Slivovica Mason

by Clifton L Bullock Jr.

  The words masked the anxiety he felt. His eyes slightly fluttered as the words became harder to express. Orinda put her hand on his back to reassure him and give comfort. He was doing great. He was using his voice regardless of his delivery and he was useful.

  "You have my name associated with a killer?! How dare you?! What are you talking about and I want answers. Here I am worried about my husband, and now I’m being told that I’m included in an investigation in which my husband and I are accomplices to a murder. My missing husband? I want answers now!" Mrs. Chandler said becoming irate.

  "We have an idea of the murderer, and we know his whereabouts as of a few days ago with the assistance of some people during our investigation. During our investigation we discovered that you and your husband together witnessed him speak at a conference at the Downtown Marriot in Philadelphia," Detective Griffin said coming back into the room and putting his phone back on his phone clip. He finished with his call and now needed to find out what more Mrs. Chandler knew before their next move.

  "I was with my husband a few weeks ago at a conference for my son, yes, but I know nothing about a murder," Mrs. Chandler said as she looked at the ledger passed to her from Detective Griffin. She admitted to being at the conference but the word "son" didn’t make sense.

  "What do you mean your ‘son?’ Who is your ‘son?’” Detective Griffin asked? This is what they needed. They needed the connection between the Chandlers and Cruz in order to make it all make sense especially if Vernon was no longer considered a suspect.

  "Our son came into town to speak at the 2014 VA Developmental Pharmaceutical Conference. This was a big deal for our family for many reasons. It allowed me to see my son who I haven’t seen in years, and it also was a chance for us to get Vernon some help. Ever since he came back from Vietnam years ago, I saw the difference in him. Someone else came home to me, not the man that I fell in love with and married before. When he returned, our plans changed. First we wanted to have a family but decided to wait to expand our family until he returned back from war. We wanted to make sure that he did come home first. We didn’t want to start a family and then lose the patriarch to a war that wasn’t ours but that didn’t happen. When Vernon came back from Vietnam in one piece, I was ready to have his children, but he said that he couldn’t. He said that during the war he saw and did things that he wouldn’t dare his son to have to see during his life and vowed to never have children," Mrs. Chandler said.

  "Then who is your son?" Detective Griffin repeated interrupting her again.

  "I will tell you, Detective, but you need to learn to listen. Now, as I was saying, since he felt so strongly about this, we went to the doctor and he had a vasectomy to ensure we never gave biological birth, but afterward I felt I was never going to have the joy of motherhood even though I waited for him to come home. So in order for us to fill that void, we adopted a child. We adopted a child not born in the United States because Vernon felt he owed it to someone because of what happened over there. Even to this day, he will never talk about what happened and I no longer ask. So we adopted a little boy from Guatemala at the age of six months and cared for him ever since until he joined the Navy and moved away. Our Sandy."

  "Sandy? Who is Sandy?" Griffin asked but he already knew the answer. He used his context clues to associate the name used by Cruz.

  "Sandy is the nickname I gave my son growing up. His birth name was Santiago but we called him Sandy. I thought it was cute, but that may have been a mistake. When he was growing up, kids would tease him, not only for his name but since his mom and dad didn’t match him, they made fun of that, too. Sandy really took it to heart at times. He came home and cried so many times; Vernon would yell at him to be a man. I don’t know why. It’s like he didn’t know how to be compassionate toward him. ‘Stop crying and be a boy, you sissy!’ Vernon would say. I swear I heard it every day. It wasn’t until Sandy fought back did it make Vernon happy. It hurt me so much because I loved Sandy the way he was, but he wanted his father’s love so much he was willing to become something else to be what his father wanted him to be. Until they had one last fall out. I wanted Sandy to go to college and get his degree, but Vernon wanted him to join the Army so they could make a man out of his still sissy son. Sandy tried to make us both happy. After high school, he went to Pennsylvania State University and graduated with a degree in biology. Afterwards he enlisted in the Navy to practice medicine in order to make his daddy happy with his time served. He would get firsthand experience in treating soldiers during war but unlike Vernon, Sandy never came home. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago did I see my baby for the first time in years. I was so proud of him to see what I saw," Mrs. Chandler said as she smiled.

