Red Rock Island (Damian Green Book 1) (25 page)

Chapter Forty

With his life planned for the next three weeks between swim meets and the vacation to Cozumel, he decided to make a list of the pros and cons of setting up a company.

He suspected he would be helping Natalie on additional cold cases and he wanted to create a better technique for DNA analysis as that seemed to be the only way that cold cases were cracked. He had his wave technology targeted for helping third world countries and saving the earth by reducing greenhouse gasses. He was working on improving a drone to do bigger things like lift heavy packages over a longer distance, such as lifting a water hose to a roof top for firemen. He also had his pepper spray water gun that he’d like to promote to more people.

If he was to hire people to help him, what talents would he be looking for? Electrical engineers, physics majors, someone who could start manufacturing each of his gadgets? He’d need legal expertise both to set the company up and to deal with any laws governing the use of his gadgets, and then he needed a smart person who would just be a routine devil’s advocate to push him and the team on by telling them it wouldn’t work. Of course he would have to like all of these people and they had to get along. Heck maybe he should host an event at Pete’s and invite all of his target future employees to see how they all got along with each other.

He also needed an HR expert and software to set salaries and benefits and pay people. He could privately fund the company for several years, as he didn’t think he’d ever be ready to have outside investors telling him what to do. Maybe this weekend he would run his thoughts past Ariana and see what she said. She didn’t know engineering, but she did know a lot about getting a company going.

He decided to head outside to fish for himself and the two cats. Nothing like a stiff bay breeze to blow the jumble of thoughts out of his head and since the fish were really biting today, he caught all the fish he and cats could eat for the next two days. He’d liked his idea of hosting an event at Pete’s as a deciding point of whether to move forward. There was an upcoming Warriors playoff game and he could have Pete reserve a large booth that could sit as many as ten. He would invite Ariana, Trevor and Haley, Angus and a significant other if he had one, one other person he’d met while working on another invention. His question was what to do with Hermione. He’d like her to be there, but this was an adult gathering. She was old enough to stay home without a babysitter, but he wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that and the day he had in mind was two days from now and she might still be working on her project.

He decided to check in with Ariana and her thoughts as she had a better handle on the girl. She texted back that the assignment was due Thursday, so Hermione would be free that night and would likely enjoy the event as she followed the Warriors. He reached out to the others and they wanted to join him both because of Pete’s and the game at hand. He reserved the booth with Pete and sent a formal invite to all.

An email arrived from Natalie. It read,

An update on the Debbie Altman case
-
we got the DNA results back from the state lab and it’s a family match to Debbie’s brother. The DA was willing to issue an arrest warrant for John Avery. The SJPD have him under surveillance at the convenience store waiting for the arrival of Detective Shimoda and his partner. In fact they should be there as I write this email. I’m going to sit in on his interview. We may be close to cracking this case as well. SJPD is very happy with me and want me to continue working the cold cases.

Damian wondered if all of the car’s evidence trace had been processed. Sure they found a single hair, but it would be so much better if they found blood in the car. He asked Natalie that question and her email said,

They finished processing the car. They found blood in several spots in the car, but it’s not that unusual to find blood in a car; because there were ten different areas of blood trace, it will take the lab longer to process those samples, the SJPD can hold him during that time.

Good enough thought Damian; they’ll have this guy eventually for a murder he committed thirty years ago. What would be even better was if Mr. Avery confessed and told them where he’d dumped the body. Maybe he was hoping for too much. He also guessed that Natalie would be coming back to him for more help with her cold cases. After all, he’d first picked five cases for her to go after so at some point he’d need to circle back to those other three.

He enjoyed helping her on these cases both intellectually and personally. Perhaps as a side business of his future company, he’d invent stuff to make law-enforcement’s job easier. Natalie was young - perhaps in her mid-fifties so she could work these cases for another decade. Certainly there were enough cold cases to keep her busy for quite some time.

He peered into the California prison network for the first time in about ten days. Looking at the prisoners expected to be released, he checked their original sentence and compared it to today’s date. All seemed to be in order, then he checked into the Brotherhood to make sure they weren’t re-assembling a hit list that included he and Natalie. So far so good; the only names on the hit list were the prior leadership both inside and out of the prison walls.

He also took another look at identifying Hermione’s parents. He’d spend the odd moment now and then looking for their identity, but hadn’t come up with anything so far. The kid had not let anything slip so far as to their identity and his facial recognition and fingerprint searches likewise turned up zip. He thought that if they were in a witness protection program, that someone would have snatched Hermione by now. Were they part of an organized crime group that had them disappearing off the edge of the world? The kid was in a great place now but he couldn’t imagine her parents not finding their way back to the kid.

