by Donald Wells
“Chris!”
He was lying facedown on the floor, the back of his head, bloody. Velma laid two fingers against the side of his neck and smiled.
“He’s alive, a nice strong heartbeat,” She rolled him over gently and his eyes flickered open.
“Ahh, what happened?” He moaned.
A sound came then, the sound of crying, and Jake whispered for Velma to stay with Chris while he investigated.
He found her on the floor of the bedroom. Her legs were splayed out before her, hiking her dress up about her hips, revealing her shapely legs, and her blouse was ripped open, showcasing her silky lace bra and ample bosom. However, Jake was not enticed by the sight. The glazed look of fear and sorrow on Mira’s tear-stained face competed for his gaze along with the spreading puddle of blood beneath the dead man on the floor.
As he reached her, he leaned over and carefully eased the gun from her hand; next, he took his foot and shoved a similar gun away from the fallen man, just in case.
As he bent over the man to make a positive I.D., Chris and Velma appeared in the doorway.
“Is that...?” Velma said.
“Yeah, it’s Reuben Smith; he’s dead.” Jake looked over at his brother. “Sorry kid, but your date just got cancelled.”
***
Gail Caliber rushed into Chris’s hospital room with the old man following. Chris was sitting up in bed with a bandage on the back of his head and a small bruise on his chin, from the impact of his face hitting the floor. Standing beside his bed, were Jake and Velma.
Gail gazed at him as if he were a broken doll.
“Oh my poor baby, who did this to you?”
“If you’re looking for revenge mother, you’re too late; the guy that hit me is dead.”
The old man walked over and took a good look at him.
“You scared your mother boy, try to duck next time.”
“There shouldn’t be a next time.” Gail said. “This wouldn’t happen if you became a lawyer.”
Chris groaned.
“Not that conversation again mother; I’m in enough pain already.”
“I’ll drop it for now, but you know I’m right.”
Jake reached out and gripped his little brother’s shoulder.
“This is my fault; I should have stuck closer to Smith.”
“But we were close, Jake,” Velma said. “We had no way of knowing that he would take the back staircase and sprint up six floors, anyone else would have taken the elevator.”
“Is that how he slipped by you?” The old man said.
Velma nodded.
“Mira is sedated right now, and she was a mess when we found her, but the first cop on the scene got her story. She said that when she went into the kitchen she saw that the back door was ajar, a moment later she heard Chris let out a grunt, and the next thing she knew, her ex was dragging her into the bedroom at gunpoint.”
“How did she get the better of him if he was armed?” Gail said.
“After the “muggings” began, she bought guns for protection, and kept one in her nightstand.”
Jake looked over at his grandfather and raised an eyebrow.
“I know that look; you think that something’s not kosher, right?”
“Maybe, but I need more info before I make that call. Now, let’s all of us skedaddle and let the kid get his rest.”
“I’ll be in the office by noon; they’re just keeping me overnight for observation.” Chris said.
Gail leaned over and gave him a kiss.
“Goodnight baby, I’ll come back in the morning,”
Velma was the last to leave, and at the doorway, she turned around.
“You scared me to death you know, when we found you, I thought that you had been shot.”
“It’s nice to know that you care.”
“Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight Velma,”
Velma sent him a little wave, and then she was gone.
***
One floor below, Mira Asher was preparing for bed as a nurse walked in. The nurse was a middle-aged Asian woman whose nametag read, Sue.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Asher?”
“I’m still a little woozy, that mild sedative isn’t really that mild, is it?”
“Well you had quite a trauma, and the doctor wants you to get plenty of rest, why don’t you climb into bed now, hmm?”
“In a minute, but first I want to brush my teeth,”
“All right, and if you need anything just press that button.”
“I will, thank you,”
After the nurse left, Mira walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, and then she stood there, just staring into the mirror as she recalled the shooting, while grinning like a Cheshire cat.
CALIBER DETECTIVE AGENCY – CASE FILE #5
Dallas, Texas, 1884
Deputy Jake Caliber walked along with Sheriff Bob Carter as they made their rounds along the busy city streets. When he agreed to become a lawman, Jake had been shocked to learn that Carter had fourteen other deputies.
Carter explained to him that Dallas was growing at an incredible rate and needed yet more officers. The city’s population had lately passed the ten thousand mark and the crime rate was growing along with it.
Squabbling neighbors, horse thievery and other robberies were happening all the time and the newly named, Police Department of Dallas, had to grow along with it.
As they walked along, Jake asked his boss a question.
“If you got so many deputies why were you alone the other night?”
“That’s a good question. Timmons was supposed to be on duty, but he sent word that he was ill, and before I could get anyone to take his place, those four men arrived.”
“Do you trust Timmons?”
“I did, but I’ll tell you somethin’, I’m not sure I still do. The men who robbed that bank got away with over sixty-thousand dollars from the railway’s payroll. That kind of money can buy a lot of friends.”
