by Richard Wren
CHAPTER 54
Shortly after nine, as Smitty was just beginning to enjoy the first episode of a new Hell’s Angel TV show, the phone rang.
“Smitty, it’s Jay down at the warehouse, say’s its important.”
Keeping an eye on the show, Smitty reached out an arm for the phone and brought it to his ear. In a moment, he shot out of his chair and started cursing.”
“You’re fucking right, I know. He wants a war, he’ll get one. Anybody hurt?” He listened while everyone in the room froze. In a moment, he hung up.
“What happened?” Josie asked.
“Jay wanted to know if I’d made any new enemy’s lately ‘cause somebody in a big truck ran over and crushed half a dozen of the gang’s bikes parked outside the warehouse. He says it had to be deliberate ‘cause it was obvious the truck had gone back and forth over them. The guys were all inside and didn’t hear anything. Guess who!” he barked.
They all looked blank.
“Your pal Gordon, that’s who!” he spat.
Josie asked, “Why Gordon?”
“Who else? He probably thinks we led his granddad to suicide.”
Casey had a thought. “How about his partners in the card club? They sure wouldn’t welcome an investigation, and we know they can be vicious. Maybe a warning to quit now that their partner committed suicide?
Smitty dismissed the idea quickly, “Too farfetched.”
Josie slowly asked, “But why there? It seems so,” she groped for a word, “remote?”
Casey disagreed with Smitty. “Everybody knows about the gang’s warehouse and Smitty’s boat, but the house and the shop in Richmond are not well known at all. Like you said before, someone’s connected Lanner to Josie and Josie to you. Pure and simple, it’s a warning born out of desperation. So it had to be the rooskyies; Gordon sure isn’t tooling around Oakland in a semi.” He had a thought. “Anyone know anything about the Russian gang?”
Nobody had any concrete thoughts at all until Esther spoke up. “I could identify the two that came in with Gordon’s grandfather.”
Smitty eyed her speculatively for several minutes. Josie knew that an idea was percolating in his mind. She gave him time.
“His two guys must work at the gambling place in Emeryville, right?” he asked her. “Maybe someone’s trying to throw a scare at us?”
“I guess,” she tremulously answered.
“I bet they hardly noticed you, right?”
“Probably not, they were focused on their boss like they were his bodyguards or something.”
“So if you went there, you probably wouldn’t be recognized, right?”
She figured out where he was leading. “I could do that.”
“Go with someone to the Card club and point out the two guys?” Smitty confirmed.
Josie interrupted. “Dad, what are you doing?”
Smitty’s answer was quick and final. “Same thing I’ve done all my life. Not let anybody kick sand in my face and get away with it. Not to worry, I won’t harm your case any, maybe just declaw them a little.
Casey volunteered. “Nobody there would recognize me.”
Smitty settled it. “Okay. You two go there for lunch tomorrow and look around. If you spot the two guys call me. Simple?”
The next day, lunch time found Esther and Casey sitting at one end of the bar in the Open Door Card Room watching the rather small group of people actually playing cards while the bar and lunch tables were crowded.
“Any sign of them?” Casey queried.
”Not yet, but I can’t see the whole room.”
Casey had just met Esther for the first time the day before, and he was a little shy about suggesting, “Maybe you could pretend you need to go freshen your nose and give the place the once over?”
Esther grinned and said, “Just because I’m old enough to be your mother, you don’t have to act like I’m senile. Be back in a sec.”
Casey admired her trim figure from behind and looked around at the people sitting nearby. I wonder if they think she’s my mother. He snickered to himself. Or they think she’s a cougar?
In a few minutes, Esther came back looking like the cat that had just swallowed the canary.
“You found them?” Casey guessed.
“Not only that. I found out they’re almost always here up until three in the morning. They were standing together near the rear exit into the parking lot. I told them it was my first time here and wondered how safe it was to walk to the parking lot after dark. They volunteered they were here until that time and often escorted single women to their cars. Pretty sharp, huh?”
