Epilogue
Two weeks had passed since Frank and company had rescued Maggie Bullock and four other girls from the Rei do Mar. He sat at an outdoor table at the Sun Dog eating breakfast with Jonesy whose left arm was in a sling and Lucy who was content at Frank's feet.
"So, we have a Friday night off again. It's not much of a jazz trio with a one-armed drummer," Frank said.
"I'll be back in another three weeks. The physical therapist says the bullet didn't cause any nerve damage. I was pretty damn lucky if you can call yourself lucky after being shot."
"It could've been a lot worse"
"You're just glad you don't have to pay up on the drum solo promise that you made for a while longer."
"Well, like I said, it could be worse. The FDLE and the Coast Guard were not amused with our little adventure until they searched the ship and found a treasure trove of evidence."
When they made contact with the boat holding the girls, Jonesy had activated an SOS beacon from the speed boat allowing the Coast Guard to easily locate them.
"Once the Coast Guard figured out we weren't the bad guys they were more than thrilled to nail the Souzas for human trafficking, but they also enjoyed finding the 100 pounds of cocaine they had squirreled away on the ship as part of their side business," Frank said.
It was the perfect storm. Based on Jonesy's information, FDLE was able to pick up Nico Souza by tracing his cell phone. The man that Anita had shot was Nico's brother Paolo. There had been a family disagreement brewing between Nico and Paulo and the Souza cousins over the risk and lack of reward for transporting the girls. They didn't understand Nico's bond to Stanton Cobb and wanted to concentrate on the less risky, more profitable drug business. The cousins agreed to a plea deal in exchange for incriminating information on Nico and Paolo.
“Anita has her hands full now that Drake is out of commission for a while”, Frank said.
Drake had shot his great uncle in what turned out to be self-defense. He still had other charges to answer for but had essentially turned out to be repentant at the end of the case. Anita was in charge until, and possibly after, his return to JPD.
“Anita scored some points with the Deputy AG and Hammersmith. She told me they offered her a job with the FDLE. It’ll be interesting to see what she does”, Jonesy said.
"Well, we didn't nail Cobb, but Travis Bullock III took great pleasure in personally visiting Judge Jameson with a laundry list of charges," Jonesy said. "Aside from getting his sister back safely, he was very thankful for that opportunity. By the way, how are the Bullocks doing?"
"I stopped by to visit them yesterday. Maggie seems to be pretty resilient. A lot of kids would withdraw after an experience like hers. After FDLE was able to track down Troy, he and Maggie sat down with her parents and talked through the experience. They really like Troy. Travis Senior is talking about sitting down with Rick Worthington to plan the future of Christianity Today."
"I know. They called me to consult on it. They want to put together a legitimate ownership structure. I just might take them up on it. It might be a good investment opportunity."
"So, did your near death experience bring you closer to religion"?
"No. My experience convinced me to speed up the growth of my nest egg so I can get away from adventures that result in near death experiences."
"Oh come on. You loved the action. Just admit it."
"Maybe just a little," Jonesy reflected. "So what are you and Lucy going to do with your spare time now that the case is over"?
"Well, Nancy, Lucy and I are going to spend time at the beach this weekend. I'm going to finally take Nancy out for a long overdue dinner. From there, I don't know."
"Be careful. It sounds like you're getting a real life."
"Whatever. I need to get going. I've got some loose ends to tie up."
Frank got up to leave and Lucy joined him for the short walk back to the trailer. Lucy bounded through the door. Frank followed. He wanted to take a shower and get over to Nancy's. He hadn't felt this way in quite a while. It was pleasant, yet a bit scary. He glanced over at his answering machine and saw the blinking light indicating a new message. He pushed the play button expecting the usual hang up. It was the familiar Scranton, PA number that had called before. This time was different, however. There was the silence of an open line and then a quiet, familiar child's voice with a short message. "I'm calling for Frank Rozzani. This is Michael...your son." The line disconnected abruptly.
Please enjoy first two chapters of the next Frank Rozzani book, Let Me Be Frank, coming out on October 24th, 2014 and available for pre-order on Amazon.com:
Let Me Be Frank: A Frank Rozzani Detective Novel
By Don Massenzio
Text copyright (c) 2014 Donald S. Massenzio
Frankly Speaking - A Frank Rozzani Detective Novel (#1) Page 30