Rick Cantelli, PI: Into the Darkness (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 3)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

“Yeah, Stace.”

  She unlocked the adjoining door. Stacy met my gaze with her own worried one. “How did it go?”

  “Very well. Is Jim asleep?”

  She led the way into my kitchen once I reset the alarm and locked up. “He tried waiting, but I talked him into going to his room at midnight.”

  “Good. We’re all going to the beach house tomorrow. I know you have to work. The store closes at five though, right?”

  “Yes. Jim will have a blast at the beach.”

  I explained how lucky we were with the sting as we adjourned to my bedroom. To say she was relieved would be an understatement. “Bill figures with all we have on them, they’ll have to take a plea for at least a couple decades, and that’s only if one of their minions doesn’t rat them out on any murders for a lesser charge. Did you sleep at all?”

  “I dozed on the couch after Jim went to bed. I’ll need something to help me sleep though.” She opened her robe, and the tiny outfit G-ma had on is better left to the imagination. “Think you could help me get to sleep, Pa?”

  In answer, I gathered her into my arms. Her kiss rivaled the sweetness I remembered from a time past, a long heartbreak ago. We both slept very well until morning light.

  * * *

  I was stuck barbequing again as usual, but that wouldn’t be for a few hours. I sat on beach chairs with Frank and Lo, watching even Bone playing in the surf. The breeze blew in over the water in gentle waves mimicking the ocean surge. Spotless blue sky met calm sea across the horizon in an incredible vista. The escape to our company’s beach house helped me avoid the complete blitz of media surrounding my home. Yes… eight dead bodies made the news, including vivid stories with photos of grieving gangbanger relatives, and horrendous stories recounting tales of childhood misery. Boo hoo.

  Van Carmichael stepped up, using Company media contacts to make tie-ins between the gangs, and the child predator pornography ring we smashed dead to rights. He figured he owed us. Since Floyd Randolf signed off on the bust also being highlighted this very strange Sunday, the two figured a small rumor mill playing to my advantage wouldn’t hurt anything at all. Van followed with an info dump on each ‘oh so disparaged’ gangbanger with their actual records of debauchery, assault, armed robberies, and suspected killings. The star, recently deceased Dane Ramos, played a huge part with his lifetime string of bad behavior. On the downside, the general gist pointed me out as an out of control vigilante. We’d learn how well that latest accusation would hold up in the weeks ahead. Van and Floyd checked in earlier this morning with Lo, guaranteeing the highlights in our favor would be heralded at every level. I admit I was a hell of a lot more grateful for today’s beach excursion without worrying quite so much about the threats past.

  The whole gang arrived for beach day, which showed maybe Lo and I actually do attract a very loyal crew. Steve was the only one who didn’t come, but he has his own dragons to slay. He’s a great guy with family problems that happen in life. Anything holding his marriage together was aces with me. Lo and I were glad to have him back. Temple, along with everyone else was in the surf, including Jim. I had a feeling I’d have to watch those two. My Grandson looked real good on the beach. Temple repeatedly wanted him to race after it was clear he could swim very well. Jim kept putting her off, saying he wasn’t fast, but he could swim well. It didn’t help that the others, particularly Trish and Jadie were egging him on. To his credit… he didn’t budge until Max, Karen’s husband, had a sidebar with the kid. Jim then made hand gestures of bowing to pressure. We were close enough to hear all interaction, which provided us geezers with entertainment.

  “Let it be known,” Jim announced. “Pa already told me you were an expert swimmer. He believes you’re only challenging me, which he predicted, because he kicked your butt racing - his words, not mine.”

  Temple turned on me as us geezers laughed our asses off at how Jim had delivered the lines, also enjoyed by everyone else. She darted an accusing finger at me.

  “Pop! What the hell?”

  I sat a little straighter with a shrug. “Sorry, kid… you’re predictable. Deal with it.”

  My retort generated laughter. Temple then turned on Jim with fake outrage.

  “You are such a clone! I thought you were my friend.”

  Jim reacted in a way I did not expect. He reached and gripped Temple’s hands in his. “Sorry, Temple, I’ll race you around the buoy. It’s for fun. We’ll let Karen be the race starter, okay?”

