by Billy Wells
“Is that the black man on the deck who took Michael and stole the ransom money?”
“I never saw him before until just before you came. I think the man in black with the mask tasered him. He’s still breathing, but he’s out cold.”
Halperin looked in all directions. The kidnapper had picked a good place for the drop-off; there was no one in sight.
“This guy is insane, Dad. I hope you brought your gun. I think he's gonna kill us anyway once he gets the money. He beat me badly and threatened to kill Michael if I didn’t cooperate.”
“I have my gun all right. And he lied; Michael is dead.”
“Michael is dead?” Kevin asked, looking dumbfounded as he stared into his father’s sad eyes.
“Yes, this fiend or one of his henchmen killed him, and we’re probably going to be next, if we don’t act right now. Take off down the pier that way. The bastard won’t have much of a shot at you if you stay low behind the posts.”
“You’re not coming with me?”
“No, son. This is personal now. It’s him or me. If he wants this blood money, he’s going to have to take it over my dead body.”
Kevin stood in awe at the man who had raised him, stunned by the maniacal frenzy he saw in his eyes. Grimacing in pain, he gasped, “I’m hurt, Dad. That bastard beat me up so bad, I can hardly move let alone run.”
Halperin forgot about the maniac and ran to his son's side. He could see his wrists were raw from rope burns, and Kevin looked like he was ready to collapse. He threw his arms around him and hugged him. Tears filled his eyes. He was so glad Kevin was still alive, and he was prepared to give his life to keep it that way.
A terrible stabbing pain made Halperin double up in sheer agony. Again and again, Kevin plunged a long blade into his father’s midsection. The doctor looked bewildered as he fell to the dock floor with blood gushing from five stab wounds. “Son. How could you do this? Why? Don’t tell me you’re the monster, who slaughtered your mother and your two brothers?”
“Sorry, Dad. I'm flunking out this semester. I haven’t got time for this bullshit. I certainly don't want to work like you did for thirty years and live in some shit hole till you and mom kick the bucket. If I did that, I would have to split the money and the assets with my brothers. No way, Jose! I could be dead myself waiting for all that to happen. Eliminating the four of you to inherit $50 million is my ticket to a beautiful life. Believe me, if I had to, I would have done a lot more than chop off a few heads for fifty million.”
Kevin finally noticed he was wasting his breath. His father had already bled out and died.
Kevin lifted the 38 from his father’s belt, took some gloves from his pocket, and put them on.
Placing the gun in his father's hand, he pulled the trigger three quick times, which fired three shots into the black man's chest. He quickly removed the gloves and the plastic clothes he wore over his street clothes and placed them in a garbage bag concealed in his back pocket.
He picked up a heavy stone he’d brought with him from his garden earlier, placed it inside the bag with the contents, and pitched it over the side. The water was deep here, and it quickly disappeared into the murky depths. He found his father’s phone in his suit pocket and called 9-1-1.
He quickly laid down next to his father’s body on the dock and let some of his blood soak into his shirt. He lay motionless and began his best impression of a victim beaten into unconsciousness.
Three police cars pulled into the parking lot almost immediately, and six officers converged on the crime scene.
Each pair inspected the bodies on the pier. One pair knelt down beside Kevin’s body and felt his pulse. One of them extracted his wallet and stepped away. Kevin didn’t move a muscle.
Another man dressed in a suit, who must have been in charge, joined the others. When they saw him, everyone, except the one who stayed with Kevin, gathered around him.
The first officer reported, “This man's dead from several knife wounds. His ID says he’s Jeffrey Halperin, a surgeon who lives on Riverside Drive.”
“What about the black dude?” the man in the suit asked.
“Yeah, he took three shots in the midsection,” a second officer said. “He’s dead, too. He doesn't have an ID.”
The suit pointed to Kevin, “What about him?”
“He's alive but somebody sure made a punching bag out of him. Look at his face and his lip. Christ! He needs serious medical attention.”
