“I won’t, you big goon.”
Sotello nodded, and opened the door to the back office for her. Ellen came from the bedroom to greet them. She looked as if she had been sleeping. Gillingham gritted her teeth when she saw Ellen’s face in the light. She went over and took her hand, smiling brightly.
“You can turn off the smile Lynn,” Ellen sighed. “I know how I look. How are you holding up?”
“A lot better than you, although that was touch and go for a while. I hear your Dad fixed up the guy who did this to you.”
“My Dad took care of me last night,” Ellen said, without breaking eye contact, or pausing.
Lynn again laughed. “I can sure tell whose daughter you are. You never even blinked.”
“The truth does not make me blink,” Ellen replied calmly.
“I guess you know what I have been up to,” Lynn sighed. “I am a gold digger.”
“Lynn,” Ellen said reasonably, “you have your own law practice, and own your own home. Couldn’t you…”
Lynn held up her hand as she stared with ill intent at Sotello. “I hate stereophonic guilt trips.”
“I didn’t mean to sound sanctimonious, Lynn,” Ellen smiled in sympathy. “I just think you could get anything you wanted without this.”
“I’m no good, let’s leave it at that. I am sorry about what happened to you though.”
“Thanks. I’ll heal. I will be in the computer room if you want me Dad.”
“Don’t sit in that computer chair too long with those ribs aching El,” Sotello cautioned.
“I’m fine, I just want to get ahead with my school work. I called Suze, and she said we have a math test tomorrow. She’s E-mailing me what the class covered today.” With a little wave, Ellen went into the computer room.
“Sotello, you sure got lucky,” Lynn told him.
“I like to think of it as blessed,” Sotello agreed. “Now come on in the kitchen, and have a cup of coffee with me. You can tell me what you came here for. You were pretty thorough with your paper yesterday. I couldn’t even think of a question to ask about it yet.” Sotello led the way into the kitchen, and poured them both a cup of coffee.
Lynn sipped her drink. She looked at Sotello, trying to gauge what she could say. “You can never trust anything I say from now on, can you?”
“Never is a long time,” Sotello said grinning, “but try and think of it from my perspective, if you can. You give no thought to the danger you put everyone in, who comes into contact with you. If your little scams and plans work, great, no one’s the wiser; but if your schemes go south, you feel just fine about feeding a lot of innocent people to the sharks. You jumped right off the cliff on this one. This particular operation of yours could still result in a pile of dead bodies, including your own.”
“What do I do to make this right then?” She asked, looking down at her coffee.
“Stop playing and working all the angles,” Sotello instructed. “With your help, I can bring this to a close without anyone getting hurt, even Phillips.”
“How about personally then?”
“Play it straight with me. Lynn, you keep making this into rocket science. Keep it simple. Fix this mess by undoing this carefully, one step at a time. I will have an idea of how we should proceed, if you can get me close to Phillips. We can set this up to take Sanders’ daughter, and then we explain the choices to Phillips. If I can promise Sanders won’t kill him, he might come clean with the daughter, which will make her part in this go away.”
“She’s in love with him. I have seen the two of them together,” Lynn added.
“If Phillips had a brain, he would have went after the money, by playing that angle. He should never have let you get him involved in this convoluted miasma,” Sotello sighed.
“I am like a poison to the people around me. Adrian and I were already involved. He had feelings for me, and I started seeing dollar signs,” Lynn admitted. “Big dollar signs.”
“Self-flagellation gets old Lynn. Let it go. I want to know if you will get me close to Phillips and Sanders’ daughter?” Sotello asked.
“Yes,” Lynn answered after a pause, “but I would have to go overseas with you.”
“I realize that. If Sanders can send a couple of men along after we set up a meet, we can get everyone separated before anyone gets hurt. I should be ready to leave in a week. Can you take some time off then?”
“Of course,” Lynn sighed. “My options seem to be getting smaller every day. Do you think you will be cleared of this other mess in time to get out of the country?”