  She was proud of him for what he had become, but that was because she didn’t know what he was capable of doing. She didn’t know he was capable of murdering the same Marines that he was supposed to provide care for in order to save their lives and potentially take the life of his own father. He had to prove that he wasn’t what he was by doing what he had done.

  "Mrs. Chandler, I have some very bad news to share with you and I think you may need to sit down," Mason said to her as he pulled the photo of his entire deceased detail from his coat pocket and handed it to Mrs. Chandler. Immediately she noticed Santiago Cruz and then subsequently noticed a young Mason Sessions in the picture with him.

  "Mr. Sessions, you know my Sandy?"

  "Yes, ma'am. I do. I served with him on a few tours while in the Marine Corps. He was one of the few guys that didn’t make fun of my speech impediment while we served, and he worked hard. He did whatever it took to fit in with our group of Marines, except one thing. That was kill. The other day when we were called to the crime scene, I found the body of another one of the marines in the picture, dead. There was a note left, and with the help of my partner, we deciphered the message of who did the acts. We have reason to believe that it was Santiago Cruz. While we were putting the pieces together, we found hints that he wanted to tell the world he was gay," Mason said but to their surprise, Mrs. Chandler wasn’t surprised.

  "I knew this from the time he was nine years old. Vernon didn’t believe me, but he always had a hunch that it was the case. He used to verbalize his disappointment by saying things like, ‘out of all the normal kids in that hell hole we had to adopt the faggot.’ It hurt Sandy so much."

  "That’s what Daddy Chandler means. That’s what the first letter taken from the scene means. Cruz left the letter in order for the Lieutenant to reach out to Chandler and send Mason in order to complete the detail all while getting close enough to Chandler for him also to become a victim," Detective Griffin said and then stood. They needed to go now. Mason’s work helped them locate Stantigo. Maybe that would help them find Chandler and then ultimately Cruz’s accomplice, Lieutenant Gutiérrez.

  "We have to go now. Let’s go get our guy," Griffin said. Mason’s earlier work helped them locate where Cruz was staying while he was in town and that’s where they needed to go. They were close to the end. They needed to find Cruz and find Chandler before it was too late. After thanking Mrs. Chandler for her time and assuring her she was safe because she wasn’t a target, they also told her they would find her husband.

  "Who are the people in the family photos?" Mason turned and asked to Mrs. Chandler while they were leaving.

  "That’s Madeline and Jacob. We adopted them after Sandy, but they have since moved on, too. Vernon always said with them, we adopted right."

  Chapter 19

  "Sir, my name is Detective Griffin, and I need to have the floor location and room number of a Dr. Stantigo Cruz. I need this immediately because we are running out of time," Detective Griffin said to the man behind the concierge desk. They didn’t have a warrant to enter, but that didn’t matter. It was imperative they get into the room.

  "Ah, well good evening, Detective. I will be glad to assist you. I spoke with a federal officer, and he needed some preemptive assistance regarding one of our res
idents. I gave him what he needed, but I didn’t give him specifics until we received a warrant. You know, we gotta cover our asses. Not long ago we received a document via facsimile transaction which validated the agent’s request for information. We now have the warrant, and we can give you, Mr. Sessions, and your entire team access to whatever you need.”

  The news was as shocking to Mason as it was to Detective Griffin but not so much to Orinda. She was a step ahead of them all. After Mason attempted to get information from the concierge earlier, she knew eventually they would have to come back there as a source of information. While she may have missed the heart to heart between Detective Griffin and Mason in the conference room, they missed that she had made one more call to her connect at the New Jersey State Police. This time it wasn’t because she wanted to see her former beau but because he was the only one that would be able to get them the warrant they needed for access.

