Dirty Work (Rapid Reads) (6 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

T
he next day the air around the coffee shop in Wilton still smelled a little like burnt van. Gulliver thought maybe the smell was in his head. Ahmed said no. He smelled it too. At least the van had been towed away. Gulliver wasn’t there about the van. He was there to take the next-to-last step in finding Anka. He and Ahmed had already stopped at the Wilton Academy to talk to Henry. Henry was the security guard who’d seen the older man and Anka at the coffee shop in town. It had cost Gulliver another hundred dollars. It was money well spent. Gulliver had asked Henry if he could remember the date he’d seen them. He’d answered immediately.

“Absolutely. September eighteenth. It’s
my mom’s birthday. I’d just ordered her flowers from the shop down the street,” he said.

Gulliver had one more question. “Did you see cash on Anka’s table when you came into the coffee shop?”

“That’s a weird question, Mr. Dowd.”

Gulliver handed the security guard another twenty-dollar bill. “Humor me. Try to remember.”

Henry squeezed his eyes shut. He whispered to himself loudly enough for Gulliver and Ahmed to hear. “I walked into the coffee shop and said hello to Judy the waitress. I turned to my left. I noticed the girl sitting at the only dirty table in the place. She was holding a gift-wrapped box. There was a shopping bag on the floor next to her. A seat was pushed back from the table. There were dirty dishes on the table in front of the girl and…” Henry opened his eyes and said, “No. There was no cash on the table. I hope that helps you.”

That had been a half hour ago. Now Ahmed and Gulliver walked into the coffee shop. A lone woman in her fifties stood behind the counter. It was the woman who’d
served
Gulliver
the
day
before.

“Judy?” Gulliver asked.

“That’s me,” she said. “Oh, you were in yesterday with the blind kid. Wasn’t it your van—”

Gulliver nodded. “Yes. That was my van.” He showed her his PI license and a photo of Anka. He explained that the girl was missing.

“Sweet girl. Good tipper. In here all the time.”

“With the blind kid and sometimes with an older man?”

Judy was surprised. “That’s right! How did you know that?”

Gulliver winked at her. “I’m a PI, remember?
It’s
my
job
to
know.”

“But how can I help?” Judy asked.

“Do you still have your credit-card
receipts from September eighteenth?”

“Sure do,” she said. “Wait right here.”

Once they had the credit-card receipt, the rest was simple enough. Gulliver knew how to put a trace on a card. It didn’t take more than five minutes for the credit-card company to call him back with a hit.

The Pink Flamingo Motel wasn’t pink. And it wasn’t much of a motel. But it was cheap, and it wasn’t very far from Wilton. The desk clerks at places like the Pink Flamingo didn’t care much about their guests’ privacy. It only took twenty bucks and one look at
Ahmed to get the clerk to give them the room numbers.
Gulliver had Ahmed call Nina to ask her to come over to the motel. It would take her more time to get there than Gulliver needed.

Ahmed parked the Escalade far enough away from the rooms not to be spotted. He got out of the Caddy and peeked in some windows.

“They’re both in his room,” Ahmed
told
Gulliver when he got back.

“Okay. I’ll walk over. You pull the
Escalade up in case they run. But they won’t run. I’ll handle this.”

Gulliver climbed down out of the
SUV
. He took the second-longest walk of his life. The longest was when he went to identify Keisha’s body. It had nearly killed him to see his sister that way. This walk was almost as hard. He knew what he would find today. And it would crush the joy right out of him. The sweet hope he had felt only a few hours ago was gone. But Gulliver knew he couldn’t turn away from
the truth. He would not run from it.

He knocked on the door. Gulliver saw Ahmed pull the Escalade forward. Then the hotel room door opened. In the doorway was the man Gulliver had chased the day before. The man’s name no longer escaped him. He knew who he was. It had been a long time since Gulliver had seen him this close up.

“Hello, Gulliver,” said the man. “Anka
and I have been waiting for you.”

“Hello, Eddie. Has it really been seventeen years?”

Eddie Gorman laughed a sad laugh.
“It
was yesterday.”

