“Don’t take anything for granted, Carl,” I told him. “Be careful with every word out of your mouth. Call us if anything goes sideways.”
Carl nodded. “Oh believe me, the Madigan and Cantelli show will be my first call. How did you do with the Largos accounts?”
“Real good,” Lo answered. “The widows and orphans fund gained a significant amount, which Rick and I will have to filter out anonymously. We also have a gift for Ben Simmons, so we’ll give you a call when we’re near the Farm. Rick and I will take you out to dinner.”
“Sounds good. Van says I’ll be on administrative leave for a couple months working a desk until things cool down. I will keep you informed on the Andros dealings – strictly on our on-line drop though.”
“That would be wise,” I told him. “Van knows Largos isn’t really missing, so he can shovel some dirt on that part of the op, and bury it.”
“Is that what actually happened to Largos?”
“Never you mind about details, kid,” Lo replied. “Largos paid for his sins.”
* * *
I slept like the dead when I got home until it was time to meet Jim after school. I called Stacy at work to let her know I was home. She had taken in the signed forms. They admitted Jim right away, although his morning was spent taking placement tests. I called the school, and was put through to Principal Jagoe. Jim was in class until three-thirty in the afternoon.
I walked to the school. It helped me clear my head. I was a few minutes early, so I was in the flock of parents picking up their kids. It was an amiable group of mostly moms, and a few dads. The stampede of kids was orderly. No one was run or jolted to the sidewalk. Jim spotted me. He had a pretty, dark haired girl at his side. They approached me with Jim taking her arm. The grin on his face indicated the first day of school went well.
“Ellen… this is my Grandfather, Rick Cantelli. Pa… this is Ellen Buford. She’s in my class. My placement test turned out great. Principal Jagoe placed me in Ellen’s eighth grade classes. Ellen’s read everything about you.”
Uh oh. I loved hearing Jim made it into a higher class, but I could envision many complications if my murderous adventures lately were spread around the school. Ellen smiled at me uneasily. She held out her hand and I shook it. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Cantelli. I read the Entertainment Pages all the time. That’s where I first found out you were a private detective. Then… well… you know, there was a lot of news describing shootings, movie stars, and what you used to do.”
No need to elaborate on what she said. “It’s great meeting you too, Ellen.”
“I want to be a private detective,” Ellen stated. “Jim said you wouldn’t mind showing me some of what you do.”
“You do realize it’s seldom a job with movie stars, and excitement, right?”
“It can be though, especially in this area. Jim says your partner is a woman, and you have another woman who works with you on cases. He says she’s Trish Medina, the star in the movie, ‘A New Beginning’. That’s incredible.”
“If you really have an interest in my line of work, you have to remember a good education is a must. Jim can tell you how much we rely on hi tech security systems and computer knowledge.”
“Ellen has a knack for deduction like when you and I were going over the Gannon case,” Jim told me. “She thinks it was really exciting what we did. Can she come to the office sometime with me, and maybe talk through one of your cases?”
Damn… I’m getting rolled by a couple of kids. “Sure. I’ll work with you on something, but I want to see a signed statement from your parents, and talk with them first.”
That brought a frown to her face. “I…I’ll have to work on that. They’re both doctors. That’s what they want me to be. I hate even the smell of a hospital.”
I can’t fault her for that. I feel much the same way. “That’s a deal breaker, Ellen. I can’t and won’t sneak behind your folks’ backs. Being a doctor is an incredible achievement. Maybe you’ll warm to the idea in a few years.”
Ellen smiled slyly as if I’d been caught in her trap. “Oh barf! I’m never going to be a doctor… ever.”
Yeah, I chuckled inappropriately at that statement. This was kind of a cute development. “I’ll help if I’m allowed. Is anyone picking you up from school?”
“No. I only live three blocks away. I’ll work on my parents. I live in the same direction as Bernadette Lane. Did you drive over, Mr. Cantelli?”
“I walked. C’mon then, Nancy Drew. Jim and I will walk you home.”
“I’m more like Veronica Mars.”
