CHAPTER NINETEEN
Perk had slept better than he had in months. Not that he normally had a hard time snoozing, but right now he still had the scent of Sloane all over him, and he could almost imagine she was nestled up to him in bed, so he didn’t want to move.
He glanced at the clock. It was already eight, though, and he needed to get moving if he was going to make it to Jeremy’s house by ten. He could hear Smalley and Tertia stirring about in the main part of the house, and though he’d briefly discussed with them last night his proposed meet-up with Jeremy, he knew they wanted to go over—once again—how he’d approach the day.
Getting out of bed, Perk headed for his ensuite bathroom where he took care of his normal morning business. He then hit the shower where he—amazingly, even to himself—took care of business of another kind. He would have thought with the amount of sex he’d had the previous day, his need for release would have diminished. But just one thought of Sloane had him hard as a two-by-four, and he had to take things in hand in order to get on with his day.
Tertia must have heard him stirring, because she had scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon ready for him when he finally emerged.
Smalley sat at the table, his meal long since finished, but his dour countenance told Perk he had a few things to share.
“Since we’ve spoken last, we’ve taken a deeper look at Nelsin’s teacher, Mr. Shultz, and also Nelsin’s family,” Smalley informed him.
“And you’ve found…?”
Smalley filled in the blanks. “Shultz teaches an advanced computer programming course at the high school, which could be where Jeremy picked up his game-developing skills.”
Perk heard a “but” coming.
“But Jeremy’s parents are far more suspicious. They both began working as software engineers for a start-up gaming company in Boston right out of college twenty years ago. His father, Felix, remained with that company as it grew, and continued with them even after they got swallowed up by bigger and bigger fish. It’s listed as his current employment. Jeremy’s mother, however, left her job when she had Jeremy, and has worked freelance from home for many years, selling her skills to the highest bidder.”
“Okay,” Perk nodded, shoveling in his breakfast. “So, both his parents and his teacher have the wherewithal to either develop the game that is infecting people’s devices, or could assist Jeremy in creating his own software.”
“Correct. But here’s where it gets a little more interesting.” For the first time since Perk met the man, Smalley let some enthusiasm show. “It seems that Jennifer Nelsin, for the past two years, has been back to work.”
“Same company?” Perk asked, finishing up his food, then wiping his mouth with his napkin.
“No. She’s currently a senior web developer for a startup crypto company that incorporated last year.”
Perk’s eyebrows went up. “Seriously? Crypto? Then we have our person of interest. Right?”
“Maybe,” Smalley cautioned. “It could be she who’s manipulating Jeremy, but it might also be her husband, the teacher, or hell, all of them working together.”
Perk nodded. “So I need to keep my eyes open when I’m at the Nelsin house; try to interact with the parents; see if I can gain their trust as someone who wants to wholly participate in their scheme if they’re the ones. And when I’m back at school tomorrow, I need to get transferred into Mr. Shultz’s class.”
“Yes to both of those things. But there is one additional problem.” Tertia walked over with a cup of coffee cradled in her hands, blowing across the top of it.
“What’s that?” Perk asked, leaning back in his chair.
“We’ve been tracking Jeremy and his mother’s movements all week since our surveillance team set up the van outside, but there’s been no sign of the father,” she told him.
“A business trip?” Perk questioned.
“Maybe,” Smalley chimed in. “But we haven’t been able to dig up any plane tickets purchased in his name since last February, so that’s not likely, and he hasn’t been seen anywhere since we’ve started our surveillance.”
“Exactly. So the questions are, where is the man, now? What has he been getting up to?” Tertia posited.
“Or where has he disappeared to?” Perk amended. “We already know that whoever is in charge of this operation isn’t afraid to take people out of the equation, i.e. Kaelyn Jefferson. You think Felix Nelsin might have been rocking the boat in some way, and they had to neutralize him?”
“It’s highly possible,” Smalley confirmed. “We’re attempting to go back in time and track his movements and his vehicle. We’ve got nothing yet, but we’ll let you know.”
“We just want you to be extra careful not to do anything in that house that will ruffle feathers. The last thing we need is for you to become a target,” Tertia added.
“Don’t worry about me,” Perk said, getting to his feet. “I’m just a dumb kid, remember? I’m going to make myself as clueless, agreeable, and compliant as possible.”
