Gibson & Clarke (Failed Justice Series Book 2)

by Rick Santini

  “Hi, it’s me. Sorry to call so late. I’ve got bad news. I can’t come down to see you. I can’t take off for ten days. And I can’t explain why over the phone—it’s too sensitive. I promise I will make it up to you—up to us—as soon as I can.”

  Rod listened and was not surprised. Maybe a little hurt, but definitely not surprised. He had hoped she would be different. Professional people: doctors, lawyers, whatever, were all the same. All talk, no action. It was always about the almighty buck.

  What good will money do them when they can’t get out of a wheelchair? All the wealth in the world will not make up for experiences that can never be recaptured.

  “I understand. Don’t sweat it. If you should ever come down to the Keys again, you have my phone number.”

  Rod was leaving the door open, not that he expected a positive response.

  Marta could feel her blood pressure rising. She could feel the bile in her stomach churning.

  “Do you have five minutes to listen to me?”

  “It’s your dime. I’m just hanging out topside watching a late night meteor shower. Unbelievable. I was about to crack open another brew. I’ve got all evening.”

  “You self-centered, cocky son-of-a-bitch. You may not realize it, but I’m falling in love with you. I would give anything, and I do mean anything, to spend ten minutes, ten days, or ten years with you. Unfortunately, I have an older client, one who needs my brains and legal skills, to keep him alive. I have to be here for the next two weeks. I don’t abandon my friends or my clients. Once I finish up with him, I’m yours for as long as you want me. Can I make it any clearer?”

  Rod spilled the beer he was drinking. He had no idea what to say. He was, well, he was flabbergasted.

  “I’m not positive, but I may be able to change my schedule and postpone the trip for two or three weeks. Are you serious about what you just said?”

  “Like death and taxes, Sweet Cheeks. Enjoy your beer, and think about all the fun we’re going to have. Bye, lover.”

  Now what the hell do I tell Billy? First things first. Deposit the check in my personal account and find out what I have gotten myself into. Then I can think about Rod and my future, whatever that is.

  Marta closed her eyes and tried to slow her blood pressure down.

  For many all too valid reasons.

  CHAPTER 60

  “What the fuck are you trying to pull? No way are you going to get away with this.” The caller was actually spitting as he talked—he was that furious.

  Xiang did not have to be told who was on the other end of the line.

  “I’m sorry; I think you have the wrong number. My friends and associates, not even my enemies, speak to me with such vulgar language. Goodbye.”

  “Don’t you hang up on me, you cocksuck—”

  Xiang had already hung up. He disconnected the line.

  The phone rang thirty seconds later. Xiang did not pick up. This happened three more times, all with the same result. Almost one hour later, a call came with a 312 area code. It was Chicago.

  Xiang picked up.

  “Mr. Yeung, this is Anthony Scalesci, from Chicago. I called an hour ago. I apologize for my crude remarks—I was very upset.”

  Xiang decided to play along.

  “I assumed it was some young man from a broken family that had never been taught how to properly communicate on the telephone. What can I do for you, Mr. Scalesci?”

  Xiang could feel Anthony trying to control his temper.

  “The deal I made with you and with Mr. Choe Yu. Those bastards from China have cut me off. What’s going on? If you want your company back, I want my money back.”

  “First, Mr. Scalesci, I am offended you are referring to my friend of thirty years as a bastard. I happen to have known both his parents. The fact he is from China is of no relevance. No, I do not want my company back. I am now retired and find it stress-free and most restful. As to Mr. Yu not wanting to do business with you, I have no idea why. That is between the two of you. Now if you will excuse me, it is time for my evening tea. I do wish you good luck, sir.”

  “But, but, but—”

  Tony was now livid. It had cost him ninety-five big ones.

  No one fucks with Tony Scalesci and lives to tell about it. I’ll get my money back, one way or another.

  Of course Xiang could not hear what Anthony was thinking. He smiled, for the first time all day, as he hung up the phone and indeed retired to the library where his tea was immediately brought to him.

  The wheels of motion are moving forward.

  ***

  Anthony Scalesci’s attorney had properly advised him. There had been no breach of contract, and even if there were, there was not a court in the country that would attempt to enforce it.

  “You bought an illegal business. By merely admitting what you did in a summons and complaint, you would be arrested in a minute. It’s like going to the Feds and telling them someone will no longer sell you large quantities of drugs from Asia so you can sell them in the USA. Short of measures you have been known to employ, there is nothing you can do. Yeung is not your problem. The supplier in China, what’s his name, Choe Yu, is who you have to deal with.”

  “But I can’t order any more product; the government is watching every move I make. They are tightening the screws every day.”

  Finesse was not in Anthony’s vocabulary. He wasn’t sure what it meant. He knew only muscle. The more muscle, the better.

  If someone got hurt, too bad. If someone got killed, that’s the price for screwing with Tony. I gots to protect my reputation, my interests. That way, everyone knows when I say something, I mean it.

  Anthony knew China was too far away. He had no muscle there. He had no protection there. He had no rabbi to grease the wheels if something went wrong. China was not Chicago. He could send them a message through that arrogant little weasel, Yeung.

