My Sister's Fear

by T. J. Jones

  I did ascribe to the Butterfly Effect, the idea that tiny moments in a person's life could change their future, and by extension the lives of the people around them. Turning left instead of right on any given day could precipitate changes that we would never be aware of or could possibly quantify as we continued haplessly about our lives. I wondered, with over fourteen thousand days behind me, how many of those tiny choices I had made, and how they had affected where I was today.

  I wasn't inclined to second guess myself too much. There were a couple of things I might have tweaked given the chance, but for the most part I was happy with where life had taken me. A huge part of that was the fact that Maggie Jeffries was a part of my life. I had to tell her about her uncle, and everything I knew about her Dad. It scared me, mostly because I knew it would hurt her, and to some degree because I had kept it from her as long as I had. But she said it herself, at a certain point in time it would be like I was lying to her, and that would be a wrong turn. There were things in my life I couldn't control, but I planned to do everything I could to make Maggie Jeffries happy.

  Somewhere out in the world, a Butterfly shook his wings and laughed at my plans.

  There was never going to be a good time. After we took the plane up the next day to get Maggie ready for her flight test, I suggested we stop at my house to talk.

  "Are you still hoping for an early birthday present, Slater?" She was on my side of the truck again and making it difficult to concentrate on my driving. I pulled away from her and must have looked serious. She knitted a brow. "What is it?"

  "We need to talk, just talk. There are things I need to tell you about your Dad and everything, difficult things. Maybe a cold beer would make it easier."

  "It can wait if you want. I know I said you need to tell me, but it won't change anything between us. I know whatever you did, you always have my best interests at heart. You couldn't have known my Dad would kill himself, I don't blame you for that."

  "I'm afraid there's more to it."

  "Now you're scaring me a little, but okay. A cold beer sounds good."

  A myriad of emotions crossed her face in the three-minute drive to my house. It had occurred to me that she might react poorly and I didn't want her jumping out of the truck in traffic. We reached my house and went in, grabbed our beers and sat on the couch.

  "I was going to wait for a good time, but I met with Susy Foster yesterday and she asked me to talk to you about this as soon as possible."

  "Last night would have been fine, but what does Susan have to do with this?"

  "Alright, you know Susan works for Homeland Security. She tries to stop people from taking advantage of these immigrant girls, girls like Rosalyn Cabello."

  "Sure, we talked about that. She was helping Davey, right?"

  "Not in the rescue operations, her job is more enforcement."

  "Busting people like the Diablo, and probably my father?"

  "I told you that your father knew who the Diablo was, and that he was inadvertently involved with Davey's death."

  "Yeah, but no particulars."

  "The men your father worked with were trafficking girls, and he was part of it, that's how he got stuck in the middle. It's not like he wasn't involved, because he was. But there was a good reason your Dad knew who the Diablo was."

  "He worked with him?" Maggie asked cautiously.

  "Yeah, but the reason he worked with him, it's complicated." I was struggling.

  "Dammit Slater, spit it out. We've established my Dad was a scumbag, what else is there?"

  "The Diablo Blanco, Maggie. He's your uncle. Gary Jeffries didn't die in that plane crash in the Everglades four years ago. He faked the whole thing and ran off to California. It was Gary that kidnapped Sandy Foster and sent her to the middle east, and it was Gary that manipulated Davey, and slapped him around down in Miami."

  Her eyes were wide and instantly shining with tears. "He made my brother watch, when he did those ungodly things to Rosalyn Cabello? His own nephew! Dear God, I wish he had died in that crash. Does he know? Did he have any idea that Davey was my Dad's son?"

  "The night I shot the man that was sent to kill Maria, I almost told him. But unless Davey told him, I don't think he could know. Davey was just someone convenient and vulnerable, someone he knew he could use and control."

  "How long?"

  I knew what she was asking. "I saw him the day Sam was killed, in a car outside of Rosalyn's house. That was the first time I knew he was alive. The pieces fit and I realized he must be the Diablo. I couldn't tell you, it was too much. It was too much for me, knowing everything I did, especially after I learned Davey was your brother."

