KILLER DATE (SCANDALS) (12 page)

T
he door opened and Gerald stood there with a smile on his face.  “Good morning, Reno…Miss Caldwell.”

I was startled, to say the least
.  “What the fuck are you doing up, Gerald?  Don’t you ever sleep?”

“
I must admit that it’s a little more challenging with six of you here now. I took a nap this evening after dinner. Everything okay?”

“
It’s been pretty exciting…and not necessarily in a good way.  How did you know who Jenny was?”

“
I heard Christopher and Killeen come in, and they told me you two were right behind them, so I decided to wait up.”  He looked at his watch.  “Can I get you something to eat?”

“No, we’re dragging.  We just need some sleep.”

“I fixed up the Dylan suite for Miss Caldwell.  It’s the first bedroom on the left…next to yours.”

“Thanks
Gerald.”

Christopher walked in
from the kitchen.  “Yeah, I’m on my way to bed, too.  Gerald, make sure all the doors are locked and the alarm and flood lights are on tonight.  I’m not expecting anyone, so if you see anyone Hispanic that you don’t know…shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Isn’t that profiling?”
Gerald asked more as a joke than a criticism.

“Bet your ass it is,” Christopher stated.  “The Mexican drug cartels
aren’t exactly equal opportunity employers.”

“Okay,
I know the routine.  No one’s tried to kill us in several days…it’s been kind of boring.” Gerald said as he walked to the alarm panel on the wall and depressed the required keys.  “Do you want me to put the cat…?”

“Elvis,” I informed him.

“…Elvis in the utility room?  Killeen gave me his things, and I’ve got it all set up for him.”

“That would be great.  Thanks,
Gerald.”  I glanced over at Jenny and saw she was fading fast.  “We’re going to head upstairs now.  See you all in the morning…uh in a few hours.”

I picked up Jenny’s suitcase and her backpack.  “It’s up those stairs.”
  I indicated the curving staircase to the right of the lobby and led the way.  “Gerald was Roger’s road manager back in the day and when Roger retired, Gerald became his house manager.  From what I’ve heard of Roger, he required a lot of oversight.”

We continued up the stairs and were almost at the top when she asked,
“So, I get Dylan.” 

I lowered my voice, “I’ve heard that sometimes people who stay there say they can hear
Dylan singing.”

“I love Dylan…great lyrics,” Jenny confided.  “What song do they hear?”

“No one really knows.  He’s kind of hard to understand even when he’s not haunting a room…that is, if you can haunt something if you’re not actually dead.  Maybe you can understand the words while you’re here.”

“
He’d better do it quickly because I’ll be asleep the second my head hits the pillow.  Who’s room are you in?”

“
Coincidentally…Elvis.”

We stopped outside her door. 
“Well…goodnight.”  She managed an exhausted smile.  “Thanks for…everything.” 

“It was a killer first date.”  I paused, then watched with disappointment as she went inside and closed the door. 
The dude part of me wanted her to ask me to stay, but the human part of me was afraid we were both too tired to make it happen, and I didn’t want to perform until all the props were working.

And as everyone
else in show business, I was hoping for an encore.

CHAPTER SEVEN

My phone alarm went off at 9:30.  I had left myself little time to get ready before Nick’s appointment, but I needed the sleep more than I needed to shave.  Besides, most women like a little stubble.  Hopefully, it would prove irresistible to Jenny.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect today.  Should I go wake her
up with a kiss?  Or maybe more?  I was at the top of my game now…rested and ready to go the distance.  We could be a few minutes late.

I brushed my teeth and dressed, then spent a few minutes getting my hair just right.  I wasn’t girly about it, but I liked my hair
to have just the right level of planned casualness…a sort of tousled effect.  I stared critically at my image in the mirror.  My hair was thick and such a dark shade of brown that it looked black.  It wasn’t short, but not really long, partially covering my ears and almost to the collar of my t-shirt. 

I
t was my eyes that were my most striking feature.  They were a startling light blue, almost the color of those crystal blue ice cliffs in Alaska.  I had always thought they were unique…until I met Killeen, Tulsa, Liberty and Dallas.  Apparently, it was the one physical feature we had all inherited from Roger…and it was the identifier that had confirmed our place in this unusual family of ours.

My face was
n’t
GQ
elegant like Dallas’, but I had been told by plenty of women…and a few men…that it was more ruggedly handsome with square jaws and a nose that had just the smallest bump that I had earned in a fight with one of my mother’s “dates”.  He and I had disagreed on whether or not he had the right to hit my mother.  It had been the first time I had faced my own mortality.  I knew if I didn’t give it all I had that he would beat me senseless or maybe even to death.  So, I’d walked away with a broken nose while he had a bloodied eye, missing teeth, a couple broken ribs…and a quick exit out our front door.

