by Thomas Scott
“You’re right. But it’s not about proof, and that’s the part you don’t understand. Bradley Pearson was a snake. He manipulated, maneuvered and used people to get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it. But as far as I know, he never killed anyone, Nichole.”
“Neither have I. Too bad you can’t say the same thing.” She stood from the stool again and walked away. After a few steps she stopped and looked over her shoulder. “And it’s not Nichole anymore, Jonesy. Thanks to you, all the Pope’s are gone.”
Virgil thought she was going to say something else, but she never did. Instead, she simply walked out the door and in every way imaginable, Virgil considered that a blessing.
__________
Nicky Pope—who would for the rest of his natural born life be known as Brian Addison—sat in a chaise lounge on the beach, his sister, Nichole Pope, a.k.a. Chloe Addison, sat next to him. “It was a hell of a risk,” he told her, sort of pissed. “The longest two days of my life.”
“There was some risk, there’s no question there. But a lot of people are dead and even though we’ve covered our bases, I still felt like it was something that had to be done. If not, I kind of had the feeling we’d be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives…or worse, we wouldn’t be looking at all and that’s when they get you, Bro, when you’re sitting in your chair watching the waves break and sipping a margarita. You’ll have four or five federal agents walk up and say something like, “Excuse me, sir, is your name Nicholas Pope?”
Ah, that’s TV drama,” Brian said.
“Maybe…or maybe not. But I can tell you this: We’re golden now.”
He turned in his chair and looked past his sister. “Speaking of gold, here comes the money.”
__________
Ron Miles parked his car, reached into the box and pulled out the plastic statue of the Virgin Mary. What a joke, he thought. It was one thing to return evidentiary property to their rightful owners, but quite another when the property was a cheap plastic statue that wasn’t worth the cost of the gas it took to drive it over.
He grabbed the statue from the front passenger seat, got out of his car, walked up to Mrs. Ibarra’s apartment and just for the hell of it gave the door a good old fashioned cop knock. When no one answered a few minutes later, he knocked again. After the third time, the door just to the right of Ibarra’s opened and an elderly Mexican man with a cane in one hand and a bottle of Dos Equis in the other opened his door. “Señor?”
Miles showed him his badge and said, “My name is Ron Miles. I’m a detective with the Indiana Major Crimes Unit.”
“Si?” the man said.
Ron heard himself say, “Si,” and winced a little.
“You are looking for Señora Ibarra?”
“Yes. Do you know where I can find her? I have some of her property that I’d like to return to her.”
The man smiled and did a little wiggle. “You have not heard?”
“Heard what?”
Señora Ibarra. She has won the lottery. The big drawing. She had the ticket, Señor. The one worth mucho dineros. She is rich and I tell you this: she is gone.”
And Ron thought, Son of a bitch.
__________
Ibarra carried the money in a laptop bag that held no actual money, just a laptop that had access to the money.
“Everything go okay?” Brian asked.
“Oh yes, Nicky. Everything go exactly like you say it would.”
Nicky waved a finger at her. “It’s Brian now, Mrs. Ibarra. You’ve got to remember that.”
“Si, Brian. I will remember. All of the funds were transferred. All three-hundred-million dollars worth.” She handed him the laptop and Brian punched the keys.
“I told you I’d do it, didn’t I?”
“Si, but I never quite believed you. Where is our gay little Wu?”
Brian pointed out to the water. “He’s out there, snorkeling with Linda. Why does everyone think Wu is gay?”
“Hmm, I am not sure. I do not like the way he looks at my feet...”
Epilogue
__________
Later that evening when Virgil got home he walked down to the pond next to Mason’s cross, stared out at the water and thought about his dad, his grandfather, Ed Donatti, and especially his unborn son, Wyatt. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Nichole Pope was probably right…at least about one thing: The answers lie not in the extreme, but somewhere in the middle.
He still had the thumb drive she’d given him. He pulled it from his pocket and studied it under the light of the moon before setting it on top of the cross. He bent over and picked up a few rocks and skipped them out across the water, wondering what was on the drive and more importantly if it really mattered anymore. It would be easy enough to find out. He could take the drive up to the house, pop it into the computer and read everything it contained. But to what end? Pearson and Pate were dead, their misdeeds and malfeasance no longer an issue or a problem in Virgil’s life. Why dive into the past when the future was what really mattered? Wasn’t that the message his father had been trying to convey all along?
Ultimately Virgil decided to take Nichole’s advice. If she didn’t care, why should he? He’d destroy the thumb drive, leave Pearson and Pate to rot in hell and let the Pope twins deal with their own demons down the road.
He tossed one final rock into the pond then turned to grab the thumb drive from the top of the cross, ready to crush it under his boot. But when he looked at the cross, the thumb drive was gone and his badge—the badge he’d thrown into the pond when Cora and Bradley Pearson had shown up a few weeks ago and fired him sat there in its place.
And Virgil thought, Dad?
And the story continues.
As Mason would say, “Stay tuned.”
Thank you for reading!
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Thomas Scott is a writer, reader and self-proclaimed regular guy. His debut novel, State of Anger reached # 1 on Amazon.com shortly after its release. Thomas lives in northern Indiana with his wife and children where he is hard at work on the next Virgil Jones mystery novel, State of Control. Your comments are always welcome and Thomas will personally reply via email sent to: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Review
Author Contact Info
Godbold & Whiteman
Publishers
godboldandwhiteman.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, private organizations, governmental bodies and/or positions, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or publisher.
Copyright © 2015
by
Thomas Scott
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the author and publisher.
omas Scott, STATE OF BETRAYAL: A Virgil Jones Mystery (Detective Virgil Jones Mystery Series Book 2)
