Influence

Chapter 25

Tam's head throbbed in time with her step. Step, pound, step, pound. She followed Jasper down a narrow street near the Los Angeles River, a glorified alleyway really, that abutted the raised concrete pillars of the 101. A fence topped with spirals of barbed wire meant to keep people from loitering under the freeway had utterly failed in its mission. Signs of human activity and habitation were crammed into every crevice of the freeway's undercarriage. She couldn't imagine how people got in there, but she could understand why they'd tried. It was about as private as you could get if you had no building to refuge in.

Along the opposite side of the street, low windowless buildings clung to their surroundings. Concrete on concrete next to concrete. It was hard to imagine Goldie ever coming near this place when even Tam's moderately ramshackle apartment complex made her uncomfortable. Jasper seemed to share Tam's opinion. "This can't be right. There's not a single Gucci wearing corporate sycophant in sight."

The location was indeed a strange choice for an office associated with a high-end makeup conglomerate. The idea of Goldie walking this back street had a disorientating effect on Tam. When she was little, she had a cat that brought birds inside whenever her mom left the door ajar. The cat would release the bird and it would flap around, injured and frantic, not understanding what the inside of a house was or how to escape from it. That's how she imagined Goldie as she set out to meet Aiden here. Barbed wire and dirty concrete walls, and a goldfinch trapped between them.

Jasper came to a stop in front of a building that had been painted what Tam presumed had once been a cheerful green, now more of a testament to a long begotten time when someone had cared enough to put in a little effort.

Jasper pulled on the handle of the building's black metal door. It didn't give. He jostled it and then came to stand next to Tam so they could stare at the building together.

"So, this is a dead end." She touched the tender welt near the back of her head. This morning, it was this wound, where Aiden had first hit her, that was giving her the most grief. "Paul must have given you the wrong information."

"Maybe." Jasper approached the door again, leaning against it and framing his head with his hands so he could peer through the door's tiny barred window. "There's someone in there." He knocked again.

Pound, throb, pound, throb.

"You're going to split my head open, Jasper."

He shifted his weight and stepped to the side. "They're coming. It's... it's not Aiden."

The mystery person cracked open the door. A woman, shorter than Tam and about the same age, squinted into the bright sunlight. "If you're looking for Shim Consultants, they aren't here anymore."

"I'm not sure if they're what I'm looking for or not." Jasper flashed the woman his best EpiGold smile. "Hi, I'm Jasper."

The woman opened the door a bit wider. "Yes, I recognize you."

"Great! Can we come in?"

"Why would you want to do that? I already told you, there's nothing here." She moved aside enough to allow them to peer over her shoulder. The space stretched back about fifty feet or so. Nothing but floor and walls and a cart with cleaning supplies. "They hired me to tidy up after they left."

"Who hired you?" Tam tried to make eye contact, but it was hard for her to judge over the pounding of her head whether she came off as friendly or aggressive.

The woman puckered her face. "I told you, it was Shim Consultants. But they're gone now."

"Gone where, exactly?" Talk, throb, talk throb. "Whoever it is that you're protecting, they aren't worth it. Tell us what you know."