“First off,” Craig sighed, “you have nothing but gray hairs. Secondly, I am young, and I cannot gather experience without a few mistakes. Now get over it before I have to hurt you in front of our client.”
Sotello laughed in appreciation of the threat as Lynn smiled at the two. “Come on and show me your notes on the Webster girl, and then what you and Ellen came up with on Ramon’s bosses.”
Craig motioned for them to follow, “I have the Webster file all ready for you to present for final payment. I assumed you did not want to go any further with it. Ellen found out who made bail for Ramon the first time Lynn defended him. She left a note on who the bail bondsman was, and who wrote the check to him.”
“Outstanding,” Sotello replied, as Craig handed him the note and the finished Webster file. “Before I get into this, how did the Webster girl look to you?”
“Arrogant, but in good shape. When her boyfriend joined in, I had already decided I was getting nowhere. Her folks were middle class morons, and she didn’t need them, according to her. I have it on mini-cassette. I already made a sound file out of it you can send to them.”
Sotello nodded. “That may be what I need to emphasize a particular plan of action I would like them to try.”
“Shut off her money, right,” Craig asked smiling. “Once the boyfriend finds out there will be no more monthly checks, it will be sayonara for Ms. Webster.”
“So intelligent and intuitive in so many areas,” Sotello sighed, “and then whamo, out of the car for a front door approach.”
“I was wondering how long it would take you to get back to that,” Craig said through clenched teeth. “I guess an apology would not be enough, so I will simply say I have learned my lesson oh all-knowing Father.”
Sotello put his arm around his son. “Craig, I am just happy you are standing here to tell me that. We are investigators, not policemen. You could not accomplish anything at the door, but get injured. You and your sister are naturals, but both of you have to follow my directions in the field.”
“Ellen told me you were letting her check out the Fletcher woman.”
“She can do the surveillance, and then we can give her husband his options. I know he wants to see his kids again.”
“You really don’t do anything other than investigate then, do you?” Lynn asked.
“This morning was the first time I had to take part in something physical on the job in over two years. As I have explained to my number one son here many times, we are not doing our jobs if we conduct our business like Magnum P.I.,” Sotello replied.
“What about the skip traces you do?” Lynn reminded him.
“What about them?” Sotello asked in way of reply. “If we do our part, the police can handle the physical stuff. Any bondsman who tries to force me into bounty hunter work knows they will have to pay a lot more than the usual fee. As long as I can prove I caused the apprehension of the skip, I get paid. Reputation means a lot in this business.”
“Tell her about the guy you brought back from Mexico,” Craig urged his Father. “You broke a few of our rules down there.”
“For the proper amount of money, I make exceptions,” Sotello replied.
“Like what kind of money,” Lynn asked.
“He was out on a million dollars bail. I got twenty percent.”
“Two hundred thousand dollars on one skip,” Lynn said incredulously. “Who did you have to kill?”
“Oh, about…” Craig began, and stopped abruptly as Sotello grabbed his arm, gracing him with a grim look. Craig stopped smiling. “Sorry Dad, I didn’t…”
“…think, you didn’t think,” Sotello finished for him, as he turned back to Lynn. “Craig forgot for a moment we do not discuss our cases with anyone Lynn. If we ever do business along that line in the future, you can be sure no one else will know about our endeavors on your behalf.”
“Very reassuring,” Lynn said, “but I cannot afford twenty percent anyway. I only handle the small timers, and I have only had a few take off on me. I do have a number of bail bondsmen I work with, who do get into trouble occasionally. I’m sorry Craig, I should not have brought it up.”
“My fault,” Craig said, again smiling. “I know better than that anyway.”
“Anyhow,” Sotello continued, “I do not charge twenty percent, but if you are looking for a guy to track them down, beat them, and bring them in, I am not the guy. I find them and make sure they get apprehended, then you pay me ten percent, plus expenses.”
“Still a bit high, but I can build it into my fee. I’m sorry I interrupted. Please go on with your business.”
