Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 1 Page 10
“I know sir, but... please don’t. It’s over now and I’m okay. Thanks to you, I’m okay.”
“You’ve got a kind heart, girl.”
Jake released McKay, who fell to the ground and sobbed.
Kelli looked down at McKay with disgust showing on her face.
“He’s not even worth the effort, sir.”
CHAPTER 8
New York City
While in the back staircase, Jake had overheard Veronica and Bart making plans to meet. He decided to follow her, as she left the apartment building hours later.
He was uneasy about leaving Victor Jansen unguarded, but his gut told him to stay with the wife, and he learned from his grandfather, as well as from hard experience the importance of following his instincts. So, he left the sleeping Victor at home, alone.
Veronica slipped out of her apartment and left the building on foot. After walking only two blocks, she entered a hotel.
Jake followed her, but lost her when she stepped on the elevator. It was late and the hotel was quiet, and so Veronica was alone in the car. Jake saw where it stopped, stepped into another elevator, and pressed eight.
When he reached the eighth floor, Veronica was gone, but he did hear a soft knocking come from around a corner. When he peeked around the wall, he saw Veronica in front of room 826 and snapped a photo of her. Then, the door opened and Bart Jansen stuck his head out and kissed Veronica on the mouth, before yanking her into the room, and presumably into bed.
***
Jake was leaning against the ice machine and snacking on a candy bar when Bart Jansen’s door opened less than fifteen minutes later. After stuffing the rest of the candy in his mouth, he took a photo of Veronica and Bart as they stood in the open doorway kissing, with Bart’s right hand buried beneath her skirt.
Veronica broke off the kiss with a breathless, “I have to get back,” and headed for the elevators.
When he thought enough time had passed, Jake left his position at the snack machines and walked past Bart’s door on the way to the elevators.
He shook his head, as he talked to himself.
“Less than fifteen minutes, the man’s got no stamina.”
***
The following afternoon, the old man and Kelli returned from their trip to Texas.
Gail greeted them in the Caliber lobby and hugged Kelli, before looking the old man over as if she were checking him for injuries.
“What are you looking at, woman? There’s not a scratch on me.”
“So there was no trouble?”
“There was, and I handled it.”
“Dear God, what happened?”
“I had a disagreement with five men last night.”
“You killed five men?”
“Four, I needed the last one to talk.”
“Good God, Jake, what were you thinking? Those men could have hurt you, you old fool, you know you’re not as young as you used to—”
“Stop it!”
Both Gail and Jake sent Kelli a startled look.
“That’s right, I said stop it. Stop talking to him like he’s a misbehaving child. Mr. Caliber saved me last night. Those men were planning to gang rape me and he did what he had to do to stop them.”
“Oh Kelli, oh dear God, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, but only because of Mr. Caliber.”
Gail laid a gentle hand on Kelli’s cheek and then spoke to Jake.
“Welcome home, Jake. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, daughter, and Maggie and the girls said to tell you hi.”
Gail smiled and gestured towards the elevators.
“Let’s go upstairs and you can tell me all about your trip.”
“All right, but how are the boys and Velma doing?”
“They all made progress on their cases. In fact, Jake should be speaking with Victor Jansen right about now.”
***
At the Jansen Toy Company in Brooklyn, Victor Jansen studied the color photos of his wife and son’s betrayal.
Jake sat in front of the desk and watched the man wipe tears from his eyes.
“I overheard your wife tell your son that she slipped a sedative into your wine, so that you’d be out like a light. The fact that they’re having an affair doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the ones who tried to kill you... but I thought that you should know either way.”
Victor nodded, but said nothing. Jake leaned back and took out a cigar, but then he remembered that Jansen was allergic to smoke, so he returned the cigar to his pocket.
Jansen placed the photos back in their manila folder and reached for his intercom.
“Mary?”
“Yes sir?”
“Please tell my son to come see me... and um, get Dave Pierce on the line.”
“Yes sir.”
“Who’s Dave Pierce?” Jake said.
“An old friend, and a divorce lawyer, I suppose that I could use both right now.”
“Yeah.”
When Bart arrived, he entered without knocking and sat on the edge of his father’s desk.
“What’s up?”
Victor rose, walked around the desk, and stared at him.
Bart looked unnerved by his father’s silent gaze.
“Dad? What is it?”
Victor’s hands flew to Bart’s throat and he began choking his son to death.
Jake got up calmly from his seat and separated the men with a hard shove that sent Bart tumbling over the desk to land on the floor with the photos scattered about him.
Bart was still coughing from his father’s attack when he realized what the photos were, he then closed his eyes in pain.
“Oh shit.”
Victor charged around the desk, but Jake reached him before he could put his hands on his son again. He then spotted something that made him uneasy.
“What’s that package on the floor there, Mr. Jansen?”
Jake was pointing at a one-foot square package that was wrapped in plain brown paper. It had Victor Jansen’s name stenciled on it.
“I’m not sure what that is. It was here when I came in.”
Jake grabbed Jansen and shoved him towards the door.
