Mr. And Miss Anonymous (8 page)

As he pondered what he’d just read, his gaze was everywhere. He spotted it then, two backpacks with baseball caps stuck in between the straps. Josh looked around to see if anyone was watching. He snatched the caps, perfectly ordinary khaki-colored billed caps. In the blink of an eye he was back at Jesse’s table. He reached down for a bright-blue marker and scribbled the word “Jack” on the bill. On the one he plopped onto Jesse’s head he wrote “Bill.” Jesse looked up and smiled, but he didn’t take off the cap.

Back at his own table, Josh gathered up the newspapers to carry them back to the rack. He positioned them just the way they were when he got them. Behind him, a woman in a hat with a big flower on it was waiting for the papers he’d just read. He mumbled, “Excuse me,” and went back to his table.

Feeling slightly invisible with his curly hair tucked under the cap, Josh bent over the computer and logged on. He took one last look at Jesse, who was contentedly filling page after page with his drawings, before Josh lost himself in the only world he truly knew. The Internet.

It was fast approaching the noon hour when Josh looked up at the clock on the wall. Jesse would be getting hungry. He clicked the mouse one last time and almost passed out when he saw a picture of himself on the screen. He slouched down in his chair as he read the small caption under his picture.

KILLER LOOKS LIKE BOY NEXT DOOR
!

DEAN SAYS JOSH BAER WAS A TROUBLED BOY
.

He could hardly believe what he was reading. They were blaming him! They were blaming him for killing Tom and Sheila and all the others. Even the teachers. Were they crazy? Why would the media accuse him? He wished Tom and Sheila were there so he could talk to them. What would they do or say? He turned off the computer just as a tall man, almost as tall as he was, walked by his table.

Josh was about to get up when he saw the tall man heading toward the lady in the pretty hat. He watched out of the corner of his eye to see if they would notice or pay attention to Jesse. They talked for a minute, then they left together, but not before the woman pointed to Jesse, who was bent over his drawings. Josh felt his heart flutter in his chest. Why did she point to Jesse? What did it mean? Instinctively, he knew they had to get out of the library immediately.

Josh did his best to hurry his friend, but Jesse refused to leave until his drawing was finished. Josh looked down and got dizzy at what he was looking at. Jesse had perfectly captured what had happened that morning at the shoot-out. Right down to the guy who looked like a soccer player holding the automatic weapon. Jesse’s art more than made up for his other inadequacies. Josh had never been able to figure that out. In the earlier years, Sheila had said God gave Jesse his art so he wouldn’t miss being normal. Even back then Josh hadn’t bought that theory, but he couldn’t come up with anything better to explain what a wonderful artist Jesse was.

“I’m done. Will you hang them up now? I’m hungry.”

“When we come back I’ll hang them up. We have to go now. I’m hungry, too.” Josh expected Jesse to give him a hard time, but he was agreeable to leaving. Probably it was the mention of food. You could always tempt Jesse with food.

The sky was overcast as the two boys left the library. Josh looked around anxiously to see if either the lady with the hat or the really tall man was anywhere in sight. He let his breath out in a loud
swoosh
when he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Let’s run, Jesse. We haven’t had any exercise in a few days. We have to stay in shape.”

Jesse giggled as he lumbered off at an awkward trot, Josh pounding the pavement behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, burgers, fries, and milk shakes under their belts, Josh asked for directions to the public library.

By two o’clock, Jesse was settled with his art pad, pencils, and markers, while Josh logged on to the computer. His mind raced as he looked down at the sickening pictures Jesse had drawn. As far as he could tell, Jesse hadn’t left out one detail of that awful scene. He hated what he knew he had to do next. But, he told himself, there was no other way. He had to do his best to protect and keep Jesse safe. If he kept Jesse with him, it was only a matter of time before they were caught. All the money in his pocket would go to feed Jesse. He didn’t mind that, but what would they do when the money ran out?

Josh logged on to the computer and typed up an e-mail to the FBI. He gave his name and his student ID number from the academy. The letter was short and succinct.

Josh typed his name at the bottom of the e-mail. He read it through several times until he had it committed to memory. Then he clicked on the
SEND
button.

As Sheila would have said, “The fat’s in the fire now.” Tears burned his eyes at how the three of them were always so in sync. No more.

Josh looked around the library, which was almost deserted. It didn’t look like anyone was paying attention to either him or Jesse. Did he dare risk going up to the librarian to ask if he could buy an envelope from her? He didn’t stop to think but marched right up to the desk, and asked, “Ma’am, can I buy a large mailing envelope?”

“Of course. That will be a dollar. Do you need stamps?”