“No problem Lynn,” Craig said affably. He turned to his Father again.
“Did Ellen ask you if she could do it?”
“Right after I said I was going to ask you.”
“She has done some nice work around here,” Craig said, complementing Ellen. “We teamed up pretty well on the Wellington case over in Livermore, and she did all of the documentation on that one.”
“I know,” Sotello agreed. “She’s earned the shot at one on her own. I told her to stay in touch, so you and I will try to be available while she’s gone, right?”
“You bet,” Craig nodded, and then he smiled. “I could always tail her, and keep an eye on her.”
“She would kill us both if she spotted you,” Sotello laughed. “I liked all this better when you two were only doing the office work, while I did the field work.”
Craig clasped Sotello’s shoulder momentarily and sighed. “You’re just getting too old Dad. Ellen and I are trying to take up the slack for…” Craig threw himself backward, as he saw the storm clouds building on his Father’s face.
“You can run, but you cannot hide,” Sotello said, shaking his finger at his son, while Lynn laughed. “Did either of you get anywhere with Lynn’s case?”
Chapter 5
The Case
“We did indeed,” Craig replied. “It seems your Mr. Bennet makes many calls to this number.” Craig handed him a paper, which looked like a data sheet, full of phone numbers and names.
Sotello looked at the sheet, with what appeared to Lynn to be a growing concern. He glanced back up at Lynn with a rueful looking grin. “Darren Sanders.”
“Who in the world is Darren Sanders?” Lynn asked, masking her recognition of the name beautifully.
“He would be about the last person on earth I would rip off,” Sotello replied with a sigh. “I am not surprised you would not know the name. He has so many layers between him and the public, there are probably only a handful of people who would even believe he could be involved in this.”
“How do you know of him then?” Lynn asked, surprised Sotello knew Sanders at all. “Why then would his number be the one Bennet would call?”
“Ah Lynn,” Sotello said, holding up a hand, “that is a most excellent question. Ramon should not even know he exists, and if he did know Sanders, he would know enough to bite off his hand rather than speak his name.”
“How do you get phone records as easily as you do?”
“The same way illegal aliens get driver’s licenses direct from the DMV,” Sotello replied. “Anyhow, I will negotiate a meeting with Mr. Sanders, and see what kind of an agreement I might be able to work out.”
“Why do you think he will even see you?” Lynn asked, thinking furiously, while she maintained a calm exterior.
“We have met, and besides, there has to be more to this than meets the eye. I…”
“You know this guy,” Lynn asked incredulously. “I thought you said no one knows him.”
“Our paths crossed on a case about three years ago, involving one of his leg breakers,” Sotello replied.
“You mean the Ming case, Dad?” Craig asked. “That guy tried to kill you.”
“Leave it to you to remember that one. Anyway, Sanders had nothing to do with it. We had a little meeting, where he told me his employee had gotten involved on his own.”
“So which episode
of Magnum P.I. did you base the Ming case on, Mr. Sotello?” Lynn asked.
Craig started laughing. “Yea Dad, what happened to our motto of no physical involvement on that case?”
“You know damn well…” Sotello paused. “Oh, you will fit in real well around here, Lynn. You are just what I needed here: another smart-ass. I explained to you, once in a while, we sometimes get in the wrong place, at the wrong time. When I found out whom the leg breaker worked for, I went to see Sanders, at his own invitation. We had a short, five-minute chat, and parted on good terms. Naturally, doing what I do in this area for as long as I had, Sander’s name was familiar to me.”
“Is he some kind of drug kingpin or something?” Lynn asked, still trying not to show her knowledge of Sanders.
“See, that’s the thing,” Sotello explained. “No one knows exactly how many things the guy has his hand in. I have heard his net worth to be in the hundreds of millions. He owns big chunks of the operations in both Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas. He contributes to political campaigns, which will probably turn out to be the link between him and your Adrian. Perhaps in addition to taking off with a tidy sum of retirement money, your boyfriend reneged on a deal he made with Sanders.”
