Resort Isle: Detective Frank Dugan begins (Detective Frank Dugan series)
Page 25
“Of course. Pay me when you can,” Fiske said and laughed.
“It gets worse. I also need a car.”
* * *
Judd Kemp’s helicopter touched down at the SDPD heliport on Broadway. A waiting police cruiser drove Judd to the Delaney’s Restaurant in Dana Point where Frank had suggested they meet, between Marina del Rey and San Diego.
Frank was at the bar when Judd charged in and yanked him off his bar stool and hugged him long and hard enough to make Frank blush.
“I love you too, man,” Frank said.
Judd released his grip on Frank.
“Now that we’ve convinced everyone here that we’re gay ... ” Judd said.
“Who cares? You know these people?”
“Good point,” Judd said. “God damn, it’s awfully good to see you, partner.”
“Back at ya. Never thought I’d ever see Delaney’s again.”
“You had to come back for the clam chowder.”
They had a laugh and sat at the bar. They ordered drinks and waited until the bartender moved out of earshot.
“So my CIs tell me Malay’s in the can and has a reservation for the Resort,” Frank said.
“You have the correct intel.”
Judd proceeded to relate to Frank the details of acquiring the video tape from Mitch Davis via his ex-girlfriend Daley, and all that went with it.
“So, what’s the plan now?” Judd asked.
“I haven’t had time to give that much thought. Never figured I’d need to, but I might drift back to my old detective job in Baltimore.”
“And leave sunny California?”
“Too many bad memories here, Judd. I need to go somewhere the scenery doesn’t haunt me. I look out there at Dana Point and remember Amy and me swimming with the kids. Every place I go there’s something to remind me of them. It’ll be easier if I don’t keep seeing her dancing on the beach and riding Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney with Deb and Billy.”
“Those are not bad memories, Frank. Those scenes make up the movie of your life. You will always see those happy scenes. Embrace them. Folks like me never had great ones like that.”
“I guess I’m the only one who sees them, so it’s my personal—”
“You’re not the only one,” Judd said.
“Well, I hate having to leave, but I may operate better in Baltimore.”
“I get that. I’ll miss you, buddy. We’ll all miss you.”
“Me too.”
“Now I want to hear about the fight with Rico Guzman,” Judd said. “I got a feeling this is going to be better than ringside at Thrilla in Manila.”
“Better get yourself another drink.”
* * *
Frank returned the borrowed car to Captain Fiske at Marina del Rey and told him to sell the Esperanza and keep a twenty percent commission. That would more than cover the long distance phone bill.
There was one more thing left to do. He had to see Marty and Charly Dimino and say goodbye.
They were living at Marty’s beach house when he wasn’t in Washington and Marty was home for the summer.
Frank parked the rental on the beach road and rang the doorbell. Charly answered.
“We heard the good news,” Charly said and clutched Frank like he was her long lost child, tears in her eyes. “God, it’s good to see you.”
Marty’s voice boomed from the bedroom.
“Who’s at the door?”
“It’s Frank,” Charly said.
“Don’t let him in or he’ll want to stay and suck up our liquor,” Marty said, appearing in the hall. “We’ll never get rid of him.”
Frank came in and embraced Marty.
“Welcome home, kid,” Marty said. “I thought we’d lost you.”
They sat in the den and had drinks and told stories. After an hour, Frank stood and stared at his favorite couple.
“I see my Bronco’s still here,” Frank said. “I would’ve bet it’d be on the police auction block by now.”
“Judd Kemp wouldn’t allow anyone to touch it,” Marty said.
“I’m going back to Baltimore,” Frank said.
“You told us why,” Charly said. “I understand.”
“Write if you get work,” Marty said.
Frank stood. The Diminos started to get up, but Frank stopped them with his extended palm.
“Let me remember you two just the way you are,” Frank said and went out the door, squared his shoulders, and drove away.
* * *
Frank steered the Bronco east onto the Santa Monica freeway and wended his way through the late morning traffic. He reviewed his decision to leave California and decided it was a good one. He would apply to get his old detective job back at the Baltimore City Police Department where his father was a veteran beat cop.
Frank and his father were not close. Years of drinking, gambling debts, and childhood abuse by the father had destroyed any affection between the two men, but Frank would be civil with his dad in the workplace, and on the rare occasions when he felt obligated to visit and offer help to the aging patriarch in tasks he could no longer do.
As a policeman, Frank would continue to pursue and collar the bad guys. If those bad guys were cruel to animals, the helpless, or children, Frank Dugan would bring the whirlwind, the whirlwind from hell.
* * *
A local fisherman eased his john boat near the tiny islands dotting the coastline of Long Beach, California. Fishing in this area had often been productive in the past so he drifted among the small land masses hoping to spot a good place to cast his line. Most of these islets contained oil pumps cycling their mechanized arms up and down, ceaselessly. As he passed one without a pump, he was amazed to see a small animal. At first he thought it was a hamster, but upon a closer look he realized it was a field mouse, a brown and white one.
The fisherman floated on by, but wondered what that little creature had done to end up on such an isolated dot of land surrounded by an ocean.
* * *
Dan Crawford sorted through the items in the supply carton addressed to his non-denominational Christian church, The Lamb of God. In the box were hymnals, sheet music, and a single, leather-bound Bible. A news clipping protruding from the top of the pages in the Bible drew Crawford’s attention and he opened the book to the page it marked.
The clipping had a recent date and its headline proclaimed:
FRANK DUGAN INNOCENT
SDPD detective cleared of all charges
There was a portion of scripture from Matthew 16:3 hi-lighted on the right-facing page of the Bible. It read:
“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’”
“And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’”
Dan Crawford knew his friend Frank Dugan had, at last, made it home.
* * *
Traffic slowed to a crawl as Frank approached the 405 near Culver City. A huge billboard in the distance caught his attention as the Bronco eased closer at fifteen miles an hour. The message at the top of the advertisement read:
The Law Enforcement Officers of California
ASK YOU TO HELP THEM STOP
CRIMES AGAINST INNOCENTS
The bottom of the sign displayed a hotline number and the name of the sponsor for the ad: Detective Judd Kemp of the San Diego Police Department, Chairman, LEOC. But it was the background graphic of the sign, the sign’s enormous color photo that had Frank’s heart racing.
The photo was of a smiling Amy Dugan with her two grinning children leaning against her shoulders.
About the Author
Paul Sekulich was a Hollywood television writer and script doctor for several years and has now trained his sights on novel writing. He teaches television and movie scriptwriting on the college level, and holds degrees with majors in Theatre and Communications.
Detective Frank Dugan will be his lead character in the series of books he has out currentl
y, including The Omega Formula, and several more planned for the future. His new novel, Deep Death, another Frank Dugan crime thriller, will be making its debut later this year.
Another novel by the author is already out and titled, A Killer Season, a thriller about dangerous gambling in Las Vegas, and gunplay that carries into the international arena.
Paul and his wife Joyce live in Maryland.
If you’d care to email or share your thoughts about this book with Paul, or see upcoming works from the author, visit his website at:
http://mdnovelist.com
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