Identity

by K. J. Cazel

  ***

  When Sarah and Tom arrived, Jenny rushed to the door to greet them. She couldn’t wait to speak to her brother to find out what he knew about their sister, Ginny.

  “Happy Easter, Sis.”

  “Happy Easter Tom, Sarah.”

  “I know you want to know what happened in Los Angeles. Let’s go into the study. Have Steve and Carole come too. I’d rather tell the tale one time.”

  Five minutes later, everyone was gathered in the study.

  “When I arrived in Los Angeles, I used the address to the private investigator to locate where Ginny was after her release from jail. As you know Carole, you were able to put me in contact with Kari Mason, the owner of the halfway house. She refused to give me any information. What information I was able to glean from her attitude is that Ginny knew I was close. She obviously fled. My next challenge is to see what I could do to stop Sergio. I had a real hatred in my heart. I watched his movements and to make a long story short, I was able to break into his house and rob him of him of his drug money.”

  “You what?” Steve exclaimed.

  “Yep. Let’s save I gave him a good sampling of the product that he used on Ginny. Then, I left.”

  “Good. I was afraid you might do something more drastic. So where’s the money?” Steve asked.

  “Well, that’s another story. While I had Sergio under surveillance, I discovered that he had three young women living with him. He was using them to have a second business going. I picked up the women, gave them the money and sent them off for a new life. And, that is a long story made short.”

  Jenny turned to her guests, “Let’s return to our guests. I’m sure Tom will give us more details when he’s ready.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  Angelo watched as Tom drove away. He was hesitant to rush into the house to check on Sergio wondering if Tom would be returning. He didn’t know if he should go and pick up the girls. He sat down in the bushes. He considered calling Naldo telling him what had happened. He quickly put that thought out of his mind. To calm his nerves, he took one of his Cuban cigars and lit up. The smoke rising from the bushes would cause a passerby to call the fire department.

  Before Angelo could finish his cigar a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up and parked in front of the house. Angelo quickly stubbed out his cigar in the dirt and placed the unfinished cigar in his pocket. Three men got out and walked to Sergio’s front door. Peeking through the bushes Angelo could see a shadow of the driver, who remained in the vehicle. He was unable to stand up to see what was happening inside.

  ***

  Not getting an answer from the knock on Sergio’s door, the largest of the three men tried the door handle. The unlocked door swung open. The men entered. They saw Sergio lying in front of the fireplace.

  The large man kicked Sergio. Sergio only groaned. “Bastardo! He’s using.”

  “Jefe, the girls aren’t here.”

  “I don’t give a damn about the girls, find my money or my product!”

  The other men searched through the house. In a few minutes they returned to the living room where their boss was sitting on the chair beside the fireplace.

  “We couldn’t find anything, Jefe.”

  “Another lesson needs to be taught. Bring him into the kitchen.”

  The two men picked up Sergio by his underarms and dragged him into the kitchen. They understood what the Jefe wanted them to do. They asked no questions. After all, it was just two weeks ago they dealt with another dealer that didn’t cough up the Jefe’s money. They returned to the living room. They could already smell the gas coming from the stove in the kitchen.

  “Make sure everything is closed up tight.”

  The men went through the house making sure all windows were securely closed and locked.

  “All buttoned up.” The smaller of the two men address the Jefe.

  “We’re outta here.”

  The Jefe set the lock on the front door and closed the door as the three left.

  ***

  Angelo sat there in the bushes as quietly as possible while the men were in the house. He couldn’t tell what was going on inside. He knew he’d have to wait for them to leave. In less than fifteen minutes the men exited the house.

  Angelo waited another five minutes. To calm his nerves, he took out his partially smoked cigar and lit it. As he inhaled, he felt the familiar rush of smoke entering his lungs. It felt good.

  It was time to check on Sergio. He knew if something bad had happened to Sergio, his life was going to be short. Naldo didn’t accept failure.

  Slowly while chewing on his cigar, Angelo went to open the front door. It was locked. One more frustration for Angelo. He returned to the window where he was watching from earlier. He peered in. Sergio was no longer in the living room. That wasn’t good. He knew if he broke the window, his weight would prohibit him from climbing in. He stood there for a few minutes puffing on his cigar. He made the decision to try to break the back door window. As he crept around the back he hoped that no one saw him and called the police. When he reached the door he looked in and he could see Sergio was slumped in a chair by the gas stove. He tried the handle. Locked. With the lit cigar dangling from his mouth, he used his elbow to smash through the lower pane of the widow’s door. It was a mistake. The small remaining flame from the lit cigar connected with the gas in the room.

  ***

  Angelo checked out of the hospital Monday morning. As he walked out to grab a taxi back to his apartment, every step was painful. He dreaded the phone call he was going to have to make.

  ***

  “Ciao.”

  “Boss. It’s Angelo.”

  “If you’re calling, there must be something wrong.”

  “Yes, there has been an gas explosion at Sergio’s home.”

  “Sergio?”

  Angelo took a deep breath as he replied, “dead.”

