“And she believed you,” the father asked chuckling.
“You do not know me very well Mr. Webster, but I never say anything I do not mean. She already knew that, and she knew I would do everything I said. She stopped seeing those kids. As I said, she was a long way from eighteen. She never forgot it though. I am forced to reason with my kids now, just as you will have to do.”
“I guess we were too easy on her,” the mother said, “but she never gave us even a bit of trouble.”
“Well,” Sotello replied. “They can change in an instant, and a dose of reality early can many times solve the problem. Your only leverage over her is to stop financing the things she does you do not like. She will have to make the decisions for herself.”
“Do you think this boyfriend could get violent with her?” the father asked.
“I will check on her once every couple of weeks if you would like, and if I see anything bad, I will help her to get out. Let’s keep a positive view, and hope by your cutting off the money it will help her to see her situation in a new light.”
“Thank you Mr. Sotello,” the mother said. “We will call her roommate and tell her what we plan.”
“How much will keeping an eye out for her cost, if our cutting off the money doesn’t work out?” the father asked.
“Only for my actual time and expense,” Sotello replied. “I will try to set up something with her roommate to call me if she has not heard from your daughter, and I will try to keep it as low profile as I can. I believe seventy-five dollars a month should cover it.”
“That’s more than fair Sir, thank you,” the father said. “I just need to know she’s not in physical danger.”
“I realize how you must feel, but you can only guard them to a point. I cannot be with her every minute. If she comes to her senses, and the boyfriend will not let go, have her contact me, and I will speak to him on your behalf.”
“We will call and let you know how this turns out, one way or the other,” the mother promised. “Thank you Mr. Sotello, goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” Sotello hung up the phone. He ran his hand through his hair, considering for a moment what they must be going through. He noted the time he had called on their update sheet, and an outline of the ongoing action. He next dialed Louise Fletcher’s ex-husband to let him know the whereabouts of his children.
“Hello.”
“Mr. Fletcher?”
“Yes, is this Sotello? Have you found my kids?”
“Yes Sir, I have. You were right. She did move out here. She goes by the name of Grace Connolly.”
“Oh thank God, I…” the man broke down for a moment. It was a few minutes before he could speak to Sotello again. “Have you seen the kids yet Mr. Sotello?”
“No Sir, but one of my operatives will be up there today to take pictures. I will send them immediately when she gets back. You may wish to contact the court, and get the legal part of this into action.”
“I will get my lawyer on it right away. Please keep me updated.”
“I will Mr. Fletcher. I have your E-mail address, and I will upload the pictures to you as soon as I get them. Mr. Fletcher, her mother has been in contact with her.”
“I knew she was lying. I just called her, and I could tell she was hiding something. I will make sure she does not find out what I am doing.”
“Good. For now, I think that would be best. The less people know about this, the better. I will be in touch.” The man thanked him, and Sotello hung up. He looked at the clock. It was already almost noontime. He wished Ellen would call. For all his talk about letting the kids go out on their own, he still found it hard to let go. He smiled, thinking about how she would react to him trying her cell phone. He would have to hear an, ‘oh Dad’ lecture. Better, he give her a few more hours rather than listen to that.
Sotello faxed the information Ellen had dug up, along with the address to Fletcher. He added a cover page comment not to use any of it until her presence was verified, and he received the pictures. He made his update notes on the file, and put it away. Sotello made up two mugs of coffee and returned to the front office. He placed one in front of where Gillingham was still typing. She glanced up and smiled gratefully. Sotello sat down opposite of her as she stopped typing to pick up the mug.
“How far have you gotten?” Sotello asked.
“I am just editing some last points. Other than that, I am all through.”
“Hit the print button and let me get a look at what you have,” Sotello told her.
She did as instructed. A minute later Sotello held three printed sheets in his hands. He spent the next ten minutes going over her information carefully. Shaking his head, he looked up at her with some disgust he was clearly unable to hide. “You and that weasel Phillips really saw the Sanders girl coming. I am sure she cannot be completely innocent in all of this, but my God woman, why not just spend a few years earning and saving? Why… oh hell, never mind. At least you didn’t sugar coat this. We would have had to spend a couple hours with me pulling information out of you as if I were pulling teeth if you had.”
“You must think I am something lower than…”
Sotello held up his hand. “Forget the ritualistic recriminations Councilor, I see you really do know where they are staying and everything. Have you reported in yet today?”
“I have not spoken to Adrian since… ah…”
“Since last night after I left your place. He told you not to overplay your hand, and to go with the flow, right?”
“If you know everything, why bother asking,” she asked, perturbed he had surmised almost the exact content of the conversation.
“You must have a cell phone no one knows about. Hand me your safety deposit box key. We will go over to the bank tomorrow after I sort some of this out. I will call you.”
She fished around in her purse and extracted the key. She handed it to him. “Are we done now? I would like to get back to my office today and do a little work.”
“All finished for now. I hope I do not have to warn you to stay away from mentioning any of this to Phillips. Just stick to the basics, without getting him suspicious. I will get started on sorting this information out and coming up with a plan. I will call you when I have some more to discuss. Goodbye Councilor.”
