“How do you plan to do that?”
The old man grinned.
“It won’t be hard. I already know where he’s hiding.”
CHAPTER11
Jake joined Chris and Velma in Chris’s car, which was parked within view of John Jansen’s Greenwich Village apartment.
“Hey kids, sorry I’m late.”
“Very late,” Chris said.
Jake leaned over the front seat and kissed his brother on the cheek.
“Don’t be mad at me little brother; it was for a good cause. Kelli and I are back together.”
Velma swiveled around in her seat.
“I hope you’re serious about her this time. She really loves you.”
“Don’t worry, babe, Kelli’s my girl, now and forever.”
“Congratulations, Jake, but now Velma and I will get going. We’ll take your car and switch back tomorrow, if we leave this spot someone will take it.”
“That sounds like a plan. Here’s the key to my car. I’m parked around the corner on West Fourth Street.”
Chris and Velma got out of the car and Jake climbed over the seat and settled behind the steering wheel.
Chris leaned back inside and asked a question.
“Do you need anything before we go? There’s an all-night deli a block away.”
Jake held up a backpack.
“I’m good; Kelli made me coffee and sandwiches.”
“She’s a good woman,” Chris said.
“You’re damn right she is, now you and Velma get out of here and go get some sleep; Granddad wants everybody in the office at ten a.m.”
“We’ll be there,” Velma said, and then she and Chris walked off together.
***
4:13 a.m.
Jake sat up straight in his seat as he watched John Jansen leave his building and head to his car. He then followed Jansen at a distance.
As they neared the George Washington Bridge, he realized that Jansen was headed to New Jersey. When they reached Fort Lee, Jake assumed that Jansen was going to his company’s second manufacturing plant, and was proven right as he parked and watched Jansen use an electronic keycard to pass through a security gate.
Jake checked the clock on the dashboard and saw that it wasn’t even five a.m., then, something tickled at the back of his mind and he pulled out his iPad and went through the surveillance reports.
He found what he was looking for; it was the address for the Fort Lee location that Chris and Velma had followed Remmi to, just a few days prior.
He programmed the address into the car’s GPS and when he reached it mere seconds later, he found himself on the other side of the block, staring at the rear of the same building that housed the Jansen manufacturing plant, only on this end of the building, the sign read: Harlow Exports.
Son of a bitch, they’re on two sides of the same large building,
Jake drove back around to the Jansen side of the long building and got out of the car, where he took off his jacket to reveal a long-sleeved, black tee. Next, he donned a ski mask, gloves, and grabbed a set of tools, before heading for the building. He was over the fence in a flash and stayed in the shadows as he looked for a way to get inside.
As he rounded a corner, he saw a shaft of light flowing from an open bay door with a ramp, and through that door came a forklift loaded down with a shrink-wrapped pallet of goods.
John Jansen followed the forklift driver outside and raised the door on a truck trailer that was parked against the back fence beside two others.
“That’s it Amos, move this cheap shit into these three and then bring in the good stuff. My uncle is coming here soon.”
“I’ll have to dust the good stuff off. It’s filthy in that Quonset hut.”
“Do whatever it takes; I need everything to look normal.”
“You got it, John.”
Jake watched the forklift driver move wooden pallets from the warehouse into the trailer, and then move seemingly identical pallets from the nearby Quonset hut and into the warehouse. He then began timing the man, and found that it took about a minute between trips.
The next time the forklift climbed the ramp into the warehouse, Jake sprinted over to the trailers and climbed inside, where he used a box cutter to slit open the rear of one of the wrapped pallets. Once he had it opened, he reached inside a colorful box and pulled out a toy truck, but to his surprise, the truck was lightweight and cheaply made, a far cry from the heavy-duty toys that the Jansen name stood for.
A clanking sound reached his ears an instant before he heard the forklift’s motor, and Jake slid the truck back in its box and turned off the penlight he’d been using to see by. It was too late to get out and take cover, and so he climbed up onto the pallets, crawled to the rear, and laid flat amongst the shadows.
Then, another pallet was loaded into the trailer and Jake went for a short ride atop its predecessors, as the new skid was pushed in, causing the others to move backwards, and after the forklift took another pallet from the hut, Jake emerged from the truck.
Once in the hut, he opened a pallet, and this time he found a true Jansen truck, with a tough steel frame and thick rubber tires.
The next time the forklift returned, he was hiding behind the Quonset hut, but once it left on its return trip to the warehouse, he followed at a discreet distance, and soon he was exploring the manufacturing area where the toys were made.
After finding nothing out of the ordinary, he ventured back outside, but before leaving the area, he took a Jansen truck along with its cheaper version back with him to the car.
Minutes later, he was picking the lock on a door at Harlow Exports, as he held the penlight in his teeth. Once he had the door opened, he slid inside and found himself in another warehouse that was much smaller than the one on the other side, and that contained yet more pallets of cheap trucks.
Jake was outside again and closing the door when it struck him.
The warehouse was too small.
