Unfinished Business

We'd been driving for an hour and were way out in the countryside when I caught sight of a mansion sitting proudly within the vast landscape.

"Nice, huh?" Ace said as I pointed it out.

To my surprise, he turned off the road and drove through the beautifully detailed, black, wrought iron gates that fronted the property. A wide strip of paved brick led us down a scenic drive of open space and tall willows to where a giant stone fountain spurted water high into the air. We circled around the fountain to park right outside the mansion. When Ace turned off the engine, only the sound of the water raining down into the pool could be heard.

I took a moment to gaze up at the stately, two-story building that towered over us. It was rectangular shaped with countless windows lining the two floors, and the six stone pillars that stretched from the base right up to the top of the second story were what gave the mansion its look of grandeur. I don't know what I had been expecting, but it sure wasn't that.

Ace got out of the car, but I didn't move. I couldn't. The nerves that I had managed to keep quiet throughout the journey were now looping and diving around my stomach, making me feel slightly nauseous.

"Are you comin' or what?" he asked.

"I don't know about this."

Ace frowned, expressing his annoyance. "What's your problem?"

"I've got a bad feeling..."

"It's too late to pussy out now. Let's go."

I got out and then followed him up the stone steps that led to the large double doors. He rapped on the beautifully varnished wood with the big brass knocker while I stood a cautious couple of feet behind him. My heart was pounding.

I heard the sound of a deadlock being released, and then one of the doors swung open wide. The doorman was short, stocky and dressed in the formal attire of a black suit and bow tie, but he stood with his shoulders slightly slouched forwards and reached out to slap Ace's hand to greet him.

"Ace. Here again? Who you seein' this time?"

"Carl."

"Oh, not the girl, huh?" he smirked.

"You just keep that quiet, Lorenzo," Ace said with a smile, pointing a warning finger in the guy's face.

"And who's this?" Lorenzo nodded at me.

"Christmas bonus come early," Ace said lowly with a laugh as if he thought I wouldn't hear.

"You both clean?"

"Course we are."

"I know, Ace, but I at least gotta ask. I'm s'posed to frisk you. You know that."

"I got nothin'," Ace said raising his arms. "Now take us to the big boy."

Lorenzo stepped aside, and I stuck close to Ace as we entered an impressive entrance room. Lavish seating, gold trimmed mirrors and fine artwork had been elegantly arranged, and the vast spread of white marble flooring was so finely polished you could see your reflection under your feet. Seeing my tired-looking runners against the marble made me feel underdressed.

"This way," Lorenzo gestured.

He led us down a long marble hallway that had various expensive-looking art pieces and sculptures displayed on raised pillars at either side. I wondered how much moolah surrounded us in just that one area. We walked through a set of large doors to enter what looked like the central room to the house. I rolled my eyes from one side of the room to the other in awe. Italian classical music filled the air, lavish furniture was dotted from wall to wall and the ceiling was a painted masterpiece.

"Wait here," he said. He walked far away to the other side of the room and then disappeared through a door.

"This place stinks of money," I whispered, more to myself than to Ace.

"Yup," he replied, gazing around himself. "And money is power."

Two men walked through the doorway that Lorenzo had just departed through. The one on the left was tall and slim, and the other was built like a brick shit-house.

Ace's smugness seemed to dissipate, and he straightened his posture. "Diego..." he murmured. "Wasn't expecting to see him."

"Who?" I whispered.

"The boss. On the left. Carl's on the right."

Tall and slim, Diego was middle-aged and dressed formally in an expensive-looking, white suit. He walked towards us with purpose and without emotion. His brown eyes were set so deeply into the dark sockets of his skull, they looked black. They were hard, hard eyes, firm, fearless and uncompromising. They locked onto me as he strode across the floor, and I tried to avoid them by gazing at the nearest painting.

"Well, I'll be damned. Cassie," Carl said in a deep, smoky voice as they reached us.

I was surprised that he seemed to know me, and I didn't know how to respond. He looked slightly younger than his boss but was dressed just as sharply, and his dark hair was slicked back into a low ponytail. Carl's frame was broad and his shoulders were like basketballs. I figured that when Diego needed muscle, he called on this guy.

Carl slipped out a thick envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket and gave it to Ace. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."

Ace looked at me and I at him. "I'll wait in the car," he said. And then he walked away, envelope in hand.

