CMM01 - Without Any Evidence Read online

  It only took Jerry three phone calls to find out where Ted and Julie were headed and he was there at the airstrip waiting for them as they pulled up to the plane. Wade’s truck flew in behind them.

  “Stop right there,” Jerry screamed.

  “We have a legal right to take these children, Jerry,” Julie cried. “We haven’t seen them in months. You have to let us visit them. They’re all we have left of Claire.” Julie was almost in hysterics at this point and she made the mistake of stepping away from the car to plead with Jerry. As Ted was trying to calm her down, Wade slipped in and picked up Bella and took Teddy by the hand.

  Ted got right in Jerry‘s face as he calmly and quietly said, “Jerry, we have all the paperwork right here. The judge signed off on it and we are taking the children home for visit. You can’t stop us.”

  But Jerry did stop them. While they were standing there talking and Julie was crying, Wade had quietly gotten the kids into his truck. He knew Ted and Julie had every right to see the kids and he felt really bad about it, but he also knew his son. He knew what he was capable of and he wasn’t going to risk that kind of anger.

  “Well, it’s too late for this trip. Maybe next time,” Jerry smugly said to Ted as he pointed toward Wade’s truck as it drove off. “You see, a judge’s decree doesn’t mean much down here. It’s possession that makes the difference. Possession and money. And I have both down here. Don’t try this again or I’ll move and you’ll never see the children again. This way, you can at least see them from a distance and maybe someday I’ll let you visit them.”

  Julie‘s legs folded underneath her. Ted caught her in his arms and slowly pulled her close to him. She couldn’t believe that Jerry could be so cruel. Actually, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly how cruel Jerry could be. After all, wasn’t it Jerry who married their daughter knowing that he didn’t love her? Wasn’t it Jerry who made Claire’s life so miserable that she had decided to divorce him even though she hated the idea of divorce? Wasn’t it Jerry who had made Claire disappear without a trace? And wasn’t it Jerry who had moved the children, Ted and Julie’s only grandchildren, only living heirs, so far away? Yes, Julie knew exactly how cruel Jerry could be.

  Ted had the driver take them back to the resort. He wasn’t ready to fly back to Nashville just yet. He wanted to talk to the judge again and see what their options were, if they had any at all. But Ted wasn’t stupid, he knew exactly what Jerry’s words meant. Possession and money, they did control much of what went on in this city. Ted had money, more than Jerry, but Jerry had the kids and by the time they could pay off the judge, someone in the courthouse would have called Jerry and he and the children would be gone before they could get halfway to the farm.

  Miguel picked up the phone and called Carly’s room. He didn’t know how he was going to tell her what had happened, but he knew she should be told. He also knew what he had to do. He had to set his plan in motion and he was going to need Carly’s help. He wasn’t sure if she’d go along with the plan since it more than bent the law. At least the laws of the U.S. Mexico had laws and the U.S. they had laws. But Miguel’s plan was going to push both of these countries laws to the limit.

  “Hello?”

  “Carly, this is Miguel. Can I come pick you up. We need to talk.”

  “Of course, I’ll meet you downstairs. How long?”

  “I’ll be there in about 15 minutes.”

  Carly sat in one of the rocking chairs on the long wide porch of the hotel as she waited for him. She knew something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice. Every time something in her life seemed to be going right, something would happen to screw it up. She had become cynical a long time ago and it would take a lot to make her believe in the good in life again. Working in homicide didn’t help matters any. Except, of course, when they cracked the cases. But even so, you had to have a murder in order to solve one, which meant that even though good triumphed, something bad had to happen first. And Carly always had a hard time shaking the bad.

  Miguel’s truck pulled up in front of the hotel and before he could get his door open to come around and open hers, she was in the front seat.

  “So, what’s wrong,” she said matter of factly.

  Trying very hard not to start the conversation with negativity, Miguel had chosen to be light and said in a chipper voice, “It’s good to see you, too. Did you sleep well?”

