The Whisper Box Page 6

  LadiesFirst: Let's drop the presidential talk Stud. I've been following it for quite some time now. I'm starting to get bored with it. Tell me more about you. I'm gonna' guess that you are a handsome gentleman. I know you have a great personality already. What else?

  RepublicanStud: Nothing really more to tell. My personal life is fine, I guess. How about you? Are you a happy person?

  LadiesFirst: No. I just wish my husband were home more. Honestly (I swear I'm not bragging, I wish this were not true), we are very wealthy. The down side to all of it is that I do not get to have a normal life. Remember the movie with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere? He was the millionaire and she was the hooker...he hired her to be his date at all of the functions he had to attend. There was no love at that point. She was just arm jewelry. Ya' know?

  Republican Stud: I remember that movie well. Jeez, sorry you feel that way though. So are you saying you're as beautiful as Julia Roberts?

  LadiesFirst: No, I'm not Julia Roberts, but I think I look good for an older woman. I'm in great shape and I take care of myself.

  RepublicanStud: So how old did you say you were?

  LadiesFirst: Don't push it buddy. Right now I am wearing a nightie and I think I look pretty damn good in it.

  RepublicanStud: Stop it. That's not fair. You're trying to tease me. Why does your husband not want anything to do with such an attractive woman?

  LadiesFirst: A couple of reasons: 1) He is having an affair. 2) He is NEVER home. 3) When I go on the road with him, he spends most of the time with his associates (or I'm arm jewelry).

  RepublicanStud: Jeez, he's having an affair and you know about it? Why don't you leave?

  LadiesFirst: He's had a lot of affairs in the past. I can't just leave my husband. He'd kill me.

  They spoke for about another hour before Aaron finally gave up first. He told her he had to go to bed. She had opened up a lot to him tonight. Now he was convinced that she was not crazy. He was also convinced that she knew something regarding what was about to go down in Washington. She could not be Laura Greene. Laura Greene, from what the news said, was not filthy rich. Maybe LadiesFirst was trying to mislead him. He shook his head in confusion. It did not add up. Nevertheless, he was going to continue being very cordial because he wanted her to trust him. He also liked her.

  Aaron made one more trip to the television room to see if any news had broken. Grant Winchester was no longer giving live reports. James Waldorf was doing the live reporting from Poughkeepsie. This could only mean one thing. There was no more news expected tonight. If Grant got sent to his hotel room for sleep then CNN expected nothing. Aaron clicked the television off.

  He crawled into bed thinking it would be impossible to sleep at this point. Minutes later, he dozed off.

  When the alarm went off a couple of hours later, Aaron lay there looking at the ceiling. This was getting old. He had awoken unrested, without his wife realizing it, far too many times in the past week and a half. He made his way to the kitchen, grabbed the coffee mug, and then kissed the children and his wife. He sat at the table staring aimlessly. Unaware that his wife was talking to him, he dozed off again at the table.

  “Aaron, baby, what's wrong? Did you not sleep well?” she said as she walked up and rubbed his shoulders.

  Aaron woke up and slowly spoke, his speech slurred. “No, I woke up on and off all night waiting to see if anything happened with Farnsworth.”

  He dozed off two more times in the shower. He refreshed himself in the bathroom, picked out his clothes, dressed slowly, grabbed his to-go cup of coffee and slid off to the car. The ride to the office was a blur.

  When he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed a car in his parking spot. His office did not have assigned parking but over the years they all just naturally agreed who parked where. He did not recognize the car and was in no mood to argue with anyone about his parking spot though. He parked in the back of the lot and was walking through the parking lot when he noticed the man standing near a tree just off the far side of the lot, out of the sight of those in the building.

  This guy just looked suspicious. To Aaron's surprise the stranger had his eyes locked on him and began to walk towards him. This man could not be a thief. He was dressed too nicely. This had to be some sort of a business associate.

  “”Hey. Are you Aaron Gallo?” yelled the stranger.

  “Yup, that's me. Can I help you?” he asked in his most professional voice, trying to hide his sluggishness.

  “Yeah man,” he said as he pointed a finger in Aaron's face and got within whispering distance of him. “You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. Stay away from your little chat rooms. You got me? I know about your wife, I know about your children, and so do all the people I work for. Stay out of the fucking chat rooms. Now go to work and keep your mouth shut. If you mention this conversation to anyone I will cut your legs off with a hacksaw.”

  The man did not wait for a reply. He walked to the car that was parked in Aaron's spot and sped off. The license plate was from California and it said SRFS UP. He remembered it but had a funny feeling it was bogus. The man that just approached him was not the surfing type.

  Aaron stood motionless, tingling from his scalp to his toenails. His brain was overwhelmed with about twenty-five different thoughts all at once. He almost fainted in the parking lot. Eventually, he started to walk to his office door. When he got there Miles met him at the door.

  “Who was that guy?” he asked.

  Aaron remembered the man’s warning, “He was looking for the guy that used to manage the office before me. He seemed kinda’ pissed. It was nothing to do with me though.”

