But Albert had barely even left the room when Hubert turned on his daughter with spiteful eyes.
“But look at you,” his voice was hard with accusation. “You don’t look like you are suffering like the family you left behind. How long did you have to open your legs and to how many men?!”
Penny’s spine went straight. “Everything I have I worked hard with my sweat and blood despite the hardship, despite everything. If you are bitter about my success then maybe you shouldn’t have sent for me!” She took pleasure in the widening of his eyes. Biting back a small smile she continued in the same stern voice. “I am not the little girl I was when I left, dad. Now, will you tell me what you want from me? I have a company to grow.”
It took him a while to get over her words. It was nice to see Hubert Nowak speechless for a change. But she couldn’t take full satisfaction though, not when his eyes were so hollow. He sat back in his chair and looked at her mother before reaching a hand out to take hers in his.
“I conned the wrong person.”
Penny looked around at the bare furnishing. “Doesn’t look like you did much with what you got. Is this why you left Poland?”
He bowed his head. “Albert told you?”
“I had to know what I was getting into. If I was to leave my company to help you do I not need a good reason?”
Hubert’s eyes were hopeful when he looked up at his daughter. “You will help me?”
“That depends on what you want me to do.” Penny’s eyes drifted to her mother again. The poor woman didn’t even have enough strength to speak. Penny reached out and took her free hand in hers. “What happened to my mother?”
He bowed his head for a long time. His shoulders trembled as he took deep breaths. It took a while for her to realize he was crying. His bony shoulders shook with each sob. He could barely contain his tears. His fingers linked with Maja’s When he lifted his head his eyes were bloodshot.
“Your mother has lymphoma. I tried everything. I spent everything to treat her but nothing…nothing worked” He sniffed and bent his head to wipe the tears off his face. “I have not been the best father or husband.”
Penny looked away. Seeing her father, a man feared and respected for his prowess. In the network of underground thieves, con men and gamblers, he was the biggest shark in the water. Or used to be. What was left of the ferocious Hubert was a man riddled with debts and grief and a dying wife. Even though she felt sorry for him she couldn’t pretend the past 10 years did not happen.
“I am not here to be a member of your pity party, dad. This is not the time for that. I have a business to run and every minute spent outside it is an opportunity for my rivals to take over.” Her voice was rising and she didn’t know it. “So tell me what you want and let me be on my way!”
It wasn’t until she felt the frail hand of her mother on hers that she realized she was getting angry again.
“Don’t be so hard on your father, króliczku. He loves you, you know. We all do.”
Penny felt tears stink her eyes. Króliczku, meaning Bunny. When was the last time she heard that term of endearment. It brought all those lost memories back. Those memories had been replaced by her new life at age 18.
“Maja,” her father said. “You shouldn’t talk too much. You need to conserve your energy.”
Even in the gloom if there was one thing that remained constant it was her parents’ love.
“I know I have no right to ask anything of you,” Hubert said his voice soft and very low. “But if there was anyone else I could turn to I would. It hurts me to bring you back into this dysfunctional family.”
Somehow Penny believed him.
“I received a typed letter. Someone is blackmailing me. He goes by the name Avenge.” He reached into his pocket to retrieve two papers. “He knows my past and everything I have done. He swears he can turn me over to Polish authorities and would only refrain if I help him.”
“What sort of help does he want?”
“A couple of jewelries, a lot of art work. A lot of things. He needs my service stealing these things but…as you can see I have retired from that life.”
“Have you father? Have you really retired from that life” Penny asked.
Hubert held her gaze, her eyes were so much like his and it hurt to see her reflection there. She had loved her father very much, she thought the world of him until he chose to sell her off in his greed. True he wasn’t the perfect father. What father teaches his daughter to steal? By all moral standards he was not a true father figure yet he was all she knew. She knew how proud he was of her expertise while in the business.
Penny decided that she had to thank him for his betrayal. If he had not tried to marry her off she wouldn’t have discovered legitimate potentials.
Yet she was about to give up that legitimacy to help her family again.
“I have, bunny. I do not have the power to steal anymore. If I had anyone I trusted I would have asked this of them instead.”
“What about Albert?”
