The Detective's Last Case

by Gerald Lopez

  “Can your friend Jimmy be trusted?” the detective said.

  “Yeah,” Gabriel said. “He’s an American like you and Mr. Peters, and he goes to my school. His dad owns a really good restaurant by the water.”

  “How safe is this place we’re in?” the detective said.

  “Safe enough I think,” Gabriel said. “But I don’t know what’s going on and I’m scared.”

  “OH THANK GOD!” Lucie said.

  “God truly is good,” Adele said.

  “I feel for the family of the little girl that died, but at least it wasn’t Louise,” Mercedes said.

  Pierre had just finished telling them that the girl who was found dead wasn’t Louise. The victim was someone they didn’t know who had very recently moved to town with her mother and older sister.

  “We need to visit the mother of the dead girl soon,” Adele said. “To offer our condolences and see if we can be of help.

  “We’ll all go,” Mercedes said. “I’ll call the other women tomorrow, and we’ll see about bringing the mother and older sister food, so they don’t have to worry about that while they’re grieving.”

  “The mother’s a teacher, and she was at a meeting with the school board,” Pierre said. Her older daughter was supposed to be watching the younger one in the park next to the school. Somehow the little girl got away—you know how kids can be. I guess the older sister looked elsewhere for a moment, and that was all it took.”

  “How horrible,” Lucie said. “The older sister must feel terrible.”

  “They’ll need you ladies during this time,” Pierre said. “There are only the two of them—mother and daughter.”

  “May God have mercy on them,” Mercedes said.

  WALTER HAD MANAGED to get Louise somewhat clean using his shirt and the detective’s, but there was nothing dry to dress her in. He tried to wipe what he thought was more dirt on her face but Louise cried.

  “It’s a bruise, babe,” the detective said. “A bad one.”

  “I’m sorry, Louise,” Walter said, then looked at the top of her head and tried hard to keep from crying. “There are clumps of hair missing from her scalp.”

  “Mama dragged me out of the house by my hair and some of it came out,” Louise said, then cried again. “She killed Daddy too, I know it.”

  The detective stood with Louise in his arms, he positioned Louise so her head was resting on his shoulder, and gently patted her back as he walked around the room.

  “How can people be so cruel to their own children,” Walter said.

  “Nina’s parents were probably the same way toward her,” Gabriel said. “Louise is underdeveloped because of being beaten and underfed by her mama.”

  “What was in the suitcase Louise took from the hotel?” the detective said.

  “Money,” Gabriel said. “Lots of it.” He started to lay his sleeping brother on the bed but the detective stopped him. “The bed sheet is clean. Jimmy grabbed it off someone’s clothesline on the way here.”

  “Lie down next to him and try to sleep, Gabriel,” the detective said. “We’ll stand watch.”

  “We may be here a while,” Gabriel said. “Louise should try to sleep some. She’ll be more relaxed now knowing you and Mr. Peters are here.”

  The detective placed Louise on the bed. She tried to hold on to him, but he gently removed her arms from his neck. “Rest now, sweetheart.” He walked away, and pretended to look at himself in the broken mirror on top of the dresser while he actually scanned the room looking for the black folder.

  “You’re pretty buff, Detective,” Gabriel said, as he walked to the detective and stood behind him. “It’s in the top drawer.” He reached around the detective’s waist as if he were going to hug him. Instead, he opened the dresser drawer and pulled the black, zippered folder out. Then he gave it to the detective. “I don’t know what’s in it. They told me not to open it. Marianne and the Italian lady who works at the hotel said Naomi didn’t want me to open the folder—just hold onto it and not let anyone take it. Ouch, I got a splinter in my finger.”

  After tossing the folder to Walter, the detective looked at Gabriel’s finger. There was a big wood splinter sticking out of it. Holding Gabriel’s hand steady the detective used his free hand to carefully pull the splinter out. Luckily there was no blood.

  “Rinse it in the rain,” the detective said.

