Silver Lining - A Carpelli Adventure: Sequel To The Bestselling Thriller Fatal Mistake

by Cliff Roberts

  “This morning when I told you about how I had needed six months to heal after my last job, you said I was scaring you. That I sounded like a bad man? Well I’m afraid if I tell you about my day, you’ll have that misbelief reinforced and that scares me.”

  “Okay, I’ll try not to get too scared. After all, you said you were one of the good guys,” she smiled and I felt my guard slowly melting away.

  “Okay, but don’t over react. Its fine and I’m fine, and the powers that need to be involved are. It’s just a bit stressful is all, Okay?” I tried to limit what I was saying to just the general highlights and none of the specific lowlights.

  “I won’t over react, I promise,” she said with that killer smile once more.

  So I told her. I told her about how I followed the man who was the Biker Gang’s President to a law office in downtown area across from the court house where he was very friendly with the guy who had hired me to find out who had killed his associate and friend, plus how he had acted as though it was a big mystery.

  I shared how I had followed the man I was working for from downtown to our meeting place, the House of Ale in Turkey Creek, where we had a short and unfriendly meeting, because I confronted him about his office partner.

  I skipped the part where he was shot and killed. I went instead right to where I’m trying to help a doctor, escape the clutches of two dirty cops, who are after her son who is druggie and deadbeat. They claim he owes them a great deal of money for drugs and that they will kill him, if she doesn’t help them by forging autopsies.

  I ended it all by saying I enlisted the help of the FBI to catch the two detectives and that I would be going to see the drug dealers and do my best to help them to see there was no upside or profit in selling drugs to the Doc’s son any longer.

  “See it wasn’t that bad,” she stated. I had to agree when you left out the murder, the threatened murder, the fact I was being framed for murder and a motorcycle gang had me marked for death, the day wasn’t half bad at all.

  Every few minutes throughout the evening I’d look in the general direction of Michael Nolan, just confirming he was still there. What I didn’t realize is that he was doing the same thing only he was using his girlfriend who was sitting across from him to keep tabs on me.

  The rest of the evening I learned that Betty had always lived within twenty-five miles of Knoxville and that she had been married once, had no kids and was currently living alone in a cabin in the woods on a mountainside overlooking Weirs valley. I didn’t press, but she offered to let me see it, if I was still around in six months. She’d like the company for the holidays, since her family, brothers and sisters all lived in other cities within a half day’s drive of Knoxville, but they rarely got together. I was surprised to learn she had a degree in education, though she hadn’t taught in years. We also broached the toughest subject of all and told each other our last names, hers was Tate, Betty Tate.

  At eleven, she left for home sighting the fact she had be at work at five thirty. I offered to walk her to her car but she said no, she had the valet park it so I walked her to the valet stand and waited with her while they brought up her car. I was surprised to see it was a four wheel drive, black on black, Ford King Cab pickup, complete with tow package and front cowcatcher grill. It was in great shape for being ten years old. She said her ex-husband had bought it new and she got it when he left. After just four hours, I felt I knew her fairly well.

  We said good bye with a kiss on the cheek and I said I’d see her at the diner. Then before she could get in her car and drive away, I asked, “When I might expect that second date.”

  She smiled and said, I had to wait at least forty-eight hours. So I set the next date for Friday night at seven and I’d pick her up this time. She agreed after she learned I was driving a restored classic Chevy Impala.

  Once she was gone, I decided I could use the rest room before heading out to track down the drug dealers on the eastside of town. So I went back into the club to the restroom. My phone had vibrated twice while I was with Betty and I stopped to check it before entering the restroom. One was the FBI guys and the other was Doctor Anne. I quickly listened to both messages.

  The Feds wanted to talk with the doc tomorrow morning and Doctor Anne explained that she had made the scheduling switch so that Smith and Jones would be delayed at least a day maybe two. I just love it when a plan comes together. I hate it though when I miss the obvious. Like the biker sitting across the street watching Betty drive away. He didn’t start his bike right away, so I guess that was why I missed him, but in hindsight it was a very huge mistake, letting my guard down even for that minute or so of our date.