The Jansen warehouse was longer, yes, but it didn’t stretch as far as the rear wall on this side. Jake reentered the building and began studying the back wall. Ten minutes later, he discovered the door hidden behind metal shelving, but it took another thirty minutes before he found the hidden latch release behind a loose brick.
The moment he opened the door he caught the scent of cutting oil, and entered another, smaller, manufacturing plant, however, this one didn’t make toys, it manufactured guns.
He had discovered the source of Remmi Harlow’s arsenal.
***
The Caliber Building, 10:44 a.m.
The old man squeezed the cheap truck in his right hand and it folded in on itself as if it were a soda can. He was in his office with Chris, Velma, and Jake.
“It’s clever. He ships these cheap toys overseas and uses the steel he saved in making them to manufacture weapons, and as far as anyone can tell on paper, everything checks out.”
“So Remmi Harlow actually is an exporter, he was exporting those cheap toys for his partner, John Jansen,” Velma said.
Jake shook his head.
“Remmi Harlow isn’t anything anymore, Tommy called and said Remmi was found dead in the showers at Rikers.”
“Yeah,” the old man said. “John Jansen knew that Remmi could put him in jail and so he eliminated him. I told Harlow it would happen when I talked to him, but he thought he was smarter than Jansen.”
Jake walked over and stood in front of the photo enlargement.
“If what you suspect is true, Granddad, then there aren’t too many smarter or trickier than Jansen, but we need more proof before we sic the cops on him.”
The old man saw Kelli walk in the open doorway and spoke to her.
“Did we hear back from Washington State?”
“Yes sir, and it’s like you thought. John Jansen’s last set of license plates match what we know. They’re LMTS1974.”
“An L in the front and a 74 at the end, that jibes with the reports on the black car that kille
d Mrs. Jansen and nearly killed Victor Jansen.”
“You’ve got him, Granddad,” Chris said.
“It’s a nail in his coffin all right, but I want to make sure that we bury him.”
“I think I know a way to verify your suspicions,” Jake said. “But let me make a call.”
“Do that, Jakey, and once we have all our ducks in a row we’ll bring the hammer down hard.”
“Even with all we have, he can still deny the allegations, at least long enough to make bail and disappear,” Velma said.
“He won’t be able to deny the truth anymore.”
“What’s to stop him?”
The old man smiled.
“I’ve got an ace up my sleeve, and it’s one that he won’t even see coming.”
CHAPTER 12
At the Jansen toy factory in Brooklyn, Katy Grey stood in John Jansen’s doorway and smiled in at him.
“Got a moment?”
Jansen smiled back as he glanced at her legs.
“I’ve always got time for you, Katy.”
Katy walked into the office and shut the door behind her.
“I just want to say congratulations. It looks like you’ll be Victor’s successor someday, now that he’s tossed Bart out of the company for sleeping with his wife.”
Jansen got up from behind his desk and walked over to her.
“Thank you, but Victor is years from retirement. By the way, would you like to go out for drinks later, or are you going to turn me down again?”
Katy put her arms around his neck.
“We could have those drinks, or we could skip right to the fun part.”
She kissed him, and Jansen’s hands explored her, until she broke off the kiss and began undoing his tie. Seconds later, they were on the sofa and Jansen had his shirt off while Katy was unbuttoning her blouse, but then her phone beeped.
When she checked it, she let out a curse.
“That’s your uncle. The text says that he needs to see me ASAP.”
Jansen ran a hand over the tops of her breasts, which were spilling out of her bra.
“Ignore it.”
Katy stood and buttoned her blouse.
“I can’t. He’s still the boss. But we’ll continue this... discussion, another time.”
Jansen smiled.
“I look forward to it.”
Katy smiled back as she left the office. After returning to her own office, she made a call.
“How did it go?” Jake Caliber asked.
“You almost sent that text a little too late, buddy.”
“Never mind that, is it there?”
“It’s there.”
“Thank you for doing this, Katy, and my grandfather thanks you too.”
“I didn’t do it for you guys; I did it for Victor. That man gave me a chance to prove myself when no one else would.”
“I’ll make sure he knows that you helped.”
“Did it help?”
“Yes, it was the final nail in John Jansen’s coffin.”
***
At the Caliber building, Jake hung up the phone after talking to Katy, and then nodded at his grandfather.
“It’s there.”
The old man nodded back and then spoke to Kelli.
“You know what to do?”
“Yes sir.”
As Kelli walked by the younger Jake, he grabbed her and gave her a long kiss. When they parted, Kelli giggled and went out of the office.
The old man smiled.
“I see that you’ve finally come to your senses, boy.”
“Yes sir.”
“Call Tommy and let him know what’s up, and while you’re doing that, I’ll break the news to Victor Jansen.”
***
John Jansen was closing his briefcase as he prepared to leave his office for the day, but then his door opened and a group of visitors filed in, visitors that included his uncle, the Calibers, Velma, Lieutenant Delaney, and Officer Shea O’Reilly.
Jansen looked at them with trepidation.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s over, that’s what’s going on,” the old man said.
“I don’t understand. Uncle Victor what the hell is this?”
