Father Figure (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 3)

by Richard C. Hale

  “We wait.”

  Jaxon moved toward the crayon lab doors and sat on the floor up against one of the support beams. Ray joined him.

  It wasn’t long before the back door slid open and light leaked into the cavernous space. Jaxon jumped up and moved behind the column. Ray moved to another a short distance away and hid behind it.

  The same van as before pulled into the space and stopped next to Papa’s body. Hubble and Parks got out and opened the back door, pulling some plastic sheeting out and spreading it out on the floor. They worked in silence.

  Jaxon moved away from his column and strode the short distance to the two men as Ray stood there stunned, unsure what to do. Jaxon’s shoes made a noise as he got closer and Parks turned as Jaxon pulled his gun and pressed it to Hubble’s head. Ray drew his own gun and moved toward the van.

  Hubble froze, the pressure against his head unmistakable, but Parks started to reach behind him and Jaxon never flinched.

  “Move and he dies,” Jaxon said.

  Parks froze, unsure what to do, as Ray walked up and pointed his own gun at his head.

  “Pull it out slowly,” Ray said.

  Parks moved his hand behind his back and it came out holding a gun.

  “On the ground,” Ray said, motioning with his gun.

  Parks knelt, never taking his eyes off them and set the gun on the ground.

  “Kick it away.”

  Parks did as he was told.

  Jaxon pulled the gun from Hubble’s waistband and then shoved him away to stand next to Parks. Hubble grinned at him as Parks’ eyes moved back and forth between them.

  Jaxon walked up to Hubble and put his face up next to his.

  “He was my friend.”

  Hubble glanced at Papa hanging from the chain and grinned.

  “He was a piece of shit.”

  Jaxon head-butted Hubble and the man staggered back, his nose shattered, blood spraying from it down his face.

  Parks started to move, but Ray motioned with his gun and he stopped.

  Hubble stood up straight and glared at Jaxon, a hatred so strong Ray could feel it radiating outward from him. Jaxon stepped away from Parks, knelt, and then put his own gun and Hubble’s on the ground. He stood up straight and motioned with his hand for Hubble to bring it. Hubble grinned through the blood streaming from his nose and moved toward Jaxon.

  “Let’s go mother fucker,” he said.

  He came at Jaxon like a bull, roaring his rage and Jaxon waited for him to close the distance. Hubble lunged toward his head and Jaxon ducked, stepped to the side and brought his fist up in a powerful uppercut that rocked Hubble’s head back and stopped him in his tracks.

  Jaxon didn’t wait for him to recover.

  He stepped into Hubble’s space and swung hard with his left connecting with the side of his face and the man staggered sideways but stayed on his feet. Jaxon’s right came arcing in from the side, but Hubble saw it coming and brought his arm up, blocking the blow and then sending his fist into Jaxon’s middle, the air rushing from his lungs in an audible huff.

  Jaxon bent but then moved sideways and Hubble tried to connect again, his fist whistling as it moved through the air. Hubble was off balance from the swing and Jaxon moved inside his left and jabbed into his side again, the ribs in Hubble’s body snapping like twigs. The blow was so powerful that Ray could see Hubble’s body lift off the ground.

  Hubble cried out and grabbed his side, limping away, the shock of the blow on his face. Jaxon circled him, the huge man looking for an opening, Jaxon the silent fighter, waiting for him to make the move.

  Hubble lunged and Jaxon was ready. He decided the fight needed to be over so he did the same thing he had done to the suit in the Rothstein house. Dodging Hubble’s fist, he stepped to the side and raised his leg, smashing his foot down on the bent knee of Hubble, the joint cracking like a tree branch as he went down crying out.

  Jaxon stood over him, breathing heavily, the anger still seething below the surface. Hubble held his shattered knee, grimacing in pain.

  “Fucking prick!” Hubble yelled.

  “That’s for Papa.”

  “He was a fucking pussy just like your old man,” Hubble said.

  Jaxon’s face registered shock and then Ray saw the anger.

  “That’s right,” Hubble continued. “Your old man cried like a baby when I forced him to eat the drug.”

