by Bill Sage
Asher said, “Nothing’s gonna…gonna happen to him?”
Jake and Al kept quiet, not looking at each other. Hack and Ben knew enough to stay out of it. It was Al’s call.
Al knew if it were up to Jake, they’d hunt Tim down and take him out. Tim knew who Ed was meeting at the stadium. And he’d soon know that Ed and Miller never made it back from Angel Stadium.
So, his fate was still up in the air.
It was silent in the Suburban as they approached the 405 Freeway. A few seconds later, Phil came alongside them, honked once and took the onramp back to LA.
Ben said, “Just like I thought. Phil came through for us.”
“We’ll have to take care of him,” Al said.
After driving for a few more minutes, Ben brought up something they’d all been wondering about. “Hey, what about that moron keeping his hand stuck in his pocket? What was that all about?”
Asher said, “I don’t know. But if you ask me, I think it was all a show for Miller.”
Jake disagreed. “No, that’s not it. He was trying to get us to kill him. Baiting us to take him down.”
Hearing what Jake said, Al had to laugh to himself. He was thinking that no matter what, Jake would always find a way of justifying killing someone.
“I don’t know,” Asher said. “I still think I’m right. He was trying to be macho for Miller.”
“He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams,” Jake said.
44
ENTERING THE HOUSE, Al and Jake walked Asher into the living room, sat him down on the couch. Ben and Hack followed them inside.
Ben asked Al, “Is it okay if we stick around? See Linda when—”
“Of course. She loves you guys. You should be here.”
Ben and Hack smiled.
“Okay, everybody, wait down here,” Al said. “I’m gonna get her.”
He went upstairs to the bedroom. She was in bed, eyes closed, with a book lying on her stomach. He picked up the book, put it on the side table. Then, sitting on the edge of the bed, he gave her a soft kiss.
It didn’t wake her.
“Honey,” he said softly.
She moved her head slightly to one side, then opened her eyes. “Mmm, it’s you.”
He stared at her, a smile spread across his face.
Rising up, she said, “What?”
“I have a surprise for you,” he whispered.
“Is it about my dad?” she asked in an excited voice.
Smiling, Al said, “He’s downstairs, waiting for you.”
Linda sprang out of bed. Tearing up, she threw on her bathrobe and raced down to the living room, Al following behind her. When Asher saw her running down the steps, he got up and walked toward her. Sobbing, she ran over to him and leapt into his arms.
As they embraced, Al and the Detroit boys moved back to give them more privacy.
Between sobs, Linda murmured, “Oh, Daddy, I’m so happy you’re safe. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you, angel.”
After a few moments, Ben whispered to Al, “We gotta get going.” Then he and Hack edged themselves closer to Linda and Asher.
Ben said, “Seeing you two together like this is what we’d hoped would happen.”
“It was good to have you guys there,” Asher replied in a grateful voice. “You know, just in case.”
Al smiled. He’s sticking to the cover story.
“We gotta get back to LA,” Hack said, looking at Linda then over at Ben.
Linda gave both a hug.
Hack and Ben said goodbye and went to the door with Al and Jake. Huddling together, the four of them talked for a few moments.
“Secrets,” Linda muttered to her dad. “They always have their little secrets.”
“Honey, it was Jake and Al working behind the scenes who got things going,” Asher informed her. “They can have all the secrets they want.”
45
AL AND JAKE WALKED outside with Ben and Hack. They talked for a few minutes then Hack and Ben took off. Al and Jake went back inside.
Linda and Asher were sitting on the couch. Al sat next to her; Jake sat in a chair across from them.
After a few minutes of talking, Asher took a breath and said, “When I heard them saying bad things about ‘Judge Roth,’ I knew I was coming home.”
“They didn’t like my demanding proof of life,” Al said, reminding Asher to stick to the story.
Linda eyed Al for a second, then squeezed his hand.
Jake jumped in to support Al. “They wanted to have a free hand.”
Standing up, Al said, “I better call Donna and give her the good news.”
“Yes, please,” Asher said.
Jake and Al went into the den. Al called Donna, who said she’d be right over.
When Al hung up, he turned toward the bar. “I’ll get us some Scotch.”
He poured two drinks. They both took sips.
“We did it,” Jake said, sitting down on the leather couch.
Clutching Jake’s arm, Al said, “I couldn’t have done it without you. You were here by my side. You don’t know how much—”
“Al, we’re brothers.”
Al gave Jake a warm smile. Then they both went silent., each lost in his own thoughts.
After a few moments, Al abruptly handed Jake his glass. “Here, hold this for a second.”
Then he stepped over to the bar and poured another glass of Scotch. Coming back, he said, “This is for Ash.”
They returned to the living room.
Offering Asher the glass, Al said, “Ash, how about a Scotch?”
“I’d love one. That’s all I been thinking about for days.” Asher took a swig and smiled.
“Linda?” Al said, glancing at her.
“Maybe when I come back down,” she said, getting up. Then she went upstairs to get dressed.
