Infinite Loop - Chapter 25

Betrayal

Perplexed, Amber paused.

“Of course, but are you saying you want to go to the district attorney’s office?” She asked.

“No, that would not be very healthy for me right now. I suspect the cops might decide to shoot me first,” he told her. “Maybe we could meet someplace out of the way to talk. You could explain what you saw, and I can let him in on the swap I did this morning. Maybe if your dad gets the stuff I was supposed to smuggle in along with an alibi coming from you, I might actually come out of this thing alive.”

Warren grew more hopeful as his thoughts spilled out.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “What are you saying? What are you saying about smuggling?

“It’s about what I found this morning,” he said. “I know your father will want to hear about this. I can explain it better when we meet your dad. Can you set this up?”

Amber hesitated.

“I don’t know,” she said. “If someone sees you meeting in private with Gerald Fane, there’ll be a scandal. The reporters would have a field day. I can’t risk that.”

Warren insisted on the idea until Amber finally agreed. She hesitated for a moment before she picked up the phone. The woman asked the operator for Quincy 552.

Warren eagerly listened to the conversation, wondering what her father was like. He was hoping the DA would go along with the best half-baked plan he came up with. The conversation wasn’t long, and he could tell there was no warmth between her and the person on the other end of the phone. Amber slowly returned the receiver back to the cradle.

“It’s done. We’ll meet in about thirty minutes.” She walked to the bedroom. “Give me a couple of minutes to freshen up. We can drive over in my car.”

The sun moved behind the afternoon clouds as Amber’s gray Hudson coupe stopped in front of a brick building which appeared as ancient as the narrow street. A rusty plaque identified the location as the Carson Office. Chinese writing covered much of the front of the building, displaying colorful posters. Inside the glass front door was a small import store, which was closed. The other buildings lining the street held similar small shops, just as vibrant. She pointed to the side entrance. It was clear the location was not where upper-class attorneys hung their shingle. Warren made a comment about the rundown place to Amber, who assured him it was her father’s idea.

“You can’t see the DA in a public place,” she reminded him. “This is Chinatown. Nobody around here will be worried about who we are. Reporters won’t be hanging around.”

Warren stopped suddenly at the door leading to the stairs.

“I just wondered, what’s keeping your father from arresting me right now?” he asked. “He could be up there with the police.”

 “I can guarantee he’s not up there with the police,” she assured him with a smile. “Now, are you coming or not? It was your idea.”

She squeezed past him, entering the door which led up a narrow flight of stairs. He followed her, still feeling something nagging inside him about her demeanor.

They followed a dingy hallway until they reached an office. Shanghai Imports was the sign covering the glass top half of the wooden door. Amber knocked and opened the door. As he followed her into the office, he caught a glance of an enormous shadow on his right. Then, Warren Baker felt a pain in the back of his head and saw the floor rushing to meet his face.

“I sapped a sap,” Harry said with a laugh at his own joke while he pocketed his weapon. He reached down and dragged Warren’s limp body into the office, and closed the door.