Twice as Fatal: A Jarvis Mann Detective Novel

by R Weir

  I was back in front of Kate’s waiting for her husband to leave. He promptly exited around the same time, and we were off on almost the same track. We were up and down the various major streets, Broadway, Federal and Santa Fe, north and south, and Evans, Hampton and Belleview, east and west. He stopped several times to collect or to drop off. I wrote down locations and shot numerous photos, though none were completely revealing. Money was often exchanged, and small plastic bags of some substance were handed out. He had to get tough with two different people today and even punched one of them. After driving all over, we ended up at the same bar again. This time I would wait outside to see who went in, but first I went up the street to a Subway to grab some lunch and use their restroom. Now loaded with plenty of supplies, I found a good parking spot where I could view the front entrance and enjoy my turkey sub.

  While waiting, I made a quick call to Bill. “How is Ray doing?”

  “Still sleeping,” he replied with his normal monotone voice. “We had to give him something to help him get some rest. He was all wound up when he got home. Our plan is to get him to see a doctor again about his concussion.”

  “Several facts I learned in Greeley to fill you in on. Do you want to do it over the phone or should I stop by later.”

  “How about dinner?” he asked. “Rachael is a helluva cook. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

  “What time?”

  “We usually eat around six.”

  “So, did you ever run down the plate I gave you?”

  “No, I didn’t have time and I’m taking another personal day. Call down to the station and ask for Officer April Rainn. Last name spelled with two N’s. She is the one I delegate your requests to. Drop my name and she’ll be happy to help.”

  “Can do. See you at six.”

  My eyes stayed on the front entrance and forty-five minutes after I arrived, the BMW from the day before showed up. The same two men climbed out and entered Eddie’s. It was a little warmer today so they weren’t wearing heavy coats, and I could easily see the bulges under their jackets, signaling they were armed.

  After a couple of bites of my sandwich I called and got hold of April.

  “Bill Malone said I should drop his name and you’d help,” I stated when she came on the line.

  “Yep, I’m his personal gopher,” she joked. “What are you needing?”

  “I got a plate number I need run down,” I said. “Any info would be helpful: owner’s name, any criminal record, street address, any parking tickets—the works.” I rattled off the digits.

  “How fast?”

  “Today, if possible. I normally buy Bill a beer so I guess I owe you for all these years.”

  “OK, I should be able to have it for you by end of my shift. As for the beer, I may take you up on it sometime. Is this the number I call you back on?” She read off the caller ID on her phone.

  “Yep. Thanks, April.”

  I finished up my lunch and rolled down the window; the sun was warming things up. Like the day before, the two goons in the BMW came out about an hour later and left. I had an urge to follow them but decided to sit still. I needed to find out if Jack’s ride showed up again today.

  Passing the time was already hard when staking someone out. I tuned into the classic rock I streamed from my mp3 to the car stereo. The wonder of technology: where you can carry your entire music collection with you wherever you go, with the cheap cost of gigabytes of storage. I ran through Led Zeppelin, The Stones, the Beatles and the Doobie Brothers before the white Mercedes I’d seen Jack leave in two days earlier arrived. The window was down and I could see the driver, a longhaired redhead with big, round sunglasses hiding her face. I took snapshots and got her plate number. Jack ran out the front and jumped in, and I got other shots of them hugging and kissing. They sped off south on Broadway and I quickly pulled out, as she was moving pretty fast.

  Now, like the day before, she cut off other drivers, and weaved in and out of traffic. Fortunately this stretch had quite a few lights, so I was able to keep up but had to be more aggressive in driving than I cared to, as I didn’t want to lose them. We continued south for several miles, reaching Dry Creek Road. With a squealing of tires, she turned left and now was heading east at a pretty good clip. I pushed the pedal and kept up the best I could. She reached University, turned right and quickly turned into the parking lot of some condominiums. I lost her and couldn’t see her once I entered. Up and down I steered until I finally found the car. I slowly drove past and saw them walking arm-in-arm up some stairs, his hand firmly patting her ass. I stopped and took the best pictures I could and pulled into the first open spot. I waited until 4 p.m., but they never came out. There was little doubt Jack had himself a girlfriend. The digital shots would easily get Kate the divorce and freedom she was looking for.

  The day wound down, so I left and headed back home. My cell rang and it was April, so I pulled over to take some notes.

  “Car is owned by a Dirk Bailey. He has priors including assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, aggravated robbery and I could go on and on. Spent a couple years in jail at one stint, and five more later on. Several times the charges didn’t stick or were dropped at a later date.”

  “Sounds like a winner to me,” I replied.

  “Yes, he is. He generally hangs around with another winner, Merrick Jones. His list of priors is as long, if not longer. Both work for a street hood named Roland Langer. Deals mostly in loan sharking, but dabbles in drugs, gambling and prostitution. Wanted for a couple of murders, but never convicted of anything where he had to do any hard time. Generally no one lives long enough to testify, if there are any witnesses to start with. He is one nasty person.”

  “Wow, you made my day!”

