Caliber Detective Agency - Box Set - Case Files 1-6 (4 page)

“Don’t worry about it kid; we don’t punch a time clock around here, and besides, it’s been slow lately.”

Delaney held out his hand.

“Since neither one of these savages will introduce us, I’ll do it. My name is Tom Delaney, and I take it that you’re Velma’s niece? I can see a resemblance.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Delaney, I’m Velma Channing.”

“That’s Lieutenant Delaney,” The old man said. “Tommy there comes from a long line of flatfoots.”

“It was nice to meet you too, Velma, and I’ll see you guys on Sunday.”

After Delaney left, Velma took his vacated seat.

“So what’s on the schedule for today?”

Jake stood and grabbed his hat.

“Why don’t you tag along while I pay an old friend a visit; his name is Deke Stoddard.”

“Jakey?”

“Yeah?”

“You sure about that? Why go looking for trouble?”

“Trouble’s coming one way or another, I might as well get it over with, huh?”

The old man nodded. “Good point.”

The sound of a scream came from the outer office, followed by the words, “Oh my God!” and all three detectives rushed toward the door. Velma reached it first and flung it open to find Jacob with Kelli, her eyes filling with tears.

Velma rushed over and separated the two.

“What the hell’s going on here? Are you following me?”

Before Jacob could answer her, Jake walked over and encompassed Jacob in a massive bear hug that lifted him off his feet.

“Welcome home little brother!”

Velma cocked her head. “Little brother? He’s a Caliber?”

“That’s Chris,” Kelli said. “Do you two know each other?”

“He gave me a ride after my car broke down, but he said his name was Jacob.”

Chris walked over to her with a grin.

“Christopher Jacob Caliber, at your service,”

Two strong hands reached out and spun Chris around by his shoulders and he found himself face to face with his grandfather. The old man looked him over from head to toe.

“Hello granddad, it’s been a long time.”

The old man took him in his arms and whispered in his ear.

“It’s good to have you home boy; I love you.”

Chris whispered back, “I love you, too.” and then the two separated.

Kelli grabbed a compact from her purse and stared into it.

“Oh, my mascara is running, but I was so happy to see you Chris that I cried.”

“You look good Kelli, how’s your mom?”

“She’s great; you should stop by and say hello.”

“I’ll do that, and I really wish I could stay here and catch up, but I’m meeting mom at the coffee shop around the corner and then I’m off to my job interview.”

“I was wondering why you were dressed like a stiff.” Jake said.

“It’s the uniform of the corporate world big brother; they would never let me in the door if I showed up in jeans.”

“Good luck with the interview, and say hello to mother.”

“I’ll be back later.” Chris said, and then he spoke to Velma. “I hope you’ll be around then?”

Velma stared into his eyes. “I’ll be here.”

“Good, now I better get going or I’ll be late, and you know how mom can be.”

Velma watched him leave and then turned around to find everyone looking at her.

“What?”

“My little brother has a thing for you.”

“He was just being friendly.”

Kelli smirked. “Yes, Caliber men are known for their friendliness, particularly when it comes to good-looking women.”

The old man clapped Jake on the back.

“Come back into the office, you girls too; I want to plan some sort of welcome home dinner for Chris; it can also double as a congrats on the new job party.”

“I’ll be in soon Mr. Caliber.” Kelli said. “I just have to fix my face first.”

***

C
hris galloped down the stairs two at a time and then rushed through the lobby and out onto the street. He went left, turned at the corner and walked a block over to the Pegasus Coffee House.

As soon as he walked through the door, he was shoved from behind and landed on his backside. When he looked up, he saw the customers and staff bunched together over behind the counter, as two men held guns on them. His mother was standing on the left side of the crowd. Gail Caliber looked more worried than fearful, as she sent her son a weak smile of assurance.

A third man walked up from behind and pointed a gun at him. The man’s face was covered by a ski mask, while the other men simply had bandana’s covering their noses and mouths. All three men bore reptilian eyes that held not a hint of compassion.

“Be cool dude and hand over your phone and wallet.”

