Identity (22 page)
Authors: K. J. Cazel
“Okay ladies, it’s time for a transformation. Anya, why don’t you go first? I’ll get the purchases out of the trunk and you can remain in the car to change while Sophia and Alma wait for you. Throw you old clothes in the bags. We’ll get rid of them when we’re done.”
While Anya was changing, Sophia and Alma went through
the rest of the purchases and took off all the tags. In a few minutes, Anya stepped out of the back seat in her new clothes. Tom smiled. Sophia and Alma gathered around Anya admiring her new look. Even though the clothes were from Wal-Mart, Tom could tell that Anya had a real sense of what looked good on her. Sophia was next. She, too, emerged from the car like a butterfly. She no longer looked like a hard woman of the evening. Next, it was Alma’s turn. Anya encouraged her sister handing her several pieces of clothing she chose for her. It took Alma longer before she opened the car to show her new image. She was beautiful. Her long blond hair fell down to her shoulders on a turquoise top and black slack with black sandals. Each woman packed their carry on bag and discarded their old clothes in the Wal-Mart bags
“All right ladies, we’re off.”
Tom drove around the park and exited where they entered. He went back to the boulevard until he spotted a Goodwill Donation Box at one of the strip malls. He quickly made a sharp turn and pulled next to it. He got out of the car and opened the trunk to get out the Wal-Mart bags that contained the women’s old clothes. As he placed the bag in the box, he wondered what Goodwill would think when they received these donations. In less than a
minute, they were back on the road, now headed to Van Nuys Airport.
When they arrived at the airport, Tom pulled the rental car to the return car area. He parked the car and flipped the lever to open the trunk. The woman exited the car and joined Tom at the rear of the vehicle. Each woman took her bag and purse. Tom took his suitcase out of the trunk and set it down. He then went to the briefcase and opened it. The women eyes grew big as they saw the amount of money in the case.
“Okay ladies, open your purses.”
Each woman opened her purses wide. Tom took one bundle at a time depositing the money in their purses. When he was done, Anya was short one bundle to have it balance. Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out the remainder of the bundle he used for their clothes and deposited in Anya’s purse. She smiled.
“Here’s the final plan. I’m not going in there with you. You are to go to Alaska Airlines reservation desk. The reservations have been made for you to fly to Fairbanks. Your flight leaves at 5:20 a.m. You must keep a very low profile once you leave the lower forty-eight. Sergio and his brother have many associates throughout the states. Here are your passports. One good thing that Sergio did do was to keep your student visas up-to-date. Again, I can’t emphasize enough that it is imperative for you to keep a low profile. The money you have was Sergio’s. I’m sure he will do anything to get it back.” With that last comment he could see the smiles leave the women’s faces.
The women took they bags and headed to the terminal entrance. Tom watched
.
He hoped everything worked out for them. They deserved a new life and identify.
Fifteen minutes later Tom dropped the keys of the rental car in the night box. He then walked over to the entrance of the terminal. Once he was in, his eyes glanced over to the gate area for Alaska Airline’s flights. The three women sat quietly waiting for their flight. Tom continued down the corridor to the private lounge while he waited to be called for his flight.
Tom stopped at the Coffee Café next to the private lounge. He bought a cup of coffee and cinnamon bun. At the entrance of the private lounge he verified his name and flight.
He found a lounge chair and sat down. Within minutes and before he had a chance to finish his coffee, he was asleep. An hour later a man sat down in the lounge chair next to Tom.
“Are you reading that newspaper?”
The voice startled Tom. He immediately patted himself down looking for his gun before realized where he was.
“No.”
The television was on and Tom could see the screen from his seat. The national weather was on. It looked like he was going to have a smooth ride back to Chicago.
When the news show returned, the newscaster introduced the woman in the field.
“ Lisa, could you give us an update on the gas explosion earlier this morning.”
“Thank you, Brad. As you know, the gas explosion happened around 3:00 a.m. at the corner of Linden and Conestoga. This is the second such gas explosion that has occurred in the Los Angeles area. Our confidential source says that both gas explosions were drug related. The body of the occupant in the home was discovered a few minutes ago. A passerby at the time of the explosion was taken to Hilltop Hospital for severe burns. Back to you Brad.”
