“Very well then,” Sotello said starting the Dodge. “I will record your votes, and then see how I feel about things after we get back. Man, and I thought after this job, I could go back to business as usual.”
__
“I am sure glad you insisted we take something to make us sleep through the trip over here, Dad,” Ellen said. “I still feel like I’m out at sea in fifteen foot waves.”
“If jet lag can feel this bad with sleep,” Craig commented, “how badly could it feel without it?”
“You don’t want to know,” Sotello replied.
It had taken them hours to pass through customs, with the terrorist precautions in effect at all airports. They then proceeded to the Hotel Waldhaus, where they had reservations. A light drizzle, with a cold clamminess, made their arrival in St. Moritz a bit on the dreary side. They unpacked quickly upon being shown to their adjoining rooms. Ellen stayed in her own room; while much to Craig’s dismay, Sotello shared his son’s room. With the number he had been given to contact Phillips before Lynn’s death, he dialed it, hoping to set up a meeting right away with Phillips and Gina Sanders. A woman answered the phone in French. Sotello asked in French if he could speak to Adrian Phillips.
The woman paused momentarily. “I do not know an Adrian Phillips.”
“My name is James Sotello. I have come on behalf of Deborah Lynn Gillingham. She gave me this number. She was murdered a few days ago…”
“Murdered?” The woman cut in, switching to English in dismay.
“Gina?” Sotello asked in English.
“Ye…Yes,” She stammered.
“Could I meet with you and Adrian? Lynn gave me papers to give to you both. I am the executor of her estate. Can I give you my number, and you can have Adrian contact me at my hotel as soon as possible?” Sotello asked in English.
“I guess that would be okay. He should be here in about an hour,” Gina replied hesitantly. “Are we in danger Mr. Sotello?”
“Not at this time, but these papers do deal with some aspect of the danger you both may face in the future. Please have Adrian call me as soon as he comes in Gina,” Sotello urged. Sotello gave her the number to reach him at, and told her what hotel they were staying at.
“I will Mr. Sotello. Goodbye.” Gina hung up the phone.
Craig and Ellen had finished unpacking. Ellen was in the shower, and Craig sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for Sotello to finish his call. “How did it go Dad? I heard you actually reached Gina.”
“It went as well as could be expected,” Sotello answered. “She sounded shocked at Lynn’s death, which means news of it had not reached them yet. Phillips should be able to deduce the fact I have control of the safety deposit box. You go ahead and get a shower, while I get the rest of my stuff unpacked.”
Craig nodded and went into their lavish bathroom. Sotello finished putting away the extra clothes he had brought. He felt just as groggy as Ellen had hinted she was. Ellen came into the room as Sotello sat down wearily on his bed. She sat down next to him as she towel dried her hair. Sotello looked over at her and grinned tiredly.
“You don’t look so good Dad.”
“No, ya think?”
“No need to get testy,” Ellen laughed. “Did you call Phillips?”
“Yep, and I manage to reach Gina Sanders,” Sotello replied. “She promised to have Phillips call me as soon as he gets back to their place. I told Craig she sounded surprised at Lynn’s death. I…”
The phone rang and Sotello answered it. “Jim Sotello here.”
“Gina told me Lynn’s dead,” a rather shaky, baritone voice said quietly. “What do you know about it, Sotello?”
“Quite a bit Mr. Phillips,” Sotello replied. “I would rather go over all the details of the murder, and the papers she left for you to have in the event of her death, in person. Can you and Ms. Sanders meet with me?”
“What do you have to do with all of this?” Phillips asked suspiciously.
“I own Oakland Detective Agency,” Sotello explained. “I became involved with Ms. Gillingham in my capacity as a private detective. I will discuss nothing further with you over the phone, Sir. We can meet anywhere you would like. Pick a public place with lots of people. If you are familiar with my hotel’s restaurant, we can meet there for lunch. Would my hotel be acceptable?”
“Do I have a choice?” Phillips asked, with some frustration creeping into his voice.