  I put my phone back in my left hand pocket right next to my taser and headed into the restroom, I had no sooner began doing my business at the urinal than I heard the door open and someone entered. I finished my business at the urinal a moment later and still no one had stepped up to use one of the other two urinals, no one had stepped passed me to the two stalls either and no one was washing their hands. I assumed I had been mistaken about someone coming in, but as I turned around I discovered I was right on the money with my first assumption.

  As I turned around I saw out of the corner of my eye a fist come flying at me and I rolled my head with it, lessening the blow or otherwise I’d have been laid out cold by it. As it was, I was stunned and fell back against the wall my arms down as if defenseless. I managed to see who my attacker was as he closed in on me to deliver a second blow. I remained motionless hoping he would believe he’d done far more damage with the first punch than he really had. Sucker punchers are always over confident after they’ve taken that first shot because they had the element of surprise to start with and now they have a wounded or maybe even defenseless prey. Michael Nolan stepped forward but didn’t attack. He’d stopped, just out of reach and started talking.

  “Well, if it isn’t Jack Craver, from the Sentinel. How are you Jack, you don’t look so good. Did you walk into a door or something? Damn you should be more careful.”

  “Jack? I’m not Jack, I’m Ted Wrangle. I don’t even know a Jack who ever. I’m going to have you arrested and charged with assault asshole. When my lawyer gets a hold of you, you’ll be begging for mercy.” I lied, but what choice did I have? If I said yeah, I’m Jack Carver, I’d be in a fight for my life with a guy several dozen pounds heavier and half a foot taller. Not real good odds since we both seem to know our way around a fight.

  “No, I don’t think so. You see, I’m a lawyer, a connected lawyer in this town. If I were to mention that I didn’t feel your case had merit. It’d get around town so fast, no one would take your case, even if I shot you in front a hundred witnesses and someone caught it on video tape. Why would this happen? Because I’d have the witnesses paid off or killed, just like I’m going to do with you.”

  I interjected here, “Oh, how much?” I asked.

  “For you? Nothing. It’s easier to just kill you.” Nolan growled.

  “I can see how you might think so,” I quipped.

  “You’re not Jack Carver and you’re certainly not Ted what’s his ass. So I’ll ask it straight up this time. Who the fuck are you and what were you doing in my club the other night?” he hesitated a moment and then added. “What’s your interest in Collin’s death? If you’re thinking you’ll just play dumb and in a minute someone will walk through that door to save you, guess again. There won’t be any witnesses coming to your rescue. I’ve a man right outside the door, who won’t let a soul in or out of here, until I say so, even he has to shoot it out with the cops. Which by the way, he won’t have to, since the cops also work for me.” Nolan seemed pretty confident he had this covered and that I was a sheep to be taken to slaughter.

  “Damn, it looks like I’m caught between a rock and a bigger rock. Damn, why’s it always me. Would you believe, it was all just part of a college prank and I’m the oldest freshman in Tennessee school history?” Nolan didn’t respond he just stood there gla
ring at me, so I stopped talking as well. My hands we’re down at my sides and I was sure wishing I had brought my telescoping wand with me, but oh well, I’d have to draw this asshole in and taser him. Either that or just shoot him. I had either eventuality covered, but I was thinking I’d prefer to avoid a gun battle if possible.

  He continued to stare at me doing his best to ramp up the intimidation factor. I stared back. Occasionally, I gave him a weird look like I was seeing where he missed a spot shaving or he had dribbled a drop or two of his dinner on his chin. After two minutes of this staring contest, Michael Nolan was done with waiting and he charged me growling. “They always want to do it the hard way.”

