The Finding (16 page)

“Edward, this
is Leon Aldrich speaking.” Aldrich chuckled to himself, knowing the
use of the man’s formal name would rattle the fellow; memories of
Mama Perini bellowing down the street drifted by while Eddie tried
to gather his composure.

“Uh...
Leon...er...Mr. Aldrich, sir. How are you? Nice of you to
call.”

Aldrich could
hear the nervousness in the man’s voice and mentally formed the
image of Eddie sitting up straighter and shuffling the papers on
his desk into some semblance of order as if the disorganized office
could actually be viewed through the phone. Good. The man had been
lazy in carrying out his duties and deserved to sweat a little.

“I’ve been
going over the accounts and see no improvement since the last time
we talked.”

“Well...that’s
not precisely true, Leon.”

Aldrich raised
his brows at the man’s denial and leaned back in his chair. “I beg
to differ. My representative is in Vegas at this very moment,
checking out the situation. Word on the street is that Dollar Niche
is seen as an easy mark.”

Eddie didn’t
answer immediately, no doubt realizing a noose was closing in
around him. “I wouldn’t say that exactly. I...I’ve gathered a
number of new clients—”

“Profitable
clients? Or just men who use Dollar Niche because it’s seen as a
pushover?”

“No. Of course
not. They’ve made their payments!”

“Paltry sums,
Edward. These individuals have borrowed substantial amounts from
the company and have reaped the benefits of our generosity.
Repayment—swift repayment—is needed if the company is to make a
profit.” He kept his voice slow and calm, knowing the raspy sound
was more effective that way. At least the damned tracheotomy was
good for something, he mused.

“Well... Some
of these people don’t have that much lying around, you know. They
pay off what they can.”

“Edward, we are
not running a charity. People always claim to be hard up. If
sufficient incentive is applied, they find the needed
resources.”

“We pressure
them, Leon...er...sir.”

“Perhaps your
concept of pressure is different from mine, because what I envision
as pressure would have yielded much greater results than those I
see on the page before me.”

“Uh... Exactly
what are you getting at?”

“I need you to
set an example. To show your clients you mean business. Choose
someone and make sure everyone knows what happens when a person
falls behind in their payments.”

“You mean—” The
man’s gulp was audible over the phone line.

“I mean you do
what is necessary, Edward, to make a
lasting
impression.
This company has been falling apart over the past few years. I
admit it’s partially my own fault. You obviously weren’t up to the
job...” He heard Eddie sputtering protests, but ignored the
attempted interruption. “And I didn’t take sufficient notice of the
quarterly reports. However, that is all water under the bridge. The
situation will be reversed or someone will be held accountable. I
don’t think I need to spell out who, do I Edward?”

“No, sir.” The
answer was given as part of a heavy sigh.

Aldrich smiled
coldly. “As long as we understand each other. Goodbye, Edward. I’ll
be in touch.” He hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair.
All that talking had been exhausting. Rotating his shoulders to
ease the tension, he contemplated his next move. Perhaps, he’d go
find Sylvia; she still kept the quaint British custom of afternoon
tea...

*****

Hanging up the
phone, Eddie Perini rubbed his hands over his face. God, he wasn’t
cut out for this. He could do the lending, fake a tough guy voice
and issue threats to a mark, but carrying them out had never been
his strong point. Having a guy roughed up a bit was one thing, but
doing serious bodily damage or going after a guy’s family...?

He looked
around the room for inspiration, but found none. The place looked
like it came from some Hollywood B-movie; worn furniture, dull
paint, the air stale with smoke. Beyond this office, the ‘waiting
room’ wasn’t much better, consisting of a few chairs lining the
hallway. Yeah, it was pretty shoddy, but a high-class place
wouldn’t draw in the type of customers they serviced.

Sure, Dollar
Niche wasn’t making the profits it did a few years back, but there
was a bloody recession going on! Even a shady business like this
one was feeling the pinch. He cursed Leon for sticking his nose in
where it didn’t belong. The guy sat in some ivory tower surrounded
by money and had no idea what happened in the real world. If they
started beating up all the clients, people would hear about it and
new marks would shy away.