  Jaxon walked to where his gun lay and picked it up. He strode to Hubble and in one smooth motion brought the gun up, pressed it to his head and pulled the trigger.

  “No!” Ray yelled. Too late.

  The blast echoed in the open space and then silence settled except for Parks who breathed rapidly.

  “That’s for dad.”

  Jaxon turned the gun on Parks who flinched and cowered down on one knee.

  “You tell Rothstein I’m coming for him,” Jaxon said. “You tell him he can’t hide, that I’ll find him no matter where he hides, no matter how long it takes. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  Parks hesitated, looking back and forth between them, then jumped up and ran to the van. He sped out of the building in a cloud of burnt rubber.

  Jaxon glanced at Papa, holstered his gun, and walked toward the exit. Ray followed, looking down once at the shattered head of Hubble.

  At the car, Jaxon popped the trunk and rummaged inside. He came out with a flare and walked back toward the warehouse. He disappeared inside and Ray waited. When Jaxon returned Ray could see smoke starting to seep from the broken windows near the roof. Jaxon closed the trunk, stepped to the driver’s door, and slipped silently inside.

  Ray followed. As they pulled away, Ray could see flames shooting from the roof in the rear view mirror. He wondered what was next.

  Chapter 20

  Two hours later, the phone rang and Tate told Ray what he already feared.

  “She wasn’t there,” Tate said. “I looked in the windows thinking she might be sick or something. I don’t know where she is.”

  Ray told Tate to let him know if she showed up, and then dialed her number again. Voicemail. He didn’t leave a message. He turned to Jaxon who sat staring off into the distance.

  “Something’s happened.”

  Jaxon seemed to snap out of his fog and turned toward Ray. They were sitting in his car at a church parking lot waiting. Jaxon wouldn’t say what for.

  “You’re sure she isn’t just giving you the silent treatment?”

  Ray nodded. “She wouldn’t do that. I know it now. Something’s wrong.”

  “Do you think she got into some accident or something? Maybe her car broke down.”

  “Why doesn’t she answer her cell? She could be hurt in some ditch somewhere, but I don’t think so.”

  Ray’s phone rang. Relief washed over him as he saw Laurelyn’s number. He took a deep breath and smiled.

  “It’s her.”

  He pressed the answer button. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

  Her voice came through the speaker, and Ray froze. He knew it was her, but it sounded so hurt. In pain. She said only one word.

  “Ray…”

  Some muffled shuffling and then a male voice: “Bring Tony and you get her back in one piece. If you don’t, we’ll deliver her to you in bags. The Estate. You have four hours.”

  The call ended.

  Jaxon must have seen the look on his face.

  “What?”

  “They have her,” he whispered. “They want Tony or they’re going to kill her.”

  He clenched the phone tightly and the anger grew.

  He could see her face in his head, suffering. Her beautiful face, racked in pain as she said his name. They had taken her because she had run from him and now he was going to lose her.

  “We won’t let that happen,” Jaxon said. He started the car. “Let’s give them what they want.”

  He pulled from the church and headed for Green Cove Springs.

  * * *

  The sa
fe house had one cop on duty as Jaxon and Ray pulled up.

  Ray and Jaxon had gone over the layout again but their improvised plan had not been needed. The guard was sitting outside on the porch and he stood when they approached.

  “Remember me?” Ray asked as he walked up and the guard smiled and nodded.

  Ray swung hard and the guy went down where Jaxon pistol-whipped him in the back of the head and he was out. Jaxon cuffed him as Ray went inside.

  Tony was at the kitchen table again, eating some soup, when Ray walked in and stood in the doorway. Tony looked surprised.

  “You’re that PI guy,” Tony said. “What’s up?”

  “We’re going for a ride.”

  “Where to?”

  “To answer some questions. Laurelyn is out in the car waiting. She sent me in to get you.”

  “Can I finish my soup?”

  “Not enough time,” Ray said as he fished a pair of cuffs from his back pocket.

  Tony shrugged and stood.

  “Wish you guys didn’t have to cuff me everywhere we go.”