I was horrified. Furious. He said he was going to be there with me. I felt like he'd just fed me to the wolves.

"This way," Carl gestured.

They led me up a grand, antique staircase to the second floor and into a small sitting room - small for a place like this. I was asked to sit on a white loveseat that had gold trimming while Carl and Diego sat in single chairs of the same style, opposite it. Diego relaxed back with one hand on each of the chair's arms and crossed his legs in front of him. He stared at me without a glimpse of emotion. I bet that not even the funniest joke in the world could've made him crack a smile.

"So, Cassie, how you been?" Carl asked.

My mouth felt dry as I opened it to answer. "Surviving..."

"It's been a long time since we last spoke."

"Yes... yes, it has."

"A long time maybe, but don't think I've forgotten about our deal."

"Deal?"

"You said you would bring me Lewis and in return I would give you your freedom from him."

"Oh... well about that... I don't know where he is... right now."

Carl and Diego glanced at each other.

"And what about the money?" Carl asked.

"Um... money?"

"Cassie, you said you had it somewhere safe."

I went cold. Ace never said anything about any money. I wasn't prepared for this. I supposed he didn't know. It was too difficult to pretend I knew what they were talking about, so my only option was to tell them the truth. "The reason I don't know where Lewis is, is because... he tried to kill me."

"He did, huh?"

"Blunt force to the back of the head. And the thing is... I'm having trouble remembering details from around that time."

Carl scoffed. "Is that so? Well, let me remind you then. You said Lewis cashed in on the goods he stole from us and hid the money. You then moved that money to keep it safe for me. You were supposed to wait for us at the main Tavern in Motton; we were gonna come for him, you would take us to the money and then go your own way. Well, my guys were at that Tavern within five minutes and you weren't there. What happened?"

"I don't know. Something must've gone wrong. Maybe he caught on to what was happening-"

"Do you think you can play us, girl?" Diego said smoothly. The suddenness of hearing his thick Cuban accent for the first time made me jump. "You think we're stupid? Maybe Lewis did try to kill you, but I don' believe for a second that you've simply forgotten where you hid thirty thousand dollars."

"Thirty thousand dollars?" The figure knocked the wind out of me so much that I had to consciously focus on getting my breath back. My head was racing and my heart was beating the blood around my body so fast I felt faint.

"Did you think we'd simply let that kind of money go?" Carl asked.

"I don't know... what to tell you. I'm sorry."

"I don' wanna hear words," Diego said. "I don' wanna hear 'sorry'. I want my fucking money."

"OK..." I was panting now, and my eyes wouldn't stop darting around the room as I tried to comprehend just how much I owed these guys.

Diego leaned forwards on his chair and stared at me with those black, soulless eyes. "You got until tonight to get it. And if you don', I will keep you until you worked off every cent. Thirty thousand dollars – that's a lota clients, girl." He looked me over with an almost repugnant expression. "'Course, you'll be hired out at our lowest rate. And don't even think about tryin'a run. I'm especially good at finding people who try to fuck with me."

I nodded, feeling myself trembling. Feeling sick. My mind raced as I thought about where on earth I could start looking. And then it hit me.

"Do you have my last address? Maybe it's there. It must be there. Do you know where Lewis and I used to live?"

Carl cocked an eyebrow at the question. He took a notepad and pen out of his pocket, wrote down the address and handed it to me. I noticed that he had also written down his phone number. "When you have the money, ring me and I'll have my boys come collect it," he said.

"Thirty-one thousand dollars, in our hands by tonight," Diego said.

"Wait... I thought you said thirty thousand... even."

"It cost me a thousand to find you. I want that money back."

"You gave Ace a thousand-"

"You're free to go."

He didn't need to tell me twice. I'd never walked so fast. I headed down the hall, down the antique staircase, across the huge center room and then through the hallway of expensive sculptures. Then, just as I entered the marble entrance room, I saw something that made me hit the brakes and retract back around the corner.

Ace was there with a girl. I snuck another peek. Her black hair ran mid-length down her back, and her pretty, dark eyes sparkled as she gazed into Ace's like a love-sick puppy.

"In a few weeks I'll be staying in the townhouse for a while," she said in a low voice that was almost a whisper. "Things are easier there - no security... just my drunken mother..."

"A few weeks! I can't wait a few weeks!"

