Kelli made the introductions and left the office, as Jake took her seat.
Maggie Keegan’s smile came across as warm even on the laptop’s monitor.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Caliber, so to speak, and of course I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Thank you, doll, and I guess what I most need to know is if Gail was seeing anyone recently?”
Maggie’s smile turned melancholy.
“Gail and I both lost our husbands at a young age; it’s something we share, and as far as I know, sir, there’s been no one since your son. Gail’s whole life revolves around the business and her boys.”
The old man stared at the screen with raised eyebrows.
“No one? But it’s been over ten years since my son passed away.”
“I know, and I have tried to get her to date friends of mine, good men who would have treated her well, but... she loved your son a great deal.”
“I see, and is there anything at all you can tell me that might help us find her?”
Maggie Keegan looked thoughtful, but then shook her head.
“I can’t think of a thing, sir. When I spoke to her last night she seemed in good spirits and didn’t mention any problems.”
“Okay, but if anything comes to mind, contact Kelli.”
“I will, and please let me know when you find her.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Sir, Mr. Caliber?”
“Yes?”
“Wherever she is, if she’s in trouble or danger, she knows that you’ll find her. I know about the disagreements you two have had, but sir, deep down, Gail thinks that you walk on water, and I know she loves you very much.”
The old man cleared his throat before speaking again.
“I love her too, Maggie, that girl is my daughter.”
“Give her my love when you see her, and tell her to call.”
“I will, and thank you.”
***
The younger Jake tracked down one of Bahena’s former associates at a body shop in lower Manhattan that specialized in custom paint jobs.
The man’s name was Hector Coffey, and when the woman at the service counter pointed him out to Jake, O’Reilly made a whistling sound.
“That is one seriously big dude, Caliber, and a hunk too.”
“I’m just going to ask him a few questions, so don’t worry.”
The woman at the counter grabbed Jake’s arm.
“Just so you know, Hector can be an asshole sometimes. If he wasn’t so good at custom painting he would have been fired a long time ago, but the man’s an artist with a paint sprayer.”
“How big an asshole is he?”
“The kind with a bad temper.”
Jake took off his suit coat and handed it to O’Reilly.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Call me if you need help.”
“You think you could beat him?”
O’Reilly patted the gun on her hip.
“Hell no, but I can kneecap him.”
Jake walked over to Hector Coffey and the closer he stepped the bigger the man looked. Jake was a big man; Hector was a giant. If the man wasn’t seven-feet tall, he was damn close to it and as wide as a refrigerator, although his stomach was flat. Hector had skin the color of chocolate, with dark, close-cropped curly hair and large hazel eyes.
The body shop smelled of burnt metal, grease, and paint. There was a radio atop a red, tiered toolbox that was blasting out vintage rock & roll. The music competed with the sounds of hammering and drilling that the workers made.
When Hector saw Jake walking towards him, he made a sniffing sound and curled his lip.
“What do you want?”
“I need information about Javier Bahena.”
“You a cop?”
“Private cop; and I need to know what you know about Bahena.”
“Fuck off!”
O’Reilly let out a laugh; she was standing a few feet behind Jake.
“Way to make friends, Caliber.”
Hector looked over at her and smiled.
“What’s your name?”
Jake blocked Hector’s view of O’Reilly.
“Javier Bahena, and don’t make me ask again.”
“Hey dude, I did my time for that jewelry store robbery and now I’m living the straight life, so get lost.”
“I just want to know what you know about Bahena.”
“Yeah, and what if I don’t want to tell you?”
Jake stepped closer.
“Oh you’ll tell me, one way or another.”
Hector scowled at Jake and then reached out to grab his tie. Jake gripped a thumb with one hand and the pinkie with the other and pulled in opposite directions as hard as he could.
Hector let out a cry of pain and tried to yank his hand back. Jake had expected the reaction and let the hand go, which caused Hector to be off balance. Before he could recover, Jake sent a hard kick into the big man’s stomach.
Hector doubled over from the pain, but didn’t go down and managed to land a glancing blow above Jake’s left eye, Jake took the shot and punched Hector on the side of his head, and then he punched him again, and again.
A look of bewilderment came over Hector as he fell to one knee and shook his head, as if trying to clear it. Hector was so big that even on one knee he was still nearly eye-to-eye with Jake.
“Tell me about Bahena, or do we move on to round two?”
“What the hell did you hit me with?”
“A fist.”
“Bullshit! Nobody hits that hard.”
Jake glared down at him.
“Bahena!”
Hector smiled as he sprang up from the floor, “Round two!” and the fight was on again.
***
Chris heard the yelling even from behind his mother’s closed office door.
When he looked out through the window over the sofa, he could see Velma and Rayne arguing. He rushed out to intervene.
“What’s going on?”
Rayne jabbed a finger at Velma.
“I came back here after being subjected to fingerprinting to find her going through my desk.”
“You’re damn right I’m searching your desk, because I know better than to trust you.”
