by Scott Cook
“Haven’t we played this scene not long ago?” Jackie asked wryly.
Sharon shrugged, “Sort of. But now it’s different. This isn’t a rescue or a clandestine operation. We’re just going to visit my uncle and make sure all is well. Between him and Scott, I’m sure everything is fine. I don’t anticipate trouble.”
Shelby smiled and held up the Sig Sauer Sharon had given her to hold, “But you brought guns?”
Sharon chuckled, “I don’t anticipate trouble, kiddo… but I always prepare for it. You okay with that pistol?”
Shelby nodded, “I know how to shoot.”
“Pretty good marksman… markswoman… too,” Clay said. “Can knock the paint chips off a barn at a dozen paces.”
“Dad!” Shelby groaned.
Clay laughed, “Just teasing, Shell. She’s actually pretty darn good.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t have to prove it,” Lisa said.
“But if you see a python or other giant snake,” Sharon said. “We may give you a chance to prove your skills, babe.”
“That’s if our badass Marine doesn’t wrestle it first,” Lisa said, pointing at Jackie.
Jackie pointed back with the wrong finger.
“Where are we going?” Natalie Bradford asked suddenly and in exasperation. “And how long until we get there? It’s getting hot.”
“We’re going to see your husband and family,” Lisa stated. “I thought you’d be pleased.”
“Oh, sure, this is dandy,” Natalie grumbled. “Being held against my will and driven into the middle of nowhere.”
“You’re suspected to be complicit in a capital murder, honey,” Sharon stated matter-of-factly. “The fact that you’re not sitting in a cold hard cell being stroked by a three-hundred-pound female wrestler is a gift. Might be more grateful.”
Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. Shelby tried to stifle a laugh and had to turn away and go aft.
They drove on in silence for another fifteen minutes or so. Sharon was running the boat at a little above idle, and when they emerged from between a pair of mangrove islets, she turned to starboard and drove them up what looked like a river. In the center were several small islets and one that looked large enough for habitation.
It was, too. For when Sharon rounded the eastern side of the island, Lisa recognized the dock from her last visit. There were two flats skiffs tied to it as well. One was a Maverick, not unlike Scott’s and the other was a somewhat older boat but of similar design.
“Bingo,” Sharon said. “Stand by to tie up.”
“Standing by to tie up,” Clay intoned.
“Tie up,” Sharon ordered.
“Tying up, sir!” Clay snapped off.
They secured the pontoon and in a gruff tone, Shelby announced: “Okay, let’s go get a Margarita, boss!”
Clay laughed and explained that Captain Ron was one of their favorite movies.
Sharon led them all into the house, each carrying a weapon as concealed as they could. She, Lisa and Shelby could hide their pistols under their shirts, but Clay could only carry the AK-47 casually. As casually as one could carry an assault rifle that fired thirty caliber bullets.
Sharon knocked on the door and opened it, “Avon calling!”
“Nobody likes a smartass, Sharon,” Scott said without even a hint of surprise. At least until he saw Clay and Shelby enter behind Lisa and her charge.
“How,” Rick intoned. “We havum big pow-wow.”
Scott looked over at him and shook his head. He drew in a breath, “Well, now that we’re all here, perhaps it’s time we began the festivities. Hey Shell. What’re you guys doing here?”
“Dad made me come,” Shelby said.
“Nuh-uh,” Clay whined. He chuckled. “Figured it’d be safe enough. I kind of wanted to see the end result of what we started at the pier that day. And Shelby wanted to come on a backwoods adventure. Lisa said this wasn’t a high-risk thing, so…”
Scott shrugged, “Probably right.”
“Aren’t you surprised to see us?” Sharon asked.
“Nope,” Scott said. “Been waiting for you to bring Natalie.”
“How’d you know we would?” Lisa asked.
Scott narrowed his eyes and said: “You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to outwit the evil Doctor Jarvis!”
“Oh brother…” Marcus grumbled.
Scott grinned, ”Well, let me make the introductions. This is Sharon’s uncle, Rick Eagle Feather. In spite of his propensity to perpetuate Native American stereotypes, he’s a good man and one of the last of the Calusa.”