The suit saw the officer with the duffel bag “What’s in the bag?”
“A shit load of cash,” he said grinning.
The suit looked at him coldly and said. “Keep your eye on it. Don’t let it get away.”
The grin faded and the officer answered, “Yes, sir.”
The two FBI agents, who had met with Halperin, approached the officers gathered at the crime scene.
“I'm Rollins. This is my partner, Danough. We're from the FBI.” They showed the other suit their badges. “We've been running surveillance on this case for about a week.”
“The bag contains the ransom money,” Danough said, “This was the drop-off point.”
The first detective on the scene looked at them oddly, and then said authoritatively, “A Dr. Halperin's is dead over there with five or six stab wounds in his chest. The other dead guy may be the perp. It looks like the doctor shot him after he was stabbed. The young man on the deck is Kevin Halperin, the doctor’s son. He's in bad shape after a brutal beating. I understand the black man’s knuckles were all chewed up. We think he must have beaten him up.”
“Unfortunately,” Rollins said, “We know all that.”
“How’d you know?” the first suit asked, “You just got here.” He saw motion from the corner of his eye, and turning toward the parking lot, he saw the other members of the surveillance group had surrounded the crime scene. “So, where were you and all these men when the murders were going down?”
Rollins glared at him with an embarrassed look on his face and said, “Do you see those pillars over there?” Rollins pointed to two large posts about 200 feet from where they were standing.
“If you were right there all the time, why didn't you intervene?”
“It’s a long story, but the bottom line is Halperin demanded we not get involved in the drop off. He didn’t know we placed a tracking device in his shoe, and we followed him anyway. We were ready to save the day if the opportunity presented itself, but…”
Rollins turned around and kicked Kevin in the stomach as hard as he could. “We didn't expect this piece of shit would stab his own father five times while they were hugging each other. Before we knew what was happening, this asshole fired three quick shots into this black guy with his father's gun.
“Yeah,” Danough said, “He had us all completely fooled. Who would think a son would kill his father, cut off his mother’s head, and then, torture and kill his two brothers. The ransom demand seemed like the most logical explanation.”
“This prick did all that?” the first suit asked in disbelief.
Rollins nodded, and kicking Kevin in the stomach again, bellowed, “Get up you miserable piece of shit. Enough of this playing possum. We've got you dead to rights. Partner, read him his rights.”
Kevin held his stomach and struggled to his feet. The first suit looked at him in disgust and gave him a hard punch in his cracked ribs himself.
Kevin doubled over and screamed in pain, “I’ll sue you and the city for everything they own.”
The first suit said, “I don’t think so, everyone here will testify you resisted arrest. Shut your face, or you’ll look worse than Rodney King when we get finished with you.” He turned and peered into the parking lot to see if he could see anyone with a camera. He sighed when there was no one in sight and added, ”They’ll still give you the needle even if you’re crippled.”
As they put the cuffs on him, Kevin said dejectedly, “I planned it all so perfectly I knew you’d never suspect me. I had George beat me
to within an inch of my life to make it look good. After I made it look like my father and the kidnapper killed each other, I was going to leave the duffel on the deck to make sure everyone really thought the murders were all about the ransom. I was going to inherit the money anyway so it didn’t matter. One stupid miscalculation, a tracking device in a shoe turned it all to shit.”
“He lost us in the subway,” Rollins explained, “but we just kept following the tracer. He never left our line of sight after he left the station. You know, Kevin, I don't usually attend executions, but for you, I'm going to make an exception.”
The officer with the ransom money handed it to Rollins, who handed it to his partner for safekeeping.
Kevin glared at them coldly and started to sob.
“Oh, one thing,” Rollins asked starting to smile, “Did you ever watch Hawaii 5-O when Jack Lord was playing Garrett?”
“Yeah. I saw it a few times in reruns. Why? Who gives a shit?”
“This is my favorite part in bringing despicable assholes like you to justice.” Rollins turned to his partner and said with a big shit-eating grin, “Book him, Danough, Murder One.”