Rayne opened her mouth in shock.
“What have I ever done here to deserve that? I clear more cases than anyone and I have nothing against Mrs. Caliber.”
Velma smirked.
“Your name was tattooed on the dead body of our only lead in the case; I think that’s reason enough to suspect you.”
Rayne looked at Chris.
“You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, but we’re really worried about my mother.”
Rayne touched him on the arm.
“We’ll find her, Chris, don’t worry, and search my desk all you want, Mrs. Channing, but you won’t find anything.”
“My name is Parker,” Velma said, while knowing that Rayne was only trying to get a rise out of her.
“Why don’t you two make it Rayne and Velma, hmm?” Chris said. “I mean we all want the same thing don’t we, to find my mom?”
Velma finished her search of the desk and stood up.
“Let’s see what we can find in your mother’s office.”
As Velma walked off, Chris stayed behind and spoke to Rayne.
“I’m sorry; she gets a little carried away sometimes.”
Rayne smiled.
“Jealous is what she is, I only wish she had a reason to be.”
“Chris, are you coming?” Velma called.
“I’ll be right there,” he said, before turning back to Rayne. “What are you working on?”
“Everything is on hold until we find your mother.”
“You have an idea of where to look?”
“I’m going to talk to Javier’s family, maybe they know something.”
“Good, and be sure to keep in contact.”
Rayne to
uched him on the arm again.
“You can count on that.”
Chris watched her walk away, and as the doors closed on the elevator, Rayne sent him a wink.
***
Hector sprang up from the floor with far more speed than Jake would have thought him capable of, and slammed into him, then picked him up.
Jake knew what was coming next, and before Hector could crush him against a wall, he struck the huge man in the throat, causing Hector to release him.
Jake staggered backwards through a set of open doors that led to an alley on the side of the building. His ribs hurt from where Hector had held him and he knew that he could not let the big man get his hands on him again.
As Hector sped towards him, Jake saw the smile on his face and knew that he was enjoying the battle. He smiled his own grin, charged at Hector, and at the last possible instant, he fell to the ground at Hector’s feet.
Hector’s momentum was too great and he went tripping over Jake, and was just able to put his hands out to cushion his fall. A moment later, Jake was atop Hector’s back and applying a strangle hold.
It took nearly a minute of struggle, but finally Hector slapped a hand against the oil-stained concrete to signal his surrender.
Jake climbed off Hector as O’Reilly came to stand beside him.
“I didn’t know you wrestled, Caliber.”
“Not since high school,”
O’Reilly squeezed his right biceps.
“I’m up for a match anytime you want.”
“Let me guess, you only wrestle in the nude?”
“Yeah, but there are no losers.”
Jake looked over at the doors leading back inside and saw that Hector’s co-workers were watching.
“Don’t you people have work to do?” Jake said.
They drifted away as Hector made it back onto his feet.
“Bahena?” Jake said.
Hector looked as if he were considering going for a third round, but instead, he made a sound of derision and threw his chin towards O’Reilly.
“I’ll talk, but first I want to know her name.”
Jake sighed.
“Her name is Shea O’Reilly; now tell me what you know about Bahena.”
Hector and O’Reilly exchanged smiles, and then he looked back at Jake.
“I haven’t hung out with Javier in years, but I did run in to him sometimes. The last time I saw him was a few days ago, but we didn’t talk, he was parked at a light in some sweet vintage Mustang. The car was nice, and the chick he was with was even nicer.”
“I know about the car, but what about the woman?”
Hector looked at O’Reilly.
“She was hot like this one here, but older, small chick with dark hair and dark eyes.”
“What were they doing?”
“Just talking,”
“You said they were stopped at a light? What street were they on?”
“JFK Boulevard.”
“In New York City?”
“Nah, Jersey City, just the other side of the tunnel, Javier and I grew up there.”
“Do you know Rayne Carver?”
Hector smiled.
“Hell yeah, but how do you know her?”
“We work at the same place.”
“Well hell man, she might know how to get in touch with Javier, even though they broke up back in high school.”
“Sorry to give you the bad news, but Javier is dead.”
“No shit?”
“No shit, the cops found him stuffed into the trunk of his car.”
“Oh hell; that’s going to kill his mom.”
“You know anything else?”
“I know how to find Javier’s friends in Jersey City.”
“Give me their names and addresses.”
“I’ll do better than that, I’ll come along.”
“What?”
“Yeah, and while you’re driving us around, me and Shea O’Reilly here will get to know each other.”
Jake looked over at O’Reilly.
“Do you believe this guy?”
O’Reilly smiled at Hector.
“Take the deal, Caliber.”
Jake rolled his eyes.
“Oh crap, you two got the hots for each other.”
Hector rubbed his jaw.
“Where’d you learn to hit like that?”
“I’ve been in a few fights, plus my grandfather taught me some tricks.”
Hector squinted at him.
“What’s your name?”
“Jake Caliber.”
