The Nephew

by Claude Bouchard

  * * * *

  Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Ontario, 6:35 p.m.

  “Hey, folks,” said Chris as he rejoined the others.

  “How did it go?” asked Dave.

  “We chatted,” Chris replied. “I asked questions and he answered.”

  “So he was cooperative?” asked Leslie.

  “Not at first,” Chris admitted, “But I coaxed him.”

  “You should be a motivational coach,” said Jonathan. “What did you get from him?”

  “Fernando disappeared while on a delivery run,” said Chris. “Between the cash he had collected and the coke he still had on hand, he took them for about a hundred grand.”

  “Donna’s dead for that?” Leslie exclaimed in anger, “And these bastards were asking Carlos for two million? That’s horrible.”

  “It’s disgusting,” Chris agreed before looking about. “Where is Carlos?”

  “He’s crashed in the other room,” Jonathan replied. “Understandably, the kid’s wiped out.”

  “Good for him if he can get some sleep,” said Chris. “He’s got some tough days ahead coming to grips with all of this.”

  “He’s concerned we might step away and let the police take over,” said Jonathan.

  “Is that what you’re thinking?” asked Chris.

  “I wanted your opinion before firming up mine,” said Jonathan. “What else did you get from Ortez?”

  “Danilo Mejia suggested kidnapping Donna after Fernando ripped them off.” Chris replied. “Gabriel Ramos, the head of Mara in Toronto, agreed and Ortez and Chavez nabbed her. Now Donna’s dead, so is Chavez and we have Ortez. Mejia and Ramos are responsible but lining things up so the cops could actually take them down would be tricky as hell.”

  “So you think we should keep running with it?” Jonathan stated more than asked.

  “My sister’s dead because of them,” Chris replied. “Even if the police did zero in on Mejia and Ramos, they’d never get what they deserve. Yes, I think we should keep running with it.”

  Jonathan turned to Leslie and Dave. “Do you two have any thoughts?”

  “The OPP will obviously link Donna’s death to Mara,” said Dave. “Chavez was a member, he was driving another member’s car, and the cottage in Maynooth belongs to Tony Mastriano, a strip club owner with Mara ties, not to mention Fernando, who is known as a die-hard wannabe and errand boy.”

  “There’s also Abrego, who fell from Carlos’ balcony,” Leslie added. “Yet another Mara soldier. There’s no way the cops will blow it all off as coincidence. They’ll investigate.”

  “As they should,” said Chris, “But you’re missing the point. Nothing prevents us from tracking down Mejia and Ramos.”

  “We just may be on thin ice,” said Dave, “If we go after them while the police are investigating them.”

  “It won’t be the first time we and the cops are interested in someone at the same time,” said Chris.

  “You’ve got a point,” Dave conceded.

  “Anyhow, I doubt they’ll be knocking on these guys’ doors tomorrow,” Chris continued. “It’ll take a while if it actually even ends up happening.”

  “Back to what happened at Carlos’ apartment,” said Leslie. “Will that be a problem with the police?”

  “I don’t see why,” Chris replied. “He wasn’t there, he was with us.”

  “That won’t be an issue,” Jonathan agreed. “Jarvis already knows Carlos is with us. I can get the word to the Chief at Peel Regional so they know as well. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to have Jarvis talk to her but we should iron out what I need to tell him.”

  “Sounds good to me,” said Chris. “It might even help keep them out of our way.”

  “So, we’re going ahead with finding Mejia and Ramos?” asked Dave.

  “Was there ever any doubt?” Chris asked with a faint smile.

  Dave smiled back. “Not really. I found a few potential addresses on both them and others we can look into.”

  “Ortez was kind enough to make some suggestions as well,” said Chris.

  “Nobody knows more about Mara locally than Perriello,” said Jonathan. “We need to get him involved too.”

  “Let’s go get something to eat and we can start putting this together,” Chris suggested.

  “Should we wake up Carlos?” asked Leslie.

  “I don’t know,” said Jonathan. “He told me he’d get something when he was hungry.”