  She stared at me, pale and cold as the whole chain of events tumbled around in her mind. "I thought we agreed to always be honest, Slater." She said coldly.

  "I am, now I am. I just couldn't get it out before, I knew how much it would hurt you."

  "Why are you telling me this now, today?"

  "He knows the man who had Davey killed, but he won't agree to testify unless he can talk to you first. He wanted to talk to you and Angela, but I told him there's no way Angela could do that."

  "Of course you'd protect her." It was an accusation, one she took back immediately. "I'm sorry, you know I wouldn't have wanted to tell her either. She's had all the trauma she can handle for one lifetime." She put her beer down, settled against me and closed her eyes.

  "How about I just sit here for a while and try not to think. Just put your arms around me and I'll forget all about my fucked-up Dad and uncle, and how I have a dead brother. Okay?"

  "I can do that." But there was no forgetting. I held onto her as she cried softly for a very long time.

  Finally, she sat up, wiped her face and looked at me. "When? I want to get this over with."

  "Okay, I'll call Susan. Does tomorrow morning work for you?"

  Chapter Thirteen

  No matter how we try to protect the people we love, there is always the chance that we'll fail. Doesn't matter if you call it Fate, bad luck, or just a poor decision; all but the luckiest of us has to face ugliness at some point in our lives and inevitably watch someone we care about face ugliness and pain and know there is little we can do to help them through it.

  Looking at Maggie the next morning I would have done anything to spare her from what lay in front of her. In hind sight, I knew I could have done it. I could have found some way to take Gary Jeffries out of his brother's guest house the night I found him tied to a chair, spirited him away to a quiet place and gave him what he deserved, a spot in the Everglades with all those alligators. That would have been Justice. And that would have stopped this moment from happening.

  "What are you thinking about?"

  "How badly I screwed up when I didn't shoot your worthless uncle." I admitted.

  She smiled sadly. "That isn't who you are. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe he will testify against the people that killed Davey."

  "Then can I shoot all of them?"

  That made her chuckle. "If it were that simple, I'd help you."

  "The way you shoot?"

  "I asked for that. Looks like this is it."

  Susan Foster had led us on a circuitous route through the back streets of Jacksonville to a small, brick house on a corner lot. A tall chain link fence separated it from the Interstate in the back, and the north side butted up to a small commercial looking building with no windows. That left two sides exposed to the street with good visibility. There were shrubs, but they were only waist high. I wondered about those, recalling the time I had used similar shrubbery to sneak up to the Jeffries Estate in Lauderdale.

  Frank Jeffries and his girlfriend had had a dog, a half-grown pet that the hired assassin had killed. This yard had two dogs, both hundred pound plus German Shepherds that were undoubtedly well trained and a lot better at protecting their owner than that puppy had been. A full-grown man with a weapon could deal with one dog, but two could be a hell of a problem. We walked up to the w
ire gate and waited. The dogs sat calmly on the front step watching us carefully.

  Susan Foster nodded at the pair of canines. "They know me, but if I opened this gate, they would shred me like a bag of kibble. Officer Grant will be out in a minute. He will have to check you for weapons. I trust you, but no one goes in armed, even me."

  "Nice to see you again Susy." Maggie offered. "Slater has told me stories of your exploits, but I never really got a chance to talk to you much other than on the phone."

  "I feel like we're old friends, all things considered. Maybe someday there'll be a chance for coffee and we can really get to know each other."

  "Right now would be a great time, but I don't suppose I can get out of this."

  Susy gave her a shrug and a smile. "Sorry to put you through this, but we need his testimony. He says he needs to make amends."

  "Nothing he could say or do will accomplish that."

  "Still, he wants to try. He can be a deceptively engaging man."

  Officer Grant opened the door and called the dogs in. The bigger one stood its ground for a moment and gave out a half-hearted bark, alerting his handler. A half minute passed and he walked back out and waved us in. He frisked us quickly, even Susan.

