Naked Tao (10 page)

That’s when I remembered I was there to protect Padma. I had a job to do and that was what I needed at the moment to take my mind off of myself. 

I didn’t have a clue what to do next. There was one thing I knew for sure…I had no training as a body guard and there was a killer on the loose.  Ch’ing would tell me to listen, not just with my ears, but with my whole being. Sighing, I wondered what that meant and decided the only thing to do was wait and see what happened next. 

I chose a position out of the way, but with a strategic view of the podium and audience. The audience was an odd crowd…a cross section of America. For example, a hippie chick in the front row sat next to man in a conservative business suit. The rest of the crowd was equally incongruent. 

Leaning lightly against the wall, I felt something poke me in the back and looked over my shoulder. It was a bank of light switches which must control all of the stage lights. 

When I turned around again, a man was on the opposite side of the stage watching me. He was medium height, brown skinned, and round faced. A long blond ponytail hung midway down his back. He was wearing jeans, sandals, and a Bob Marley t-shirt. It was Pony Tail! What was he doing here and why did he have a gun tucked into his jeans? 

“Reverse your un-wilding way.” - Ch’ing

The audience erupted into applause as Ginny walked across the stage. Her step had lost its spring and her eyes were noticeably puffy. At first it puzzled me to see her on stage, but then I remembered she was the CEO of the program sponsor, Emerald Allure, Inc.  Despite the bombshell good looks and the hot clothes, Ginny feels like the girl-next-door. It’s easy to forget she is a rich and powerful woman…the kind of person who can summon the police. I figured she had them searching the premises for me now. 

The thing that upset me the most was something I had not noticed beforehand. The stage lights reflected sparks of light from a diamond ring on her left hand. It was huge…a damn boulder…unbelievable! How could I have missed that before? She was either married or engaged. I had been such an idiot. 

I wondered if Pony Tail had anything to do with the ring and returned my attention to him. He was at Eric’s party, the office, and now here. To make matters worse, he might be the master of disguise, so I couldn’t be certain where else he would show up. The best way to be invisible is to appear ordinary. While Tibetan monks aren’t a common sight in Louisville, that disguise was a stroke of genius today. Tiny must have thought he was with Padma. 

If Tiny had read Padma’s book, then he would have known that Buddhists believe all life is precious. They won’t even dig the foundation for a new monastery without carefully sifting the earthworms from the soil and moving them to safety. Tiny would not have felt threatened by a Tibetan monk. I figured he never saw it coming. 

If Pony Tail was the killer, he must have changed into the hippie clothes after he ditched the robe. It was a perfect disguise to blend in with this peace and love crowd. Still, I couldn’t be certain he wasn’t another body guard hired to protect Padma, like me. I decided to keep a close eye on him.

The gun concerned me, but he made no move for it. Instead his eyes were locked onto Ginny. The way he watched her every move bothered me.  What were they talking about last night at Eric’s party and what was he doing at my office? 

Ginny stood before the packed house. She was focused on the audience and did not acknowledge me or Pony Tail. Given her reaction to the bloody knife a few minutes earlier, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her. Was she going to cancel the event while the police searched for the murderer…searched for me? The buzz from the audience slowly subsided until you could have heard a pin drop in the place. Everyone waited, including me. 

Slowly Ginny began to smile. It seemed to radiate from her whole being.  I was certain you could feel the smile in her touch and when she began to speak, you could hear it in her voice. This is not what I expected at all! 

“Hello. My name is Virginia Bardough, but my friends call me Ginny. So, please call me Ginny.  I want to thank you for joining us at this session of
Ideas to Change the World
. These presentations are offered to you on faith. Not blind faith, but absolute faith in you.” 

“We hold the sincere belief that each of you has everything you need to have an impact on the world,” she said. “Sometimes all it takes to get things going is a little reminder of what could be. So without further fanfare, we would like to present a remarkable man who inspires us with his simple message.” 

Ginny paused for dramatic effect before saying, “We are sovereign.” 

Her shining eyes surveyed the audience. One by one she pointed to individuals in the audience and repeated, “You are sovereign.” 

The audience was riveted to their seats by the spell she had cast. She scanned the crowd before adding, “No one has the right to interfere with a sovereign’s decisions. You choose how to live your life.”

