Day at the beach Ch5

Chapter 5

     Another mountain of clouds rolled across the sea, blanketing the land, blocking the hopeful sun from the day.  Susan shivered as they climbed the stairs to the coffee shop.  The shop was warm and inviting with its smell of fresh ground coffee beans and dark wooden walls and banisters.  Norah Jones voice softly drifted through the room, singing the blues with a slight Billie Holiday inflection.
     Susan sat at a table near the large window that overlooked the beach street while Brad collected their orders.  People and cars moved on the street, disappearing in the mist as it cast the day in gray and offered a sense of mystery to an already mysterious morning.
     "Would you like to share what's going on?  Brad asked as he sat down across from her, placing two cups of foaming brew on the table.
     She furrowed her head as she looked at him.  'More than anything, right now.' she thought.  But this seemed way out of Brad's league - hers too.  He was just a nice, helpful guy with whom she was having a cup of coffee.  She felt attracted to Brad, and wasn't sure if she wanted to scare him away, and what she had just heard from the mystery man was a lot more luggage than she should probably share with him.  She had to talk to some body, someone who could give her a clue what was going on, who could give her some objective input, but she didn't want to put him into any danger either .  The thinly veiled threat to her was not idle.  She knew it.  She could see it in the mans eyes.  She heard the contempt in his voice when he saw Brad, and she remember him saying, "I don't want to hurt him - not yet, anyway."
     "That was the man in the Auston-Healey, wasn't it?"  Brad asked.
     "Yes." she said, her hand trembled slightly as she lifted the cup.  She immediately put it back down.  She decided to take a chance and tell Brad everything.  He might decided this is too much and walk out the door, and if he did, she couldn't blame him, but she was feeling a little desperate, and Brad had seen this man.  He was peripherally involved, and she hoped to keep it that way, but he also may offer some clarity to what at the moment is frightening.
     She took a deep breath and related the conversation with the mystery man to Brad.  Brad sat back in his chair and listened intently, offering no reaction in his expression.
     When she finished they sat in silence, she watching Brad as he seemed to mull over what she had told him. 
     "It sounds like your brother may have been involved with some dangerous people." Brad said, and then paused, still in thought.  "If they have been doing a surveillance on you for a period of time and you never noticed, it gives the appearance of professionals.  What ever is going on, it doesn't sound like small time punks."
     "I've drawn you into the radar just by stopping when you were working on the fence.  I'm sorry, Brad.  I had no idea that this was something more than just some weirdo following me."
     He reached across the table and covered her hand in his put a large,  "Don't worry about it."  he said with a slight smile of understanding.  "Let's assess the situation and see what you're dealing with by what we know."
     "Huh!" she grunted.  "We don't know anything."
     "Well, let's see if we do."  Brad said sitting back in his seat again.  "If they're doing a surveillance, thinking you have contact with Jeff, then they have your phone tapped and your house bugged, or they have a surveillance van near by.  With the right equipment, they can sit in the van and hear every conversation that you have in your house.  They probably check your mail."
     A look of surprise then worry crossed her face.  "Oh, my God, do you think so?"
     "Yes."  he said matter-of-factly.  "That would be the normal procedure for tracking a target.  If you can't find a person, watch the people who usually can."
     Susan look at him curiously.  "How would you know these things?" she asked.
     He smiled at her.  "I haven't always just fixed fences."
     "Were you a cop?"  she asked.
     "Let's say I used to work for the government, and, at times, had to work in this kind of field."  She waited, but he offered no more information about his work.
     She pressed her hands to her head, elbows on the table, as if she was trying to keep her head from exploding.  "I don't know what to do."  she said.  "I'll admit that I'm scared.  I don't know anything about Jeff's life, and I'm sure that he's dead, but that man doesn't believe me, and I think that he's dangerous."
     Brad had no doubt that the man was dangerous.  he suspected drugs or arms were involved, and the kind of people who lived in that world were very dangerous.
     "I think he was trying to shake you up."  Brad said.  "He wants you to panic and contact Jeff so they can trace him."
     "Yeah, well, there are no phones at the bottom of the Pacific." she said.
     "What the man you spoke to believes, and what his handlers believe, makes your claims moot in their eyes.  If this is as serious as it sounds, they will continue to take it another step further until Jeff shows his self."
     "This is just crazy." Susan said in frustration.
     "Yes."  Brad said.  "You're getting a glimpse of just how crazy the underbelly of life really is."
      A look of worry crossed her face, and Brad regreted his remark of confirmation.
      "I don't have much to do." Brad said. "The horses are fed, the cattle content, and my Labrador Retriever is probably snoring on the front porch, overseeing his domain, making sure the cattle and horses don't have any wild parties while I'm gone.  I could use a day at the beach with a lovely lady.  Would you mind if I joined you today?"
     She frowned.  "I'm not even so sure that this was a good idea, me coming here today.  I did it on a knee jerk whim, and look at the mess I find myself in,  I don't think it's a good idea to involve you.  I don't know what's going to happen."
     "Which is a perfectly good reason to spend the day with me."  he responded.
     "This doesn't seem to bother you at all." She looked at him for a moment.  "What did you do  before you were mending fences?"
     He took a sip of his espresso and looked at her as if he was debating what to say.
     "Okay." he said, sitting up straight.  "I'll give you the summarized version.  I was an officer in the Special Forces who did clandestine work in CIA Special Ops.  I have a Ph.D. in psychology and am certified in guerrilla warfare operations.  I was recently wounded in a capture or terminate mission in the middle east and was retired as a major."
     Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, and then she burst out laughing.  "Oh, Brad, you are so sweet." she said grabbing his hand into hers.  "I'm sure just your presence would discourage any body doing anything.  You don't have to be all of - whatever you just said - Special CIA, whatever."  She giggled again at what she saw as his efforts to give her comfort and a sense of safety.
     He returned her smile.  Then, we've got a date?"
     "Sure." she said. "We've got a date.  Our day at the beach."


















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