“Those men will be back. I know that you think that Bo Clayton might be their leader, but even so, I’d expect varmints like bank robbers to leave him to rot.”
“They’re probably afraid he’ll start talkin’ and tell us their names.”
“Then why not simply kill him and shut him up? They’re capable of it; they killed the bank teller and a customer during the robbery, didn’t they?”
“Yup, that’s true, so why do you think they want to break him out?”
“Maybe he’s more than a leader to them; maybe he’s kin, at least to one of them.”
The sheriff stopped walking and stared at Jake.
“You got a knack for this work boy. Now, come to think of it, Clayton does have two brothers, they’re known to be honest men, ranchers, but maybe they’re in the gang too.”
“It’s somethin’ to think about.” Jake said.
***
When they got back to the jail, they found three of the other deputies there. They looked worried and passed around a piece of paper.
“What you boys got there?” Sheriff Carter said.
One of the deputies, a tall man with deep-set eyes named Jim Harrow, handed Carter the paper, and Jake watched as Carter fell back into his chair.
“What is it?” Jake said.
“They took Emma.” Carter said. “Clayton’s gang took my wife.”
“You’ll get her back in one piece if you let me go.” Bo Clayton cried out from his cell. “Just open this door and they’ll set her free.”
The tall deputy spoke again, as he gestured at Jake.
“Tell him the rest, sheriff,”
Sheriff Carter looked up at Jake with sorrowful eyes.
“It’s Eva, Jake, she was visitin’ Emma when they came; they took her too.”
Jake blinked several times. “What?”
“My boys got your girl.” Clayton said. “Now let me go and I promise that you’ll see her again, otherwise...”
Jake spoke to Sheriff Carter.
“We have to go and get them back, or we’ll never see them again.”
“We don’t know where they are son.”
Jake tossed his head toward the cells. “He does.”
Carter stared at Jake for long seconds, and then he took out his pocket watch and looked at the picture of his wife that he kept in it. A moment later, he looked up at the other three deputies as he held up the note.
“Where’d this come from?”
“It was in his cell,” Harrow said. “Someone passed it through the bars on the window.”
“But that window is twelve feet off the ground.”
“Yeah, but the roof of the haberdashery is right behind it; they probably tossed it in from there.”
Carter looked over at Jake.
“What you were sayin’ before, I think you’re right. If all they wanted was to keep him quiet, they could have shot him through the window, instead of passin’ this note through.”
“We need to make him talk, and we need to make him talk now.” Jake said.
The sheriff spoke to the other men.
“You boys listen good, I want you to round up the rest of the deputies and meet us in front of the tradin’ post. We’re going after this gang.”
One of the other deputies looked back and forth between Carter and Jake.
“You boys can’t do this; we’re lawmen.”
“He took our women, Joe. What would you do if they had Sue Ellen?” The sheriff said.
Joe nodded his head.
“We’ll meet you at the trading post.”
***
After the other deputies left, Carter opened the cell door. Jake handed him his gun belt and then walked over to Clayton. Clayton was as tall as Jake, but older and a good thirty pounds heavier.
“This can be easy or hard, but mister, when I leave this cell, I’m gonna know where my girl is.”
Clayton smirked.
“You don’t look so tough to me boy. Now back off before I—”
Jake hit him in the gut and Clayton clutched his middle and fell backwards against the wall. When Jake moved in to strike him again, Clayton put up his hands.
“Whoa boy! Don’t hit me again. I’ll tell you where they are.”
Jake took a step back, cocked his head, and stared at Clayton through squinted eyes.
“Where are they?”
***
Clayton told them that they could find his gang at a spot on the Trinity River where they had set up camp. When they were through with him, the sheriff locked him back in his cell and Jake asked to speak to the sheriff outside.
“We’ll go as soon as the boys get back with the other men.” The sheriff said.
“That would be a mistake.” Jake said.
“What d’ya mean?”
“Clayton, I hit him hard, but it was only one time and then he started jabberin’. I think we’re being played for fools.”
The sheriff thought it over for a few seconds.
“Hmm, if we’re right about his brothers being part of the gang, then yeah, I would think it’d take more than one punch to make him rat them out, even a varmint like him. So what do you reckon their play is?”
“If we believed him, we would leave one man here to watch him and then head for the river with everyone else. That would be a dandy time to try and break him out again; wouldn’t it?”
The sheriff nodded.
“Clever, a might clever, and I nearly fell for it. You definitely got a head for this work, Jake. So, here’s what we do instead. I’ll send a couple of the boys to scout out the river and the rest of us will stay here, hidden, when the gang comes to break Clayton out, we got ‘em.”
“These brothers of Clayton, where do they live?”
“They got a spread about ten miles from here. Do you think that’s where they are?”
“Why not? And I bet that’s where we’ll find Eva and your wife, too.”
The sheriff checked his pocket watch.
“Let’s go meet the men and tell them what’s going on. Then, you and me are gonna go get our women back.”
