“I’m afraid you’re more right than you know. Justice, honor, and doing the right thing do not always happen at the same time in every situation. They guide my decisions, but I admit to shortcutting the third to achieve one of the first two in some situations. Ellen could have had Daniels arrested, but it would have been her word against his and the Fletcher woman. I would have been a walking time bomb, and justice probably would never have been served. Did the punishment fit the crime, probably not in a lot of peoples’ eyes, nor would the fate of those two jerks he coerced to take me out be considered fair to many people. My only regret in the whole deal, makes me accountable: I let her go to Placerville. Ultimately the responsibility rests with me, but do I regret the actions following? Hell no!”
“I felt the same way,” Craig said honestly. “I will never question what we did up there. I felt like Ellen. I just did not want you going to prison over it. As it turned out, you could have been killed.”
“And if you and Ellen would have walked in with me, you would both be dead too,” Sotello said, reminding Craig of the two men sent to kill him. “I will have to watch out for Daniels, and those other two characters, for the rest of my life. I can think of no better example of what I meant about paying for our decisions in life.”
“Did Kathy know you very well?”
“She never went with me to beat anyone up,” Sotello replied.
“Very funny,” Craig replied. “I meant did she know all about what you do for a living, and about your time in the FBI and Secret Service?”
“We dated for nine months before she moved. She knew I had a law license, and where I went to school. You were in the office sometimes when I brought her by there. We never really had any in depth conversations about the private investigating business.” Sotello paused for a moment. “Come to think of it, we did talk about past occupations, because I found out she had been a school teacher before working for the engineering firm. Why?”
“I wondered if she might have been afraid of you,” Craig answered.
“I never gave her any reason to be, but I won’t say I know for sure that she wasn’t. We really hit it off though. I admit to being surprised when she left. People with her talent are in high demand around here, and her only relative I know of was a sister in Wisconsin. Do you think she was?” Sotello asked seriously.
“Well, she asked me about your time in the service,” Craig answered, “and about your time working for the government, once when we were alone. She just acted curious, but I felt like something bothered her. Could she have heard something from someone else?”
“I doubt it, but what’s this all about Craig? You never talked about Kathy before.”
“I guess I figured it was your business, but with things happening so fast, I thought maybe now was a good time to talk about everything. I learn from you. You seemed pretty happy with Kathy. Ellen and I thought you might even marry her. When she left, and you never mentioned her again, I thought something happened between you two.” Craig paused. “Doesn’t it bother you to be alone?”
“As opposed to what?” Sotello asked grinning. “Misery with the wrong woman.”
“No, I just thought being alone all the time might have started bothering you.” Craig replied.
“You and Ellen starting to feel guilty when you don’t go home with me every night like you did when you were both kids?”
“Well, Mom’s not around, and we don’t spend as much time with you as we used to, even a couple of years ago,” Craig replied. “I’ve learned more about you in the last couple of days than I did in my past life. I’m on a roll.”
“I guess you may be right in that, although not because I was ashamed,” Sotello answered. “Life as a parent goes on. We all spent a lot of time together. Now, you two have your own lives. Do I start whining when you don’t stop by to see me all the time? You two spend more time with me than I could have possibly hoped for. I never thought either of you would take a liking to the investigation business. I even had my doubts either of you would stay in the area. It means something to me to see you both out on your own.”
“Has Kathy called you since moving to Texas?” Craig continued.
“She called to give me her new address, and we exchange cards. I sent her a couple of pictures of the three of us hiking in the mountains. Kathy was closer to my age group than Lynn. When the difference gets up over ten years, I feel like I’m crossing generational lines. Even Kathy sometimes looked at me funny when I used one of my arcane references, you and Ellen kid me about. I am a dinosaur, and Lynn really needs someone more her own age. If she ever gets into the clear, she might feel it may be time to start a family. I am definitely too old to start over in that area.”
“I never thought of that. You do so much, and except for your hair being gray, you really could pass for a younger guy; but I can see why you would not want to start raising a kid from scratch,” Craig replied.
“I would love to handle grandkids one day,” Sotello stated, “but I would probably not have the energy to guide them when the teenage years hit. I never really did have a problem with being alone, but I have never been someone with bouts of depression. The cure for depression can be as easy as putting one foot in front of the other. I think people get upset about being old and alone, because they confuse debilitating maladies with depression. My personal feeling about old age alone depends on my health. I want to grow old with all my faculties or I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“I understand your feelings there. I see some of the people who live in those homes, and it breaks my heart. I remember going to visit your old neighbor at the home on 15th Street. It was like entering the seventh level of hell.” Craig concluded.
“I should never have taken you with me. God grant me a quick and even young death as opposed to that life,” Sotello said grimly. “I keep my papers current. If I am ever to have something like a stroke happen, they are to use nothing to keep me alive, no tubes, no shots, and no oxygen. You make sure to tell them Craig, they better pray to God, if they go against my wishes, that I never recover enough to get my hands on a gun.”