Damian spent the remainder of the week devoting himself to all of his inventions. It was very freeing after the distractions of the last two or three weeks; really since the seventh anniversary of his family’s murders. The worry about Hermione and the Aryan Brotherhood released his mind from dwelling about the loss of Jen and his two girls. He still grieved for them but like the wreaths floating on the water that grief was floating farther away as new people entered his life.

On Thursday, he had his informal gathering. It was really a very odd collection of people when he thought about it. A variety of ages, a newly minted college degree, an ex-Brotherhood member, an Assistant district attorney, a female venture capitalist, a teenager, and a Berkeley Professor in the African-American Program, Nikki, who was Angus’ date. What they all had in common was brain power and a love for Warriors’ basketball. He quietly watched the conversation drift between referee calls during the game to the upcoming elections to gun control legislation. Yes, he thought to himself, he would enjoy working with Haley, Ariana, and Angus. Hermione, when she turned sixteen would make a great summer intern for the company he was thinking of starting. She hadn’t been intimidated by the adults and discussed basketball stats with Haley and queried Nikki about life as a Berkeley professor. Over the coming weekend, he would use Ariana as a sounding board for his thoughts about setting up a company.

Friday evening found the three of them in Fresno for the swim meet. Throughout the weekend, Hermione advanced all the way to the finals in one of her races losing to an older girl. She was pleased with her performance and the thought she would do better next season; if she had a next season. She liked her school, but not knowing the status of her parents left her in emotional limbo; on one hand she was doing well academically and athletically and she would love to see how well she swam next year, but on the other hand that meant she would still be living with Ariana rather than her parents.

Damian spoke with Ariana over the weekend about his ideas for the company. Ariana showed her insight by asking if he was considering everyone that had been at the Warriors party and she laughed when he said he was even considering Hermione as a summer intern. She outlined for him the steps he would need to take and just like that he hired her and made her chief operating officer and gave her authority to march forward with everything she’d outlined.

“Thinking and acting so impulsively will get you into trouble in the start-up world. People want you to consider a wide range of options before making decisions; you’re running with your gut which is a big no-no,” Ariana said.

“Oh, come on, Ariana, you mean to tell me that all of those companies of yore that started out in someone’s garage were successful because they considered a wide range of options before pursuing their passion? Bull shit.”

“It’s not bull excrement if you’re spending other people’s money. If you’re planning to go at this entirely on your own, you are of course free to do what you please.”

“I’ll be a one man show with my money.”

“Ok, in that case, I’ll be happy to accept your title of chief operating officer. What’s my salary?”

“I don’t know. Figure that out and while you’re at it, figure salary and benefit packages for everyone. Oh and can you find me a warehouse of about 20,000 square feet for our headquarters.”

She laughed and shook her head at his cavalier attitude. They spoke at length about what he envisioned each person doing and what he wanted to do with the large warehouse. She had to admire how he jumped all in when he committed himself to something.

On the drive home, the three of them discussed Hermione’s race results, her upcoming finals, her scuba lessons, and the announcement that they were taking a long weekend to visit Cozumel.

“Really? That’s cool and now I’ll have something to brag about to the other kids. They’re really very spoiled and haven’t hesitated to tell me that they’re going to this place or that over the summer. Like I care, but that’s teenagers for you.”

Damian and Ariana had to laugh at her long suffering comment about her fellow teens. They spoke about her aspirations for college and it was too early for her to know what she wanted outside of a swimming scholarship to UC Berkeley as that was the school of many Olympic swimmers. She didn’t know what she wanted to study academically and she still had two years to decide. They spent the remainder of the drive thinking up names for Damian’s new company.

Finals went off without a hitch for Hermione and she earned straight A’s despite joining the school in the final third of the quarter. Damian took her to Monterey for her scuba lessons that Saturday. Since she was an excellent swimmer and she’d completed the online course, she was an adept student at scuba diving as well. A few days later they were boarding a plane for Mexico, excited to share with Hermione the wonders of the deep.

Chapter Forty One

Hermione was having a blast in Mexico. They were doing four to five dives each day and compared to Monterey, this water was clear and beautiful. The house Damian had rented had a pool in addition to the beach. The three of them swam laps in the ocean as well, with Hermione winning many races; the kid was fast in the water. They dined out at night and enjoyed breakfast and lunch prepared by the three of them.