“Yes, Ms. Mars, but you do know women are from Venus.”
Miraculously, I elicited a humorous reaction to my adlib from two teens.
“Jim told me you’re always in verbal games with your partner, and you rag on each other all the time. You call her Harpy, and Gorgon. She calls you Hooterville. Lois seems like a lot of fun to be around.”
The image of Lois Madigan with pliers in hand, and propane torch waiting nearby flashed through my head. “Sometimes, Ms. Mars. Sometimes.”
“I can tell Jim and I are like that. He said a lot of funny things today, and I’m always getting in trouble for making inappropriate comments.”
Oh great, Rick and Lo light. The Harpy will get a laugh out of this. I’m not sure Temple will feel all that thrilled.
“Can Ellen work out with us tonight, and go to the restaurant afterwards. I want her to meet Temple. Plus, I told her your whole crew works out at Ms. Wentworth’s gym. She could meet Trish, Karen, and Aunt Lo.”
“You’re forgetting the parental permission part again.” If Lois perceives how badly these two worked me over, she will torture me for weeks with it.
“My Mom’s on call, so she’ll be at the house. We’ll work on her together.”
Oh good… not! “I’ll be there when you ask, but that’s it.”
* * *
“Rick Cantelli.” Madeline Buford held out her hand.
I shook hands with mom the doctor. She was an older version of her daughter, very pretty, with high cheek bones, and an in shape body. “I’m happy to meet you, Ms. Buford.”
“Call me Maddie. I’ve read about you, Rick. What the hell has Ellen talked you into?”
“I think I’ll let her tell you.”
Ellen went to work on her Mom with expertise. Watching it happen in front of my eyes convinced me I wasn’t the only one she rolled. There was something odd in the conversation between Ellen and her Mom. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this meeting felt rehearsed.
“I don’t see anything wrong with you doing this workout and dinner,” Maddie allowed. “The problem I see is Rick killed three men in front of the gym you’ll be working out at, and five men in front of the restaurant you’ll be eating in after. Are you stupid? What kind of a mom lets her daughter go with a killer to a kill zone?”
Bingo! Yeah… what kind of a mom would do that, and why am I not being ordered out of the house?
“You, Mom,” Ellen answered. “The kind of Mom who doesn’t want her daughter doing things behind her back.”
Maddie smiled. “Good answer. How safe will Ellen be going to this workout and dinner, Rick? Do you have a string of hit-men still trying to find a way to kill you?”
I wish I knew, but that would not have been the first question I asked if I were her. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t take Jim if I thought for a moment he would be in danger. Those men were part of Dane Ramos’s crew.”
Maddie’s mouth tightened. I could tell she knew more of what happened than a skim through the paper, but she asked a question she already knew the answer to anyway. “Is this Ramos person after you?”
“Uh… no. He was one of the five at the restaurant.”
“I like you, Rick. How exactly does someone kill eight men? I’ve seen Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns where he did it in the movies. Do you worry about your victims’ families, or more importantly: prison?”
“I concentrate o
n the people I save. If they kill me, I can guarantee you they won’t approach my family, or cry crocodile tears at my grave. Those eight men would have killed Jim and his grandmother, Stacy. Jim and Stacy are still alive. I’m too old to worry about fallout from people who think survival is a game. Nice meeting you. C’mon, Jim.”
“Ellen can go with you two,” Maddie said, as Jim and I turned to the door. “If you can’t keep her safe, I doubt anyone can.”
I stared at her in silence for a moment, wondering if anything I said could have obtained my freedom from this. I smelled setup, but why? I shrugged as the kids gave each other a quick hug in celebration. “We’ll be by for you at five-thirty, Ellen.”
* * *
“Thanks, Pa,” Jim said as we walked toward home.
“Couldn’t you simply make a few friends without absorbing them like a Borg drone?”
Jim looked perplexed for a moment, but brightened a second later. “Star Trek reference. Got it. Ellen’s special. She and I are going to be like you and Aunt Lo. She gets all my humor, and she reads my mind.”