“Ah, so you’re one of those Calibers, damn, I’m lucky you didn’t shoot me.”
“O’Reilly here is a cop.”
Hector stared at her in surprise, but then shrugged.
“What the hell, nobody’s perfect.”
CHAPTER 7
Rayne climbed the brick steps of a home on Virginia Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey, as memories of her youth came flooding back.
When her knock was answered, she was surprised to find an unfamiliar face gazing back at her from the doorway. The woman was in her mid-thirties, Hispanic, and beautiful, despite the look of street toughness lighting her eyes and showing itself in her stance.
“What do you want?”
“Hi, I’m looking for Mrs. Bahena.”
“We ain’t buying anything, so get lost.”
The woman attempted to close the door but Rayne stuck her foot inside to block it.
“I’m not selling anything. I’m an old friend of Mrs. Bahena’s son and I want to see her.”
A young woman pushed past the woman at the door and her moist eyes lit up as she spotted Rayne.
“Hi Mia,” Rayne said.
“Oh Rayne, I’m so glad you’ve come; I guess you’ve heard about Javier?”
“Yes.”
Rayne was let inside and Mia introduced her to the other woman.
“This is my sister, Ariana.”
“Ariana? Javier told me that you ran away from home when he was still little.”
“Yeah, well I’m back now.”
Mia wiped at her eyes.
“It’s so sad. Just as we get Ariana back, we lose Javier.”
Rayne gave her a hug.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Mia.”
“Thank you, but you won’t be able to see Mama; she’s not up to seeing anyone right now.”
“I understand, and I actually came here to speak to you.”
“Oh, well, why don’t we take a walk? Ariana, can you stay with Mama until I get back?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Ariana said, while still glaring at Rayne.
When Mia went upstairs to grab a jacket, Ariana spoke to Rayne.
“My brother had your name tattooed on his arm, said you broke his heart.”
“It was the other way around. I ended things with him because he wouldn’t stay out of trouble.”
Ariana made a face.
“What are you, a social worker or something?”
“I’m a fraud investigator for Caliber Investigations.”
“Shit, you might as well be a cop.”
Mia returned, and she and Rayne left the home. Once outside, Rayne asked Mia about Javier’s life, who his friends were, and what sort of work he’d been doing.
“Javier had a good job. He was working for Ariana’s boyfriend, a man named Bill Dawkins.”
“What kind of work was he doing?”
“He was his driver, you know, like a chauffeur.”
“And what kind of work does this Bill Dawkins do?”
“Ariana just says he’s a businessman. Why are you asking about him?”
Rayne smiled.
“I was just curious. Javier and I had been out of touch for a long while.”
They walked along until they were standing in front of the school that they had both attended as children. Rayne thought that the building looked smaller than she had remembered it to be.
“Javier still loved you, Rayne,
you know?”
“I still had feelings for him too.”
“The police say he was shot inside some woman’s house in Forest Hills, but they don’t know what happened.”
“The cops have been here?”
“Yeah, she just left, a woman, a Detective Alvera, do you think she’ll figure out what happened?”
Rayne gave Mia a reassuring smile, as she thought about the Calibers.
“It will all get sorted out, and you can be sure of that.”
***
Back at the house, Ariana was speaking to Dawkins on the phone.
“This shit gets worse and worse, now there’s a woman snooping around here who’s from Caliber.”
“I’m telling you, this was that bastard, Tate. He must have figured out that I wouldn’t risk leaving that woman alive and decided to play hero.”
“You find that cabron for me. He killed my brother.”
“You can’t have him, he’s mine for double-crossing us, and I really could have used him on Saturday.”
“He’s not going to help you and you can’t trust him anymore.”
“I’ll kill him myself, but first I have to find him and that Caliber woman.”
“Expect the cops to come by; my little sister gave them your name.”
“I’m clean, as far as the cops know I’m a businessman. I’m totally legit on paper.”
“Baby.”
“Yeah?”
“Find Tate.”
“I got Gannon working on it now, so don’t worry.”
“I worry, that woman is a Caliber, and Jake Caliber and his grandsons are people that don’t mess around.”
***
Jake dangled Oscar Vito by his ankles as O’Reilly and Hector gazed up at them.
Jake was on the roof of a warehouse on Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City, where Oscar had been part of a crew applying new tar to the roof’s surface.
When Jake asked him about Javier Bahena, after informing him of his death, Oscar stepped onto one of the scissor-type lift trucks that roofers use, and rocketed upward, leaving Jake standing on the sidewalk. He never counted on Jake charging up the metal stairs inside the building to follow after him.
“Hector! Make this bastard stop!”
Hector spread his hands in helplessness. He was standing beside O’Reilly on the curb as they took in the spectacle. Behind them, traffic hummed along on the busy road.
“Tell him what he wants to know and he’ll leave you alone,” Hector yelled up.
Oscar stared upside down at the passing traffic fifty-feet below.
Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 2 Page 3