After a slight hesitation, Chris did as he was told. The man then grabbed a cloth sack that was tucked into his belt and tossed the wallet and cell phone inside, afterward; he pointed the gun at Chris again.

“Sit right there on your ass and don’t move. If you try to stand, I’ll shoot you, capice?”

Chris nodded his understanding and the man moved over to the counter where he proceeded to fill the bag with the other customer’s belongings. When he got to the man standing beside Chris’s mother, he put the gun to his temple.

“What do you mean you don’t have a phone? A yuppie like you?”

“I... I left it home by mistake.” The man said. He was white, about forty, and dressed in a sports jacket and designer jeans.

The man with the ski mask pressed the gun harder against the other man’s head. “You’re lying.”

Moments later, a shot rang out.

***

F
or the second time in less than an hour, Kelli cried out, “Oh my God!”

They rushed into the outer office to find her staring at the TV in the corner. It was an old, projection style set.

“What the hell is going on?” The old man said.

Kelli looked over at them with eyes brimming with tears as she pointed at the screen.

“I received a phone call from downstairs telling me to turn on channel twelve, and when I did I... it’s Chris,”

“This is Diane Gale with a Channel 12 exclusive. Once again, you’re viewing a live feed of a robbery in progress. Our Action News Team cameraman, Doug Kelly, is the man with the gun at his head, while the man sitting on the floor at the left side of the screen was the last unlucky patron to enter the establishment. Again, we do not know where this is taking place and can only surmise that Doug had the presence of mind to activate his camera and phone before the robbers could discover them. Judging by the angle, they must be sitting atop a corner table and—wait! The man is speaking again.

“What do you mean you don’t have a phone? A yuppie like you?”

“I... I left it home by mistake.”

“You’re lying.”

A moment later, the diner’s short order cook reached under the counter and came up with a handgun. The man with the ski mask grabbed his wrist and banged his hand against the counter, causing the gun to go off and fire a shot into the wall, then, he viciously pistol whipped the cook, opening a series of bloody gashes across the man’s head. When he released him, the man’s body fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

“Where the hell did that gun go?” Said ski mask, as he and his companions searched the floor behind the counter.

The whispered words, “Oh God Chris, no,” came from Gail Caliber’s mouth and caused the three robbers to look up. When they did, they found Chris standing, holding the gun, and pointing it at the man in the ski mask.

“There’s three of us dude.” Said ski mask, “Even if you get me; they’ll kill you.”

“Chris,” Gail Caliber said. “Please honey, drop the gun before they hurt you.”

Ski mask reached over and grabbed Gail by the hair, to yank her in front of him as a shield; he then placed his gun to her head.

“Drop the damn gun or I’ll blow her head off!”

A second passed, and then Chris shot ski mask between the eyes and with a blur of motion, killed the other two men. Afterward, he calmly lowered his arm and let the weapon fall to the floor.

“Diane?”

“Diane? We’re live.”

“Right, yes, I apologize ladies and gentlemen, but that was without doubt one of the most shocking things you’ll ever see, but... the robbery is over and everyone is safe thanks to that... incredible marksman. I have never seen shooting like that and I was an army brat. We apologize for losing the feed, but we can only assume that our cameraman, Doug, is repositioning his equipment and—yes, yes, we have Doug back now.

The television studio was replaced by a split second of static and then the coffee shop appeared, with Chris in the foreground, behind him, the other patrons were rushing out the door in a panic, as the sound of sirens grew closer. Standing beside Chris was his mother and Chris had his left arm draped around her shoulders. Then, the cameraman spoke as he scanned the restaurant.

“Diane I’m here in the Pegasus Coffee House in lower Manhattan, where a wild scene just took place as a brutal robbery came to a sudden and stunning conclusion. Three armed men took me and the other patrons hostage and if not for the bravery and skill of the man in front of me, things might have turned out much different.”

“Doug, can you tell us the condition of the man that was beaten?”

“I’m sorry to report this Diane, but the man died from that vicious beating.”

“And the three robbers?”