A short while later, Donna arrived. She and Asher embraced and talked together on the couch. After a few seconds, Donna said, “You look pretty good in that beard.”
They both laughed.
Just then, Linda came back downstairs and joined them. After the initial gush of joy and relief, they talked quietly, sometimes even laughing.
An hour later, when Asher and Donna were getting ready to leave, Asher said he wanted to speak to Al and Jake in the den. When they went inside, Asher closed the doors.
Then he told them all the things Miller had done to him.
Hearing what he had to say, Jake became very angry. “He wouldn’t even let you have a goddamn aspirin?” he roared. “Now, I wished I’d beaten him to death in the car.”
Al and Asher didn’t respond. It was awkward for a moment or two.
Then Asher said, “I think he was mentally ill.”
Al said, “He’s cured now.”
“The burger and fries shit is worse than the beatings,” Jake said.
“He had some imagination,” Al offered.
Ash said, “No, just crazy.”
“Let’s just forget all that shit,” Al said. “We got you back. Linda and Donna don’t have to worry anymore.”
“Yeah and think about the great stories I can tell at Big Canyon Country Club,” Asher said, nodding.
Jake and Al laughed.
As Asher turned for the door, Jake said, “Ash, wait a minute.”
When Asher stopped, Jake reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the .22 he’d taken off the Ethan Hawke kidnapper. After removing the bullets, he handed it to Asher.
“Keep it as a souvenir,” Jake said.
“Hang on a second,” Al said, holding his hand out. “Having the gun won’t fit in our cover story. Leave it here, Ash. Get it later.”
“Sorry, Al,” Jake said.
“No problem,” Al said, smiling.
“And just to make sure you know I got the story straight,” Asher said, looking at Al. “It’s the same as it happened, except we met in a park. The mob guy was there, and no explosion.”
“Y
eah, that’s it,” Al said.
“Well, I can tell you,” Asher said, “it’d be great having the gun. When Linda and Al finally have kids, I can tell them about the kidnapping and show them the gun.”
Smiling, Al said, “I got the hint. We’re working on it.”
Ash and Jake laughed.
46
WHEN DONNA AND ASHER left for home, Al, Linda, and Jake went to the family room to wind down and relax before going to bed. After pouring drinks, Al started a fire in the fireplace and put on Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto.
“That’s Al’s and my favorite,” Linda said, looking at Jake. “Especially the third movement.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “He’s forced me to listen to it a million times. Now, I like it too.”
As they were listening to the first movement, Jake said, “Well, it’s finally over.”
“It’s almost like a miracle,” Linda said in a questioning tone. “You know, how it happened…” Then she shot Al a piercing look.
He didn’t respond. Not sure what she was getting at.
“It’s good nobody got hurt,” Jake said, trying to protect Al and attempting to shift the conversation away from how the exchange was arranged.
“Yeah, it went well, no problems,” Al said, nodding at Linda.
Not responding, Linda shot both half-smiles.
Al girded himself for something she might spring on him when they were alone.
They stayed up for another hour drinking, telling stories, and finishing off the apple tart Linda made the day before. Then Al and Linda led Jake to the guest bedroom. Linda kissed him on the cheek; Al and Jake gave each other man hugs.
“Good night, brother,” Al said softly.
Jake grinned.
Linda said, “We love you.”
“Goodnight,” Jake said.
Linda and Al went to their bedroom. After shutting the door, Linda didn’t waste any time. “My dad told me about the transfer in the park. You say Claudio’s guy set it up. But I just have a nagging feeling that there’s more to the story.”
“You know, ‘transfer in the park’ would be a good title for a book.”
Linda let out a sigh. “That’s not going to work.” Then after pausing, she said, “No dodging.”
Al nodded.
“When you left, you said Claudio’s guy wanted to talk to you and Jake. But you’re saying he never told you two that he’d already arranged the exchange?”
She paused for a moment, then continued.
“I don’t know… I just get the feeling there’s more to it than what you’re telling me. To be honest, the whole thing sounds like something you’d put together. You and Jake.”
“You make a good point there,” Al said, taking off his jacket and tossing it on the bench at the foot of the bed.
“Well, did you?”
“No, not with your dad caught in the middle. I couldn’t take the chance.”
“So, what happened?”
“We met them thinking they wanted to go over something they were considering. You know, get our approval. But when we got there, the mob guy took Jake aside and told him they’d already worked out a deal to trade hostages. They wanted to keep it from us until we got to the park and talked in person.”
“Why? They could’ve told Jake about it on the phone.”
Shaking his head, Al said, “Who knows how those guys think. I know this is gonna sound bizarre, but Jake thinks they thought if I knew, I might call the police. You know, because I’m a judge.”
“I guess they don’t know anything about you,” Linda said, laughing. “In some respects, you’re worse than they are.”
“That’s our little secret,” Al said, smiling. Then he sat in a chair and started taking off his boots.
“Do you have any more information on what took place before, what led up to their wanting to make the exchange? You know, why they did it?”