  "Thank you for everything, sir. I appreciate your help. Now, I need you to follow these instructions precisely. When we leave here, I want you to watch your clock. After 15 minutes I want you to make a call to the room we are going to. Afterwards I want you to make a call to the local PD. Let them know we have a multi-agency investigation in process and that additional support is needed. My two associates are UC as journalists from the Philadelphia Daily. Let them know that I, Detective Griffin, from the Pennsauken Detective Bureau am leading, and my specific request is they arrive in stealth. No sirens, no uniforms or blue and whites. We don’t want to blow the cover off of this investigation," Griffin instructed in typical Griffin form.

  They briskly walked away in unison through the busy lobby of people enroute to the elevator. They huddled together in close arm intervals.

  "I will explain it all in the elevator. Just keep going, and let’s not look suspicious and blow our cover," Orinda advised. She knew eventually she would have to tell Mason that she reached out to Highland, the only law enforcement officer she knew to get an expedited warrant. She didn’t want to risk damaging them as a pair, so she would amend the truth slightly in order to protect them and their new trust.

  "I’m sorry for not telling you both know earlier, but honestly I didn’t know how. While we were all at the office, you both went in to the conference room to stay out of sight. When you did, I went to one of the ladies in the office who I asked to collect the fax and hold it for me. I had a thought about the fact that we knew Stantigo Cruz was still checked in at the hotel. They already informed us that they weren’t going to give any information without warrant. So I had the same young lady call my NJSP connection for help to issue an emergency warrant," Orinda said while now looking in Mason’s eyes.

  His head hung, and his gaze averted to the floor. She tried to touch his hand, but he pulled his away and put it in his pocket. Detective Griffin noticed and spoke up to advise them both.

  "I know how you feel Mason but you have to let it go. This gave us the advantage we needed to make sure all of our moves were covered. It was done for the good of the team. You know what that’s like. It’s about the team right now. On the other hand, Orinda, if this connect is someone you had a thing with, regardless of the innocence of the gesture we both, Mason and I should have been informed. Remember, it’s the team," Griffin said.

  He put his hand on Mason’s shoulder with a comforting grip. Orinda was going to respond, but a defensive response would have been received the same way. Instead she agreed in silence as the bell for the arriving floor dinged.

  "According to the room number count mounted on the wall, we need to go this way," Detective Griffin said and began to hastily walk in that direction. Mason walked solemnly and slowly behind him with his head still down. Orinda tried to reach over to touch him, but he pulled away again.

  "Baby, I’m sorry! I thought I was helping. Besides, I didn’t talk to him. I told you that I had someone else do it for me. Will you please forgive me? I need you right now. Please," Orinda said even convincing herself.

  "How do I know from here on you won’t reach out to someone else that you fucked when you need him? I’m supposed to be your man. I thought that was no matter what. How do I know? You told me before you were done with this guy. How can I be sure when you reneged on your own word?"

  "Guys, come on! I gave the concierge a specific timeframe to act. Let’s not waste time on a lover’s quarrel," Detective Griffin screamed into a whisper.

  "I can’t trust you if you continuously give me more reasons to mistrust you. Like going through my things when I was sleep. I need you to be as honest as I am with you, or I will be alone. I can’t stab a blade into my own back," Mason said to Orinda as they made it to the door. She thought she had helped their cause, but instead it made him question not only her word, but it made him reveal that she was not as clever as she thought. She fought back tears. She felt like she was losing for winning.

  Detective Griffin knocked on the room number that was given to them. There was no answer, but there was some noise in the room. He knocked again and after a few minutes, there was an answer and a familiar aged face that matched the picture appeared.

  "Finally, I’ve been waiting for you guys. Come on in," Stantigo Cruz said as he opened the door.

  "We aren’t coming in there. You’re going to come out here to speak with us," Detective Griffin said and then flashed his badge from his hip.

  "What is it with you old military men always wanting to make the rules? I said get in here now!" Cruz demanded.