  “It’s regulations. Sorry.”

  He turned and Ray slipped the handcuffs on and snapped them closed. He led Tony out of the house as Jaxon pulled the guard inside the door.

  “What the fuck happened to him?” Tony asked.

  “He tripped,” Jaxon said.

  Tony looked back and forth between Jaxon and Ray and then started to struggle.

  “Easy,” Ray said. “We’re just going for a ride.”

  “Bullshit!” Tony said. “You’re taking me to him, aren’t you?”

  The panic on his face was unmistakable and Ray worried he was going to give them trouble. Ray held on to him as he squirmed.

  “What do you think?” Ray asked Jaxon.

  “He’ll be fine. Won’t you?”

  “Fuck you,” Tony said, but quit fighting him.

  They pushed him inside the car and headed out. There was no turning back now.

  * * *

  Ray drove his Mustang over the broken gate and made his way slowly up the drive to the Rothstein estate. Tony sat quietly in the passenger seat. Ray parked and then helped Tony from the car. No one met them at the entrance.

  Ray glanced around, knowing that Jaxon was nearby, but could not see him. He hoped what they were about to try would work.

  He pushed Tony to the door and opened it without knocking. Parks stood waiting inside, a grin on his face and a gun pointed at Ray’s head.

  “Shut the door,” he said.

  Ray did as he was told. Parks approached and disarmed him. He turned to Tony and said, “Long time no see, Tony.”

  “Fuck you, Parks.”

  “Right this way,” Parks said and led them to the back of the house and then down some stairs.

  The place was silent and Ray wondered if anyone else was even aware what was going on. At the bottom of the stairs, Parks opened a door and signaled them in. Ray pushed Tony through the door and then stood in shock as Laurelyn sat in the middle of the room, tied to a chair, blood leaking down onto her face.

  She saw him and said, “Ray. No! You shouldn’t have come.”

  He went to her and pulled her to him as she sobbed into his neck.

  “It will be all right now,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

  But Parks pulled him away and he heard the voice of a person he hadn’t noticed was in the room.

  “Mr. Maningham. So good of you to join us. I see you brought us what we asked for.”

  William Rothstein stood on the other side of a wet bar that ran along the back wall of a game room. A pool table sat in front of the bar and five large-screen TVs lined the wall opposite a row of pinball machines.

  Parks held Ray’s arm and kept the pistol pointed at his body.

  “Yes. Now let her go,” Ray said.

  “First things first.”

  Rothstein raised his arm and pointed the pistol he was holding at Tony. He pulled the trigger.

  The gun blast was deafening in the small space and Laurelyn screamed. Tony’s eyes rolled up into his head and then he collapsed to the floor. Rothstein nodded to Parks.

  As Parks untied Laurelyn, Rothstein spoke.

  “Where is Jaxon? I expected him to arrive with you.”

  “He didn’t have the stomach for giving Tony up. He’s not participating in this one.”

  “Funny,” Rothstein said. “I hear his stomach is made of iron and since my other associate found his demise at the end of Jaxon’s gun I would assume he would be around here somewhere.”

  Ray said nothing.

  Parks untied the last knot and pulled Laurelyn up, shoving her to Ray. He caught her and held her to him. She could hardly stand.

  “You shouldn’t have come Ray. I’m sorry.”

  “Shh. It will be all right.”

  He held her close to him, and waited for whatever was going to come next.

  “As you can see,” Rothstein said, pointing to Tony with his pistol as he moved from behind the bar, “I’m cleaning house. Certain aspects of my business seem to have found their way into the private sector and it has become necessary to dispense with things I thought were a necessity. You see, in business, the plan must be continuously re-evaluated and changes made to be profitable.”

  Ray had no idea what he was getting at and Laurelyn stared at him as she clung to his neck.

  “Thus, I no longer required Tony’s services just as Mr. Parks’ are no longer needed either.”

  Parks smiled at the mention of his name, and then he heard the words Rothstein had spoken.

  Rothstein lifted the pistol and fired it point blank into Parks’ chest before he could react. Laurelyn flinched and then looked up at Ray with haunted eyes.