  The entry door didn't have any glass and it was steel, like the construction doors we used during our remodels. It hadn't been obvious from outside, but each window was filled with heavy steel bars, and there was a substantial crossbar securing the back door, which I could see behind Gary Jeffries, who sat quietly at the kitchen table. One arm was extended slightly, and I could see a short chain between a set of handcuffs and the crossbar securing the door. The room was spartan: a table, metal chairs, refrigerator and microwave. There was a sink, but no dishes. The garbage was nearly filled with paper plates and plastic glasses. Not Leavenworth, but not the Ritz either.

  We walked into the room and stood ten feet away from Maggie's uncle. Susy spoke hesitantly. "You all know each other. Gary has requested time alone with you Maggie. You need to sit on the opposite side of the table and have no physical contact. We will be in the office in the back should you need help or have questions. Gary has assured me he will be a perfect gentleman, and that it will just take a few minutes."

  "I won't be alone with him." She stared coldly at her father's brother. "I'm not afraid, just so you know, but Slater needs to be here. If he wants to talk, he talks to us both."

  Gary nodded. He looked smaller than when I'd last seen him, thinner. Perhaps TV dinners and constant worry had proven a good diet. I imagined that wondering when an assassin's bullet would find you would ruin your appetite. Rashad Dinar had to know by now that Gary might turn witness, and he would not be happy about that.

  "Alright, you have ten minutes."

  There were two chairs on our side of the table, and we pulled them back a couple of feet, then sat down. Maggie studied Gary for a good fifteen seconds, then spit out a few words.

  "Did you know what my father was?"

  "If you mean, did I know he was a weak sorry excuse for a human being, yes. It takes one to know one, I guess."

  "There aren't words for how much I hate him, or you. What possible reason would you have for wanting to talk to me?"

  "Your Dad took the brunt of our Father's anger after our older brother died and my mother committed suicide. He was a vicious, mean person. Sins of the father, I guess. It took something out of Frank, or maybe he didn't have it to start with. He was brutal, like our Dad."

  "And you’re an Angel?" Maggie asked incredulously.

  Gary smiled and glanced at me, then nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I can't say that I am. But your Dad was remorseless. Right up until the end, when he wasn't. I don't know if it was the guilt of thinking Maria was dead that made him do it, or if he just couldn't stand what he'd become. I admit I have done terrible things. I told myself the people I was doing them to didn't matter and if I didn't use them, someone else would."

  "How could you possibly do such vile things to Rosalyn? And Davey."

  "I don't know. I am not that different from my brother. I took what I wanted, just because I could. It's an incredible feeling knowing someone is helpless, that you hold their life in your hands and that you could end it if it suited you."

  Maggie lunged to her feet suddenly and stepped away from me. I don't know how, but she had hidden her gun somewhere, and now she pointed it at Gary's face.

  She spoke quietly. "How does it feel? I could end your life, if it suited me. Funny, I don't feel that rush, I just feel sick. Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right between the eyes." She hadn't raised her voice, and Susan trusted us enough to not watch. I glanced back, to be sure she or the officer hadn't come out of the office, but I didn't try to take the gun. I was reasonably sure Maggie couldn't shoot an unarmed man any more than I could.

  Gary didn't move, didn't show the least bit of emotion. After a tense few seconds, Maggie pocketed the gun and sat down. She was shaking, and her eyes filled.

  "God, I wish I could kill you."

  "Believe it or not, I am sorry for the pain I caused you and your sister. I would have liked to have had Angela here as well."

  "Sorry, but she's a little messed up at the moment Uncle. Seems like losing the father that had been raping her since she was twelve is something she can't quite wrap her head around!"

  He hadn't known. It was on his face. "My God. I am so sorry. I would have put an end to that if I'd known."

  "Really? Caging a fourteen-year old child, raping her and shooting her full of drugs is in your wheelhouse, but you draw the line at incest? Good to know. You're my hero! If your so Goddamn noble, Uncle Gary, why did you have to drag your own nephew into it?"