Danough smiled and said, “I think I'll let Jerry and the gang take Kevin in and book him this time. While we’re here, we should check on Halperin's yacht. It’s moored only a few blocks from here.”
Rollins eyes brightened. “Good idea, Danough. Kevin’s note said Bozo the Clown absconded with the first duffel, but I think he lied, there goes the black man now, and he doesn't have it on him.”
The two agents watched several men guiding two stretchers with body bags toward the parking lot. The deck was teaming with the crime scene unit collecting evidence.
Rollins and Danough headed toward the parking lot, and arriving at their Crown Vic, Danough placed the bag with the ransom money in the trunk, got in, and they sped away.
When they reached the pier where Halperin's yacht was moored, they parked as close as they could. Walking swiftly down the gangway, they ogled four magnificent vessels probably costing several million each but didn’t stop.
Rollins remarked, “My father always said he wanted a boat like this.”
“He was a real dreamer, huh?” Danough said, looking farther down the pier.
“Yeah. He never had a dime in the bank and never had a snowball’s chance in hell to have something this fine, but he'd sit down here for hours pretending. I never wasted my time thinking about stuff like that. What would be the point on my salary?”
“I know what you mean,” Danough said, pointing to the number on the sign on the left. “This is Halperin’s boat. It sure is a beauty, isn't it?”
They boarded the vessel and found the door locked.
“Damn,” Rollins bellowed, “I should've checked the kid’s pockets for the keys.”
“Don't worry. I have a key.” Danough drew his 38 special and smashed the small window on the door. Afterward, he reached in, unlocked it, and went in.
Rollins shook his head and followed him inside.
They started searching one cabin at a time.
In the bedroom, they found two suitcases and the duffel bag on the bed. Rollins turned the bag toward him, unzipped it, and opened it.
With hungry eyes, they let their eyes feast on the stacks of greenbacks. Danough said, “Don’t you just want to rip your clothes off and wallow in this stuff?”
Rollins laughed and closed the duffel bag. Looking about the cabin, he said, “Kevin was already packed and ready to go. As soon he gave his statement about the kidnapping, he was going to spend some of his father’s money.” He spotted an airline ticket on the dresser. “Here it is! His ticket to Rio de Janeiro late tonight.”
When Rollins turned around Danough had his gun drawn and pointed at him.
“What are you doing, Partner?” he said nervously. “Are you crazy? Put that gun away; we've been partners for ten years. I was best man at your wedding. I’m godfather to your child, for Christ’s sake.”
“Sorry, Hal. This money is too much to pass up. It can give me a new start in South America. Too bad, it’s not enough to share.” A tear rolled down Danough’s cheek as he stared into the eyes of the dearest friend he had ever known.
Rollins stared back in a state of disbelief at the person he thought he knew better than anyone else in the world.
Danough wiped away the tears and said, ”You know, I read recently that fifty percent of the people would walk away from their wife, their children, everyone they ever knew, and never look back for $10,000,000. Hey. I laughed at the idea at the time, not knowing then, I was one of those people.”
Danough loved Rollins more than a brother when he pulled the trigger, grabbed the duffel bag, and began his new life.
SOMETHING IN THE CAVE
Barry and Ike loved to explore caves. Curtis, one of their spelunking buddies, had called and arranged a night out to tell them about a new cave he’d found on his vacation. When Barry and Ike entered the Purple Puma Lounge, they saw Curtis at the bar and took a stool on each side of him.
They shot the shit for a while, and Barry finally said, “What about this cave you found in the Shenandoah Valley?”
Curtis grabbed some peanuts from a bowl, and after chugging some beer, he said, “After searching the terrain around Luray, we came upon an opening in the side of the mountain. Not far from the entrance, we found this huge hole about forty feet in diameter, and guess what. It had a ladder inside it going down the rock face.”
“Gee. That’s weird. Was the ladder sturdy enough to use?” Ike asked.