Gillingham nodded and took a last sip of coffee. She gathered her things. She stood up and walked towards the door. She stopped, swinging back around to where Sotello still sat, sipping his coffee, watching her. “How long were you on to me Jim?”
“Although I had a few doubts about some of your details, the first time all the tumblers fell into place happened in the restaurant. The look that passed between you and Sanders filled in most of the missing pieces. His daughter being involved, along with this intricate scam, did not sound anything like what I knew about Phillips. He may be cunning, but he could never pull this off alone, or even come up with it for that matter. That makes you the ringleader. Sanders will find that out eventually, and we will really discover how much he values his word. I think you and Phillips will live through this, if Phillips keeps his head. I am going to need you to stall Phillips for a few days, while I make some necessary preparations.”
“You were bluffing when you outed me in the restaurant, weren’t you? If I had not bolted, you would have nothing on me.”
“Grow up Lynn,” Sotello said. “Did you see Sanders’ face? He already believed it, and he would have taken you somewhere quiet, so he could confirm his suspicions. Did you think you were in the courthouse, where you could say anything without repercussions? The reason you bolted was your survival instinct kicking in. Now take off, and keep your cell phone on in case I have any questions.”
She looked at him as if she were going to say something else, but thought better of it. She turned on her heel and left. Sotello walked over to the glass door, watching her get in her car and drive away. He walked into the back and called the Webster girl’s roommate. He explained she would be getting a call from
the Websters, and what it would be about. Sotello gave her his number, and explained how important it was for her to call him if her roommate had any trouble. The girl agreed to let him know if she saw or heard anything dangerous. Sotello asked her if she thought the boyfriend could get violent, but she said she did not know him well enough to have formed any opinions. Sotello thanked her and hung up. He called Craig’s cell phone, hoping he was not in the middle of class or a test. It rang three times before Craig picked it up.
“Jack’s purge parlor, Jack speaking. May I help you,” Craig asked in a faultless Jack Nicholson voice. When he heard his Father’s familiar laughter, he said, “hey old man, what can I get for you?”
“Jack’s purge parlor? Where the hell do you come up with this stuff? I… never mind, have you gotten a call from Ellen?”
“No Dad, she said she would call you early. I assumed she meant before noon. I’ll break radio silence for you so she won’t get all tweaky with you. I’ll come up with some kind of excuse for calling.”
“Thanks kid, I appreciate it. Call me as soon as you talk to her. I’m over at the office.”
“How did your meeting go?”
“I will save the details for a face to face, Bub. You will not believe it. Trust me.”
“I’m on the way to my last class today,” Craig said, “so we’ll hook up over at the office around two, okay?”
“Good deal Craig, I’ll see you then.” Sotello hung up, and began the search for information surrounding where Gillingham stated Philips and Sanders’ daughter were staying.
On the Internet, Sotello found the chalet in Switzerland listed, and downloaded prices, travel arrangements, and information on the surrounding area. It appeared Phillips could be approached rather easily. St. Moritz had only one hotel: the Carlton. The nearest airport was 170 km away. The Carlton where they were staying was booked months in advance, so he would have to rely on connections Sanders might have in the area. He made some notes about railway connections and prices, along with the weather forecasts. If Gillingham could stall Phillips for a couple of weeks, Sotello believed he could scout out an approach; which would allow him to gather up Phillips, and Sanders’ daughter, and with Sanders’ help, get back home. He made notes for a conversation, he was already forming in his mind, to have with Sanders. After doing his call-backs on the day, and arranging appointments, Sotello went into the kitchen area.
Sotello heated up some soup for him and Craig to eat along with a tossed salad. He cut up fresh sourdough bread, buttered the slices, and put it in the conventional oven on warm. Craig walked in from the outer office. He threw down his bag and rubbed his hands together. Sotello laughed. The kid had not changed much since he was five when it came to eating. He would starve rather than take five minutes to heat something up, but if someone else cooked it, Craig would eat it. Craig sat down while Sotello placed everything out on the table with their drinks.
“Any luck getting a hold of your sister?”
“Nope. Brainiac is incommunicado at the moment. I think she probably just decided to really get into the part.”
“Yea, well I don’t like it. Did you try just paging her too?”
“Of course Dad, I even gave her the 911 notation, but she has not called me back yet. I called her only about an hour ago, so she may have been in a spot where she couldn’t call back.”
“If we don’t hear from her soon, I’m going to Placerville,” Sotello said.
“Oh man, you better hope she’s in trouble if you do that, because if she isn’t, she will read you the riot act.”
“She told me herself she would call when she got into position,” Sotello explained. “You have to admit, she never does this. If it were you, I would think you just blew me off…”
“Well thanks.”
“…but your sister always calls when she says she will.”
