Identity

by K. J. Cazel

Tom checked his watch. The lights had been out for an hour. It was time to move. Tom exited the car but left it unlocked. He walked up the sidewalk and stopped at Sergio’s front door. Angelo watched as he slowly crept forward, staying out of Tom’s view.

  Tom pounded on the door. There was no answer. Evidently Sergio was a sound sleeper. He found the doorbell and repeatedly pressed it. At last he heard mumbling on the other side of the door.

  “Come back tomorrow.”

  “Aw, come on man. I need some stuff. I got cash.”

  Tom could hear the locks being turned. A good drug dealer could never turn down a cash customer. As the door slowly opened, Tom took out his gun and pushed the door the rest of the way open. Sergio fell backward hitting the corner of the hallway door jam.

  “You son of a bitch!” Sergio yelled from the floor.

  “Don’t get bent out of shape.” Tom pointed his gun in Sergio’s face.

  “What, what are you going to do?”

  “Don’t worry you prick. I’m not going to kill you, yet. Let me introduce myself. I’m Ginny’s brother.”

  “I don’t know no Ginny.”

  “Don’t give me that shit. She is that sweet little red head that you wined, dined and turned into a prostitute.”

  “Hey, she was the one who wanted the drugs and couldn’t pay for them.”

  “Liar!”

  Outside, Angelo was peeking in the front window from a corner gap in the blinds. He was sure that if the detective were going to kill Sergio he would have been done so by now. He continued to watch the action.

  “I’m here to get a little revenge for the way Ginny was treated.” Tom gave Sergio a hard punch to the jaw. Sergio fell. When he was on the floor, Tom gave Sergio a strong kick in the stomach.”

  Sergio groaned loudly and bent his body in the fetal position while holding his stomach in pain.

  “That’s for starters. I believe the video I saw from Vegas showed the john give Ginny several kicks.”

  Tom pulled the lamp cord out of the wall. He took out his Swiss Army knife and cut the cord from the lamp. Then he cut it into two pieces. Tom had his back to Sergio and didn’t realize that Sergio had gotten up and was starting for Tom. Tom turned just in time.

  With the knife in his hand, he was still able to punch Sergio’s face. The knife drew a long cut down the side of his left eye. Even thought it wasn’t a deep cut, the blood gushed out.

  “You bastard.” Sergio charged Tom again.

  With his left hand, Tom threw another punch. This time in landed in Sergio’s sore gut. Sergio bent over holding his stomach. Tom folded the knife, pocketing it. He then grabbed Sergio’s hands and turned him around. Tom grabbed one of the lamp cord pieces and secured Sergio’s hands. Then, Tom pushed Sergio over to a lounge chair. As Sergio slumped in the chair, Tom took the other piece of cord and tied his ankles together.

  “You’re not going to get away with this!”

  “Yea, and what are you going to do about it?”

  “You don’t know who my brother is!”

  “Oh, Naldo? Isn’t he in Italy? I believe he can’t come to the states because of warrants?”

  “He has friends.”

  “Well, I’m just going to take my chances.”

  Outside Angelo watched. So far, he felt that Sergio didn’t get anything he didn’t deserve and it wasn’t worth his interference.

  Tom left the room and went into the kitchen. He could have kicked himself for not buying some duck tape when he was at Wal-Mart. He grabbed a dishtowel and ripped it into a strip. He held the strip under water and returned to Sergio.

  “Open you mouth.”

  Sergio didn’t say anything, but kept his mouth shut tight. Tom gave him another punch to the stomach. When Sergio started to yell, Tom took the wadded strip and stuffed it into Sergio’s mouth.

  He left Sergio gagged and tied up in the chair. He started searching the house. In the front bedroom, he saw three twin beds. Evidently this is where the girls slept during the day. He moved on to the second bedroom. It was obvious that this is where Sergio slept. He went over to the top dresser drawer. He started tossing things out. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. In the bottom of the drawer were three passports. He opened the first one. The picture was of a young fifteen-year-old girl. It was issued three years earlier. He opened the second one. This time the girl was eighteen. She had the same last name as the younger girl. He opened the third passport. It pictured another young woman who was just eighteen and it was issued six months ago. He placed the three passports in his pants’ pocket. He searched the other drawers and found nothing of interest.

