by Olivia West
“Why is that?” Pete asked, knowing why it was important to him, but not to them.
“Because once that statue is broken down and sold off for its commodity value, we’ve lost it,” the man told him.
“I don’t get it. I mean, I get that the statues are worth a half a million each, but they only took one. I can’t see how that could be too big a loss for someone who sounds like they probably already have a pretty nice nest egg,” Pete said.
“A half million each? You, my friend, have been grossly misinformed,” the man said.
“What do you mean?” Pete asked, surprised.
“Let’s just say there is something very special about those statues. They are worth infinitely more than that,” the man told him.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Pete replied.
“That’s all I can tell you. I just need to know if you are willing to help us, help you,” the man said.
“I still don’t get how that works,” Pete replied.
“You get us a list of names for that crew, everyone not on your personal team, and we will do the rest. We’ll hand you exactly what you need to clear your name,” he said.
“I don’t believe that for a moment. You want the statue. No statue, no proof that someone else took it,” Pete told him.
“You’re going to have to trust us when we tell you that you will have what you need,” the man repeated.
“I am guessing I don’t have much choice,” Pete said, looking at the quiet one as he sat eating his weight in food. “I have a feeling that Hefty over there will be paying me a visit outside this diner if I say no.”
“Now, name calling is uncalled for, Mr. Abernathy. Do we look like the sort of men that would harm you just to get a list of names?” the first man asked.
“Yes,” Pete replied simply.
“Well, he might be. I don’t really care for violence myself,” the man smiled. “Do we have a deal or not?”
“Sure. Why not? Follow me back to my truck and I will get it from my briefcase,” he told them.
“No. We’ve been seen with you enough today. Get them, put them in an envelope and bring them to this address in an hour. Lay them on the bathroom counter and leave,” the man told him.
“How very James Bondish,” Pete said sarcastically.
“Mr. Abernathy, it would be in your best interests to do as we ask,” the man said, dropping some cash on the table for their drinks and the muscle’s food. The two men left and Pete sat finishing his drink, staring into space. This was just all too crazy to even be happening.
An hour later, he placed the envelope where he was told to and looked around the bathroom of the Greyhound bus station curiously. A voice came from within the small bank of stalls. “Leave,” was all the man said. Pete did exactly that, putting as much distance between him and the station as possible. He was headed home.
Chapter 10
“I need to speak with Randy Irvin,” Jana said nervously into the phone.
“Please hold,” came the voice of the young woman who had answered. There was some clicking and then the sound of another line ringing.
“Randy Irvin’s office,” another young woman answered.
“This is Jana Sebastian. I need to speak to Mr. Irvin, please,” Jana said, trying not to sound so unsure of herself.
“One moment, Miss Sebastian,” the young lady replied. Once again there were clicks and then Randy answered his phone.
“Now, you are someone I never expected to hear from again,” he told her.
“That makes two of us, Randy. I need your help,” she said.
“Right to the point, I see. Glad to know you haven’t changed,” he replied.
“Can you meet me for coffee?” she asked.
“Sure. It must be serious if you called me. I have a meeting, but how about nine thirty?” he asked.
“That will be fine. Patrick’s?” she added.
“Patrick’s, just like old times. What is this about, Jana?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you when we meet. I have to go for now,” she told him. They said their goodbyes and she hung up. It was a sad day when she had to call in a favor from an old boyfriend, but desperate times require desperate measures.
An hour and a half later, she was sitting across the table from a man who had not only broken her heart, but made her doubt her ability to love again. She quickly gave him a rundown of what was going on with her between ordering food and drinks. He sat looking at her solemnly as she spoke.
“Man, Jana. That is quite a lot more than I expected. I was certain you brought me here to tell me you can’t live without me and want to come back to my loving arms,” he said.
“If I recall things correctly, your loving arms were quite extended to the multitudes, which is why I left,” she replied.
“True. True. I made a youthful mistake. I admit that, but I’m a changed man, Jana. You should give me another chance,” he replied.
“Randy, I have no time for all that. I need your help,” she said.
“Okay. What is it you need for me to do?” he asked.
“I need you to put me in touch with someone who would handle something like a black market sale of a gold statue,” she said.
“Jana, you can’t be serious. Those aren’t the sort of people you want to get involved with,” he said.
“Randy, did you forget the other reason I left?” she asked.
“No,” he replied.
“I doubt that you want anyone knowing how you initially funded your thriving import export business. I suspect you wouldn’t want them paying too much attention to some of the items you continue to move around for people,” she said in a low voice.