“Wow, perfect. I think you deserve a drink and lunch on that.”
They each had a cocktail, a nice lunch, and became friends. So much so that Casey was able to confide to her his mental wanderings about people wondering if she might be his mother or a cougar. She thought that was hysterical. They both decided one drink was enough and left soon after to report to Smitty. Esther had a question.
“Do you have any idea what Smitty’s planning for these two?
“Esther, I never have any idea what Smitty’s going to do next. He’s the most unpredictable person I’ve ever met. The only thing about him that’s predictable is his unpredictability. I’ve seen him do things successfully that I don’t think anyone else could do. And he’s damn smart.”
Back at the house, when Smitty learned how exposed the two Russian guards were, he announced, “We’re gonna make them disappear.”
“Now, Dad,” Josie started, but Smitty cut her off.
“No buts, Josie. I’m not going to hurt nobody. I’m just going to make it easy for these guys to take a short vacation from their job until the indictments are made public.
Sarcastically, Josie asked. “Sounds like kidnapping to me, Dad.”
“No, no it isn’t. Listen. Late at night, they escort an elderly couple out to their car. At the car they’re confronted by enough guys to convince them it might be a good idea to listen to what they have to say. They get convinced they’d be much happier way up in the mountains in a private cabin for the next few days than they would be sitting around down here with a couple of broken legs. Simple.”
Josie knew her Dad. She knew he had been mixed up in much worse crimes than this proposed. She knew he was implacable once he set his mind on something. She also knew he was damn near a genius at bringing one of his plans to life successfully. She elected to do as she had done before.
“I didn’t hear that, and I’m going up to our office. You guys do what you must; just don’t tell me what you’re up to. Marilyn, Esther, you better come with me unless you want to end up in jail.”
Smitty the general emerged the second the door closed behind Josie. He addressed Casey. “Call Les. Tell him we need half a dozen guys to meet us at ten tonight at the warehouse. Tell them to be sure and bring their cell phones and maybe some brass knuckles if they have them. And get Jeannine down here. Tell her it’s time for her to do a little detecting like she wanted.”
Mystified, Casey asked, “What’s the plan?”
“Just like I said before. Les and Jeannine’ll be in need of some help getting to their car tonight, maybe around eleven or even a little later depending on the crowds, and we’ll be waiting for them.”
“Aren’t you putting Jeannine in a dangerous situation?”
“Not with six guys plus you and me. Then after we convince them it’s vacation time, a couple of our guys will escort them all the way to Tahoe, ensconce them in a nice cabin a friend of mine owns, and stay with them until they get the all clear call from us. Like I said simple and effective.”
Les and Jeannine were totally accepted by the two bodyguards as a middle-aged couple a little on their guard at entering the huge parking lot so late at night even though it was well lit. Jeannine took the arm of one of them, and Les pretended to be slightly unbalanced so that he occasionally needed an arm for support. The two volunteered to accompany them to their car.
Les asked
questions in an effort to distract them. “Ever had back surgery? Ever have sciatica pains? Are you ever unsteady on your feet? In a few moments, they arrived at their car, and Les fumbled for the keys. Suddenly they were surrounded by almost a dozen of the motorcycle gang all wearing leathers and boots.
“What the hell?”
“Relax, we just want to talk to you,” Smitty loudly said.
The two guys were in their forties and in excellent shape. Both looked like ex boxers or wrestlers. Both spoke excellent English with no trace of an accent, and both were reasonable when faced with overwhelming odds.
They visibly relaxed, and one said, “About what?”
Smitty asked, “We know you two worked for old man Mason and he had you doing shitty jobs like escorting him places. Who do you work for now?” He wondered if they’d admit they were part of a Russian gang. They didn’t answer, just shrugged their shoulders. .
“Could you take a vacation if you wanted?”
