by JL Curtis
Felicia came over, wiping her eyes. “He said he hadn’t had real homemade tamales since he’d come in the Marines. That just got to me, dammit.”
Jesse hugged her. “Thanks. Both for the tamales and understanding.”
Billy and Matt continued dishing out food, and very quickly the first brisket was history. Matt and Toad had taken care of the rest of the serving line, and Felicia and the ‘Lenes had helped with everyone’s drinks. Doc Fischer and his wife, along with the Holts were sitting with Lopez. Melissa would occasionally reach over and pat his shoulder as she talked to him.
Finally, everyone had been served, and they all got their food and sat at the last table. Jesse looked around at everyone and said quietly, “Thank you all for helping out. This wouldn’t have been possible without y’all’s help, and I promise I won’t do something like this again. And if I do, somebody knock me upside the damn head!”
Felicia laughed. “Hey, it’s worth it if for nothing else than the folks we’re feeding. They and Matt and Toad are the ones laying their lives on the line every day. Besides, I actually like to cook! I just don’t do it very often.”
Billy said, “Okay, I’ll hire you. You work cheap, right?”
Felicia stuck her tongue out at Billy. “For you, I don’t work. For my Matt, I do anything.”
Everybody laughed as Matt blushed, and Billy sighed. “Well, I guess I’m stuck with what I’ve got then.”
Jesse ate quickly, feeling a little nauseous and a lot tired, she went to each table and talked to all the folks she’d been in therapy with, and met the wives and No Balls Baldwin’s date, who turned out to be a paramedic he’d met. She finally made it to the ‘Lenes table and sat down. Marlene poked her husband. “Okay, she’s here. Ask her yourself.”
Jesse turned to the sergeant major expectantly. “What did you want to ask?”
Sergeant Major Eberhart looking distinctly uncomfortable said, “Well, I was wondering how you managed to put this together, Mrs. Miller. I mean the smoker and the like. That’s not something one has lying around. And that brisket and sauces, you can’t get that out here.”
Jesse smiled. “Well, sir, Felicia works for CBP, and she’s got friends in the Hispanic community that do big feeds. She was able to get them to rent this to me for the day. As far as the beef, well that came from one of the steers that pissed Papa off last month. They were dry aged twenty-eight days and went between twelve and fourteen pounds each. The seasonings and sauces, along with the sausage were from some friends in Texas that do barbeque for a living.”
Pointing at Felicia, she continued, “Felicia did the tamales herself, and the coleslaw. Oh, and Uncle Billy brought the Shiner when he brought the brisket and sausages. And I did the beans this morning. Why?”
Eberhart said, “Well, that’s a lot of money. And-”
Jesse sighed. “Oh, I see where you’re going. You think I’m spending all of Aaron’s money while he’s on deployment. Well, for your information, not a penny of Aaron’s money was spent on this. It was all my money.” With that she got up and left the table.
Jesse came back to the table where Billy was sitting and flopped down picking up a Shiner and downing about half of it. Billy took one look at her expression and excusing himself, went to the toilet then casually stopped by the table where the Eberhart’s were sitting. After a couple of minutes, he made his way back to their table and Jesse asked, “Uncle Billy, how did you get on base today?”
Billy replied, “Hey, I have my ways. After all, it’s Marines, it’s not like they actually guard the gates or anything. They just waved me through.”
That prompted Toad to snort beer out his nose, as he was in the process of taking a deep drink. Matt shook his head, and said, “Nice try, sir. But that’s bullshit and we all know it. Either you got an escort, or you came on with an ID.”
Billy nodded. “Well, you’re right, Matt. I came on with an ID.”
Jesse looked at him. “An ID, Uncle Billy? How did you do that? You got out about the same time Papa did. Or did you?” she asked suspiciously.
Matt and Toad now looked on with interest, and Billy pulled out his wallet, and reluctantly handed Matt an ID. Matt’s eyes widened and he handed it back, “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to question your integrity!”
Jesse reached over a grabbed the ID, looking at it, she saw that Billy’s retired ID said colonel on it. Looking up she asked, “Colonel, what’s this? Papa always said you were a sergeant like him?”