  That did it, she knew something was up, “Don’t try that with me. Have you forgotten who you’re dealing with? Give it up. What’s up?”

  His beautiful Spanish accent seemed even heavier as he said, “Alright, but you will not like this,” he drew a deep breath and went on, “Jerry caught the Simons trying to take Bella and Teddy. He told them off and took the children back to the farm. He’ll never let them see the children now.”

  He had to make Carly realize how desperate the situation was as far as the Simons seeing the children again. It was the only way to get her to keep quiet once he put his plan into action.

  Slamming her fist into her thigh as she said, “Damn that son of a bitch! He doesn’t have any feelings, does he?”

  “No, I really don’t think he does. He never did. And that’s why I need to talk to you. Do you trust me? I have an idea, but I need your help.” he said as he drove out into the countryside. “Can you do that?”

  She had no real reason to trust him. It was one of those gut instincts of hers again. She didn’t know why, but she trusted Miguel with her life.

  “I promise you, I will do anything that helps get those children away from Jerry.” Carly had never meant anything so much in her life. She was willing to do anything to help. Sometimes life is not black and white. Carly had been learning this recently. Sometimes the ends did justify the means.

  “All I need you to do is keep the Simons here for a few more days. Do you think you can do that?”

  “Of course I can,” Carly said emphatically as she leaned in closer to him. “You’re not going to tell me anything more, are you?”

  Miguel leaned in and pushed a small curl away from her face, “No, just trust me and everything will be fine.”

  And so the plan was set in motion. Carly rationalized that since she hadn’t been told what was about to take place and since she was in a different country, a country that seemed to live by a completely different set of rules, that she didn’t have to feel guilty about what she was doing. After all, she wasn’t a cop in Mexico. She was simply a tourist.

  Carly had Miguel drop her off at the resort so she could find Ted and Julie and talk to them. She knew she had to talk Julie and Ted into staying without telling them anything that was going on. Actually, that would be pretty simple since she herself didn’t know what was going on. Miguel’s plan wasn’t exactly legal so he figured the fewer who knew the details the better. That’s why Carly wasn’t pushing to know all the details either.

  She walked through the detailed tiled entryway into a beautiful courtyard. There were colorful flowers and lush trees all around shading most of the area and the sound of water from a huge waterfall that went into the pool. She didn’t have to look far. Sitting at one of the tables near the pool at the opposite end from the waterfall, were Ted and Julie.

  “Hello,” she said as she slid into one of the empty chairs at their table. “We need to talk.”

  Ted glared at her over his newspaper and said, “Unless you’re here to tell us Jerry has dropped dead and we can take the children, I don’t see what we have to talk about.”

  “Well, that’s just the thing. Jerry’s not dead, but you may have a chance to get the children back.”

  That perked Ted and Julie right up. They sat up straight and leaned toward Carly, “How, what do you mean?”

  “I can’t say anything for sure. I mean, it’s just a feeling really. But I think you should stick around a few days,” said Carly. “I have pretty good instincts and I just think sticking around a few more days couldn’t hurt. Right?”

  Chapter Tw
enty Seven

  Miguel hadn’t told Carly any details, but he did tell her he had a plan. He had told her to trust him, stay and to get the Simons to stay. And that’s what she was going to do. Her job was to keep them in Mexico and not to ask questions. Something Carly wasn’t used to doing.

  Miguel picked up the phone as it rang the second time. “Ola. Si.” He put the phone down and walked into the study. “Jerry, telephone.”

  “Well, bring it in here. You can see I’m in the middle of something. And who is it?”

  “I didn’t ask,” Miguel said as he turned and walked out of the room. Walking back into the kitchen, Miguel muttered under his breath. He picked up the phone and walked back into the study, tossing the phone to Jerry as he turned around again and walked away.

  Agitated, Jerry abruptly answered into the phone, “Hello.”

  “Mr. Booth, you were recommended to me by a mutual friend. I need some legal advice and I’m willing to pay top dollar. I need someone who is knowledgeable in US law.”