“It sure was. I tested it before I got on it, and it didn’t budge at all. Whoever built it made it strong and bolted into the rock.”
“Wow. I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Barry remarked.
“After climbing down it for a while and not making much progress, I secured my rope and threw it into the hole and repelled down. It was a lot faster, and my friends followed suit. When we reached the bottom of the ladder, my meter indicated we had descended about 500 feet.”
“Incredible. It must have been scary that far down.” Ike replied, his face pulsing with excitement.
“But what was more incredible was how deep the cave was after the ladder ran out. The shaft went on for what seemed like an eternity.”
“Unbelievable!” Barry exclaimed, shaking his head.
“I’ll say, but it gets weirder,” Curtis continued.
“Are you making this shit up?” Ike barked, cutting a loud fart. A woman a few stools down from them got up and moved.
“No, man, I’m telling it like it was. You’ll see when you get there. From the bottom of the ladder, we kept repelling down until we ran out of rope, which was about another 250 feet down.”
Barry’s eyes were bugging out as Curtis continued, “I took out my Maglight and pointed it down the hole.”
“What did you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Ike bellowed. “What do you mean nothing? The ladder was down 500 feet; the rope was another 250, and the Maglight must have illuminated another 500 feet or so.”
“Actually it illuminates 750 feet.”
“Fuck me! Fifteen hundred feet is deeper than the Empire State Building is tall,” Barry shouted, drawing several hard looks from a nearby table.
“It’s another world down there. The eerie quiet and the pitch-blackness of being down that far underground can really creep you out. I would have shit a brick if anything popped out at me. You know after seeing all those recent horror movies about caves,” Curtis said, whistling a scary tune from some old TV show.
Barry laughed and slapped his thigh, almost turning over his pitcher of beer. After more hard looks, the people at the closest table moved to an empty table across the bar.
Curtis chuckled and went on, “I threw a rock over the edge.” Barry and Ike sat with their mouths agape, waiting with obvious anticipation for Curtis to continue as he drank another slug of beer.
“A
nd we never heard it hit bottom.”
“Come on,” Barry retorted. “You just didn’t hear it.”
“We did it three times.”
“Three times!” Barry and Ike repeated in unison. After they thought about that a while, Barry said, “What happened then?”
“Since we were out of rope, we had to give up. I thought I would die trying to get back to the mouth of the cave. We had to stop and rest about five times, and when we finally dragged our sorry asses over the top, my heart was thumping like a son of a bitch. It’s a helluva lot easier going down a rope than climbing up it. You better rent a 4X4 truck with a remote control winch if you’re going any deeper than we did.
After that, no one spoke for a time. They just drank beer.
* * *
A month later, Barry and Ike were standing inside the cave. They had no trouble finding the entrance from the map Curtis had given them. Not far from the mouth, they found the ladder their friend had described.
Since they had already decided to ignore the ladder entirely, they rented a truck, and a Plexiglas enclosure they could lower with a winch by remote control. They also brought along 1,500 feet of cable and a couple of hundred feet of rope in their back packs and hoped it would be enough. They attached the end of the cable to a Plexiglas enclosure, and after pushing it over the side, they climbed down and got inside. Barry pushed the button on the remote, and they began to descend into the abyss.
After reaching the bottom of the ladder, they exited the car and stepped on to a ledge, which led to a small recess in the rock face at that location. Barry’s distance meter confirmed they had descended about 500 feet. After Barry had a smoke, and they made a note on a pad on their location, they climbed back inside the Plexiglas car and continued downward another 250 feet. At this depth, they assumed they must be about the same place Curtis and his friends had stopped.
Again, they found a ledge, and after tying down the car to a boulder, they found a spot to sit and have a swig of water from their canteens. Barry took out a glow stick and pointed across the chasm. They could see metal connectors driven into the wall all the way down the rock face, which they assumed had held the ladder in place all the way to where they stood now and beyond until someone removed it.