Chapter 17: Justice

Patience has never been my strong suit. Especially while waiting to be interviewed by big brass, and brass doesn’t get much bigger than the Attorney General of Texas.

Also, the events of the past weekend had unnerved me, and I was certain I was in for a major ass-chewing. I was soon to be proved correct, but not for the reasons I was concerned about.

I fidgeted in the comfortable leather armchair and fiddled with my tie. Frequent glances at the the AG’s receptionist didn’t help, as it appeared that the last time the old biddy had cracked a smile at anyone was in the eighties.

“Relax, Ken,” said Bill. “We’re on Kenston’s schedule, he’s not on ours. He’ll get to us soon enough.”

“I feel like I’m in trouble,” I admitted. “I keep thinking we fucked up somewhere.”

“If anybody screwed up, it’s the Bureau. You were three hundred miles away.”

“I know, but-”

My protest was interrupted by the grim receptionist. “Ranger Davis, Agent Crawford, he’s ready for you.”

Ryan Gosneck, the deputy Chief of the Texas Rangers that had sworn me in greeted us as we entered, and introduced me to the Attorney General. Neither of them was smiling.

The pictures I’d seen of Pat Kenston on the internet and in newspapers were a bit misleading. He was smaller than I expected, a stocky five-six or seven, but as he shook my hand I could feel the force of his personality. He got right to the point.

“Pleased to meet you in person, Ken. Bill, good to see you again. I hear you guys stirred up a hornets’ nest.”

“We tried to, anyway, chief,” I said as we sat down. “I know you’re familiar with the drug raid, but you may not have heard the details about the abduction of my sisters and its aftermath.”

I explained about the family’s car lot acquisition contract with Walt and how we had anticipated his plot to kidnap the girls. Bill related how the odometer scam and Walt’s relationship to Fast Freddy got the FBI involved in the case.

“So what happened? I know about the drugs and the cartel, and that you arrested Giancosimo Friday afternoon, but what happened after that?” he asked. “How come I’ve had to assign three Rangers to investigate a mob hit that happened on your watch?”

“They call him ‘Fast Freddy’ Giancosimo for a reason,” Bill grimaced. “Walt’s lawyers made bail for him Friday afternoon, no surprise, and we tailed him all the way to his house. He didn’t stop anywhere or talk to anyone. The two agents that followed him home staked out his house all night. He had pizza delivered at 8:15, and the delivery guy got his payment at the door and didn’t go inside. Nobody else approached the house all night, but Saturday morning the housekeeper found Walt Giancosimo floating face down in his swimming pool. He’d been shot twice in the back of the head.”

Kenston’s expression was disgusted. “Jesus. His own brother. How the hell did they get in the house?”

“Definitely a professional hit, Pat. The Bureau hasn’t found a trace of anybody but Giancosimo himself.”

“There’s more, to it than just Walt’s murder, chief,” I said. “We had two people ready to testify against the Giancosimo brothers. One of Freddy’s associates, Sal Braccia, headed up the mileage busting scheme in Miami. He apparently hung himself in his cell Friday night, despite making a deal for witness protection with us that same morning. One of Walt’s managers, Clint Oberon, was arrested immediately after the drug bust for being involved with the girls’ abduction. He made the same witness protection deal as Sal, in exchange for testimony that Walt and Freddy had colluded on both the kidnapping and the odometer tampering. Clint was stabbed to death by four Mexican inmates at breakfast this morning.”

“Freddy was already pissed that his stupid brother left evidence tying Miami to the mileage scam,” Bill said. “Walt also ignored Freddy’s advice about kidnapping the Davis girls. My guess is that Fred decided to whack him when the abduction failed Thursday night. The shooter must have entered Walt’s house Friday afternoon, while Walt was in custody.”

“That double tap to the head is a New York trademark. They didn’t try to make it look accidental because they want to send us a message. They’re telling us that Freddy’s untouchable!”

“Son of a bitch what a fiasco,” Gosneck growled. “Maybe if you’d called in some real Rangers, Giancosimo would still be alive and you’d still have a case!”

Here it comes, I thought.

“It gets even better, chief,” I said. “Turns out that Walt didn’t leave a last will and testament. Under Texas law, all his property and assets go to his immediate family, and Freddy is the only family Walt had. So not only does Freddy get away with abduction and murder, he’ll end up with the thirty-six million bucks my family is paying for Walt’s car dealerships.”

“New York will probably get a piece of that in payment for the hit. Not that it makes any difference to us,” Bill groused.