“Lisa, do we have the name of the occupant?”
“No. Not as yet. A neighbor, who wants to remain anonymous, said that the man who appeared to be the owner was a young Italian. There were also three women that lived in the house. Their whereabouts are unknown.”
“Thanks Lisa. We’ll check back with you next hour for an update.”
Tom took a deep breath. When he left, Sergio he was okay. Something happened after
he left. It was an investigation that he didn’t wish to become a person of interest in. He checked his watch—6:37 a.m.
He reached for his coffee cup on the side table. He took a sip. Ice cold. He drank it anyway. The loud speaker came on.
“Tom Cassell, please report to Gate 27 for your flight.”
Tom grabbed his suitcase and headed for the gate. He couldn’t wait to get home.
***
It was after eleven when Tom entered the front door of his condo. It felt good to be home. Before heading for a much needed sleep, he thought it would be good to touch base with Sarah to let her know he was back and would be picking her up tomorrow morning.
***
The sun rose and peeked its way through Tom’s window. It was another day reminding Tom that he had to
do something about the shades in his bedroom. He showered and dressed and left the condo to pick up Sarah to go to his sister’s, Jenny’s, Easter buffet.
***
When Sarah and Tom arrived, Jenny rushed to the door to greet them. She couldn’t wait to speak to her brother to find out what he knew about their sister, Ginny.
“Happy Easter, Sis.”
“Happy Easter Tom, Sarah.”
“I know you want to know what happened in Los Angeles. Let’s go into the study. Have Steve and Carole come too. I’d rather tell the tale one time.”
Five minutes later, everyone was gathered in the study.
“When I arrived in Los Angeles, I used the address to the private investigator to locate where Ginny was after her release from jail. As you know Carole, you were able to put me in contact with Kari Mason, the owner of the halfway house. She refused to give me any information. What information I was able to glean from her attitude is that Ginny knew I was close. She obviously fled. My next challenge is to see what I could do to stop Sergio. I had a real hatred in my heart. I watched his movements and to make a long story short, I was able to break into his house and rob him of him of his drug money.”
“You what?” Steve exclaimed.
“Yep. Let’s save I gave him a good sampling of the product that he used on Ginny. Then, I left.”
“Good. I was afraid you might do something more drastic. So where’s the money?” Steve asked.
“Well, that’s another story. While I had Sergio under surveillance, I discovered that he had three young women living with him. He was using them to have a second business going. I picked up the women, gave them the money and sent them off for a new life. And, that is a long story made short.”
Jenny turned to her guests, “Let’s return to our guests. I’m sure Tom will give us more details when he’s ready.”
Angelo watched as Tom drove away. He was hesitant to rush into the house to check on Sergio wondering if Tom would be returning. He didn’t know if he should go and pick up the girls. He sat down in the bushes. He considered calling Naldo telling him what had happened. He quickly put that thought out of his mind. To calm his nerves, he took one of his Cuban cigars and lit up. The smoke rising from the bushes would cause a passerby to call the fire department.
Before Angelo could finish his cigar a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up and parked in front of the house. Angelo quickly stubbed out his cigar in the dirt and placed the unfinished cigar in his pocket. Three men got out and walked to Sergio’s front door. Peeking through the bushes Angelo could see a shadow of the driver, who remained in the vehicle. He was unable to stand up to see what was happening inside.
***
Not getting an answer from the knock on Sergio’s door, the largest of the three men tried the door handle. The unlocked door swung open. The men entered. They saw Sergio lying in front of the fireplace.
The large man kicked Sergio. Sergio only groaned. “Bastardo! He’s using.”
“Jefe, the girls aren’t here.”
“I don’t give a damn about the girls, find my money or my product!”
The other men searched through the house. In a few minutes they returned to the living room where their boss was sitting on the chair beside the fireplace.
“We couldn’t find anything, Jefe.”
“Another lesson needs to be taught. Bring him into the kitchen.”