Billy took the card back as Toad’s eyes widened and Billy said, “Well, in those days I was a sergeant. After I finished law school, I went back into the Army reserves, and served there as a lawyer. I retired from the reserves as a colonel. It’s not a big secret. But it’s also not something I brag about.”
Jesse sighed. “Yet another damn thing I don’t know about my family. Geez, what other little things are out there I don’t know?”
Billy rolled his eyes. “Well, if’n I tells ya; I’m gonna have to be killin ya,” he said, setting off a round of laughter.
Everybody pitched in to clean up the pavilion, and Matt and Toad hooked up the smoker to the back of Matt’s truck as people started drifting off. As families came by and thanked Jesse and Felicia for the food, everyone agreed it had been a great day. Even Doc Fischer was in a good mood, saying this was one of the better therapy sessions he’d seen. Billy took off to head back to LA, and Doc Fischer and his wife headed back to San Diego.
The Eberharts and Darlene came over, and Ross Eberhart said, “I want to apologize. I’ve seen too many wives spending all of their husband’s money while the husband was deployed. I just dealt with another one yesterday. I let my alligator mouth overload my hummingbird ass. I’m sorry, Mrs. Miller.”
Jesse accepted the apology but it didn’t leave her with a good taste in her mouth.
Road Trip
The old man and Yogi came through the door at the sheriff’s department with the old man in a bad mood. Yogi, as he did almost daily, padded over to dispatch for his morning scratches and petting as the old man grumbled down the hall. Getting a cup of coffee, he headed back to his office, only to be called by the sheriff. Turning back, he went into the sheriff’s office. “Morning, Jose. What’s up?”
Jose replied, “Got a request for your expertise. It came from the Fibbies up at Quantico.”
The old man cocked his head. “Where to now?”
The sheriff passed over the email from the SAC Miller, as the old man perused it, he whistled. “Interpol? How the hell did I get on their radar?”
Jose laughed. “That’s all on the second page. I’m guessing part of the answer is the takedown in Thailand, in addition to the stuff you did before.”
Turning the page, the old man chuckled. “Figures that Tony would be in the middle of this. I wonder if I’m off State’s shit list now?”
Jose said, “Dunno, but it looks like it. I’m assuming you’re planning on going?”
The old man leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, maybe. I’m not sure about leaving the place empty except for Ricky. I know Bucky isn’t getting any hits out of any of the CIs down in Mexico about me, but they’ve hit it once.”
Jose sobered a little. “True. I can provide some coverage, like I do when you go down to Laredo. But I can’t put anybody out there full time, John.”
The old man waved. “Oh, I understand. Hell, I wouldn’t expect you to. I’ll call Billy, he probably knows somebody I can hire to house sit for the week or so I’ll be gone. And the advantage will be those folks know how to handle themselves.”
The sheriff said, “Okay, lemme know what you want to do. If you do decide to bring folks in, bring ‘em by here, so we can get a feel for them and they know who we are. Not to change the subject, but how’s Jesse doing? I was glad to see her out of the cast at Christmas, but she didn’t look like she was quite back to a hundred percent. That’s why I was kinda startled about the whole volunteer thing with Oceanside.”
The old man said, “Ah, she’s getting better, or so she says. She was going bat nuts in that apartment, Jose. She’s never really had to go through any extended rehab. She says the chief is still trying to kill her, but I think she’s enjoying the challenge.”
She told me she’s getting back on the range, and shot two two-fifties and a two-forty for quals. I guess she’s the rangemaster’s new best friend. Apparently she’s helping some of the female officers get more proficient. But she’s not patrolling or even riding other than for area fams. She’s helping the sheriff and one of his lieutenants get some grant applications put in.”
The sheriff asked quietly, “You think she’ll ever come back here?”
The old man replied sourly, “I don’t know. Hell, I still don’t know if it was even close to safe for her to come back Christmas. We kept her being in the hospital out of the papers, and I think the killers died before they managed to phone home and tell Zapata or anybody else that she survived. But I’m not about to take the chance. If they want another try at me, let ‘em come, but leave her out of it!”