Ginny owned the audience. “Now that I have your attention, ladies and gentlemen, please give Padma Ganesha a warm welcome.” 

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as a small round man in Tibetan Buddhist’s crimson robes waddled onto the stage. Unbelievable! Padma was the monk from Eric’s party. What the hell is going on?! 

His tiny hands were held high above his head with the palms facing the audience. He took a few steps and stopped. A smile stretched across his round boyish face. Bowing he brought his hands to his heart. The audience went wild. The little guy was like a rock star. 

Padma repeatedly bowed to the audience. After five minutes of standing ovation, he finally moved prayer hands to his left shoulder and tilted his head to the side as if saying, “Give it a rest folks.”  The crowd roared with laughter at his good natured gesture and began to quiet down. 

He took a step toward the podium, paused as if he had seen it for the first time, and then a sly grin tweaked the corners of his mouth. Taking the last few steps in its direction, he slipped behind the podium and disappeared.  Well sort of. He was much wider than the podium, but the top of his head was barely visible. 

If it wasn’t for the extra three inches the green cowboy boots gave him, he may not have made it to the top. Seriously…green cowboy boots! The combination of red and green made him look like a chubby little Christmas elf. 

An awkward silence descended over the audience before it was broken by a lady in the front row who said, “You’d think somebody would have thought of this.” 

As if on cue, Padma peeked around the side of the podium like a child playing a game of peek-a-boo. A few in the audience laughed nervously. Most were quiet. 

The ensuing silence was broken by an outrageously long and noisy fart. Padma let out a sigh of relief. The audience shifted uncomfortably in their seats. 

You could have heard a pin drop before an old man in the front row busted out with laughter. Padma turned to me and winked through thick black rimmed glasses.  As I stood there in shock, he stepped away from the podium and began speaking in a sing song voice. 

“Hello again dear friends,” he said. “Are you ready to learn the secret of a long life?” 

Mr. Giggles in the front row said, “Damn right I am.” The crowd applauded. 

Padma directed his attention to Mr. Giggles, “If you could live forever, what would you do differently?” 

Mr. Giggles didn’t hesitate, “I’d live life without regret.” 

“What is it you regret my friend,” asked Padma. 

“I did what I was told instead of doing what I wanted,” answered Mr. Giggles. 

Padma leaned toward Mr. Giggles and in a conspiratorial tone asked, “Do you want to hear a secret?” 

Thirty two hundred hungry souls eagerly leaned forward in their seats. They came from all over the world to learn the secret of happiness and long life. Padma gave them a relaxed peaceful smile and said, “The secret is…” 

I felt a sudden chill.  Pony Tail reached for his gun. Without thinking, I hit the light switches and bolted toward the podium shouting, “Gun, everybody down!” 

The handgun exploded with a loud bang. I ignored the ringing in my ears and tried to adjust my eyes to the sudden change in lighting. I suddenly felt Pony Tail to my right and turned him so that I had his back. Knowing I needed to disarm him quickly, I hooked his throat with my left hand and tilted his head back. His back was bent like a bow. 

Once his balance was broken, I owned him. I slid my right hand down his shooting arm.  Something was wrong. There was no gun and the arm was soft. It was definitely not Pony Tail’s arm. 

The stage area was filled with the smell of gunpowder and fear. Still, I caught a whiff of a vaguely familiar scent and buried a nose in my captive’s hair. It was not a man’s smell. Nor was it perfumed. It was natural and real. This had to be Ginny. I decided to hold on to her. 

A second shot was fired. The first shot must have shocked the audience. The second woke them from their stunned silence. Shrill screams and fearful shouts of escape filled the hall. 

My first instinct was to get Ginny to safety. Thinking of Padma, I resisted the temptation to rush to an exit. It was also my job to protect him. 

As my eyes slowly adjusted to the limited light cast from the emergency exits, I scanned the area for Padma.  He wasn’t on the stage.  Where could he be? Beyond the stage, I saw shadowy shapes moving toward the auditorium exits.  The shooter seemed to have disappeared into the shadows. Ginny was tense, taking shallow breaths, but she didn’t try to get away from me. 

People were stampeding the exits. It was starting to get ugly. The mood of the peace and love crowd had changed dramatically. Panic was growing and the shrieking intensified as people fought their way to safety. 