The two men picked up Sergio by his underarms and dragged him into the kitchen. They understood what the Jefe wanted them to do. They asked no questions. After all, it was just two weeks ago they dealt with another dealer that didn’t cough up the Jefe’s money. They returned to the living room. They could already smell the gas coming from the stove in the kitchen.
“Make sure everything is closed up tight.”
The men went through the house making sure all windows were securely closed and locked.
“All buttoned up.” The smaller of the two men address the Jefe.
“We’re outta here.”
The Jefe set the lock on the front door and closed the door as the three left.
***
Angelo sat there in the bushes as quietly as possible while the men were in the house. He couldn’t tell what was going on inside. He knew he’d have to wait for them to leave. In less than fifteen minutes the men exited the house.
Angelo waited another five minutes. To calm his nerves, he took out his partially smoked cigar and lit it. As he inhaled, he felt the familiar rush of smoke entering his lungs. It felt good.
It was time to check on Sergio. He knew if something bad had happened to Sergio, his life was going to be short. Naldo didn’t accept failure.
Slowly while chewing on his cigar, Angelo went to open the front door. It was locked. One more frustration for Angelo. He returned to the window where he was watching from earlier. He peered in. Sergio was no longer in the living room. That wasn’t good. He knew if he broke the window, his weight would prohibit him from climbing in. He stood there for a few minutes puffing on his cigar. He made the decision to try to break the back door window. As he crept around the back he hoped that no one saw him and called the police. When he reached the door he looked in and he could see Sergio was slumped in a chair by the gas stove. He tried the handle. Locked. With the lit cigar dangling from his mouth, he used his elbow to smash through the lower pane of the widow’s door. It was a mistake. The small remaining flame from the lit cigar connected with the gas in the room.
***
Angelo checked out of the hospital Monday morning. As he walked out to grab a taxi back to his apartment, every step was painful. He dreaded the phone call he was going to have to make.
***
“Ciao.”
“Boss. It’s Angelo.”
“If you’re calling, there must be something wrong.”
“Yes, there has been an gas explosion at Sergio’s home.”
“Sergio?”
Angelo took a deep breath as he replied, “dead.”
“Fool! It was your responsibility to keep him safe.”
“It wasn’t my fault. It was that detective.”
“Get Sergio’s body back to Italy. Then, I want you to find his sister, the one the detective was looking for. When you find her, let me know. I will deal with her personally.”
“Yes boss.”
Naldo slammed down the phone.
Angelo’s conversation with Naldo wasn’t good. He knew Naldo wasn’t going to rest until he got revenge for the death of his two brothers. He also knew that if he didn’t find the girl, he was a dead man.
Unfortunately, Angelo faced the fact that he was temporarily handicapped because of the burns on his face, arms and legs. As he sat sipping a glass of wine, he searched though his phone contact list until he found the one he was looking for: Hermes. He punched in the number.
“Yes.”
“Angelo here. I have a special assignment for you.”
“I am at your service.”
“Naldo Rizzo’s brother was the man that was found in the recent house explosion.”
“Mio Dio. That is not good.”
“You have to contact your friends at the Los Angeles Medical Examiners Office and get his body released and on a flight back to Italy. When you have the flight information, call me. I will let Naldo know that you have been of service to him.”
“Consider it done.”
Angelo disconnected the call. It was always better to keep these messages short and to the point.
***
It had been a long week for Angelo. He was sick of receiving his food through a delivery service. He was sick of being cooped up in his apartment. The only thing he had going for him is that his burns had subsided sufficiently that he was now ready to go out and track down the detective’s sister.
***
It was 7:30 in the morning when Angelo pulled his SUV to the back of the house of Colorado Boulevard. Instead of watching the detective, he was now watching the coming and goings of the residence. It was important to find out when he would be able to enter the house without being seen.
By the second week, Angelo had determined that Thursday afternoon was a good time to break in. His surveillance showed that owner was out of house daily for a minimum of two hours.