Jose nodded. “Yeah. I talked to Bucky and Clay both about it, and from the CIs it appears they thought Jesse was a boy, not a girl deputy. Obviously, they don’t have anybody on the inside up here.”
The old man nodded. “Yeah, that’s a damn good thing.”
***
Billy’s jet taxied into the FBO at Fort Stockton and the old man took Yogi through the little office onto the ramp, greeting Billy as he came down the airstair. Yogi sniffed Billy’s bag, prompting Billy to say, “Don’t even think about it, dog. It’s not a fire hydrant!”
The old man laughed as he picked up the bag. “Yogi’s just checking to see if you brought him any treats, steak okay for dinner? And do you mind if Jose and Dorothy come?”
Billy shook his head. “Nope, I was hoping I’d get a chance to talk to him anyway.”
The old man stopped by the grocery store and picked up the rest of the fixings for dinner and they headed for the ranch. He and Billy chatted during the drive and Yogi kept trying to weasel his way forward, much to Billy’s merriment.
After the old man put the groceries away, he and Billy went through the paperwork in the office. “I’ve got a request to go over and do a presentation at an Interpol conference in Rome,” the old man said. “But I don’t want to leave the ranch in Ricky’s hands. I’m not sure somebody won’t make a try again. I don’t want any more innocents to die, Billy. I know you’ve got some connections for protection details. I want you to reach out and see if you can find some folks to babysit the place while I’m gone.”
Billy didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I can do that. Probably get some folks from China Post number one. How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
The old man said, “Probably a week, I’m thinking about leaving here on Saturday, and coming back the following Saturday.”
“How many people you want?” Billy asked. “For a week, you’re usually looking at four to six if you want twenty-four hour coverage.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was figuring,” the old man replied. “Felix and Ricky work the ranch during the day, and Ricky stays in the bunkhouse during the week then goes home on the weekends. Shit, I gotta find somebody to keep Yogi too.”
Billy said, “I can probably get guys that will take care of Yogi too. What brought this on John? This isn’t like you.”
The old man leaned back, knotting his fingers together. “Well, I know Bucky and everybody else says the cartels have backed off, but they were wrong before. And I don’t want Ricky’s death on my conscience if I can prevent it.” Shrugging, he continued, “This is all I’ve got left, Billy. At least Jesse is away from here, but someday maybe she and Aaron can retire here. I’d kinda like for them to have a place to come back to. The Cronin name dies with me, but I at least want to leave them a tangible memory of my family. And to do that, I need for this place to survive. It’s not much, but dammit I want it to survive!”
Billy nodded. “Okay, we’ll make it happen. Lemme make some phone calls.”
The old man said, “You know where the phone is, I’m going to go let Yogi out.”
***
Three hours later, Jose and Dorothy pulled into the drive to find the old man and Billy rocking on the front porch with Yogi romping playfully in the yard. Seeing Dorothy had a pie in her hand, the old man called Yogi back, and waited for them on the porch. Jose looked at the Shiners in their hands and asked, “Got one more of those for a thirsty man?”
Dorothy piped up, “Jose, I am not driving you home again. If y’all are going to get drunk, I’ll leave the pie and pick you up tomorrow!”
The old man said hastily, “Dorothy, we’re not going to get drunk. It’s not poker night, and that last one wasn’t my fault.”
Dorothy smiled as Jose said, “Nope, one beer and maybe a glass of wine, I promise, dear!”
Billy covered his laugh with a cough, and shook Jose’s hand as they went into the house. “Sheriff, this actually works out pretty well. Especially since you’re the man in charge out here.”
Jose laughed. “Do I need to keep one hand on my wallet?”
Billy said innocently, “Uh, not unless you feel the need. It’s not going to cost you anything.”
After a convivial dinner of steak, potatoes and a salad, with only one glass of wine for Jose, the old man poured coffees as Dorothy cut slices of pie for everyone. Billy drug out his ever-present yellow pad and said, “Okay, subject to your approval, sheriff, here’s the plan.”