  Gabriel did so but when he came back inside he wasn’t alone.

  “Jimmy, I presume,” the detective said, trying to size up the young man next to Gabriel. Jimmy was significantly fuller than Gabriel but not fat or even heavy. He wore a hooded shirt, shorts, and sneakers. In one hand he held a zippered, plastic tote.

  “I’m Jimmy,” the newcomer said, then he lowered his hood to reveal a mass of wet, blond curls. “Who are you two guys?”

  “They’re friends,” Gabriel said.

  “Good,” Jimmy said. “I brought what I could sneak out from my parents’ house.” He emptied the contents of the tote onto the bed. “The tote was the only waterproof thing I could find, and it isn’t very big. There’s medicine to put on Louise’s scratches and bandages too. I brought T-shirts and there are some doughnuts in the paper bag.”

  “Thanks, Jimmy,” Gabriel said.

  Jimmy looked at the detective and Walter suspiciously. “Why are you guys in your underwear?”

  “We were soaking wet and don’t want to get sick,” Walter said. “There’s nothing more to it than that.”

  “Did anyone follow you here, Jimmy?” the detective said.

  “No,” Jimmy said. “I was super careful, especially since someone we know named Hugo is a blabbermouth. Gabriel, Hugo is the one that told Nina about Louise finding the money and buying the gelato.”

  Gabriel looked at the detective and spoke. “That’s why Louise’s mom beat her. Because she bought a stinking cup of gelato from the Italian man with money she found in the street.”

  Tears started to form in Gabriel’s eyes. Jimmy turned to Gabriel and held him. The detective and Walter shot each other a knowing glance, but didn’t say a word.

  “I wish I could stay here with you,” Jimmy said, “or bring you to my house. But I think either move would cause you problems. It’s time for me to go before I’m missed and they come looking for me—that wouldn’t be good.

  “A quick question first, Jimmy,” the detective said. “How much does or did Hugo blab and to who?”

  Chapter 12

  More Than Friends

  “I DID SEE HUGO talking to some older guy I didn’t know,” Jimmy said. “They were acting really sneaky too.”

  “Hugo’s definitely trouble,” Gabriel said.

  “Did Hugo know what was in the suitcase Louise picked up?” the detective said.

  “I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t have been hard to guess there was money in it,” Jimmy said. “I really have to go.”

  The detective and Walter saw Jimmy give Gabriel a lingering, soulful look.

  “Be careful going home,” Gabriel said.

  “Stay safe, Gabriel,” Jimmy said. He gave Gabriel a hug then left.

  Walter started looking through the things Jimmy had brought. He found the medicine and bandages.

  “I can use a hand with Louise,” Walter said. “The medicine’s the red stuff and may sting a little.”

  The detective held Louise in his arms while Walter applied medicine to her scratches, then applied the self adhesive bandages. Louise winced a few times, but didn’t have the energy to fight much. When Walter applied medicine to the bare spots on her scalp, she cried and the detective rocked her slightly. Gabriel, who had tears in his eyes, handed Walter a clean T-shirt . Walter put the shirt on Louise then placed her back on the bed so she could sleep.

  “Should we look in the folder?” Walter said.

  After opening the folder, the detective flipped through some papers, pulled two out and handed them to Walter.

  “These are birth certificates,” Walter said,
then looked at Gabriel and back at his detective. “Gabriel and Galen are Cabot Chambers’ sons. Cabot’s signature is on both certificates.”

  Gabriel glanced at both men with a surprised look on his face, then he went outside.

  “The other papers in the folder must back up the fact both boys are Chambers,” the detective said.

  “I don’t think Gabriel knew, judging by the look on his face.”

  “No,” the detective said, then left to go after Gabriel.

  It was still raining outside.

  “No one can see you crying in the rain,” Gabriel said, then walked to the warehouse followed by the detective. He entered through a door that was half hanging off its hinges. Like the detective, he was barefoot and being careful about where he stepped. “I knew Mr. Chambers. He paid for me to go to a good school. Even bought me clothes, but Mama would throw out everything but my school uniform and shoes. He tried to be there for us, but wasn’t allowed to because Mama didn’t want us in what she called the corrupt rich man’s world.”

