Seven
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“ If the light on the security panel is red do not open the door. The sound is deafening and the police are on the way. Green means go ahead and open the door. The light panels are just inside the doors on either end of the building. Any questions?” he asked. Frank’ s eyes moved from Eddie to Tanya.“ Questions about anything at all,” he said, reading the look on Tanya’ s face. She glanced at Eddie.“ Why?” was all she said.“ Because what happened last night was nothing short of remarkable. I believe Eddie is capable of reproducing, on a much grander scale, exactly what he created last night. I knew I should have waited for the houses to start going up before I built that shopping center. Until last night I had no idea what to do with a building I can’ t sell and I can’ t rent. I am losing my ass and I was about to tear it down because of the taxes.”
“ Last night, those kids ran out of that place terrified, then jumped back in line to do it again. They begged their parents for another dollar. I think Texas teens will drive an hour to have the crap scared out of them and I think Eddie is just the person for the job,” his pitch was perfect. Tanya now understood Eddie’ s excitement. Frank believed in Eddie. All the things she saw in her husband were being wasted at a job he tolerated.“ Do you really believe this will work?” she asked. The words moved quickly from her brain and escaped her lips before she really looked to whom she was directing this question. Frank knew who he had to sell. Eddie would not buy without Tanya’ s okay. He led them to a small seating area in the beautiful lobby and motioned for them to sit. He took a place across from them on a deep brown, tailored, leather sofa.“ I am so sure this will work I plan to do it with or without your husband. He can join my team or I can recruit someone else. But I think Eddie is a natural and I found him. I pride myself in locating unusual talent,” Frank said.
“ Would Rodney fall into that category?” Eddie asked.“ Ask him yourself if you decide to climb on board. I am sure you will bump into him again. That shopping center is in his territory.”“ He had nothing but good things to say about you,” Tanya divulged.“ Damn. He’ s bucking for another percentage point. I can feel it.”“ Why do you say that?” Eddie asked.“ This is somewhat his idea.” Walking out of Medusa’ s room he said,“ That looked like what I expect to see every time that alarm goes off and I have to drive out to that deserted shopping center in the middle of the night. That place creeps me out.” Frank said, in a great imitation of Rodney’ s voice and intonation.“ It hit us right between the eyes at the same time. Rodney asked how much you spent putting this together. I know you spent some of your money and borrowed a few things. I guessed about three hundred dollars.” Frank said, expecting a response.“ That is very close. Tanya spent some on Kate’ s dress,” Eddie said.“ That slipped by me,” Frank smiled.“ I get the feeling not much slips past you,” Tanya said. Frank shrugged, stood and handed Eddie the directions to the property.“ We cool?” Frank said to Eddie in Rodney’ s voice.“ Yeah. We cool,” Eddie answered and led Tanya out of the building.
After leaving the freeway, the road they found themselves on, dipped and curved through pine trees, thickets and old growth trees. Sunlight filtered through the limbs that entwined over the road. The tunnel they traveled through was speckled with dancing light. Eddie pictured this road at night. He tried to imagine Rodney being fearful of anything and thought,“ Not anything he could get his hands on. You can’ t tackle a ghost.” They made a right turn at the first intersection and drove another mile. The clear-cut subdivision was carved out of the thick growth of forest through which they had just driven. The shopping center stood sentinel over empty streets and was much bigger than Eddie imagined. Tanya pulled the car up to the low single steel pole gate blocking the entrance to the expansive parking lot. Eddie got out to open the gate and saw the huge padlock. He looked to see what key might fit and saw the four tumblers on the bottom of the lock. Pulling the paper with the directions from his pocket he noticed the five numbers at the bottom of the page, one-six-six-six-eight. The numbers matched the numbers on the building they just left. Eddie rolled the tumblers and the lock popped open.
The gate groaned and screeched as he swung it aside and he wondered how that would sound at the stroke of midnight. Tanya drove through the entrance. Eddie climbed into the car. The“ space for lease” signs were faded