  “Fool! It was your responsibility to keep him safe.”

  “It wasn’t my fault. It was that detective.”

  “Get Sergio’s body back to Italy. Then, I want you to find his sister, the one the detective was looking for. When you find her, let me know. I will deal with her personally.”

  “Yes boss.”

  Naldo slammed down the phone.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  Angelo’s conversation with Naldo wasn’t good. He knew Naldo wasn’t going to rest until he got revenge for the death of his two brothers. He also knew that if he didn’t find the girl, he was a dead man.

  Unfortunately, Angelo faced the fact that he was temporarily handicapped because of the burns on his face, arms and legs. As he sat sipping a glass of wine, he searched though his phone contact list until he found the one he was looking for: Hermes. He punched in the number.

  “Yes.”

  “Angelo here. I have a special assignment for you.”

  “I am at your service.”

  “Naldo Rizzo’s brother was the man that was found in the recent house explosion.”

  “Mio Dio. That is not good.”

  “You have to contact your friends at the Los Angeles Medical Examiners Office and get his body released and on a flight back to Italy. When you have the flight information, call me. I will let Naldo know that you have been of service to him.”

  “Consider it done.”

  Angelo disconnected the call. It was always better to keep these messages short and to the point.

  ***

  It had been a long week for Angelo. He was sick of receiving his food through a delivery service. He was sick of being cooped up in his apartment. The only thing he had going for him is that his burns had subsided sufficiently that he was now ready to go out and track down the detective’s sister.

  ***

  It was 7:30 in the morning when Angelo pulled his SUV to the back of the house of Colorado Boulevard. Instead of watching the detective, he was now watching the coming and goings of the residence. It was important to find out when he would be
able to enter the house without being seen.

  By the second week, Angelo had determined that Thursday afternoon was a good time to break in. His surveillance showed that owner was out of house daily for a minimum of two hours.

  Angelo parked his SUV down the block from the Colorado address. He walked to the back gate of the house and entered it in a casual manner. He wanted it to appear to any on lookers that he was a casual visitor to the resident. As he approached the screen porch, it was easy for him to walk in. Once inside the porch, no one could see as he searched around for a key. He smiled as he reached up over the door jam and his fingers quickly found the key. It made his job so much easier than picking a lock.

  Once inside, he moved through the house until he found the office on the first floor. On the center of the desk sat the computer. Although he wasn’t proficient with the computer he had enough computer knowledge to turn on the computer and put in search on the hard drive. He sat down and placed his hand on the mouse. The computer came alive. The computer was in sleep mode and opened to the address database. He couldn’t believe how easy they were making it for him. He engaged the print feature. The printer on the back console hummed as it printed out four pages. As the pages came out of the printer, Angelo looked it over and saw that there was a category entitled “Comment.” Most addresses didn’t have any comments, but several did. His eyes were drawn to the third printed page. The comment read: Ginger Nash. The address was in Oregon. He took the three pages, folded them, and put them in his pants’ pocket. He got up, straightened the chair and went to the back door where he locked it and replaced the key. Angelo checked his watch. All was accomplished in less than twenty minutes. His luck was changing.

  ***

  “Hello.”

  “Kari Mason gave me your number. She said you could put me in contact with Ginger Nash.”

  “Who, who are you?”

  “I’m a friend of her brother, Tom Cassell. He asked me to contact her.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you. I don’t know any Ginger Nash.”

  “Well, thank you.” Angelo hung up. He could tell from the tone in the woman’s voice she knew more than she was telling. He punched in the airline’s phone number and made a reservation to Portland, Oregon. Tomorrow he would meet the woman face to face. He would change her mind.

  ***

  When Kari arrived home, she parked her car in the garage. She closed her eyes and sat there for a few minutes. Her visits to her mother at the nursing home drained her emotionally. If only her mother could recognize her. Once she collected her thoughts and left the car taking her purse. She closed the garage door behind her. She could hear the birds in the tree welcoming her as she went up the stepping-stones to the back door. It always felt good to be home, her sanctuary.

  She entered the back door through screened in porch. A strange feeling engulfed her. She looked around, nothing had changed. She entered the house.

  Inside Kari still felt that her home was hiding a secret. “Hello. Is anyone home?” She walked down the hallway peering into each room on the way to her office. She shook her head. “Come on Kari, you’re imagining things, your alone,” she thought.

  Kari entered her office and sat down at her computer. She tapped her mouse and the screen came alive. Everything was in order. She closed her address database and opened her private journal. Once she completed her feelings about her visit with her mother, she felt better. The writing gave her the ability to express her emotions. She shut down the computer. The other residents of the house would be returning home shortly. As she stood up she saw that there was a single piece of paper in the printer. She cocked her head trying to remember what she could have left in the printer. Kari lifted the faced down paper and turned it over. It was Page 4 of the address database. An alarm went off in her head. Someone, not her, had printed the database.