Perk hoped that didn’t include getting too close to Mrs. Nelsin. She was too weirdly menacing for words. Like a spider crawling softly over your skin before it delivered its poisonous bite.
“And now it’s time for me to go,” Perk added as he walked over and grabbed his coat from the closet.
“Call if you need help,” Smalley reminded him. “Our team in the van is surveillance only, so if you run into a problem, they’re not equipped with any firepower.”
“Good to know.” Perk wasn’t worried. He could take care of himself.
****
Twenty minutes later he pulled into the circular driveway, parking his Volvo behind Jeremy’s Range Rover.
Right. Because most kids have one of those high-end rides.
The big front door opened as Perk got out of his car.
“You’re late,” Jeremy complained.
“Ten minutes,” Perk barked. “Eat me.” He snorted. “You want me to leave?”
“No. I just… My mother wants to meet with you, and she doesn’t like being kept waiting.”
Boo-hoo , Perk thought to himself, but outwardly he managed to look sheepish. “Sorry, man,” he apologized, trotting up to the door. “What does she want to see me for?”
“Just get your ass in here,” Jeremy glowered.
“Okay,” Perk said, jogging into the front hall. “But are you going to tell me why?”
“She’s…interested in hearing your story. Who you are, and where you’re from originally. She, uh, doesn’t like me having people in the house who she doesn’t know.”
“Not gonna lie, man, that’s kind of creepy. But,” Perk shrugged and rolled his eyes, “whatever. Where do I go?”
“Her office is through there and on the right.” Jeremy pointed through a set of open doors that—if Perk was correct—looked heavier duty than most interior portals. If Perk had the time to examine them, he’d almost say they were steel reinforced, but he couldn’t let on that he was suspicious, so he turned his attention back to his intended destination. “That one?” Perk pointed to a regular looking closed door a few feet down from the ones that looked almost industrial.
“Yeah. Now go.”
“Okay.” Perk affected a bored look, like it was nothing, and walked forward.
He took note, as he passed the heavy doors in question, that they were, indeed reinforced, and with a quick glance, he noted they even looked as if there was some kind of complicated locking mechanism. He’d bet his left nut that when the queen wasn’t in her chambers, this wing was completely sealed off.
Walking up to the closed door in question, Perk raised his hand and knocked.
“Enter,” Jennifer Nelsin called out empirically.
Perk turned the knob and walked in.
“Mr. Perdudan,” the woman purred from behind her desk as he shuffled in. “So nice to see you. Have a seat.” She pointed to one of two chairs which faced her from across a large expanse of desk.
When Perk sat, he could barely see Mrs. Nelsin’s face behind the wall of computer monitors that were spread out across the polished wood surface.
She tapped out her password on her keyboard, waking her system up, then sending her eyes to one of her monitors. “I’ve been checking up on you,” she told him slyly. “And it seems you’ve got good roots. You’re from a rather wealthy family who has made a name for themselves in financial advising circles. But …” She drew the word out. “…you’re also a bit of a bad boy.”
Perk had memorized the bio the FBI had put together for him, and knew his purported past, backward and forward. She could ask him anything, and he’d give her the same answers she’d procured from any search of the history the Bureau had concocted.
“Yeah?” Perk gave her an unaffected look. “So?”
“So, tell me. With your record of causing problems, why should I be letting you into my house to befriend my son?”
Perk leaned forward so he could see her face better. He wanted to give the woman some information that would intrigue her, but not too much.
“Because I was misunderstood by the teachers at my old school. Any records you might have found probably say I was ‘troubled’. But I never got caught doing any big stuff,” he bragged. “I went to detention a lot for minor infractions. Like just last week at this school, I got caught smoking in the boys’ room and I didn’t do a bunch of homework. Not a big deal here, and it wasn’t in my old school, either.”
Jennifer’s eyes narrowed. “For now, I’ll choose to believe you. But if you’re going to hang out with my son, I want no further infractions with your current teachers or fellow students. I don’t want any undo attention on Jeremy. Am I understood? It wouldn’t be good. Is this something with which you can comply?”
Perk shrugged nonchalantly. “I can try,” he responded offhandedly.
Jennifer’s mouth pinched like she’d been sucking lemons.
“There is no try,” she snapped.
