“Jim, it’s me, Stan Sheckley. I have planned the ceremony for seven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, at Jack London Square.”
“We’ll be there Stan. I have reviewed the folder you gave me on Lynn’s affairs, and I want you in on this to help settle her estate. Just call me when you have your contract ready for a signature.”
“Come over around noon tomorrow, and I’ll have it ready for you,” Sheckley replied.
“Good, talk to you then.” Sotello hung up. He dressed quickly and locked up. With Tinker on her leash, he walked across the street and coaxed her into the Dodge again. The ride to his home reacquainted Sotello with having a dog’s head hanging out of the window just behind his neck.
__
The limousine pulled up next to the group, huddled together in the rain by the pier. Sanders got out of the backseat and walked up to join Sotello, where he stood with Ellen and Craig. The ceremony had ended just moments before. The minister repeated the familiar strain of ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whosoever believeth in me shall never die’, to bring it to an end. Only Stan Sheckley, the Minister, Sotello, Ellen, and Craig were there. Sotello looked a little surprised at Sanders’ appearance. Sotello took Sanders’ proffered hand in greeting.
“I’m sorry I’m late Jim,” Sanders said. “I guess you could not ask for a better day for a funeral ceremony.”
“I’m glad you came at all,” Sotello replied, releasing Sanders’ hand, and gesturing to Ellen and Craig. “Darren, I’d like you to meet my daughter Ellen, and my son Craig.”
Sanders shook hands with them warmly. “I am very pleased to meet you both. I have heard you will be accompanying your Father to try and intercede on my behalf overseas. I am grateful.”
“If it can be done Mr. Sanders,” Ellen replied, “we will be happy to do it.”
“I have very high hopes now of your success in the matter.” Sanders turned to Sotello then. “The negotiations with Mr. Bennett became a bit more complicated than I had foreseen Jim. Otherwise, I would have contacted you yesterday. I have the document you need in the car.”
“I figured with the IQ level of Mr. Bennett, you would have some problems,” Sotello replied. He saw Sheckley finish speaking to the minister and walk towards them.
“Stan, this is Darren Sanders. Darren, this is Stan Sheckley, the lawyer handling Lynn’s estate, and who will be handling legal matters for me from now on.” Sotello watched the two shake hands without any recognition. Sotello breathed an inner sigh of relief.
“I’ll be going now Jim,” Sheckley informed him. “I’m sorry more people did not come out.”
“I don’t think Lynn cares much now,” Sotello said. “Funerals are more for the living anyway. I was about to ask Mr. Sanders to join me for breakfast. Would you like to come along?”
“I have to get to the office Jim,” Sheckley replied, “perhaps another time. Nice meeting you Mr. Sanders.”
Sheckley shook hands with Ellen and Craig, and then walked the minister back to his car. Sotello turned again to Sanders. “Would you like to have some breakfast somewhere with us? We can talk a little about Ramon.”
“I have already arranged a place. Come along in my car,” Sanders replied, gesturing to the limo.
Sotello, Ellen, and Craig entered the spacious vehicle with Sanders following. His driver immediately jumped out and closed the car door. The driver took them to a place on Embarcadero West, called Jack London Inn Coffee Shop. After they were seated at the restaurant, and had ordered their food, Sanders handed a folder to Sotello, he had brought in with him from the car. In the folder were three pages of handwritten details, explaining the murder of Deborah Lynn Gillingham. At the bottom of the third page was Ramon Bennet’s signature. Sotello read over the grim account. He looked up finally after finishing.
“I guess nothing less than selling the rest of us out would have saved her life, and by Bennet’s account, even that may not have done it. Lynn underestimated Bennet’s reaction to her change in plans,” Sotello observed.
“True,” Sanders agreed, “but it still does not explain her making out the last minute will, including a pre-death bed statement. Bennet would have been in South America, if Lynn’s body had been discovered a few hours later.”