“You are starting to get me worried now. I…”
The phone rang. Craig picked up the kitchen extension and said hello. Sotello watched his son’s face cloud over. Sotello got up as Craig gave some terse answers, and acknowledged his understanding. Craig hung up the phone. Sotello had never seen such intense rage on his son’s face before. He watched Craig gain control over his emotions as his fists had clenched into hardened red clumps of flesh.
“Dad, Ellen is fine, first off. Someone worked her over, and that was the hospital. She made it to the emergency room in her own car, but collapsed just outside. The hospital called the police. She has three cracked ribs, and a pretty swollen face. They want to keep her overnight. She wants out. She told them to call us, and tell us to come and get her. We know who did this Dad. Let’s take the Glocks. I want first crack…”
Sotello took his son in his arms and hugged him. At first it felt as if he were hugging a steel post. Craig gripped him tightly after a moment. Sotello held him then at arm’s length. “I know how you feel boy, but Ellen’s okay, and we are leaving right now to go and get her, nothing else matters. We will bring her home, and talk it over, and make our plans. We won’t even know who did this until we talk to her. Who are we going to shoot, the Fletcher woman and her two kids?”
“No, but once we find out, we go up there and set things right,” Craig whispered.
“Craig, Ellen will be the last person that particular individual or individuals ever works over again. No more talk about that now, or ever, outside of this office. We go up, find out what has happened, and what Ellen has to say. We do not show any anger. We show only our concern for Ellen. Do you understand Craig? No talk about who did it.”
“I understand Dad. Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
“No you won’t. Calm down son. Grab your coat and we’ll go in the Dodge. You can drive Ellen’s car back, or I can, if you would rather.”
“You will need to talk to her if she feels up to it, so I will drive her car back. Like you said, we will get her back here, and make our plans.”
“I need to make a call to a friend of mine,” Sotello replied, “who can quietly obtain an unmarked van for us.”
Craig smiled grimly. “Oh yeah, make the call.”
Chapter 9
The Placerville Case Turns Deadly
Sotello dialed and a gruff voice answered. “Pete, I need something special, probably by tonight.”
“Jim,” the voice changed into one of welcome. “God man, why the hell ain’t you called me. What’s been doin’ my friend?”
“Life pal, can we talk?”
“Hold on,” something barely audible clicked in his ear, and then his friend came back on. “Go ahead Jim.”
“I will need a van: dark windows, any make of full size, untraceable, for one night. Price will be no object. I will need it to change, or go away, after I get it back to you.”
“I will have it ready for you by tonight Jim. Want any company?”
“Not on this trip Pete, but thank you. This means a lot to me.”
“Not even worth mentioning, my brother. See you later.”
Sotello smiled. He looked up at Craig. “Get the directions off the computer, and I’ll gather up some pillows and a blanket. What hospital did she make it to?”
“Marshall, right in Placerville. Have you ever heard of it?”
“I didn’t even know there was a hospital in Placerville,” Sotello admitted. “I thought she would have had to go to Sacramento or Roseville.”
“I’ll download the directions. Go ahead and get the bedding Dad.”
In the car, Sotello went over every detail of how they would react. If the police were there, they were to give them the show they needed to see: concerned loving father and brother. They would answer nothing about the case, or what Ellen was doing, until they talked to her. Her well-being came first, and if Sotello thought she should stay overnight, they would get a room in Placerville.
“Ellen can take care of herself Dad. Whoever did this ain’t no pushover. She carries the stun gun, and pepper spray.”
“No use guessing, kid. El
len will fill us in.”
“I know you always told us this was no joking business, but I just never thought Ellen or I would ever get hurt.”
“If you think about getting hurt all the time, you will not be able to do this job. No one ever thinks it will be them. You and Ellen have the right attitude for the work. I should have more brains than to let you two do anything in the field. You both have your whole lives ahead of you in different lines of work. You and Ellen helping me with the business was only supposed to be for extra money.”
“We love doing this stuff Dad,” Craig said. “We knew you didn’t want us in with you, and we are learning different trades; but I don’t want you thinking this all happened because you pressured us into helping you.”
“I know, but no matter how many times I tell you this stuff can happen, it really does not register. Thank God, Ellen is in one piece. We can deal with the details of what comes next some other time. Ellen will not be going out into the field again, no matter what the specifics of this are.”
“Good luck,” Craig retorted. “Convincing her of that will not be easy.”
“After this,” Sotello pointed out, “I may not have much in the way of convincing to do. No matter how tough you are, something like this changes you. The picture you have of yourself inside gets altered. Only movie people get beat up and go on like nothing happened. You’ve been in fights before Craig, but no one has ever just worked you over until you wondered if they would ever stop.”
“Did it ever happen to you Dad?”
“I was on a stakeout,” Sotello began. “I had just relieved my partner. It was about midnight, and we were watching an apartment. I had forgotten to lock the passenger side door after my partner left. It turned out to be a mistake I thought I might not survive. The next thing I knew, I heard the passenger side door pop open, and then I had the muzzle of a .357 magnum in my ear. There were three of them, and they wanted to know what I was doing. I showed them by badge, and they just laughed at me. They took my gun and the one on my right side hit me in the side of my head with something.”
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 8