by Dave Daren
“My point is,” Tony said. “She figured out how to get the people to come get the tiger without getting the cops out there. She’s loyal like that. She wouldn’t turn me in.”
I remembered this story. It didn’t exactly go like that. There was a tiger that escaped, and AJ did get the tip on the tiger’s whereabouts. But, the tiger was my responsibility.
It had been released by some vindictive people that were trying to sabotage me. But in the end, I was still the guy in charge of the tiger. We were out looking for the tiger, when AJ gave me the anonymous tip that she eventually credited to a meth head cousin. She didn’t do Tony any favors.
The cops couldn’t have found the drugs without a search warrant. Considering that the escaped tiger was a public safety concern, even if the cops had shown up, they would have ignored signs of obvious drug use in favor of the greater good of protecting the entire city from a dangerous animal.
“You want to go prison, Tony?” Roy asked.
“No,” Tony replied.
“If you think these guys are onto you,” Roy said. “Do something about it.”
“Right,” Tony said.
“Beyond that,” Roy said. “Give me two weeks. I’ll get that stuff off you.”
“Alright,” Tony sighed with a resigned tone.
Tony walked out of the office and I turned off the recording. Then I stood stock still as he passed through the lobby. He walked outside, but then he stopped and stood on the stoop for a second. Shit. My car.
Tony came back in.
“Roy,” he called out. “Whose Beamer is that out there?”
“What?” Roy mumbled in a preoccupied tone.
I was busted. With tiny movements, I hid my phone’s backlight under a counter, and texted the audio file to Vicki. Then, I scanned the darkness for any kind of weapon. These guys wanted to take us out.
“Did that get dropped off just now?” Tony asked as he crossed back into the office.
“What?” Roy asked.
“A black BMW,” Tony said.
He was in the office now, and I edged toward the door trying not to make a sound. If I could make it to the door, without being detected, I could make a run for it.
“No,” Roy said and I heard his chair scrape the floor as he stood up. I was still too far from the door.
Roy and Tony walked out of the office and Roy casually flipped on the light switch.
And there I stood, staring right at them.
Chapter 16
Roy and Tony didn’t waste much time getting to their point. They knew who I was, they knew what I was there to do, and they knew what I had overheard. As far as they were concerned, it was lights out for me. Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t going to go so easily.
I stood right in front of a crowbar and when Tony came charging at me with a wild eye look, I remembered my childhood days playing Little League baseball, and I gave that thing an award winning out of the park Babe Ruth style home run hit to the jaw.
Tony went down, his body crumbling like an accordian folding into place. He hit the ground with a thud and his mouth bled profusely. I felt guilty clocking AJ’s cousin like that, but he had it for me. I was a little concerned that I might have rendered him more than just unconscious. But I didn’t have time to contemplate, considering Roy was right behind me, and he wasn’t so easy to take down.
By the time I took down Tony, Roy had me by the neck, and I elbowed him in the gut. Unfortunately, given his decades of being a hard partying rock and roll manager, he had quite the beer gut, and my blows simply hit the extra padding.
Roy slammed my body into the wall, and he pinned me by my throat while he grunted into my face.
“You think you’re the big tough guy around here?” he said. “You think you know everything?”
“Fuck you,” I spat.
I still had the crowbar and delivered a swift blow to the side of his knees. He grimaced in pain, and his grip on my neck loosened, but not enough for me to wiggle away.
I felt a blinding flash of pain and struggled for breath as I realized he had just punch me in the stomach. The intensity of the pain, caused me to lose the grip on the crowbar, and it clattered to the ground. Roy lunged for it. But I kicked him in the knee I had hit with the crowbar, and he lost his balance and teetered long enough for me to stand up, and deliver a hard right hook right into his jaw. He cried out and then I pinned him against the wall, and grabbed the crowbar and held it inches from his face.
“You want to end up like your compadre there, punk?” I threatened.
Roy chuckled sarcastically. “You see, you know what your problem is?”
“What is my problem?” I mused. “Enlighten me.”
“Your problem is you’ve got no foresight,” he said. “You think you’ve got me by the short and curlies, because maybe you do here. But what happens tomorrow? What happens when you get home?”
“What are you talking about?” I spat at him.
“You see, Irving,” he chuckled again. “You’ve got no business in crime. You don’t have the stomach for it. You’ve got too much heart...AJ, Saffron, Moondust, Phoenix, Harmony, Vicki...all just to start. I’d just have to pull on your heartstrings, and I could make you do whatever I wanted like a puppet. Like a marionette.”
I laughed coldly. “You see, all of those people have already been threatened. And it didn’t shake me one bit.”
“Ah,” he said. “Maybe there was a little scare, a little break in. But, I know where your heart really is. I wouldn’t take you much for a fetish man, but you never know. That little Asian chick would look super sexy in some schoolgirl porn--”
I didn’t even realize that I had reacted at all, until Roy crumbled to the ground, and I stood holding a bloody crowbar.
“Now,” I stooped to his prone body on the ground. “Tell me why you killed James.”