They looked at each other, clearly confused by the questions. One of them ventured, “Sure. We could take off tomorrow if we wanted. Are you looking to hire us?”
“Nope, better than that. How about a two-week vacation at Tahoe, all expenses paid.”
They got it. “You’re trying to get us out of the picture for a week or two.”
“If you’re on your way by daylight, yes.”
He looked at them suspiciously. “You’re going to get rid of someone?”
“Nope. Just you two. We want to keep our motorcycles safe.”
“Hah.” He laughed a dry laugh and deliberated for a second. “Okay, we get it. So how does it go down?”
“It’s a cinch. Two of our guys go with you in your car to your house, grab a toothbrush or whatever and take off for Tahoe. There’s a beautiful private cabin waiting for you on the Nevada side of South Shore along with an envelope with a thousand in cash for each of you. Our two guys will stay with you, but out of your way for the full two weeks. How’s that sound?”
Cautiously one asked, “What’s the alternative?”
Smitty was ready. “I’d say about as much damage to you as you did to our cycles.”
They looked at each other for a second. One said, “I’ve been aching for a vacation from this rat race for a long time.”
The other echoed him, “Me too,” then added, “Sorry about your bikes. It was just a job we were told to do, nothing personal. Now that our meal ticket’s dead, we’re pretty much free to do anything we want; we should have dumped that old prick a long time ago except he owns a third of the company.”
Curious, Smitty asked, “Who’s we?”
The guy simply replied, “The other two thirds,” and gave Smitty a blank look that said that’s all you’re going to get.
Les patted the two guys down, determined they were unarmed, and sent them off to Tahoe along with three of the gang.
Smitty couldn’t resist celebrating and took the rest of the group back into the card club for drinks. Nobody seemed to miss the two guards. He made a quiet triumphant toast to the group. “A toast to the departure of Mason’s guards and the end of Mason.”
Les said, “Yeah, your ideas really worked.”
Casey added to the group, “Nothing stops Smitty, he’s unconquerable.”
At that, Smitty stood up, tapped a glass for attention, ostentatiously cleared his throat and quietly recited,
“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul.” Then quickly sat down.
After a moment of stunned silence Casey said, “Invictus?”
Smitty said, “I’ve got no idea where it came from. I just like it.”
Back at the house, Casey related the whole incident to Josie.
“Invictus?” Josie asked.
Surprised, Casey agreed.
“A couple of drinks and some euphoria, pretty predictable,” she laughed.
Casey thought back for a moment. “I guess there was plenty of euphoria. He’d just finished wrapping up the whole case for us, and then he spouted the poetry.”
CHAPTER 55
At breakfast, Smitty wasn’t nearly as euphoric as he had been last night. “It doesn’t seem like we’re making any progress. One step forward and two steps back. I wish it was the old days. We’d just take care of the bastards and get it over with. Now we’re caught up in a legal quagmire.”
“Not to worry, Dad. That’s what I’m here for. Leo and I have it all figured out, there’s just a bunch of steps to take.
The day passed slowly for Smitty and Casey. Josie was in Martinez meeting with Leo and both Marilyn and Jeannine were concentrating on paper work and research.
Josie was expectantly eyeing the clock, anticipating a call from Leo, when exactly at three thirty, the phone rang.
“Leo?”
“Josie? It’s all a go. The jury issued a bill and we can start taking steps toward the civil court case against the Mason estate. Once they heard Lanner’s confession together with Connie’s affidavit they fell right in line. By the way, I did a little investigating earlier today and found his estates probably in the millions and there’s only his institutionalized son and Gordon’s wife and children as the probable heirs. Of course we won’t know for sure until wills and trusts have been disclosed. You know all about probate and how long it takes, but we’re halfway there.”
Josie heaved a sigh of relief and turned to the rest of the group. “Did you hear that? It’s all over but the shouting. Leo said the grand jury okay’d all the indictments. That means we go forward with the civil case Jeannine.”