I whispered to Ginny, “We need to get out of here before the gunman finds us in the dark. Come with me. Try to move quietly.” 

She didn’t budge. Since I couldn’t see her expression in the dark, I wondered if she heard me over the screams. Maybe she panicked. Finally, her head nodded slightly. Good, I thought, she’s calm. I took her firmly by the elbow and we maneuvered through the stage curtains. An exit sign above the double doors glowed in the dark. We headed toward it. 

Just as we reached the door, I heard footsteps behind us. Without looking back, we hurried out the door and took the stairs to the parking garage. The door opened behind us and someone followed us down the stairs. 

We burst into the parking garage and rushed to the concrete steps leading to the roof top. There were four flights to climb before we reached the top level. My breathing was ragged and my broken ribs were killing me. Ginny showed no signs of exhaustion. 

We sprinted toward the truck. Ginny quickly surveyed the rust bucket before allowing herself a small smile as she said, “Maybe we should take my car.” 

I turned to the Porsche and my pulse quickened. Damn, I wanted to drive that car more than anything and despite the situation, could hardly contain my excitement. I nodded in agreement. 

At that instant, the stairwell door burst open and clanged against the wall. I immediately turned toward it and dropped to a crouch. There was a flash of crimson and for a moment I thought it was the killer before I finally recognized Padma’s smiling face. 

He headed toward us at a turtle’s pace. I’d forgotten all about my charge… some bodyguard I turned out to be. 

“Are you injured?” I asked. 

Padma’s gaze dropped to my ribs before answering with a smile, “No.” 

I followed his eyes. There was fresh blood on my shirt mixed in with Tiny’s dried blood. I was about to explain the blood when Ginny took a step back and exclaimed, “Oh my god Grant, you’ve been shot!” 

“Pay attention now or you’ll miss life’s secret.” - Padma

Great! On top of everything else, now I’ve been shot. I took a mental step back to evaluate this growing surreal catastrophe. A hippie just shot the place up and I’m wounded. John is dead and I am under investigation for his murder. A monk stabbed Tiny to death and the police will think I did it. To make matters worse, I was careless enough to leave the murder weapon in the Ladies room covered in Tiny’s blood and my fingerprints. The police are going to love that! 

I let out a sigh. I had messed up big time. Instead of chasing after Tiny’s killer, I should have called the police and reported the murder. I didn’t because I wasn’t ready to face a barrage of questions about John’s death. I needed evidence proving someone else had a better motive to kill John than I did.  My money was on Pathogen. Now I would have to prove my innocence in two murders….so much for innocent until proven guilty. 

On top of everything, I was completely confused by Ginny. I saw her flirting with several guys at a sex party last night. In fact, one of those guys may very well be the one who just shot the place up.  She had disappeared from the party without a saying a word to anyone. When I next saw her in the parking lot, she totally blew me off.  Afterwards, she flipped out when she saw me with a bloody knife…like I was Norman Bates or something…and what’s with the engagement ring? 

Wait there’s more. I find myself standing in a parking garage with a Tibetan Monk, who just happens to be a sex fiend.  It’s my job to protect him because I got fired yesterday from my real job. It should have been an easy job to protect him, but no, someone wants to kill him. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to kill a Tibetan monk, but there was one thing I knew for sure, there was a killer on the loose and whatever was going on could probably get me killed too. 

I could walk away right now and be done with it. All I had to do was climb into the truck and head back to my safe little shithole of an apartment, where I could pick up the pieces of my shitty life while my ribs healed. Yet, I knew I was already in too deep, and whatever this was, I would have to see it through to the end. Besides, I’d never be able to look Ch’ing in the eye again if I quit…assuming we find him. 

The killer was still out there somewhere and needed to be apprehended before he hurt someone else. Or worse, tracked us down and hurt one of us. Every second was critical and I didn’t hear any police sirens rushing to our aid. Where were the cops? 

One of my favorite law school professors, Laurence Filmore, once told a room full of first year law students that the police have no duty to protect us. We were discussing a wrongful death case filed by the parents of a teenage girl who was brutally raped and murdered after the police failed to respond to a 9-1-1 emergency call. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the police and threw out the grieving family’s lawsuit. They said it was law enforcement’s job to investigate crime and apprehend criminals, not protect individual citizens. 