“Can we get on with this shit show?” Sarah Beth cranked.
“Wow, you’re kind of a jerk,” Shelby announced.
Scott laughed, “From the mouth of babes… okay, let us indeed begin the defecatory presentation.”
31
I don’t think Rick’s cabin was ever intended to house thirteen people. Thankfully, between the sofas and the dining table, there were enough chairs for most of us to sit. The air conditioning was holding its own as well, thanks to the generator and the solar panels Rick had recently installed on the roof.
“Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why I asked you here tonight,” I began, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You’ve all wronged me at some point in the past and before this night is over—“
“Is this a joke to you, Jarvis?” Sarah Beth asked snottily.
“Most things are, sweetie,” Lisa told her. “Now, why don’t you be a good girl and shut the hell up.”
“Why don’t you kiss my ass, bitch,” Sarah Beth shot back.
“Feisty,” Jackie commented wryly, moving to stand against the dividing wall between the living room and bunk room. She was nearly within arm’s reach of Sarah Beth’s couch.
“There’s a young lady present,” Rick stated.
Sarah Beth glowered, “Did I ask you to bring a kid? Did I ask to be brought here? Did I ask you to do any of this? No! So I don’t really give a damn.”
“She’s got a point, Jarvis,” Marcus said. “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble and opened yourself up to not only lawsuits from us, but legal action as well. I suggest you dispense with the foolishness and get on with whatever this is.”
I chuckled, “Marcus, I strongly suggest you stow it. With what I know and am about to reveal, the only people here open to legal action are you folks. So sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Everyone got as comfortable as they could. Marcus, Natalie and Sarah Beth sat on one couch. Jean and Andy sat with Doctor Campbell on the other. Shelby, Sharon, Lisa and Will Franklin sat in the four dining chairs. Clay, Rick and I stood in the kitchen area.
“Let’s begin with what we all know,” I said. “The murder of Veronica Bradford. Over a week ago, Veronica and a lawyer named Ted Whittaker were on her boat and were accosted. The story as it’s told is that Veronica remembers going below to get some wine and then waking up in the water with me and Clay and then the hospital.”
“I take it,” Andy said. “That’s not what really happened?”
I smiled thinly, “Glad to see your sister isn’t the only snot in the family… yes, Andy, that’s not what really happened. How was it, for instance, that only she was doped by the wine? Ted said he didn’t remember anything because of a nasty bonk on the noggin that required surgery. But that, as I’m sure you’ll be surprised to learn, is a lot of hoopla.”
“I protest that!” Campbell said.
“Doc… let’s not get unpleasant,” I stated. “You’re a cheat and a thief and a liar and we’ll get to you shortly. Now then, Whittaker was in on the deal. He doped the champagne he brought and when Veronica hit the deck, he slowed the boat to an idle and let the killers come aboard. My guess there would be Otter, Big Top and Baby Back, but it could’ve also been Lou Cardoza’s people. At any rate, they take Ted off, dope him and take him to Palms at Pasadena Hospital. Why? Because it so happens that a friend of Ted’s… and some other
s, too… Doc Felix here can be relied upon to fudge things and make it all look good.”
“Preposterous!” Campbell cranked.
“Felix, I saw Ted’s body the day he was killed,” I stated. “No bandage on the head and no head wound. A complete fake-a-loo job… Now shut the Christ up.”
Grumbles and shifting and a general feeling of discomfort.
Excellent.
“Okay, where was I… ah, the attempted murder,” I continued. “So, after getting out of the hospital for smoke inhalation, Veronica travels to Orlando for a conference and to hire the sexiest private investigator she can find. She wants me to find out who’s behind the attempt and prevent another one.”
“Yeah, good job there,” Sarah Beth snided.
I ignored her, “Almost immediately, enter Otter and Big Top. Two supposedly Miami goons who try to scare me off. Not long after, I go to Saint Pete to keep an eye on Veronica and a couple of smoothies try to sneak onto my boat and do bad stuff to me. Come to find out that these two are connected to Luis Cardoza, known dope peddler in Tampa. Having failed on the first attempt, Cardoza then sends three more guys to Veronica’s. They too were vanquished.”