  Jerry cautiously asked, “Who exactly is this mutual friend?”

  “Eduardo Lopez recommended you. He said you wouldn’t ask any questions if I was willing to pay you well. But I need you to meet me tonight.”

  “Tonight? Where?” Jerry wasn’t in the habit of meeting people after working hours. He had opened a law office about a month before and already had a lot of enemies. He wasn’t any more of a scrupulous lawyer in Mexico than he had been in the U.S. But he knew Lopez and he knew he could be trusted, and the mention of top dollar had him intrigued. Jerry was nothing if not greedy.

  “Meet me at my office. Suite 312 of the Garden Towers.” the man said quietly, almost a whisper. “You can pull into the parking garage and take the elevator up. The code is 5621.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there. Can you give me a little more information about what you need me to do? Just so I have some idea of what kind of legal help you’re needing.”

  “Look I can’t talk to you about this over the phone. I told you, I’ll pay for your help. You name the price. I’ve heard a lot about you and I think you’re just the guy to help me out, but it has to be tonight at 8:00.”

  Naming his own price was what convinced Jerry. And it has sucked him in completely. That was what Miguel had been counting on…Jerry’s greed and his ego.

  The kitchen smelled of cumin and garlic. Rosa had been cooking all afternoon. A large roast, rubbed with cumin and other seasonings. Rosa loved to cook, but most nights she ended up fixing for just her and the children. It seemed like lately no one had been home for dinner. Miguel had been off doing who knows what, Jerry had been working and Wade stayed late in the stables with the horses. She missed the whole family sitting around the dinner table eating together like a normal family. “Tonight,” she thought, “We’ll all be together.”

  “I’m going out. I’m not sure what time I’ll be home,” Jerry said in passing as he closed the kitchen door behind him.

  Rosa just stood there. The children were sitting around the kitchen table coloring. They looked up at her and she turned away just as a tear rolled down one of her cheeks. Rosa wasn’t used to being sad. She had been carefree and happy most of her life. She was beginning to question her feelings for Jerry. In her heart she knew she didn’t really love him, but her head kept telling her that she was a good girl and she had had sex with him, and he had proposed, so she had to marry him. Didn’t she?

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Jerry pulled up to the parking garage keypad at 7:55; plenty of time to park and take the elevator up to the third floor. He pulled into a space right next to the elevator. He‘d always been told that parking next to the elevator was the safest place to park. He turned off the ignition and as he opened the door and stepped out of the car two men in masks grabbed his arms. That was the last thing Jerry remembered until he woke up with his hands and feet tied, strapped to a chair in a small shack.

  At one time this shack had been part of a great ranch with a big house and a barn that was home to more than 50 horses. A fire had leveled the house and the barn with all the horses still locked in their stalls. The entire family had been asleep in their beds when the fire started. Miguel had been awakened by Rosa’s crying. He had fallen asleep on the floor of her room. As he picked her up out of her crib, he realized there was smoke coming from under the door. He opened the window and climbed out onto the roof of the front porch just as the flames burned through the door. Holding Rosa with one arm, he climbed down the porch railing and ran as fast as he could. When he looked back, he saw the house cave in and totally engulf in flames.

  All that was left of the place now was a small shack out by a windmill. Not far behind the windmill was a large, deep ravine. During the rainy season the ravine was more like a raging river, but most months it was dry and rocky. The property had been put into a trust for Miguel and Rosa, but it was set up so many false companies that no one knew who owned it. His father had set it up that way so that if something happened to him no one could take advantage of the children. The only money available to take care of the children was a small trust that gave a monthly stipend to Wade to take care of Miguel and Rosa. Wade had become friends with the family when he and Jerry moved there following the death of Jerry’s mom.

  The larger trust was set to be turned over to Miguel on his 35th birthday and Rosa’s share was to be turned over to her when Miguel determined she was ready or after she had been married for five years. Not even Miguel knew that the property belonged to him.