  Tom moved onto the closet. He could see from the clothes that Sergio definitely liked leather. The thought sent a shiver up Tom’s spine. He still hadn’t found Sergio cache. He knew there must be some cash or the drugs someplace. He bent down and looked under the bed. Luck was on his side. He pulled out the briefcase. It was locked. No problem. Tom again pulled out his Swiss Army knife and popped the lock.

  Tom opened the case. Inside were bundles of hundred dollar bills. He counted the first bundle. Five thousand dollars. He multiplied the amount by the number of stacks. There were forty packs. Two hundred thousand dollars. There were also three small packets of white power. He took the packets in one hand and closed the briefcase. He returned to the living room with the cocaine and briefcase.

  He walked over to Sergio. Sergio saw Tom had his briefcase. Tom could tell from Sergio’s eyes that he was now more concerned than ever. Tom placed the briefcase down. He bent down and looked Sergio in the eyes.

  “I have a present for you.”

  Tom opened the first packet and held it up to Sergio’s nose.

  “Come on, breath in.”

  Sergio turned his head trying to avoid breathing in the white powder. This didn’t stop Tom. He gave Sergio another punch to the stomach. As Sergio tried to catch his breath with the gag in his mouth, Tom opened the second packet. Sergio had no choice; he inhaled the white powder. Once that packet was inhaled, Tom opened the third packet and repeated the process. Tom waited. Before he left he wanted to make sure Sergio had passed out.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  Tom checked his watch. It took less than two minutes before Sergio passed out. Using his Swiss Army Knife, Tom cut loose the lamp cords off of Sergio’s wrists and ankles. He then removed the gag from Sergio’s mouth. With the briefcase and passports in hand, Tom left the house.

  Angelo watched through the window as Sergio moved around on the floor in his drugged state. From Sergio’s movement, experience told Angelo that Sergio would be okay. Poorer, but okay. He stepped back from the front window and slid deeper in the bushes to remain unseen.

  Tom retuned to his car and opened the trunk. He placed the briefcase inside. He unfastened his holstered gun; the black sweatshirt was removed and also thrown into the trunk. He returned to the briefcase and took a banded stack of hundred dollar bills placing them in his pants’ pockets along with the three passports. Even though, he was finished with Sergio, his night’s mission wasn’t over. He drove off as Angelo kept vigilant watch at the scene.

  Tom drove down the highway and turned off at the first hotel where Sergio had dropped off the first woman. As Tom pulled into the driveway, a young woman stepped out of the side entrance of the hotel. Tom recognized her as one of Sergio’s women. He reached into his pocket and reviewed each of the passports. After quickly checking out each passport, he could see that the woman was Anya, the younger sister of Alma. He got out of the car and approached Anya.

  “Anya, I’m here to pick you up.”

  “Where is Sergio?”

  “Sergio is incapable of being here. Please come with me and we will pick up your sister Alma and your friend, Sophia. Please trust me. Everything is going to be okay.”

  Anya looked at Tom. She wasn’t sure what to do, but knew that she didn’t have any real options.

  Anya returned with Tom to the rental car. He opened th
e front passenger seat door for Alma. She looked up at Tom’s face. Having someone open a car door for her was an unexpected experience. After she was seated, Tom returned to the driver’s side and drove off to pick up Alma and Sophie. They drove in silence.

  Sophia was standing at the curb when Tom pulled up in front of her. Anya rolled down her window and spoke to her in Russian. Sophia opened the back seat door and climbed in. The two women conversed in Russian as Tom drove to his next stop.

  When they arrived at the third hotel, Alma was nowhere to be seen. Anya turned to Tom, “I’ll be right back.”

