Frankie wanted to let Jack live. She didn’t voice many arguments as to why. She just said it was the right thing to do and she trusted Jack. She thought Jack was a man of his word and that he had heart. Paul wasn’t sure what Frankie meant by heart but it was clear that she wanted to let the man live.
Interestingly, Mike was okay with the fact that Frankie opposed his recommendation. Paul knew from experience that they would not argue about it. They might try to sway each other but they would never argue. Paul estimated that tonight Frankie would have some impact on Mike’s thinking but she probably was not going to change his mind nor would Mike change Frankie’s mind. So another two votes canceling each other was Paul’s opinion.
Liz, unlike Frankie, listened to Paul. He could change her opinion. Paul didn’t like this so much. He would rather have had a mate more like Frankie in this respect. Because Liz’s opinion was malleable, Paul was very careful how he approached Liz. He wanted her honest, independent opinion, not a mirror reflection of what he thought. Paul had watched Liz’s body language closely and he estimated that she really thought that they should kill Jack. He figured she probably thought it was too dangerous to let Jack run around with his knowledge of the murder.
Since it was the guys who had the training and were the ones to do the wet work, their votes weighed in more than the women’s votes. Actually, it wasn’t as simple as voting. It was more of a consensus process with everyone voicing their opinions and supporting logic. They would discuss it until a general consensus was reached. They would do this tomorrow morning.
Still Paul knew that it really boiled down to what he thought. It was going to be his opinion that counted the most because he would be the tie breaker. His was the deciding vote, so to speak. Paul was in effect going to be the one who decided if Jack lived or died.
He hated the responsibility. Paul had done his share of killing, especially in Africa. Africa was a nightmare. They were caught in a crossfire and a third of the team had been wiped out. Mike and Paul had been captured after they ran out of ammunition. Bob had organized a raid and got them freed, except it wasn’t that simple. Bob and the living members of the team who weren’t captured made the counterattack but they all had to fight tooth and nail to overpower their captors. It was a bloody night. Paul believed that Mike enjoyed the killing. Paul did it just to survive. He still could see the look on the face of one man who was choking on his blood after Paul had cut his throat. No amount of brandy would ever make that look go away. On the other hand Paul knew with no uncertainty that if the tables were reversed that same man would have enjoyed cutting Paul’s throat. Paul had no regrets over what he did; he just wished it didn’t have to happen. Most of all he wished that the man’s face would go away.
The situation with Jack was not as clear. If the tables were reversed, would Jack kill Paul? That was an interesting question. What kind of man was Jack? Was he trustworthy? Was he stable? Could he take the lifetime pressure of being on the wrong side of the law? Could he not brag? Could he not tell his wife? Could he maintain the same life style after what happened in the woods as before or would people suspect something was wrong and press for answers? And if they pressed for answers, could Jack take the pressure and soldier on?
It is a whole lot easier to kill a man than it is to cover it up for the rest of your life. You not only have to live with however you feel about the killing but you have to deal with the practicality of never giving away any information on the deed. Some people, maybe most, cannot deal with the secrecy. They have to tell someone and that is how they get caught. That is, if they were smart enough to have pulled off the deed without leaving evidence behind.
Paul had studied this problem extensively. He found that most killings were spur of the moment, unplanned and badly executed. Those people were caught, not because police were clever or well organized, but because the killers did stupid things. Maybe they had personalized license plates or they dropped a knife with their finger prints on it and their prints were on file. Or maybe they didn’t think about security cameras and on and on. Basically most criminals were stupid, which meant that they would get caught short of pure luck.
The flip side of this was a smart person or team who planned well and had the discipline to keep silent. Law enforcement was not prepared for this type of criminal. A well-planned, well-executed crime had a very high probability of success—as long as no one talked. Someone talking was the Achilles’ heel of the “perfect” crime.
A key to understanding how police work is to understand that large organizations do not operate by intelligence. They operate by systems, procedures and sheer people-power. To solve big problems, they overwhelm the problem with numbers of people and resources. Since there is a limit to the amount of resources taxpayers can supply, there is a limit to how much police can do.
The fact that large organizations do not operate by intelligence is why all revolutionary innovations come from individuals or small organizations. TV-style detecting is carried out by mavericks but large organizations have an antibody-like mechanism that rejects mavericks. Cleverness and innovation are killed like viruses. This is why cleverness and good planning can evade police—as long as everyone keeps silent for the rest of their lives.
Bob, Mike and Paul, along with other ex-military people, had carried off their share of deeds to generate needed cash to rebuild Bob’s family business. They had gotten away with it because of excellent planning, flawless execution and, above all, complete silence after the deed. Why was the Mafia so successful? Silence. So it all boiled down to whether they could trust Jack to keep his mouth shut for the rest of his life. How can they predict that?
In Jack’s favor was the fact that Jack had willingly committed a murder. It is true that if he had gone to the police immediately, he might have been able to successfully argue self-defense. But he hadn’t done that. Instead he had abetted in a second murder and was, so far, helping to cover up both killings. Also in his favor was his apparent sanguine attitude about the whole thing. He was showing no signs of cracking.
