Katy took out a card and passed it to Jake.
“Give me a call sometime, and we’ll talk toys.”
“I’d like that.”
As Katy walked away, Victor smiled.
“You have a way with women, don’t you, Jake?”
“It’s one of the things I’ve inherited from my grandfather.”
“My nephew, John, he has a thing for Katy, but she won’t give him the time of day.”
“It’s the nights that come to mind when I look at her,” Jake said.
They entered Victor’s office to find two men there, Victor’s son, Bart Jansen, and his nephew, John Jansen.
Bart Jansen resembled his father, but where Victor had a dark complexion with dark hair, Bart’s hair was a curly light brown, and his light skin tone undoubtedly came from his mother’s side of the family.
John Jansen was a mix of the two; he had Victor’s dark complexion, but Bart’s brown hair and eyes. Jake also took note that Bart was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, while John appeared ready for the corporate life in a pinstriped three-piece-suit.
Victor pointed at his chair.
“Out of my seat, Bart; you have your own office downstairs.”
“Take it; I was just waiting to meet the P.I. here.”
Jake looked over at Victor.
“You told them about me?”
“I told my son, yes, and now I guess John knows too.”
“I heard about it from Ted in shipping,” John said. “And he told me that Karen told him.”
Victor slammed a hand on his desk.
“Damn it, Bart. I told you to keep it a secret.”
Bart shrugged.
“Oops,”
John left his seat on the sofa and walked over to the desk.
“What exactly is he investigating, Victor?”
“I think someone tried to kill me.”
“What?”
“Yes, I was nearly run over the other night by a black sedan; that’s why my car is damaged.”
John pulled a chair over and sat beside his uncle.
“What do the police say?”
“They think it was just an accident, and maybe they’re right, but in either event, Jake here will be my bodyguard for a few days.”
John looked over at Jake.
“What are your credentials?”
Victor answered.
“He’s not Jake Steele; his real name is Jake Caliber.”
John nodded.
“I see you’ve hired the best.”
Bart walked up to Jake and studied him.
“I thought he’d be older by now. Didn’t he save the president decades ago?”
Jake stared into Bart’s eyes and Bart jumped back as if he had struck him.
“Go play somewhere else, junior.”
“Mr. Caliber is right; this isn’t a game, Bart. Someone might have been trying to kill Victor.”
“Oh please, who would want my father dead?”
John stared at Bart.
“I can think of one, maybe even two people.”
All playfulness left Bart’s face.
“What are you talking about?”
“Veronica, what do we really know about her?”
Victor shook his head.
“My wife isn’t trying to kill me, John. I know you’ve never liked her, but—”
“It’s not that I dislike her, I actually do. I just think that you rushed into marriage so soon after Aunt Jennifer’s death.”
Victor smiled at John.
“You were always her favorite. I regret that so many years went by without us visiting you in Seattle.”
“Veronica is not a killer,” Bart said.
Jake sat in one of two chairs in front of the desk.
“Perhaps I should meet Mrs. Jansen, even if she’s not involved, she might know something that could help.”
“You’ll meet her tonight. You’ll be staying in a guest room,” Victor said.
“That’s a good idea. Until we know what’s going on, I should be with you 24/7.”
Bart made a sound of disgust.
“24/7? How much is this costing us?”
Victor smirked at him.
“Probably about a tenth of what your last screw-up cost me.”
Bart sent him a snide look, and then slammed the door on his way out.
CHAPTER 4
At the Steele farm in Landsville, Texas, Kelli clapped with delight as she watched the old man target shoot with his cousin, Blue Steele.
The old man smiled at Blue as he passed her the Remington rifle to take a turn at the targets.
Before they began shooting, over a hundred tin cans were placed atop a fence post, so that Blue and the old man could take turns shooting them off. The first one to miss would lose. That was over twenty minutes ago, and with only two cans left, it looked like it would be a draw.
Blue shot her can, reloaded, and then handed the rifle back to Jake, the old man blew a hole in the final can and everyone clapped.
“That was fun; I haven’t shot a rifle in years.”
Blue gave the old man a hug.
“You’re amazing, Uncle Jake. I spend hours on the shooting range every month just to stay competent.”
“Velma’s niece, who is also named Velma, she thinks that the Calibers have a ‘shooting gene’, all I know is that my grandfather never missed a shot in his life, and I’ve missed damn few myself, maybe there’s something to that.”
Blue’s sister, Jenny, walked over. At first glance, you might think that the sisters were twins, but then you’d realize that Jenny’s eyes were blue, while Blue’s eyes were green, still, they resembled each other greatly.
Jenny smiled at the old man.
“Can you still do that thing you used to do when we were kids?”
“I can try; do you have a stopwatch?”
“I have a stopwatch app on my phone,” Kelli said. “But why do we need it?”
“Uncle Jake can hit six targets in under a second,” Jenny said.
“Are you serious?”
“I haven’t tried it in years, but I’ll try it now on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Blue asked.