  As Jerry started waking up, Miguel put a piece of tape across his mouth and sat in the chair across from him. The room was dimly lit by an oil lamp that sat on a small kitchen table which was the only other piece of furniture in the room.

  Waking up unable to speak or move, Jerry struggled to make sense of what was happening to him. Then he saw Miguel and started trying to speak, which of course, he couldn’t do with the tape over his mouth.

  Miguel smiled and said calmly, “Well Jerry, it’s time to pay for your sins. You’ve deserved this for a long time, but you finally crossed the line and I can’t let you hurt any more people.”

  Jerry squirmed, but to no avail. He looked angry at first, then his eyes had a questioning look in them.

  “No one knows you are here. I’ve arranged for you to be taken to the Vega Mental Hospital where you will be kept indefinitely. I’ve made sure that you will be kept separate from most of the other patients for your own safety. I don’t know why I should care about your safety since you haven’t cared about anyone else your entire life, but I do care, Jerry.”

  Mental hospitals in Mexico are notorious for being places where people go and are never seen again. Some are political enemies, some are murderers, some are really crazy. Some die due to lack of food and water, as well as a complete lack of any type of medical care. Some are killed by other “patients.” Many stories are told about these facilities. Jerry had even briefly toyed with the idea of placing Claire in one. Of course, that was before she disappeared.

  Jerry struggled, trying to get his wrists loose. He was sure that Miguel was going to turn him loose. Miguel didn’t have it in him to do this, Jerry thought to himself. But he completely underestimated Miguel.

  Another car drove up, a door opened and closed, then the car drove off again. The door to the shack opened and a short, stocky man walked in and closed the door behind him.

  Looking at Miguel, the man leaned over and said, “Senor, everything is ready.”

  “Jerry, it’s time,” Miguel whispered into Jerry’s ear as he cut the tape around Jerry’s ankles. He picked him up from the chair and pushed him toward the door. “I hope you enjoy your ride.”

  The man took hold of one of Jerry’s arms while Miguel held onto the other and they put him into the passenger seat of Jerry’s car. Jerry then took the tape and wrapped Jerry‘s ankles again. He also wrapped the tape around Jerry’s chest strapping him to the seat of the car so he couldn‘t make any trouble. T
hen he wrapped the tape around Jerry’s neck and the headrest. Jerry didn‘t try to struggle. He was still convinced this was just a ruse and that Miguel would turn him loose. All the while Jerry was thinking of ways to get back at Miguel when he was finally set free.

  “Oh, and don’t worry about your car. After this nice man drops you off at Vega he’s going to take your car to a nice chop shop he knows about. You and your car will be gone.”

  Jerry didn’t realize Miguel had told him the truth about what his fate was until his car pulled up in front of Vega and then it was too late.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Rosa woke up early the next morning and made coffee and started breakfast for Teddy and Bella.

  Just then Wade and Miguel came in through the kitchen door. “Have you seen Jerry this morning,” Wade asked Rosa.

  “No,” said Rosa with a puzzled look on her face, “I haven’t seen him since he left here before dinner last night. Isn’t he in his room?”

  “No, his car is gone, too.” Miguel answered knowing exactly where Miguel and his car were.

  “Maybe he’s already left to go to his office. You know how busy he’s been the past few weeks.” Rosa said continuing to turn the bacon in the pan. “He even missed dinner last night. He’s missed dinner every night for the past three weeks.”

  “You’re right. He’s probably just at the office. I just thought he’d be around this morning to help us get a Christmas tree for the kids.” Wade said looking disappointed.

  Wade loved Christmas. This would be the first Christmas with Bella and Teddy and he was really looking forward to having children in the house for Christmas again. But he decided he’d just keep himself busy until he could catch up with Jerry and pick out a tree. He had hoped he could get Jerry to stay home for the last couple of nights to help decorate the house. He’d even gone out and bought new decorations and hidden presents for everyone so they could have a normal Christmas this year. Even if they were getting a late start on decorating.