The Invisible Hand - A crime novel

Chapter 67

                 

Tom picks up his cell phone after the first ring. Been waiting for it since 2 a.m. The coffee beside him is still hot.

Only it's not his cell phone ringing. It's the landline on the motel nightstand.

"Hello?" Tom says. Tired.

The reception at the Betrug Motel isn't the greatest. There's a voice on the other end. Can't make out if it's male or female.

"Which one is this?" the voice says.

"Is this Jane?" Tom says.

"I ask the questions. Is this Tom?" Jane says.

"Yeah," Tom says.

"You're the funny one, right?" Jane says.

Tom cups the receiver. Looks to Beth. She raises an eyebrow. He nods.

"People call me that, Jane," he says. Waves Beth over.

"I don't want to talk to you. Put the other one on," Jane says.

Tom rolls his eyes. Passes the receiver to Beth.

"Why are you calling on a land line? We instructed you to use our cell phones. They're more secure," Beth says.

"It doesn't matter. I call you how I want," Jane says. "And don't ask questions."

Tom cups his ear in his hand. Tries to listen in on the conversation.

"Understood. I'm listening," Beth says.

Jane pauses before continuing. There's a sound like water being poured into a glass. Or maybe a car coming and going.

"I will give you Wil soon enough. I will make it easy for the prosecutors. Murder. Battery. Meth. Prostitution. Organized crime. I will give you everything you need to make it happen," Jane says.

Beth glances at Tom. He nods in agreement.

"We'll need all that for the warrant," Beth says.

"Don't worry about warrants. Warrants are pieces of paper. Formalities. Like tissues. What needs to happen will happen. Understand?" Jane says.

There's no life in Jane's voice. It's like the words floated into the phone from the ether.

Tom hands Beth a cup of coffee. She'll need it.

"Understood," Beth says.

"Listen closely. I need Wil to sign some paperwork. Before you take him anywhere, he needs to sign them with his own hand. It's one of the very few things I can't do myself for the sake of legitimacy. The appearance of legitimacy is very important. Then he's all yours," Jane says.

Beth takes a few seconds to think.

"You just told me paperwork isn't an issue for you," she says.

"That's correct. Paperwork isn't an issue for me. But everything must look like it happened on its own. That the sale of his family's land was all due to the invisible hand of the marketplace," Jane says.

Beth presses a knuckle into her temple.

"Understood. There's also the issue of Red, the sheriff. We made contact with Gus. Gave him the envelope you sent to us," Beth says.

"Good. And you told Gus about the land opportunities if he complied?" Jane says.

"Correct. He seemed very enthusiastic," Beth says.

"See to it Gus keeps his word. He needs to keep Red from going anywhere. I'll kill them both if not," Jane says. Hangs up before Beth can respond.

"Did you catch that last part?" Beth says to Tom.

Tom drinks from his coffee.

"Yeah. What do you think?" he says.

"This doesn't feel right," Beth says.

"Of course it doesn't. We find two bodies in Minot. Then we're propositioned by some anonymous entity calling itself Jane," Tom says. Rubs his neck. "She says she'll help us find Wil. Throws in the promise of a drug dealing eco-terrorist trying to blow up oil rigs as a pot sweetener. Establishes her credibility by being spot on about everything in the case so far. What could feel right about that?"

"We might be getting played despite all that. I'm just not sure," Beth says. "But I defer to you as the veteran here."

Tom cracks his neck. "When in doubt, call the Bureau. We did. They say Jane is in charge now. Weird way of going about a strategy shift, but fine. I have my reservations, but we should roll with this for now."

"I'll go along with it, but I'm double-checking. For the record. Final answer. Are you sure?" Beth says.

"Yes," Tom says. "Seriously."

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