Chapter Five – Background Check
Miss Parker strode down a corridor and entered a dim room. There was no one there but someone would return soon – Broots was never away from his computer for long. She paced, and before long, he came back with a manila folder and was surprised to see her. "Miss Parker!" he exclaimed, "I've been looking all over for you! Listen, the lab was able to narrow it down to – "
She walked right past Broots and he took this as a cue to follow her. She gave a dismissive wave. "Save it, Broots," Miss Parker said tersely. "I want a background check on Andrew Stuard."
Broots looked at her, amazed. "How did you know about that? Nobody at the lab's spoken with you very recently and I just – "
"A little caged bird I know was humming to himself," Miss Parker said cryptically and receiving another sidelong glance from Broots.
"Okey," Broots said. "Um, I couldn't find you anywhere so I made an educated guess and did a background check." He handed her the file. She flipped through it as the neared Sydney's office. "And seeing as how he knew Jarod – or at least knew where he lived – I figured they kept in touch so I made a record of where he's been doing his transactions and maybe that way we can find Jarod." Broots said this last part in Sydney's presence.
Miss Parker slapped the folder onto Sydney's desk. He opened it. "This is Andrew Stuard?" he asked.
"The one and only," Miss Parker said. "According to this file, he landed a job at TekNolo-G while the unemployment rate here was at a relative high, in April, right after his finishing parole. A few months later, he has made his way to the top although he's already been arrested several times for burglary, either by holding up a bank or scamming the stock market. No way could someone with this background have risen so fast so far."
"You smell a rat," Sydney prompted.
"Broots. Get me a report on what Lyle is doing," Miss Parker said.
The computer geek looked flustered. "Lyle? No one's seen him during the past month, much less known what he's doing. Last anyone's heard, he was supposed to be in Africa meeting with the Triumvirate."
"And what is he supposed to be doing there?" Miss Parker gave him a Look.
Broots heaved a weary sigh. "I suppose I'll go find out."
"You go do that," Miss Parker said a little curtly. Broots left.
"Andrew's cash transactions say he was staying in Baltimore, but he was in Bishopville when he captured Jarod two days ago." Sydney ruminated as he looked at the table Broots had created and then looked up at Miss Parker, whose heels he heard leaving the room. "Where are you going?"
"To Bishopville, of course," she said with a slight smile as she looked at the clock. "Right after lunch."
A black limousine parallel parked behind a blue Corvette in front of a motel. It looked very out of place in the small dusty town. The chauffeur could imagine dead tumbleweed rolling its way across the scene before him.
Miss Parker stepped out. She looked once more at the piece of paper in her hand. "This is the place," she mentally affirmed to herself. "Dusty Town Motel." She said as she looked at the backwards settlement around her. "Cute."
She took out a mirror and checked her face. Miss Parker wanted to look like she was desperate, like she was searching for a lost brother. She recalled Jarod's haunted look and when she was satisfied with her imitation, she put the mirror away.
Taking timid steps into the motel, Miss Parker approached the man at the check-in desk. "Please," she pleaded as she dug through her purse and pulled out a much-handled photograph, "Can you help me find my brother? Andrew Stuard? This is what he looks like ..." Her voice broke.
The man's haggard expression softened as he crept from around the desk. "Of course. He stayed here just a while ago. Let me take you to his room." The clerk started up a set of stairs.
Miss Parker looked up and stopped sniffling for a brief while. "You mean he's gone?"
"Yeah. You just missed him." The man saw Miss Parker's face become more distressed. "How are you related to 'im, anyway?"
"He's my half-brother. My mother made a mistake on Prom Night and put him up for adoption. I've been looking for him ever since I found out about him," Miss Parker explained between faux tears.
"Ah. I kin unnerstan'. My wife worked at a agency that helped locate missin' kids. The stories she told me were so sad." The man gave her a sympathetic glance. "My angel coulda helped ya out, but she crossed over to the other side just last year, God bless 'er soul." The entered a hallway.
Still putting on the pretext of searching for her half-brother, Miss Parker asked, "What was Andrew like?"
They had reached the end of the corridor. The man unlocked the door on his right – 217 – and ushered Miss Parker into the room. "He was a quiet guy – kept to himself mostly. Was impatient – mighta been waitin' for somethin'. Coulda been you."
Miss Parker regarded the room at a glance and, still playing the part of sister searching for family, walked around the room, taking an indirect route towards the cardboard box on the bed. She sniffled and peered into it. A red notebook, the book Bart Simpson's Guide to Life, and a Lunchables lunch were inside. "Are these his?"
The man nodded from the doorway. "Brought 'em with 'im, yeah. You kin take 'em if you want. I don't think he's comin' back."
Looking up, Miss Parker gazed at the face of the man, who seemed to be really sincere. "Thanks for all of your help." She picked up the box. "I appreciate it. Other people wouldn't have been so assistive." She smiled. "I guess I'll be going now."
The man stayed behind to lock the door and Miss Parker traversed the corridor and made her way down the stairs with the box. As the man watched her step into her limousine and tell her chauffeur to step on it, he held his cell phone to his ear. "Mr. Lyle? It's me, Seth. Just wanted to tell you the brunette with the legs dropped by. Put on a performance so good I woulda fell for it if you hadn't told me she was coming. Made up some shit about searching for a half-brother. ... Yeah, okey ... later."