“I didn’t kill James,” he choked out.
I stood, reared back, and delivered an excruciating kick to his gut.
“Why did you kill James?” I asked again.
“I didn’t,” he mumbled.
“Why did you smuggle the elephant tusks in?” I switched to a more relevant topic.
“Money,” he moaned.
“Money,” I said and I put my phone on record and stuck it in my pocket. Granted under these circumstances it wouldn’t be admissible in court, but it would serve to get Kelsi exonerated.
“What did you need money so badly for that you smuggled in elephant tusks?” I asked.
“The band,” he gasped. “I paid the band.”
“Why did you need money so desperately to pay the band?” I asked.
“Because,” he moaned. “Kelsi is the love of my life.”
“But she was married to another man,” I said.
“My greatest regret,” he gasped in pain, “was letting her go. I lost her once when I went to Tokyo, I was determined to get her back.”
“So you were going to ruin her marriage?” I asked.
“She never loved James,” he said.
“Then why did she marry him?” I asked.
“Because of Elias,” he moaned.
“Her son?” I asked.
He nodded. “Elias was mine. But, I was stupid. I was so stupid and foolish. I said I wasn’t ready to be a father, as if I had some choice in the matter. So I ran away. When I was gone, she married James so that he would have a father. I realized my mistake years later and tried to come back. But, it was too late.”
“She had moved on,” I said.
He nodded. “She had a perfect family, and was happy and it pained me to see it, and pained me not to see it. I couldn’t win either way.”
“And so you thought if you sent her to prison for a smuggling frame job, it would make it all better?” I asked sarcastically.
He shook his head. “I needed to pay the band. I sold the contraband and poured it into the shop, and paid the band out of the shop. Then, the band would stick around, and I could have t
ime to make James famous. If I could make James famous, then I could make Kelsi happy at least. If I made James famous, I could stay with James and I could still be in Elias’ life.”
“Did James know that Elias was yours?” I asked.
“Not until the end,” Roy said. “He always knew Elias wasn’t his. But, he didn’t know he was mine until the end.”
“How did he find out?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. But that was irrelevant anyway.”
“And that was why he was going to leave Kelsi,” I concluded.
“Right,” he said.
“And the contract with Arista?” I said.
“I didn’t know about that until the night he died,” Roy said.
“He kept it from you?” I asked incredulously.
“He kept it from everyone,” he said. “The band, Kelsi, no one knew. They still don’t.”
“But you knew,” I said. “How did you find out?”
“Jagger,” he said. “Jagger heard about it from Brent Levinson and assumed I knew. Fucking Aussie windbag. Can’t keep his mouth shut.”
“Why did Brent tell Jagger?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Jagger hates Brent, and wants to sue him. I assumed Brent wanted to smooth things over, so he told him he’s coming to Sedona to work with JMB, and they can have drinks. So then Jagger came to warn me about Brent, and I didn’t know a damn thing about what he was talking about.”
“Until the night of the show,” I said.
“That was when Jagger told me,” he said.
“Jagger told you about the contract the night of the show?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “He was there with Leila Jaxson, the music writer.”
“So Leila knew about the contract with Arista?” I asked. “And no one else did?”
“I guess,” he said.
“So James was going to dump you,” I said. “And the whole band, and Kelsi, and run off to L.A. and violate your contract with him, and you found out all of this the night of the show. Is that why you killed James?”
“For the last time,” he said. “I didn’t kill James.”
I pressed my foot into his throat. I knew I was going over the edge. But after what he had said about Vicki, I morphed into some sort of action movie. And damn it felt good, especially after all the scumbag murderers I had dealt with over the last several months.
“Then who did?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “He died of a heart arrhythmia for all I know.”
“You know that’s not true,” I said.
“I told you everything I know,” he said.
Roy’s breathing was shallow now, and I figured I had milked self defense long enough. I kicked Roy one last time and threw a cordless phone at him.
“Call 911 yourself,” I said.
I walked out of the body shop, glad to have some answers. I would need to get into contact with our federal agent, and let him know everything that I had uncovered.
But first, I had one more stop to make. I drove out to a place I would never expect to visit in this town. It was a bar on the outskirts of town called The Pink Kitty Kat Lounge. Jesus. I had been a playboy in my younger years and have been in a few of these things in my life.
But, aside from the fact that Vicki wouldn’t approve, a strip club in Sedona would suck.
Every dancer in there would be someone I went to high school with, or their little sister. Ugh.
I drove through the half filled parking lot, looking for the first California license plate I could find. Bingo. A black Mercedes.
I parked and was trying to figure out how I was going to explain to Vicki that I went into a strip club. Fortunately, I found what I needed just outside.
“Brent Levinson,” I called out.
Brent was a squirrelly man in his early forties. He was portly in a gray suit, and leaned against the wall chatting it with a couple of women that looked to be about nineteen.
“Henry Irving,” he smiled when saw me. He met me out on the steps to the building. “I heard you were living out here these days. Decided not to chase success, get back to basics, and live simply. Love that, man. Love it.”
