Baiting & Fishing Read online

Chapter 23

  Ray dug out a couple of his reserved stories for the week and stayed out of the office as much as possible. Mostly he stayed home, obsessing over what to do next. He knew it would be easiest to go to the FBI now, while she was gone, but he knew he wouldn't do that. He couldn't risk losing her forever without seeing her once more.

  She called him when she got back into town asking if he would be willing to take her fishing. They met at the marina early on Saturday morning. She wore her Christmas hat. He took her to the fishing spots where she had had success before. Too soon, she had caught her limit and she was ready to go home.

  Ray wasn't. He suggested they drift for a while. He propped up a couple of life jackets and beckoned her to join him in the bottom of the boat. She snuggled against him, resting her head on his chest. He touched her with his free hand, exploring her body for what may have been the last time. It was all he could do not to cry.

  She whispered very sadly, “You have received some more information from your librarian in Atlanta, haven't you?”

  He buried his face in her hair and said, “Yes.”

  “Is it bad?”

  “What do you think?”

  She laughed. “Good one. Since I have no idea what you know, or think you know, how can I answer that?”

  “What I would prefer, if you don't mind, is for you to tell me anything you haven't previously mentioned.”

  “So you can see if it matches what you have discovered? No. I'm not going to play that game. If you have something you want to ask me about, ask. I'm not going to play guessing games with you.”

  “Okay. Here goes. Question 1: I understand you all but stalked Roland Wilson. Why? From what I have learned of him, he really doesn't seem like your type.”

  “Yes, I sought him out. Aurelio wanted me to get married. I wasn't really interested in men (my track record on that score was abysmal), but I did rather want to have kids. Aurelio convinced me some rich society person would be great husband material. Aurelio knew I liked to get involved in charity work and he thought I'd make a good society wife. He suggested Roland, who was marketing himself as a sort of altruist.

  “I had never heard of Roland, but I checked him out, and he sounded like a good prospect. It's quite possible Aurelio was manipulating me into moving in on Roland for his purposes, but I assure you my motives were entirely personal. And for the record, we never had kids because Roland was almost totally uninterested in sex or in me for that matter. He had some all-consuming Utopian Vision that eclipsed everything else.” She sighed, “I guess that's for the best, after all that has happened. I'd hate to have put kids through the ordeal I've endured.”

  Ray paused to let both of them compose themselves.

  Then he said, “Question 2: did you know there were people from the Collonia organization in key positions at Techtron.”

  She thought about that for a while before she answered. Eventually, she said, “Yes. In fact, I recruited one of them. Roland wanted Techtron to hire good people with international experience. Aurelio had about the best staff you could imagine. A couple of them, for different reasons, wanted out of Aurelio's organization. I tried to help them. Aurelio was agreeable. In retrospect, it appears he was too agreeable.”

  “Did Collonia maintain contact with them after they joined Techtron?”

  “I was unaware of it at the time, but in hindsight, I'd bet on it. I would also be willing to bet they all continued to receive pay checks from Aurelio. He put people in key positions at Techtron to get the ball rolling on whatever operation he had in mind. I always thought there was something weird about the Techtron business. Looking back, I think it was all a front for a Aurelio's smuggling operation. If I had to guess, I'd say it was weapons.

  “I am sure you are going to ask me about the accountant who had an affair with Susan Steinholz. That was the first hint I had that something was not right. He moved in on her like a vulture. She was such a troll I doubt she had ever had a date in her life. He was kind of a dish. It was such an unlikely pair, it caused a lot of talk in the company. Even I heard the gossip. Since I knew him when he worked for Aurelio, it freaked me out. It didn't add up. But, I did not want to explore it in any depth at the time, so I ignored it. I guess that could be used against me, but it's true.

  “I think that what may have happened is that the Collonia plant put the bug in Susan's ear to undertake the accounting scam. Despite the high level of interest in the product, Techtron was not selling any computers for supposedly because of all the problems with the manufacturing plants around the world. Susan apparently fell for some kind of, 'Give us time to get this going' line, which prompted her to start cooking the books. Aurelio took the opportunity to set up a smuggling network using Techtron for cover. Once his network was established, the Techtron cover was unnecessary, and he let it collapse.”

  They were both quiet for a long time. Ray held her tightly. It was all he could do not to burst into sobs, but he forced himself to ask, “Who was in the hotel room when Roland died?” He was surprised at the way that question came out.

  “I have always assumed it was Aurelio.”

  He was shocked, “You knew it wasn't suicide?”

  She made a face, “First of all, Roland was terrified of guns. If he were going to commit suicide, he would have taken an overdose of pills or something like that. He would not have shot himself. Aurelio always carries a 0.22 handgun. Always. Everywhere he goes. It is his security blanket just as my blade is mine. Everybody who knows about it teases him about his 'sissy' pistol, but he never goes anywhere without it. He sleeps with it by his bed. When the police told me that Roland was killed by a 0.22, I knew that Aurelio killed him.”

  “And you said nothing?”

