Rick Cantelli, P.I. Deadly Liaisons (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 2)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Will you be taking her to LA for this job?”

  “If she’s recovered from her wound sufficiently, Rocha will be coming along. She’ll be helping with the install and setup.”

  “I want in when you set up to catch the guys.”

  Oh boy, I could picture Lo getting ready to come right through the phone. “That would be no… and hell no.”

  Rita had polished off her second Scotch. She took a swallow of Coke, and stood up. She walked a bit unsteadily over to the counter right past my FaceTime viewing port, and filled up her Scotch again. I glanced at the iPhone while Rita returned to the table. Lo was making inappropriate gestures while laughing her ass off, so I figured she had remembered to mute the sound. Instead of going around to her seat, Rita sat on my lap, drink in hand, and free arm around my neck. I shifted to give Lo and Frank a better view.

  “I like dangerous guys, Rick. Let me come along on this op. Having another gun on hand would be… a good thing. Look… I’m sorry… you know about the way we started out.”

  She took another gulp. This was just insane. Forget the fact no way in the world would we let her come along. Rita had come unhinged. Maybe Lo’s beach lesson tipped her over the edge, or someone else put her up to it. Then I noticed Trish standing in her bathrobe at the kitchen entrance with a big smile on her face.

  “Hey, Rick, why didn’t you tell me we had company?”

  Rita yelped, spilled what was left in her glass, and exited my lap in a leap that nearly pitched her onto all fours to the floor. She stumbled, grabbing the table for support, staring at first Trish, and then me. “You… you’re living with her?”

  “You saw Trish earlier at the beach. I assumed if you knew about Trish, that the FBI would also know she’s living here.”

  “Oh… oh my God…” The Scotch hit Rita hard. She flopped into the chair she had been in. Trish walked over and patted her on the head before sitting down next to me.

  “She’s been punked, Rick.”

  “I agree. I’m thinking the guy who never says anything, Special Agent Arlen Conus, sent our Rita out on her first undercover gig. She probably didn’t do well in the aftermath of the beach with her coworkers, and Arlen decided since they were going to pay, he’d get someone inside. Ms. Suero delivered the check, but needed a bit of liquid refreshment to carry out her assignment. How am I doing, Rita?”

  “Too damn good… I was an idiot… to let Conus talk me into this.”

  “We’re not letting you come along. Tell him we suspected you’d leak the whole operation and someone would get killed, which is the truth anyway. Think about it. What kind of a career do you want to have in the FBI, allowing yourself to get involved like this, kid?”

  “I already told you… I wasn’t thinking. I don’t feel good… can I use your bathroom?”

  Trish helped her up. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  The moment they left the room, I had the iPhone in my hand. “What do you think, Lo?”

  “I think that Conus guy is going to get us killed. That was entertaining as hell, Rick, but this sting is beginning to worry the hell out of me. Bone and I will make Conus our new project first thing in the morning. You be careful in LA tomorrow. If the owner, or anything about the place looks hinky, get the hell out of there. You better call Rita a cab. I don’t want the kid to get a DUI on top of the day she’s had.”

  “I will. I’ll probably load up the van tomorrow before you come in and get an early start. I’ll check out the surroundings before they open.”

  “Good thinking, Rick. Give me a viewing tomorrow when you finish.”

  “Will do. Goodnight… oh hey… Frank, how’d you like the evening’s entertainment?”

  Frank’s smiling face came into view. “Only you, brother, only you. Get some rest.”

  Lo disconnected, and I waited for Trish and Rita. Trish came in supporting a very white faced Rita. “I think the FBI either needs to stay overnight, or get a cab home.”

  “I’ll make some tea, and call for a cab. Rita, have you eaten anything today?”

  She shook her head no. Okay, that explains a lot about how she’s feeling now. I knew just the thing for this particular malady. I put on a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup along with some water for tea. When the soup was ready, I put it in a bowl and got out some crackers. When Rita turned away as the food and accouterments were placed in front of her, I patted her shoulder.