“You have choices Mr. Phillips, but very few intelligent ones,” Sotello answered. “I have the safety deposit box key.”
“How do… oh, never mind,” Phillips stammered. “Why does Gina have to come with me?”
“Lynn left papers for her too. She will need to come with you,” Sotello told him.
“Very well,” Phillips conceded. “We will meet you in the restaurant of your hotel in one hour. Will you be alone?”
“I have my son and daughter with me. They take care of the paper work in my business. I thought Gina might feel more comfortable with them. Would you have a problem with them joining us?” Sotello asked.
“No, I guess not.”
“Good,” Sotello said. “I will be wearing a three piece, dark gray suit, and I have short, graying hair. I will see you in an hour.”
Phillips acknowledged Sotello’s information, and hung up the phone. Sotello turned to Ellen. “We’re on. He does not seem too pleased.”
“No reason for him to feel good about anything you’ve said so far,” Ellen replied. Craig came out of the bathroom in a white hotel robe.
“I heard the phone ring,” Craig said, pulling up a chair near the bed, where his Father and sister sat. “Was it Phillips?”
“We meet them in an hour down in the hotel restaurant,” Sotello told him. “Did you bring those stills of Sanders’ men, you made from the video you took outside the restaurant the other day? We may need some backup on this meeting.”
“I have them in my bag,” Craig acknowledged.
“Get them out. Darren told me he would have his men here in advance, and gave me a number to call if I needed them,” Sotello said. He dialed the number, and Craig retrieved the photos in his bag. A man said hello in very rough French. Sotello said the word Gina.
“Sotello?” the man asked.
“Yes, can you be at our hotel restaurant in forty minutes?” Sotello asked.
“You checked in at the Waldhaus, right?”
“That’s right,” Sotello acknowledged. “We will be meeting with Phillips and Gina in about fifty minutes. He may not walk in with company, but there may be a couple of guys trailing them. I do not want them to interfere with our meeting.”
“We’ll take care of it,” the man agreed. “Anything else?”
“No, if we can keep this low profile, we will. I would like Phillips to be unaware of your presence, unless he brings along someone to interfere,” Sotello instructed.
“I understand. We better get going. Do you know what we look like?”
“Yes,” Sotello replied.
“Okay then.” The man acknowledged, and hung up the phone.
Sotello looked at the phone for a second before hanging up. “Doesn’t anyone say goodbye anymore?” he asked, smiling at Ellen.
Craig walked in with the three photos, and passed them around for the three of them to commit to memory.
“Well kids, get dressed while I get cleaned up, and then we’ll go down to the restaurant. I want for us to be in place a little earlier than the guys we have helping us.” Sotello received answering nods, as he turned to the bathroom.
__
Craig saw the men come into the restaurant first. “Sanders’ men just came in, Dad. Sotello looked up in time to see the three men begin to converse with the man at the restaurant greeting desk. The first man wore his blond hair fashionably long. Although at least six feet tall himself, his two friends were two or three inches taller, with dark hair, cut short. They all wore conservatively tailored suits, and carried briefcases. Their ties we
re the only real variance of color. After a brief discussion, they took a table to the right of the doorway, and only slightly inside the grouping of tables.
Sotello had chosen a table deep into the room. Lunchtime had ended before they came in, and only four other tables were occupied. They had all ordered coffee, and Sotello told their waiter they were waiting for another couple. He gave the waiter his name, and asked him to direct the couple to their table. Sotello tipped him generously.
Sotello saw Gina first, as she walked in through the restaurant entrance. She wore a dark blue dress, with a v-type collar, and hem ending just below her knee. It highlighted her blond hair. A simple gold chain around her neck, which she fingered nervously, appeared to be the only jewelry she wore. Phillips entered right after her, scanning the room. His attention paused on Sanders’ men, but when no one at the table even glanced his way, he looked away. The waiter pointed out Sotello, and Phillips escorted Gina back towards their table.