“Get out of here! It could be a bomb.”
“A bomb! Oh my God, Bart, son, get up, hurry!”
Jake shoved Victor again.
“Go! I’ll get your son.”
Victor hesitated, but then ran from the room as Jake helped Bart off the floor. No sooner had Jake and Bart made it through the doorway, when an explosion rocked the building and sent them tumbling to the carpet.
As Jake regained his senses, he saw that Bart’s pant leg had caught fire. He whipped off his suit coat and extinguished the flames, while an unaware Bart moaned on the floor from a head wound.
Victor rushed over and lowered himself to the floor, then cradled his son’s head in his lap.
“Bart? Son, are you all right?”
“Oh, Jesus, what happened?”
“There was a bomb, you were nearly killed.”
Bart looked up at his father, as tears ran down his bloody face.
“I’m sorry, dad. I’ve been a shit son my whole life and I’m sorry about Veronica.”
“Shh, just lie still. You need medical attention.”
Jake walked over to stare at the demolished office, as he wondered if Veronica Jansen was something more treacherous than a cheating wife.
***
Hours later, Officer Jason Kent stepped off the elevator at the Caliber building wearing a stylish suit and tie, while carrying a bouquet of red roses.
Kelli gave him a bright smile and cooed at the flowers.
“Are those for me?”
“Who else?”
“Thank you, Jason, they’re lovely.”
“Not compared to you,”
The door to the office opened and the old man walked out. Kelli introduced them.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jason, and I take it you’re here to see
our Kelli?”
“Yes sir, Mr. Caliber. I stopped by to see if she’d like to go have a drink.”
“I’d love to, but you’ll have to wait for me, or I could meet you somewhere. I don’t get off for another hour.”
The old man waved a hand at her words.
“Hell, Kelli, I’m not a slave driver, shove off early.”
“You really wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course not, and have a good time.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The elevator opened again and Jake stepped off. He was still wearing the suit from the bombing. His jacket was singed and scorched from the blast, and also from putting out the flames on Bart Jansen’s pant leg.
Kelli rushed over to him.
“What happened to you?”
“I’m good, but Jansen’s office has a hole in the floor. Someone tried to kill him with a bomb.”
“Are you sure you’re all right, boy?”
“I’m good, Granddad, and I kept the client safe too.”
“That’s my boy.”
Jake noticed Kent and pointed at him.
“What are you doing here, selling tickets to the Policeman’s Ball?”
“Very funny, tough guy, but I’ve come here to see Kelli.”
“You’re not really going out with this guy, are you?”
“Jason is nice, and he saved me from a mugger.”
“I thought you had better taste in men.”
Kelli stared at him.
“Who I see is none of your business, Jake Caliber, now come on, Jason, let’s have that drink.”
Kent sent a smirk Jake’s way and then joined Kelli on the elevator.
Jake watched the doors close on the elevator and then kept staring at it.
The old man called to him.
“Jakey.”
No answer.
“Jakey?”
“Yes, Granddad?”
“Are you starting to regret a past decision?”
“What? You mean Kelli? She wanted forever and I wasn’t ready to give it.”
“If things heat up between her and Kent you could lose her forever, you know?”
“Now you sound like Mother, enough about Kelli, tell me about Texas.”
***
After the old man filled Jake in about Texas, the younger man leaned back in his seat and sighed.
“Thank God you’re a dead-eye with a gun, or God knows what would have happened to Kelli.”
“You should have seen her, Jakey; the girl was cool under fire, not so much as a scream.”
Jake grinned.
“Yeah, she’s a tough girl underneath all that fluff and beauty, but what do you think happened to James Preston and why would he be in hiding?”
“I don’t know, but if Preston wants to stay missing, then he’s doing a damn fine job of it. There’s absolutely no record of him after those days at the river with Remmi Harlow and the man named John.”
“Hmm, and Remmi Harlow is also the gunrunner that Chris and Velma are helping the ATF with, right?”
The old man picked up the photo given to him by Russell McKay, and tossed it across the desk to Jake.
“Yeah, two people from two different cases are somehow connected, strange, huh?”
Jake studied the photo.
“It’s even stranger than that.”
“What do you mean?”
Jake laid the photo on the desk and pointed at the man seated beside Remmi Harlow.
“This third man, the one named John? Well, that’s his name all right, but his last name is Jansen. He’s John Jansen, Victor Jansen’s nephew.”
CHAPTER 9
In the back parking lot of Carlo’s Bar, in the Bronx, Chris and Velma met with Remmi Harlow and three of Remmi’s “associates”, each of which wore a gun under their jackets.
They were standing outside the same white van that Remmi had used before. Chris was hoping that the van was once again filled with illegal firearms; otherwise, he would have a lot of angry ATF agents to deal with.
The agents were nearby, and two were even watching from the very rooftop vantage point that Chris and Velma had previously used.
Chris snapped his fingers at Remmi, who was busy admiring Velma.
“Are we going to do business, or are you going to stare at my partner all night?”