“I will know the answer to that over the next few days. I think I will go to Placerville, and file charges on behalf of Ellen. The guy who came down to arrest me all but admitted he knew this guy had worked over Ellen. They can’t have it both ways. Either he worked her over, making me a revenge candidate, and him a target for assault charges, or he never touched Ellen. In which case, I would have had no reason to mess him up.”
“I think you have a handle on it Jim,” Lynn nodded, looking back up at Sotello. “In fact, why not let me just call this policeman up as your attorney and say that. If the guy knows he will have to face assault charges if he tries to pin this on you, then even in his condition, he will not want anything to do with it. Can Ellen ID him?”
“She told them she was jumped, and doesn’t know who did it.”
“Outstanding,” Lynn replied. “Then unless they have something tying you to the guy, they will be at a dead end. Do they have anything tying you to the guy?”
“I do not know the man,” Sotello replied calmly.
“I didn’t ask you if he’s related to you. Did he see you, or did you leave anything around him, which could tie you to him?” She persisted.
“I do not know the man,” Sotello repeated.
“Well, that will work,” Lynn chuckled. “I will take that as a no. Now, how about it? Will you let me make the call for you?”
Sotello stared at her for a moment, and then reached into his suit coat pocket. He handed her the business card Williams had given him at the hospital. “I appreciate your offer Lynn. You may be able to get this done faster than I could. Thank you.”
“I will get right on it when I return to the office. Want to have dinner with me tonight?”
“I don’t…”
“No moves, no lies, and I will show you the door at nine,” Lynn stated.
Sotello smiled, “I was going to say I don’t want to leave Ellen alone tonight. She’s staying at my house for now.”
“How about if I come over then,” Lynn offered, “and make dinner for all of us. Will Craig be there too?”
“Yes, but you…”
“I want to,” Lynn interrupted again. “Besides, I can let you know how things turn out with the Placerville thing. Come on, I won’t be a bad influence on your kids. You can use me as an example of how not to live. How about it?”
“Okay, but I will show you the door at nine,” Sotello laughed. He walked over and wrote down his home address on the back of a business card. He turned and handed it to her.
“What time can I come over?” She asked him.
“How about six?”
“That would be perfect. I’ll make dinner at my house and then bring it over. I’ll see you at six.”
Sotello walked her to the outside office door to the street. She turned, and pulled his head down to hers. She kissed him passionately, while for his part, Sotello first held back rigidly, surprised at first. He reacted to her, the warning bells going off in his head. When she pulled away, Sotello could see something in her face, and he began to think she was a whole lot better of an actress than he had thought.
“If I bring wine tonight, I really should not drive home,” Lynn said softly.
“I will call you a taxi.”
She surprised Sotello by laughing. “I kind of figured you would say that. I’ll see you at six.”
Sotello watched her walk out to her car, wondering why in the
hell he had let her invite herself to his house. He cringed, thinking of how Craig and Ellen would react when he told them. He decided to get half of the equation over with immediately. Sotello found Ellen in the middle of homework on the computer. She looked up smiling.
“I already put together about as much as I have been able to dig up on Phillips and Sanders’ daughter. She’s about the same age as me, huh?” Ellen asked him.
“Yes, she is,” Sotello confirmed. “Did you get anything done on your homework?”
“I just started on that,” Ellen replied. “I’m ahead of the curve anyhow. The test will be fine.”
“Lynn offered to call Placerville as my lawyer, and see if she can work an angle, I came up with, to get me out of the suspicion ranks. She said she would make dinner for all of us, and come over at six to let me know how things went,” Sotello blurted out.
“She could have phoned that in,” Ellen said, needling her Father. “I’m glad. Craig will be too, since she’s cooking. He will be coming over too, right?”
“I won’t be able to keep him away, now that he can get a free meal. He’ll be here pretty quick, and then I’ll ask him.”
“Do you like Lynn?”
“You mean in between putting us in danger, lying, and starting extortion scams against deadly gangsters?” Sotello asked rhetorically.