Lynn slumped down nervously in a chair in front of their front office desk. “This Sanders guy sounds like someone who gets rid of excess baggage like me on a whim.”
“Sanders, to me,” Sotello said smiling, “sounds like marriage material in your world.”
Gillingham launched out of the chair she had been sitting in. “Why you no good, dirty…” Sotello stood calmly, grinning at her, while Craig looked uneasily at them. Lynn saw she would get nowhere with a tantrum, and sat back down with a sigh.
“Not funny Sotello,” Lynn said, looking up at him grimly.
“Sorry, I could not pass on that one. I think I will give Mr. Sanders a call right now, and see what I can set up. This may be a number I can reach him directly.” Sotello picked up the phone as he sat behind the desk. He dialed the number and waited. A gruff voice answered with a single ‘yea’.” “May I speak with Mr. Sanders please? My name is James Sotello, and I am representing a lawyer named Deborah Gillingham.”
“You’re the guy who got Bennet jailed, aren’t you?”
“Unavoidable, I am afraid,” Sotello said, “but I may be able to offer Mr. Sanders a much more amiable way to conduct this affair, and leave Ms. Gillingham out of it. Would you ask if Mr. Sanders would meet with me, so I may explain my idea to him?”
“Give me your number,” the man ordered.
Sotello gave it to him, and then the man hung up. Sotello hung up his phone, and gestured to the back room. “Let’s go in the kitchen, and get some coffee while we wait for their call.”
Craig led the way into the back. He poured them all coffee in the kitchen alcove.
“May I use your bathroom Jim?” Lynn asked.
“Sure, straight down the hall, through the open bedroom door and to your right.”
“Thanks.” Lynn walked out of the room.
Craig sat down across from his Father. “You don’t like this deal, do you Dad? I saw your face when you saw whose phone number Ramon had been calling.”
“I never would have figured on a guy like Sanders. This may get very dangerous. Promising things to guys like Sanders, and not delivering, could get very unhealthy. I told her I would take the case. If she hid anything else from me, I will find it out from Sanders.”
“I like her Dad. She has something about her.”
“Yea, people get auras around them when they get marked for death. You’re probably feeling it.”
Craig laughed. “No, but you have to admit, she does come across as someone of interest.”
“You are beginning to talk like a lawyer,” Sotello observed. “In any case, I want you and Ellen out of this one. The two of you can help me with the information gathering in the computer room, but that will be the extent of your involvement.”
“Ellen filled me in on what we need on Adrian Phillips. How could a guy like him stay hidden from someone like Sanders? He probably owns a couple of guys at the FBI. What will he need with you?”
“Philips must have something on Sanders so sensitive, he has to be careful about how he goes about retrieving it,” Sotello replied.
“You mean some kind of dead man’s switch, where if any harm comes to Phillips, this information gets to people who can ruin Sanders.”
“Exactly Craig, and that would bring up the possibility Sanders already knows where Phillips took off to.”
“So, why all of this ruckus with using Ramon to badger Lynn?” Craig asked.
“Every possible answer brings up two or three more questions. Something this complicated may bring in enough money to set you and your sister up for life,” Sotello remarked. “Fees go up in direct relationship to the danger involved. This may get very profitable.”
“Or get you killed,” Craig added.
Lynn walked back into the room, and sat down next to Sotello. She picked up her coffee cup and took a gulp of the cooling mixture. “You have a beautiful setup here Jim.”
“It makes work a bit more pleasurable. I…”
The phone rang. Craig reached back, and took the receiver off of the wireless phone behind him. He handed it to Sotello.
“Oakland Investigation Agency, Jim Sotello speaking, how may I help you?”
“Mr. Sotello,” the voice stated smoothly, in a well-modulated, tenor tone. “My associate said you wished to meet with me. It has been a long time, has it not? I believe we met previously to clear up some unpleasantness about you putting an employee of mine in traction for six months, and ruining him for any further work in his line.”
“You have a good memory Sir,” Sotello said. “Would you be amenable to a meeting with me about the issue I raised with your associate?”