  “That’s my line,” I stated loudly, as I juked one way, then the other and for the hell of it, I brought my knee up into his groin as he leaned in towards me. For his part, he swung a huge right fist at me. The blow glanced off the side of my face, as I blocked it as best I could with my right arm, so I could grab the taser with my left. I wasn’t quick enough to swing it back to block the left hook that followed and I got my bell rung pretty good. I was seeing stars and was feeling myself getting weak in the knees. Funny, my knee to his balls didn’t slow him down at all. As I went down, I managed to get the taser out of my pocket and jam it into his gut. He stood ramrod straight and like his cohort at The Wild Rose, his whole body was quivering.

  The recommend time for a taser to incapacitate someone is about ten seconds, I stood leaning on the urinal with the taser on full discharge planted square in his stomach for what seemed like a good two minutes. Tears were running down his face and his eyes had rolled back into his head when I finally recovered enough to see things clearly again.

  I yanked back the taser and slugged him in the face as hard as I could. I knew I broke his nose and it felt like I broke my hand in the process. Nolan crumpled to the ground and his thousand dollar suit got all dirty and wet, from the piss he took while I tasered him. While he lay there twitching I checked his pockets as he was slowly working his way back from being nearly dead to semi-conscious. His wallet didn’t hold much, just ID which I checked to be sure that his name really was Michael Nolan. Then, I looked through it for notes, phone numbers and business cards. There was very little, aside from some credit cards and some cash. I did however, get his home address off his Driver’s License, his social security number and I took his concealed weapons permit. I dropped the wallet on the floor in the puddle of piss he just pee’d and then hunched down next to him, to search him for a Black Berry, but didn’t find one. I knew he could see me and he could hear me, but he couldn’t move and he couldn’t talk, so it was now my turn to have a say.

  “So, Mikey, did you order the hit on Holston? If you did, I’ll be seeing you again real soon. Only next time, it will be completely on my terms. No dimwit bikers to back you up, no crooked cops to save your ass and no surprises from you. You can count on that. One day you’ll be bullying your way around town and the next you’ll be worm food. I already know and have the proof you killed Collins, you’ve now taken two swipes at me, and no one ever gets a third. So the next time we meet, you die. I’d end you now, but I don’t like audiences. I’ll be back for you, Mikey. Better get your house in order, because I’m coming and I’m bringing hell with me, just for you. You know now that I think about it, I doubt you have the balls to kill someone in broad daylight. Maybe Holston was killed by those two bit Dick Tracy’s, the ones who like to hurt women, because he was checking them out. After all, they’re the ones trying to frame me. Well any way Mikey, you can think of me as an avenging angel and I’m here for you. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

  I smiled and waved as I started to step away. It was then I noticed he was flexing his fingers and trying to move his legs. I tasered him again, this time in the center of his chest, he went ridged, his eyes rolled back into his head again and this time, he passed out. His concealed weapon was showing now, so I took his gun and its holster too. I could use a second holster; the gun was simply to plant somewhere that made him look bad, real bad.

  As I stepped through the door, Michael Nolan’s cohort was caught completely off guard. I guess no one’s ever stepped through the door ahead Mikey, when he had decided to tune them up. When he realized I had done the impossible and came out of the closed room before his boss and hero, he turned to confront me. There was actual fear in his eyes.

  “You ain’t going anywhere, Asshole, Where’s Michael?” he snarled as I started to walk passed him. As he reached out, I tasered him and he went ridge, standing on his tiptoes, his eyes rolled back in his head and after about ten seconds I yanked back my hand, palming the taser so it wasn’t all that noticeable. Then I called out loudly,

  “Hey, this guy fainted. There’s another one in the men’s room he’s sick too. Maybe it was the food?” I then ran for the doors. People started milling about the front of the restaurant and the goon twitching on the floor. Everyone was asking questions, but no one was doing anything about the guy on the floor.

