Montaro Caine A Novel

36





WHEN ANOTHER DAY AND NIGHT PASSED WITHOUT ANY WORD from Fritzbrauner or any progress in determining the whereabouts of Whitney and Franklyn Walker, Montaro summoned Lawrence Aikens and Curly Bennett to his apartment. Aikens appeared at Montaro’s door punctually as always, but, ten minutes past the appointed time, Curly, who seemed to be neglecting his duties of late, still had not arrived. Even though Montaro said nothing about Curly’s tardiness, Aikens, sitting in a chair opposite Caine, massaged the fingers of his left hand with those of his right, movements that spoke clearly of an unmistakable turmoil within.

Caine took a deep breath. “Let’s get to it,” he said. “We don’t have much time, so hear me well. You’ve been loyal to me. We’ve worked well together. I’ve trusted you. And I still do. I am not altogether sure I can turn Fitzer around, but I’m giving it my best try. If I manage to pull through, I’d like you to stay. If I don’t, and you do stay, I’d like to share with you something I learned from my grandfather. Some people don’t always mean what they want you to think they mean, but if you listen hard enough, your ears will begin to hear new things. One day you will be able to listen to someone and see their real meaning hidden underneath and between their words. And sometimes you will even find those meanings sitting right on top of their words for all to see, though most people will not see them because they don’t know that your eyes can hear the truth and your ears can see it. The other night, I heard truth with my own eyes and I saw it spoken with my own ears. Curly isn’t here yet, but I can hear what he is telling us.”

“What’s that?” Aikens asked.

“Curly’s a great assistant,” said Caine. “You will not find anyone better. But I believe that you’ve been driving him away, and that can cause problems for all of us if it hasn’t done so already. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Aikens stared at Caine with a mixture of discomfort and embarrassment. “I’m here for you, Montaro,” he said.

“Good,” Caine replied with a smile.

When Curly arrived a few minutes later, Caine ushered the men into his office and gestured for them to sit. Then, he took a USB memory stick from a desk drawer and inserted it into one of his computer’s portals.

“I want you guys to listen to something,” he said.

The first sound to come out of the computer’s speaker was a ringing telephone. After the seventh ring, a man was heard to answer the phone.

“Curly Bennett here.”

“Hi, Curly Bennett, Gina Lao here. Remember me?”

“Gina Lao, of course.”

Caine tapped his keyboard and the recording stopped.

Turning to Curly, he asked, “That was your voice, yes?”

“It was.” Curly’s face was flushed.

“How close are you and Gina Lao?”

“Not very.”

“How many times have you spoken with her by phone?”

“Five or six times in the last few weeks.”

“Driven by romantic interest?”

“I think more on my part than hers. She is a girl of remarkably good looks, sir.”

Montaro smothered a smile. So did Aikens.

“So, her interests were not the same as yours?” Caine asked.

“No, not really. Her aim was to open me up.”

“For?”

“Information.”

“About?”

“You and Lawrence.”

“What did she want to know about us?”

“We never got that far. Something happened that made her lose interest. I think somehow she was able to find out what she needed without me.”

“And what do you think that was?”

“Those two people who visited you in the lab, Freich and Beekman, she wanted to know about them. There were some other names she mentioned, too.”

“Did you report any of this to Lawrence?”

“No sir, I didn’t.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because my activities are all assigned to me. And that was not one of my assignments.”

“Then, in your view, Gina Lao was strictly extracurricular?”

“You might say that.”

“All right, last question. You’re a very talented investigator, and you’re a pretty sharp guy. I’m sure you could have figured out the relevance of your findings. So, let me ask you, would a pat on the back, from time to time, help you to smile a little more and report back to us when there is information we might actually need to know?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite that way, sir,” said Curly, his cheeks flushing again.

“See that it happens anyway,” Caine told Aikens, then looked at each man in turn. “Now, I need both of you to focus all your attention on Whitney and Franklyn Walker. I don’t want you to rest until you’ve found them. Your loyalties cannot be divided on this matter; it is too important. Do you understand?”

“I do,” said Aikens.

“And you, Curly?” asked Caine.

“I do,” said Curly. “You have my word on that.”

Caine shook hands with both men, then stared directly at Curly Bennett. “By the way,” he said. “In case you’re wondering, I’m the one who ordered the tap on your phone. Lawrence knew nothing about this.” He turned to Aikens and tilted his head apologetically. “It was both necessary and a good idea at the time. But I trust you now and I know you will not disappoint me.” He smiled, and added, “Show yourselves out, gentlemen.”