I coughed on the implied insult. It was going to make this confrontation go so much easier.
“What the fuck were you were doing with James Matthews?” I blurted out.
He raised an eyebrow. “James Matthews, God rest his soul.”
“Look around you man,” I gestured toward the pink building in the shape of a kitten. “Leave God out of this.”
He shrugged as if even he agreed I was right.
“James was a good man,” he said. “He was talented. Had what it took to get to the top.”
“Did he?” I asked. “Or was it something else you wanted from him?”
“What?” he asked.
“What was it?” I asked. “Was he secretly gay? Did he have a cocaine connection?”
Brent laughed and rolled his eyes. “Always the conspiracy theorist. I heard that about you too. You go around chasing ghosts. It’s sad what’s happened to you, Irving. You used to be a real sharp shooter. People were intimidated by you. Lots of people. People admired and respected you. Now, look at you. You look like you just go in a bar fight, blood on your lip.”
I instinctively rubbed my lip and checked my finger for blood. He was right.
“And you’re going around,” Brent shook his head, “making up stories to keep yourself occupied. I pity you, Irving. You want my advice? Stop messing around with cows and goats, and cactuses, and get your life back on track. I know you had something of a nervous breakdown after that thing with your sister and all. And that’s understandable. Anyone would. But, it’s over, man. Get yourself some closure and move on. You’re not doing you or anyone else a favor by punishing yourself by staying here.”
I laughed. “Fuck you, Brent.”
He shook his head in pity. “And you’re just throwing it all away, aren’t you?”
“Speak for yourself,” I said. “Was James Matthews selling you cocaine? How about Roy Oberland?”
Bret sighed. “This conversation is over. Call me when you’re sane.”
He turned and walked away.
“You’ve got a house in Beijing,” I remembered. “And a private jet, and another house in Cancun.”
He stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around.
“Oberland sold you tusks,” I said. “Irwin and Tony shipped them to Cancun, where getting a private jet through customs in Mexico is easier. You loaded the jet with tusks, and went home to Beijing, and made shitloads of money.”
Brent turned around and his face was stone and angry.
“You think you’ve got nothing to lose, don’t you?” he snarled. “You’ve already flushed your career down the toilet, so what does it matter what bridges you burn, huh? Is that how you’re playing this, now, Irving? Cause, I think you were a damn good lawyer. And if you ever snapped out of whatever mental health crisis your sister’s little incident set off, and you wanted to get back into the real world, I’d be happy to pull some strings and get you back into the game. Because I think you’re that good. But, if you want to burn through what little network you’ve got left, well, there’s nothing I can do to help that.”
I laughed again and I clenched my fists. His little speech was getting to me, though.
Is that how my old friends and colleagues back in L.A. saw what I was doing? That I had a mental breakdown and gave up on success and went to live with cows and goats? Was there truth to that? Had I had a mental breakdown?
No. I had not. I had saved people’s lives over the last year. I had given them hope to put their broken pieces back together. I had uncovered the lies that had kept a community from being able to grieve the death of a revered member. I had invested in a kombucha factory. I had connected people together to create a salsa factory. More recently, I was bringing together a group of talented artists and helping them to create a film
studio. My life held more meaning in the last year than it had...ever. So fuck Brent.
“What are you doing out here with the cows and goats then?” I asked the question I already knew.
“I’m here to meet a client,” he said.
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Who?”
“That’s confidential,” he chided.
“Jagger’s going to sue you,” I stated. “If Kelsi doesn’t get to you first. And I know that La Vista contract backwards and forwards.”
“I’m sorry, are we done here?” he replied.
“Yeah,” I said. “That is, until the Feds get here.”
“You’re grasping at the last rung, Irving,” he said. “It’s painful and I can’t bear to watch it.”
He turned and walked into the building. This time I didn’t stop him. I pulled out my phone and called Vicki. I grimaced when I realized I had to tell her where I was. I was going to have to tell her sooner or later, if I was going to send the Feds to come bust Levinson.
But this was going to take some explaining.
“Hey,” she greeted me.
“Hey,” I said. “Did you get the file?”
“Yeah,” she said. “So Roy was smuggling the tusks?”
I sighed. “Yeah. Roy was smuggling them in, because he had undying love for Kelsi, and they had a child together, and needed money to make her think he wasn’t a scumbag anymore.”
“Whoa,” she exclaimed. “Kelsi and Roy had a child together?”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s not even the wild part.”
“Hold on,” she said. “You’re on speaker.”
“Hey, Henry,” AJ said.
I sighed as I thought about how I had just kicked her cousin’s ass.
“Hey, AJ,” I said.
“So here’s what happened,” I said. “Roy was in love with Kelsi, but was scared to be a father so he split, and ran around the world with bands. Eventually, he came to his senses and realized he was being a dick, and he should go back to Kelsi and the kid. He moves home to Sedona, Kelsi’s is more or less happily married to James, and the kid is well adjusted. But, it doesn’t take long for Kelsi to fall right back into his lap, which complicates things.”
“As it would,“ Vicki scoffed.