  ***

  Marta had spent the previous morning in the famous New York diamond district, opposite Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan. She told no one where she was going or why.

  Who would have believed it? It’s rare, natural, perfect, and thirty-one and a half carets. I’ve been offered four hundred thousand for the black pearl. That was their first offer.

  After hitting three more wholesalers, the price went up to four hundred thirty-seven thousand. She said she would get back to him in a few days. No sense in appearing over anxious.

  Let’s see. Xiang gave me a check for two fifty, the pearl is worth at least four forty, and my share of the balance in the escrow account, less taxes, is at least two fifty. My equity in the firm plus accounts payable is another three hundred. Hmm, that comes to one point three million dollars.

  Marta sat in the quiet, semi-dark living room and thought about all that had happened since she had graduated law school. More than twenty years in the DA’s office, how she trashed DA Russ Baylor when she was on the other side of the aisle, the totally unexpected offer of an equal partnership with Billy Jo after the Judge Kolkolski trial, the phone call and meetings with Mr. Yeung, the million-dollar retainer, the problems with the sale to the drug lord in Chicago, the two unbelievable gifts from Xiang, and most important, Rod. Mr. Rodney McGuiness.

  It’s time, time to get out. To call it quits. To lead a normal life. Well, as normal as anyone could be living in a nine hundred square foot home on a small strip of land between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and spending much of my time on a chartered fishing vessel. Once the problem with Xiang is resolved, I’m gone. Gone for good.

  Marta wanted to call Rod and tell him, but he had been asleep for hours.

  Tomorrow. I’ll call him tomorrow.

  CHAPTER 61

  “May I see you right away.”

  It was a statement, not a request.

  “I have received a most disturbing call from my associates in China.”

  Marta was hoping this would be the last call from Xiang. She was ready to leave. More than ready.
She would have a heart-to-heart with Billy Jo, agree to anything he proposed, sign whatever had to be signed and worry about clothes, furniture, and her condo later.

  With emails, texts, and apps, she could do anything you wanted from anywhere in the world. All she needed was an e-device and a bit of knowledge. Marta had both.

  “What about first thing in the morning?”

  “I would prefer it now. I have taken the liberty of sending Jabor to pick you up at your home. I am uncomfortable with talking on the telephone. The device has too many ears. You will be home in two hours, at the most.”

  “Give me a half hour. I’m in the middle of doing something, and I must make one phone call.”

  The line went dead. Xiang was not in a good mood. He did not like being threatened by Scalesci and was disturbed by the call from Yu. He felt that now the relationship with Ms. Clarke was one hundred percent professional, the two hundred fifty thousand would insure him instant availability in the event of an emergency.

  The courtesy call from Choe indicated it was an emergency.

  “Rod, it’s me. I’ve got to go out tonight, to give some strong advice to a client. It may be the last time I will ever have to give legal advice. I am committed to you, to us. Twenty-some years practicing law is enough. As far as I’m concerned, too much. I don’t want to ever carry a briefcase again. I don’t want to say ‘Yes, Your Honor’ or ‘No, Your Honor’ again. There are a lot of things I don’t want to do or say, but there is one thing I will tell you every morning and every night. You know exactly what it is. Call me after ten, and we can talk as long as you like.”

  Marta looked out her window. The black sedan was waiting.

  ***

  Mei Ling knew Marta was coming to visit her brother but it was strictly business. She would not come downstairs. She was too busy on the internet ordering shoes, accessories, and jewelry for her new outfits. She would visit with Marta another time.

  ***

  “Thank you for coming. I have ordered some tea for us. Please, come into the study.” Xiang then turned to his driver, who was still in the room. “You are excused, Jabor. I will need you to take Ms. Clarke back home in about an hour, hour and a half.”

  “I’m afraid I cannot do that, Mr. Yeung.”

  Xiang and Marta looked at him with a look of shock.

  “What are you talking about, Jabor? Of course, you can and will do that.”

  “No, Mr. Yeung. My new employer has given me specific instructions.”

  With that, Jabor pulled a large caliber automatic pistol from under his belt.

  “My instructions are to kill you. Unfortunately, Ms. Clarke is a witness, so she must die also.”

  “This is no time to joke, Jabor. Put that weapon away before you hurt someone, and leave us alone. I will talk to you later.”

  Marta saw the look on Jabor’s face. She knew he was not joking.

  “Unlike you, Mr. Yeung, Mr. Scalesci knows the value of a good employee and is willing to pay for exceptional services. Not like you, who has made hundreds of millions over the past twenty years and still pays me coolie wages.”

  A new look, one of fear, now crossed Xiang’s face.

  “You have been well paid, Jabor. You have been given raises, personal time off, vacation pay, and medical benefits. What else could you possibly want?”

  “Respect. To be acknowledged and appreciated. I am not just a chauffeur who polishes your car and drives you wherever you want. I am a person, not a thing. I have feelings too. Mr. Scalesci wants me to be his personal driver and advisor, at three times what you are paying me. I am sorry, Mr. Yeung, but I must do what is best for me.”

  Xiang was about to quadruple his salary with a ten-thousand-dollar bonus when the report of the weapon pierced the room. Xiang fell like a sack of flour whose bottom had been cut open.