“We know the drill Dad. I don’t know why they get so fanatical about not letting someone over seventy drift off naturally, but unborn babies in the millions can be aborted without blinking an eye.” Craig added.
“The world turned upside down, just like some of our justice system. I am glad you have the perspective you do on life. It must be a pain dealing with those liberal idiots at college with your attitude,” Sotello said. “I guess you don’t have as many classes they can work the propaganda into.”
“No, most of my general ed classes are over. They were the ones to make you wonder if common sense and logic were just plain dead and buried,” Craig replied. “What’s your plan for Mr. Simmons?”
“Actually, I use very little rocket science in capturing these guys. Unlike the TV bounty hunters, I make deals with the bail bondsman before I leave, and then the local police in the area where the skip resides,” Sotello answered.
“What do you mean by deals? I thought we had to bring them back locked in the trunk of the car,” Craig joked.
“Not exactly,” Sotello laughed. “I do sometimes bring them back in the car, but not very often. They are wanted fugitives, and many times the police want to handle it, because they let everyone know they are needed when they get a good headline. If a bail bondsman will not settle for anything less than personal retrieval, I either quote so high a figure they won’t take me up on it, or I just tell them to get someone else.”
“I can’t see the police caring for stuff out of their jurisdiction,” Craig observed. “It just means more paper work for what really means very little to them.”
“Only in the movies do local police fight against going after armed robbers, and worse, in their jurisdiction, just because the crime was not committed there,” Sotello instructed. “They get paid by the citizens of their cities to protect them from violent criminals. P
reventative police work goes a long way to saving them work in the future.”
“I notice you still put on your Colt,” Craig said, referring to Sotello’s shoulder holster, just visible under his open suit jacket.
“Simmons and I have some history. It would be stupid for me not to carry. I have a Nevada license for conceal-carry, and I have a current Nevada Private Investigator’s license.” Sotello answered. “So many of the skips from all over end up in Nevada, it became worth my while to pay the extra fees.”
“And the police actually help you?”
“I report into the precinct where I will be operating,” Sotello explained. “I have a resume of sorts with my background, and current licenses, in my briefcase. I know two policemen in Reno, and I usually say hi to them before I make an official appearance. I called both of them before picking you up. Rick Santos, you may have heard me mention. He went on the camping trip with me to the Caribou Wilderness area. He and I were in the Bureau together. Jason Carvello, you’ve never met. Rick introduced us when I went to Reno a few years ago, after the woman who skipped out over the telephone con. I used her as an example, to show you and Ellen about phone scams.”
“I remember her,” Craig agreed. “She bilked old people out of their life savings with some pyramid deal, right?”
“That’s the one. Anyway, Rick told me Jason was his partner and his best friend, so I cut them in on whatever I come up with in the Reno area,” Sotello expanded. “In return, they help me stay out of trouble with the locals.”
“What do you mean cut them in? You mean you bribe them to do their job?”
“They are under no pressure to help me in any way, shape, or form,” Sotello explained patiently. “Just because I show respect for another person, working inside the law, with a taste of the fee I get for working a case in their area, does not mean I am bribing them. We all know if I get into town, present a case to them, and they think it’s too trivial, or not to their liking, I am on my own.”
“If I have to go through my credentials with someone at the station, I want to have some groundwork done before I get there. Rick and Jason do the groundwork for me. I do all the spotting, and set up work, so the locals only have to move in. I do the point work at the doorstep or whatever. Now some of the point work can be dangerous. It helps to have backup from the police. They, of course, get all the credit and handle all the transfers back to the Bay Area. The bondsman knows who orchestrated the capture, and I get paid. I give Rick and Jason twenty-percent to split. In this case, they will receive a thousand dollars to split.”
“Oh, so what happened to this no danger stuff? I thought you just birddog the skip, and move aside for the police to do their job,” Craig reminded him. “It sounds like you’ve been doing some Magnum P.I. stuff after all.”
“Look,” Sotello replied defensively, “I do not want one of these young guys to take a bullet on some skip from out of their state, and neither do they. I am more careful than they are, because I make sure I know the target. I know this Simmons character very well. I plan on this going down smoothly.”
“We get to Reno. We check into a motel. We check in with the Reno police, and Rick said he would meet us at the station around four in the afternoon. He and Jason are detectives now. He’ll intro us to his Captain, and we will then start our surveillance work. These guys do not want a guy like Simmons around anymore than Simmons’ parents do, believe me.”
“So I’ll be going with you to meet up with your friend in the station?” Craig asked.
“If you do any of this work, you will need contacts,” Sotello affirmed. “I hope you don’t go after guys like Simmons, but we might as well start with the worst kind of skip first: the psychopath. Simmons never cared about another human being in his life.”
“Then why are we going after him Dad?”