  Temple hesitated, immediately thinking she was being set up. When she saw we were all looking at her without any idea about what was happening, she relaxed. She put her hand on Jim’s shoulder. “Sorry… I’m really competitive. Your Pa’s right. He nailed me. Want to race anyway?”

  Jim, to his credit laughed. “Sure… I’d be glad to race you.”

  Moments later, Karen was in position as starter. “Okay, you two… get ready,” Karen said. “I’ll count to three. Don’t move until you get my hand motion. Everyone will see, and yes… I’m talking to you, Temple… you little cheater. Here we go. Get into position. On three… one… two… three!”

  The two kids streaked for the buoy through the surf at an equal start. I figured Temple would smoke him, but although she stroked to an early lead, Jim paced with a strong crawl stroke within feet of her wake. They rounded the far off marker buoy at slightly reduced speed. I stood, walking toward the beach with Lo and Frank a few steps behind. Then I saw it… cramp city. Temple lost her stroke smoothness, as Jim passed her, his concentration on the shore. I ran through the surf, dove into the surge, and stroked full bore toward the kids. In sporadic glimpses, keeping Temple in sight, I noted Jim had come to a halt. Not seeing her in the lead had him searching the water. He spotted her violent struggles trying to control both her breathing and buoyancy.

  What many people don’t realize is the panic only slightly has to do with the fear of drowning, especially with expert swimmers. It’s the pain. The cramp hits in the wrong part of the stroke. The swimmer then gasps in water, their hands gripping the torturous cramped spot, and the battle for survival is on. The ocean is the worst place in the world to be taken out of your comfort zone. I witnessed the battle in full stride. Temple couldn’t help herself. I could hear Jim trying to calm her, but she was in full bore pain induced panic. Jim dove down, grabbed the lower part of her knee area, trying to hold her above the water so she could catch her breath. It was a bad one though, and the pain wouldn’t relinquish its grip on her.

  I reached the two, dove down, and ripped Jim away from Temple, forcing him up. Once he saw who had him, Jim relaxed, and followed my hand motions to back off. He treaded water while I dove under Temple, pulled her underwater, and waited for a moment watching her arms. I then zipped in, grabbed a handful of hair, and yanked her straight toward the beach. The cramp had not eased. She screamed and struggled as I hauled her to shore after making sure Jim was in our wake. Temple coughed and gagged salt water, but there was no help for that until I reached shore with her. Once in shallow water, I gripped Temple’s right calf she had been trying to loosen. She clutched me around the neck, and shoulders, batting me in agony. The cramp finally eased as Trish and Karen supported Temple.

  “Is she okay, Pa?” Jim arrived near where I was working on her calf muscle to prevent a recurrence.

  “It’s a bad cramp,” I told him, seeing Temple’s twisted pain-filled features gradually relax. “There’s not much you can do about them until they pass. That was a smart thing to do, diving under and pushing her to the surface for air.”

  Jim shrugged as I released Temple in between Karen and Trish. “I couldn’t think of anything else I could do.”

  Temple hugged Jim tightly. “Thank you. That hurt so bad, it felt like I was being attacked by a shark. I swallowed saltwater, and your boost helped me get a breath.”

  “Good… I’m glad you didn’t think I was copping a feel.”

  Temple gasped, holding Jim out at arms’ length while the re
st of us enjoyed Jim’s smiling rejoinder. “You little brat!”

  “I’m glad you’re okay. You felt okay.” Having zinged that one in, Jim made good his escape into the surf.

  Temple considered going after him, but decided to curtail her swimming for the day. She settled for shaking her fist at him as he turned in the surf to see if she was following. Jim began immediately to swim with his hand extending skyward from his neck as if it were the fin of a shark. Temple liked the show. She waved him in when he surfaced for air.

  “He’s definitely carrying your DNA, Hooterville,” Lo stated. “Five more seconds clutching him like a sex starved high school teacher in that bikini, and I would have made you drop and give me fifty, Shortcake.”

  Temple spun toward Lois, hands on hips, leaning forward. “I did no such thing. My leg hurt, and I was grateful.”

  “Grateful is a peck on the cheek, and a handshake. What you did is called contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” Lo replied to much amusement.