  Parks writhed on the floor for a few seconds and then grew still.

  “My employees are important to me,” Rothstein continued, “but alas, I must part ways with them when the time is right. That time is now.”

  “You’re sick,” Laurelyn said in a weak voice. Ray did not like the way she sounded.

  “I’m a businessman, Miss Hawks. And I can’t afford to be weak.”

  “You’re a piece of shit,” Jaxon said from behind them, his gun pointed at Rothstein’s head.

  Rothstein only smiled.

  “I was wondering when Jaxon was going to show up. Good of you to join us.”

  Rothstein’s gun pointed at Laurelyn’s head and he held it with a surprisingly steady hand.

  “In the Marines I was an expert marksmen. Pistol was my specialty and I won numerous awards on the firing range. It has come in quite handy since then.”

  He smiled.

  “You were also a rapist,” Jaxon said, taking another step into the room.

  The smile faltered slightly on Rothstein’s lips, but he recovered almost instantly.

  “So, your father did not lie to me when he told me what he was about to do. I guess I did not tie up all the loose ends like I thought.”

  “He died before he could tell me. Or should I say he was murdered.”

  Rothstein shrugged.

  “It had to happen sooner or later. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all he did save my life in the sky above Viet Nam. I thought he would have kept the secret until his deathbed, but he contacted me to tell me he could no longer hold his tongue and that I should be prepared to answer the charges. I couldn’t allow that to happen, could I? Your father was a fool, but if he had kept his mouth shut, he could have lived longer.”

  Ray watched Jaxon’s eyes and could see the rage seething below the surface. He knew then that Jaxon would kill this man, even if he died in the act. The only problem was he and Laurelyn were in the crossfire.

  “You forgot one important aspect of your plan,” Jaxon said. “Your son.”

  “My son is loyal to me. He would stand by his father even if death presented itself to him.”

  “Not Ben,” Jaxon said. “Me.”

  Ray watched as Rothstein’s f
ace changed. The smile slipped from his face and a twitch formed at one corner of his mouth.

  “That’s right,” Jaxon said. “My birthday is April 23rd, 1965. Do the math. It adds up perfectly if you can see the numbers in your head. All this time, you thought she was just another conquest. A brutal act from an evil man, only you spawned an offspring who can be just as cruel. I’m your son, Dad, and I’m going to watch you die by my hand.”

  Ray saw it in Rothstein’s eyes first.

  The hardening, and then the tightening of the pupils.

  It seemed so clear and in such slow motion, that Ray could have sworn the man was moving in molasses. He was going to shoot and Laurelyn was in the way.

  “No!” Ray shouted, pushing Laurelyn behind him just as the gun went off.

  A truck slammed into his body and the strength left him, his body sagging to the floor as he watched Rothstein move with a quickness he never would have guessed the old man possessed.

  Jaxon dropped to his knee, multiple gunshots going off and then Jaxon was thrown backward as he was hit.

  All Ray could think was that the old man had not lied. He was an excellent shot and Jaxon had missed. Another gunshot sounded. Rothstein’s face showed surprise as he sagged to a stool, clinging to it, blood leaking from his mouth. Laurelyn was screaming as Ray turned to see Ben Rothstein standing in the doorway holding a smoking gun. It shook in his hand and then he sagged to the floor and sobbed.

  “You killed my Mary. You bastard, you killed her.”

  Jaxon stood slowly, his arm limp at his side, and moved to the older Rothstein who was gasping on the floor. He bent to his face.

  “Killed by your own son. One of us was going to do it. Rot in hell you piece of shit.”

  He spat in his face and then sank to the floor next to him.

  The pain found Ray and he lay back, staring up at the ceiling. The edges of his vision were shrinking in and then he saw Laurelyn’s face above him.

  “Ray. Oh God Ray! You’re going to be all right. Please, God. You’re going to be all right.”

  He smiled at her through the pain and reached up to touch her face. She was beautiful even in her condition and his fingers brushed against her lips. She grabbed his hand and kissed it, the tears forming in her eyes.