  The detective put his arm around Gabriel’s shoulder, and they continued walking around the empty space.

  “Mama was very religious in a bad way,” Gabriel said. “She thought we were meant to be poor. Mr. Chambers loved me and my brother. I could see it in his eyes when he would visit. There were times he seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but Mama would interrupt. She never left us alone with him. Somehow I knew there was something special between him and me. Not a romantic something—never that. But a closeness like I guess what happens between a father and son. He was proud of me and how well I did in school.”

  He looked at the detective and kissed him on the lips.

  “You don’t want this, kid,” the detective said softly.

  Gabriel turned away. “Maybe I do. When I was naked on the bed I wanted you to have your way with me.”

  “You were trying to save your brother and Louise, that’s all,” the detective said then walked up behind Gabriel and rubbed his shoulders. “When you turn twenty-one if you still think you want something, then look me up.”

  Gabriel chuckled nervously, then turned and hugged the detective.

  “You’re cool,” Gabriel said, when he finally let go of the detective and began walking again. “I’m glad Jimmy wasn’t here to see me kiss you.”

  “It’s our secret.”

  “Jimmy’s been there for me when I needed someone,” Gabriel said. “You and Mr. Peters are a couple, aren’t you?” He saw the detective nod yes. “But you haven’t been around since Mr. Peters has been here. Why?”

  “He needed time to prove he could make it on his own, and he has.”

  “Yeah,” Gabriel said. “You make a hot couple. How long have you been together?

  “Twenty-five years on and off.”

  “Can’t stay away from each other, huh? Despite time away you made it back to one another.”

  “That’s what happens when it’s real. Who do you think killed Chambers?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe a business associate of some kind or a rival.”

  “Did he have many rivals here?”

  “None that I know of,” Gabriel said. “When he came here it was never about business. He took me boating a few times after mama died—just the two of us. Jimmy came along twice when we went skiing. Mr. Chambers suspected Jimmy and me were more than friends.” He swung around a pole. “And he was alright about it. Told us that it was normal, even though some people might not accept it. Mama being one of those people, when she was alive. She would’ve said Jimmy and I would burn in Hell.”

  “What do moms know?” the detective said, and smiled.

  Gabriel started crying again, leaned against the detective, and put his head on his shoulder.

  “I’m not a kid, why am I crying?” Gabriel said.

  “There’s a lot happening in your life,” the detective said. “You just found out a man you admired is your father, who is now also dead.”

  “I need to be strong for my little brother. We’re alone now.”

  “Not true. People out there are helping you.”

  “Naomi and Marianne.”

  “Robertito, Walter, and me,” the detective said.

  “You,” Gabriel said, then stood back and ran his hand down the detective’s chest before letting his arm drop to his side exasperated. “Jimmy works out and has a nice chest like you do.”

  “He’s cute. You two make a great couple from what I can see.”

  “We do,” Gabriel said. “I wanted my first time getting—you know—to be with him, but I had my ass up in the air for you to do.” He cried. “What’s wrong with me? Am I going crazy?”

  The detective walked up to Gabriel, and hugged him as he cried.

  “You’re fine just scared, confused, and mourning. That’s normal, kid. It’s just us here. Cry, shout, whatever. The rain and thunder will drown it all out.”

  Gabriel cried loudly for several minutes then stopped, wiped his tears, and walked again followed by the detective.

  “Do I need to be afraid for my brother and me because we’re Chambers, Mr. Detective. Are we rich?”

  “Afraid—no. Cautious—yes. Rich—probably.”

  “Does it hurt to get fucked?” Gabriel said.

  “The first time.”

  “Does it feel good afterward?”

  “Hell yeah,” the detective said, then smiled. “Just remember to play safe.”

  “Am I handsome like Jimmy?”