  “Take the spoon, dip it in to get some broth, blow on it, and eat.”

  She did reluctantly, but in minutes she was spooning the chicken noodle soup in hungrily. I crushed a bunch of saltine crackers into her soup. “Mix ‘em up, and keep doing what you’re doing.”

  Rita soon wolfed down everything, and I set her tea in front of her. “My advice, just sip the tea black without any additions.”

  She sipped her tea as directed. “I… I told Trish… I’m really sorry about this.”

  “I was young once, kid. Don’t give it a thought. I do have a suggestion for you if complications don’t scare you.”

  Rita held her tea cup close, letting the warmth soothe the slight tremble in her hands. “I’ll listen. I owe you that much.”

  “We’re tearing into your buddy, Conus. I have a feeling I won’t share with you now, but I will when the picture clears. Don’t shut down your mind. Give me your contact info, and when the picture we’re putting together about Conus clears, I will share it with you. The reason being that tonight proved to me you’re just human with ambitions. I can deal with that, but I won’t deal with denial of facts. Want to get updated?”

  Rita nodded. “I can’t believe Arlen is involved in anything other than using me, but I will keep my head in the game if there’s something else going on.”

  Trish had kept silent all through our interchange. She reached over and clasped Rita’s hand. “Your boss is into something up to his eyeballs. I hope you’re smart enough to take Rick’s advice, Rita. He’s just like he projects, a very dangerous geezer, who plays it straight.”

  “Thanks, Trish. You’ve been very kind. I will definitely heed your advice. This is the last time anything like this happens to me.”

  Rita stood up. “I’m okay now, thanks to you. Trish knows I already heaved up most of the Scotch. I’m good to drive home. Thanks, Rick.”

  She did look okay, and Trish had nodded when Rita claimed to have gotten rid of the Scotch. I didn’t want to let her go unless I was sure how she was in reality. “Let’s all walk to the door, and you can demonstrate your relative sobriety.”

  We did, and she did. I had a good feeling about Suero. I don’t often get a good feeling about anyone holding an FBI badge. She scribbled her personal e-mail on the card she handed me at the door. “I will keep you informed, Agent Suero. If Trish is feeling okay, we’ll be in LA installing the system first thing in the morning. I will keep you updated.”

  Rita grabbed my hand. “Thanks, Rick. You and Lois really aren’t a couple of cardboard cutouts. You two are the real deal. I hope we can end this thing with your part in it without any problems. After that, I… I’d really like contacts like you and Lois I could ask for advice.”

  I held out my hand. “You can run anything you want by us at any time, and you have my word no one else will know about it.”

  Rita shook my hand with both of hers. “I’ll wait for your call tomorrow.”

  Trish and I watched her walk purposely toward her car.

  “I like her,” Trish said. “If this thing works out the way you suspect, we’ll have a friend in the FBI.”

  I grinned over at her. “We could use one, because we’ve never had one before. That’s for sure.”

  “This Cantelli Land is a thrill a minute. I thought all you geezers just toddled off into the sunset with a cigarette in one hand and a glass full of booze in the other. What the hell is it with you and Lois working out three damn days a week, playing old time movie stars in your own production, kicking the shit out of young FBI agents, and b
lowing up bad guys?”

  “It’s a process.”

  “Come to bed, Hooterville, and we’ll process what the hell happens to you the next time I find a hottie on your lap in our kitchen.”

  “Toot, toot.”

  * * *

  Trish and I arrived in LA bright and early in coveralls just like a couple of regular installers. I convinced Trish to take a pain pill with some cereal before we left. It was a two hour drive. I figured if she could doze off on the way, without that shoulder throbbing, she’d be sharp when we got there. She was. Trish looked around the wide street of San Fernando Road, the upscale businesses, and the easy access to Terry’s Wholesale Tires, and she didn’t hesitate with an opinion.

  “Terry has a great spot here. Mismanagement, gambling debts, bad investments, or drug problems are the only things that could kill this place or open it up to be a drug cartel front. I don’t know shit about tires, but I know every person who drives a vehicle needs them.”