Okay… I may have laughed at that inference. “You talk like that’s a good thing. Ellen didn’t looked surprised when Maddie mentioned the dead men. Did you already fill her in on all that?”
“Nope. She’d already read it. Ellen’s like me. When she wants to get at information, she keeps digging at it until it’s hers. We started talking at lunch after I may have made a few smartass comments during class. I didn’t think they were, because they concerned the subject, which was global warming. I read on the Internet temperatures have increased on other planets such as Mars. I added there were no SUV’s on Mars, so maybe it’s just the sun as nearly all scientists say is causing natural cyclical change.”
“Cyclical, huh?” Maybe this Internet browsing wasn’t all that bad. It at least improves their vocabulary. “You know of course you could have put your point into words that wouldn’t send your teacher’s jaw into instant torque, right?”
“Yeah… that wasn’t too smart. I thought her head was going to explode for a second. It was neat in a way though. She changed the subject instead of answering. Everyone in the class knew Ms. Rhineholt had no response. You’ll back me though if she starts screwing me, right?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want you to quit thinking. Playing the game in school with teachers believing they know everything, and all they have to do is say it, and all students should take their word as if it were written on stone tablets is a tricky business. I will back your play if I see logic in your argument. I won’t back disrespectful discourse though. If the purpose of your point is to see your teacher’s head explode, you will lose the legitimate point you’re trying to make. I admit it is a game stacked against the students.”
“I’ll keep what you’ve said in mind. Ellen gets me though. It’s not like with Temple. She’s my soul-mate. Ellen and I are going to be like you and Aunt Lo.”
I stopped walking. It was time to find out what the hell was going on here. I grabbed hold of Jim by the shoulder. “Jim. You’ll be thirteen tomorrow. I think it’s cute you’ve even heard the term soul-mate. You have a world of opportunities in front of you. I love your passion, but keep it in check. I refuse to rain on your parade, but I’m not much on reinforcing ambitions completely out of the realm of possibility. When you’re a little older, I’ll explain how your Aunt Lo and I came to this point. If I teach you anything that sticks, I hope it will be the fact that random sequences of events play a part in our lives.”
I shook him a little. “Why aren’t you asking me about that bizarro conversation we were a part of originating in the Twilight Zone? Ellen’s Mom knows I’ve killed eight men at the very places we’re taking Ellen tonight. What is wrong with this picture?”
Jim kept silent.
“You know something, kid. Spill it. Why do I get the feeling this Ellen going along to our workout and dinner was an elaborate ploy for me to meet her Mom?”
We began walking again. I let Jim mull it over in his mind about how to explain this extremely odd parent get together I had a few moments ago. That he and Ellen bonded so quickly, complete with intricate plans and deceptions, made me wonder how far beyond thirteen Jim really was in his head.
“You can tell me. You’re not in any trouble.”
“Ellen introduced herself after our first class together ended. She heard the rumors spreading through school I am Rick Cantelli’s Grandson. The office secretary is Ellen’s Mom’s best friend. She was the one who took us in to see the Principal. Face it, Pa. You’re kind of famous.” Jim smiled. “A better word would be infamous.”
Very funny, and also very true. “So Ellen is behind this supposed incidental meeting with her Mom?”
“Dane Ramos killed her Mom’s brother, Ellen’s Uncle Tommy, years ago. Ramos was never arrested, because Uncle Tommy was killed in a drive-by shooting they couldn’t pin on anyone. Ellen’s Mom knew it was Ramos that ordered him killed though. Uncle Tommy was a real estate agent, and refused to negotiate with Ramos’s gang on a place being represented by Tommy. He had found out Ramos was using a couple to front for him on the deal.”
At least the strange meeting made a little sense. Maybe Maddie couldn’t believe Ramos was dead until she heard it in person. “Is any of the playacting you two were rolling me with true?”
“Sure. Ellen loved the stories when I describe your office antics, and the Gannon case. Her folks do want her to be a doctor, but she doesn’t want anything to do with it. Her Mom wanted to meet you. Ellen invented the ploy for getting herself invited along to the workout and dinner, while drawing you into a face to face meeting with her Mom.”