Hubert looked hesitant. “He has a business of his own now.”
Penny sensed there was more but he didn’t say anything more than that.
Hubert opened the letters in his hands and passed them to her. She took them and read them carefully. There was nothing in them to give the writer away. They were typed. But the curious thing was whoever typed them used a typewriter.
Penny felt the paper between her fingers feeling the imprint of the manual typewriter keys.
In the 21st century who still uses a typewriter?
Obviously someone who did not want to be traced. A computer generated letter could be traced but typewriters left nothing but imprints.
Penny read the letters again. They were haikus and their meanings were clear.
The first letter read:
Should judgement fall.
The thief no place can run.
But here salvation comes.
The second one was a continuation of the first and it was here she saw what the writer of both letters wanted.
Should salvation come.
The price though fair or steep.
Would you be wont to pay?
“There was an enclosed letter telling me to write my response and send it to a mailbox which was obviously registered in a fake name, I checked. If I want salvation I only have to send that letter of affirmation.”
Penny read the letters again. Should the writer make good his threat her father would end up in prison. She knew the weight of his crimes. She shared his guilt as they were once partners. If he went to jail so would she.
“I will do it.”
There was silence in the room.
“Whatever he wants I will steal them.”
“Penny…”
She raised her hand. “Don’t dad. I am not doing this for you. I do this because I am linked with this family no matter how much I deny it. If you are sent to jail it wouldn’t take a genius to link me with you and I too would be sent to jail. I cannot risk that.” She stood up and stared into his eyes so that he saw the hate in her eyes. “I do this for me.”
Even then Hubert smiled sadly. “Thank you.”
Penny hardened her heard against the flutter of hope budding in it. Looking away she said, “Send that letter and let’s see what Avenge wants.”
Phantom stood under a shade covered by the night shadows. He checked his watch. She wasn’t late but he needed to be out of Laod before anyone discovered he was gone. He paced a few steps away and back, driving his fingers into his hair. The blonde hair was gone now and so was the blue contact lenses. He hated the lens anyway.From a distance a car came to stop in front of an all night bar. Phantom moved away to avoid being detected by the glare of the headlights.Suddenly he heard movements behind him and immediately spun to see a woman approaching him with a smile on her face and her hand held up.“I could never surprise you, Phantom.”It was the pregnant woman from the museum. Gone was the pregnancy and the hand fan that had annoyed him, especially because she had almost blew his cover with how hard she worked that fan. If he hadn’t taken extra care to pin the wig down she would have blow it off his head.“You did not have to sneak up on me like an enemy, Luna.”“Well, sneaky or not
Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose wondering how soon his next vacation was. He could already picture himself relaxing at the beach of the tropics with his wife. His job was tedious. He was tired of dealing with criminals. But one thing he was most tired of was the obtuseness of witnesses. A number of unsolved cases in Laod involving murder and theft were attributed to either a lack of witnesses or the witness’ refusal to help. He suspected Evangeline was being intentionally unhelpful with her ramblings about the mystery man.“He was handsome. He did not have an accent.”Unable to help himself he slammed his fist into the table. “Miss!”Evangeline jumped.“Look behind you,” Stefan said forcing himself to calm down. “How many blonde men do you know in Laod? The vast population is blonde. I don’t need to know how handsome he was or how he spoke, I want information!”Evangeline looked behind her as he asked. The two blonde officers looked at each other. “They didn’t look like these o
“You will take the job?”Penny was walking back toward the car as fast as her heeled shoes could take her. Albert was coming after her with long strides.“I will take the job.”“Why?” He asked dark brows furrowed over his eyes as he came to a stop in front of the car.Penny turned to him in surprise. “I don’t get it. You drugged and abducted me for two whole days, traveled all the way from Port to Kleve for the sole purpose of meeting my father to hear why he wants me back and you act surprised that I am willing to help him in his time of need?”He looked back at the entrance of the house before lowering his voice to speak to her. “Yes. If you must know, yes I am surprised that you are willing to go down this lane again after turning your back on this family. I thought you left for good. I thought you wanted a fresh start. What sort of a fresh start is this when you run right back to the very thing you left behind?”“Have you ever heard of the word ‘loyalty’ before Albert?” Penny aske