  Gary cocked his head, ashen. "Nephew, what do you mean?

  "Daddy dearest slipped across the road back in the day, I'm surprised he didn't brag to you about it. Davey was my half-brother, and your nephew, you sack of shit." She was getting pretty loud and Susan stuck her head out of the office. I waved her away. "Did you set him up to get killed, or was that my father?"

  "I didn't know, Maggie, I swear it. Frank didn't either." I knew that was a lie, but I was willing to let it go for Maggie's sake. Gary put his forehead down on the table, and when he lifted it, there were tears in his eyes. "I almost wish you had pulled the trigger a minute ago, but then you'd be paying for my sins, and Franks. I didn't know about any of this. Davey, Angela, my God! What a nightmare we put those two through. Honestly, if I'd known Frank was doing that to your sister, I would have shot him myself."

  "I can't look at you, you disgust me." Maggie gave into tears for a minute.

  "Why are we here, Gary?" I asked.

  "I hoped to explain to the girls, how things got so out of control. How we got involved with the group from the middle east."

  "You mean Dinar? He's the head of the snake, right?"

  "Susan told you? She shouldn't have done that. Just knowing that name could get you killed, and my niece along with you. There are a lot of moving parts, but Dinar controls most of the supply chain from overseas and no one dares do much without his say-so."

  Maggie leaned forward, venomous. "Supply chain? These girls, these children, they are supplies to you?"

  "I'm sorry Maggie, really I am, for everything I've done. Your father and I made excuses for each other. We figured most of these girls would end up on the streets anyway, so we decided to make some money off them. It was always about the money, like Davey always said."

  "You don't deserve to even say his name. You took my brother from me before I even knew who he really was. I'll never forgive you for that."

  "I can't undo the past, but I have plans for the future. It's possible Susan is right, and Dinar will have me killed, but I think he plans to keep me around for a while."

  "Not that it matters since you are legally dead, but we liquidated the building in Lauderdale for a good chunk of money."

  "Good! After everything, your mother and you girls deserve it." He tri
ed smiling at her, but Maggie didn't respond in kind.

  "You have plans?" I asked. "I thought the plan was to testify, then disappear."

  "I could bring down a few people, but getting Dinar in a court would be tough. He's tight with some men in Washington, and he controls the sale of huge quantities of oil. He would be protected from extradition and he would never stand trial. I want a more permanent solution."

  "How, kill him?"

  "I know you two don't think a lot of me, but Frank was my brother, and Dinar has to pay for his death. And now there's Davey too, he deserves some kind of justice."

  "You agree to testify and he's going to kill you the minute he finds you." I pointed out.

  "If I testify. If I don't, I might be able to talk my way back into the organization, get close to him and end it."

  "Bird in hand. Susan Foster would never agree to let you try that, even as bad as she wants him."

  "I don't expect she will."

  It occurred to Maggie what he was implying, and she leaned over the table, getting close to his face. "You hurt anyone, if even one of those dogs gets so much as a scratch, much less Susan Foster, Slater and I will track you down and I swear on Davey's grave I will pull the trigger myself."

  "I'm going to make him pay for Davey and Frank's death Maggie, anyway I can. But I'm done hurting innocent people, I promise you that."

  "I don't believe your promises, and I'm going to tell Susy about what you have planned." Maggie didn't seem angry anymore, just tired and resigned. "I wish I could say it was good to see you, but I really can't. Are we done?"

  "All I hoped for was a chance to lay eyes on you and Angela, it's been a lot of years. I am sorry about Davey. I liked him, despite the way I treated him." He struggled to get the words out. "It's like a sickness. There's always this rage that doesn't go away. I can push it aside for long periods of time, but it's always there under the surface, waiting. My brother couldn't control it, and it ate him alive. Maybe we got that from our father's genes, or maybe we learned it. Don't let it ruin your life, Maggie." He extended a hand, and I was stunned when she took it, then turned without another word and fled out the door.