  ***

  Susan was rattled after the phone call. No one was to know

  where Ginger was living. She decided to call Ginger at the

  television station where she was working. As she reached for

  the phone, it rang. She jumped back as if a snake had struck

  at her. The caller I.D. identified a familiar Los Angeles number. “Hi Kari,” she answered in a weak voice.

  Kari could tell something was wrong. “Are you okay Susan?”

  “Yes. I guess so. I had a very strange call.”

  “How so?”

  “Someone called asking about Ginger. He said he was a friend of her brother.”

  “Oh, Susan. We have a problem. Someone broke into my home and got your address and number. We have to get Ginger out of there and you, too, for that matter.”

  “Okay. I think its time for me to visit my brother in Utah. I’ll arrange everything.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll let you go so you get moving.”

  ***

  Two hours later Susan and Ginger was head on Interstate 84 East to Salt Lake City, Utah.

  ***

  Angelo arrived after 8:00 p.m. in Portland, Oregon. He rented a car. He punched into the GPS the address for Susan Connolly. When he arrived at the address, the house was dark. He parked the car and waited. The next morning he was still sitting in the car. His anger had built up. No one had shown up. A dead end. He feared receiving a call from Naldo asking for an update.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  Tom sat at his desk reviewing and completing case files. It was tedious work, but since Steve did a lot of the footwork while he was in LA, he felt it was the least he could do to re-cement their friendship. As he closed the last file for the day, his cell phone rang. Tom checked the caller. It was his attorney, Ray Stevens.

  “Hello.”

  “Ray Stevens here.”

  “Hi, Ray. What can I do for you?

  “I don’t need your help. What I’m calling about is to let you know that Ginny has contacted me and has asked to wire $15,000.00 to a bank account in Salt Lake City. She verified the appropriate pass codes and stated that she was okay. She said she needed the money to buy a car.”

  “Well, it is her money. She can do what she wants. You sent it?”

  “Like you said, it’s her money. I know you wanted to find her and this is a clue to her whereabouts.”

  “I appreciate your help Ray. She evidently is doing okay. She knew you would let me know about the request. I have to wait her out. When she wants to contact Jenny, or me she will. Thanks for your diligence. We really appreciate your handling of our accounts.”

  “The pleasure is mine. Are you going to Peterson’s party Saturday night?”

  “Yes, Sarah and I will be there.”

  “Karen has been waiting to meet the love of your life.”

  “Enough. Bye.”

  Tom ended the cell conversation. Steve turned to him, “That about Ginny?”

  “Yea. But this time I’m not getting involved. I promise. She appears to be okay.” Steve could tell that Tom didn’t want to talk anymore and let the subject drop.

  ***

  Once the money came into Susan’s brother bank account, Ginny and Susan went out to buy a good used car. It was hard for her to say good-by to her new friend and her brother. She knew everyone she came in contact with would be in danger. She had to leave so they would be safe.

  It was time for her to be on her own. She needed a new life. She gave a small wave as she drove her 2005 Honda Civic toward Interstate 80 East. There was no rush. She was going to take her time and enjoy the scenery.

  ***

  Ginny had been in Irving, Texas for three weeks. She was fortunate that she found a job at the local TV station as a production assistant. She had rented an apartment three blocks away from work. To Ginny, life was good.

  When she was hired, she assured the station manager that she would be happy as an assistant and had no desire to be a reporter. For the first time since she was hired, Ginny was assigned to be Gloria Howell’s assistant. Gloria was the top field r
eporter at the station. The crew left the station and headed to the local courthouse. In the van, Gloria made it quite clear that she was in charge of the shoot and there would be no debate.

  ***

  It was after 7:30 a.m. when Tom’s phone rang. He reached over to his side table and looked at his cell phone. It was Jenny.

  “Hello.”

  “Did I wake you?”

  “What do you think? What’s so important?”

  “You have to turn on cable news. You’ll be interested in the latest heroic effort.”

  “Tell me. I’d rather go back to bed. It was a late night.”

  “It’s Ginny!”

  Tom quickly sat up. “Tell me.”

  “You really should see it. Until you can, I’ll give you the skinny. It seems she works at a TV station in Irving, Texas. The reporter had a heart attack during the report and Ginny stepped in, gave her CPR, had the crew call 911, and once the ambulance drove off she continued with the report.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned. Our little sister is all grown up.”

  ***

  Angelo sat in his apartment trying to figure out his options. His last call from Naldo wasn’t good. He knew that his life was on the line. He wondered if he could hide out in Canada. He turned on the news. As he watched, he future became brighter.

  He placed a call to Italy.

  ***

  Tom got up and turned on cable news. He knew they always repeated their news cycles. At last, they repeated Ginny’s story. He watched and smiled as he saw his younger sister being so professional. All he had done was worth it. His phone rang. The number was unidentified. He answered anyway.

  “Tom Cassell.”

  “Yes.”

  “Giovanni Marino here. Perhaps you don’t remember me.”

  “Oh, I do. You’re the chief of police in Italy. What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to alert you to the fact that Naldo Rizzo has booked a flight to New York City with a connecting flight to Dallas, Texas.”