He was obviously an intellectual, a man who read and used his quick mind. In fact, Paul felt that Jack might have been the smartest one in the group tonight. Paul was sure that Jack understood perfectly what was at stake and yet he didn’t let it rattle him. He wasn’t going to beg either. He was physically a big man. In fact, he was huge. He had the self- confidence of a big man who never had to worry about what other men thought or did. Yet Jack wasn’t arrogant. He knew that he could not power his way out of this. He wasn’t armed and he figured we were and rightly so.
Paul could build a spreadsheet showing all these items in neat order. He could assign probabilities and do calculations. He also knew that in the end it would all come out a wash. This was a case for a coin toss except Paul couldn’t cotton to the idea of deciding a man’s fate based on a coin toss. Paul was going to have to come up with something better than that. But Paul had no idea what it was. In the words of Mike, ah crap.
Maybe he should listen to Frankie. She was uncanny in assessing people. It must have something to do with the way she grew up. People who grow up in an abusive situation often develop a keen sense of reading other people’s feelings, kind of a self-protection mechanism. Paul figured that it must have something to do with survival instincts. This ran counter to Paul’s thinking. He was strictly a logical person. He wanted facts and figures to analyze the situation to come up with a rational plan or explanation. Frankie on the other hand had feelings and made judgments about people that later almost always were right on the money.
It wouldn’t do any good to talk with Frankie. She would have no rational reason for trusting Jack. She might make up something to satisfy a discussion but in reality she only had feelings one way or the other. It was right-brain thinking rather than the logical, data-based left-brain thinking. Her feelings in this case were strong and in favor of letting Jack live.
Jane on the other hand was a basket case. She was overw
helmed with what happened in the woods. She was so glad to be alive and have Bob alive that she was ready to worship Jack. You couldn’t depend on anything that Jane thought at the moment. However, it was something to be said in Jack’s favor for saving their lives just because it seemed to him the right thing to do. You don’t see much of that anymore. Years ago before the U.S. had gone from rural to mostly urban, it was common for people to help their neighbors and friends in time of crisis or need. Nowadays everyone wants to avoid becoming involved and they want the government to solve their problems. Jack didn’t have a lot to say on the matter but you could tell he came from the old school and was willing to help a person in need. Maybe Jane was right but you couldn’t tell with her being in such an understandable state.
Paul wasn’t sure what to think or do. He was going to have to wait until morning and see what kind of data Mike’s guys could dig up on a Saturday night. Meanwhile he would talk carefully with Liz to get her true feelings. God, what a mess.
Chapter 5
Live or Die
Everyone knows, more or less, that they are going to die sometime. Mostly, it is less. No one really thinks it is going to happen. Not to them. Probably happen to other people. Or maybe in the future. Now when the words “this afternoon” or “tomorrow” are added to “you are going to die,” it gets your attention. Your mortality becomes a real thing that you can almost taste or smell. It was Sunday but I didn’t think that fact was going to change my circumstances or my chances of living. Today I would live or die, go home or stay in West Virginia forever.
I got up around 6 a.m. I usually rise earlier but all the drinking last night made me sleep longer. I wasn’t hung over much because I drank a quart of water before going to sleep. That helps counterbalance the dehydrating effect of the alcohol although it means you are probably going to have to get up in the night to pee.
I showered, shaved and got dressed. I made my way down to the kitchen as quietly as I could, not knowing if others were asleep or up. I found Momma in the kitchen. She seemed in a good mood and was busy getting ready to prepare breakfast.
The night before I made arrangements with her that I would cook cream filled crepes with the choice of strawberries or bananas for breakfast. She was a little concerned that Bob wouldn’t like it since he was paying her for making breakfast. I told her that Bob and I were good friends and that it would be fine. She knew that I was stretching the fabric of truth but she went along with it. Momma knew how to get along.
She was busy making fresh squeezed orange juice. I started the cream cheese filling for the crepes. It took the longest to cook and you could let it sit for a while. After that I would make the batter for the crepes while the grill was heating up. I loved cooking for a hobby but would hate to do it for a living.
Momma kept a sharp eye on me. I didn’t know whether she was trying to steal my recipe or if she didn’t trust me to make a fine breakfast. She was a professional and had been hired by Bob so she wasn’t about to abandon the breakfast preparation to a bumbling bum off the street, or, in this case, off the highway.
I had her put the glasses in the refrigerator to cool them for the orange juice and I had her put eight plates in the warming oven to warm them. It is senseless to put hot or warm food on cold plates. It just sucks the heat out of the food. At the same time you don’t want the plates to be too hot and burn your guests. And crisscross, you want cool items to go into cool dishes. We had mint sprigs for green to complement the strawberries and bananas and we had whipped cream to spoil everyone’s diet. Details of presentation count when serving food.
Momma questioned the eight plates. She said that she was told there would be seven for breakfast, the same as dinner. I told her that one plate was for her.
Momma ground fresh coffee beans and put on a large pot of coffee. Things were looking up when a look of concern crossed her face. I turned and Bob was standing in the kitchen with a frown on his face.
I said, “Good morning, Bob. I hope you don’t mind my messing around in your kitchen, which by the way, is a great kitchen.”