Sotello and Craig stood up politely. Phillips stuck out his hand, smiling awkwardly. “You must be Jim Sotello,” Phillips said uneasily.
Sotello grasped his hand, and gestured at Craig and Ellen. “Yes, and this is my son Craig, and my daughter Ellen. Please sit down and join us.”
After Craig and Ellen shook hands with Phillips and Gina, Phillips seated his companion. He then sat down and ordered coffee for both of them. Phillips waited until the waiter had served the coffee and walked away. “Now then, Mr. Sotello, you said you had some papers for us.”
“First off,” Sotello replied. “Would it be alright if you and I walked over to the bar, and discussed some matters first? Ellen and Craig can keep Gina company, and begin filling her in on some of the information we have. It would be to your advantage if we talked in private first.”
Phillips looked at Sotello with obvious suspicion. Sotello saw two men enter the restaurant, who did not hide the fact they did not belong. They were dressed casually, and as they entered the restaurant, they both looked around until they saw Phillips. Both wore their dark hair long, and both sported mustaches. The taller of the two led the way into the room. He was heavily built, although not fat. His companion, who Sotello figured to be only about five feet eight inches tall and heavy set, let the other man do the talking while he watched their table. The man in the front pointed to a table in the middle of the room, and they were seated.
Phillips finally answered. “Why have me bring Gina at all, if I am the only one you wish to talk to?”
“We needed to speak to both of you Mr. Phillips, but there were a few matters Lynn specified for your ears only. You may fill Gina in on the information later if you so desire. I must follow Lynn’s directions in the matter,” Sotello concluded.
“I thought only lawyers did this type of business,” Phillips pointed out.
Sotello took a sheet of paper from his briefcase and gave it over to Phillips. “I have a license to practice law in California, as you can see, although a will may be executed by anyone designated by the deceased.”
Phillips looked over Sotello’s certificate, and then gave it back to him. “Okay, where do we talk?”
“They have a bar here, called the Devil’s Place. Why don’t we go in there?” Sotello suggested.
Phillips nodded, and stood up. He led the way out of the restaurant. Sotello followed, glancing back in time to see Sanders’ men join the two men getting ready to follow Phillips. The blonde haired man leaned close to the smaller man, who had trailed Phillips into the restaurant. Sotello could see he shoved something into the man’s side as he talked to him. The two men sat down again, and Sanders’ men sat down with them. Sotello turned back to continue after Phillips.
When the two men were seated at a table inside the bar room, Phillips ordered a drink, while Sotello just asked for coffee. Phillips looked expectantly at the entrance to the bar, and appeared puzzled when he did not see the two men he expected to follow him. Sotello placed his briefcase up on the table, and removed the folders, he had labeled, for Phillips to look over in order. Sotello handed Phillips the first folder, outlining his original meeting with Lynn, up through the day he went to Reno with Craig.
Phillips read the papers in the first folder as he sipped his drink. The blood began to drain from his face as Sotello imagined he reached the place where Lynn’s plot had been exposed to Sanders. Phillips avoided looking up at Sotello until he finished reading the first folder. Sotello then handed him the second folder without comment, noting Phillips hand shook as he took the second folder from Sotello. The second folder contained Lynn’s will and last letter to Sotello, along with the statement Lynn had prepared for Gina. It also contained Ramon’s statement, describing what would have happened to Phillips, if Lynn had gone through with her final solution.
By the time Phillips finished reading through the second folder, Sotello could glimpse the resignation beginning to overtake Lynn’s old partner in crime. Phillips handed the folders back to Sotello, and gulped down the rest of his drink. He signaled for another as Sotello put away the folders. After it was served, Phillips took a long gulp, and then sat back in his chair with the glass in his hand.
“So, I guess Gina will already have all of this digested by the time we rejoin her?” Phillips asked quietly.
“Correct,” Sotello answered. “Ellen and Craig will have explained all of this. They will also give her some of the options still open to her. Those options will not be open to you however. If you will back away from this, I will get you back into the States, and retrieve the documents from the safety deposit box with you. You will have to make restitution for what you have stolen, at least what remains of it. If this all goes smoothly, with your full cooperation, you may survive this.”
