out if there was a way
to spend it with Jessica after this situation was finally
resolved.

By the time they pulled into Death Valley,
he had come to a decision. The only question that remained was
whether or not he’d have the guts to follow through with it.

Furnace Creek sits in the heart of Death
Valley National Park like a remnant from the Old West. It was all
alone in the middle of the desert as though a mirage, consisting of
31 full-time inhabitants, one road through the center of town, a
single family-run grocery store, two restaurants, a gas station,
and the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort.

It was just after 6AM when they pulled into
the dirt parking lot of the resort. There were no other cars
present.

Kelton parked the car, shut off the engine,
reached over and shook Jessica’s shoulder. She awoke with a yawn
and took one look out the window at the breaking dawn. “So this is
Death Valley, huh?”

Kelton nodded.

“Any particular reason why we came here of
all places?”

“I figure the easiest way to find out if
we’re alone is to go somewhere that’s deserted.”