“It
was
yesterday.” Gulliver laughed too. His laugh was sadder than Eddie’s. “I mean,
before yesterday. It was seventeen years.”

“Something like that.”

Gulliver stepped into the room. Seated at a desk was Anka Morton. She was even more beautiful in person. On a chain around her neck was a piece of jewelry. It was a Sachem North High School ring. He would bet that was the only thing missing from the jewelry box in her dorm room.
Anka smiled a huge smile at Gulliver.

“My god, you’re Gulliver Dowd!” Her voice was something like her mother’s. “My mom used to talk about you all the time.”

“Gulliver,” Eddie said, “this is—”

“Your daughter, Anka.” Gulliver
finished
the sentence.
“Nice to meet you, Anka.”
He
bowed to her.

Gulliver had known the truth since the puzzle pieces came together for him in Nina’s shower. He’d been pretty sure after talking to Nina’s aunt. Joey Vespucci had gotten rid of any doubts. Eddie and Anka were father and daughter. There was no denying it. With some people, you just know they’re related. Eddie Gorman had dated Nina all through high school. He had given Nina the ring Anka now wore on a chain around her neck. Then Eddie and Nina broke up, in the spring term of their senior year. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure
out the rest.

“My mom lied to me for my whole life, Mr. Dowd,” Anka said. “She always told me she never knew who my father was.”

“That’s between the three of you to talk over. But I’m working for your mom. She’s on her way up here right now. You should sit down together and work it out. Right here. Right now. That’s my advice.”

“But my mom lied to me. It’s the worst kind of lie.”

“People lie, Anka. That’s what they do. They lie for all sorts of reasons. They lie to hurt each other. They lie to get what they
want. They lie because they’re afraid. Sometimes it’s because they think lies will protect the people they love. Talk to your
mom. You may hate her now. But she’s the only mom you’re ever going to have.”

Gulliver couldn’t take being with Anka anymore. He excused himself, saying how lovely it had been to meet her. Eddie followed him out of the room. “I know Nina. She told you Anka was your daughter.”

“She sure did. She knew it would get me to find her.”

“I’m sorry, Gulliver. I really am. She’s a great kid.”

“I would have been proud to be her dad. You treat her right, Eddie. You treat her like a father should or I’ll come for you.”

“Don’t be mad at me. It’s Nina who did all the lying here.”

“Sorry,” Gulliver said. “You’re right.”

“I’m sorry about the van. It was a stupid stunt. I just panicked. I wanted to scare you off. I thought it would take longer for the van to blow. I thought I would have more time to get away. I’ve been looking for Anka for so long. I didn’t want to lose her. Not now.”

“I get it.”

Eddie went on. “I don’t have much money. It will take some time for me to pay you for the van.”

Gulliver offered up his right hand to Eddie. “Forget it. My insurance will pay for it.”

They were shaking hands when Nina pulled into the lot.

Chapter
Fifteen

A
w
eek had passed since the day at the motel. Gulliver had told Rabbi and Ahmed about Nina’s lies. That Nina had known all along that Eddie Gorman was Anka’s father. That she knew he had come for her. The worst part was that Nina had known she was pregnant when she started dating Gulliver in high school. Nina had used Gulliver’s good heart to trick him into doing her dirty work now. Rabbi was sick with anger. Ahmed took it in stride. Ahmed’s calmness bothered Gulliver.

“Know what your problem is, little man?” Ahmed didn’t wait for Gulliver to answer. “Problem is, you don’t pay no mind to what your own eyes see. All your life, people treat you all wrong. But you keep thinking someday things will change. Like, that someday one good thing will happen and the world won’t be like it has always been. I see the world for what it is. So it doesn’t shock me when someone pulls some bad stuff like Nina did.”

There wasn’t much Gulliver could say. Ahmed was right. Gulliver believed in hope in spite of himself. He believed in hope in spite of his bitter life. He believed in hope in spite of all the hurt. He hoped things could change. He had to. Without hope, life would not be worth living. Like when he was praying to God, even though in his heart he knew Anka wasn’t his. He guessed his parents’ goodness had rubbed off on
him more than he thought.