It was three days after she left Kleve that she got confirmation of a letter from Avenge. Albert had called early that morning while she prepared for another day at the office. He had news for her and it wasn’t friendly news but whatever it was he kept to himself saying he would tell her when he saw her. So she spent the day in her office half in thought of what the news was. The day after she returned to Port, Jay had gotten her the lawyer she wanted. A shrew, renowned divorce lawyer called Benedict Goldman. He was in his forties and not quite what she thought a divorce lawyer would look like. Where she had expected a balding head he had a full head of dark brown hair. She had expected shifting unfocused eyes, yet his gaze when he sat with her to discuss the complexity of her marriage certificate was steady and charming. Pity he was married and loved his wife, she thought to herself. He didn’t seem to be intimidated by the fact that his opponent was Noel Greer. He seemed intrigued
"What the hell is this bastard doing here!"Penny moved to stand in front of Albert before he barreled further into her office to pummel Noel to the floor. Even Noel wasn't helping matters. He was behind her, body taut and ready to do battle."What is he doing here, Penny?" He demanded looking hard into her eyes with mistrust. The only person left out of the decade-old enmity causing the tension in the room was Jay and he stood by the door too stunned to move. It didn't take long before heads began to peep to see what the commotion was all about."Come in and close the door, Jay," Penny said in an impatient tone.He was already stepping back but he stopped at her command. "Uh...it seems like I do not want to be part of whatever is happening here.""You are a part of it." Giving Albert a withering, warning look she stalked to the door to pull him in. Before she closed the door, she walked into the main working space where her workers immediately jumped back to work. "I know you all wa
In Laod a light rain drizzled. It wasn't unusual during the pleasant summer to have a light downpour. It lasted for only a few minutes and then the sun broke through the clouds again, dragging the tourists from their lodges to historical sites, art shops and museums. Stefan Essen made his way to the station, grunting at the crowds in the streets. He hated tourists, they made his work harder than it was. Reports of robbery and murder were at an all-time high during the summer season. There were many unsolved cases from previous years, but none of them were as huge a deal as the disappearance and reappearance of the Royal Diamond necklace. The chief witness, Evangeline, the museum worker, was of zero help.Stefan's Senior Unit Chief wanted the case closed as soon as possible, and he was driving Stefan to a point of madness trying to find the man behind the name Danny Cooper. The pregnant woman who had caused the commotion at the museum had also been registered under a fake name. It did
Both men turned to each other in surprise as Lou spoke into the phone.“Stefan,” she drawled. “Yes, yes I know about protocols and all, but you have a lot on your hands, I will leave my report with your assistants…oh they are not your assistants? Could have fooled me…very professional indeed…lunch? No, that is not very professional, is it, Stefan, dear? How about some cigarettes?”Johann nudged Sebastian and they came to an agreement.As both men started to close in on Lou, she held the phone from her ear so that they could hear the last part of the conversation.“… Yes, just get the damn thing and put it on my desk!” Came Stefan's abrupt response. Johann and Sebastian stopped in their tracks. Lou smiled, embarrassed at Stefan's shouting, as she dropped the telephone back into its cradle.“I knew he would not mind, but Stefan needs to learn some manners, does he not?”Sebastian laughed. “He is our boss. We do not want to lose our jobs complaining about him.”“Of course not, and neith
"You look too excited," Albert observed as he took the package from her. They were in her house. Nancy was in the kitchen making food for lunch. She was wary of Albert but said nothing when Penelope asked her to make lunch for three. Penny had gotten rid of her wig to prevent shreds of evidence been traced back to her. Now she wore a lime green sweater and loose pants and walked barefoot across the Oriental rug in her living room. Her eyes sparkled."Penelope!"She jerked back to life. "What?""I don't like that look in your eyes. I understand that you once enjoyed the thrill of being the mistress of disguise, leaving the police scratching their heads in confusion while looking for loopholes to try to catch you but you are a respectable woman now with ..."She held up her hand and laughed. "Oh God Albert! I remember that I have a business to run."He narrowed his eyes at her turning the package containing the necklace over in his hands. He looked down at it. "That's good to know." He