“How much trouble was it to get the statement from Bennet?” Sotello asked.
“He wanted the representation, and he knows me. Ramon had planned to be long gone by the time the police started looking for anyone. His statement should help you, don’t you think?” Sanders concluded.
“Without a doubt,” Sotello conceded. “It will underline the predicament Phillips will find himself in once he reads Lynn’s statement, and then this one. I will make copies of it all for Ellen and Craig to show your daughter. As to Lynn knowing how much danger she would be in, and the chance she was taking, I can only assume to her it was just one more little gamble. She simply wrote the statement to hedge her bets.”
“Your theory seems to be the only one which fits the facts,” Sanders admitted. He paused as their breakfasts were served. After the server had left them, Sanders continued. “When can you go Jim?”
“I think the end of the week, before Phillips gets word about Lynn somehow. Even if he does get word, it will probably only make him more receptive to a way out of this,” Sotello answered.
Sanders nodded. He looked at Ellen and Craig. “Can you two get free that quickly, and how are you doing with your injuries Ellen?”
“Pretty well Mr. Sanders,” Ellen answered. “Craig and I can go on this trip whenever my Dad wants. We can make up anything we miss at school, as long as we inform the professors in advance.”
“Why did Gina want to hurt you like this, Mr. Sanders?” Craig asked.
“We don’t need…” Sotello began.
“It’s okay Jim,” Sanders interrupted. He looked at Craig for a moment before answering. “Her social consciousness could not ignore what my business entailed for so many years. Gina’s Mother painted an unflattering picture of me over the last year. All but the drug part of it was pretty much fact. I have gambling interests, and I have dealt in political favors concerning business and land speculation. After explaining it all to Gina when she confronted me with what her Mother had said, I could tell in her eyes my explanation had not been enough. She met Phillips shortly after, and you know the rest. I guess extortion seemed a fair punishment for my wrongdoing.”
“I didn’t mean to get personal Mr. Sanders,” Craig said, “but I wondered even after Gina knows the truth, if it will make a difference to her. As you pointed out, she seems not to have any qualms about blackmailing her own Father.”
“I would have to agree with your assessment Craig,” Sanders acknowledged. “I am left with only the chance to get her out of this unhurt. The rest will be up to her in the end. Trust, I am afraid, will be a long time in coming. My expectations beyond Gina’s safety are pretty low.”
Craig nodded his understanding and continued eating. The rest of the meal was consumed in silence. Sanders insisted on paying the bill at the end of the meal. They left the restaurant, and Sanders had them driven back to the pier where the ceremony had taken place earlier. As they were exiting the car, Sanders put a hand on Sotello’s shoulder.
“Can you hang back for a moment Jim?” Sanders asked.
Sotello nodded, and gestured for Ellen and Craig to walk on ahead. “Craig can be a little too direct sometimes,” Sotello said. “It runs in the family.”
Sanders smiled and leaned back in the seat. “He was right in asking.
Would you consider a proposition I have in mind when you get back?”
“Concerning what?” Sotello asked puzzled.
“I would like you to consider running for Governor of California,” Sanders replied sitting up in the seat again.
Sotello burst into laughter, until he realized Sanders was not joining in on the joke. “Darren, the election takes place in less than two months. Besides the obvious fact of my being
completely unqualified to be Governor of anything, I am so far right of popular opinion in California, no party would have me. I am only conversing with you about this, because you are not a man I take lightly, and I do not wish to just blow you off like I think you have lost your mind.”
“Jim, you would not believe how overqualified to govern this goofy state you really are,” Sanders said seriously, as he leaned forward on the seat, clasping his hands in front of him. “I know that even as we speak, the Republican candidate, Don Rankin, will be dropping out of the race within the next week. His wife of thirty years died suddenly of a heart attack two weeks ago. I have known them both for a long time. I am a rather large contributor to the Republican Party. They contacted me just after Don called me to thank me for my support, and to tell me he could not go on in the race without his wife Sarah. No one opposed Don in the primaries, because frankly, we really had no one to run against Red Davidson. He spent the last few years making sure he did nothing to hurt his chances for an eventual Presidential bid.”