  She shook her head, and he could tell she was angry, “No! I didn't say anything. I believe Roland went to that hotel with the intention of committing suicide. I am positive as sure as I am sitting here Roland had never used drugs. I never saw him finish so much as one drink. He did not use drugs, ever. Aurelio found a sandwich bag full of heroine in his room. There is no doubt in my mind, Roland went there to commit suicide. The fact that Aurelio stepped in and made sure he didn't fuck it up, does not change that fact. So, no. I didn't say anything to anybody.”

  “You and Collonia discussed it?”

  “I confronted him after the fact and accused him of murdering my husband. He told me about the heroine.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  She shrugged, “I decided it was in my best interest to believe him.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means Roland was dead. He would not be going to jail. I could move on with my life, without having to have conjugal visits in the penitentiary for the next thirty years. I decided to accept Aurelio's story. Aurelio's version at least gave me the luxury of being angry with Roland for being a coward, which he was. It also gave me the 'out' of being the grieving widow instead of a convict's wife. I was angry with Roland for being an ass and for deciding to take the coward's way out. I confess, I was also relieved that the whole thing was over. Aurelio never actually admitted anything, but I have always assumed Roland's death was something of an 'assisted suicide'.”

  They were quiet for a while. It was getting late. They should have headed back to the marina, but Ray was not quite finished. He took a deep breath and said, “You told me at Christmas that if you double-crossed Aurelio, he would kill you. I take it you believe that.”

  “Ray, that is one absolute certainty.”

  “Do you feel you are in danger?”

  “From Aurelio?”

  “Yes.”

  “Absolutely. I have never for one moment allowed myself to lose sight of the possibility that Aurelio could turn on me at any time. Recall that Tonio was killed under mysterious (and unsolved) circumstances by a 0.22 caliber gun, and Aurelio thereupon inherited his father's fortune, his business and his wife. That has always seemed too pat and convenient to be a coincidence. If A
urelio could murder his father and then marry his step-mother, I have never doubted for a second I was completely expendable.”

  She paused for a long time, and then she said softly, “I guess the answer to the question as to whether or not I am in grave danger from Aurelio depends on whether or not I was involved in setting up Roland from the beginning.”

  Ray let that statement hang in the air without any comment.

  Eventually, just about the time Ray thought he would lose his mind, she said, “I did not set up my husband and I did not know what Aurelio was up to at the time. Recall that I thought Aurelio had gone legit for the most part. It appears from what we know now that Aurelio set up Roland, used his company as an entrée for Aurelio to make new connections for his arms dealing operation. Then, when everything fell apart at Techtron, Aurelio killed Roland, probably to keep him from talking to the feds. Roland didn't know about Aurelio or the smuggling operation, but he knew the customers. If he had cooperated with the feds, they might have been able to put to good use some of the information Roland had. For good measure, Aurelio apparently scattered about enough incriminating evidence to make me look as though I was part of the whole scheme. I am telling you I was being used as much as Roland was, but I know I can't prove it. What is more, I'm quite sure Aurelio has planted a plenty of evidence to incriminate me.”

  She paused for a long time, and rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. She whispered, “And so, it appears we are close to where we started. You possess some information that could be very damaging to me. The question is, what do you intend to do with it?”

  Ray pulled her closer and held her to him. He managed to croak, “I have no idea.”

  He cleared his throat and whispered, “Are you already working with the feds to get to Aurelio?”

  She chuckled, “You know that if I were, I couldn't answer that question, and if I'm not, it would not be in my best interest to tell you that either.”

  She put her arms around him, held him for a long moment and then kissed him, “It's time for us to go now.”

  He pulled in the anchor and started the motor. He couldn't look at her. She didn't look at him either. She stared straight ahead, dry-eyed. He could not read the look on her face.

  They pulled up to the dock only moments before dark and Ray started to prepare the boat for storage. Marcella made no move to clean the catch. Instead, she called to one of the fishermen nearby and offered to give him the entire catch if he would take it away. He accepted gratefully.

  After he walked away, Ray and Marcella were alone. She sat down beside him in the bow and put her arms around him, “Ray, you are such a fucking Boy Scout, I know you feel duty bound to call the cops and tell them what you think you know. I want to say a couple of things. Please don't interrupt until I am finished.

  “First, I don't hold it against you. I really don't. It's the way you are made; you're a stand-up kind of guy. You believe the cops are good and the robbers are bad. You believe it is your civic duty to rid your community, which you value very highly, of unsavory characters wherever they my lurk, even if that happens to be in your heart. I admire you for that. I really do. I wish I had your sense of moral certainty. I wish I could believe that the police will always evaluate evidence in the correct way. I will confess to you that I do not believe that. Perhaps I have been scarred by too many years of living in a morally ambiguous world. I've seen too many guilty people get off and too may innocent people (or at least not-terribly-guilty people) go to jail, or worse.

  “I want you to know that our time together been very special for me -- life-alteringly special. Whatever you choose to do, I know it will be done with a pure heart and I forgive you completely.”

  He started to cry, and turned away from her. She patted him on the shoulder and kissed the back of his neck. Then she stepped up onto the dock and walked away from him without looking back.