“I hadn’t thought of it in quite that light,” Ellen laughed.
“I like being around her, when I’m not trying to figure out her next angle,” Sotello added. “I will probably enjoy her company tonight at dinner.”
They heard the motion detector go off in the office. Before either one could move, Craig came through the adjoining door.
“Hey Sis, how you feeling? Hi Dad.”
“I feel like the Elephant Man must have felt,” Ellen smiled. “You must be beat.”
“Yea, did you even stay awake in class,” Sotello asked.
“With the help of a couple of caffeine tabs, and numerous cups of coffee,” Craig answered. “Are we all going back to the house tonight?” “Yes, and Lynn volunteered to cook us all a meal,” Ellen added.
“Lynn,” Craig said, looking directly at Sotello. “You mean that crooked lawyer?”
“The very same,” Ellen confirmed. “Dad seems to not be able to get her out of his system.
The two siblings began laughing, as Sotello’s mouth had begun to respond, but he clapped it shut, seeing they were trying to entice him into making a fool out of himself. Instead, he went over with Craig what had happened in the morning with the police officer from Placerville. Craig listened with grim attention to how the meeting ended.
“Crap, you have definitely not heard the last of that guy Dad,” Craig commented. “I hope this call, Lynn offered to make, gets him off your back.
What do we do if it doesn’t?”
“You do nothing,” Sotello stated. “You have no involvement right now, and I plan on keeping it that way. That guy saw nothing. The van will be cleaned, and painted already, with legal license plates by now. Everything connecting the man to me will have been melted, or burned. Officer Williams can scream and yell, but he has nothing to draw me into this.”
“He called Uncle Jay and Tank stupid,” Ellen laughed. “Uncle Tank almost put him down.”
“Oh man, would I have liked to have seen that,” Craig said, and then did a perfect Tank walk over to Ellen. “Did you just call me stupid, boy,” Craig asked with Tank’s voice. Sotello laughed so hard the tears began to roll down his cheeks.
“Don’t ever do that in front of Tank,” Sotello gasped. “My God son, you might as well be a walking VCR.”
“Imitate Uncle Tank, right in front of him,” Craig laughed. “You must think I’m stupid.”
Ellen was still gasping for air in between peals of laughter and rib pain. “No more Craig, or I will get a punctured lung. How do you do that? Dad’s right, you are like a living recorder. We can rewind you, and play you back whenever we want.”
Craig smiled and walked down the hall a few steps. He turned and walked back toward them, with every movement Ellen used to walk, from the slight lean forward to the way her shoulders swung slightly. Sotello collapsed to the floor, holding himself. He alternately choked and howled in laughter. Ellen, the target of his mimicry, watched her brother in stunned silence. The back of her neck tingled with the eeriness of his little performance. Craig looked at her finally, instead of straight ahead, and stopped.
“Hey El, I’m only fooling around. I didn’t mean to get you all bent out of shape.” Craig was watching her closely now, as Sotello had regained his feet.
“Craig, you are incredible,” Ellen said, hugging her brother. “You really could make a fortune doing that. I’ve seen you do a few imitations, but you don’t even seem to have to work at it anymore. You gave me goose bumps.”
“Don’t do me Craig,” Sotello gasped. “Not unless you want me to pass out right in front of your eyes. Ellen’s right, you are the best.”
“Maybe,” Craig said, “but I sure don’t want anything to do with performing. I just have no interest. I get a kick out of surprising you two, but the thought of doing an act, over and over, makes my teeth ache. The stuff just comes to me.”
“You are like those people who can listen to any song, and immediately play it, only way funnier,” Sotello told him. “I have to get you to do Tank in front of Jay. He will have a heart attack.”
“I can do Uncle Jay,” Craig broke in, “want to see.”
“God no,” Sotello said, holding his hands up in a defensive posture. “I have had enough for one performance. I have to set up a meet with Sanders, to let him know where I am in his case. You might as well bring your car over and park it at the house tonight. You can bring a change of clothes too, if you have class right away in the morning.”