  When Jim made his way to where we were standing, Temple put an arm around his shoulders. “C’mon, Jim. Walk with me. The geezers are annoying the hell out of me.”

  “Hey… no touching, Shortcake,” Trish piled on.

  “We want those hands in sight at all times, Gidget,” Karen added.

  We watched them walk off with Temple holding up a one finger salute with her free hand. Temple didn’t take her arm off Jim however.

  “They are pretty cute,” Jadie said. “Watching Temple thrashing in the water for her life out there was a bit too scary for me. Let’s take a walk in the other direction, Hon.”

  Ken grasped Jadie’s hand. “Is the no touching in effect for me too?”

  “Absolutely… not,” Jadie replied.

  “Jadie’s right,” Bone said, as he watched Jadie and Ken take the opposite route along the surf. “That was scary. I think I’ll stick to playing in the shallows.”

  Bone received a chorus of agreement from Shelly, Max, Karen, Danny, Trish, and Sam.

  Karen pointed at my side. “You lost your bandage, Rick.”

  “Thanks. I’ll clean it with peroxide, and leave it uncovered unless it grosses anyone out.” I walked to my beach chair where I kept my ever present ready bag. I keep a first aid kit in it, I used a gauze patch soaked in peroxide to hold over the stitched wound until it stopped bubbling. It took the salt sting away, and it looked like it was healing well. I felt pretty loose after the cramp excitement. Lo handed me a shot of the good stuff as I sat down. We had been drinking iced tea until now. I welcomed the switch.

  Lo and Frank toasted me with theirs. “Nice swim demonstration. Stacy’s driving herself, right?”

  “She has her Honda for back and forth to work.” I sipped some Bushmill’s with deep enjoyment. “Very good. I won’t allow any more races today.”

  “How are you and Stacy getting along,” Frank asked. “The only time we’ve seen the two of you together was during or after a crisis.”

  “Exceptionally well. We were getting along good right from the beginning, although I couldn’t be sure at any one time whether she’d try to steal something or bludgeon me to death. This newest visit could be something to hang on to for as long as I can. She’s still working too. I see the rest of our couples seem happy, especially Jadie. That’s the other great thing about Stacy – at least I’m with someone of my own species: geezer.”

  “We’ll need to keep an eye on young Jim and Temple too,” Lo said. “No sleepovers.”

  “He could do worse, but he has a long way to go before that crossroads. I have to get him into school, and sports. He’s shown an interest in the P.I. business too. When the hormones kick in full bore, I better have his mind on fifty other projects constantly. Definitely… no sleepovers.”

  “Only a couple days until April arrives,” Lo observed. She began crooning the song from an old Pat Boone and Shirley Jones movie. “April love… is all the seven wonders. One little kiss can tell you this is true.”

  “How many has she had, brother?”

  “Too many, if she keeps singing,” Frank replied, eliciting a cackle out of the harpy. “Speaking of April love, is Stacy coming here after work?”

  “She said she’d call if they have to keep her past five. She’ll be here, but I’ll need to start the barbeque or we’ll have a riot on our hands. Speaking of the barbeque, I better switch to sipping a beer, or I might put my hand on the grill instead of a meat patty.”

  Lois straightened suddenly. “Damn it! I forgot to tell you young Carl e-mailed me at our drop, and told me there’s something planned involving the Byers’ bust. The Temple cramp fest smashed it right out of my head. Floyd found something not good in the Byers’ computers. They worked them all night after they got the court order with those two weasels caught dead to rights. I suspected they weren’t the top of the food chain in that ring of perverts. I… hey… what the hell?”

  Chapter Eight

  Age does Matter

  I looked where Lo was pointing. Temple was giving Jim a kiss on the lips down the beach, and old sharp eyes harpy spotted them. “Calm down, Lo. I’m sure it’s an innocent thing. Besides, even if it isn’t, who the hell cares? I think Temple knows she could get into a lot of trouble getting tangled romantically with Jim.”

  Lo turned away. “Yeah… you’re right. Boys and girls are different. If it were Jim eighteen and Temple thirteen, I’d be racing down the beach with my blade out.”