“No, ma’am, I have some,” he lied.

Back at the computer, Josh clicked and clicked until he found the address of the nearest FBI office. He clicked on MapQuest for directions. He printed out the information, studied it thoroughly. He then typed up another letter to the FBI and printed it out. He photocopied Jesse’s pictures before he put everything in the brown envelope. His plan was to take Jesse to the office and send him inside with the envelope and make tracks. They would take care of Jesse, he was sure of it.

The clock on the wall said he had a lot of hours to kill until it got dark. Maybe he could find a movie with a double feature. Jesse would like that. Then, when it got dark, he’d send Jesse into the building. He’d buy him some pizza so he wasn’t hungry.

Josh knuckled his burning eyes.
I don’t have any other choice,
he told himself over and over.
When this is all over, I’ll come back for you, Jesse,
he promised silently.

Josh turned off the computer and walked over to Jesse. “Want to go to the movies? We can get some pizza, too.”

“Did you hang up my pictures?”

“I sure did. Everyone liked them,” Josh lied, his fingers crossed behind his back. “What did you draw this time?”

Josh almost exploded out of his shoes when he looked down at the likeness of himself and the lady with the pretty hat then at the one with the man.

Jesse started to laugh at his reaction. “He looks like you, Josh. Isn’t that funny?”

Josh could barely get his tongue to work. “Yeah, Jesse, real funny. Come on, put all your stuff back in your bag and let’s go.”

L
ily wrapped her arms around her legs, which were drawn up to her chin. She stared across the table at Pete, who looked so glum she wanted to reach out to him, but she held herself in check. Winston, lying under the table, whined softly at the silence around him.

A waiter appeared to take away the breakfast dishes.

“This is nice,” Lily said, breaking the silence as she motioned to the little walled garden at the villa. “It’s so peaceful, so colorful. It was nice having breakfast out here, wasn’t it?”

“We missed something,” Pete said flatly as he ignored Lily’s question. He did allow himself a nod at her comment, however.

“Pete, we went to the police. They said they’re searching for the two missing boys. They admitted the boys are on the run. They’re looking. I, for one, do not believe for a minute they think Josh Baer is the killer. I think it was all for publicity or just to keep the press quiet. And it was like you said, the FBI is in charge. The locals always get annoyed when the FBI steps in—at least that’s the way it is on television. Then again, this is the real world and not make-believe.”

“At least the locals agreed to talk to us. It’s more than we got from the FBI. We’ve been here four days, and we haven’t gotten past square one. We made four trips to the local FBI office. I called at least a dozen times. No one is calling us back. All the agents are unavailable. That’s as in unavailable
ALL
the time. Or is it just when we call or show up? Us, Lily. Me and you.”

Lily let go of her legs and leaned forward. “Pete, you are almost as famous as the president of the United States. When your name is mentioned, people know who and what you are. It’s called name recognition. Having said that, you must know
someone,
somewhere, who can pull a few strings for you to get a response from the FBI.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I’ve made so many calls, my cell phone went dead. I’ve sent twice as many e-mails. It seems like half the people in my world are either out of the country, on vacation, or want nothing to do with me. In addition to all of that, we can’t get within a mile of that goddamn academy. The fertility clinic and the sperm bank are closed until further notice. What are we onto here?”

“Whatever it is, it isn’t good. Maybe we need to start thinking like those two boys and try to find them. We aren’t so old that we can’t put ourselves in their place. What would we do if we were in their position? They have to be panicking by now. Do they have money? Where are they? Two boys! Someone must have seen them. If we had bios of the boys, it would help. Can you hack into the academy’s computers?” Lily asked breathlessly.

“Well, yeah, ordinarily I could, but by now the FBI has them under lock and key. In the damn movies, there is always a snitch lurking in the background willing to give it all up for money. I don’t see that happening, do you? No matter which way we turn, we hit a brick wall. Why all this damn secrecy where that school is concerned? Everything is buried so deep even Marty, with all his digging, can’t come up with a thing. You’re right, we have to find those boys.”

Winston reared up on his hind legs when he spotted a small brown bird alight on top of the wall enclosing the garden. He trotted over and watched with unblinking intensity as the small creature eyed him right back. He let out a soft
“woof”
to announce his presence. The bird chirped, ruffled his feathers, and continued to eye the dog before he flew off. Winston lay down, crossed one big paw over the other, and went to sleep.

“He really is an amazing dog, Pete. And he’s devoted to you. Lucky you.”