  “Whatever you’re into, I’d say get out, unless you are very tough or very stupid.”

  “Probably a little of both. I have another plate if you could check on it.”

  “Bill said you’d ask for the moon.”

  “I’m guessing you talked with him.”

  “I wanted to make sure he directed you to me; can’t be too careful.”

  “It’s worth another beer?”

  “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

  “My intentions are nothing but honorable. My girlfriend might object to me taking advantage of an inebriated woman other than her.” It was the first time I called Melissa my girlfriend and it had a quality ring to it.

  “Too bad, it might have worked. The good ones are always taken. Give me the plate number, but I’ll need to get you the info tomorrow as I’m off the clock.”

  “Tomorrow will be wonderful,” I said after giving her the letters and numbers. “I’m still good for the beers. Boone’s gives me a volume discount. You name the time, other than tonight, and I’ll pay up. I’m having dinner at Bill’s house.”

  “OK, I’ll call you late morning with the info once I have it, and we can meet up afterwards.”

  I agreed and hung up. It was too bad I was seeing someone; I’d always wanted to make it with a female cop. Those handcuffs were a real turn-on. I wonder what size police uniform fits Melissa.

  Chapter 11

  I arrived at Bill’s promptly at six for dinner. They live north of the Valley Highway off of University Blvd. Their neighborhood was a step-up from mine, living in a two-story brick home with a detached garage and a huge backyard.

  His wife, Rachael, whom I had met a few times, greeted me warmly at the door with a friendly hug. Bill had warned me she was a hugger and there was nothing you could do about it, so deal with it. Since I wasn’t the most touchy-feely person in the world, I coped. She is a wonderful lady, and there was nothing about the embrace that ever felt phony in any way.

  “Jarvis, it’s so good to see you,” she said. “You’re looking pretty good, young man. Have you lost some weight?”

  Truth be told, I’d put on a few pounds. But Daddy always said never question a compliment.

  “Clean living keep
s me fit,” I replied. “Most of it is probably much firmer now.”

  “The curse of being single; no good woman to cook for you.”

  “Oh, would you quit doting on him, Rachael,” stated Bill as he walked into the room. “She does this to everyone who comes over.”

  Around his wife Bill always seemed like a different person. He was cold and aloof most of the time, but with Rachael he was a happy man. She certainly brought out the best in him.

  “Well, I don’t get to see him much,” she said. “It’s always a treat when we have company. Bill doesn’t care to socialize much. You should be honored he asked you. He must actually like, or at least tolerate, you.”

  “Probably the latter,” I said. “I don’t get invited much for dinner, either. Hopefully I can remember my table manners and how to eat with a fork and knife!”

  The African American couple laughed, which was the first time I’d made Bill laugh out loud. It was good to see, and I hoped the mood remained after the information I would be sharing with them about Ray.

  “Well, I hope you like lasagna because its Ray’s favorite,” stated Rachael. “I always cook it for him the first night he is back from school.”

  “Mom, the timer is going off,” said a young girl who walked into the room. “I think the bread is done.”

  “Thanks sweetie. Say hello to Jarvis. I’m not sure if you remember him or not,” Rachael said while heading to the kitchen.

  “Hi Jarvis,” she said shyly, while going over to hug her father.

  It had probably been or year or so since I’d seen Monika. She had grown quite a bit and was much taller. She was the spitting image of her mother.

  “Hi, Monika. I can’t remember the last time I saw you. What are you now, eight or nine years old?”

  “She’s ten,” stated Bill. “I see her every day and I’m amazed how much she has grown. She is quite an athlete, like her mother and brother. Swims, runs track and plays soccer. And is an A-student.”

  I always remembered her being fairly shy and this hadn’t changed, her face turning red from her dad’s comments, and she buried her head into his chest from embarrassment. Bragging was the right of every parent.

  “Dinner should be ready shortly,” called Rachael. “Monika, can you go get your brother? He should be done with his shower by now.”

  Monika ran off and I followed Bill into the dining room. The living area was wide and expansive and through an arched opening was the table and chairs. The whole room was brightly lit, the place settings glistening from the candelabra that hung over the table. I sat down after Bill pointed to where I should sit. Rachael was bringing in the food and it all smelled superb. It had been a while since I’d had a good home-cooked meal.

  Monika walked in and Ray was right behind her. He towered over her and everyone else in the room. Bill was probably close to 6’2”, but Ray was two inches taller and all dark-skinned muscle. He was the prototype size for the tight end, with the power and quickness I’d seen when he played in high school. He was dressed in jeans with holes in the knees and a UNC sweatshirt. He pulled the chair out for Monika to sit down and came over to say hi.

  “Good to see you again, Jarvis,” he said while shaking my hand with a viselike grip.

  “Glad to see you too,” I replied. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty good. I had a good night’s sleep. Best I’ve had in a while.”

  “He slept until almost noon,” stated Bill.

  “Home is always comforting,” I added. “I always slept well any time I stayed at my parents’ house back in Iowa.”