She could hear Leo trying to get her attention. “Tell Miss LaPorte that the sooner you and she get over here the sooner we can get the process going. That’s assuming she’s interested at all in becoming a multi-millionaire.”
“What civil case?” Casey asked.
“Leo thinks that she would have a terrific civil case against the grandfather or his estate and he’s worth millions.
“Really? That much?”
“Conservatively? Yes.” He quickly added some more information. “You better come over.”
She turned to Jeannine again. “Leo says he’s estimating an award of a million or more cash and probably part of his holdings. He says when a jury hears how terribly you were wronged and how much of your life was taken away, they’ll rush to judgement, it may get into the millions.”
Jeannine gasped. “I never expected, I never…,” she stumbled to a halt; she was speechless.
Smitty wasn’t. “I want the movie rights to your life. First a scared college girl taken advantage of at a fraternity. Next imprisoned in a sorority followed by a kidnapping by a notorious killer and then shipped off to Mexico by a refugee running Mexican family. After that, forced to live in a nunnery out of fear of being killed for years and years and actually becoming a nun. Then you get rescued by a motorcycle gang and come back to the States to help a stranger beat a murder rap. A totally unbelievable story, but the best’s yet to come. You know what it is?” He asked them all.
They all gave up.
Smitty took Jeannine’s hand in his. “This little lady gone from a sorority to a nunnery and now, if Leo’s right about old man Mason’s property, she’s gonna own the Open Door Card Room. She’s gonna be the queen of gambling in Emeryville. What a life! Like I said, I want the movie rights!”
Jeannine stood up, took a little bow and topped him. “And you shall have them, sweetie.”
Smitty blushed and immediately changed the subject. “I called Shorty about the indictment and he says it’ll be front page news tomorrow morning, maybe even an extra this afternoon.” Then turning to Josie, he added, “he wanted to know if the rumors were true that you would run for the soon to be vacant Alameda District Attorney position.”
Quick as a flash, she answered. “Call him and tell him to quash that rumor. I’ll be damned busy defendin
g Peterson and I’ve decided I like this side of the law better than prosecuting.”
Jeannine quickly spoke up. “You will also be “damned busy,” she held up two fingers on each hand to indicate quotation marks, “being my attorney in the estate case.”
Casey said, “Amen to that.”
Smitty said with a totally ferocious and false frown on his face, “And I suppose you and your staff expect to inhabit my home forever?”
“Why not?” Josie smiled. “Right now Leo’s expecting me.”
“Hold on there, pardner,” Casey loudly said to his wife.
“What?” Josie said.
“Did you forget that we left our boat at Catalina and we’re only half way through our two month cruise?” he said a little petulantly.
“Of course not,” she quickly replied. “But my hands are tied, aren’t they? I have to follow through with clearing Gus’s name, and I’m pledged to defend Lanner. That will probably take months. On top of that, it looks like Jeannine will need me around so that she gets what she deserves.”
“So we never finish our cruise?” Casey said, a little more petulantly than before.
Josie was in a quandary. She knew that sailing was her husband’s life. When they married the plan was for her to continue at the D.A.’s office and for Casey to finish his schooling in sail boat design. They had thought they would be able to sail for two or three months at a time each and every year. It was to be an idyllic life. Now events were taking over their plans. Would it come down to a decision between her career and Casey’s dreams? Would that decision come between them?
Jeannine asked a question. “Can a person that’s not an attorney be a part owner of a law firm?” She looked directly at Josie.
Josie thought for a minute before she replied. “Basically no, because the law is very specific, only attorneys can earn or share legal fees.”
Jeannine’s face fell. Josie noticed and continued “However, in practice many law firms have found ways to finesse around the issue. Why?”
“Well,” she blushed. “I have kind of an idea that might help.”
They all looked in surprise at each other.
Smitty was the first to break the silence. Half kiddingly, he said, “Something from the Catholic Church?” he smiled.