  Anya left the vehicle and headed to the front entrance of the hotel. It was a familiar route for her as she headed to the ladies restroom off the lobby. She found her older sister in one of the stalls. Alma was sitting there sobbing. Anya wrapped her arms around her shoulders and helped her up. “Come. I believe we have found someone to help us.” Alma looked into her younger sister’s eyes and tried to smile. The two left the restroom and headed for the car. When Sophia saw her friends coming towards the vehicle, she got out of the back seat leaving the door open for the sisters to get in and sit together.

  Tom started the engine and drove down the highway. He had to follow the plan that he had worked out in his mind. The woman continued to converse in Russian as Tom drove down the boulevard.

  “Where are we going?” Anya asked.

  “Before I can get you out of Los Angeles, we have to get you some new clothes.”

  “You do know it is three in the morning.” Sophia commented.

  Tom smiled as he pulled into the parking lot of the 24-hour Wal-Mart where he was earlier yesterday. He turned off the car and began giving the women insight to their future.

  “In order for you to avoid any of Sergio’s so called friends, you are going to have to leave Los Angeles.”

  Anya leaned forward from the back seat and addressed Tom, “We can’t go home to Russia. We have disgraced our families.”

  “I do have an alternate plan. You’re to go in there and purchase some different clothes, a large purse and a carry on bag for your flight out of Los Angeles.”

  “We’ll do the best we can with our funds from this past evening.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  Tom reached into his pocket and took out one of the bundles of cash.”

  Sophia’s eyes widened as she saw the cash. “Is that for us?”

  “Not all, yet.” Tom took several one hundred dollar bills from the stack and gave each of the women two hundred dollars each. “That should adequately cover your purchases. Please remember, the clothes you choose should be something that will not call attention to you. You must blend in. Please try to be back within the hour.”

  The women exited the car and headed for the front door of the Wal-Mart. At this time of the morning, it appeared that they were probably going to be the only customers in the store.

  While the women were in the store, Tom made two calls. The first call was to Alaska Airlines to book three reservations to Fairbanks. His second call was to confirm the reservations for the private jet to take him back to Chicago. He sat there with closed eyes. It had been a long day and the thought of returning home felt good.

  It seemed like no time at all when Tom heard a tapping on the car’s window. The girls had returned.

  “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.” Tom released the door locks as well as the trunk lock.”

  “You can put as many of your purchases in the trunk. What doesn’t fit, you have to bring in the car. Then, we’ll find a safe place for you to change.” Tom could hear the woman giggling as they were stuffing their purchases in the trunk. Tom smiled. He thought that, perhaps, this was the first time in a really long time they felt free to laugh.

  Once everyone was back in the car, Tom drove down the boulevard when he saw a sign indicating there was a park if he took the next right. Tom followed the directions to the park. He pulled his car at the end of the parking lot allocated for visitors. He turned off the car.

  “Okay ladies, it’s time for a transformation. Anya, why don’t you go first? I’ll get the purchases out of the trunk and you can remain in the car to change while Sophia and Alma wait for you. Throw you old clothes in the bags. We’ll get rid of them when we’re done.”

  While Anya was changing, Sophia and Alma went through the rest of the purchases and took off all the tags. In a few minutes, Anya stepped out of the back seat in her new clothes. Tom smiled. Sophia and Alma gathered around Anya admiring her new look. Even though the clothes were from Wal-Mart, Tom could tell that Anya had a real sense of what looked good on her. Sophia was next. She, too, emerged from the car like a butterfly. She no longer looked like a hard woman of the evening. Next, it was Alma’s turn. Anya encouraged her sister handing her several pieces of clothing she chose for her. It took Alma longer before she opened the car to show her new image. She was beautiful. Her long blond hair fell down to her shoulders on a turquoise top and black slack with black sandals. Each woman packed their carry on bag and discarded their old clothes in the Wal-Mart bags

  “All right ladies, we’re off.”

  Tom drove around the park and exited where they entered. He went back to the boulevard until he spotted a Goodwill Donation Box at one of the strip malls. He quickly made a sharp turn and pulled next to it. He got out of the car and opened the trunk to get out the Wal-Mart bags that contained the women’s old clothes. As he placed the bag in the box, he wondered what Goodwill would think when they received these donations. In less than a minute, they were back on the road, now headed to Van Nuys Airport.