“I’ve been there, fellas,” Kenston said, “Fighting the mob is like fighting a hydra, every time you cut off a head, two more grow back. I understand your frustration.”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, we’ve still got a press conference at noon. Fortunately, we have a huge drug bust to tell them about, if nothing else. Bill, you can represent the Bureau on this one, but as far as you go, Ken, we’ve got a problem.”

“What’s up, chief?”

“Governor Babbit wants to trot you out to the press as his shiny new war hero Ranger that made this huge bust within a week of your appointment, the appointment that was his idea,” the AG growled. “Nothing personal, Ken, but that’s not going to sit easy with the Texas Rangers. Not that Babbit cares. As long as it makes him look good, he doesn’t give a God damn about how it affects anybody else.”

Gosneck cleared his throat. “It’s like this, Ken. Normally, a candidate for the Texas Rangers spends a couple of decades working in municipal law enforcement before they’re even considered for the job. It’s not an easy outfit to qualify for, yet here you are, a kid fresh out of the military with little police experience, a Ranger only because of a political stunt of the Governor’s, getting the lion’s share of credit for a drug bust you accidentally stumbled into. As long as you were only Babbit’s mascot nobody minded, but putting you in front of the press as a working Ranger would be a slap in the face to all my regulars. It would be like telling them that their long experience and hard work to become part of an elite organization doesn’t count for anything, that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. That’s how most of them will see it, anyway. I would.”

“Wait a minute now,” I protested, “My appointment to the Rangers was only to put pressure on Walt! I’m not a glory seeker, and I’m not trying to kiss the Governor’s ass, either. I don’t want credit for anything!”

“The Governor wants to give it to you anyway, to give himself a few more headlines,” Kenston said. “I’m between a rock and a hard spot here. If I do what Babbit wants, the Texas Rangers will resent the hell out of me, but if I want to keep them happy, it’ll piss off the Governor. Not that I care about what pisses him off, but it won’t make my job any easier.”

“Actually, there might be a solution,” Bill said.

Kenston leaned back in his chair and gestured for Bill to go on.

“Look, we all know that Ken’s appointment was a political stunt. A photo op for Babbit.” Kenston nodded.

“And the minute I become a liability, I’m gone,” I said. “I’ve always known that.”

“So? What are you getting at?” Gosneck asked.

“Tell them what you’ve discussed with your sisters, Ken.”

“I might have a lead back to Freddy Giancosimo.” I related the kidnappers’ reference to the unknown human trafficker that the girls had overheard.

“We already know the Trujillos are thick with Freddy,” I said. “The Miami mob could just conceivably be involved with this ‘Russian’ guy. I know it’s slim odds, but it’s the only lead we have, and I want to pursue it.”

Gosneck’s eyes narrowed. “Russian? That’s FBI territory, or Homeland Security. The Rangers aren’t going to investigate a lead that’s only gonna get taken away from us after we do all the work.”

“I want to chase this down, too, Ryan,” Bill said. “Like Ken says, it’s the only thing we’ve got that might lead back to Freddy, and I can’t let it slip by. But the Director would laugh at me if I tried to divert Bureau resources to investigate it. There’s nothing to go on.”

“Look, tell the Governor that Ken’s got a lead on a Russian mob boss here in Texas. A successful conclusion to the case will make headlines around the globe, Babbit’ll love that, and as for today’s press conference, you can take Ken’s place. All Rangers will share in credit for the drug bust, not just the Governor’s pet, and Pat’ll get a feather in his own cap!”

Kenston digested the idea for a moment. “I haven’t exactly made a secret of the fact that the Governor and I don’t see eye to eye about a lot of things, Crawford, but I’m not about to put any of my men in harm’s way in the name of politics, even if they’re only a political appointee.”

I spread my hands in reassurance. “No worries chief. All I wanna do is nose around a bit. If things get dangerous, I’ll call in the pros, whether it’s the Rangers or the Feds. Or both.”

Gosneck was still skeptical. “Bill’s estimate of this “Russian,” as leads go, is spot on. Political stunt or not, you’re still under my command, and you’ve got nothing to go on. The AG would eat my ass if I diverted state resources to it. I can’t let you do it.”

“I don’t need any resources,” I argued, “I have all the money I need, and the minute things even look sticky, I’ll be on the horn to you. At least let me see if I can dig up a solid lead. What do you think, Chief?”

“Hmm.” Kenston regarded me thoughtfully for a long moment. “I’m afraid I have to be guided by my Assistant Chief, Ken. It’s a no.”