I knew we were on our own. It was my job to protect Padma, and I would get no help from the police. Still, Pony Tail was on the loose and it was their job to apprehend him. It was unlikely this ordeal would be over anytime soon. While I wasn’t feeling very optimistic about it, I hoped we could work together on this.  It was time to call the cops even though they would have plenty of hard questions for me. 

My iPhone was grimy with dried blood and didn’t open when I swiped a finger across the screen. Resisting the temptation to fling it across the garage, I wiped it on the front of my shirt, but that only made it worse. 

“Should I call an ambulance?” asked Ginny. She was staring at a bullet hole in my shirt. 

I was pretty sure it was just a scratch, so I shook my head. “No, did you call the police earlier.” 

Ginny held my gaze. Her eyes were clear and calm. I could feel her searching for confirmation that she made the right choice. After a long moment, she shook her head and said, “No, I didn’t. What do you think we should do?” 

“Do you trust me?” I asked. 

She gave me a long appraising long before answering, “Yes.” 

I felt relieved on several levels. It was less likely she would call the police if she trusted me, but more importantly, I felt like we had a chance together.  Trust is a critical component in a relationship.  Without it, there isn’t much chance it will last. 

“Then let’s call the police,” I said. 

Ginny nodded and reached into her purse. Before she could locate her phone, we were startled by the sound of screaming tires and she spilled the purse onto the garage floor. Someone was speeding up the ramp and headed in our direction. Given the shooting, people should be in a hurry to get out of the garage. This guy was racing to the rooftop. Nothing good was going to come of this. 

“We need to get out of here,” I shouted. 

Ginny had squatted down to gather up her things.  I looked at the two seats in the Porsche and sighed. Trying to hide my disappointment, I grabbed Ginny’s arm and pulled her up. 

I did my best to build a sense of urgency into Padma, but the man moved like a turtle. I had a feeling if he didn’t get a move on, none of us would see our next birthday. Maybe everything was starting to get to me, but that’s no excuse for the rising irritation I felt. I was about to bark at Padma when he winked at me and said, “The way of long life is slow and easy.” 

I blinked. That sounded exactly like something Ch’ing would say. Padma held my gaze with calm eyes. It felt to me like he reached into the center of my being and stilled my soul. Only Ch’ing has ever been able to do that. It occurred to me that Padma may know something about Ch’ing’s whereabouts, but that would have to wait for later. 

Once I got Ginny and Padma to the truck, the mercurial little guy shifted gears and now sounded like a twelve year old as he clapped his hands and called out in his high pitched voice, “Shotgun! Shotgun! I call shotgun!” 

Padma slipped in front of Ginny as she reached for the door handle, climbed into the truck, and closed the door in her face. The little turtle can move when he wants to.   Instead of being upset by Padma’s rude behavior, Ginny’s shoulders were shaking with barely contained laughter. I was instantly caught off guard by her unexpected sense of humor. I helped Ginny climb into the truck from the driver’s side and slipped in next to her feeling a lot better about her. 

She smelled delicious, like fresh baked bread. To take my mind off her yummy smell, I took one last look at the Porsche before starting the truck and shifting into reverse. We were nearly out when a black SUV roared to life and sped toward us. This maniac wanted to smash us into the concrete wall! 

I slammed it into first gear and gunned the truck back into the parking spot. The SUV clipped the corner of the truck and went spinning into the Porsche. The crash echoed through the garage like thunder. 

Ginny’s beautiful car was a crumbled wreck. A billowing cloud of smoke drifted in our direction.  I couldn’t see the driver through the tinted windows, but suspected it might be Pony Tail. I had all I was going to take from this creep. 

“Wait here,” I said. 

As I opened the door to investigate, the SUV’s driver side window lowered and a gun barrel peeped out. 

“Duck,” I screamed. 

The garage exploded in gunfire. Shattered glass sprayed across the back of my neck. I backed the truck out without looking and then gunned the engine down the ramp.  We raced out of the garage and turned right on 7th Street. It was a block to River Road, where we made a right. I accelerated past the YUM Center and headed east toward Prospect. I kept checking the rearview mirror for the SUV and didn’t see any sign of it. I sped out of town along River Road. I needed to get somewhere safe where I could lay low and think. 

“Where are we going?” asked Ginny. 