"Well, you'll just have to," she said with a sultry smile. "You know I'm worth it."

"Hmmm..." he said, drawing her in even tighter.

"You knew this wouldn't be easy."

"No, it's damned near impossible."

"There's nothing I can do about that." She glanced in my direction and I pulled back, hoping she didn't see me. "I should go."

There was nowhere for me to hide, nowhere for me to run except back down the long hallway, but I doubted I would make it to the end in time. The pair went silent, and I imagined they would be saying their goodbyes. As soon as I heard her heels clicking on the marble, I stepped out into the entrance way as if I'd just arrived.

"Hi..." I said awkwardly. I was still trembling from my encounter with Diego.

Still with that sultry smile, her dark eyes scanned me from head to toe. She flicked her long black hair over her shoulder before rudely brushing past me.

I gave Ace a quizzical look only to see his gaze fixed to her shapely rear as it swung to and fro in her tight-fitting, red dress. As the girl left his sight, he sidestepped to recapture his view.

"Come on, Loverboy," I said, grabbing him by the arm. "We've got things to do."

-2-

"What the fuck happened to you?" Ace asked as we got into his car.

"What do you mean?"

"You're white as ghost and shaking like you're having a mild seizure."

Pull yourself together, Cassie, I told myself, taking a breath. "I need you to take me here," I said, holding up the piece of paper Carl gave me.

"I ain't takin' you nowhere but home, sweetheart. I've done my good deed for the day."

"Good deed?" I scoffed. "Don't try to bullshit me like you were only trying to help me out when all along you just had your eyes on the money. A thousand dollars, Ace? I have no idea how I'm gonna pay that back!"

"They want you to pay it back?"

"Yes."

"Shit..."

"Take me. Do a proper good deed for once in your life and take me."

Ace looked at me and appeared to reconsider. "Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"

"Please. Please, Ace?"

Ace reached over and snatched the piece of paper out of my hand. "Hutt."

"Do you know it?"

"Yeah, I know it. It's two fucking hours away." He tossed the bit of paper back at me.

"Then we'd better get going."

Ace heaved a breath to show his disapproval of the arrangement before turning the ignition and sinking his foot to the floor.

Neither of us spoke for the entire journey. Ace didn't touch his last two beers, and there were no offers for a rematch of our baseball game. I assumed his mind was heavily set on the girl, and I was consumed with worry about the money. The two hours dragged on, but we eventually arrived in the tiny town of Hutt.

The main street was anything but bustling. There were only two stores open, and the rest had closed signs hanging in the windows. There were a couple of people loitering around which was the only thing that stopped it from feeling like a ghost town. I was almost expecting to see tumbleweed come rolling by.

Two streets down, Ace pulled into the driveway of a single-storied, run-down house on a tiny section that badly needed the lawns mowed. The house was in dire need of attention with peeling clapboard, torn curtains and a couple of smashed windows. I looked down at the address for the millionth time as if we might have made a mistake.

"Looks like the place is still empty," he said after turning the car off. "You gonna check it out?"

I got out and did a full circular lap of the house, hands in the back pockets of my jeans. I peered in through the windows as best I could, but there wasn't much to see apart from crappy broken furniture. It was definitely empty.

Ace had gotten out of the car and was at the front door, rattling the handle. "You want me to kick it in?" he asked as I joined him.

I tried turning the knob myself and briefly inspected the lock. I pulled out a thick piece of bent wire from the back pocket of my jeans – one of a few small lock-picking tools I carried with me. It seemed silly to take them with me wherever I went, but those pieces of scrap metal had been my lifeline for the first weeks after I arrived in Castle Rock and I still couldn't part with them.

I inserted my wire into the lock, poked around until I felt the lever lift and then turned it over to unlock the door.

"Fuck me..." Ace said.

"No thank you." I gently pushed the door in, and it opened with a loud, rusty creak.

The place had been messed up like someone had been looking for something. Furniture had been overturned, cabinets were shattered, draws had been scattered and holes had been kicked in nearly every wall. I desperately hoped they hadn't been looking for the money and found it.

"We're looking for a shoebox," I told Ace. "It's light-blue with lace around it."

He started looking in the bedrooms while I took the kitchen. I tried to think about places where I might have hidden something so important. Surely I would have gone to a lot of effort to ensure it was properly concealed.

"Got it," Ace called from the other room.