“Sounds good,” Craig agreed. He looked at his sister. “Why don’t you ride with me, and I will stop by your place too. Did you decide whether you’re going to school tomorrow?”
“I’m going,” Ellen sighed, “but I won’t like it. I just have too much stuff going at school to let my appearance stand in the way. Maybe I’ll wear a veil like in the Arabian Nights. Anyway, I’ll go with you and pick up some clothes. Are you leaving now?”
“If Dad doesn’t need me, I am,” Craig answered.
“Nothing here for you,” Sotello replied. He walked over and hugged his son. “Thanks for partnering up with me last night son, and thanks for the laugh. It meant a lot. Listen you two, don’t let your guard down. Take weapons with you. I still do not know how many connections or family members this Daniels has. You can bet he knows who to blame for his condition, and if he doesn’t, he will soon. That Williams guy will probably give him a picture, and my life history to try and get him to ID me.”
“What’s up with that guy anyhow,” Craig asked. “You’d think he was related or something. We’ll take something with us if you’re worried Dad.”
“I would feel better about it if I could just go everywhere with you two until I pass away.”
“Oh man,” Craig said laughing. “Now there’s a scary thought.”
Chapter 13
More Danger
After Craig took Ellen with him to pick up some extra clothes, Sotello called Sanders. Sanders answered on the first ring. “Jim Sotello here, can I meet up with you for a few minutes to let you know how things are progressing?”
“Jim, I heard about what happened with your daughter. Can I help in any way?”
“I compliment you on your information gathering Mr. Sanders,” Sotello replied. “Thank you for your concern. I believe I can straighten things out. Ellen and I were very, very lucky. I believe in your daughter’s case, we can be even more successful.”
“You handled your daughter’s accident as well as anyone I have ever come in contact with. Please meet me at Scott’s. I would hear your progress in person, if you can get away.”
“I will leave now if you like. I am meeting up
with my family later on.”
“Now would be fine Jim. See you in a few minutes.”
Sotello left for the restaurant, leaving a voice note for Ellen and Craig if they called. Twenty minutes later, he was ushered into the back of the restaurant to meet Sanders. Sanders stood, and met him with his hand out. Sotello shook it and followed him back to the table, where he sat down at Sanders’ invitation. Sotello handed Sanders the safety deposit box key he had acquired at the bank.
“No one can get into the box without that key and my signature,” Sotello informed him. “You keep the key until I can work out the details to get over to Phillips, and convince him to give this scam up peacefully.”
“I take it Lynn has decided to cooperate fully?” Sanders asked.
“She will help to bring Phillips back,” Sotello replied. “If I can make your daughter understand what they had in store, I believe she will end this all on her own.”
“Why not just step back now, and let me handle the rest. You have your own problems. Tell me where to find Phillips, and I will deal with him.”
“Let me go and end this thing with no one getting hurt,” Sotello countered.
“I noticed you had no such fear with your daughter’s attacker,” Sanders said gently.
“My daughter was with me, safe and sound, in my home last night, not in a far off place with a very desperate man. Let me try and give you the same luck I was blessed with yesterday: my daughter, alive and well.”
“Will you tell me where I can find Phillips?”
Sotello looked at Sanders for a moment, and then reached into his suit coat for a folded sheet of paper. He handed it to Sanders. “They are staying there. Will you let me do this for you?”
Sanders stared at the printed sheet, and glanced up at Sotello again. “I didn’t think you would give this over to me.”
“I have a daughter, as you have reminded me. I do not want to be the one to make this decision for you.”
“Can you continue working out the details while I think this over?” Sanders asked.
“Of course,” Sotello agreed. “I may have a little trouble leaving the country before I straighten this deal out with the police in Placerville. We will have a week anyway, no matter what. With Lynn’s help on this, I can bring your daughter around to see this through her own eyes. It may make all the difference.”
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 13