I held his gaze for a few seconds. For some reason, the two most powerful lawmen in the state were dead set against the idea of me pursuing this, and my gut told me their reason had nothing to do with my ‘lack of experience.’ I needed to stay on their good side, though, so I capitulated gracefully.

“I guess that’s that, then. I understand, sir.” I turned to Gosneck. “As far as the other problem goes, I’ll just resign. It sounds like the Rangers would be better off without me,” I said. “I wasn’t looking for a career in law enforcement, you know, this was all the Governor’s idea. I’ll go back to selling cars, and leave this ‘Russian’ guy to the pros. Nobody gets their feelings hurt.”

“Don’t let this sour you on law enforcement, Ken,” the Attorney General said, with the first smile I’d seen on his face since we entered the office. Gosneck, too, was visibly relieved. “After all, even without the Ranger badge, you’re still a licensed peace officer in Texas. Get some experience, and who knows? One day you might decide to give the Rangers another shot.”

The meeting was over. Kenston led us to the door, much more cordial now than when we came in. “Great job on that raid, even if the big fish got away, fellas. Crawford, I heard one of your people was badly wounded.”

“She’s lucky to be alive, Pat, and only because a friend of the Davis family arrived in time to keep her from bleeding out. They’re going to bring her out of coma in the morning. Hopefully there won’t be any traumatic brain damage, we’ve got our fingers crossed.”

“We got payback, though. Giancosimo and Oberon were the last ones directly involved with my sisters’ abduction left alive,” I said.

“Off the record, Ken, I’m glad you were able to get at least that much justice,” Kenston murmured. “Good luck and be careful.” He shook my hand a final time, and left with Ryan and Bill for the Governor’s office. I headed back to the rotunda of the capitol building to meet the family, irritated by all the political bullshit.

Fuckin’ bureaucrats! I thought. Goddam politicians! Fine, Bill and I can do this ourselves, and fuck the Texas Rangers! They won’t get credit for shit!

My mood instantly improved when I saw my family. Pop, Sarah, and Krys took the news that they wouldn’t be meeting with the Governor better than I expected.

“To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that thrilled about it anyway,” Pop said. “I think the guy’s a sonofabitch.”

“You’re not the only one,” I laughed. “Turns out his idea to make me Ranger wasn’t all that popular either, so I quit. No more political shenanigans for this Marine!”

“Babbit’s a dirty old man,” said Krys, snuggling up to me. “I know when a guy’s interested, and that usually flatters me, but when I met him, every time he looked at me I felt violated somehow. He gives me the creeps.”

Sarah chuckled. “We really ought to send him a thank-you note for last night, though.”

Krys laughed, and Pop and I snorted in amusement. We had shared a suite at the Hilton the night before, at government expense, and the orgy had lasted well into the night.

“Hey, we needed that,” Pop said. “The whole family’s been weirded out over last week, and a sexy interlude for the four of us is just what the doctor ordered.”

“Damn sure was,” I said. “So was that meeting this morning! I feel better about a lot of shit! Now let’s haul our ass back to Center City, we got a contract to close.”

When we got home a few hours later, Sandy and the girls were preparing to leave.

“Papa’s going to meet us at the new store,” Amy said. “because we were talking about going up to see Trini tomorrow.”

“Umm, ... okay,” Pop said patiently. “I guess that makes sense...”

Sandy laughingly explained, “We were talking about going to see Trini, and I told Amy that I was glad I got home in time to help Trini, and that the closing didn’t take any longer than it did.”

“And we realized with all the insanity this weekend, nobody in the family has even gone to look at the place,” Jackie said. “We want to see the new home of Angel Love.”

Kryssie said. “Hey, that’s right! Momma, Daddy, you guys have never seen it either! Why don’t we all go?”

Miles arrived at the old Kwikie Mart just after we did. “The new lots have been calling nonstop, Bob, they’re all freaking about Walt’s death. Here and Lubbock are running like clockwork, though” he told Pop. “I told ‘em to just do business as usual until they heard from you or Sarah. There was nothing that couldn’t wait until then.”

Sarah started to say something, but Pop shushed her with a finger across her lips. “If you say so, Wrenches, that’s good enough for me. Right now, let take a look at your new store!”

The empty store looked much, much bigger than when it had shelves stocked with goods. “This is way more space than we need,” Miles observed, “even if we separate the leather apparel from the lingerie. Maybe we should look into additional types of merchandise.”

Sandy agreed, indicating the old checkout counter by the front door. “We should put a restroom and three changing cubicles up here near the register, so the person running the till can keep an eye on what the customers are trying on. Otherwise, some of our inventory is likely going to walk out the door without being paid for.”