  “Let him sleep,” said Chris. “It’ll do him some good and it’s probably best he not be present while we plan our next steps.”

  * * * *

  Gravenhurst, Ontario, 7:07 p.m.

  “Thanks, babe,” said fifty-two year old Gabriel Ramos, flashing a smile at the bikini-clad bombshell as she set the drinks on the patio table by the pool. As she started to sit in the chair next to him, he added, “Dani and I have to talk a bit so why don’t you go watch some television or something?”

  “Uh, sure, I guess,” she replied with a pout, taking her glass and the bottle of wine before heading back to the house.

  “What an ass, eh?” said Gabriel as he watched the near-nude woman sashaying away. “Can she wear a G-string or what?”

  “She a good looking lady,” Danilo politely agreed.

  “A bit whiny for my taste,” Gabriel continued, “But, damn does she make up for that in bed. Maybe you can give her a go later since I made you drive up here after a busy day.”

  “I’m good, thanks,” said Danilo, familiar with Ramos’ playful antics which often preceded his displays of anger, one of which he knew was hovering behind the facade.

  Gabriel smiled and shrugged. “Just trying to treat my top man right.” He paused a few seconds as his expression darkened then added, “Although maybe my timing is off. Maybe now isn’t the best time to be throwing you any perks. What do you think?”

  “Listen, Gabe,” said Danilo, “I don’t know what happened –”

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Gabriel interrupted. “I’m watching the news earlier and they’re talking about a murder up in Maynooth. Turns out the victim is Fernando’s ex and her killer is your man, Chavez.”

  “Like I was saying,” Danilo started.

  “I’m not done,” Gabriel cut in. “While I’m still trying to figure out what the hell I just saw, there’s another report about a dead guy in Mississauga and, get this, you’re gonna love it. That dead guy is Julio Abrego, another one of your shining stars. Fucker fell, or jumped, or got thrown off a balcony seven floors up, but wait, it gets better. The fucking apartment he fell from was Fernando’s son’s place. What the fuck, Dani?”

  “I don’t know, damn it,” Danilo replied. “I don’t know what happened in Maynooth because I wasn’t there. I left Edwin there to watch Donna and drove back to Toronto with Ortez so he could go check out her apartment. I had called Julio to go do the same her boy’s place.”

  “Well, Julio royally screwed that up cuz it killed him,” Gabriel retorted. “Did your protégé do any better?”

  Danilo hesitated then replied, “I don’t know.”

  Gabriel glared at him. “What does that mean?”

  “Joe was supposed to call me when he was done,” said Danilo. “He didn’t so I called him and I got voicemail. After a few tries, I went back to see what was going on.”

  “You went yourself?” Gabriel exclaimed. “Chavez got his ass kicked there then Ortez doesn’t come through and you go play soldier?”

  “Gimme a break,” Dani snapped back. “I can handle myself and you know it. Anyhow, Joe was also supposed to pick of Edwin’s car and when I got there, the car was gone so I didn’t stop.”

  “So, where the fuck is he?” Gabriel demanded.

  “I don’t know,” said Danilo. “Listen, the kid was antsy. He probably just went to lay low for a while.”

  “So, in one day,” Gabriel summarized, “Three of your guys are dead or disappeared. Do you get the impression something’s going on here?”


  “Something’s off,” Danilo admitted.

  Gabriel allowed a humourless chuckle. “Something’s off. I like that, off. How about something’s royally fucked up? Fernando rips us off, we grab his ex as leverage, now she’s dead, our guys are getting whacked and we’re no damned closer to finding the prick. What about his boy?”

  Danilo shrugged. “I don’t know where he is. I tried calling him but he’s not answering.”

  Gabriel stared at him for a moment then said, “Let me explain it to you. We both saw the news about Maynooth, right?”

  Danilo nodded.

  “They identified the victim, right?” Gabriel went on. “Maybe it’s because her son was told about it first. The kid knows so why the fuck would he take your calls? For all we know, he contacted Fernando. For crissakes, the kid and Fernando might explain why Abrego took a dive and Ortez disappeared.”