“Things have been cooling off between Gina and I,” Phillips said, running his free hand through his hair nervously. “The old saying about ‘There’s no fool like an old fool’ sure fits me like a glove. I guess the men I had trailing me to watch my back won’t be coming any time soon, huh?”
“Sanders’ men corralled them just after we left the restaurant,” Sotello confirmed. “Are you carrying?”
Phillips shook his head negatively. “I’m no gunman Sotello. I’m a used up politician with nowhere to go but to join Lynn in hell.”
“I may have something a little more to your liking, if Gina can be restored to her Father with her lesson learned, and a little more respect for what’s right.” Sotello paused, as he sipped from the coffee in front of him. “The easier you make that happen, the better your chances of survival.”
“I understand,” Phillips said tiredly. “What do you have in mind?”
“I am sure my two offspring have explained the situation to Gina in great detail,” Sotello answered. “When we walk back into the restaurant, Gina will ask your opinion as to the truth of what she has heard from Ellen and Craig. You simply tell the truth. Sanders and I both know Lynn cooked this scheme up. She paid the price. You do not have to join her.”
“When do you wish to leave with Gina for the States?”
“Sunday night,” Sotello said. “It will give you and Gina a chance to gather your things together, and close out your affairs here. I want the two of us in the bank on Monday, retrieving Sanders’ property. I would like Gina to stay with my daughter, after she gets her belongings packed up at your place, so we will go over and help. Gina will not be out of my sight from now until we leave on Sunday. I have already booked you two on the same flight back to the States on Sunday, my kids and I are on. Can you get ready to move quickly enough to be ready on Sunday?”
“It sounds like I better be,” Phillips replied.
“That’s the spirit,” Sotello said. “Let’s go see what kind of a job you can do with the truth. You might as well tell your hired hands to take off, because the only thing they will be able to do is get hurt, if you have them stick around.”
Phillips nodded, and threw down the rest of his drink. Sotello paid the bar bill, and followed hi
m back to the restaurant. Sanders’ men were still entertaining Phillips’ bodyguards. Phillips stopped at the table, gave the two men some money, and told them to go home. The blonde man in charge of Sanders’ people listened casually, and looked up at Sotello, who nodded.
The blonde man smiled. “We’ll walk you gentlemen out. Please keep your hands in sight all the way. Have we an agreement, Mr. Sotello?”
“So far, so good,” Sotello answered. “We all hope to be on a plane back to the States on Sunday night. I will confirm it with Darren as soon as I get a chance to talk to Gina.”
“Excellent,” the blonde man replied. “You have my number if you require anything more.” He motioned for Phillips men to continue.
Sotello made eye contact with Ellen and Craig, who both nodded, with smiles on their faces. Sotello sat down in the chair next to Gina, who looked up with more composure than Sotello would have figured she would have.
“I guess I’ve been the kind of fool my Father always thought I was,” Gina said, with a tight smile on her face.
“I know something about your Father,” Sotello replied, looking straight into her eyes. “He knows you are young, and he cares for you deeply. The last thing in the world he wants is to hurt you, or see you hurt. The woman, Ellen and Craig told you about, formulated this plan. You heard how she had planned to conclude it. Adrian here will confirm her involvement, and his part in it. Your Father wants you to come home of your own free will. I hope you will do so. I have tickets for you and Adrian for Sunday night. I would like for all of us to go over to your place, and bring everything you want to take home with you back here to the hotel. You can share a room with Ellen, if you don’t mind, until we leave on Sunday.”
Gina looked first at Phillips, who shrugged and nodded. She could see the truth of all she had heard in his face, without hearing a word. She looked over at Ellen, who smiled at her. “If Ellen doesn’t mind, I would like to stay with her until we leave.”
Sotello sighed. “Thank you Gina. Your Dad will be greatly relieved to hear the news. Would you like to call him?”
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 24