“We need to lose the SUV,” I answered. “I’m headed to my Uncle’s house. He will know what we need to do next.” 

The truck has a standard transmission mounted on the floor. Ginny’s left thigh was squeezed next to the shifter. Each time I changed gears my wrist brushed her leg. It triggered thoughts of tearing fabric in the parking lot. I glanced down. The short dress was hiked up and revealed damn near all of her legs.  That brought back thoughts of no panties. 

Feeling the first signs of arousal, I willed my eyes up. They came to rest on her cleavage, which didn’t help much with the arousal problem, so I locked my eyes forward on the road ahead.

Thinking it would help to shift my focus, I opened my mouth to ask Padma why someone wanted him dead, but nothing came out.  My throat was dry. I tried to swallow, but nothing happened.  As I struggled to find my voice, Ginny turned toward Padma. She studied him closely before asking the question for me. 

In response, he laughed and jiggled like a department store Santa. Ginny looked at him like he’d lost his mind. The laughter finally stopped. The jiggling took a bit longer. She waited patiently. 

Finally, he said, “What makes you think someone wants to kill me?” 

“You were about to reveal a big secret just before someone fired two shots at you,” she answered. “They want you dead for some reason.” 

Padma ripped off a long noisy fart and said, “Life and death are two sides of the same coin.” 

Ginny opened her mouth and then closed it again. To our utter amazement Padma began singing a popular teeny bopper hit.  A silly little song popularized by a half-naked pre-pubescent girl. It was something about lost innocence. 

An incoming call interrupted his song. I tried to dig the phone out of my jeans pocket without straightening my legs, but the pants were too tight. Cursing under my breath, I stretched and finally managed to get hold of it, but by the time I got it out of my pocket, the ringing had stopped. The missed call was from Eric. 

I considered waiting until we arrived at Uncle Jim’s place to return Eric’s call, but the phone went off again. I figured it must be important and answered it. 

“There’s trouble dude,” said Eric. 

“The last twenty four hours have been nothing but trouble,” I replied. 

“Are you sitting down because it just got worse?” asked Eric. 

“What is it now?”

“I just got a call from my friend…the homicide detective,” answered Eric. “They are under pressure to bring you in, Grant. You have made some powerful enemies.” 

“If I go in now, Eric, I may never come out,” I said. “It will have to wait.” 

“I know,” agreed Eric. “Did you find anything in John’s office?” 

I didn’t want to mention Pony Tail in front of Ginny, so I said, “Nothing. Did you learn anything from the witness?” 

“Not yet,” answered Eric. “They are keeping her under wraps.” 

“Stay at it,” I said. “My life may depend upon it. In the meantime, I’m headed to Uncle Jim’s.” 

“Good idea,” said Eric. “Maybe he can call in a few favors from his friends on the force. Wait a minute, Grant. Something just occurred to me, the lecture can’t be over yet. What’s going on?” 

“Too much to tell you over the phone,” I answered. “Ginny and Padma are with me.” 

Eric groaned. “I got a feeling I’m not going to like this.” 

“There was another murder,” I said. 

There was a long pause before Eric finally said, “Geez, another one! What happened?” 

“It was Tiny,” I answered. “I’m sorry, Eric. I’ll fill you in on the details later.” 

“Damn…I got him that job,” said Eric. “There’s some crazy shit going down. Do you think there is a connection to John’s murder?” 

“I do and I’ll explain later,” I answered. 

“You can’t put the cops off much longer,” said Eric.  “If you delay too long, it will look like you’ve got something to hide.” 

He was right, of course. I couldn’t put them off much longer. Sooner or later, they would find me and if they did, it was unlikely my word would be enough. The pressure was on to find proof of my innocence for two murders, and I needed it fast. 

If I learned anything as a trial lawyer, I learned that you never know where the answers to a problem might turn up. I remembered something that was bugging me about this job.  “Eric, you said this morning they wanted me to guard Padma. Who are they?” 

“I don’t know,” answered Eric. “Someone else took the call. I thought it was odd myself. I’ll have one of my people look into it. Have you asked Padma?” 

Don’t you just hate it when you miss the obvious? “Good idea,” I said sheepishly. 

After I ended the call with Eric, I intended to ask Padma about the security job, but happened to glance in the rear view mirror. There was a black SUV coming up fast!