  Marta let out a scream that barely left her throat when a second shot was fired. Her eyes opened wide as she tried to look at her belly where the bullet had entered. She was about to apologize to Rod when the searing pain reached her brain. She never heard the second shot. That one, like Xiang’s, was fatal.

  Mei Ling rushed down the staircase just in time to see Jabor run out the front door and into the black sedan. As she entered the study, she saw her dear, sweet older brother lying in a pool of blood.

  She promptly fainted.

  Later that evening, Police Sgt. William Rau, on road patrol, found a black sedan parked on a dead-end street. In the driver’s seat was the body of the driver with two small-caliber bullet holes in the middle of his forehead. It was clean, and it was professional. He had been dead less than an hour.

  No one had seen anything.

  The black sedan was registered to Xiang Yeung.

  Once that fact was verified, the investigation slowed down considerably. Poetic justice, one cop was heard to remark.

  Jabor learned too late, there is no honor among thieves. Or murderers.

  Back in Chicago, a particularly pleased drug lord felt he had solved his problems and gotten rid of any connection to himself. A win/win situation.

  No one fucks with Anthony Scalesci and gets away with it.

  EPILOGUE

  Promises, promises, promises. I should have known better than to believe her. I waited till close to midnight for her to call back. Then I went to sleep. I called twice the next day. No answer, no return call. She obviously felt she could do better or I was not good enough.

  Rod refused to admit it, but he was hurt. Deeply hurt. He truly thought she was the one. He never found out the truth. He never called her office, and the Miami newspapers did not carry news of murders in New York City. They had enough crime of their own.

  He took off for three weeks, all spent with friends and family in Jamaica, drinking far too much Island rum and trying to forget.

  ***

  US Attorney Seth Winters was sure there was a connection between Scalesci and Yeung. He just could not prove it—yet. It was not until lawyer Simon Winthrop came forward. Simon was sure he would be next.

  All of a sudden, lawyer/client confidentiality was no longer important. Certainly not as important as his life and that of his wife and young son. It did not occur to Simon that once Xiang Yeung his client was dead, the confidentiality clause was out the window.

  Ironically, AUSA Josh Beckman was assigned to the case. One of the people he would be looking for, the one who spoke to Winthrop’s young son, was himself. He decided to concentrate on Yeung’s killer.

  ***

  Billy Jo had an ethical problem. There was close to eight hundred thousand sitting in the firm’s escrow account. Legally, half of it belonged to Marta or, more accurately, her estate. Marta had never been married, her parents were dead, and her only brother knew nothing of the account. The fact was, her brother had not seen or talked to Marta in years. Billy could say nothing or search for the absentee brother. For the time being, he decided to do nothing. He knew he had to have a long talk with Jack, the third partner.

  Rik Scott may have been out of the picture, but he was a bulldog and was not about to forget about the past. He wasn’t sure what he could do; obviously no one asked for his help, but that never stopped him before. He still had a shitload of friends in the DA’s office, and a copy of the file was not that hard to obtain.

  ***

  Within forty-eight hours of her brother’s untimely death, Mei Ling knew she was a billionaire. Or very close to it. It would be up to the team of bean counters and the power-hungry but grossly understaffed IRS to determine how much she would end up with.

  Whatever it was, it was more than she had ever dreamed about in her former life. Now she could accomplish goals for abused Asian wives, mothers, and small children that she had wanted ever since her own experience with an abusive husband.

  She was just beginning to grieve the massacre of Xiang Yeung and his lawyer, Marta Clarke. The fact Jabor, a once loyal and devoted servant had been killed, served as no solace.

  Jabor
had not known of the supplicated security system, the ultra violet lights, the hidden microphones and cameras. In the end, it did no good. While going through Xiang’s personal records, Mei Ling found the controls that recorded the final conversation between Xiang and Jabor. Now there was no question.

  The obvious thing to do was turn everything over to the proper authorities. She didn’t. Instead, she called Mr. Billy Jo Gibson.

  Billy, to his credit, explained Xiang paid the firm a considerable retainer that had not been used. Billy left with the tape of his last conversation where Jabor stated, “Respect. To be acknowledged and appreciated. I am not just a chauffeur who polishes your car and drives you wherever you want. I am a person, not a thing. I have feelings too. Mr. Scalesci wants me to be his personal driver and advisor, at three times what you are paying me. I am sorry, Mr. Yeung, but I must do what is best for me.”

  Billy knew the tape could not be used in a court of law. That was not his intention. He would discuss it with his now sole partner, Black Jack Renaldo.

  ***

  I must go home. I must see the conditions of battered and abused women and their small children, where I was born and grew up. I have lots and lots of money and need to do the right thing.

  Mei Ling did not realize receiving and spending her brother’s money would take months and months of litigation. She had to prove she in fact was Mei Ling Yeung, the only living relative of the deceased.

  In the meantime, she had to find a way of making money. Of living. Of fulfilling her promise to Xiang and her late parents.

  There had to be a way.

  There was. Now all Mei Ling had to do was accept it.

  BEFORE YOU GO…

  DON’T MISS OUT!