  Frank laughed suddenly. “I see those women teachers caught messing with the young guys, and I feel sorry for them. Thinking back, there were a few teachers I had in high school I would have loved to have had break my young ass in. We wouldn’t have ratted them out either, right Rick?”

  “Amen to that, brother. Male predators are a whole different game, whether they’re preying on young girls or young boys. Jim already confided in me about his foster home experience. I asked if he’d been molested by the Byers. He hadn’t, but they made circumstances available drawing the teenage girls and Jim together to be filmed without their knowing. The authorities will find out they’ve had the two young girls, Kelly and Rhonda, on birth control for quite some time. I think the girls knew what was going on, but they had been under the Byers’ control for a lot longer, and followed their directions out of fear.”

  “Shit… you mean Jim’s already…”

  “Easy Lo,” I broke in. “I explained it wasn’t his fault. It’s the main reason when he found out about the cameras and monitors that Jim escaped. Take my word for it, he’s not damaged, but he may be a bit more precocious than other boys closing in on thirteen, in a few days I might add. Apparently puberty hit the boy a bit earlier than is good for him. The boy’s tall, and already has hair on his upper lip. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone, but you two are in this with me to the hilt. I figure I’ll have to play this mentor Grandfather situation carefully. If I spot him doing or acting in a way he shouldn’t be, I’ll guide him back on track. The complicated part is Jim’s already been with girls in the biblical sense. I can’t undo that. I can guide him, but he has a great moral sense of right and wrong. All the shit that’s happened to him has helped Jim deal with me and Stacy. Let’s face it, his first week with us isn’t exactly a heaven sent scenario either. Good Lord… I killed guys with Jim throwing himself over Stacy to protect her.”

  Lo smiled and Frank covered his mouth while stifling laughter. “I understand everything you’ve said, Rick. I’m happy about Jim, but unless you get over there soon, I believe Shortcake is risking our disapproval of age and opportunity.”

  I glanced in the direction Lo was pointing. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Little Temple was locked into a torrid embrace with a very willing Jim. I was being laughed at as I lost my shot glass, and headed at rapid speed toward the coupling, with added laughs from the other witnesses to my less than stellar duty as a mentor. Trish… that reprobate, was pumping a fist yelling ‘you go girl’. Apparently, the parameters of this delicate situation bot
hered my friends not at all. It did me. This was not good, and I ran to the point of my failure with enthusiasm.

  “Hey! Earth to Temple! Thirteen year old boy there!”

  The little minx eased away from him slightly with a reluctance far from the abhorrence about what she was doing I would have expected. Oh boy… I’m in trouble. I drew closer to the scene with no idea what my intervention should entail. On one hand, I empathized with Jim, knowing he cared for Temple in at least a compassionate way. On the other, I remember every detail of my early seduction of Stacy.

  Temple gasped for breath, staring at me as if I had appeared out of nowhere. She tried to pull back from Jim, but he had an iron grip on her, his eyes never leaving hers to look at me. Oh shit… this was bad. I hadn’t seen it coming or felt the vibes I would normally have noticed - nor did I come close to a grandfather mentor figure in guiding my young, all too knowledgeable grandson. I should have been more cautious after Jim explained what happened at the Byers’ place. Experiences at his young age may have already stirred a little too much in the kid’s head.

  “I don’t know what to say other than tone this down. Please… Temple… consider what you’re doing. You two are scaring me, and I don’t scare easily.”

  Jim gripped Temple’s wrist while jutting between us. “Pa… it’s okay. Don’t worry. I’d never do anything to endanger my staying with you and G-ma, or hurt Temple. Temple likes me. Temple… kissed me… for real. It’s not a bad thing. Besides, she already has a boyfriend… sort of.”

  Oh Jesus, so this is why I avoided having a family. It must have been an instinctive decision knowing the plethora of weaknesses I had. “Calm down. I’m not playing God here. I may not have been as astute as I should have been with the initial attraction between you two. I’m not even playing the forbidding adult, shouting you will not see each other ever again. I’m trying to spray a little reality on this out of control bonfire. I’m glad Temple told you about seeing another guy. That kiss looked real from where I was too. It gave me a little scare. You both understand how something seemingly innocent may affect us old geezers, right?”