  Danilo looked doubtful. “I don’t really know the kid but Fernando wouldn’t have the balls to kill someone. That’s why he never got made.”

  “Maybe his dead ex was enough,” Gabriel countered. “You’re the one who said grabbing her would probably draw him in.”

  “It could be,” said Danilo. “They could have been sitting on the two apartments waiting for someone to show. But what about Edwin’s car? They wouldn’t know about it.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Gabriel. “It didn’t click before when you mentioned it. The cops stopped Chavez when he was leaving. He was driving a car. Who’s car?”

  “Uh, it was Joe’s car,” Danilo replied.

  “So the cops would figure that out real easy and want to talk to him,” Gabriel continued. “Maybe they have Ortez.”

  “How would they find him so quick?” Danilo challenged.

  “They have a dead body and they know who she is,” Gabriel replied. “Don’t you think they might send someone to her place, especially if they talked to her kid?”

  “I guess it makes sense,” Danilo admitted.

  “Of course it makes sense,” Gabriel insisted. “They’re in her apartment and Ortez walks right into their arms. They probably have him right now and, if they do, that’s not good. You see where I’m going? The little fucker will tell them we called for the kidnapping. I should have never let you bring the punk in.”

  “Fuck,” Danilo muttered, unable to argue his boss’ logic.

  “Fuck is right,” said Gabriel. “This brilliant scheme of yours just turned into a royal shitfest. How you gonna fix it?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Danilo shot back. “I need to think about it but feel free to make any brilliant suggestions.”

  “Don’t get smart with me, Dani,” Gabriel warned. “Yeah, I’ll help you fix this crap and you’re gonna stick around here until we figure out how.”

  * * * *

  Sheraton Centre, Toronto, Ontario, 8:26 p.m.

  “It’s been a long day,” said Jonathan as the group returned to Leslie’s room. “I’m going to give Jarvis a call to bring him up to speed then I’m getting some sleep.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be turning in soon as well,” Chris agreed. “I just want to go through Donna’s file on Fernando first. Where is it?”

  “Carlos has it,” said Leslie. “I hope he managed to get some sleep, poor kid.”

  “I’ll go check on him,” said Chris. “Anyhow, he probably should get something to eat.”

  He went to the adjoining room door and knocked, listened for a moment but heard nothing then announced himself before entering. Several seconds later, he returned with a look of concern.

  “He’s not here,” he announced.

  “In the bathroom?” Dave suggested.

  “No, I checked,” Chris replied. “The room’s empty.”

  “He might have gone for a bite,” said Leslie.

  “Let’s hope that’s it,” said Chris, pulling out his mobile and speed-dialing the recently entered number.

  “Give me the phone,” said Leslie, hurrying to Chris.

  Looking puzzled, Chris complied just as Carlos’ voicemail message began.

  “Hi, Carlos,” she said after the tone. “It’s Kelly. Just calling to see how you’re doing. Give me a call when you have a minute. Bye.” She handed the phone back and said, “On the off chance Danilo has him. He already knows about me.”

  “Quick thinking,” said Chris. “Let’s check his room.”

  A quick search of the adjoining room revealed the absence of Carlos’ personal belongings – no phone or tablet, no clothing, no overnight bag – all that remained was the Fernando file they had retrieved at Donna’s apartment.

  “I think he skipped out on us,” said Chris, picking up the file. “I’m surprised he left this behind because he’s probably off to find Fernando.”

  “He must have taken photos of everything. That’s what I did.” said Leslie, “And he typed a bunch of notes while he was going through the file. I went through that quite a bit as well. Let me see if anything seems to be missing.”

  She went through the documents, reorganizing the small stack as she went and, after a minute or so, handed it back to Chris. “Everything is there. I had numbered the pages on my first round.”

  “Thanks,” said Chris. “You’re set up to track his phone?”

  “If it’s on,” Leslie replied. “He knows that so if he did skip out on us, he’ll keep it off. I’ll go check. I can at least run down any calls he’s made.”

  Chris sighed. “Do that and check if he made any calls from the room or ordered anything. There’s not much else we can do.”