  I was long gone before anyone finally called 911, and while I was crossing the parking lot, on my way to the side street where I’d parked, I saw Nolan’s girlfriend sitting in the car doing her fingernails. I was curious as to how long she’d sit there waiting for him but I didn’t have time to stop to talk, I had some drug dealers to go see, maybe some other time.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I checked myself out in the rearview mirror and couldn’t believe my right eye was mostly swollen shut and turning black and blue. I was bleeding from a split lower lip and my nose had taken a new lean to left. With the bleeding, the swelling and the pain, I’d say it was a good bet it was broken. Surprisingly it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would but it sure did look bad. My silver lining was that Michael Nolan looked and felt a whole lot worse than I did. I had to wonder though what it was about this town that made me so popular. I’d only taken one job and I had at least three different groups or individuals trying to kill me, why was that?

  The biker’s well, they were bikers. Many of the hard core gangs across the country took trespassing on their turf very serious and I had certainly done that. Then when you included the fact I had messed up one their own and well, I could understand that threat. But the biker’s hadn’t attempted any pay back, yet. The biker gang’s leader had, but he didn’t bring up his tasered comrade. He only talked about my interest in Collins.

  The two detectives must be extremely paranoid to have gotten so overwrought that I could place them at The Wild Rose, the night after a murder was committed there. Other than that, they hadn’t drawn my attention, until they hassled the good doctor. The attack on Holston and the plan to frame me for it; had all transpired before I knew anything about their interaction with the doctor and after I had met them in the bar. So were they also concerned about why I was asking about Collins?

  I was missing something, but what? There had to be someone who was pulling the strings behind the scenes but who could it be? I’m not exactly a well know entity and I had only really talked with Holston until tonight when I met Betty for dinner and drinks. Holston and Betty were the only two people I’d met and interacted with until I met Doctor Anne and I didn’t see her as a criminal mastermind type.

  It then occurred to me that there was one other person that knew I was here, the Oracle. The Oracle was the one with all the answers. Was he the spider? No, that couldn’t be it. Could the Oracle be selling my info, despite claiming, he would never do that? I don’t know, it didn’t make any sense. The Oracle seemed to be extremely honest and because we were going to be friends, he would never sell what he knew. Would he give it away?

  Damn, I’d never been around so many deeply paranoid people at one time. What if, this was just another case where I was a loose end? What if, Holston was the one making waves and I was a target because they didn’t know what he told me. I didn’t know what to do right at this moment, I guess I needed to let things stew a bit and see what presented itself. Besides, I had a couple of t
hings to occupy my time, a few drug dealers and a couple of Feds who needed talking to. Well, first things first, I went to try and talk to the drug dealers, something easier said, than done.

  I headed into east Knoxville, where Doctor Anne had said Daniel typically stayed. Thankfully, drug dealers in the intercity, any intercity, were pretty easy to find, they almost advertised. By that I mean, they dressed alike. Everyone seemed to be, a want to be punk rapper. But as with most things in the drug world, they over did it with too many gold chains, too many gold teeth, too many clothes for the weather. Plus, they stood on corners, almost twenty four hours a day. Hopefully, my having a little come to Jesus speech with several of them, would be enough to force Daniel to seek medical care and treatment, because his supply had dried up.

  I found my first dealer standing in the shadows on the corner of East Magnolia and South Castle, about three blocks from the zoo. He was dressed in unseasonably warm clothes, since the average temperature of late had been in the sixties at night. He was dressed in an oversized hoodie with big baggy sweat pants and a winter coat. It was the perfect outfit to hide your drugs or your concealed weapons. Now all I needed was a plan to get to this guy. I knew from my hometown this guy wasn’t alone. He had a guardian angel, somewhere nearby who was armed and would defend him, if anything looked out of place. Their modus operandi was to shoot first and shoot often. Then don’t wait around for any questions to be asked by anyone.

  I drove around the block and saw three more dealers dressed basically the same as the first one and doing a brisk business. Each of them stood in the shadows and passed out their poison to passersby through the tried and true method of the handshake. The dealer holds the drugs in his hand and the buyer holds the money in his. The buyer walks up and shakes hands with the dealer and they trade the money for the drugs.