“Chill dude, I was just looking. I got a thing for hot blondes.”
“I hear you, but let’s do this deal. My client needs the guns right away.”
“As soon as I see the money,” Remmi said.
Chris handed him a briefcase and Remmi opened it, looked inside, and then handed it off to one of his men.
“Check that, Gino.”
The man named Gino laid the briefcase on the roof of Chris’s car and began checking each bundle of cash. It took nearly five minutes, but in the end, the money was pronounced good.
“It’s all here.”
Remmi made a smacking sound of satisfaction with his lips and opened the back doors of the van. Inside, were six plastic totes. They were blue and about two-feet wide. Remmi removed the top off the first one and revealed twenty identical 9mm guns.
“That sixth tote is a bonus. There’s an automatic rifle in there. We’re expanding our product line.”
“You might want to hold off on the expansion plans,” Chris said.
“And why is that?”
A spotlight came on, even as a voice boomed from a megaphone.
“ATF! Put your hands in the air.”
Remmi shut his eyes tightly and cursed, but one of his men decided to fight back and raised a weapon towards the spotlight. Before the man could fire, he took a rifle bullet to the shoulder and his gun rattled away as he fell against the side of the van.
***
After the arrests, Tommy Delaney joined Chris and Velma.
“You guys did great, but look at these weapons, these aren’t Saturday night specials; these are well-made.”
“Where do you think Remmi’s been getting them from?” Chris said.
“Who knows, but if he’s smart, he’ll trade the name for a lighter sentence.”
Chris felt his phone vibrate and checked the caller ID.
“It’s Granddad... hi, are you and Kelli back home?”
“Yeah, how’d your sting go?”
“Like clockwork, but how was Texas?”
“Your cousins were great, and the case is heating up. You and Velma get back here when you can.”
“Yes sir, and we’ll see you soon.”
Delaney gestured at the phone.
“Did he tell you what happened in Texas?”
“Not in any detail, why?”
“He wasn’t hurt or anything, but five men attacked him and Kelli. Big mistake, Uncle Jake shot four of them dead.”
Velma grinned.
“That old man is incredible.”
Delaney chuckled.
“He did this in Texas, mind you, where the original Jake Caliber is still a legend. The Texas media is eating it up.”
“He’s one of a kind, my granddad,” Chris said.
Velma touched him on the cheek.
“It runs in the family.”
***
It was nearly midnight when Chris and Velma returned to the office, but once they settled in with coffee, the two Jakes brought them up to speed on the other cases.
“You saved him today, but it sounds like Victor Jansen is still in danger,” Chris told his brother.
Jake nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, but now the cops are guarding him. I thought it was his wife trying to kill him, but after seeing that picture of John Jansen with Remmi Harlow, I’m beginning to think that he’s not the goody-two-shoes that I thought he was.”
Velma looked through Victor Jansen’s client file.
“John Jansen was born here, but when he was fifteen, his father moved the family to Seattle after selling his share of their father’s business to his brother, Victor Jansen. Joh
n joined the army after 9/11 at the age of nineteen and stayed in for a few years, Victor wasn’t sure exactly how many. After the army he went to college and got a business degree, but made his living as a day trader, then, last year, he came home to New York City and reconnected with his Uncle Victor. That was after his aunt was killed in a hit and run accident.”
“Any family left back in Seattle?” the old man asked.
“No, his only family is his uncle and cousin. Both parents died while he was overseas in the army, and Victor Jansen said that John inherited a considerable sum.”
“And if his uncle dies, he gets half of the company too,” Chris said.
“He nearly got the whole thing today,” Jake said. “The investigators think that bomb had a directional blast pointed towards the floor. It not only destroyed Jansen’s office, but the one below it too, the one belonging to Bart.”
“So, if you hadn’t been there...” Velma said.
“...The nephew would now be the company’s sole owner,” Jake finished.
“So, he’s our man?” Chris said.
“There’s a complication,” the old man said.
“What’s that, Granddad?”
“Tell ‘em, Jakey.”
“The cops found bomb making materials in the trunk of Veronica Jansen’s car. They also placed her under arrest for attempted murder.”
The old man lit a cigar and leaned back in his chair.
“All right, here’s the way I see it. Of the three cases, only one has been solved, and that’s the one that Chris and Velma worked. By the way, did you call Orson Taft and tell him about Remmi?”
“I called him from the scene, Granddad. He was a very satisfied client.”
“That’s good, but we still need to find James Preston. If he’s alive somewhere and doesn’t want to be found, then, we figure out why, and it might lead us right to him.”
“And what about Victor Jansen?” Velma said.
“That case belongs to the cops now, but I think it’s somehow connected to Preston. I want to put a twenty-four-hour watch on John Jansen and see if he leads us to Preston.”
“We can have one of the insurance investigators from downstairs keep an eye on him while he’s at work, then Chris and Velma can watch him in the evenings and I’ll take the overnights.”
“That sounds good, Jakey, but pass it by your mother first. I don’t want her to get in a snit because we’re using her people.”