  Aaron went to his office and sat there staring at his desk for an hour. What was he going to do? This man was obviously not joking around. He knew about his family. How in the hell did this guy know about his time on the Internet with LadiesFirst? Who the hell was this woman who he had a crush on? Why the hell did he let the kids talk him into buying a computer? These were just some of the questions that he needed answers to.

  Initially Aaron was scared. As he thought more about the encounter, he grew angrier than he had ever been. This man had the audacity to threaten his innocent children and his beautiful wife. He was not scared anymore. His fear turned to furious anger. He reached for the intercom, buzzed Mile's office, and told him to come on over. Miles was there in thirty seconds. Aaron could tell that Miles knew this was going to be juicy. After the stranger approached Aaron in the parking lot and the way he scurried to his office and shut the door it must have been obvious.

  “Hey man, if I'm on the Internet in one of those chat rooms that you love so much, and I'm under an assumed name, can you still figure out who I am?” asked Aaron.

  Miles looked puzzled. “Dude, is that why that guy stopped you in the parking lot this morning?”

  Aaron shot back, “No! Can you figure out who I am on the Internet? Yes or No?”

  Miles gave up with his inquisition, “Yeah man, do you have a profile? It's something that basically states your name, e-mail address, likes and dislikes, ya' know? Shit like that. It's probably already filled out when you registered you computer with your provider. That's the simple way. I would assume there are other more intricate ways if you really know your stuff. Why?”

  Aaron ran both hands through his hair. “Don't worry. Just curious.”

  A perfectly timed voice came over the loud speaker. “Aaron, Mr. O'Niell and Mr. Martin just called. They are driving through town and want to meet with you for about an hour before they move on toward Atlanta. They're gonna' be here in ten minutes.”

  Aaron and Miles both looked at each other with wide eyes. Miles hurried out the door. Aaron started grabbing paperwork and assembling it in some sort of order. He ran from office to office asking each employee the status of his or her files. The last thing he could think about right now was the possibility of his impending death because of his chat room friend. He also felt like he would rather do just a
bout anything to avoid having to deal with his boss. Rick O'Niell was a great guy, but John Martin was an idiot. He did not need his stuck up, “can do” attitude right now.

  John and Rick walked in the door smiling, Rick's always seemed genuine; John's had to be fake. It made Aaron want to quit. John notified everyone that his bosses had paged him. He sat his bags down in Aaron's office, led Rick into the conference room, and told everyone they would be about an hour. This happened every time the two of them came to town. The conference room door would be closed for at least an hour and a half, no matter what Johnny Martin said. They were not to be bothered. Aaron headed back to his office to continue his reorganization.

  He noticed John's nice leather bag with the company name embroidered on the side. He wondered why he never got one. Then he saw what was inside the bag. Sitting right there in the open was Johnny Martin's credit card. If he could buy a laptop at the Computer store down the street, and sign the receipt under John's name and credit card account number, he could converse on the Internet without being traced. He stopped himself. The thought of stealing his boss's credit card was outrageous; he was not a thief. Suddenly, he found himself thinking about the man in the parking lot. He thought about what he just told him, and how he indirectly threatened his family. His lips moved back and forth as he thought about his next move. Without hesitation, he reached inside the briefcase and grabbed the card. This would probably only work for a few days until either John or the people threatening him caught on, but somehow he felt like this whole matter was going to be resolved in a few days anyway.

  He made a smooth exit out of his office, telling the front desk clerk that he was going to Office Central to buy some phone message pads. Everyone in his office always jotted messages on torn off pieces of paper, napkins, and other miscellaneous things lying around the office. This was Rick's biggest complaint. They had none in storage so it was a perfect excuse for Aaron to mislead whatever co-workers saw him leave. He rushed out the front door and jumped in his car.

  His trip to Office Central was quick. He purchased four packages of pink phone message pads with his own money, making sure to get a receipt. Then he drove about a mile down the road to Computer Plus. It was a small store, so he knew they would be happy to get the sale. They would not question his credit card or any further identification. Aaron did not ask any questions, shop around, or do anything else that would take up any time. He just told the sales clerk that he wanted a top of the line notebook computer. The clerk went in the back, came out with a box, rang up the sale, and gave him the slip to sign. He scribbled “John Martin” across the bottom. There were no questions asked. The entire transaction took eight minutes.

  He drove back to his office and parked in his unoccupied parking spot. Upon getting out of his car, he looked around the parking lot as he walked away from his car to make sure no one was watching him. Thanks to the unexpected visitor that morning, he was suspicious. He left the computer in his car, jotted down all the information he needed from the credit card, and strolled back into his office within twenty minutes of leaving. John and Rick were still on the conference call. He placed the credit card back in John's briefcase and continued organizing his office. At this point he did not care anymore.

  John and Rick had enough time after their conference call to speak to Aaron for all of about twenty minutes. It was painless; they were cordial and then they were out the door. Aaron did the best he could to avoid any thought of what happened earlier this morning in the parking lot. He wanted so badly to call his wife and tell her to leave town with the kids but that would bring too many questions as to why. He really would not have minded telling her how he was speaking to this anonymous woman at night if he knew it would clear everything up. Unfortunately, it would not clear everything up. It would just create more questions and more confusion. He did not need that right now.