“When this energy crisis hit, and made him look like the do nothing he was, Davidson figured he would do well to hang on to the Governorship. Although Don has been my personal friend for many years, and a damned fine man, he really did not have the fire to make for a real clear choice between him and Davidson. I believe you have real differences with what Davidson believes. When the Party Chairman, Tom Dutton called, I told him all about you. He just about laughed me off, until I told him to go and check out your record. When he called me back, he was coming unglued.”
“What do you mean, coming unglued,” Sotello asked, with some consternation creeping into his voice.
“I mean he was so excited, he could hardly talk. Jim, think about it in the way these political hacks look at things,” Sanders explained. He began listing Sotello’s background by heart: “You were an orphan, who worked his way up to own his own business. You were a Green Beret and a decorated war veteran. You are a college graduate with a law degree. You were in the FBI and Secret Service. You were married to an Afro-American woman, and have two grown children by her. You have owned and ran your own Detective Agency for almost twenty years, and assisted the police in a number of cases. Jim, I know you do not think of these things, but you can see what excited this Dutton guy. I read in your record where you speak five languages, including Spanish and Chinese fluently. Do you realize how many votes just that fact will mean?”
“It won’t mean a thing,” Sotello replied calmly, “because they will not like what I have to say, in any language. I listen to Rush Limbaugh every day I can, and I am probably five notches to the right of him. I believe partial birth abortion to be a practice directly out of the Nazi Death Camps. Want me to go on?”
“No,” Sanders said smiling. “You, my friend, are the first real candidate I have ever heard. Will you think about it, and talk it over with your kids over the next week? We will have to have an answer when you return from overseas.”
“I will think about it, out of respect for you Darren,” Sotello told him, “but when these guys know I will not play ball with anyone about what I believe in, they will be pissed.”
“Jim, I own most of these guys, not because I blackmail them; but because they owe me so many favors, some of them do not blow their noses without asking my permission. I want you to run for Governor of California; because for the first time in my life, I have a chance of helping a real conservative get elected to an office.” Sanders paused for a moment, searching Sotello’s face. “Look Jim, you will be owned by no one. If I can get you elected, I want you to be a Governor, and not some puppet with strings running from one border to the other.”
Sotello nodded. “I’ll give you my decision when I get back with your daughter. My kids should have a say in this, because it will affect them big time.”
Sanders held out his hand, and Sotello grasped it. “That is all I ask. If you say yes, this could be the most exciting two months in this state’s history.”
“If I ever became Governor of California, Darren,” Sotello replied, “the race would be looked on with nostalgia, like a light breeze next to a typhoon.”
Sanders laughed. “Exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear. Goodbye for now my friend.”
“So long Darren,” Sotello said, as he stepped out of the limousine. He looked back before closing the door. “Thanks for adding another entire dimension of potential disaster to my life buddy.”
Sotello could still see Sanders laughing as he closed the rear door.
Chapter 21
Europe
Sotello caught up to Ellen and Craig in the parking lot, and put his arms around both of them. “You two will not believe what I am about to tell you. It will be akin to a flying saucer landing here in the parking lot.”
“Sanders wants you to hire on as his personal assassin, right?” Ellen asked.
“He wants me to run for Governor of California,” Sotello replied, waiting for the disbelief from his two children in great anticipation. They did not disappoint him, as both came to a dead halt in the middle of the parking lot. The looks of astonishment were akin to if Sotello had suddenly sprouted a horn out of his forehead.
Craig burst into laughter. Soon all three were convulsed in laughter. After a few moments, they moved to Sotello’s Dodge. Craig climbed in the back, while Ellen sat up front next to Sotello. After all were seated inside, Ellen turned to her Father. “You would be a great Governor.”
