Caliber Detective Agency - Box Set - Case Files 1-6 (8 page)

“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.”

***

J
ake 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.

***

N
ew 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 sure 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.”

Chris stood up.

“I want to go talk to him; maybe he knows something that can help us.”

Velma grabbed her purse. “I’ll come with you.”

“Hey you two, listen up,” The old man said.

They both turned and looked at him with attentive gazes.

“If you run into Mira Asher, don’t let on that we’re on to her. Let her think that she’s gotten away with it, right up until the time Tommy here slaps the bracelets on her.”

Chris and Velma nodded in agreement, and then off they went to see Sammy.

***

T
hey left the building and began walking to the parking garage that was half a block away, as they entered, Chris stopped talking in mid-sentence and leaned against the wall.

“Whoa, I think you should drive; I’m still a little dizzy from that whack on the head.”

Velma stood close to him, concern clouding her face.

“Maybe you left the hospital too soon?”

“I’ll be fine; the doctor said that this might happen, but that it would soon pass.”

“It scared me, seeing you lying on the floor, bleeding,”

Chris stared at her. She was blonde, blue-eyed and stunning, and every time he looked at her, he felt a tug at his heart. He reached over and took her in his arms.

“I still feel a little dizzy, maybe you should hold me up.”

They gazed at each other, and a moment later, they were kissing. It lasted only a few seconds before Velma ended it.

She left his arms and sent him an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, that shouldn’t have happened.”

“Why not? Are you seeing someone... someone I know?”

“Someone you... no, it’s not that, it’s... Chris, I’m married.”

“Married?”

“Yes, and there are complications, but I still love him and I—can we discuss this later?”

He handed her the keys to the car.

“Whatever you say, but I’d like to meet him; I’m sure we all would. Have him stop by the office sometime.”

At those words, Velma sent him a stricken look, and Chris realized that there was more to the story, much more than Velma was willing to share.

They spent the ride to Mira’s apartment house with the radio playing and no words spoken.

***

S
ammy Kaye opened his door with a big smile on his face as he stared at Chris, but when Velma stepped out from behind him, his smile faded.

“Oh darn, and here I thought that you had come here on pleasure, but since she’s with you, I guess it’s business, you’re playing detective, no?”

“That’s right Sammy, and we’re hoping you can help.”

“Well, let’s not stand here in the doorway like savages when I’ve got a perfectly good living room.”

They entered the apartment and saw a blue, leather sectional sofa, along with a matching recliner and a glass coffee table. In a corner of the room was a desk with a computer and a huge monitor, in an opposite corner was the TV.

“Would you two like coffee? I don’t have any made, but it won’t take long.” Sammy said.

They declined his offer of coffee, and then asked him if he had ever known Reuben Smith to be violent.

“Reuben? No, in fact, he was much nicer than Mira, but what’s this about? She did kill him in self-defense, right?”

Velma nodded. “As far as we know, yes, but we’re just trying to tie up some lose ends.”

“Such as?”

“Well, what about Gary Rollins? He was Reuben’s best friend according to Mira.”

“True, but what Reuben didn’t know is that he was also pretty friendly with Mira, that is, when Reuben was at work.”

“Mira and Gary Rollins were lovers?” Velma said.

“I never caught them in the act, but he spent a lot of time over there when Reuben wasn’t home.”

“Maybe that’s why they were getting divorced; maybe Reuben found out about them.”

“It could be; I know I haven’t seen him around lately.”

“I saw Gary and Reuben together yesterday; and there didn’t seem to be any love lost between them. What’s Gary do for a living?”

“He’s a lawyer,”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where he lives, would you?”

Sammy smiled and pointed toward the floor.

“Fifth floor, apartment 5-H,”

***

G
ary Rollins opened his door and stared at them.

“Is this about Reuben?”

“Yes,” Chris said, while taking Rollins’ measure. Like his recently deceased best friend, Reuben, Gary Rollins looked to be in exceptional condition. He wore a sleeveless T-shirt and his biceps bulged with his slightest movement.

Rollins squinted at them. “Are you two cops?”

“We’re private detectives; Mira Asher hired us to protect her from Reuben.”

“Someone should have protected him from her, no?”

“You don’t sound as if you like Mira much.”

“I always told Reuben that she was a bitch, and now she’s killed him. I think she only married him in the first place because she knew that someday he’d inherit his father’s business, Reuben’s dad was already sick when they met, and to make things worse, she made him go deep into debt to buy that dress shop for her.”

“If you disliked her so much then why were you sleeping with her?” Velma said.

Gary Rollins looked surprised by her knowledge, but then he shrugged.

“She threw herself at me, more than once, and well, you’ve seen her. What man wouldn’t want to sleep with her? But now I know she did it just to end my friendship with Reuben, but the bitch miscalculated, Reuben didn’t just end our friendship, he also ended his marriage, or would have.”

Velma smiled at him. “May we come in?”

“No. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Chris said. “Your upstairs neighbor, Sammy, how do you feel about him?”

“He’s too damn nosy for his own good.” Rollins said, and a moment later, he slammed the door shut.

***

O
n the ride back to the office, Chris and Velma discussed what they learned.

“Sammy was right about Mira and Rollins being lovers, but his hatred for Mira also seemed genuine.” Velma said.

“Do you think he could be Mira’s partner?”

“Maybe, or maybe there’s someone else that we haven’t come across yet.”

Velma’s phone rang and she answered it; it was Jake with news.

“Tommy got the lab reports back on those guns. The one that Mira killed her husband with had a trace of blood on it. On a hunch, he checked it against the men Reuben supposedly mugged, and there’s a match. Granddad thinks that she meant to plant that one on her husband, but got confused. The cops are headed over there now to bring her in for questioning.”

“That’s good news, maybe she’ll give up her partner in order to make a deal.”

Velma ended the call and soon they were back at
Caliber
. When they entered the office, they heard the news.

“Mira won’t be making any deals,” Jake said.

Chris looked at him. “Why not?”

“She’s dead, when the cops went to her dress shop; they found her dead of an overdose of sleeping pills with a suicide note typed out on her laptop, in the note, she says that she can’t live knowing that she murdered someone, even if it was in self-defense.”

“That still doesn’t explain what drove Smith to rush to the apartment that night.” Chris said.

“The cops think that was also Mira, although they haven’t found the phone. They think she called and taunted him with the fact that she was going on another date, and that Smith snapped, rushed to the apartment, hit you, and then attacked her.”