Only do , Perk completed in his head, managing somehow not to smirk.
“Thomas. Do you understand where I’m coming from?” she probed sharply.
This was where Perk had to be extra careful. He didn’t want to look too eager to become friends with Jeremy, but neither did he want to be banned from the house.
“Jeremy’s smart,” Perk began, leaning forward and spreading his fingers on the desk’s surface in front of him, contemplatively. “And I think he can teach me…things. But I’m also certain I can help him out with regards to some…projects he’s doing. I’m a very handy kind of guy. And very social, too, which can only aid your son, who I’ve noticed interacts with a pretty small group at Waterston.” Jeremy, for sure, wasn’t able to reach a huge swath of the kids who had money to burn.
Perk continued baiting the hook. “I have lots of friends here already, and a ton more back in Cincinnati. I’m also headed back there for two weeks over the winter break that’s coming up. Which means I’ll have plenty of time to let them know about the people I’ve met here, like Jeremy, and fill them in on anything…interesting that they might want to become a part of.”
Perk hoped—if Jennifer was truly the one in charge of the money-grab—that by dangling those facts in front of the woman, she’d see dollar signs.
Mrs. Nelsin got up from her chair and slowly made her way around the desk to approach him. Perk tamped down his revulsion as she placed a hand on his shoulder and began to…stroke his arm, up and down.
“I can see how a good-looking boy like you could have people eating out of his hand,” she cooed. “Maybe you will be good for my son; helping him expand his circles.” She continued her creepy massage, eventually walking her hand up to the collar of his T-shirt where she ran her fingers across the skin of his neck. “However, young man, if you show any signs of betraying your new friendship with Jeremy, I won’t be happy.” Her long, red fingernails embedded sharply into Perk’s flesh, and it took everything he had not to flinch before she delicately removed them.
“And when I’m not happy,” she bent to hiss in his ear, “bad things happen.”
She nipped Perk’s earlobe, and…
That was it. He’d had enough.
He leaped to his feet, trying to look embarrassed instead of repulsed. “I, uh, don’t think you need to worry,” he said, backing away. “Jeremy and I have hit it off so far, and we’ve even shared a few…projects already.”
If Mrs. Nelsin knew Perk had gotten rid of Kaelyn for Jeremy, she’d know what he was talking about and hopefully understand he wasn’t someone to be messed with.
He added the next bit of information to bring the conversation back around to his own behavior. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll try to keep a low profile with the administration at school.”
Mrs. Nelsin walked brazenly toward him and sent a fast hand toward his jewels.
Perk danced backward, barely avoiding her touch while attempting to appear skittish, rather than turned off. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he managed to choke out.
“Oh?” She raised one manicured brow. “I think it’s a very good idea.” Jennifer eyed his package lasciviously, clearly not caring that it had probably not only shrunk, but retreated as far up into his body as humanly possible.
Perk needed to make something up on the fly that would immediately discourage her, but not get him kicked out of the house. The only thing he could think of was…
“Things down there aren’t exactly, uh, working correctly right now. I’m…being treated for an STD, actually,” he prevaricated. He didn’t even have to pretend to be shamefaced. He could feel the tips of his ears turn red, just from pretend mortification. “My girlfriend back in Cincinnati… She cheated on me, and…well, shit happens.”
Mrs. Nelsin backed up, her smarmy smile losing some of its conviction. “Oh. I see. Well then…” She shook her head and trotted briskly back behind her desk. “You’re dismissed. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If you aren’t the asset for my son that you say you are, or you don’t treat him with proper respect, you’ll find yourself with a very powerful enemy in me.”
Proper respect indeed , Perk growled internally. Like she’d just honored his space? But once again, he had to play nice.
“I understand, and don’t worry. I’ll be learning a ton from Jeremy, I’m sure. But in return, I’ll introduce him, virtually, to a lot of influential people back in my hometown.”
“Good. Then it sounds like you’ve made a new friend.”
Perk thought he’d been dismissed, but before he could turn away, the bitch looked squarely at the front of his pants.
“And Thomas, do let me know when the doctor has cleared you.”
Perk swallowed hard, his Adam’s Apple bobbing. He let his voice crack.
“Umm, sure. I will.”
Not , he added in his head before turning and hightailing it out of the room.