“Yea Dad, you’ve been complaining about the people in the Governor’s mansion for at least the last ten years,” Craig added. “I think your latest description of the present occupant went something like this: a commie wannabe, with aspirations of eventually leading the free world into a socialist cesspool.” Craig quoted in perfect Sotello mimicry, which provoked more laughter.
“You aren’t afraid of running for Governor, are you?” Ellen asked.
“It would not be me I would be afraid for,” Sotello answered. “I don’t think you two understand what they mean when they speak of the campaign trail. Although they would only have a couple of months to lay waste to my entire life, the media would be falling all over itself to destroy me, and everyone associated with me. I believe in the Second Amendment, banning all public funds for abortion, putting a stop to illegal immigration, halting this Smog Check fiasco scam they have running in California, ending the addition of the poison MTBE in our fuel, and…”
“We get the picture, Governor Sotello,” Craig interrupted. “With the media being on the opposite end of everything you believe in, you feel they will make our lives miserable, right?”
“Exactly,” Sotello replied. “Whatever they can’t find to drag us through the mud, they will make up, and claim they received the information from unnamed sources. You two could kiss off any thought of a private life. If you sneeze without covering your mouth, it will be on the news that very night. Our business will come to an abrupt halt, from which I do not know how long it would take to recover.”
Ellen looked at her brother, who nodded smiling. She turned back to Sotello and said, “Bring it on.”
“I didn’t think anything could get me more pumped up than the trip to Europe, but this definitely makes Europe look like a walk around the block,” Craig added. “If you really are asking for our input, then you need ask no more, Ancient One. Ellen and I can handle ourselves, and you always told us we should not spend our lives ducking challenges.”
“These weenie moderates in this state, running the Republican Party, will probably throw me out before the election once they hear they can’t control me. I just don’t know if I am up to throwing our lives into chaos on a whim like this. I doubt I would have even a prayer of ever being elected. Having news people shoving cameras and microphones in my face from the moment I walk out the door in the morning does not appeal to me. You two are young, and cannot see beyond the great adventure aspect of this.”
“Sure, but you’re the one who always says you can do anythin
g better than us, even though you are ancient,” Craig pointed out. “Prove it.”
Sotello sighed as he leaned back in the seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly, and closing his eyes. “Ah youth, so righteous, and full of crap. Wait until you two start hearing the Uncle Tom label from all of the race baiters in California. When I state, in no uncertain terms, I believe in everything Ward Connerly stands for, and affirmative action belongs in the scrap yard of outmoded ideas, you two will be the ones under the microscope. The media will want to know if either of you, from the time you drew breath, ever benefited from affirmative action, whether you knew it or not.”
“You and Mom trained us to write in American on every paper ever asking for our race,” Ellen stated. “We’ll tell them that.”
Sotello smiled as he sat back up, and turned to look at his daughter. “Sure, but they will claim you cannot discount the way you look. They will ask if you ever applied for a job or position in person, when the interviewer could tell your race, face to face.”
“We had no control over that,” Craig cut in.
“So, you think they care about accuracy, truth, or facts?” Sotello laughed. “Get real. They will be all over you both like hyenas on a three-day-old carcass. Believe me, that’s only an example. Then there will be the death threats. Liberals talk about freedom of speech, but they only live by it if you agree with them.”
“Gee, we have never faced anything like that in, let’s see,” Craig said, leaning back as if thinking carefully, “oh, what El, three days?”
Ellen laughed, as Sotello tried to rebut the sarcasm. “You laugh now,” Sotello informed them knowingly, “but wait until you live it on a day to day basis, while trying to get through your classes at college, or even walking down the street. It will not be so funny then.”
Ellen reached over and put her hand on Sotello’s arm. “Dad, you asked for our advice. Like you always tell us, don’t ask a question you do not want an answer for.”
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 23