“Sounds like this Cardoza had a beef with Veronica,” Andy stated. “There’s your answer right there.”
“Not really,” I said. “Cardoza was hired or asked to do the job, but it wasn’t personal for him.”
“And just how do you know that?” Will asked.
“I went to see the man,” I said. “Kind of take it personally when dudes try to rub me out. Anyway, he says he was asked to do the job. In fact, I’m almost certain he did it as a favor.”
“Oh, and I’m sure a drug dealer wouldn’t lie, right?” Natalie asked peevishly.
I shrugged, “No reason to. Anyway, the connection between Veronica and Cardoza just so happens to be the good doctor here.”
“I beg your pardon!” Campbell protested.
“Campbell, I know a great deal about you,” I said.
“Even more,” Lisa cut in. “Ellen Parker delivered some info to me yesterday.”
I smiled at her, “I know. But maybe we’ll let you reveal that when the time comes. My part of it is that you, Felix, delivered both of Cardoza’s kids. Yet, it goes deeper than that. On the day his first son was born, a woman lost her baby in the delivery room. Felix wasn’t sued that time, on account of she was just a poor immigrant who couldn’t afford to hire an attorney. Yet strangely, she received a rather generous amount of money from an unknown source. Paid her medical bills and there was enough left over for her to buy a small house near Ybor City. Anybody want to guess why she was paid?”
No one spoke. Especially Felix. He didn’t speak quite a lot… he did glower and glare and steam, though.
“No? Well, let me explain then,” I stated. “Felix stole the child and sold it to Cardoza. Cardoza not only paid Felix for this, but paid the young lady as well.”
“That’s a filthy lie!” Felix shouted, jumping to his feet. “I’m not going to sit here—“
I strode forward and kicked him in the gut. Not full force, but enough to knock him back onto the sofa and to take most of his breath away, “You damn well will sit there, Felix. You shut your lying mouth! You’re a filthy, lying, baby-snatching son of a bitch and I would strongly advise you to keep that Dorito gobbler shut if you know what’s good for you.”
“Geez…” Shelby muttered, but didn’t look very upset.
Clay reached out and patted her shoulder. I winked at her.
“See, old Felix here has done this quite a few times,” I went on. “But with a man like Cardoza in debt to him, he had a powerful ally. He also had his personal friend Ted Whittaker do some legal work for Cardoza too. However, after the whole Veronica debacle, somebody decided that both Whittaker and the Doc were liabilities. My guess is that Cardoza had Ted whacked and that whoever actually hired Otter and his crew sent them for the Doc.”
“Why would they?” Will asked.
“Here’s where things get considerably more complex,” I stated. “Before we talk about that, let me talk for a moment about Bradford Avionics. There’s a lot going on at the company. Basically, it boils down to this: Veronica had big plans for BA. She was negotiating deals with both Boeing and Airbus. However, the rest of the board, which is represented here, had other plans. They were hung up on the idea of putting the company on the stock exchange. The Bradford clan was also rather non-plussed about Veronica being CEO instead of them.”
Will smiled thinly, “That’s true… so why am I here?”
“Glad you asked, Will,” I said.
“So you’re saying we all conspired to kill Veronica just so we could have more control and do the IPO?” Andy asked.
“Not entirely,” I said. “I think in Will’s case, his focus was solely on the business… and taking it over. For you Bradfords, there’s a far more personal reason.”
A silence fell and finally Will coughed, “You’re saying I killed her to take over? But I’m the treasurer and secretary. I wouldn’t run the company in any case.”
“Not as a private firm,” I stated. “But as a public company? Oh yes, Will, you most certainly could.”
A chorus of muttered questions and interrogatives floated over the assembly. I raised a hand.
“You see, Will has been running half a dozen R and D projects,” I explained. “Using small companies based in the greater Boston area, where he’s from. Each of these companies has been funneling BA funds into an offshore bank account. An account held by Wilfred Franklin. There’s nearly fifteen million dollars in it now. Further, Veronica was getting suspicious of the embezzlement.”
“I don’t get it,” Sarah Beth admitted. “So okay, Will’s siphoning funds… so what?”