“Yeah, I know. If I was one of those kids, I think I’d try to find a way to hook up to a computer. An Internet café. The library. One or the other of them must know someone, somewhere he can call on to help them. What? You look like you just saw a ghost. What?” Pete asked, alarm ringing in his voice.

Lily stared into Pete’s eyes. Her toes started to curl up. “That…that day in the library, when I was going through the papers, there was this young boy across from me. He had a baseball cap on that said “Bill” on the beak. I assumed Bill was his name. He was drawing in one of those art books. He had all kinds of colored pencils and markers. You know how it is when someone is sitting fairly close to you, and you’re minding your own business, but you can still sense or see movement even when you aren’t aware of it. Do you know what I mean?”

Pete nodded, wondering where all this was going.

“There was another boy there. He had a baseball cap on, too. It said “Jack” on the bill. He was really tall, like you. I was behind him when he returned the daily papers to the rack. When I went back to my table, I had to walk behind the boy Bill. I looked down at his drawing. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Me walking by, sneaking a look. The drawing had a lot of red in it, figures. Just my quick impression. When I sat down with the papers, he looked up. I hesitate to say he was retarded, but there was a certain blankness to his eyes and expression. It was like he saw me, but he didn’t see me. That kind of thing. I do know this, the boy can draw. The lines, the shapes were clean and sharp. He knew what he was doing. I guess he was either drawing from memory or creating something. Do you think it means anything?”

“What about the other boy?” Pete’s voice was so tortured, Lily wanted to cry for him.

“I don’t know, Pete. I really didn’t pay much attention to him. That wasn’t where my mind was at that moment. I don’t even know what color his hair was. He was wearing baggy clothes like kids wear. You can pick my brain from now until tomorrow, but I’ve told you everything I recall.”

“Two boys in the campus library?”

“Pete, there were hundreds of students in the library that day. It’s a campus library, kids are supposed to be there. Don’t you remember how many hours you and I spent there?”

“In one of those newspaper articles the dean said Josh Baer was a troubled youngster. You said the boy doing the drawing looked…different.”

“He wasn’t the boy we saw on television at the airport, Pete. And, like I said, I was behind the other boy, so I didn’t see his face. I’m so sorry, Pete. I wish I had seen something that would help us. Maybe we should try to find the dean.”

“The guy is probably in protective custody. He’s not in the phone book because I looked. I suppose it’s a possibility he lived at the academy, but I doubt it.” Pete looked down at his watch. “The boys have been on the run for over ninety-six hours. I’m starting to think they’re pretty smart to have eluded the authorities for that long. Do they have a destination in mind, or are they holed up somewhere afraid to make a move? I keep asking myself what I would do besides panic, but I can’t come up with an answer. I don’t know anything about teenagers and what makes them tick.”

“I know even less,” Lily said mournfully.

Pete moved his chair closer to Lily’s. “I probably don’t have any right to ask you this, but how…how much longer can you stay here with me?”

This was no time to be coy or to pretend she didn’t know what Pete was talking about. “As long as you want me to stay, Pete.”
If you want me to stay forever, I will.

“I know you have a thriving business to run, Lily, and I know I’m being selfish in wanting you to stay. I think you and I… What I mean is…we found…”

Damn it, just say it,
Lily screamed silently. When it looked like Pete wasn’t going to finish what he was trying to say, she blurted, “Each other?”

The relief on Pete’s face was so comical, Lily laughed. “Well, yeah.”

“Now that we have
that
all straightened out, let’s put
us
on the back burner and concentrate on finding the boys. It’s obvious no one is going to help us, so let’s just go for it ourselves. Between us, I’m sure we can make whatever bail they set if we get arrested. Let’s also give some thought to hiring a private detective.”
Oh, God, did I just say all that? I sound like a gung-ho criminal out for blood.

“You are indeed a girl after my own heart.” To prove his point, Pete dramatically placed his hand over his heart and let out a heartfelt sigh. “In solving any problem, you have to go back to the beginning. For us, the beginning is the clinic and the sperm bank. I say we break into the clinic and the sperm bank tonight. I’m sure Zolly knows how to deactivate an alarm system. He knows all kinds of stuff like that, and what he doesn’t know personally, he knows someone who does. You up for a little B&E?”

Lily didn’t have to stop and think before she replied. “Works for me.”

“Let’s take one more crack at the local FBI office. Then I say we go to both the campus library and the public library to see if anyone remembers seeing those boys. I’m going to download the picture of Josh Baer off the Net. It might trigger some kind of recognition if we show it around. It’s worth a try.”

“Then let’s do it. When are you going to tell all this to Zolly? You go on ahead, talk to him, while I powder my nose. I’ll be ready in ten minutes. Five if need be.”

