First Class Killing

Chapter 15

FELIXMELENDEZ, JR., PICKED UP IN THE MIDDLE of the first ring.

“Majestic-Airlines-Passenger-Services-this-is-Felix-how-can-I-help-you?”

He sounded the same, his voice as bright and sparkling as the morning sun streaming through my window. I wondered if he looked the same, tall and lanky, all joints and hinges, like the kid he still was. I also wondered if Majestic had let him keep his spiky hair with the frosted tips.

“Hello, Felix.”

After the slightest pause, there came a gusher of excitement that flowed over the phone lines and practically lifted me off my stool, where I sat enjoying breakfast at home and not in some hotel coffee shop on the road.

“MissSha nahan? Is that you? Wow. This is so cool to hear from you. How did you find me…I mean…of course, you could find me. How are you? How have you been? I can’t believe it. Are you in Miami?”

“I’m in Boston. How is life at the airport? Do you love it?”

“Way cool, Miss S. Way,way cool. I love it so much here. The people are so nice to me. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

Same old Felix. He lived in a world without skepticism, irony, or sarcasm. He was delighted by life, all parts of it, even something as dispiriting as the airline business. I loved talking to him.

“Listen, Felix. Do you have time to do some work for me? I’ll pay you this time.”

“Really? Are youse rious? That would be, like, so awesome to work for you again. But you can’t pay me.”

“Why not?” I finished my last spoonful of oatmeal, went to the refrigerator for an orange, swung by the sink for a paper towel, and sat back down to start peeling. “I don’t want you working for free.”

“It’s a rule. I’m employed full-time for Majestic Airlines, which means no way I can have any other jobs.”

“It wouldn’t be a job. It’s more like a…a…”

“I read the regs, Miss S. It says it in there.”

“You read the regs?” A staggering thought. The rules and regulations of Majestic Airlines were collected in three thick volumes written in the driest prose this side of the phone book.

“Yes, ma’am. All three volumes.”

I hadn’t even considered the conflict of interest. But I needed his help, and I did not want to take advantage of him. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

He batted the suggestion aside, which, having said it, I realized he would. Felix was an honest fellow. “I’ll do it as a favor to you, for getting me this job. I love this job.”

“No, Felix. Remember, I got you this job to repay you for the last bit of work you did for me for free.”

“Miss Shanahan, please. It would be my pleasure. I insist.”

It was too tempting an offer to turn down. Felix was masterful with a computer and was just plain fun to have in my life. I would figure out some other way to pay him. “I don’t want to interfere with your work schedule there.”

“Whoa, cool…I mean, that’s not a problem. I make my own schedule.”

“You make your own schedule?” There was no making of your own work schedule at an airport that operated around a real schedule-departures and arrivals.

“They made up a new job for me. I’m in charge of all the computer equipment. Do you know how often the baggage system goes down?”

I finished peeling my orange and pulled apart the sections as he rattled on. It was good and sweet and sticky, and the juice got all over my fingers. “Are you having fun?”

“This is so much better than working at the hotel. I’m going to owe you for the rest of my life. What do you need? Do you need me to come up there? Because I can be on an airplane tomorrow-”

“No, Felix. I think you can do this from the comfort of your own home. I need you to track down the origination of a Web site.” I gave him the Web site address from Tony the Actor and his sign-in name. “I have no password.”

“I don’t need a password.”

“Right. Sorry.” I’d forgotten that offering a password to Felix was like offering a key to a locksmith. “What I need you to do is try to find a way into this site so I can see the screens and the customer interfaces. Also, if you can track back and get any information on who pays for the domain and/or who maintains it, that would all be useful. Best-case scenario is we can find the person who runs it, track back to his computer, and suck out all the data it collects.”

“Do I need to know what to look for?”

“Good point. I’m investigating a prostitution ring run by flight attendants. This is supposed to be the scheduling site, but don’t be alarmed if any skin shows up.”

“Skin? Oh.Ohhhhhh. Ohmygosh. Wow. Okay, then. Like I said, I’ll get going on it. And Miss Shanahan?”

“I wish you would call me Alex.”

“I’m really, really glad you called me. Thank you so much for letting me do this for you.”

It was the same as last time. I had Felix thanking me for letting him do me a huge favor.

“Call me if you get anything.”

“I will.”

I hung up with the sure knowledge that no matter what Felix ended up doing with his life, he would always be underemployed.

I took my bowl, now filled with orange peel, to the sink to dump down the disposal. While it was grinding and the water was running, the phone rang again. The message in the spy window announced a private number. Not helpful. I turned everything off and answered.

“Hello.”

“How are you doing this morning, doll?” The sound of Angel’s voice was like a rocket booster kicking in to redirect the planned trajectory of my day.

“I’m doing well. Are you ready to listen to a proposal? I can offer you something I know you will find interesting.”

“We’ll see. Meet me at the Saffron Spa at ten-thirty. Do you know where that is?”

“On Arlington?”

“They’ll be expecting you.”