Eddie sighed.
It was no use complaining. Aldrich was a bastard and if he didn’t
follow through, he’d be in big trouble; at best losing his job, at
worst... Well, he didn’t want to think about that.

Rumours about
Leon had grown over the years. The man had clawed his way up from
the streets they’d both lived on to the position of a big time
lawyer who worked almost exclusively for a multi-millionaire. When
said millionaire had been killed in an accidental shooting, it came
as no surprise to Eddie that the gun had been in Aldrich’s hand,
though no blame had ever been laid. That, combined with whisperings
of how Aldrich had helped make certain individuals ‘disappear’ made
people exercise extreme caution when dealing with the man. No one
knew for certain exactly what he was capable of doing and no one
was anxious to find out, either.

Pulling a thick
file forward, Eddie flipped through the pages, scanning the lists
of names. He had to make an example of someone, but who? And how?
Aldrich had insinuated serious injury or maybe even death. Eddie’s
stomach lurched at the idea. He wasn’t into blood and had no desire
to spend time in jail for murder. Maybe he should have become a
part-time preacher like his father... Nah, he liked having his
weekends free.

Focussing on
the list in front of him, he muttered under his breath. He had no
idea who he should choose. Deciding to let fate make the choice, he
closed his eyes and stabbed the page randomly with his finger.
Okay, this was the guy. Eddie stared at the name and screwed up his
face, trying to picture who the man was, but nothing came to
mind.

Shrugging
philosophically, he picked up the phone to call Hugh, his recently
acquired ‘muscle.’ He’d hired Hugh just a few weeks ago. The man
had appeared at the office one day and before Eddie was even sure
how it had happened, Hugh was working for him. Not that he minded.
Hugh liked doing the leg work, checking up on clients, giving them
a bit of a squeeze; Eddie preferred to hang around the office in
the air conditioning.

Hugh hadn’t had
much to do yet beyond shaking someone by the scruff of the neck, a
fact he often bemoaned. Apparently, Hugh appreciated opportunities
to flex his muscles. Well, this would be his chance.

“Hugh? Eddie
here. I’ve got a job for you.”

The man on the
other end of the line grunted and Eddie took that to mean Hugh was
listening. Either that or he’d just woken up.

“Yeah, the big
boss wants us to make an example of somebody. He thinks we’re being
too easy on the clients.”

Hugh’s grunt
was more enthusiastic than last time. Hugh liked action.

“So I need you
to track down this guy for me, and bring him in. We’re going to
give him an ultimatum and if he can’t keep it... Well, people will
know that if you don’t pay up, Dollar Niche means business.”

He listened as
Hugh gave his approval of the plan.

“What’s that?
Oh yeah, the poor sucker’s name. It’s...uh...” Eddie checked the
name he’d randomly picked. “It’s Anderson. Kellen Anderson.”

*****

Cassie got off
the bus and hurried home, anxious to speak to Kellen. It was
obvious to her now that he’d been purposely avoiding her, rather
than just a serendipitous series of events keeping them apart. She
fumed wondering what kind of a mess he was in and how much he owed.
In the past, she’d relented and paid off his debts, all the while
scolding him for borrowing money he couldn’t repay. Afterwards he
was always repentant, staying on the straight and narrow for a
period of time but then falling into the same trap again. He’d meet
new friends, start spending evenings ‘out with the guys’...

She shook her
head. Those nights out always led to trouble. She sighed heavily.
They’d moved to a smaller house where they had to pay less rent,
given up having a car and now relied on public transportation.
Second hand stores and yard sales were frequented, yet still money
was tight and Kellen just couldn’t see it and her patience was
growing thin. Kellen needed to be responsible. He needed to control
himself.

The few people
that knew about Kellen’s gambling in the past had hinted that she’d
be better off without him. Mr. Bartlett had said as much just today
when she asked to leave early. There’d been a pitying look in his
eyes...

“When you bail
him out, you’re just enabling him.” The older man had said. “You
need to let him hit rock bottom. That’s the only way to make him
realize how big his problem is and that he needs to get
professional help.”

She’d thanked
him for his concern, but didn’t know if she could really turn her
back on Kellen. Sure, she threatened to let him figure it out for
himself, but he’d done so much for her in the past. Wasn’t
supporting him a way to pay back his kindness?

