CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER
“I WOULD LIKE, DILLON-SAN, TO GO on a picnic,” said Steers the next day, as he came to her office for the day’s instructions.
“When and where?”
“Today and at the land that I own nearby. There is a stream nearby. I like the sound. And I can visit Hiroko-san.”
“Okay. I’ll have the kitchen make up a basket and Thura can drive you out. I can tell him to wait by the car so you can visit Hiroko-san in privacy.”
“There is no need for that. And have the kitchen make up a meal for two.”
“Who else will be going? Certainly not your mother?”
“No. You will drive me. We will have our picnic together.”
A little taken aback, he said, “Okay.”
Nash got things arranged, then he drove them out to the property.
They walked to a clearing a few hundred yards from the spot where they had buried Hiroko.
They spread out the blanket, and Steers and Nash got out the food and other picnic items. Nash was in his customary suit with his guns, while Steers, instead of her usual black, wore white capri pants and a long-sleeved aquamarine sweater, and sandals; her hair was in a ponytail that she wore a ball cap over.
He had never seen her so casually dressed before.
She poured out iced teas while he plated the food. It was a nice afternoon with a cooling breeze and just enough sun. He slipped off his jacket and carefully laid his Glock and Beretta next to him on the blanket. She watched this all with amusement.
He caught this and said, “Did I do something funny?”
“No, but I was just thinking of Glocks on a picnic.”
“Don’t forget the Beretta.”
They ate, and as the sounds of the nearby stream reached them Nash watched as Steers closed her eyes and seemed to sway with the delicate sounds of the water.
“A mental health day?” he said when she opened her eyes.
She took a deep breath. “Sometimes meditation is not enough. The body and mind require something. . .more.”
“Well, not to bring more distress to your day, but I took the liberty of asking your mother about Hiroko-san and her disappearance when we went out yesterday.”
Steers bit off a piece of chicken. “And?”
“And she told me she does not answer questions from staff. But she said if she was gone it was a good thing. She also has demanded that I find out and report back to her about the man who was here and who you said is buying your business, and what the details are. If I don’t, she said, I’m fired.
She gave me a day or two to get back to her. ”
Steers drank some tea, wiped her mouth, and sat back on her haunches. “And what do you plan to do?”
“I plan to do what you tell me to do.”
“You drove her into town yesterday?”
“Yes, I did. She had a place to visit. It was afterward, when she wanted to stop for a drink, that she asked me about the man who visited you.”
“Do you know the place that she visited?”
Nash sat back, surprised by this question.
Steers looked at him in a knowing way. “You are a very curious person, Dillon-san. You would not wait in the car. You would find out where she went.” She paused. “Out of This World LLC?”
“You know about it, then?”
“It is actually quite simple. She suspects I am planning to sell my business, and she does not wish me to. Especially not to the man who had imprisoned her for all that time. Thus she is doing her own due diligence and perhaps plotting against such a transaction.”
“And what do you think about that?” he asked.
She removed her hat and undid the ponytail so that her hair fell free and rippled across her shoulders in the breeze.
“Would you believe me if I told you I do not know what I think about it?”
“I would,” he said. “Because I don’t, either. And though you said it was simple, for people like your mother I would imagine that it’s difficult to understand their agendas and motivations.”
“And allegiances,” she added.
“Allegiances?”
“They are important, are they not?”
“Yes. So, does your mother want to take over the empire?”
“That seems reasonable and logical, does it not?”
“Which might be why she wants me to report to her about it.”
“She will also know that you found out what business she was visiting, and that you would report that back to me. So my mother’s real goal in going there with you was to use you to let me know that she is taking steps.”
Out of his depth, Nash said, “So what do I do?”
“You can tell her that I have decided to sell. And that the price is acceptable to me.”
Since Nash knew the price was one dollar he said, “But you remarked that you made it perhaps too appealing to the buyer? Has he come back to you yet with an answer?”
“No, but he will. Right now he is fervently trying to figure out why I am selling to him at far below market value. At our next meeting I will explain to him that things are not always what they seem to be.”
This remark made Nash think about Hiroko and her tale of the cows not actually being cows despite overwhelming evidence. But then again, Lynn Ryder was alive and kicking.
She added, “And I’m sure you too wonder why I am doing so.”
“But you told me before that it was enough that you understood why.”
“I did say that, yes. But I will tell you more if you tell me something first.”
“What?”
“The real reason for Mr. Temple’s visit?”
Nash sat back and sipped his tea to allow a bit of time to respond. He did not want to lie to Steers, but he also didn’t want Temple to tell Steers his true identity, which he knew the man would do in a heartbeat if he thought it would help him.
“He feels as though his life is not headed in the right direction.”
“He wants to leave his work with me, you mean?”
“I don’t think he’s made that a secret.”
“And he wishes your help to do so?”
“He asked me for my advice.”
“And you gave this advice?”
Now Nash began to feel the sweat forming under his arms as he sensed himself being outmaneuvered. “I. . .gave him the contact information for someone who could help him.”
“Help him disappear, you mean?”
It was absolutely unnerving that the woman seemed capable of reading his mind. Nash was paralyzed and did not know what to say.
“You need not answer, Dillon-san,” she said, clearly sensing his dilemma. “I am sure that whatever he was holding over you was worth your engaging in this favor for him.” When he said nothing, she said, “We all have secrets, do we not?”
“I suppose we do, yes.”
“You are still an enigma to me, but perhaps a bit less so now.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
“I cannot tell you at present. It could be either or none, meaning it could not matter at all. Or it could matter for everything.”
He said, “Was that a sufficient enough answer from me to get you to answer in return?”
“When you want something so badly, you can do one of two things. You can work very hard to get all that you desire along the way. Or you can do the same to get as little as possible in return.”
“You opted for the latter? Hence the below market price?”
“We will need to see how it all plays out. But I will tell you this much in return for your candidness about Mr. Temple. Keep in mind that money is not the only thing one may receive in exchange. So a low price in one facet of an arrangement can actually bring a high price in another.”
“Is that how you see it playing out?”
“If I knew the future, life would be without a care.”
“But you do have cares.”
“I have many things. And now let us go and visit Hiroko-san.”