Angelo parked his SUV down the block from the Colorado address. He walked to the back gate of the house and entered it in a casual manner. He wanted it to appear to any on lookers that he was a casual visitor to the resident. As he approached the screen porch, it was easy for him to walk in. Once inside the porch, no one could see as he searched around for a key. He smiled as he reached up over the door jam and his fingers quickly found the key. It made his job so much easier than picking a lock.
Once inside, he moved through the house until he found the office on the first floor. On the center of the desk sat the computer. Although he wasn’t proficient with the computer he had enough computer knowledge to turn on the computer and put in search on the hard drive. He sat down and placed his hand on the mouse. The computer came alive. The computer was in sleep mode and opened to the address database. He couldn’t believe how easy they were making it for him. He engaged the print feature. The printer on the back console hummed as it printed out four pages. As the pages came out of the printer, Angelo looked it over and saw that there was a category entitled “Comment.” Most addresses didn’t have any comments, but several did. His eyes were drawn to the third printed page. The comment read: Ginger Nash. The address was in Oregon. He took the three pages, folded them, and put them in his pants’ pocket. He got up, straightened the chair and went to the back door where he locked it and replaced the key. Angelo checked his watch. All was accomplished in less than twenty minutes. His luck was changing.
***
“Hello.”
“Kari Mason gave me your number. She said you could put me in contact with Ginger Nash.”
“Who, who are you?”
“I’m a friend of her brother, Tom Cassell. He asked me to contact her.”
“I’m afraid I can’t help you. I don’t know any Ginger Nash.”
“Well, thank you.” Angelo hung up. He could tell from the tone in the woman’s voice she knew more than she was telling. He punched in the airline’s phone number and made a reservation to Portland, Oregon. Tomorrow he would meet the woman face to face. He would change her mind.
***
When Kari arrived home, she parked her car in the garage. She closed her eyes and sat there for a few minutes. Her visits to her mother at the nursing home drained her emotionally. If only her mother could recognize her. Once she collected her thoughts and left the car taking her purse. She closed the garage door behind her. She could hear the birds in the tree welcoming her as she went up the stepping-stones to the back door. It always felt good to be home, her sanctuary.
She entered the back door through screened in porch. A strange feeling engulfed her. She looked around, nothing had changed. She entered the house.
Inside Kari still felt that her home was hiding a secret. “Hello. Is anyone home?” She walked down the hallway peering into each room on the way to her office. She shook her head. “Come on Kari, you’re imagining things, your alone,” she thought.
Kari entered her office and sat down at her computer. She tapped her mouse and the screen came alive. Everything was in order. She closed her address database and opened her private journal. Once she completed her feelings about her visit with her mother, she felt better. The writing gave her the ability to express her emotions. She shut down the computer. The other residents of the house would be returning home shortly. As she stood up she saw that there was a single piece of paper in the printer. She cocked her head trying to remember what she could have left in the printer. Kari lifted the faced down paper and turned it over. It was Page 4 of the address database. An alarm went off in her head. Someone, not her, had printed the database.
***
Susan was rattled after the phone call. No one was to know
where Ginger was living. She decided to call Ginger at the
television station where she was working. As she reached for
the phone, it rang. She jumped back as if a snake had struck
at her. The caller I.D. identified a familiar Los Angeles number. “Hi Kari,” she answered in a weak voice.
Kari could tell something was wrong. “Are you okay Susan?”
“Yes. I guess so. I had a very strange call.”
“How so?”
“Someone called asking about Ginger. He said he was a friend of her brother.”
“Oh, Susan. We have a problem. Someone broke into my home and got your address and number. We have to get Ginger out of there and you, too, for that matter.”
“Okay. I think its time for me to visit my brother in Utah. I’ll arrange everything.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll let you go so you get moving.”
***
Two hours later Susan and Ginger was head on Interstate 84 East to Salt Lake City, Utah.
***
Angelo arrived after 8:00 p.m. in Portland, Oregon. He rented a car. He punched into the GPS the address for Susan Connolly. When he arrived at the address, the house was dark. He parked the car and waited. The next morning he was still sitting in the car. His anger had built up. No one had shown up. A dead end. He feared receiving a call from Naldo asking for an update.