I figured he was only talking about the shoebox so pulled up another loose floorboard. I never would have thought there could be something more important to me than my photos.

"I got it," Ace said from the doorway, shoebox in hand.

"Oh, great... thanks." I stood from my kneeling position on the floor and then pushed past him to check another room.

"Are we leaving now, or what?"

"There's just something else I need to... well, I'd like to look around some more to see if anything triggers a memory."

"Well, hurry up. I got shit to do tonight." He dropped the box on the floor at his feet before heading out the front door.

I searched the house from wall to wall, ceiling to floor. I got up into the roof through the attic door, and I checked every loose floorboard. A terrifying feeling grew heavier in the pit of my stomach with every room I gave up on. My search soon turned frantic. I yanked the draws out of the kitchen counters and ripped the overturned sofas apart.

A shovel was leaning up against the wall in the laundry, and I grabbed it before marching out the front door. I scanned the area for spots where the grass didn't grow and began to dig.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Ace laughed. He had walked up behind me and I hadn't noticed.

I brushed a sweaty strand of hair out of my eyes and continued to dig. "If you don't wanna wait, just go."

"What's goin' on?"

"I'm looking for something that should be here."

"You do remember I found your stupid box before, right?"

"Not that. Something else."

"What?"

I continued to dig. "Oh God, this can't be happening..."

Ace grabbed the shovel out of my hands and tossed it aside. "Tell me what's goin' on. Tell me what the fuck's going on, Cassie. Now!"

"They say I owe them money," I blurted out.

"How much?"

"Thirty... thirty-one thousand dollars."

Ace's jaw dropped. "How?"

"Lewis stole it... kind of... and I hid it from him to keep it safe for Carl, but I don't know where because I can't remember."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

I gave him a sharp look.

"You thought I'd snatch it and leave you high and dry?"

"It's thirty grand. Wouldn't you have?"

Ace seemed to think about it and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, I might be here for a while so, unless you're gonna help me, leave me." I picked up the shovel again and continued working on my hole.

"How do you even know you buried it?"

"I don't. I just... had a sudden urge to dig."

Ace watched me for a while - maybe ten minutes or so. I'd look up at him every now and then as if to say, "What are you still doing here?" and he'd be frowning like he was in deep thought.

"There's this kid - Billy's brother, Vern. You know him?" he asked.

"No."

"He buried a jar of pennies to hide them from Billy and wrote a map so he wouldn't forget where he put 'em. But the fuckin' dumbass didn't think that Billy might find the map. Vern's been diggin' for that jar for over a year now, and every time, he crawls out from under that porch with nothin' but dirty hands."

"And nobody's told him that they're not there to find? That's cruel."

"You're missin' the point. Who's to say that Lewis didn't know where you hid the money? Who's to say he didn't find it and is now livin' it up large down on the coast of Mexico or somewhere?"

"You could be right, but I don't know what else to do. What if it is here?"

"Where? Under this rock-hard fucking ground?"

"Well, I don't know! Damn it!" I threw the shovel away, and it skidded into the long grass. The money wasn't there, and I knew I just had to accept it.

I stormed into the house to grab my box and then got back in the car where Ace was already waiting. I slammed the heavy door as best I could and then sat sulking. I grabbed one of his last beers and expected some backlash for it, but it never came. I don't usually drink beer, but a sedative in any form seemed like a good one at that point. I cracked it open and got a large swig into me while he took the last can for himself. I winced at the taste. It was like drinking alcoholic dirt-water.

"Every week, Vern crawls out from under that porch filthy and feelin' sorry for himself," Ace said. "Think of all the time he's spent digging for ten measly dollars. He could've gone out and made that money back ten times over."

"This isn't ten dollars; it's thirty thousand dollars. It would take me ten years to save that kind of money. And I don't have ten years. They wanna collect the money from me tonight. I'm fucked, Ace. I am so fucked!"

"There's always a way. You just gotta use your head."

Maybe he was right, but I had no clue how.

I had the shoebox on my lap and lifted the lid. The photo of my mother and father on their wedding day was on top. I felt guilty for being so unhappy to see it, and yet I also felt that my disrespect was justified.

"Is that your mom?" Ace said, startling me a little. "She's real pretty."

I took a while to answer. "Yes, she's my mom."

"What happened to her?"