Sarah said, “Some cheap Berber carpet will do wonders for the floor. Vacuuming would be a whole lot easier than scrubbing and waxing this old tile.”

At the other end of the building, there was now a semi-enclosed eight-foot wide gap between the outer wall and the tiled retail area where the walk-in cooler had been removed.

“Y’know, it wouldn’t take a whole lot of effort to make this into an entirely separate room,” I said. “We’d only have to cover the gap where the glass doors were, and install a door to the loading dock. It would double our storage space.”

“Shipping and receiving, too” said Krys. “Once that website is up, I think we’ll be doing a lot of business online. This place may end up not being big enough.”

“I hope you’re right,” Sandy said, looking out the big glass front window. “Hey, I think that’s a friend of mine!”

A big red vintage Cadillac convertible with bull horns mounted to the grill had pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall across the street, and its occupants, a tall, statuesque platinum blonde in tight jeans and a big bodybuilder-type guy in a red muscle shirt and shorts were peering into the windows of Sandy’s old location.

Sandy ran outside to shout at them, and dashed across the highway to give the blonde a big hug. The guy got back into the convertible while the two women began an earnest conversation.

“That’s Frank Cannon. I’d recognize that car anywhere,” Miles said. “I’ve spent many hours trying to wrangle parts for that thing.”

“The guy that owns Longhorn Liquor Distributors?” asked Pop. “He’s bought a couple of delivery vans from us.”

“That’s him. The car’s a ‘70 model De Ville, biggest motor GM ever made. It was damn near impossible to find parts for. He’s done a beautiful restoration on it.”

“He looks like Mr. Clean,” Jackie chortled. “All he needs is the earring.”

“The woman is Ginger Russell, momma’s old boss,” Amy said. “She owns Big Daddy’s Dance Club, the strip joint momma used to dance at. She and momma are best friends, and her dancers buy a lot of lingerie from us.”

Sandy got in the Caddy with her friends and the trio drove across to us.We filed outside to say hello and shake hands with Ginger and Frank. Ginger was fortyish, and as good-looking and fit as you’d expect a career stripper to be. Frank was about Pop and Miles’ age, strongly built with a small waist, and blonde hair cropped close to his skull. He greeted Pop and Miles enthusiastically.

“What a good lookin’ family, Sandy!” Ginger exclaimed. “You sure nobody here needs a job? I’ll put any or all of you to work tonight!”

“Sorry, hun, we all got too much to do as it is,” Sandy giggled. “Everybody, I invited Ginger and Frank to dinner at the house tomorrow night, is that okay? She’s gotta big lingerie order for her dancers, and I figured all you girls could help us get it together.”

Miles nudged Frank. “The neanderthals can sit around the pool and swill beer while they do it,” he said with a wink. Frank laughed.

“We’ll look forward to it,” Sarah said.

“We’ll be looking forward to it too,” Ginger said, “but right now I have to call my girls. They’ll be thrilled to hear I’ve found Sandy. We were all scared to death we’d have to buy our stuff online, and you know how that goes! Nothing fits right, you can’t try it on before you buy, and returns are a nightmare. Sandy understands. She’s been in the business, so she knows how important lingerie is to us, it’s part of how we make our living. The big box stores just don’t get it. If I call Frederick’s or Amazon and tell them, ‘I need some emergency underwear,’ they laugh at me!” We all got a chuckle out of that.

Krys came over to fondle my package as the older couple drove away. I swear that girl has a radar that tells her when my dick gets hard, and watching the way those tight jeans molded themselves to Ginger’s hot butt had done just exactly that!

“She turn you on, baby?” my blonde fiancee murmured in my ear, and squeezed my cock. “Mmm, I guess she has! You’re hard as a rock! Y’know, Frank’s a fine-lookin’ man, too. Let’s do ‘em!”

I gave her hot little but a pinch in return. “Hey, if she’s besties with Sandy, she’s besties with all the Davises! Maybe we can see how friendly they want to get after dinner...”

Krys raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Sandy, who leered back at her.

“She and Frank are the adventurous type,” she giggled. “I think they’ll fit right in.”

Pop sighed. “We need to get back to the house, gang, and make some plans. Sarah and I have to close the acquisition contract tomorrow, and after that, she and I will be all over Texas for a while. You guys need to figure out how we’re gonna remodel this place and get Angel Love up and running in the meantime.”

Back home, Sandy and I made remodeling plans while Pop, Sarah, and Miles made phone calls. Pop took me aside after he hung up.