I really thought Mom would be grateful, but she lit into me about running off her boyfriend.  It ha
d been my first lesson in how much I didn’t know about women.

I gave my hair one last flick,
then went next door to Jenny’s room.  I knocked gently, expecting her to still be asleep.  When the door pulled open, and I saw her, completely dressed and wide awake, I struggled to hide my disappointment.  “You look rested.  Dylan must have left you alone.”

“I fell asleep as soon as I got to bed, and I don’t think I moved
at all,” she told me.  “I don’t usually get more than five or six hours of sleep a night.”  I was standing just outside her door, and she motioned me to come in.  “I need to talk to you for a second.”

Of course, I assumed this was an invitation to pick up on our make-out session
, so I stepped inside, trying not to look as eager as I felt. 

She sucked in a deep breath and continued, “
Yesterday night…before Miguel showed up…was…”

I waited. 
Fantastic.  Amazing.  Exciting. 
I tried to guess the word she would use.

“…a mistake,” she stated.  “I can’t blame it on those lemonade things because by the time we…uh…you know…I was completely sober.”
  She gave me an apologetic smile that was really more of a grimace.  “I think I was just lonely.  I hope you didn’t read too much into it.”

“Me?  Nah…it was one of those spur-of-the-moment things.”  That was what came out of my mouth, but inside my head, it was
what the fuck
?

Her face relaxed with relief. 
“Oh, good.  I was afraid this would be awkward.  Don’t take this wrong, but you’re not really my type.  I’m more into the clean-cut, preppie types, and you’re…well…sort of wild and have all the show biz stuff going on.”

“Sure, I get it.”  But I didn’t get it at all.  She had stolen my li
ne.  Jenny wasn’t
my
type.  She wore her hair too short, she had never experienced life outside of Austin and she was too much of a workaholic.  The twinkle in her eyes, the perfect voluptuous body and the tempting curve of her lips had temporarily distracted me.

“Whew!” I said with pretended gratitude.  “I’m glad we got that settled.”  I glanced at the door, a
s anxious to escape as I had been to knock on it just a few minutes ago.  “I think I smell breakfast.  John’s an amazing cook.”

“Good.  I’m starving.”

She brushed past me and headed down the hallway.  I followed, but I felt like I had just been hit by a truck.  That wasn’t at all the way I had expected today to go.

Everyone was sitting around the huge island eating breakfast.  Even though there was an elegant formal dining room that seated at least twenty and a sunny breakfast room that overlooked the backyard and the pool, we always ended up at the granite-topped island for breakfast.  It made it easier for John to go straight from the stove to the island with stacks of pancakes, a plate covered with crisp bacon and a basket of flaky biscuits, along with special-order eggs. 

They all greeted Jenny warmly and pointed toward an empty chair between Killeen and Liberty.  I was glad the other empty chair was at the far end.  After our conversation, I was still licking my wounds and trying to gather my wits. I wasn’t accustomed to being turned down…not ever.  I was the one who walked away…always.

Christopher’s phone buzzed, and he checked the text.  “Nick’s running late. 
And he’s coming here, instead of the office.  So, everyone take your time.”

“I called the hospital and Miguel made it through the night,” Jenny spoke up.

“We’ll head over there as soon as the meeting is over,” Christopher assured her.

That started a barrage of questions and very few answers.  Those of
us who had been there, took turns filling in the details of what had happened last night…at least what little we knew.  Hopefully, Miguel would be able to clear things up a little.

After breakfast, I rushed outside, desperate for some fresh air.  I walked out past the pool and stood
looking at the boats that were moving along Lake Travis.  The entire property was about five acres and it had several hundred feet of lake frontage.  Unfortunately, Texas had been suffering through an historic drought that had dropped the level by over forty feet.  Where once the water had lapped against the shore, there was now a pretty steep drop-off to the lake below.

I heard footsteps behind me, but didn’t turn around.  I didn’t really want to talk to Jenny right now, and it was a relief when it was Christopher who stopped next to me.

“How’s Jenny doing?” he asked me.

I
was tempted to tell him that she had just dumped me, but I’m a dude and we don’t share relationship details with other dudes unless there’s sex involved…which there definitely was not. Instead I said, “She’s all charged up and ready to interrogate Miguel.”

“
These drug cartels are scary shit.  This is the big time and outside my expertise.  I think we should step back from this one.  That’s why we pay taxes, after all.”

“
I think I should follow through.  I know Jenny won’t let it drop.  She’s all alone and kind of an easy target.”  In spite of her rejection, I’d feel awful if something bad happened to her or her thoughtless sister.

“She does seem to be pretty determined and single-minded about finding her sister.”

“To say the least.”