***
Jake rode hard with the sheriff at his side as they headed toward the Clayton ranch. From time to time, Jake would look southeast while searching the sky. During one of those searches, he saw what he was looking for and brought his horse to a stop.
The sheriff came up beside him and slapped him on the back.
“You were right, boy.”
They were looking at a column of smoke. The sheriff had sent two men to scout the area where Clayton said his men would be holed up. If the men found nothing there, they were to signal such by sending up smoke.
“If they’re not at the river, then they could all be here at the ranch.” Jake said. “We better ride around and approach from the rear.”
“Good idea,” Said the sheriff, and again, they were off,
The Clayton ranch soon loomed before them, and they left their horses tied to a tree and traveled in on foot. They took their time, despite the growing certainty that their women were inside. It wouldn’t do the women any good if they were captured or killed because of hastiness.
After they had gotten as close as they dared, hiding behind the outhouse, they waited a while and listened for signs of life.
“All I see is that one horse there in the corral.” Jake said.
“They must not be here.” Sheriff Carter said.
They walked toward the ranch house with their guns drawn, as their eyes watched for any signs of movement. As Jake went around to the rear door, Carter took the front, and the two men burst inside within a second of each other.
Jake called out. “There’s no one back here, sheriff,”
“Come give me a hand Jake!”
Jake ran toward the front and found Carter untying his wife from a chair, tied next to her was Eva, and both women had been gagged as well.
With her bonds free, Eva leapt into his arms.
“I knew you’d save us.”
Jake caressed her face.
“They didn’t hurt you none, did they? I mean, they didn’t—”
Eva smiled. “No, they pushed us around some, that’s all.”
The sheriff’s wife spoke up. She was a small woman with bright blue eyes and graying brown hair.
“They rode out of here about twenty minutes ago. They were headed for the jail.”
“How many were there?” The sheriff said.
“They had a lot of men, maybe as many as twenty.” Eva said.
Jake and the sheriff both turned pale.
“Twenty men, Eva?” Jake said. “Are you sure, honey?”
“There were at least that many,” The sheriff’s wife said. “I heard them say that the town would be wide open, because they thought that they tricked you into going out to the river to look for us.”
The sheriff walked outside. “We have to get back, now.”
The four of them rushed to the horses and, with Eva clinging to him, Jake rode hard toward Dallas, toward Dallas, and the events that would be the birth of his legend.
***
New York City, Present day,
The four of them were in the office.
The old man, Jake, Velma and Chris, who still wore a bandage on his wounded scalp. Their guest, Lieutenant Thomas Delaney, had just gifted them with a bit of news.
“What do you mean they’re not divorced?” Jake said.
“They were close, but it wasn’t going to be final until they went to court on Monday.”
“Tell them the rest, Tommy,” The old man said.
“Reuben Smith was worth over two million dollars, he wasn’t just a personal trainer, he inherited a string of gyms when his old man died, and now it all goes to his wife.”
“Better known as our client, Mira Asher,” Velma said. “I smell a rat.”
Jake looked over at his grandfather.
“Do you think we were set up to be her alibi? She made sur
e we were watching her husband, and we can testify that he ran into her building in an agitated state.”
“If she’s using us, then she’s also the one who slugged Chris.” The old man said.
Velma walked over to Chris. “Let me see your phone.”
“Why?” He said.
“I was calling your phone when we stepped on the elevator. I suppose it’s possible that Smith had time to enter the apartment and knock you unconscious, but we were just seconds behind him, so it’s also possible that you were already out cold when Smith arrived.”
Chris checked his phone and found Velma’s unanswered call; he then played her succinct message via speaker phone.
“It’s Velma, Smith is in the building!”
Chris touched the bandage on his head. “Mira hit me?”
The old man nodded.
“She knocks you out, and then when Smith comes rushing through the back door and into the bedroom, she shoots him, plants a gun on him, and then claims self-defense.”
“And as his wife, she would know that he was such a health nut that he always took the back stairs, even though they lived on the sixth floor, something we had no way of knowing.” Velma said.
“Yeah, but who called Smith at the restaurant, and what did they say to get him there in such a hurry?” Jake said.
“It wasn’t Mira,” Chris said. “She didn’t touch her phone the whole time I was with her.”
“Maybe she has a partner, the one who made the phone call,” Jake said.
Lieutenant Delaney checked his notebook.
“Smith received a call that lasted twenty-two seconds at 6:47 P.M. from a disposable cell phone, so no luck there, but I got the lab checking the guns, so maybe we’ll get lucky and find a stray print.”
“Was her gun registered?” Velma said.
“Yeah, and his too, but they were both registered under her name. She claims her husband must have taken the gun when she was working at her dress shop; he still had keys.”
“If she’s got a partner, who could it be? She mention any names of friends while you were with her Chris?” Jake said.
“No, but I did meet a neighbor of hers named Sammy. Sammy may be able to shed some light on what went on in the building.”
“I remember him,” Velma said. “He seemed shaken when he learned what had happened.”