“Don’t you call me uncle, you bastard, and what the hell happened to my nephew?”
“What? Have you gone mad? I’m your nephew.”
The old man handed Jansen a copy of the photo taken from Russell McKay.
“Give it up. We know you’re really James Preston. The proof is in that photo.”
Jansen looked at it for a moment and then shrugged.
“I knew James Preston; I don’t deny that.”
“You are James Preston and that birthmark on your back proves it, you can see it right there in that picture, but the real John Jansen is sitting across from you.”
Jansen seemed to deflate, but then he straightened and spoke to Delaney.
“My name is John Jansen. I deny being James Preston, and I’ve committed no crimes.”
“We know about the hidden gun factory at the plant in Fort Lee, Preston,” Delaney said.
“Uncle Victor owns that building. What’s that to do with me?”
Delaney ignored him and kept talking.
“We also know that you have the real John Jansen’s Chevy Impala, a black Chevy Impala, license plate LMTS1974, a black & white Washington State license plate, which looks a lot like the older blue & white New York plates. It’s the car you used to murder Jennifer Jansen with, isn’t it?”
Victor Jansen turned red with rage.
“Why did you kill her you son of a bitch?”
“He had to, to make his plan work,” the old man said. “She and your nephew were very close when he lived here as a boy, and he wasn’t sure if a little plastic surgery would be enough to fool her into believing that he was really John Jansen. He could duplicate his face, but not his memories, and so, she had to go.”
“I didn’t kill anyone. The man you want is James Preston.”
The old man laughed.
“I know what you’re thinking, Preston. You figure that you’ll just keep denying everything until a judge sets bail, and then you’ll run, but there won’t be any bail. The cops found the car you used to kill Victor’s wife in that garage you rented using Bart Jansen’s name. They also found traces of explosives. That garage is where you built the bomb, isn’t it?”
“My name is John Jansen and I don’t know anything about a hit and run or a bomb.”
“You’re James Preston, boy, and you’re going to admit it!”
“I’m not James Preston!”
“Jakey, bring her in.”
Jake left the office for a moment, but when he returned, he was escorting Joy Preston.
John Jansen’s face turned white, and his lips began to move wordlessly, as he stared at his mother.
Joy Preston walked up to him and stared into his eyes, as her own eyes grew moist with tears. She placed a hand on her son’s cheek.
“What have you done to yourself, Jimmy? Why are you wearing another man’s face?”
Preston straighten his back, swallowed hard, and looked as if he were about to deny the truth once more. But then, he looked into his mother’s eyes again, saw the tears in them, and his ruse melted away. As he too began to cry, Preston reached out and hugged his mother.
“I’ve missed you so much, mama, so much.”
“Oh, my poor boy, what have you done?”
Preston began to sob in his mother’s arms.
After a few moments passed, Delaney gestured towards Preston.
“Officer O’Reilly, why don’t you take this?”
O’Reilly placed Preston under arrest for murder, and as she was leading him out the door, she spoke to Jake.
“This is a huge arrest; thanks for bringing me in on this.”
Jake sent her a wink.
“I owed you one, remember?”
O’Reilly smiled, and then led James Preston away.
/> ***
They all went out to dinner that night and celebrated the end of the case, of all three cases.
Delaney called during dessert and told them that Preston revealed the location of the real John Jansen’s body, which was back in Texas. He had also confessed to murdering Jennifer Jansen and framing Veronica Jansen. It seemed that seeing his mother again had broken his will.
With dinner ended, everyone made their way home, but two of them made plans to keep the night going.
***
Velma opened her apartment door and led Chris inside.
When he took her in his arms, she trembled, and he leaned his head back and searched her eyes.
“Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to regret anything.”
“I’m sure, Chris. I can’t live without you any longer.”
He kissed her, and as things progressed, he found himself lying naked beneath the covers in Velma’s bed, while waiting for her to step out of the bathroom.
When she did so, she was wearing a sheer, black negligee. The view sent Chris’s heart to racing, but as Velma approached the bed, her phone rang, emitting a unique tone.
She jerked her head around and gazed at it sitting atop her dresser.
“That... that ringtone, that’s Michael’s hospital. I’m sorry, but I have to take it. In his condition there are emergencies that can arise, and sometimes they need my verbal consent to treat him.”
“I understand,” Chris said. “Take the call.”
Velma answered the phone on the fifth ring.
“Hello? This is Velma Channing,”
“Mrs. Channing, this is Maya, your husband’s day nurse.”
“Yes Maya, is something wrong? Is Michael all right?
“Mrs. Channing, I was reading to Michael and—Mrs. Channing it’s a miracle. Michael’s awake. He’s awake and alert and talking, oh Mrs. Channing, Michael’s back!”
Velma’s legs betrayed her, and a moment later, she found herself sitting on the floor.
“I’ll be right there...”
She then ended the call, and cried tears of both joy and sorrow.
CALIBER DETECTIVE AGENCY – A RANSOM PAID IN BLOOD
By
REMINGTON KANE
CHAPTER 1
Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 1 Page 12