  Ray took his seat next to his sister and the final dishes were brought out. We all sat down holding hands and Monika said grace, thanking God for bringing her brother home safe and for my presence at the table as an honored guest. I think I blushed when I heard it.

  Besides lasagna, there was salad, garlic bread and some steamed carrots. The food was passed around and I filled my plate. Ray took a huge slice of lasagna and several pieces of bread. He appeared to be famished. The normal caloric intake for a man his size would have been costly all these years. While eating, the conversation took various paths, Monika talking about school and her homework and a boy at school who was crushing on her. It then turned into Rachael asking about my love life, and I proclaimed I indeed had someone I was seeing, which appeared to please her. But the conversation never turned to Ray, on where he had been or what he’d been doing these past days. The subject would be left for later.

  After dinner was finished, there was chocolate cake and ice cream, another of Ray’s favorites. Once the meal was done, the dishes were cleared and I was stuffed, we headed back to the living room to talk.

  “Ray, why don’t you and Monika go downstairs and play some Xbox while we chat,” said Bill.

  “Come on, Monika,” stated Ray. “Let’s see if I can finally beat you in Need for Speed.”

  “You’ve got no shot,” she answered. “I’ll race you to the basement.” And they dashed off.

  “You need anything to drink, Jarvis?” asked Rachael.

  “No, I’m good. Thank you for the wonderful meal. A hard workout tomorrow is needed, I’m stuffed.”

  I sat in a comfortable black leather recliner while Bill and Rachael took the matching sofa together. I know they were waiting for me to give them an update, but I was trying to figure out where to start.

  “So what did you learn?” said Bill, breaking the silence.

  “Ray is maybe mixed up with some less than honest people,” I said pointedly. “The girl I found him with the last time, Ariela, is a dancer at a club called The Hustle. Ray is involved with them somehow and they might be leveraging him for money. I won’t know for sure before we talk with him.”

  “And why would they want money from him?” asked Bill.

  “It’s a gentleman’s club. The exotic dancers do a little more than dance for the customers. The owner, according to the Greeley policeman I talked with, draws men in with memberships with benefits, does some digital recording of their actions with the female staff, and squeezes them for more money. Blackmail, pure and simple.”

  “I find it hard to believe Ray would be involved with this,” said Rachael. “We raised him better than this.”

  “I don’t know this for certain, but it is the game these people play. He was a hotshot college football player, simple to manipulate. Remember he is a young man on his own for the first time. The lure of sex with pretty girls is easy to use on a man his age.”

  “But he told us he was dating someone,” said Rachael.

  “Not anymore. I talked with her and they broke up over his affair with Ariela.” I left out the part about him sleeping around. No reason to shatter a mother’s vision of her son completely.

  “So he is seeing Ariela now instead?” asked Rachael.

  “No. I visited her too, and she was there with some other guy. She hadn’t seen Ray for a while. It appeared to be strictly a sexual relationship, and possibly a way to blackmail him.”

  “Oh my,” gasped Rachael. “Are you certain of this?”

  “Enough that we need to confront him. I went to the club and when I started asking around, I got bounced out on my ear. I took a pounding from two of the thugs Ray had been hanging out with. They said they didn’t want him around there anymore, but I doubt what they said was completely the truth.”

  “I saw the bruise around your eye, so I was wondering,” said Rachael.

  “I’ve got a few more you can’t see. Lucky for me the police arrived, or it would have been much worse.”

  Rachael grabbed Bill’s hand and closed her eyes. It wasn’t easy for her to hear this about her son. I wasn’t thrilled with telling it either, but I was used to giving bad news in my business.

  “I talked with his roommate, other teammates and a coach. They all tell me he’s been having a hard time with this latest round of concussions. Poor concentration, can’t sleep, followed by terrible headaches and exhaustion. When he
does manage to sleep, he has crazy dreams, making for a restless night. The coaching staff is encouraging him to get medical help, but he’s been resistant. Concussions are nothing to fool with and could lead to long-term issues. So he requires proper treatment before it gets any worse.”

  “We’ll get him whatever he needs,” said Bill. “We’ll spare no expense.”

  “I know you will. But keep in mind he may not be able to play football anymore, depending on the extent of the injury. Facing the facts won’t be easy for him.”

  “First is treatment and getting him healthy; it’s all we care about,” said Bill.

  “First we need to see what he is into and get this resolved,” I said. “I think it would be best if Bill and I talk with him, Rachael. I don’t think he will be real forthcoming discussing this type of sexual dalliance around his mother.”

  “But I need to be there for him,” stated Rachael.

  “You will be, only not during this step. He must admit to the problem before we can figure out how to fix it.”

  “He’s right, honey. Why don’t you head to the basement and send him up here.”

  Rachael resisted, but then gave in. She walked out of the room, and within a few minutes Ray came upstairs. His father told him to sit down and we needed to talk.

  “Son,” began Bill. “Jarvis has learned some things we need to get cleared up. He believes you may be involved with some people who don’t have your best interest at heart.”

  “Really?” he replied. “And who would that be?”

  “Mack and Grady, to start with,” I said.