  “Yep. That’s it in a nutshell. Terry even has a galvanized fence around the whole property. That in itself discourages cruising banditos. I can understand why he hasn’t went overboard with a high security system. I bet it raises another red flag on your meter about this setup though.”

  Trish nodded. “It really cements the theory only an insider could be opening up the gate, and collecting the product inside the stuffed tires. That Derek Jamison sure does look like a confirmed hot lead in this operation.”

  That’s it exactly. “You also know after our conversation with Terry what the downside is, right?”

  Trish made a face at me that cracked me up. “Yeah, we have to actually install the system. I guess I won’t have to worry about keeping my bad shoulder exercised. You are going to drive back home while I take a couple of pain pills, right?”

  Everything is negotiable at this level. “Sure, kid. What’s in it for me?”

  Trish grinned and leaned back in her seat. “I could polish the Hooterville Trolley rails.”

  Well… okay then. I’m driving home too.

  * * *

  We were waiting for Terry when he opened up. I made sure we were wearing vests underneath, and were armed. This was no game of guesswork to me. I recognized Terry Woodsum from the file Bone had already sent me. My man Bone doesn’t hesitate, complain, or scuff his feet delaying info. He intuitively does more than is asked for always. In Terry’s case, the workup left little doubt our contact was a standup guy with little more on his mind other than his family, and making the business work. Terry was a smiling type… only a real one. He didn’t plant false faces on his features just to interest you. Terry smiled because he was happy to see you, and he didn’t much care who you were. Trish and I walked up on the lean, six footer with sparse hair, geared to dance the rope-a-dope between need and fact. He got right after it. Seeing us approach, he hurried forward to shake hands with Trish and me enthusiastically.

  “I’m glad you two came so quickly. This situation is scary beyond words. I know what these people are capable of. Tell me your plan, and what you want me to do. I will do it – no questions asked. As you probably know, I don’t have tires missing out of inventory like Gibson’s. They’re coming in and stripping out the product beforehand.”

  “I think it only happened at Gibson’s that way because of a little local greed. I’m glad you came in so early. I’d like to do a walk through with you. We’ll know more about what needs to be done then. I already have a great install plan, but we need a solid plan in place to capture these people. I don’t want to overlook anything.”

  “I appreciate that, Rick. I’ve read a lot about you, and I like all of it. I’m no dummy. Somehow, I’ve fallen into a shit pile without knowing it. The extraction scares the hell out of me. When someone mentions drug cartels to me, I think of stop at nothing psychopaths who will kill me and everything I’ve ever loved. On the other side of the coin I have the FBI letting me know I could spend the rest of my life in prison, even though I didn’t initiate or condone anything that’s happened.”

  “We’re not superheroes, Terry, but I will make you a promise. I don’t plan on walking away from this with you hung out to dry. I don’t know what I’ll have to do to keep you clear of this crap, but I will do it. All I ask is if you see something happen inadvertently, that might normally cause you to gasp in stunned aversion, ignore it if we’re the instigators doing it.”

  Terry laughed. “I can do that. I was in Gulf War One in the army. Although things worked out well at that time, I always wondered why the hell we didn’t just nuke ‘em from orbit. I’m not afraid for me, but I’m a nuke ‘em from orbit type guy when it comes to my family.”

  I enjoyed his common sense take. Terry was my kind of guy. I planned on leaving very few survivors to cast dispersions on Terry if it came down to that. This wasn’t a game. We represented a man’s existence here, and yeah, I was up to the mark. “We have a deal, my friend. Because the damned FBI is involved by necessity, we can’t alter some of the parameters of this business until it starts to go down. I promise you I won’t forget who the hell it is I really represent here.”

  Terry lowered his head and kicked at the cement at his feet. “That’s all I ask, Rick. I give you my word, if things go south, I will back your play against anyone, off the witness stand or on it.”

  Can’t ask for more than that. “Deal.”