Rounding the
corner, she saw that Kellen’s bike was gone and frowned. Had she
missed him? Perhaps he’d parked it out back to tinker on it. The
machine was old and always in need of some type of repair.

Climbing the
steps, she tried the front door. It was locked. Sighing, she pulled
out her key and let herself in. Kellen wasn’t home. A glance in the
kitchen revealed that he hadn’t left a note on the message board,
not that she’d really expected one. He’d been disappearing on his
own a lot lately, only speaking in general terms of being out with
friends. In reality, that meant out gambling. And for the past few
days... Well, she had no idea where he was. His bed was slept in
and dirty dishes were in the sink, but other than that, there was
no sign of him. She rolled her eyes; so much for his great show of
repentance the other night.

Cassie wandered
into the living room and stuck her hands in her back pockets. Well,
she’d wait for him. He had to come home sooner or later. In the
meantime... She looked around. The living room was still relatively
tidy, so perhaps she’d keep herself busy doing laundry.

As she gathered
clothes from the bedrooms, she thought about the man she’d seen at
the grocery store and wondered why he bothered her so much. It went
beyond the fact that he might be a thug. His very presence had set
her whole body on edge and had the creature inside her pacing
restlessly, whining and eager to be set loose.

A frisson of
fear swept over her at the thought of the beast escaping the tight
reins she kept on it. Her body was already in a constant state of
tension, always on guard, after the slip-up in the back yard the
other day. She was careful of her thoughts and tried to avoid
letting her mind drift for fear the creature might surface and gain
the upper hand. At night she only allowed herself to sleep lightly,
in case deep slumber allowed the wolf to sneak past her defences.
And now this man appeared, stirring the animal up, exciting
it...

Yes, he’s
the one. He’s the answer...
The words whispered in her mind and
she was almost tempted to question the creature. What ‘one?’ The
answer to what?

It was utter
nonsense of course. Why would she waste her time talking to an
animal? Clamping her mouth tightly shut, she headed to the laundry
room, her arms full of dirty clothing. Absentmindedly, she sorted
the items by colour and checked pockets, frowning as she pulled
loose change, matches, and a crumpled note from Kellen’s jeans. Why
he couldn’t remember to empty his pockets before dumping his
clothes in the laundry? After all, he was supposedly the expert.
She’d just learned how to do laundry a few years ago, yet here she
was... Her train of thought screeched to a halt as she glanced at
the note in her hand. She felt her eyes widen. He owed how
much...?

Cassie actually
stumbled backward in shock. Fifty thousand dollars! What was he
thinking to borrow that amount? She looked around the room and then
at the note again, hoping she’d been wrong. No. It was still the
same number of zeroes.

Her legs felt
wobbly and she sat down on the small stool that was in the room. Oh
God. This was way more than the usual amount. It wasn’t a few
thousand that he’d racked up playing small time poker with his
friends.

She stared at
the note for a few minutes before crumpling it in her hand and
swearing under her breath. Kellen had promised her he’d never get
deeply into debt again, like he’d been when they’d first met. By
maxing out her credit cards and emptying all her accounts, she’d
been able to pay off what he’d owed three years ago and still have
a tidy nest egg left over, but this... This would take almost
everything she had saved!

Anger surged
inside her. That was her money in the bank; her safety net in case
she ever needed to run. Why should she use it to bail Kellen out
again? No. She wouldn’t do it. Kellen had gone too far this time.
Mr. Bartlett was right. If she kept rescuing him, he’d never learn;
the cycle would never be broken.

Shaking with a
combination of hurt, anger, and shock, she stumbled into the living
room and sat down on the sofa, facing the door. She’d wait right
here and confront him as soon as he stepped in the door.

Damn the man!
How dare he mess up her life this way? Wasn’t it enough that she
had to deal with being a werewolf? Well, this certainly explained
the man at the grocery store. If Kellen owed this much money, the
loan shark would be wanting weekly payments and wouldn’t be adverse
to applying any kind of pressure needed to ensure Kellen coughed up
the amount. No wonder the creature inside her was fighting to get
out. The man at the store obviously represented danger!