  “I’ll go down to the restaurant,” said Dave, “And go check others in the area.”

  “No harm in trying,” said Chris. “I’ll head to my room and go through this file. We need to find Fernando.”

  “I’ll go make that call to Jarvis,” said Jonathan. “Should I mention Carlos is gone?”

  “Might as well,” Chris replied. “More eyes can’t hurt but we don’t want him apprehended. We just want to know where he is.”

  Jonathan nodded. “Keep me posted and, all of you, get some sleep. I think we’ll be busy tomorrow.”

  Chapter 4 – Monday, August 7, 2017

  Pickering, Ontario, 7:32 a.m.

  “There she is,” said Dave as they watched the attractive young woman exit the small house from where they were parked.

  “Here goes nothing,” said Leslie before slipping out of the car and hurrying across the street.

  The woman locked the door and headed to the sidewalk, noting the sweat suit clad redhead speed-walking toward her as she went.

  “Morning,” said Leslie, falling into step with the young lady.

  “Morning,” the woman politely replied.

  “Beautiful day,” said Leslie.

  “It is,” the woman agreed. “Too bad I’m off to work.”

  “You’re Karen Berglund, aren’t you?” said Leslie.

  “Uh, do I know you?” asked Karen, turning to look as Leslie without slowing her pace.

  “I’m a friend of Carlos’,” Leslie replied.

  “Who’s Carlos?” asked Karen, growing uneasy.

  “Carlos Garcia,” said Leslie. “He called you last evening.”

  “Look, I’m on my way to work,” said Karen, “And I have a train to catch so I don’t have time to talk.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” said Leslie, easily matching Karen stride for stride.

  “I don’t know who you are,” said Karen, “So leave me alone.”

  “Did Carlos tell you anything?” Leslie persisted. “Did he mention Chris, his uncle, or Leslie? I’m Leslie.”

  “H-how do I know you’re her?” Karen asked, her resolve wavering.

  “I’ll show you my ID,” Leslie replied, retrieving a slim wallet from a pocket. “Here’s my driver’s permit.”

  Karen stopped to compare the photo to Leslie before handing the permit back. “Okay, so you’re Leslie but I don’t know how I can help you.”

  “What did he cal
l you for?” Leslie insisted as they resumed walking. “Damn it, Karen. He’s in danger. You’re aware his mother is dead?”

  Karen stopped again and nodded as her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve known her all my life. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

  “What did Carlos call you for?” Leslie repeated. “We need to know. We have to find him.”

  “He made me promise not to tell,” Karen wailed, breaking down.

  “We don’t want anything to happen to him,” Leslie pressed on. “You can help by telling us anything you know. Do you want him to end up in trouble, or worse, dead?”

  “Of course not,” Karen sobbed. “How can you even say that?”

  “Because you won’t tell me what I need to know,” Leslie replied.

  “Damned Carlos,” Karen whimpered then added, “Come on,” before stomping off in the direction they had come.

  “Where are we going?” asked Leslie as she followed.

  “Back to my place,” Karen retorted. “I’m not going to work now so we might as well continue this discussion there.”

  * * * *

  “So, he told you everything,” said Dave, a statement, not a question.

  Karen nodded. “I gave him no choice. It was spill it all or go find help somewhere else.”

  “But do you agree with what he’s doing?” asked Leslie.

  “Absolutely not,” Karen replied. “I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn’t budge.”

  “So, why did you let him take your car?” asked Dave.

  Karen smiled and shrugged. “He told me he’d get a car somewhere else, he’d steal one if he had to. I’ve known Carlos all his life. We lived in the apartment across the hall and my mother was friends with Donna. I was four years old when he was born and I met him when he was two days old. He’s like my little brother. I know him and his determination so I figured he was better off with my car than a stolen one.”

  “Fair enough,” said Dave. “Did he tell you where he was going?”

  “No,” Karen replied. “He told me he had some ideas where Fernando might be and wanted to check them out but he wouldn’t specify where.” She paused then added, “Probably in case you contacted me. He said you might because he was dumb enough to call me on his phone. That’s when he made me promise not to say anything.”