  As he insisted they enter his room, there was a sudden noticeable metallic clicking sound of a safety being disarmed on a firearm. It wasn’t Detective Griffin or Mason. Cruz was in front of them, and it wasn’t him. The adjacent door across the hall opened behind them with a .45 caliber muted nozzle pointed out if it.

  "Checkmate! Now get your ragbag asses in here now!" Cruz said. Detective Griffin, Mason and Orinda all walked into the hotel room slowly with death breathing into their ears. They were indeed ambushed but not how they had expected. The room across from the keynote speaker housed Lieutenant Gutiérrez and her firearm that she now had drawn.

  "Bay of Pigs," Orinda said as they slowly walked into the room and the door closed. To their surprise, there was Vernon Chandler in the room as well. He was sitting in a chair in the corner. His head leaked blood on both sides of his face, and his left eye was swollen shut. He was a prisoner of war and on the verge of being expired.

  "Have a seat on the bed, and Sandy will tie you up," Gutiérrez said. Cruz patted each of them to check for weapons. He confiscated one from Griffin and the other from Mason. They were now unarmed and in a room with two killers. This was their fear, and it was finally about to happen. It’s one thing to know you’re going to die but one can’t know they are dead. They knew now, and they were helpless.

  "I’m an officer of the law. You are going to pay for this," Detective Griffin said as Cruz followed Gutiérrez’s instruction. She wielded the weapon with every word she spoke to emphasize that she meant business. Mason and Orinda could only watch as Cruz removed all of their cellular devices to prevent them from making contact with anyone outside of the room.

  Afterward Griffin was bound with zip ties around his hands and his mouth gagged with washcloths from the restroom. The same was done for Mason. Cruz tapped him on the shoulders after as if he were greeting an old friend. They had known each other for years, but the gesture was more to patronize than to greet him because there was malice in his eyes.

  "I guess I underestimated you, Sess. How long were you going to suffer seizures before biting the dust? You didn’t notice the stutter and eye twitches? I guess we should have amped your dosage, huh?" Cruz said tapping Mason’s shoulder again before thrusting him onto the bed. Before Mason could respond, Orinda was able to scratch an approaching Cruz in his face drawing blood from underneath his eye. She was able to muster an attack even though there was a weapon pointed at her direction with point blank range.

  "Don’t you dare fucking touch me!"
Orinda exclaimed. She tried to resist but couldn’t. Cruz was too strong. He shook off the shock of being gouged in the eyes, and he returned Orinda’s assault with a slap of his own.

  "She’s a feisty bitch. Isn’t she? I knew she was going to be trouble from the very start," Gutiérrez said as she walked over to the now restrained Orinda.

  "What were you saying the day we met at the scene? Something about using my looks to make it in the military? It looks like you are no different now; are you bitch?!" Gutiérrez said and then picked up where Cruz had left off. She began to continuously wail on Orinda’s face, all to the chorus of her muffled cries. She continued until Orinda’s screams and cries became too painful to listen to even for her. She stopped and then looked again at Orinda as she looked up praying the beating would stop. All Mason and Griffin could do was look on.

  "That’s for being the bitch that you are," Gutiérrez said and then spat on Orinda’s face. "And that’s because I just don’t like you. Consider yourself lucky because if this mission were about you, you would be one dead pobre, bebé. (Poor Baby) But please don’t think because you aren’t the primary target that you can’t be a casualty of war because I have a bullet with your name right on it. Bitch! Then there will be another generation of Costas with bullets in their head from a military issued weapon."

  The words as well as her eyes confirmed the hatred she felt toward Orinda. Then she turned her gaze and her weapon over to Mason.

  "You, on the other hand, are the guest of honor. We finally got you here. Now, we can end the possibility of exposure from what may be one of the biggest cover ups in American military history. Isn’t that funny? You could have prevented it all if you would have said something, and now you could have prevented all of this if you would have just over dosed on the pills or offed yourself from the hallucinations. Now you have to watch more people die. When will you learn?" Lieutenant Gutiérrez said and then removed the muffle from Mason’s mouth.