“Yeah, I do. Jake finally filled me in. He said that the Orange County mob guy Claudio set him up with told him that he’d try talking to the kidnappers first. See if he could get it worked out that way. But they wouldn’t listen to him. That pissed him off, so he had his guys grab one of them. That’s when you got that hysterical phone call from the kidnapper.”
“You know how they did it? How they nabbed their guy?”
“I don’t know any of the details,” Al said, shaking his head. He went back to untying his boots.
“Did Jake have anything to do with it?”
“You mean other than contacting them?”
“Yeah. Doing the actual physical part.”
“He could’ve handled it, but not by himself.”
Suddenly everything in the world stopped. There was dead silence as Al realized what he’d said could lead Linda to think he and Jake had done it together.
Gawking at him, Linda said, “Don’t tell me. You and Jake—”
“No, honey. Jake didn’t even know it was going to happen.”
“But wait a minute. You and Jake were gone for two days. Is that when—”
“No, that was for Ziggy. And we weren’t even in California. We flew out of John Wayne Airport.”
She gave him a questioning look.
“Honey, you saw our bags. Remember?”
“What about Jake? He could’ve…”
“He’d never do anything like that without telling me first.”
Linda didn’t respond.
“Well, at least it’s all over,” Al said, trying to end the conversation.
After staring at him for a few moments, Linda said, “It looks like if it weren’t for Jake, it wouldn’t have gotten done. I guess I’ll have to press him for more details.”
“It won’t do any good. He’ll just say he doesn’t know anything about it.” Then he went back to removing his boots.
“Come on, Al. You know I’d never mention anything to him.”
When they finally crawled into bed that night, Linda tucked the covers under her chin and looked over at Al. “Well, it’s finally over.”
“Yeah, we did it.”
Then she turned on her side and crept closer to Al. Resting her arm on his stomach, she let out a deep sigh. Then she just stared at him.
She can’t let it go.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re not being straight with me?” she asked.
Because you know me?
“Maybe it’s because I used to hang out with the Purples and started the 12th Street Gang.”
“That’s a big part of it.”
“You didn’t have any problem believing me when I said I loved you, wanted to marry you.”
“You wouldn’t lie about that.”
“Good point.”
“But you would lie about doing what you call an ‘operation’ with your Detroit pals.”
“Most of the time all we do is just drive around or keep an eye on someone.”
“Al, cut the crap. You know it’s more than that. And I’m not complaining. I know you use your dark side to achieve what you think is right and fair. Or, as you call it—justice. But let’s face it, you’re okay with using force, even deadly force.”
That caught Al by surprise. He didn’t expect her to come on that strong. He told himself to sit tight and just wait to see where she’d take it next.
But she didn’t follow it up with anything. Now they both went silent. Al had his eyes closed, but he could sense she was still staring at him.
I’ll have to say something, get this out of the way.
He opened his eyes and gave her a soft kiss. Then, after taking a breath, he murmured, “All right, it’s time…time to come clean.”
She moved in closer and looked him in the eyes.
After letting out a deep sigh, Al said, “The mob had nothing to do with it. I planned and directed the whole thing. I had the boys grab the ringleader. Then I arranged for Ash’s release. When we got him back, I instructed Jake to kill all the kidnappers.”
“I can see
I’m not gonna get the truth out of you,” Linda said in an exasperated voice. Then she turned and scooted across the sheets to her side of the bed.
47
THE NEXT MORNING, Roth leapt out of bed and went to the kitchen. He wanted to surprise Linda by having coffee ready when she came downstairs. On the weekends, she usually made it while he read the paper.
Waiting for it to brew, he sat at the kitchen table, opening the Los Angeles Times to the Orange County section. The front page carried a story about an explosion in the parking lot of Angel Stadium. Two men had been blown apart.
One guy had two fingers missing, but authorities said that could’ve been caused by the blast.
Anaheim Police thought it had to be a mob hit. The men had felony arrest records; one co-owned a paving business in Santa Ana.
While Al was reading the article, Ben called.
“This is way too early for you,” Roth said.
“I know, but I need to know what we should do with Sands.”
At first, that was a hard one for Roth. Sands appeared to be a poor sap who didn’t know anything about the kidnapping. But the more Al thought about it, the more he came to think that was bullshit.
Despite Ben repeatedly asking him for the phone number he was supposed to call, Sands had said he didn’t know what it was. He only gave it up after they did a “Goldman” on him. That means he knew it all along. He was just pretending not to know.
If he knew the number yet didn’t disclose it, was it because he was trying to protect Miller? If not, what other reason was there?
But that wasn’t all. Ben and Phil had contact with him. He didn’t know who they were, but he could identify their photos. So, there was some potential danger to them.
But the worst thing for Roth was what could happen if Sands found himself charged with a heavy beef. If that happened, it could lead to his attorney approaching the DA with an offer to trade information in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Roth knew how that would go. He could hear the attorney saying, “What if I told you about a sitting judge who had two guys murdered?”