“Are you threatening me, Jana?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.
“No. I’m am encouraging you to help me,” she replied stiffly.
“You’ve learned to play dirty, little girl,” he replied with a laugh.
“Whatever it takes,” she told him with a knowing smile.
“Alright, Jana. I will see what I can find out and get you in contact with the person you need to talk to, but you are going to have to listen to what I tell you about them when the time comes. What to ask, what not to ask, how to go about meeting them without me finding your name splashed across the papers as a missing person,” he told her.
“Don’t be so melodramatic,” she scoffed.
“Don’t think I’m not serious, Jana. These can be very ruthless people. They aren’t anyone you want to toy with,” he replied.
“Just get me the information I need. I need it quickly, Randy. They melt that statue down and I’ve lost it,” she told him, finishing her coffee and getting up to leave.
“Okay, Jana. I’ll call you as soon as I can,” he replied. Jana picked up her purse and left. She suddenly felt anxious. What was she getting herself into with dealing with people like he seemed to think she was getting mixed up with?
“Alright, you have a meeting with a guy named Joe tonight at seven,” Randy told her on the phone later that evening.
“Joe? That’s it? Just Joe?” Jana blurted.
“Did you expect a full formal name and government-issued identification, Jana?” Randy asked.
“No, but seriously,” she replied.
“Seriously, you need to meet Joe at the Palzato at seven p.m. He said to ask for him and they would bring you to him,” he told her.
“Okay. Thanks,” Jana replied.
“Jana, let me go with you. I’ll wait outside. I don’t like this at all,” he told her.
“It will be fine. You did what I asked and I appreciate that,” she replied.
“It isn’t like you left me a lot of choice,” he replied. “At least just call me afterward and let me know you are okay.”
“I will,” she told him. It was nice to know that at least someone would be looking for her quickly if things went bad. The thought that she might need someone to look for her frightened her, but this was what she needed to do.
/> Chapter 11
Pete arrived home to find his front door ajar, the lock busted and door facing cracked. He was instantly peeved as he yanked the police seal off the door frame. When all was said and done, someone would be paying him for the damage to this door and anything that might be missing inside. He was even more angered that they most likely destroyed any evidence of previous tampering by the person who planted the evidence.
He slowly made his way inside, turning on lights and looking around at the mess they had left behind. It looked like a tornado had touched down in the middle of this house. There were things pulled out everywhere, including sofa cushions, emptied drawers and dishes from cabinets in the kitchen.
Peter angrily returned to the front door and latched it closed with the dead bolt. He wasn’t about to even attempt to deal with this mess tonight. Instead, he ordered a pizza and grabbed a beer from the fridge. It was time to just zone out for a while. He turned on the television, idly flipping channels until he found a movie to watch. By the time the food arrived, he was into his third bottle of Blue Moon.
After a few slices of pizza and a few more beers, he made his way to bed, weaving through the disaster area known as his house. He would be angry again tomorrow. Right now, he just didn’t care. Everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours seemed too surreal to even wrap his head around. It was nothing short of a nightmare.
The following morning, he awoke late, the sun already shining brightly into his bedroom window. He let out a deep sigh as he remembered what faced him and padded off to the shower. Then he began making sense of his house until his phone rang. It was his attorney.
“Pete, I need you to meet me at my office so that we go together to the police station,” his attorney, Abraham Banks, said from the other end.
“For what?” Pete asked.
“We need to have you turn yourself in and then me to bond you out,” Abraham responded.
“Didn’t I just go through that yesterday?” Pete asked.
“Separate charges in a different county for what they found at the house. Better we do it this way than they come do it on your doorstep for the neighbors to see,” Abraham told him.
“What a joke,” Pete scoffed. “What about the mess they made of my house? Will they be paying for my broken door?”
“Not anytime soon, buddy. Let’s get this done and then I suggest you visit the hardware store or call a handyman. We will get it back when we get you out of this mess,” Abraham told him.
“Fine. I’ll be there in thirty minutes and we can go together,” Pete told him.
“Good enough. See you soon, buddy. We’ll talk more in person,” Abraham replied.
Pete cursed as he ended the call. It rang again straight away. Looking at the display, he saw that it came from a blocked number. Though he was hesitant, he answered.
“We need to talk,” came the voice he recognized as the man from the hotel and diner.
“About what? I gave you what you asked for,” Pete replied.