“Well then
, be careful.” Christopher cautioned.  “Stick close to Nick.  He’s the best the DEA has.”

“I will. 
Anything else?”

“There is one more piece of information
you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, maybe two or three pieces of information.  The reason Ricardo Rodriguez is getting out of the family drug business is because he had a pretty bad heart attack about six months ago, and his wife insisted he make a lifestyle change.”

“
What else?”

“
You heard Nick say that the next generation that would take over the Sinaloa cartel doesn’t have a lot of interest in doing that.  They’ve seen it play out over their young lives, and they’re smart enough to realize that no one really leaves these cartels alive.  Miguel had two cousins…Omar and Alfonso.”

“
Dead Alfonso?”

“
One and the same.  I talked with a contact of mine earlier this morning, and he filled me in on all the familial hostilities.  A week ago Omar was assassinated just outside the Sinaloa compound.  Rumor has it that Sergio Valdez’s son Hector smoked him in the face.  They were actually after Miguel, but I think that once they got near the compound, they weren’t going to leave without a prize.”

“Why Miguel?”

“He was Ricardo’s last surviving son.  Miguel and Hector are about the same age, and I guess Hector’s very ambitious and assumed Miguel would be, too.  Probably just easier to take him out than worry about him as a threat.”

“
Do you think Miguel and Alfonso were there when Omar got shot?  Maybe they were running away and Angela went with them?”

“
That sounds like the most likely scenario.  Now cousin number two is dead, Miguel is really bad off, and they have Angela as human collateral.  I’m thinking they’re trying to force the Rodriguez family out of the drug business, and they think with two cousins dead and the innocent girlfriend to use as ransom that they’ll get what they want.  Angela for the I-35 drug corridor.”

“But if no one leaves these cartels alive
, why wouldn’t they just kill Angela?”

“
They probably will.  Or maybe…and I’d never mention this to Jenny…they’re using her as the camp bitch.”

That was a horrifying thought. 
“Either way her value goes down every hour.  We don’t have a lot of time to get her back before her value drops to zero.”

Ch
ristopher’s cell phone rang.  He glanced at the screen, then answered. “
Amigo!  Mañana. ¿Qué has descubierto?...bueno…bueno…bueno
…
te debo.
” He ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. 

I didn’t know he spoke Spanish.
“
Impresionante!
” I exclaimed, using a major portion of my Spanish vocabulary.  Two years of Spanish had left me with only enough words to get a
cerveza
on the
playa
or to find a
baño
.

“
That was my buddy again.  He says Angela’s probably at their main compound down on the river near Del Rio.  It’s in an isolated area so no one just happens to drive by.  And if they suspect someone is coming after them, they just zip across the border and disappear in Mexico.”

“Great.
  How about some good news?”

“I’ve got nothing.” 
Christopher looked around and waved.  “Nick’s here.  Maybe he’ll bring us some.”

A few minutes later we were
seated in the library where Roger’s lawyer Harlan Gooding had broken the news that most of these people at the table were actually related.  It had, as you can imagine, been quite a shock.  But after two weeks, we were no longer strangers.  We were still jostling for position since we were all, with the possible exception of Liberty, Type A personalities.

Even though we had finished breakfast less than an hour ago, John had set out an impressive buffet of sandwich meats, cheeses, rolls, fruit and chips, as well as soda,
water and coffee.  Nick and Brady were the only ones taking advantage of it as they slapped together huge sandwiches and piles of chips.  They were both rumpled and wearing the same clothes they had on last night which meant they had either spent the night at the hospital or they both made very poor fashion choices.

“Can we start now?”
Nick had just taken a big bite out of his sandwich, so his words were a little garbled.  “We’re burning daylight here.”  He glared at me and Christopher as if we were the ones holding the meeting up.

“
Alright…let’s get the rest of what we know on the table.  Anything new on Angela’s cell phone, Tulsa?”  Christopher asked

“You didn’t tell me about a cell phone
…ahh, Reno.  What the…?” Nick sputtered, spitting out a little spray of potato chips.

“You didn’t ask
, and I didn’t have any answers yet, alright?  Tulsa?”

“After you called me last night I started tracking
Angela’s phone’s GPS location, and it had her traveling north along I-35,” Tulsa reported.

“North?”
  Jenny asked.  “Why?  Where?”

“Not toward the river or Del Rio?” I asked.

Ignoring both of us, Tulsa continued.  “It stopped at three different truck stops along the way with the last one being the Tacoma Truck Stop on South Tacoma Avenue in Tulsa.”

Jenny
jumped up. “Then let’s go.”

“
I already did.” Tulsa looked around at our surprised reactions.

“What?”  Nick was surprised.

“I said I went…sort of.” Tulsa smiled, a rare event.  “I called a friend of mine and got him to run over to the truck stop…”