NOONE
Web of Deceit
The next morning Noone was out of bed earlier than his normal routine. He was in the corridors, laundry room, at the entrance and everywhere he usually checked or tidied up in an almost blitzkrieg fashion rather than his normal easy pace doing things so that his day was filled with small tasks to perform. After he had finished everything he had decided to get done early and while he was cleaning up and changing clothes his phone rang, so he answered it promptly.
“Hello, this is Noone” he said into the receiver.
“Noone I had an inquiry about apartment 412 and agreed to an appointment to show it at 5:30 today” Richard Marchant said rather than greeting him as most people would do. “You will need to let them in and show it, do your best to make them feel like it is a good apartment for them. Their names are Ann Compton and Deborah Wilson, they will be roommates and yes they know it is a one bedroom. Call me when they leave so I can hear if you think they are going to take it.”
“Yes sir, I will be gone for a little while early today. I have a doctor’s appointment, nothing serious, just routine. I have already finished my normal cleanup jobs. I will be back in plenty of time to show 412” Noone answered him and set the stage for time for himself to be gone.
“Fine, just call me when they leave” Marchant said and hung up the call.
Noone had decided to keep thinking of the man on the fifth floor as “Marchant”, even though he was sure it was not Richard Marchant up there and that this man had been cleverly impersonating him for longer than Noone had been here. He also had decided not to say anything to Detective Forbes until he was sure of much more. Within minutes Noone was out of the apartment building entrance and walking down the side walk.
Noone walked the eight blocks to the storage facility where he had a closet sized unit leased by the year. He signed in, showing the attendant his ID and walked upstairs to his unit. He unlocked the lock, opened the door and retrieved the large blue travel bag inside. Then locked the door back and went outside onto the sidewalk. Once outside Noone walked the two blocks to the main railway station in the city. Carrying the bag, he walked inside the depot and across the colorful tile floors to the hallway leading to the restrooms for men and went inside.
Once inside and seeing that the room was presently devoid of any other people, Noone opened the bag and began placing different smaller bags and containers on a child diaper changing table on the rear wall. One of the bags inside was a garment bag which he hung up on the nearest toilet stall door and unzipped it completely, unfolding the bag back around its contents. Inside was an expensive Armani suit and pale blue Indian silk shirt. Wrapped around the hanger of the shirt was an Eton school tie and with the bag unwrapped from the clothes, they could at least start to bloom out. A smaller bag he had placed on the table he unfastened next to reveal alligator skinned dress shoes with dress socks folded inside. The following bag would have made anyone nearby more curious, inside was a man’s wig rolled inside out of dark hair cut to a fashionable style, a small contact lens container that would reveal brown lenses and a very well made dark hair neatly trimmed mustache. Other items in the bag were those items used to apply and/or wear the others. Lastly there was an alligator skinned attaché portfolio, which appeared to be not exactly totally empty.
After all the items were out of the bag, Noone turned the larger bag inside out and it became an expensive looking soft sided travel bag with none of the appearance of it reverse side.
It took Noone about fifteen minutes to apply the wig, mustache and contact lenses first. Then he carefully changed into the shirt and suit. As he did, he replaced the clothes he had been wearing into the bags he was emptying out and placed them into the reversed travel bag.
At two times other men came into the restroom area, relieved themselves at the urinals, washed their hands and left again, to them Noone appeared to be just another traveler freshening up for a business meeting he had come to the city for.
In just short of thirty minutes Noone was transformed, everything packed and the items from the attaché in his pockets such that now Alberto Terego was leaving the restrooms. Once in the main station area, Alberto walked to a baggage locker, put the travel bag inside, made sure the door was securely locked and took its key before turning to leave the station.
Outside the station, at the parking curb Alberto hailed a taxi and got inside telling the driver to take him to the Financial District, before the driver nodded and pulled away to drive across the city. Just before 10:00 am Alberto was paying his fare and stepping out of the cab onto the sidewalk about one block around the corner from the bank he was going to visit as it opened for the morning.
When Alberto entered the bank he walked to the receptionist for personal bankers and was glad to see it was one he did not know. After making his request to see Ms. Abrahms he sat in a chair and waited to be called. After about a fifteen-minute wait Kelly Abrahms came out and walked Alberto to her office.
“Welcome back Mr. Terego, I haven’t seen you in almost a year” Kelly said to Alberto as she reached out to shake his hand and after motioning for Alberto to be seated in the chair across her desk. “Please be seated. What can I do for you today?’ she asked him as she slipped into her desk chair.
