CHAPTER 40
"I didn't know." Thomas told his son when faced with the outrageous challenge." He was certain there had been no mischief in his late bosses' death. "It was a plane crash." He added, "The pilot also died in the crash. How would he know about anything and still let himself be killed in the crash?" It didn't add up. "Stop troubling the still water looking for pebbles. Nothing is there."
"It's so frustrating not getting any solid info." James sat down angrily in the chair beside his father. His gaze fell on the picture of his mother on the frame, and it seemed to calm him down. Then he looked back at his old man, who was also staring at the frame, smiling. "You never did get over her." He murmured
"Neither did you." He smiled. "She was a remarkable woman. Not someone I could ever forget." he turned away from the picture and looked at his son, remembering something. "There are so many things you should understand about the Monterey and Smith's war. Back then, the war had been going on silently. The Smiths were already into their business and holding key posts. Your mother tried to warn me about it."
"Did she know something?"
"She was a friend to a distant cousin of the Smith." He said. "They were already planning a takeover because according to this cousin, the Monterey murdered a Smith. It was all vendetta." He paused, then went on. "And you know how those gangs operate; kill one, they take what's dear to you. The Swiss only landed them a golden opportunity when Robert sent them to jail. That was a terrible call."
"He was only upholding the law." James said, trying to picture how the judge must have felt, losing a witness and all the chaos right outside his courtroom.
"Not to the crowd. To everyone, the judge picked a side."
James laughed. "Surely, you don't believe that. As you said, the war hadn't even started. It was just a Monterey case killing a witness in court."
"Haven't you being listening to anything I said?" He looked at his son sternly. "The war had been going on inwardly. The Swiss may not have known about the Smiths' move. But I'm sure they must have caught wind of it." Sighing, he added, "It's why I wouldn't have allowed this surrogacy thing your boss has going on with the Swiss lady. It could be disastrous for him."
And for all their sakes, he hopes there wasn't anything catastrophic about the Valdez getting involved with the Swiss. They were too closely knitted now to back down. "He seems to like her."
"Who?"
"Evangeline Swiss, the surrogate." He explained, "Jason likes her. He won't walk away from this."
"Then we can only hope this doesn't go south."
"And you don't think the Valdez were murdered? They died right about the time of the ongoing war. And from the information I got now, something fishy happened. I haven't verified it, but it would appear that the pilot or someone among the crew was on the Smith's payroll."
"What? I didn't know that." Thomas said standing up. "You sure about this?"
"Not confirmed yet." He pointed out. "I'll have more facts before tomorrow. I've put Sam on it."
"Keep me appraised, okay? I'm really interested in where this goes. And if you need my help in any way." He winked. "We old men still have our deep-rooted relationships that opens doors faster."
Standing up to take his leave, James teased his father. "That or you're bored and want back in the game." He wanted to ask what his father did with his time. Hopefully, it wasn't spent staring at his mother's old picture.
"I just want to know what happens. I feel responsible for the Valdez. I was their security detail. I should know." Although, he did feel bored most of the time, he couldn't say that to his son. Still, he said, "I have nothing doing now. I could help"
"Okay. I'll let you know if I need any help." He started to leave. His father stood up to walk him out, "Don't beat yourself up over any of these. You were the best at your job."
"Until they got murdered right under my nose, and I knew nothing about it." He said as he bottled up his anger with a wicked grin.
James shook his head. "Only way I'm telling you shit is if you get off that impression. The Last thing I want is you going off on a guilty rampage as you did with mother." And as the man walked into his car and drive off, he couldn't help but remember how his dad had been when he lost his mother. He blamed her death all on himself. The result wasn't a palatable one. Even the doctors were not spared. Thomas had made a list of possible suspects who could have played a role in the 'natural' death of his wife. He then went on to stalk every one of them. It was creepy watching him tail everyone. Once, he had almost shot a DSS agent who he worked with.
The agent had been an old friend of the family and was the one who had rushed his laboring wife to the hospital. Thomas had been on official assignment and wasn't in the county. When he got back to be told of his wife's demise, Thomas immediately lost it. He started to ask if his wife had been brought in early enough. He asked who the doctor that attended to her was and what delayed he had encountered. Finally, neighbors were questioned go know what went wrong. After investigating the hospital and the staff thoroughly, Thomas decided to check on his old friend. It must have been him who delayed, he figured.
Thomas, who didn't know what was going on, was sleeping peacefully in his house that evening after an exhausted state. As a trained officer, he heard a stir and grabbed his gun. He was kicked off, and his gun taken from him. In the struggle, the gun had been fired, nearly shooting off his left leg. Thankfully, the bullet hit the bed instead. Shocked, the agent watched his friend, who looked so different. He still had no clue what was wrong.
But to his surprise, his friend sat down, questioning him with a gun pointed at him. "Did you get in time to get my wife?" He asked, "Reply promptly, or I'll blow your fucking head off." He swore and the agent knew he was dead serious and not himself. He replied to his questions as pathetically as he could. It was the only way to get through to him. He did his best to calm him down. When finally he could get through to the scarred man hiding behind the gun, he told him as best as he could that his wife's death was a natural one. Thomas wailed in pain. His cries could be heard three houses away.