“So,” I explained, meeting Will’s eyes. “If BA goes public, Will is in a position to buy large amounts of stock. To acquire a majority share. That’s called a hostile takeover, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Why?” Marcus asked Will.
“Why?” Will almost exploded but managed to dial it back a little. “Why? I’ll tell you why, Marcus! Because I’ve been pouring my blood into that company nearly as long as your brother. As much as he and as much as Ronnie, I’ve built BA up to what it is today! You weren’t even around, being a no-good drunk until Ronnie and your brother straightened you out. These two kids are just that. Kids. They haven’t earned their place. But do I get anything? Am I given a better position? No, because I’m not family and not the right color!”
“Oh, come off it, Will!” Andy exclaimed. “Nobody’s ever said anything about you being black.”
Will chuffed, “Maybe not you, Andy… but your uncle has. Marcus hasn’t entirely kicked the habit and when he’s loaded, he’s got a lot to say. Especially about how no nigger is ever gonna run his company. His… a drunken coke addict!”
“So you killed Ronnie to get BA?” Natalie asked in disbelief.
“No!” Will spat.
“He’s right,” I said. “And I kind of don’t blame Will. He might have been acting underhanded in terms of the business, but he isn’t a killer. From what I’ve seen, especially now, BA could do a lot worse than Will Franklin as CEO.”
“Then why the hell did you bring him?” Sarah Beth asked.
“Because I’m not the only one who knew about his maneuvering,” I stated. “This meeting is about exposing the truth, and I didn’t want any of you evil-doers trying to frame him for Veronica’s murder. That, as I’m about to demonstrate, is a family matter. More than any of you… almost… know.”
Will met my eyes. His were surprised and full of gratitude. I winked at him. I looked over and saw that Shelby had a little spiral notebook out and was rapidly taking notes. I grinned at her.
“What does that mean?” Natalie asked.
I rubbed my face, “Okay… this is complicated. A few months back, Sarah Beth had a little accident. Not life-threatening, but she did need some blood. Lisa, you want to
take this one?”
Lisa grinned and stood, “Good morning, everyone. I’m Lisa Gonzalez, the looks and brains of the Gonzalez and what’s his face detective agency.”
Clay, Jackie and Shelby laughed. Sharon tapped her temple.
“Oh, for God’s sake…” Marcus groaned.
“Now then, ladies and germs,” Lisa went on. “It so happened that all the Bradfords were in the area, so the hospital tested everybody’s blood types for matching. Shockingly, none of you have Sarah Beth’s type, which is A negative. In spite of the tension between them, though, Veronica offered to give blood, too. She had the right type, which was A, but hers was A positive. Interestingly, it was also found out that Julius’ blood was type O. And Marcus’, Andy’s and their deceased mother’s was all type B. Marcus is B negative, however.”
The younger Bradfords and Natalie looked confused. Marcus, on the other hand, looked pale. Lisa winked at me.
“So what’s all that mean, Ms. Gonzalez?” I asked.
“Thank you for asking, señor Jarvis… it means that some people here were afraid that a deep and dark family secret… or secrets… would be revealed. Secrets that would not only embarrass those involved, but directly affect the management and future control of BA.”
“And they revolve around infidelity,” I stated.
Natalie’s eyes went wide, and she glared at Marcus.
I chuckled softly, ‘No, Natalie… he didn’t cheat on you. Well… at least I don’t have any knowledge of that… This is all stuff that happened way before you came into the picture. Although that didn’t stop you from getting your hands dirty.”
“What are you saying?” Andy demanded.
I drew in a breath, “All right, let’s lay the cards on the table. Julius Bradford was incapable of having children… well, almost.”
“What?” Sarah Beth asked. “Then how did Andy and I get here?”
“Good question,” I said, spearing Marcus’ pale face with a glare. “I said almost incapable. With certain couples, the ability of them both to produce can directly affect the outcome. If, for example, a man has a low sperm count, but the woman is very fertile, it can overcome the odds. Conversely, the same is also true. Additionally, if both partners are unlikely to conceive, the odds are basically zero. That was the case for Julius and Marian Bradford. It was not the case for Marcus and Veronica, however.”