“Thank you, Mrs. Abrahms. I have come to do my yearly review of my account and visit my safety deposit box after that.” Alberto replied as he seated himself only after Mrs. Abrahms was completely seated. “I doubt that will take up too much of your time, I am sure the accounts are maintaining themselves perfectly.” At that Alberto handed her his ID card and bank card so she could access the accounts on her computer.
After the screen came to the banner for Alberto to enter his pin code, he did so from the small pad on his side of the desk behind her monitor. Then when her screen was filled with Alberto’s account information she turned the monitor so they could both see the screen and asked. “Would you like to look at these alone, I can turn the screen completely to you. I see you did not allow for remote access or email of account information.”
“Thank you, no this is fine. Just scroll down slowly so we can see the last six months’ transactions, if you will. There is little activity to look at usually.” He requested. Mrs. Abrahms complied completely and after only 10 minutes Alberto looked back across the desk and directly into her eyes saying “That is just as I expected. Everything appears to be in perfect order. Deposits are as I assumed, deductions are flowing out as I have set up and there seems to be no unauthorized activity.”
“I am so glad to hear that, Mr. Terego. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?” Kelly Abrahms asked.
“No thank you, I just need to sign in with your safety deposit box personnel so I can take care of some things in there as well.” Alberto answered.
At that, both rose and left her office walking over to the half wall in front of the safety deposit box receptionist, there Kelly Abrahms and Alberto Terego said their good byes and Alberto turned to the young woman at the desk in front of him.
“Good morning Mr. Terego, my name is Donna. How may I help you.” She said to him with an enchanting smile.
“Here is my identification and my safety box number. I would like to look at some things in my box if I may?” Alberto told her.
After checking his ID and box number, she gave him a card to sign and she compared it with the one on her computer screen. Then she looked up at him and as she pushed the button to open the gate next to him said. “Please follow me.”
Alberto open the gate and followed her into the safety Deposit box vault. Once they were in front of his box, Alberto put his key in the lock and she followed suit with the bank’s key, turning them to open the door to his box. Then she let Alberto take the box out of the vault wall. Donna then pointed to a door into a separate small room and said. “You can open your box in there in private. When you are done, let me know and we will put your box back into its slot in the vault wall.”
Alberto thanked her and stepped through the door closing it behind him. Then he took the box to the table in the center of the room and unlocked it. Alberto opened the lid and took another box out of this one, it was a metal box he had a manufacturer make to just fit inside his safety deposit box. This box had a twelve key pad on its lid and each key had what looked like oriental characters on them. A warning label was above the keypad stating that this box was lead lined and equipped with acid spray inside that would be activated if the password was not entered correctly the first time destroying the contents. Alberto smiled to himself, entered the password and opened the lid.
He grinned at seeing what was inside, even though he had ignored this box completely for almost three years now. Inside there was a velveteen bag tied closed, several envelopes in plastic zip locked bags and a larger envelope that covered most of the bottom of the box. Alberto knew what was in each one, but today all he wanted was the contents of the bag. Opening the bag, he slid out the SAT phone inside. Taking a freshly charged battery out of his suit jacket inside pocket, locked it into place on the phone and placed it in his jacket pocket. With that done he put the bag back into the box and locked it, then put that box back inside the safety deposit box and locked it. Then he left the room and asked Donna to come back in so they could place the safety deposit box back into its slot in the vault wall. In minutes they were done and Alberto had thanked her and was leaving the bank.
Outside, Alberto walked two blocks away from the bank in the opposite direction from the one he had taken coming there, to a different street entirely and hailed a taxi.
The taxi took Alberto Terego back to the train station and after paying his fare, with a generous tip, he walked back inside and directly to the luggage locker and retrieved the travel bag leaving the key in its lock. Bag in hand he walked across the station and into the men’s room. Thirty minutes later Noone walked out of the men’s room carrying a blue travel bag and left the station heading up the sidewalk in the direction of the storage facility. Once the blue bag was back inside Noone’s unit he locked its door, had signed out and was taking a leisurely walk the eight blocks back to the apartment building where he lived and worked.
About two blocks from Noone’s building he passed a small green belt area, not a park exactly as there were no amenities for children to play on and no large grassy areas, just a narrow green area with a sidewalk through it and a couple of benches to sit on at opposite ends of the green space. Noone entered the space and sat down on the first bench, as it was not quite lunch time, no one was in the area. Noone took the SAT phone out of his jacket pocket, keyed in his password and scrolled down the contacts list to CWCA and hit dial. After he heard three rings the phone was answered.