“Because I know his parents. They have four other children they raised to be first class people. They did everything they could to get Lionel right too. I don’t want to see them lose everything they have. I should have said no, but I couldn’t,” Sotello admitted. “Simmons already hates my guts. I figured he would have been long dead by now, like most of the assholes he hung out with, dead or in prison.”
“He could come after you when he gets out, or after Ellen or I, couldn’t he?” Craig asked.
“Yea, this thing probably looks more stupid to you every minute, huh?” Sotello asked smiling. “You might as well know the bad parts of this business. We do a lot of work where we end up hurting someone personally, and we take the chance they will show up someday to get even. Every time we take pictures to show someone cheating on a spouse, we gamble they might one day show up at our office with an AK 47.”
“I guess Ellen and I get so wrapped up in the nuts and bolts part of this, we never considered fully the other side, and how they might feel about us tearing apart their lives.”
“Now you know why when I let you two get involved, I make sure you both stay in the shadows of whatever I happen to be handling. It does lead to great work, like guiding people around San Francisco on their dime, or finding someone’s missing daughter or son. Unfortunately we cannot build a reputation in the business with a few jobs a year. The other work keeps us prosperous, but I handle the dirty end,” Sotello continued.
“It’s a wonder someone hasn’t shot you from on top of a building or something,” Craig replied.
“I think about it. Like you and Ellen have found out, this business does have some intangible attraction you just cannot quite put your finger on. We do get to help people. More often than not, they are very nice people. I want you to find out about the shady side next to me, and not out on your own, like Ellen.”
“I admit the attraction of this, even part time, makes deciding about a career more and more difficult,” Craig replied.
“You really have a chance to do as many things as you wish,” Sotello agreed. “With your language skills, a real estate license, and some years of experience in investigations, it could mean a lot of income. More importantly, you can juggle it all out of the same office.”
“I believe like Heinlein: ‘Specialization is for insects.’”
Sotello laughed. “I was always partial to that particular line myself. Do you remember the first part of the quote? I used to repeat it all the time to your Mother, and you kids.”
“Of course.” Craig changed to the resonance of his Father’s voice. “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”
Sotello laughed at hearing Craig mimic his voice, including the passion he always put into the quote. “Yes weasel, you have it down perfectly. I always loved quoting it to your Mom every time she said I should cut back on the things I had going at the time.”
“I still remember her rolling her eyes when she would hear the first couple of words,” Craig added.
“And of course you kids would start clapping and laughing, because you knew it irritated her.”
“That goes without saying. I guess Ellen and I took the quote to heart, because it seems tedious now even thinking about specializing.”
“It never hurts to have things you can do better than anyone, and some you are just proficient at. Let’s talk about how we need to take Mr. Simmons.”
“We’ll take him just like we did Daniels. I can call him, and tell him the man’s coming to get him. When he steps out of the house, you take him into custody with the police as backup,” Craig expounded, as his Father shook his head in wonder. “What? You didn’t think I could figure out what you had in mind? I’m a quick study.”
“I see that,” Sotello admitted. “I am impressed. Do you have any idea how I should take him?”
“Did you pack the Taser?�
�� Craig asked nonchalantly.
“I didn’t even know you knew I bought the Taser,” Sotello said smiling.
“We keep up on the books Dad. I know all the purchases you make. I didn’t see you mess around with it, but I figured you would let us practice with it when you were ready. They’re accurate to fifteen feet, right?”
“Yes, and it will drop him like a bad habit,” Sotello added. “Of course the police cannot use those nasty things, so except for Rick and Jason, we will keep the take down method to ourselves unless they specifically ask. They won’t care. We can count on one fact; we will not take Lionel down by talking him into surrendering. If I do this right, he won’t even know who or what hit him.”
“Sounds like you would rather Mr. Simmons remain in the dark on who ends his little adventure,” Craig observed.
“With our criminal justice system in California, we can never be sure he won’t be back out on the street next week. Simmons would make his first stop at my office,” Sotello said. “If he gets out right away on some technicality, I will have to find him before he finds me.”
“Another reason you probably should not have taken this case,” Craig admonished.
Sotello smiled. “Yes Number One, I realize all the little problems with my decision in this matter, but thank you for reminding me once again.”
“Always glad to help.”
“We’ll need to find him quickly once we get there, because the police will not want some circus going on for any length of time. I would rather see him move around a little, and maybe find a place out away from the Winton woman’s house to take him down at,” Sotello said.
“You really put a deadline on this one, I noticed,” Craig replied.
“These skips have to go fast, or many times, by the time I get into position, the skip will be gone. You cannot imagine how flaky people get. They will hire me through the bondsman to go after someone responsible for leaving them holding the bag for thousands of dollars, and then tip off the skip before I get there. Damon knows better than to let the people he represents know anything about it. Even though I know Simmons will not be tipped off, it will work to our advantage to take him within the first twelve hours we’re there,” Sotello instructed.
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 19