She was so close to him, she could smell his aftershave and the melon that he’d had for breakfast. She knew she was falling in love with Pete Kelly. Maybe she’d been in love with him all along, and that’s why she’d never had a serious relationship. Did she dare hope he would return the feelings? All indications were
yes,
but when this was all over, would he feel the same way? She simply didn’t know
. If I get my heart broken, then it wasn’t meant to be,
she told herself as she headed to the bathroom to do a little primping and maybe add a spritz or two of that sinful perfume she’d bought a month or so ago.

In spite of herself, Lily burst out laughing when she heard Zolly’s roar of disapproval through the open bathroom window. Winston’s angry bark at the raised voices should be enough of a warning for both Zolly and Pete that he wasn’t going to put up with bad human behavior. He barked again to make his point. The voices still sounded angry but decibels lower. She giggled when she heard Pete say, “You’re fired,” three different times.

Lily decided the time was right to exit her villa so she could embark on a life of crime with this man.
I wonder if they’ll give us separate cells when we get arrested.
Just the thought of going to jail made her stomach muscles quiver.

“I’m ready,” Lily trilled as she tripped down the path to where Pete and Zolly were standing.

Zolly had a murderous look in his eye when Lily joined them. He mumbled something under his breath that didn’t sound complimentary to her. Obviously, Winston thought the same thing because he let loose with a horrendous howl of displeasure.

“See, Zolly, Winston approves. Now, get your ass in gear and let’s go. You can map out a strategy while Lily and I see what we can come up with, if anything, at the FBI office.”

As Zolly lumbered toward the SUV, he called over his shoulder, “You know I have to report this to the board.”

“Before or after I fire you—again?” Pete snapped back.

Zolly’s shoulders slumped. Winston growled.

Forty minutes later, Pete and Lily walked into the local FBI office. Both were surprised at the small quarters and lack of agents milling about. Local office meant just that. Four rooms and an entrance foyer with a coatrack, a wastebasket, and a receptionist.

Pete stepped up to the window, and said, “I’m Peter Kelly from PAK Industries, and I’d like to speak to one of the agents in charge of the shooting at the California Academy of Higher Learning.”

Lily noticed that the receptionist didn’t look impressed, and it also appeared like she didn’t recognize Pete’s name. “All the agents are out in the field, sir. I can patch a call through for you to Agent Robbins, but I don’t know if he’ll pick up or not.”

“If you tell me where he is, I can go there. This is really important. I think I have some information he might be interested in.”

A few minutes later the receptionist said, “Agent Robbins said to give me your cell phone number, and he’ll call you in a few minutes.” Pete rattled off his cell phone number.

Trying to be helpful, the woman said, “You should go outside to take the call. The reception here inside the building on cell phones is terrible. You can barely hear, and nine times out of ten the connection gets broken.”

Pete thanked her for the heads-up and ushered Lily through the door. “Let’s see if this is for real or she just blew us off.” Pete barely had the words out of his mouth when his cell phone rang.

Lily almost jumped out of her sandals. She listened to Pete’s end of the conversation, her jaw dropping as Pete fumed and snarled and babbled about taxpayers’ money, after which he threatened to go to the media with his information.

“What that means is, I share, you share, and we compare notes.”

At least he had the agent’s attention because Pete suddenly swung into listening mode.

“Hell, yes, I am Pete Kelly, and, yes, PAK Industries is mine along with a bunch of stockholders. No, I am not some kind of kook. I’ve had enough of this bullshit. Either you meet me somewhere, anywhere you want, and we talk, or I take what I know to the media. Right now, Agent Robbins. I do not give a good rat’s ass about blowing your investigation. Now, what’s it going to be?” He listened for another minute, then said, “Damn straight I have a few big guns in my Rolodex. Actually, Agent Robbins, the whole goddamn Rolodex is full of big guns. I don’t know anyone who isn’t a big gun. Before I pull out the artillery, I want to give you the courtesy of a meet and greet so we can both do a show-and-tell. Thirty minutes, in front of the Berkeley Campus Library. Be on time, Agent Robbins.” Pete hung up.

“Zolly!” Pete bellowed.

Zolly lumbered forward. Winston stood at attention. Both animal and guard knew
that
tone of voice. Winston was actually quivering with excitement, while Zolly felt the need to keep his hand on the gun butt in the holster strapped to his waist.

“Yeah, boss.”

“Saddle up, big guy. We’re going to the campus library to meet an FBI agent. I want all of us to be on our good behavior. All of
you,
that is.” Pete looked pointedly at Zolly, who met his gaze head-on but was the first to look away.