“Hello, this is Cynthia Williams.” Came the reply.
“Hi, Mrs. Williams this is Father Cique. I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.” Noone said into the phone.
“Not at all Father, in fact I was just thinking about you and Mr. Noone the other day.” Cynthia said in a light and happy tone.
“Oh, why was that, may I ask? I have been remiss in not keeping in better contact I suppose. But you know how things get when you travel as much as I do with the different missions.” Noone answered.
“I do understand Father, no problem, it was just that I got a call from a detective Forbes a couple of days ago about Mr. Noone and his time at the hospital. I remember he moved away from California and was surprised to hear from a policeman asking about his injuries and longtime recuperating.” With a little concern in her voice now.
“He is not in trouble is he?” Noone asked as if he didn’t already know the answer.
“Oh my no, at least not from what I got out of the conversation. It seems he was just a witness about some missing persons there. It was after the phone call that I thought about you and how much help you were to him while he was going through all the surgeries and him with amnesia to boot, poor man.” She answered now a tinge of sadness in her tone. “The detective said he seemed just fine, and that he had only called, just to confirm about his identity, since Mr. Noone’s identity was so recently established in respect to his age.”
“Well good then, I am glad he sounds okay and not in trouble. The reason I called was to check on you and that son of yours.” Noone asked.
“We are both fine Father, thank you for asking. He’s a junior now at Clemson thanks to that scholarship you helped him get. We are both so thankful for all your help.” She said
“Oh I didn’t do much just a word here and there. I am glad you are both well, thank the Good Lord. I am glad I got to call then and will try to call again when I can.” Noone told her finally.
“Anytime Father, I enjoyed hearing from you, goodbye then.” Cynthia told him.
“Goodbye Cynthia, may the Lord continue to bless you.” Noone answered and then listened as the call disconnected. He was glad that what he heard from her agreed with what detective Forbes had told him. Next he wanted to make a call to the south Pacific to a ship-to-shore phone. Tapping another contact that showed being DMRM it took a few seconds to connect before Noone could hear a ring and then finally the call was answered even though the reception was less than excellent.
“Yeah, who’s there? I’m kind of busy right now.” A gruff voice blurted out.
“It’s Father Cique, Davey.” Noone said (Davey Mctarr knew Noone only as Father Sydney Cique. The Minister who had visited him while he was in the hospital and whom he had confided in after a long time only). Davey Mctarr now ran a boat out of Rikitea on Mangareva Island in the Gambier Islands group of French Polynesia. He was the man Noone had set up the Noone identity for as he was being released from UCLA Medical Center, known to everyone there as Noone, so Davey could escape from the people who had tortured and almost killed him by setting him up another identity as Davey McTarr known only to the man Davey knew only as Father Cique. All he had wanted was to be where no one would ever find him and live a simple life fishing and boating. Now he lived near a beach below MT Duff on the south coast of Mangareva Island.
“Hey Father, is everything cool, I haven’t heard from you in a long time.” Davey asked.
“Fine Davey, just checking on you. Are you still loving it there?” Noone asked.
“You bet padre, I told you, you should come on down. You’d love it, creepy town with all the ruins of the convent, towers, prison and you would bust a smile at St. Michaels with all that mother of pearl inlay.” Davey joked with the man who made this happen for him.
“Someday Davey, someday. Well just wanted to be sure you were okay, I’ll try to call sooner next time.” Noone said.
“Anytime and anything for you Father Syd.” Davey said as he laughed and hung up the call. He was the only one he knew, who called Father Sydney Cique, Syd.
Noone disconnected his end of the call. That was the only two he wanted to be sure of today. Now he needed to get back to the apartment building and be ready for the two women coming to look at apartment 412.
Back in his apartment, Noone got on his knees in his closet with the door open and then took the SAT phone out of his jacket pocket and put it in one of his winter duck boots under the felt inner lining and put the folded wool socks back inside over them. Then he stood up hung his jacket on a hanger and closed the door.
At six-fifteen he called Marchant and reported on the apartment 412 showing. Noone told him, the two ladies seemed very interested and that he would probably be getting a call soon. Marchant listened but was as usual, seemingly unimpressed. Noone settled into his chair and began looking at his book as if reading, but his mind was in full calculation mode now; what he knew, what he wanted to know and how to know it. As Noone finally settled into his bed, the one thing he was sure of was that the man on the fifth floor was not Richard Marchant and that he had something to do with the Varner’s going missing if that was all they were. Tomorrow it would start, tomorrow this sabbatical he had created would end.
