I relented fifteen minutes later, and while he went into a McDonald’s to use the restroom, I tried to find a pencil to shadow the empty page of the notepad. There wasn’t anything in the Yugo and I didn’t have anything in my pockets. Hondo returned with a small bag of french fries and got in the car.
“Couldn’t use the bathroom without buying something, could you?”
“I feel guilty if I don’t.”
I asked him if he had a pencil and he snorted. I said, “Okay, just asking.” I drove off and a few minutes later saw a Wal-Mart and pulled in. I bought a pencil and handed it to Hondo when I got back in the car.
He coughed and said, “What do you want me to do with it?” He looked tired. Being up this long was sapping what little strength he had.
I didn’t want to let on I was worried, so I said, “Use your knife and sharpen it. We can’t decode secret messages if it doesn’t have a point.”
He looked at me. “I left my knife in somebody’s shoulder. I haven’t had time to go get it.”
I sighed, “I guess it’s another job for me, huh? Boy, the load’s getting heavy.”
“I’m like the song.”
I said, “What?”
“Like the song, I’m not heavy, I’m your brother. Go in the store and buy a pencil sharpener.” Hondo was asleep when I returned and he didn’t open his eyes until I started the engine.
When I drove away Hondo said, “You had to buy a Care Bears pencil sharpener?”
“It was the only one left.” Hondo shook his head and sharpened the pencil. At the next stop, he stroked the side of the graphite point across the pad and ghost letters appeared.
I said, “What’s it say?”
“Somebody with nice penmanship wrote this. There are just fragments of words, sentences. One says, like Valdar and another says…the first is a partial word that says, -date Sarana. There are some numbers, forty million, three million, twenty-two million something. They’re stand alone, not like someone adding them or anything. That’s all I can make out.”
“Well, that was enlightening.” I said.
“If catching bad guys was easy everybody would do it.”
The traffic was moving well on Sunset and we reached Siberia in good time. I pulled into the vacant parking lot and noticed a sheet of typing paper taped to the front door. I had to walk over to read it: Closed for renovation. “That was quick,” I said.
I put my ear to the door and heard nothing. I tried the knob but it was locked. Back in the Yugo, I told Hondo what the sign said. He nodded and pointed to the notepad, “I’ve looked at it some more and I think this first word is liquidate. If they’re going to liquidate Sarana Corporation, then it would make sense that they shut down Siberia, or fix it up to sell. Either way it sounds like they’re pulling the plug.”
“Not without their last haul.”
“Uh-huh. They make Landman or one of the women talk, tell them where it is, and when they have it...” He spread his hands.
“No more Landman, no more corporation, no more witnesses.”
“Just millions in jewels and cash.” Hondo coughed hard as he finished talking. I looked at his chest and saw a spot of red on the shirt.
Hondo wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital, so I took him to Archie’s and put him to bed. Arch was there and when I left, he was hovering over Hondo like a gruff old mother hen.
I went to the office and picked up one item, then drove into Beverly Hills and up to the front door of the Meadows mansion. There was no crawling over walls and hiding in leafy kangaroo pouches this time. I had to make a deal and fast or Landman and the others would be done for. I rang the doorbell and waited.
Frank Meadows answered the door and his jaw fell. “What the hell are you doing here?” He looked over his shoulder and hissed, “Rakes is here, you idiot. He’ll take your head off if he sees you!”
Old Frank seemed worried and his face looked haggard, with pouches under his eyes and a nervous tic in one lid. I said, “Tell him I want to deal.”
“Deal what?”
“Frank, be a good messenger and go get Rakes.”
He hesitated, and I pushed past him. He said, “Hey!”