  Aaron walked to his car in the dark that evening. It was getting cold and he was getting nervous. It seemed like he looked over his shoulder with every step he took. The stranger in the parking lot definitely made his point. Aaron felt he would not be back that night, but nonetheless, he was still nervous. He found himself actually opening the box to the notebook computer on the way home while driving, even though he used to yell at his kids for opening up new video games in the car before they got home. To add to the irony, he had not wanted his kids to get a computer because he was afraid of the trouble they would get into on the Internet. Now he was the one in trouble.

  On his way home he listened to the usual banter on talk radio about how this Farnsworth story was about to progress to international level. The special guest of this particular show was a Republican congressman from Iowa. He urged the President to step forth and speak the truth if any allegations were true. The spokesperson for the Southeastern Democratic Coalition verbally assaulted the Republican from Iowa for reacting so strongly about something that was still unknown. They argued the entire time Aaron was driving home. He loved every minute of it.

  Aaron handed out the kisses and hugs to his family. Dinner felt like it took hours. All he could think about was sneaking out to the car and retrieving the computer that was now snugly hidden under the spare tire in the trunk. If he had brought it in when he got home there would be questions to answer about a two thousand-dollar purchase. He contemplated telling his wife that it was company issued but she knew better. She was well aware that the bank he worked for was struggling financially because he told her everyday. There would be no way that they would buy everyone two thousand-dollar laptops. Poor John Martin had no clue that his credit card balance just skyrocketed while he was shooting the breeze with his fellow higher-ups during their afternoon conference call. Aaron still could not believe what he had done this afternoon. Stealing the credit card bothered him a little; in fact it scared him that he had gone to such extremes because of LadiesFirst, the scandal, and the strangers threat.

  Emily actually fell asleep before the kids that night. Matty was still talking to herself in bed while Christopher rolled from one side of his bed to the other creating a ruckus that Aaron could hear down the hall. They each had nightly rituals, but he knew they would be asleep soon.

  As Aaron tiptoed out of the front door he noticed a car across the street with two elderly gentlemen in the front seat. He froze for about the fourth time today, thinking immediately about the warnings and the threats from the stranger in the parking lot. Just then both men stumbled out of the car. It was Ed, his neighbor, with his drunken brother-in-law Scott Bankman. Obviously Ed had to drive Scott's car back to his house. Aaron did not recognize the car so it had him shaking for approximately fifteen seconds. He breathed a sigh of relief, and continued on towards the car. Aaron grabbed the lap top box and the piece of paper with all of Mr. Martin's credit card information on it.

  When he got back in the house he stopped for a minute to make sure that he had not awakened anyone. When he realized everyone was still asleep, he headed down to his office and began the fifteen-minute process to sign Johnny Martin up for Internet service and sign him on. He was now on the Internet as Johnny Martin. The computer was a laptop and could not be traced to one particular location. He got into the Republican chat room and named himself JohnnyM80 because Republican Stud had been discovered. Next, he found LadiesFirst. He had to figure out a way to approach her, knowing she would be on guard. He could not tell her his real identity. Obviously her computer was being watched also. He sat there staring at the computer for about fifteen minutes, trying to figure out a way to approach her before she disconnected from the Internet.

  6

  Mac was worried and excited at the same time. He had no idea who was on his trail or if they were on his trail. He drove around town, getting on the highway, then off, changing lanes somewhat recklessly with the intent of losing anyone who may be following him. When he felt convinced that there was no one on his trail he headed to his home base, his office.

  He awoke Laura in the break-room the m
oment he returned, and then went with her to his office. They began opening the manila envelopes like children opening their presents on Christmas morning. There was no method to the madness. Videotapes and audiotapes covered his desk. They were all clearly marked with dates, and two word notes, such as “Other Woman” or “Admits Murder." Mac was salivating. Laura knelt on the floor next to Mac. She looked like she had been through a war. In a way, she literally had the pressure of the world on her shoulders. Not wanting to add to her worries, he did not tell her about the scuffle in her apartment. He told her about the problem getting up the stairwell, which explained all the bruises and stained, ripped clothes.

  “OK,” he said, “make sense of all this for me. I'm patient. Start at the beginning and take me right up to today.”

  Laura started flipping through notes and speaking. “All right,” she said reaching for a tape. “This is the first time I documented anything. This was the day after the incident I told you about before. Considering what I had seen, I knew I had to video or, at least, audiotape as much as possible. I had bought one of those small little silver audiocassette recorders that fit in my palm. It was great. The video recording was harder but I knew that I had to do it somehow, so I put an eight hundred-dollar recorder on my credit card. I needed one that was silent and small and finally chose the top of the line Toshiba. That video recorder fit inside my purse if you can believe it. I felt like I needed to act quickly because, at the time, we were almost about to go to war, yet he was doing this in his office. Honestly, it made me angry.”

  Mac took the tape she was holding and almost ran to his cassette player. He had a very extensive sound system and was very proud of it. It was too expensive for what he needed for his practice, but it was paying for itself right now. First he had to rewind the tape, which took about two minutes, but seemed like two hours. When the tape finally stopped, Mac almost immediately pressed the “Play” button.