  “Y’up but you need a haircut and some extra pounds on that skinny frame.”

  “Will you help me get in shape?”

  “Yeah,” the detective said, then grabbed his gut. “We can help each other.”

  “You really mean it, don’t you?”

  “Y’up. I’ve been told by my better half that I’ll be staying here permanently.”

  They both chuckled.

  “Mr. Peters is pure class, and the handsomest man I’ve ever met,” Gabriel said. “But, you’re the sexiest, Mr. Detective. Is sex still good when you get older?”

  “Even better.”

  “I am crazy,” Gabriel said.

  “And horny,” the detective said. “That’s normal too for a guy your age.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “I feel like I can trust you completely, Mr. Detective. Is that OK?”

  “Sure, Kid.”

  “I don’t want to be alone with just my brother. Can I move into the hotel and stay with you and Mr. Peters?”

  “You’ll have to talk to Mr. Peters about that.”

  “That’s not a no.”

  “It isn’t. But what about your friends Naomi and Marianne.”

  “My brother is too young to live with Naomi, and I won’t be separated from him.”

  “That’s good. I admire how you’ve stepped up with taking care of Galen.”

  “We just met, how do you know how I take care of Galen?” Gabriel said.

  “Instinct. The same way you know you can trust me and Walter.”

  “Naomi knows what’s going on,” Gabriel said. “She’s the middleman or woman in a lot of things that go on in town.”

  “A good middleman or bad?”

  “Good. She manages to manipulate things to keep all sides happy and safe.”

  “Like she’s doing now,” the detective said.

  “Probably. Believe me, she is the one person who’s always in the know in town. You need to meet with her one day.”

  “Yes I do,” the detective said. He heard a noise and turned to Gabriel. “It might be some old friends of mine. If things get rough in here run to Mr. Peters.”

  Chapter 13

  Long Night of the Soul

  GABRIEL LAUGHED LOUDLY when he saw the stray cat.

  “Is that your friend, Mr. Detective, a stray gray cat?”

  “I prefer dogs,” the detective said.

  “So do I,” Gabriel said. “And for the record, Arnou wouldn’t stay out long in this weather. He hates the rain
. It messes his hair up too much—the wimp.”

  The detective chuckled. “There may be others to worry about besides him and his boys.”

  “I like dogs, but I’ve never had one,” Gabriel said. “It would be nice for Galen to have a puppy. My brother is a sweet kid. He’s been really tired since our doctor visit.”

  “Dr. Visit?” the detective said. “Was there anything unusual about the visit?”

  “They did do a few different tests and took a lot of blood.”

  “Who arranged for the visit?”

  “Marianne took us, but she said Naomi told her it was Mr. Chambers’ idea. My dad’s idea. I wish I could’ve called him dad just once before he died.

  “I think he would’ve liked that. Sounds like he was getting ready to claim you two as his own before he was killed. He was making sure no one would question you and Galen were his boys.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re probably right. Mama wouldn’t have let him do that when she was alive. She would’ve taken us and run. We were hers to do what she wanted with and nobody else had a real say in our lives.” He walked around in a circle for a minute then continued. “I think it’s because she felt we were all she had in this world, and she wouldn’t share us.”

  “You’d make a good detective—you’ve got great insight into people.”

  “I’m still scared. I don’t know what the next step is, Mr. Detective.”

  “I think you’re probably following steps your father meant for you—”

  “How? He’s dead.”

  “But Naomi’s not. There’s a reason you’re here in hiding, and a reason why I was led to you by Marianne’s friend.”

  “Naomi and my dad had a special relationship,” Gabriel said. “There was love and true understanding, with no judgment or jealousy. If anyone was trying to help Galen and me, it would be Naomi. She’d do it for Chambers, I mean Dad, if for no other reason. Galen’s crazy about her. He thinks she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  “And what do you think?”

  “I trust her and love her. She was always good to me the times I spent with her. She’d even come visit us by herself sometimes.”