"She couldn't handle my father's death." I replaced the lid because I couldn't bear to look at her any longer. "I don't know what to feel. I should love her - I did love her, and yet, I loathe her. She should be here for me right now. She should have been there for me my whole life."

"You can't change the way things are, so stop banging your head against the wall trying. Just get the fuck over it... and get on with it." Although his words seemed harsh, he spoke them softly as he stared out towards the house. I sensed we weren't only talking about me now, and so I didn't take it personally.

"Did something happen to your mom too?"

"She walked out on me when I was six."

"Oh... sorry. Why did she leave?"

Ace shook his head. "That's all you get." He reached over to pop open the glove box in front of me and snatched up a zippo and his packet of cigarettes. He pulled one from the pack with his lips before lighting up.

"I can help you get the money," he said, flipping his zippo closed.

I stared at him, taken aback. "Seriously?"

"If you can buy us the time, I can get you the cash."

"How much time?"

"Couple months," he shrugged. "You wouldn't wanna ask for more than three."

"They'll never let me have that long. They were insistent on getting it tonight."

"Then you gotta offer them something to make it worth their wait."

"What could I possibly give them that they don't already have?"

"You could offer them more money. Or... Lewis."

I pondered the idea for a minute. They did seem to want him quite badly, and although Diego said he was good at tracking people down, Lewis had proven himself elusive so far.

"Do you know why they want him?" I asked.

"I know he killed Carl's brother. Dunno why or how, but Carl will want him dead for that. And that means Lewis is worth something to you." Ace wouldn't look me in the eye as he told me this, and I sensed something was a bit off.

"Why do you seem like you know they'll reduce my debt for sure? Wait a minute... They were offering one thousand to find me. How much are they offering to find Lewis?"

Ace smirked with a slight laugh, and he finally looked at me. "Ten thousand."

My mouth hung open as my brain worked through it all.

"We could put the word out that you're alive and well, and Lewis might come straight to you. Easy. If you help me get him, I'll split it with you."

"Wow. The time you picked me up during that storm - no wonder you wanted to find him so badly. And, this afternoon, you fed me to the sharks for a grand, and now you wanna use me as bait to lure a maniac for more money?"

"That about sums it up."

I scoffed in outrage.

"Look, Cass, that money is there for the taking. Someone's gotta get it, and it might as well be me."

"Well it won't be. Because there's no way I'm doing that for any amount of money. What if he tries to kill me again and succeeds this time?"

"We'd be smarter than that. We'd rig it up. Lure him in a trap."

"Ace – it's not happening. I don't wanna take the risk."

"It's more risky having him loose out there. What if he finds out you're alive and we don't know about it?"

"Like you said before, he's probably miles away. And I'd rather pay more money than risk it."

"Then you're stupid."

"I'd rather be stupid than dead. Now what's the deal with you gonna be?"

Ace took another drag of his smoke, probably to calm himself after learning he'd miss out on thousands of dollars. "You're gonna work for me."

"Doing what exactly?"

"We'll get to details later. You buy the time and then we'll talk."

It sounded downright dodgy as hell, but I had to run with it. I wasn't exactly swimming in options.

"And keep all this to yourself," he added. "You harp one word to Chris or anybody else and the deal's off. You don't talk about where we went today, Antonia, Lewis, nothin'. You got it?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Ace fired the ignition and the engine rumbled to life. As we rolled down the driveway, I happened to glance at the neighbor's house and saw a skinny, red-headed guy peering out from one of the windows. As soon as he realized he'd been seen, he hid behind the curtain and tried to peer out more discreetly. He sure seemed interested in our being there. I wondered who he was and how long he'd been watching.

Ace dropped me off at my doorstep - the exact place he'd picked me up from just a few hours earlier. How I wished I could take a trip back in time and be that relatively carefree girl again, even for a moment.

"Call them tonight and I'll come see you in the next couple of days," he told me.

"Ace, what we were talking about earlier... about luring Lewis... just promise me you won't do anything."

"Are you gonna pay me what you're gonna lose for me? Then, sure."

I huffed in annoyance and got out of the car, slamming the door.

As his '49 rowdily backed down the drive, I lifted the plant pot to grab the key that I'd left there in the morning, but it was gone. A missing key could only mean one thing – that I had a visitor. I opened the door to see the kitchen table covered with textbooks and Chris at the window with a questioning frown.

"What's going on, Cass?"