“Yes, why not have breakfast with me at Scott’s, down in Jack London Square, at say nine tomorrow morning?”
“Very well Mr. Sanders, I will be there.”
“Please bring your client with you,” Sanders instructed.
“I will,” Sotello agreed. “Thank you for your time.”
“I look forward to seeing you again Mr. Sotello, goodbye.”
The phone went dead in his ear, and Sotello handed it to his son. “Sanders will meet with us over breakfast tomorrow morning Lynn. We’ll leave your records here with Craig. He will copy, and collate them into a package Sanders can decipher quickly.”
“It appears I picked the right man for the job,” Lynn said, still playing along.
“I would not make any assumptions until we talk to Sanders. It just may be I am in way over my head.”
“If that were the case, you would not even know about Sanders,” Lynn said, masking her disappointment. “Who else could I have gotten who even knew he existed?”
“I’m not so sure our knowing of his involvement can be considered a plus just yet,” Sotello countered. “The mook, who answered the phone at first, already knew I was the one with you when Ramon tried to strong-arm you this morning. At least you won’t have to worry about Ramon tonight, even if he got out.”
“We know Ramon can get bail easily enough.”
“If Sanders objected to Bennet’s move this morning, he may be in trouble. I am sure they have some past between them, because Ramon would never have Sander’s personal number otherwise. If the meeting goes well with Sanders, perhaps Ramon will be out of the picture altogether. I want you to know how dangerous it would be to lie to this character Lynn.”
“You have all the details Jim,” Lynn lied, “and you can tell by the accounts, I have nothing to hide.”
“My Dad has been around the block more than a few times Lynn,” Craig put in gently, sensing, as Sotello had, that there was more to this than Gillingham had told them. “He just needs to make you aware of something which can get you hurt. We have handled some bad ones, and they can end in some very close calls. Any information we get w
ill be kept in confidence. No one will blackmail you, or use the information against you. We have to ask questions you may think out of line; but as a lawyer, you know there can be nothing harder than representing someone withholding information.”
“Craig,” Lynn sighed, continuing the deception, “I wish there were more to this story than a gold digger with stars in her eyes, getting taken by a high-class flim-flam man, but unfortunately, you know all that exists of this pathetic, sordid little tale.”
Sotello turned to Craig. “Can you put together something for us to take to Sanders? I should not have volunteered you without checking your schedule. I know it’s getting a bit late in the day.”
“No problem Dad, I know just how I’ll put it together. This guy will know a lot about Lynn here though.”
“That cannot be helped. She can change her accounts around later if we get this worked out. We’ll let you get to it then. If your sister stops back by, remind her about calling us from Placerville.”
“I will. Nice meeting you Lynn, I hope your meeting goes well tomorrow.”
Lynn stood up, with Sotello following suit, and shook hands with Craig. “It has been a pleasure meeting you, and your sister. Thank you for all your help. I hope we get to work together on something which does not involve me.”
“I hope so too. See you later Dad. Should I meet you here around eight tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, that should give us enough time to go over Lynn’s folder, and ask you any questions we might still have.” Sotello put his arm around Craig’s shoulders. “Keep your eyes open until we sort this out.”
Craig nodded. “That serious huh?”
“That serious. I’m taking the Webster file with me, and call them from Lynn’s house. I have the cell on if you need to reach me. Thanks again for the quick work.”
Craig smiled, and gave Sotello a little salute. Sotello squeezed his shoulder, and led Lynn back out to the Dodge. They rode in silence to a Chinese restaurant Sotello frequented. Lynn watched the proprietors’ faces light up as Sotello walked in, and greeted them in Chinese. He knew each of them, and the waiters, by their first names. They tried to make Sotello agree to have dinner there, but Sotello begged off, telling them of his workload. Three bags were placed in front of them within fifteen minutes, in which time Sotello introduced her, and inquired about the owners’ family. They hugged Sotello when he left, and made him promise to come for dinner with Ellen and Craig one time next week, when they could stay.
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 5