Jose took a piece of pie and said, “Thanks, honey. Let’s hear the plan.”
Billy slipped his glasses on. “I’ve got five guys coming in from China Post number one. They’ll come in on Thursday, spend Friday scoping out the area, and check in with you. John is going to drive up to Dallas Friday, and fly out on Saturday. The team will stand up a watch twenty-four seven until John gets back. John will lay in enough food to feed them, and Felix and Ricky will continue working the ranch during the day. Eddie Guilfoile is coming up two days a week to work with the colts, and there shouldn’t be anybody else around. Oh, and the team will take care of Yogi.”
Dorothy asked curiously, “What’s China Post one?”
Billy smiled. “Long story short, it’s an American Legion Post in exile. It was the first post started in China. Now some guys out of Texas mainly run it and they have connections and members that are vetted before they are allowed to join it. All of the members are ex special ops guys who do side work.”
Dorothy said, “Oh. I guess-”
“I’ll explain later, honey,” Jose interrupted. “John, you okay with this? Letting folks into your house without you being here?”
“The safe will be locked,” the old man said. “And if I can’t trust these folks, I might as well shoot myself now. I think this is the best way to go, given the environment today.”
Jose looked at Billy. “These folks know what they’re potentially walking into?”
Billy nodded. “Yep, all of them are vetted. They are the real deal and they’ll be carrying heavy. They won’t cause any trouble, but if anything starts, they’ll damn well stop it.”
Jose threw up his hands. “All right, I fu- frikken hate it, but I don’t see an option. I’ll give them a couple of radios just in case though.”
After the sheriff and his wife left, the old man and Billy went out on the porch and drank another cup of coffee, reliving the old days as Yogi chased his tail in the yard.
Billy borrowed the old man’s computer and sent a few emails, and then they called it a night, both of them commenting that getting old wasn’t any fun.
***
Thursday evening, Billy called and said, “You’ve got incoming. They should be landing in about fifteen minutes. I’ve arranged two rentals for them, white Tahoes. The team lead is Bob, he’s a big blonde guy. They’ll call before they turn in.”
The old man replied, “Thanks, Billy, I’m just finishing packing. I’
ve laid in food and stuff for them. I’ll put two in here, and the others in the old house. I’ll have to leave early to get to DFW, so hopefully nobody will see me leave or pay any attention. You’re taking care of them out of the operating account, right?”
Billy said, “Yep, all taken care of. Enjoy the trip. You deserve a break every once in a while, John. Talk to you when you get back.”
Thirty minutes later, his phone rang again, and the old man answered, “Yes?”
“This is Bob, we’re five minutes out.” With a click, he hung up. The old man walked to the front door and put a leash on Yogi, then waited. Five minutes later, two Tahoes came through the gate nose to tail and parked facing outward. Only the driver of the first truck got out and the old man saw that he met Billy’s description. Opening the door, he walked down the steps, “Bob, I take it?”
Bob nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m Bob Blake, Mister Cronin. Can I get the other guys out?”
The old man said, “Yeah, sorry. I’m being paranoid here. Geez. Hope you don’t mind a dog around.”
Bob made a wind it up gesture and the others unloaded from the trucks, each came over and was introduced to the old man and Yogi. They quickly unloaded the trucks and the old man showed them to their various bedrooms.
Gathering back in the kitchen fifteen minutes later, the old man gave them a rundown on the property using an aerial map and explained the situation at the root of the problem and why they were here.
He also handed them a set of radios and gave them the details on the county law enforcement system and the coverage available.
They spent a few minutes talking about their backgrounds, and the old man begged off and went to bed.
Rome
The old man stepped off the 767 into the heat of a Roman spring and walked slowly down the jet bridge, not looking forward to the cattle call that was customs and immigration at Fumicino airport. As he walked into the terminal he heard, “Cowboy!” Looking around, he finally spotted Antonio Russo, his rumpled Carabinieri counterpart coming against the flow of passengers, so he stepped out of the way and waited. Smiling, the old man watched Tony and marveled that one so sharp could look like he’d slept in his suit and not care; but that was Tony.