  Chapter Ten

  Plan Alterations

  Trish and I didn’t finish the install until after everyone else had gone home. It was a long damn day. I showed her the only entrance not padlocked, where they had solid deadbolts in place with a keypad for a run of the mill security alarm. Then I pointed out my sniper’s nest with clear view of the deadbolt door. I admit to concentrating a bit more on our wellbeing in placement of our cameras, but still well suited to our client’s needs. The FBI paid for it, so I used my own parameters. We finished the last placement at nearly 6pm. I could tell the install had sapped Trish. She grinned at appropriate banter along the way, but after five, she was working on sheer willpower.

  “Shall we go check our exquisite work in the security command center, my lady?”

  Trish peered at me appraisingly. “If I could be treated to an overnight stay in first class, hot tub type settings for the night only a few minutes from here, I might be capable of getting the geezer’s clock running backward.”

  Oh my. “That is an absolutely splendid idea. I will throw in for my lady’s pleasure any place, anywhere, and any cost. You deserve it.”

  Trish brought her sweat soaked, but still very enticing form over to me in sultry swaying undulations I liked very much. She threaded her arms around me, drawing close enough to feel her upper extended body brushing lightly against mine. “If I can put off that two hour drive until morning, sailor, I will rock your world.”

  “Done deal. After we give Lois a glimpse of our install, and do our tests, we’ll call it a day.”

  * * *

  I FaceTimed Lois with a viewing of our install before we approached Terry’s office. He has one with windows viewing the outer work area on two fronts. He can see a lot of what goes on around him, and we outsiders can see what’s happening inside his office. Three suits were in there fronting Terry with a fourth suit sitting with legs crossed, casually drinking from a coffee cup. It was Derek Jamison, the partner we figured set up this drug ring. Terry looked like someone had shot his dog. I didn’t like it. People fantasize over tough guys battling in an ‘us versus them’ world. If only it were that simple. I pulled Trish back.

  “Something’s wrong. That clown in there sitting down is Derek Jamison. Can I ask you to approach this exactly as I say?”

  Trish grinned. “Honey… you can ask me to go in and give one of them a blowjob, and I’ll do it.”

  Oh yeah. “You lead with a nice introduction to show Terry how it works. I’ll follow. When we get in there, play it by ear, and explain the importance of us only having one representative in the office for sec
urity reasons. The three suits are thugs. They’ve been tipped off something’s going down not on their agenda. Jamison brought them along to get Terry on board with the whole project. This isn’t tire theft, so removing the product here would be an easy job if done out of our cameras’ range. I wouldn’t face off with them now if not for Terry. I think he’s in deep shit, and I’m going to extract him from it. You still game?”

  Trish traced an angel touch type fingertip graze along my cheekbone. “I’m so game, I won’t even fire unless I think your old ass is in danger.”

  “You are so good to me.”

  “I’ll collect later.”

  Or I will. “Let’s do this.”

  We strode into Terry’s office like we owned it. The suits moved back a little, like we were a passing threat. We weren’t. It sure helped that I could get between them and Terry.

  Trish played the smiling installer part. “We’re all set, Terry. We just need to test out the system here at your command center. Do you have time to do it now?”

  “Sure, that would be great.” Terry eyed the men in front of him with fear.

  Trish and I began doing the regular setup tests with each camera, while watching our three suits. They were unhappy, because we had Terry with us”

  “How long is this going to take, Terry?” The lead guy asked. His mustache, a dark thick thing that looked like something you use to rod out a plugged pipe, fluttered with his words. He and his comrades were all over six feet tall, stocky, and an adequate representation of well-dressed enforcers. They obviously expected something more than a business discussion, but without interrogating Terry as to what they wanted, Trish and I had to play this by ear.

  My guess centered on them needing the drug operation continuing at all cost. They would not want murders and mayhem here. If they were tipped off as to what we were doing, the boss of this operation would want to know everything about it, hence Jamison being called in. He was sent to deal with Terry, find out about everything being installed, and how best to avoid it.