He said, “Good morning, Jack” and turned to Momma and said, “I thought I hired you to make breakfast.”
I jumped in and said, “Whoa, this isn’t her doing. In fact, she was very much against it but I talked her into it. I like to cook and I think you will like the results. Besides if you don’t like it, you can always shoot me.”
A strange look flickered across his face that probably wouldn’t have been noticeable to anyone else. I was watching his face closely. There is nothing like the threat of an execution to hone your senses.
Bob relaxed with a smile and said he was looking forward to breakfast. I heard the others coming downstairs so Momma and I got busy with the crepes. I had told her how she could help and soon we had the plates loaded with the crepes sprinkled with confectionery sugar, some topped with fresh strawberries and some topped with the banana slices, a sprig of mint and fresh fruits on the side. And, oh, yeah, whipped cream. Sugar and fat are the basic ingredients for a good time.
We all, except Momma, sat down to eat. I knew Momma had her plate of crepes in the kitchen. Breakfast went well but a little too fast for me. I wasn’t looking forward to the day.
I noticed that Mike kept receiving calls on his cell phone as he had the night before. He never excused himself. He just quietly disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared without a word. His expression never changed. They were obviously business calls. He had his phone set on vibrate to minimize the disturbance. In fact, if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t notice the calls.
On the last call, he gave Bob a look and the two of them disappeared. Could this have something to do with my fate? I couldn’t see Bob taking business calls on a Sunday morning, especially when he had a guest. Well, maybe I wasn’t exactly a guest. I was more of an inconvenience. I still liked to think of myself as a guest although I could understand that terminology could vary, depending on how things were going to go. He wasn’t the kind of guy who you would call on a Sunday morning. If someone called, it would be him. He was the boss.
Bob and Mike disappeared for several minutes. I could feel the tension in the room. Paul was tense although he was hiding it well. The women kept up the conversation with Paul helping but it felt like they were doing a job.
Except maybe for Frankie. She was a sweetheart, so bubbly and charming. It struck me that she was maybe one of the smartest people in the room. I was resisting the urge to fall in love with her. I thought probably Mike had me sit across from her so I wouldn’t notice him leaving the room every few minutes.
I remembered that Bob told me Mike was in charge of security for his company and Mike had a security businesses of his own. Was I the subject of the phone calls? Was he checking me out? He certainly would have the resources to do it.
Frankie was beaming and chatting. I wondered: Was she clueless and didn’t know her husband was probably going to blow my brains out later that morning? Or, was it that she didn’t care? Mother Nature makes strange packages along with the help of incompetent parents, and most parents are incompetent. There is seldom any training for parents unless you are lucky enough to have grandparents around who have learned from their mistakes and know what they are doing.
Mike and Bob came back into the room. Their faces were inscrutable. We finished eating by having coffee with cinnamon rolls that Momma had baked, probably instead of sleeping. They were delicious. Unlike commercial rolls, hers were not loaded with sugar and there was no sugar drizzled on top. She had added raisins, a nice touch that you don’t see in commercial rolls. Actually her rolls were commercial but she made them herself to suit Bob and his crew.
Bob turned to his wife and said, “Jane, why don’t you show Jack the lake. I’ll come down in a few minutes. I have to take care of some business first.”
Jane got up saying, “Of course. It is a beautiful morning to take a walk.” She gave no sign of what was to come. She had adjuste
d remarkably well since yesterday.
Jane and I went out a patio door and started down a trail that led to the lake. It was hard for me to enjoy the scenery when constantly thinking this would be the last scenery that I would see.
Suddenly an image of my family came into view and I grew sad, knowing that we would never see each other again, at least not on this earth. Maybe my eyes teared for I heard Jane asking if I was okay. I mumbled something about the overwhelming scenery. I am sure she took it as pure BS.
In a short time we were at the lake. It was bigger than I expected. The dam was to our right as we looked at the lake. We walked out on the dock and looked at the boats. There were big pontoon boats for entertaining and smaller boats for fishing. I remember Bob telling me that the lake was stocked with fish. I forgot what kind of fish. I don’t like to fish. The pontoon boat had an awning for shade so we went aboard and sat in deck chairs.
I faked interest but it was getting harder and harder to listen to Jane. Thoughts of mortality crowded into my thinking constantly. I knew things were coming to a head. I didn’t know if Jane noticed my distraction but I was sure her job was to keep me occupied while my fate was being debated and decided.
I was thinking about having a nervous breakdown when I spotted Bob coming down the trail. He was a fast walker and was coming fast. Somehow it didn’t surprise me he would be such a fast walker. He struck me a being a very aggressive man. A leader.
As he approached, I could see that he was smiling but with restraint. I couldn’t contain myself any longer and asked, “Is the voting over?”
The question brought Bob up short. I could see he wasn’t expecting it and was at a loss as to how to answer, if at all. He quickly recovered and laughed. He surprised me by telling Jane to please go back to The Cabin. I began thinking that the news was not going to be good. Maybe I had misinterpreted his smile. Some people smile when they are tense. Maybe it was a nervous thing and not good news.
A Shadow of Death in The Woods Page 4