“They are all deceased Diane; all three killed by shots fired dead center between their eyes.”

“Incredible, absolutely incredible, but tell us, what’s our hero’s name?”

Chris held his mother and felt her tremble as the camera panned about the scene, then, suddenly, the camera was pointed at his face, as the reporter asked a question.

“What’s your name, sir?”

“My name?”

“Yes.”

Chris stared into the camera with an unblinking gaze.

“My name is Caliber!”

T
exas, 1884

Jake Caliber climbed upon his horse as he prepared to leave the home of his cousin, Fergus Steele. Fergus, his wife Robina and his father Braden, stood outside their cabin to bid him farewell. Standing beside Robina was her daughter, Catrina. The little girl had green eyes and long, dark hair, just like her mother.

Jake had meant to only stay with his family overnight, but had now been with them for three days. Being with his uncle and cousin had reawakened memories of his own family and he also enjoyed being in their company. He had spent too much time away from people he loved, a condition he hoped to banish permanently once he got to Dallas.

Fergus reached up to shake his hand. “It was good to see you again cousin.”

“Same here,” Jake said. “It was good to see all of you, and I’ll make sure to get back here someday.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll have much trouble finding work in Dallas, that’s a city on the grow.” Braden said.

“I hope I don’t, but being a soldier is all I really know how to do.”

“Well good luck to you Jacob, and God bless.”

With a tip of his hat, Jake took off and headed east, as the newly risen sun painted shadows behind him.

He arrived in Dallas three days later. The trip should have only taken two, but his horse was not a young animal, and Jake didn’t want to wear the poor creature out, and so he took his time while pondering over what awaited him.

He and Eva Heimlich had lived for years as family, despite the fact that they weren’t related. Eva’s parents had taken Jake in when he was orphaned at twelve and gave him a home.

However, on Eva’s sixteenth birthday, Jake could no longer fight his feelings for her and, while alone in the barn, he took her in his arms. As Eva returned his affection, Jake was both thrilled and frightened, for even though he loved her, he knew he was not ready to settle down.

Three months later, while a week shy of his seventeenth birthday, Jake Caliber joined the army and rode away from Eva, in the intervening years they had written each other several times, but Jake had received no word from her in a long while and now feared that she had found someone.

For his part, he had sown enough wild oats for three men and wished only to settle down, and with the right woman beside him, he might even start a family of his own.

Jake left his horse at a livery stable and then went to see the barber, where he got a shave and a haircut. They also brushed three days of trail dust from his clothes and shined his boots. Afterward, he walked over to the National Hotel. In her last letter, Eva wrote that she had gotten a job there as a maid.

The desk clerk was a man with a handlebar mustache and a bald head. He looked up from reading the paper and smiled at Jake.

“Good day sir, and welcome to the National Hotel.”

“Howdy, I’d like a room.”

“Yes sir, and how long will you be staying with us?”

“For now, why don’t we just say one night.”

“Yes sir, and if you’ll just sign right here...”

As he signed the registry, Jake asked the man a question.

“Do you have a girl by the name of Eva workin’ here?”

“Sure, you know Eva? She’s a great girl, yes sir, Eva Grant is one of the best employees the National has ever had.”

“Grant? She must have married.”

“She sure did, she married Ray Grant; he’s a bricklayer and a hell of a nice guy.”

“I’m sure he is,” Jake whispered, as his heart sank into his stomach. Afterward, he trudged up the stairs, and as he opened the door to his room, the desk clerk yelled up to him.

“Hey mister, here comes Eva now, why don’t you come back down and say hi?”

After tossing his saddlebags inside the room, Jake took a deep breath and then walked down the stairs, as he reached the lobby, a young woman with curly black hair entered.

“Eva, a friend of yours is here looking for you.”

The young woman appeared perplexed as she stared at Jake.

“I don’t think I know him Rollie. Do I know you mister?”

“You’re Eva?” Jake said.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but the Eva I was lookin’ for is Eva Heimlich, at least I hope it’s still Heimlich.”

The woman broke out in a huge grin.

“You’re Jacob, aren’t you?”