  When they arrived at the airport, Tom pulled the rental car to the return car area. He parked the car and flipped the lever to open the trunk. The woman exited the car and joined Tom at the rear of the vehicle. Each woman took her bag and purse. Tom took his suitcase out of the trunk and set it down. He then went to the briefcase and opened it. The women eyes grew big as they saw the amount of money in the case.

  “Okay ladies, open your purses.”

  Each woman opened her purses wide. Tom took one bundle at a time depositing the money in their purses. When he was done, Anya was short one bundle to have it balance. Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out the remainder of the bundle he used for their clothes and deposited in Anya’s purse. She smiled.

  “Here’s the final plan. I’m not going in there with you. You are to go to Alaska Airlines reservation desk. The reservations have been made for you to fly to Fairbanks. Your flight leaves at 5:20 a.m. You must keep a very low profile once you leave the lower forty-eight. Sergio and his brother have many associates throughout the states. Here are your passports. One good thing that Sergio did do was to keep your student visas up-to-date. Again, I can’t emphasize enough that it is imperative for you to keep a low profile. The money you have was Sergio’s. I’m sure he will do anything to get it back.” With that last comment he could see the smiles leave the women’s faces.

  The women took they bags and headed to the terminal entrance. Tom watched. He hoped everything worked out for them. They deserved a new life and identify.

  Fifteen minutes later Tom dropped the keys of the rental car in the night box. He then walked over to the entrance of the terminal. Once he was in, his eyes glanced over to the gate area for Alaska Airline’s flights. The three women sat quietly waiting for their flight. Tom continued down the corridor to the private lounge while he waited to be called for his flight.

  Tom stopped at the Coffee Café next to the private lounge. He bought a cup of coffee and cinnamon bun. At the entrance of the private lounge he verified his name and flight.

  He found a lounge chair and sat down. Within minutes and before he had a chance to finish his coffee, he was asleep. An hour later a man sat down in the lounge chair next to Tom.

  “Are you reading that newspaper?”

  The voice startled Tom. He immediately patted himself down looking for his gun before realized where he was.

 
; “No.”

  The television was on and Tom could see the screen from his seat. The national weather was on. It looked like he was going to have a smooth ride back to Chicago.

  When the news show returned, the newscaster introduced the woman in the field.

  “ Lisa, could you give us an update on the gas explosion earlier this morning.”

  “Thank you, Brad. As you know, the gas explosion happened around 3:00 a.m. at the corner of Linden and Conestoga. This is the second such gas explosion that has occurred in the Los Angeles area. Our confidential source says that both gas explosions were drug related. The body of the occupant in the home was discovered a few minutes ago. A passerby at the time of the explosion was taken to Hilltop Hospital for severe burns. Back to you Brad.”

  “Lisa, do we have the name of the occupant?”

  “No. Not as yet. A neighbor, who wants to remain anonymous, said that the man who appeared to be the owner was a young Italian. There were also three women that lived in the house. Their whereabouts are unknown.”

  “Thanks Lisa. We’ll check back with you next hour for an update.”

  Tom took a deep breath. When he left, Sergio he was okay. Something happened after he left. It was an investigation that he didn’t wish to become a person of interest in. He checked his watch—6:37 a.m.

  He reached for his coffee cup on the side table. He took a sip. Ice cold. He drank it anyway. The loud speaker came on.

  “Tom Cassell, please report to Gate 27 for your flight.”

  Tom grabbed his suitcase and headed for the gate. He couldn’t wait to get home.

  ***

  It was after eleven when Tom entered the front door of his condo. It felt good to be home. Before heading for a much needed sleep, he thought it would be good to touch base with Sarah to let her know he was back and would be picking her up tomorrow morning.

  ***

  The sun rose and peeked its way through Tom’s window. It was another day reminding Tom that he had to do something about the shades in his bedroom. He showered and dressed and left the condo to pick up Sarah to go to his sister’s, Jenny’s, Easter buffet.