None of that mattered now. Nina was sitting in front of him. She was in the same chair she had sat in when she’d told him Anka was his daughter. He’d thought about never speaking to her again. He’d thought about shutting her out of his life. But he knew he had to see her one last time. He needed to cut her out of his life. He could not run away like he had the last time. He had to say it to her face. He could not let his anger be like an open wound. He did not want to let that wound bleed him dry one drop of bad blood at a time.

“Say your piece, Nina. Please do me a favor. Don’t say you are sorry. It would be one more of your lies. And I wouldn’t believe it.”

“Okay, Gullie. The truth?”

“That would be a nice change.”

“I deserved that,” she said. “I knew Eddie got me pregnant. I couldn’t tell him. He would have wanted to marry me. I wasn’t ready for that. There was no way I was going to get married so young. I also
could not marry a guy whose big goal in
life was to sell insurance for his dad.”

Gulliver sneered. “You had bigger dreams.”

“You bet I did. They didn’t include marrying an insurance salesman,” she said.

“No, not you. Your big dreams involved fucking strange men for money.”

“Don’t stop there, Gullie. Sometimes women, too. Sometimes women and men together. It was business. I fucked you, didn’t I? I knew once I slept with you, I could sleep with anyone. It’s a good lesson to learn if you are going to sell
yourself for money. Those two months in high school taught me I could do anything I needed to.”

She’d said it. He’d known it was coming. But knowing it was coming didn’t make it hurt less. It felt like she had stuck a dull knife into his stomach and twisted it. He even winced a little.

Gulliver smiled in spite of his hurt. “You’re right. I guess if you could sleep with the likes of me, you could do just about
anything. But I am still a little confused.”

“About what?” she asked.

“Did you care about me at all?”

Now
she
looked hurt. “I loved you. But mostly I felt sorry for you. It also gave me cover in case Eddie ever got the idea the baby was his. I did what I had to do. I always have. Anka is no worse for it.”

“Don’t be so sure,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Nina. Parents rub off on their kids no matter what. A month from now, Anka will be the same age you were when you got pregnant.”

“You bastard,” she hissed. “You little bastard. To think I really loved you once. The problem with you is that you still believe in that kind of love.
We were stupid kids. What did you think was going to happen if we stayed together? Did you think we were going to ride off into the sunset? Wake up, Gullie. I wasn’t going to marry an insurance salesman. I wasn’t about to marry you either. Go read
Romeo and Juliet
. The only way that kind of love lasts is if the couple dies young.”

“You’re right, Nina. You came out of this way ahead. You used me to get Anka back. Well, you got her back. And guess what? You got a bonus. Joey Vespucci’s letting you off the hook. Have your lawyer call his lawyer. You’ve got your restaurant free and clear. I guess you got everything you wanted.”

“I did, didn’t I?” she said. “Thanks for doing me that favor with Joey. Him letting me off the hook is an added bonus. I got Anka back. Eddie says he only wants to see her a few times a year. All these years I was afraid he’d take her from me. That’s not going to happen now.”

Gulliver shook his head. “You’re right again. He’s not going to take her. You’ve already driven her away. Your lies will haunt you, Nina. Eddie seems like a good man. He won’t have to take her. Anka will turn to him. Eddie’s smart. He knows that. He can give her the one thing you never gave her. The truth. You betrayed her. You betrayed Eddie. You betrayed me. People are pretty forgiving about most things. Not betrayal.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means,” he said. “I wouldn’t pay Anka’s tuition too far in advance. She will walk out of school the minute she turns eighteen. She will run as far away from you as fast as she can, into
Eddie’s arms. And you won’t be able
to do a damn thing about it.” Gulliver was
done.
He hopped down off his chair.

Nina had a sour look on her face. It made it hard to see her beauty. “Where are you going?”

“As far away from you as fast as I can get there. Goodbye, Nina.”

That was that. Gulliver Dowd left Black and Blue. His heart was pounding as he walked through the door. His heart had felt this way only once before. It was on the day he buried Keisha. This time he was burying seventeen years of hopes and dreams. He was done doing Nina’s dirty work forever. Gulliver hailed a cab on Little West
12
th Street. He didn’t look back.