Damn. The girl has game. “Did you know what she was doing?”
“Yep, but I like her. Besides, I knew you’d see through it, and I couldn’t think of any downside to her coming along. It’ll be funny. I coached her a bit like you did me when we had the DNA test done.”
“Coached her how?”
“It’ll be a surprise.”
* * *
I managed another hour’s sleep while Jim did his homework. We were on time to gather Lo lite, and Jim’s future partner, Ellen. Maddie was there with her husband. He met us at the door, a stocky, sandy haired six footer with a natural smile. We shook hands, as Maddie waved at me from behind him.
“I’m Josh Buford, Rick. I heard how Ellen finagled her way into your outing tonight. I want you to know I’m damn glad to meet the guy who killed that bastard Ramos. My brother-in-law Tommy was a great guy. He deserved better justice than what he got.”
Finally - a straight forward family member. “Thank you. I admit it. The kids rolled me. It was an elaborate plot, but entertaining. I’m glad to meet you too, Josh. Jim and Ellen are hitting it off pretty well, so whenever I walk Jim home, we’ll walk with Ellen too.”
“That would be great. Ellen thinks fourteen is too old to have an escort home, but it never hurts to have backup. Come in for a moment after you bring Ellen home.”
“I’d be glad to. Goodbye for now.”
* * *
We were stretching when Temple arrived. She didn’t look happy seeing Jim demonstrating the workout moves to Ellen. He hurried to grab her hand with Ellen and Stacy following. Stacy had driven to the gym directly from work. I could tell she liked Ellen. Jim made the three of them laugh within minutes as he reenacted some moments of the day. The explanation for Ellen wanting to be Lois in a private detective partnership with Jim was a hit with Temple and Stacy. The regular workout crew filtered in, naturally gravitating to the kids. Lo arrived next, bypassing the entertainment.
“I wondered if you’d make it or not,” Lo said, watching Jim mimicking people from his day at school. “I see Jim enticed another playmate. What the hell is that all about? The kid is scary good with the entertainment factor, but he has a little too much of you in him.”
I explained the circumstances. Lois enjoyed the hell out of Jim’s new private detective agency with Ellen as
his partner, but listened intently to the ploy Ellen used. “Shit. We should keep those two apart. I thought the bonding with Temple was bad. This Ellen sounds like an instigator. She and Jim are likely to upset the cosmic balance.”
“You may be right, but she has good parents. I’m not worried yet about their pairing. They are pretty amusing together. Here comes the rest of the crew. It should be a funny workout tonight.”
“I think we should fly into D.C. next week to see Ben, and deliver our present.”
“Fine by me.” I figured Lo wouldn’t want to put off our Ben Simmons date. “You sure put that overdue debt to rest.”
Lois looked off into eternity for a moment, a slight smile forming on her lips. “I surely did. Anyway… how do you feel tonight? Do you still want to have dinner at the restaurant?”
“I don’t have a choice. I have my directorial debut tonight, using Don at the piano with our two hot movie stars. Jim has been practicing the damn song so much, he sounds better doing it than me, and I speak French. You and Frank are coming, aren’t you?”
“Oh hell yeah. Frank can’t wait. He loves the damn restaurant more than home. Since the Collinswoods keep adding more and more memorabilia and period lighting, it’s almost like walking onto the set of Casablanca. It’s the best venture we ever dived into together. I hate to say it, but Stacy was a force in that one too, albeit a negative one.”
“She’s beginning to convince me this comeback is the real thing.”
Lois watched Stacy quietly enjoying the interaction amongst our workout group. “Stacy’s okay, Rick. I’m guessing you’re seeing glimmers of the high school girl from back in the day.”
“I always have. I never told anyone this, but Stacy’s more than likely the reason I avoided serious relationships. I used our occupation as an excuse, but the damn first love syndrome is a tough one to let go of. Best of all, with her making a real effort at this rehab, I have someone wrinkled like me to enjoy some good times with, like raising Jim.”
Rick Cantelli, PI: Into the Darkness (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 3) Page 29