Slipping into an exhausted slumber was easy each night with all of their exercise during the day. Still Damian had taken precautions when they arrived at the house; as much because Mexico had a reputation for kidnapping as for any worries about Hermione or the reach of the Aryan Brotherhood. He really hadn’t thought the brotherhood would be a problem for a while as he periodically checked into their communications and they were fully focused on the new leadership. Natalie had sent him an email before they left on the vacation with the news that John Avery’s vehicle that they had obtained from the salvage yard had trace blood in it belonging to Debbie Altman. Both the SJPD and the DA were thrilled with the case as it took a long time predator off the street, cleared a cold case, and disrupted a drug ring. Natalie was embarrassed to take credit for Damian’s sleuthing, but that was the way it had to be.

When they got back, Damian planned to meet with Angus and Haley individually to talk about his new company and see if they had interest in joining him. He was for the first time in seven years excited for his future rather than merely existing. On those pleasant thoughts he drifted asleep.

Rattling cans awoke him and he was instantly alert. By the time he reached Hermione and Ariana’s bedrooms, he had his water gun in one hand and purple smoke bombs in the other. He opened Ariana’s door and yelled, “Ariana! Wake up! Come into Hermione’s room!”

In the dark, he saw motion and he heard curses near the front door. A house alarm was sounding as well. Ariana appeared out of the dark, with her own water gun in hand, and they backed into Hermione’s room. Hermione was awake, alert and scared, with Miguel guarding her.

“Ariana! Quick, open the trap door in the ceiling closet!” Damian urged. He saw her do that as he listened for activity at the other end of the house. He heard at least three voices and one of them was in pain. Good, he thought! The man in pain got the bucket of pepper juice in his eyes.

When he looked for a house to rent, in addition to having at least three bedrooms, and beach access, he looked for a house with a safe room. This house had a ladder that folded down in the closet of one of the bedrooms. The room above had a steel floor, so even if someone shot bullets through the ceiling, they would be safe. There was a house alarm connected to a private security force that guaranteed a seven minute response and backup from the local police department.

The two women, he saw had the stairs down and were lifting the dog up to the attic, which was not easy given the dog’s size. Once he saw their feet disappear, he tossed a purple smoke bomb down the hallway and watched the corridor and living room quickly fill with purple smoke. Even in the dark, the hallway got darker. He ran to the stairs and was up in the attic in no time, pulling the stairway with him. When he viewed the mechanism upon arrival, he knew that below, a fake light slid into place covering where the access door was.

“Everyone okay?” he whispered.

Hermione had her arms around the dog and nodded ‘yes’ as did Ariana.

Poor kid, this must have been a replay of the night at her parent’s house.

“The alarm company should be responding within three minutes by my calculation. Until then we have steel underneath us and these weapons. I think we can just wait them out.”

“What happened to the men at the door? I thought I heard one of them moaning.” Hermione asked in a whisper.

Damian smiled at her and replied, “Each night after you went to bed, I strung aluminum cans with pebbles in them across all doors. If someone broke in, we had an early warning in addition to the house alarm. I also placed a bucket of pepper juice with red dye over the doors, so that if someone broke in their eyesight would be harmed and they would be covered in red dye.”

“Good thing I didn’t go for a midnight swim,” Hermione said with a surprising sense of humor given their current situation. 

“I booby-trap every hotel or house we stay in, so you won’t want to be sneaking out,” Damian grinned.

Then they all quieted as they heard conversation below them. It was in Spanish which neither Damian nor Ariana spoke.

Hermione began translating in a whisper, “They said that Jose was unable to see as some substance fell in his eyes and he’s worried about being blind. The other guy said so what that it was fewer people to share their fee with. They’re looking for us wondering where we got to.”

Then the color drained out of her face.

Ariana said, “What? What did they just say?” seeing the kid’s distress.

“They said that Michael told them they were not supposed to harm me.”

“What’s wrong with that statement?” Damian asked puzzled with Ariana over the kid’s distress and the indecision written on her face.

“That’s my father’s name,” Hermione said. “Are my parents trying to kidnap me back to them?”

“I thought you told us your father’s name was Jason?” Damian said.

“That was the name I was supposed to use when out in public. In private, his name was Michael and Mom was Laura,” Hermione replied.

Damian and Ariana thought about the kid’s statement and the name Michael for a moment and both shook their head.

“I think that it’s just a coincidence. Your own father wouldn’t terrify you like this. I know I wouldn’t have done that to my daughters. I would fetch them myself; I wouldn’t hire someone to scare them to death. I wouldn’t trust anyone with their lives,” Damian declared in a soft voice, adamant about the safety of his deceased children.

Hermione relaxed a little with his comment and concentrated on listening, but they moved on to other rooms in the house and she couldn’t hear them.

They heard sirens in the distance as the police were approaching. They continued to listen, then Damian received a text from the security company.

