Infinite Loop - Chapter 36

Making a Plan

Chapter 36

After leaving the office, Amber went to get her car while Warren took a quick side trip down the alley to flatten two of the LaSalle’s tires. They traveled out of Chinatown following the Boston Elevated Rail down Columbia Road until they reached Franklin Park. Warren had her find a quiet place so they could talk. She pulled into a parking space near a five-and-dime store across the street from the park.

Warren asked Amber why she came back. She gazed out the car windshield at a couple walking along the sidewalk across the street for a moment.

“I guess I wanted to make sure you were alright,” she confessed.

“Is that the only reason?” He said as he observed her. She shook her head.

“It’s the dreams,” she whispered. Warren remained quiet for a moment, remembering the last time he had tried to explain.

“Well, at least you came back. I guess I missed you,” he confided.

She turned her head, surprised by his comment. “For some reason, I felt the same,” she replied. “I find it strange. I guess we’ve gone through a lot together over the last few days.”

Warren said nothing as he nodded. She interrupted his thoughts.

“Well, do you really have a plan, or was that something just to say at the time?” Amber asked.

He smiled. “Maybe I exaggerated some. I have the thoughts about a scheme,” he admitted. “However, I have a dilemma as well.” His face turned serious.

“Cassidy Hugh expects delivery on that damn pottery as well,” he explained. “And I just promised the same stuff to Mary and her goon.”

“You meant the gangster, the one they keep talking about in the papers? You have to be kidding me!” Amber told him.

“He’s tied into those mobsters in Chicago. How is he involved?”

Then, Warren explained his deal with the hoodlum.

“I spotted an article about him in the newspaper, and the name matched the one in my notebook. I took a chance by calling him at the hotel. He met me in Nashua,” he explained. “According to Cassidy, he was waiting to receive those statues as well. That means Baker must have been trying to pull a double cross on Krupin and Cassidy Hugh. Not a bright guy.”

She looked at him strangely.

“You know you’re talking as though somebody else did it,” Amber said carefully. “It was you who made these deals. You were doing the double-cross.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, knowing it was useless to argue the point. “Anyway, lots of bad people want those damn things. I’m sure your father and cops would be interested.”

“Yes, I’m sure they would,” she agreed with a frown.

“You don’t seem very interested in getting me to him,” Warren remarked. “I never understood why you didn’t just hand me over to him when I suggested a meeting.”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “At first, back on the ship, I thought it would be the right thing. That’s why I wanted to get to the captain.” She paused, thinking over the last few days.

“I mean, afterward, I realized you didn’t kill anyone, so I couldn’t just let them hang you for something like that,” she told him. “However, I couldn’t just let you go, since I was sure you were blackmailing my family.”

“When Tony’s thugs showed up, you thought they could help. Is that it?” Warren asked.

Amber’s lips compressed at his observation. She slowly nodded.

“They threatened me into working for them,” she explained. “Mary promised Harry would start breaking my bones if I didn’t tell them about what I knew about you. I don’t know how, but they knew I was following you. Anyway, Mary told me you would scare easy since you were… well, they just said they knew you. An idea came to me. I planned to get to the trunk first. I figured I could have my dad pick everyone up and we could get to the trunk to force you to hand over your blackmail on my dad.”

She sighed.

“It made so much more sense when I was thinking it.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but that sounds crazy,” he stated.

Warren beamed a smile at her when she glared at him. She shook her head before a smile slowly formed on her lips. She chuckled lightly.

“Like I told Max, your craziness is rubbing off on me,” she stated.