“You’re going to want to talk to me. Five p.m. at the Palzato,” the man said, hanging up without giving him any more information or waiting for an answer.
Already, this dog and pony show was making Pete tired. He ran upstairs and changed clothes before heading out to his truck and making his way across town to Abraham’s office. Sitting in the posh outer lobby, he looked around. Abraham was doing quite well for himself since leaving his high-caliber law firm and hanging his own shingle out. Pete wondered if perhaps he should have gone this route instead of joining the military only to come home with a leg full of shrapnel and just enough money to start a small business. He had worked hard to get it off the ground and now, it could go under in a matter of days once word got around of all this.
“Pete, old buddy. Good to see you, man,” Abraham grinned as he came out to the lobby in an expensive Italian suit.
“Wish it were under better circumstances,” Pete grimaced. He and Abraham had gone to school together back in the day. Neither had been from a good family and they had become fast friends, keeping each other’s head above water as they waded their way through elementary, middle and then high school. They had lost touch after Abraham got a scholarship to attend law school and Pete joined the military. Now, they saw each other on rare occasions when they would get together for a beer. This was the first time in his life though that Pete had ever needed a criminal defense attorney.
“You ready to go?” Abraham asked.
“Ready as I will ever be to get arrested . . . again,” Pete said.
“Yeah, rarely fun for anyone,” Abraham told him. “Let’s get to it.”
Stepping into the station about ten minutes later, Pete looked around at how full it was. He expected they would be here for a while. The hits just keep on coming, he thought to himself.
“I hope you aren’t billing me by the hour,” Pete said.
“Billing? You know I got this going pro bono, buddy. You’re the closest thing to family I have,” Abraham said. “Anyway, don’t sweat it. We’re going straight to the back.”
With that Abraham nodded toward a hallway that stretched out in front of them and headed toward it. Pete followed until they were standing outside a small room, waiting for the officer inside to finish up with the person he was fingerprinting.
“Hey, Jake. I need to get my buddy Pete in and out this morning. He needs to turn himself in and get processed through quickly,” Abraham told the officer when he was done and the person was escorted out by another officer.
“Sure thing,” Jake said. “Full name?”
“Peter Andrew Abernathy,” Pete replied, stepping into the room. The officer pulled something up on his screen, nodded and hit a button for some paperwork that started printing. After a mug shot, fingerprinting and a quick rundown of the rest of Pete’s personal information, he looked at Abraham.
“You bailing him out now?” he asked.
“Yep,” Abraham replied.
“Here’s his paperwork,” the officer replied, handing a folder to Abraham.
“Thanks, Jake. I’ll see you Wednesday. Bring some extra cash this time,” Abraham told him.
“Yeah, yeah,” the officer said, waving him away.
“We play poker. He’s a sore loser,” he said to Pete loudly enough for the officer to hear as they left the room.
“What now?” Pete asked as they made their way back down the hall.
“I’m going to stop right down here and bail you out and then we are going back to the office to talk for a bit,” he said.
“That’s it? No bail hearing? No sitting in a cell?” Pete asked.
“That’s it. I already talked to the judge and had your bail set, so all we have to do is pay it and get you out of here. You aren’t going to skip town on me, are you, buddy?” Abraham laughed.
“Probably not,” Pete replied with a smirk.
“You know I’ll hunt you down like a dog if you do,” Abraham said playfully.
“I know that is the truth,” Pete laughed. “I’m not going anywhere. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do,” Abraham said with a smile.
Fifteen minutes later, they were already sitting back down in Abraham’s office. Pete told him everything, including the part about the mysterious men and the phone call again today. Abraham sat and listened, taking notes here and there and nodding or asking questions. After a while, he sat back and put his hands behind his head, looking toward the ceiling for a moment before addressing Pete.
“Okay. Here is what we are going to do. We’re going to get this entire thing tossed out before trial. They had no evidence against you in California, so we will have that dismissed without a problem. They’ll keep looking at you for it, because that is what they do, but there is not much they can do without evidence. As for here, they claim they got an anonymous tip that you had stolen goods in your home, but that claim doesn’t hold water. I’m going to call them out on it and slap them with illegal search and se
izure, make them prove they had a right to enter. I don’t think they can and, once again, with no evidence there is no case,” Abraham told him.
“You really think it will be that easy?” Pete asked.
“There is always a chance they will surprise me with something that I didn’t know about, but I’m not counting on it. I think it’s a clear shot of overzealous police work and we should be able to get it tossed fairly easily,” Abraham told him.