‘We are on site. We will clear the premises and let you know when it is safe to come out.’

The sirens sounded when they arrived at the house and then were shut off. No sense in waking up the occupants of houses near where the three of them were staying.

Damian relayed the information back to Ariana and Hermione then said, “When we get the all clear, I’ll leave this room, but I want the two of you to stay here until I contact you. Only listen for my voice or a text, ok? Is that clear?”

The two of them were clearly worried about Damian, which was sweet, but he had loads of tricks he could launch at any perpetrator. They nodded and he waited for the text telling him it was clear to descend. Less than a minute later, the text arrived. Damian quickly descended from the attic area and closed up the safe room. There were lights on everywhere and he could see both the private security force and the local police gathered around a suspect lying on the floor. He was covered in red dye and moaning in Spanish.

“Mr. Green, are you and your family okay? Do you need a doctor?” said a man wearing a security company logo.

“My family’s fine. Did you catch any of the other men?” Damian asked.

“No there was a car that was fleeing the scene but Officer Gonzales and I decided to come to your aid first,” said the security guy. Officer Gonzales appeared to wear the insignia of the Yucatan State police.

Officer Gonzales spoke up in heavily accented English, “What happened to this man? What is this red substance on him?”
 

Damian smiled and said, “Red food dye and chili pepper juice. I had it in a bucket in case someone broke through the front door. He must have been the first man inside. The dye will stay on him for about thirty days and he’ll be able to see again in a few hours after his eyes get washed out.”

The officer had raised his brows at Damian’s explanation and he couldn’t tell if it was due to admiration, puzzlement, or if he was thinking of some law that Damian had broken.

Damian added, “The security alarms sounded as they were supposed to, but the aluminum cans gave me a fifteen second jump on the alarm and then the bucket of dye and juice disabled one of the men and the others may still be suffering if they were splattered with the juice. Have you identified this man and his reason for breaking into my home?”

“No. He has no identification on him and he hasn’t told us his name yet.”

Damian had texted Ariana while they were talking and she and Hermione appeared in the doorway. It was probably bad for Hermione to see the one man in such distress, but he looked worse than he actually was. He met Ariana’s eyes and she seemed to read his mind as she said to Hermione, “It’s just dye and pepper juice, he’ll be fine in a few hours.”

She looked to Damian for confirmation and he said, “I brought a gallon of the pepper juice with me and I added beet and pomegranate juice with vinegar to set the colors.”

She nodded and relaxed with that explanation.

“Why do you feel you need so much security Mr. Green?” asked Officer Gonzales.

This guy was smart, thought Damian, “Mexico has a recent reputation of kidnapping of tourists and I wanted to protect my family; seems that I was right to take the precautions.”

“Perhaps you had trouble at home in the United States and brought it with you to Mexico,” Gonzales observed.

That comment, while likely true, set off Damian’s temper, “You think that if we were under threat that we would leave the United States and its police forces and safety and try our luck here? The answer is simply ‘no’.”

Again, Gonzales had a way of expressing disbelief in his body language without saying the words out loud.

Instead he said, “May I see some identification for my report? Passports please.”

Damian again in silent communication with Ariana left the room to retrieve their passports from the wall safe. He was going to leave Hermione’s in the safe as he could think of no reason for the police to verify her identity.

He handed the two passports to Officer Gonzales, who opened them up and wrote down their names, addresses, and birthdates. Then he handed them back and asked, “The child’s passport, please?”

“I don’t believe you need that,” Damian said.

“How do I know she’s your daughter if I don’t see any identification? She might have been kidnapped from your country.”

“Her passport doesn’t state who her parents are, it merely gives her identity. Besides just ask her - she’s bilingual, we’re not.”

Gonzales reeled off a few questions to Hermione in Spanish and she answered them in turn. Damian thought the cop asked her if she was with her parents and she said yes she was with her guardians and they had been scuba diving several times and she was happy and not threatened in any way.

The cop was still puzzled as to why he wouldn’t show him Hermione’s passport and Damian’s only real reason was sheer stubbornness. He simply saw no reason that the cop needed to review her identity as she was a child of fourteen.

“Have you put out a police alert for the car that left this house?” Damian asked.

“Yes we have, but there are many places to hide especially in the dark of night. We may find the car in a few days or maybe not at all. It is the way with these kinds of searches.”

Looking over at the security company guy Damian asked, “Do you have video footage of the two men?”

“We should, I’ll get a copy,” the representative said as he stepped away to make that phone call. Most of his company’s security set-up had video cameras that were linked to a main switchboard, so he should be able to get a copy of the video quickly.

“When will you have this guy identified?” Damian asked.