The old man looked over at Blue’s mother, Maggie Steele.
“I’d like to use it, Maggie, if you don’t mind.”
“Mind? Jake Caliber, you’re the only man I would let use it. Blue, go fetch your daddy’s gun.”
When Blue returned, she was carrying an old revolver. When Kelli spotted it, her eyes grew large.
“Mr. Caliber, that looks just like the gun in your office.”
“It is, and they were both handmade in Scotland by my great-grandfather, Duncan Steele.”
The old man checked the gun carefully, and smiled.
“I see it’s been well-cared-for.”
“It’s clean, loaded with fresh ammo, and ready to shoot,” Blue said. “Should I set up the cans?”
Jake grinned.
“Let’s do it.”
***
A minute later, Kelli shouted, “Go!” as she activated the stopwatch.
Jake’s hands moved like lightning as he shot off six quick rounds at six different targets that were placed in a circular pattern on the fence posts. All the targets fell, and at the end, Kelli shouted out the result with a tone of amazement in her voice.
“Zero, point eighty-seven seconds! Mr. Caliber, that was remarkable.”
“My grandfather was even better. I once saw him hit eight targets in about the same time.”
The sound of a car coming along the gravel drive reached their ears, and Maggie Steele squinted to see who had come to call.
“That’s Joy Preston, Jake.”
“C’mon Kelli, it’s time to meet the client.”
***
Joy Preston was in her early fifties, but looked somewhat older.
Jake and Kelli sat with her and Maggie Steele around the kitchen table, as Joy Preston pushed a tin box towards Jake.
Jake opened the box and studied one of the envelopes.
“Five thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills, but what about the writing on the envelope, is it your son’s?”
“I can’t tell, as you can see, the letters are block-like, but it must be from Jimmy, who else would send me money or know about my birthday?”
“I see your point, and you say that the last time you heard from him that he was going camping?”
“Yes sir, Jimmy had these friends he met in the army. One was named John and the other had a funny name, something that started with an R, but I can’t seem to remember it. Anyway, they came out here for a reunion and Jimmy took them camping near the Neches River, from that day forward I never saw him again, but then that money started coming.”
“I can’t make any promises, Mrs. Preston, but I’ll do my best to find your son.”
Joy Preston smiled at the old man.
“I know you will. You’re Jake Caliber, and everybody knows that you’re the best there is.”
***
After following Remmi Harlow around for hours, Chris and Velma found themselves back in New York City.
Remmi had picked up Cindy Taft, the client, Orson Taft’s daughter, and now the two of them were dining at a restaurant on Mulberry Street in Little Italy.
Remmi was a good-looking man with dark wavy hair and green eyes, who appeared to have spent some time lifting weights during his life, as he had a solid build and a narrow waist. Cindy Taft was a good match for him. She had shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, while her figure matched her pretty face.
Chris was watching them through a pair of binoculars.
“I’d kill for some of that tortellini.”
Velma yawned and stretched, then sniffed the air and savored the aroma wafting from the restaurant.
“I’m hungry too.”
“There’s a fast food place on the corner; I’ll run down there and get some burgers.”
“All right,” Velma said, and Chris heard the sadness in her voice.
“What’s wrong?”
She seemed surprised by his perceptiveness over her mood, and then she pointed at the restaurant.
“It’s been ages since I’ve done something like that, had dinner with a man, and Michael and I used to eat out often. I miss it... and I miss him.”
“I’m sure you do. I can’t imagine what it’s like, what you’re going through, but I want you to know that despite the way I feel about you, I won’t make a move on you. I respect your decision to stay true to your husband, and I’ll always be your friend.”
Velma stared at him in silence, but a moment later, she had her lips pressed against his, as her arms wrapped around him, then just as quickly, she disengaged and stared at Chris with a look of pain.
“I didn’t mean to do that... please don’t...” She opened the car door. “I’ll go get the burgers.”
Chris watched her hurry away, as a mix of emotions flooded his heart and mind.
***
When Remmi left Cindy Taft’s apartment at a little after midnight, Chris and Velma were still following him. They had spent the intervening hours making small talk while avoiding any mention of Velma’s earlier display of passion.
They followed Remmi Harlow to the Bronx, where he pulled into the parking lot of a bar whose clientele appeared to consist of bikers, as the lot was loaded with Harleys. However, there was a white van in the rear corner of the lot, and after leaving his car, that’s exactly where Remmi headed.
“It looks like a rendezvous of some sort,” Chris said.
“Remmi’s not the only one interested in that van,” Velma said, as three bikers left the bar and walked over to the back of the vehicle, whose driver and passenger joined Remmi at the van’s rear.
“What do you think this is, a drug buy?” Chris said.
“Maybe? We need to get a closer look.”
Chris gazed about the area.
“I have an idea.”
***
Three minutes later, Chris and Velma were lying flat atop the roof of an apartment building that looked down on the bar’s parking lot. Velma sighted in on the van through a pair of night vision binoculars and then passed them over to Chris.
“It looks like Mr. Taft was right about his future son-in-law, but it’s even worse than he thought.”
Chris sighted down on the van.
“Whoa, this is not good, and there must be dozens of them.”
“At least a hundred. Remmi Harlow isn’t selling drugs, he’s selling guns, and apparently he’ll sell to anyone with the money to buy them.”
“So what’s our next step?”
Velma smiled.
“It’s time to introduce ourselves to Remmi Harlow.”
CHAPTER 5
Kelli smiled and waved out the rear window of their rented pickup truck, as she and the old man left the Steele farm in Landsville the following day.
“Your cousins are nice, but why do Jenny and Blue call you Uncle?”
“I think it’s because I’m so much older than they are, and I’ve always been like an uncle to them anyway. When I was a kid, I always called their great-great-grandfather, uncle, even though Fergus and I were actually cousins.”
“What were you and Blue talking about before you got in the car? It looked serious.”
“It was serious; I was telling her to be careful. I also let her know that she could come to us for help at any time.”
“Is being a bounty hunter dangerous?”
“She’s faced her share of trouble, and Caliber or Steele, that girl has the family grit.”
“She was very nice to me, they all were, and I had a great time there. Plus, you were right, Maggie is a fantastic cook.”
“Thanks for tagging along, kid. I know you only did it because you’re worried about me, but I’ll tell you something, as old as I am, I ain’t done yet.”
“You’re welcome, but I’m not worried about you anymore, not after watching you shoot yesterday. That was really incredible, and Blue, she’s almost as good as you are.”
“She got that from her father, her father, Blue Steele, he was the fastest man with a gun that I’ve ever seen, except for maybe my grandfather.”
“So how do we find James Preston?”
“We start at his last known location, this town, Fort Neches; Joy Preston said that the sheriff there investigated when James first went missing. I’m gonna go talk to him.”
“And then what?”
“And then we pull the string some more.”
“Pull the string?”
“Yeah, the string, this town is one end of it, but if I keep pulling on it I’ll get more of it and more of it, and eventually I’ll reach the other end of the line and find what’s there.”
“Oh, but do you think James Preston is still alive?”
“I hope so, otherwise, someone else is sending his mother that money out of a sense of guilt, and that much guilt could mean that Preston is dead.”
***
When they reached the small town, the old man found the Chief of Police, Chief Dave Kane, to be accommodating, so much so, that Kane personally led Jake and Kelli out to the site where James Preston was last seen. It was a beautiful spot near the riverbank, and Jake could see why Preston and his friends had chosen it.
“As I told Mrs. Preston, there wasn’t much here when I came to investigate, but I didn’t find any signs of violence. There had been no rainfall since they camped here, and I found no bloodstains or anything like that. I did track down one of those boys he was with by phone, and he said that Preston was fine the last he saw of him.”
“What was the boy’s name?”
The chief looked thoughtful for a moment.
“I got it written down back at the office, but I think it was something with an R, but hold on a se
cond and let me call my deputy.”
As the chief called his office, Jake looked around and noticed a man standing in the doorway of a nearby cabin. The man seemed to be looking at them through a pair of binoculars.
“You’ve got an admirer, Kelli.”
“Why is he looking at us?”
“He’s probably just wondering why the sheriff is out here.”
“It’s a bit creepy.”
Chief Kane put away his phone.
“Okay, the fella that James Preston came here with was named Remmi Harlow, and there was another man named John, from Washington State, but Harlow said that he didn’t know his last name.”
“Remmi Harlow was here with James Preston?”
“Yeah, why? You sound like you know him.”
“His name came up on another case back in New York. Was your Harlow from New York too?”
“He sure was, some coincidence, hmm?”
“Maybe...,” Jake said.
Kelli pointed towards the cabin.
“Someone is watching us, Chief. Who is that?”
“Oh, that’s just Russell McKay. He’s a local, but he wouldn’t know anything. That cabin has only been there for about a year.”
“Does he know James Preston?” Jake asked.
“You know something; he does know Preston. The two of them used to hunt together.”
Jake headed for the cabin.
“I think I’ll talk to him.”
***
McKay saw Jake walking his way and put down the binoculars. He was a young man with long hair, big biceps, and a beer gut. As the trio grew closer, McKay eyed Kelli with a lecherous stare.
“Damn girl, you are one tasty piece of tail.”
The chief scowled at him.
“Watch your mouth, Russell; the young lady doesn’t need you gawking at her.”
“I was just saying how much I admire her chief, that’s all.”
Jake walked up to him and held out a picture of James Preston.
“You know this man, don’t you?”
“Hell yeah, I know’d Jimmy for years, but I ain’t seen him in a while now.”
“He was up here camping with a couple of men last spring. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yeah, I saw them up here. Jimmy was kissing those city boys’ asses.”
“One of those men was named Remmi Harlow. Do you remember the other man’s name?”
Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 1 Page 8