Blue Collar Town

"Maybe I'd hire a manager to run the body shop and do the same thing, build a house or two. Without having to pay interest on a loan the profit margin would be just that much better."

We emptied our glasses and refilled them and continued with our fantasy until I stopped and said, "Damn I'm going to hate seeing this taken away from us."

"Who will do that?"

"I don't know but you can bet somebody will."

Once we'd emptied our glasses the second time Mel gestured toward the briefcase with his empty glass and asked, "What do you suppose those papers are?"

"I don't know let's take a look." I pulled the papers out and we sat down and put the papers in front of us not far from our piles of cash. I was holding a legal sized sealed envelope that was heavy with documents as I picked up the first loose paper and said, "They're all mixed up it seems. This one starts in the middle of a sentence." I sorted through them and started to get a feel for what they were. I started to read out loud but the farther I went the slower and more deliberate my reading became. There were several small pages stapled at the top

left corner and the details were impressive by their implication and significance but it was very tedious reading. Vicki Gallegar authored the whole thing and it was about her husband and his illegal activities. What it boiled down to was he was everything he was suspected of being and a whole lot more. She didn't give names or dates but gave many details and at the end said, "I can no longer stand by and do nothing while he pedals his awful cargo of drugs. Even if something happens to him there are others in the wings eager to take his place and continue the business and it has to stop." Then there was another page and it just had a few lines on it. "If you are reading this then something has happened to me. I can only hope that you will see that the sealed envelope reaches the proper authorities. The money was from my personal account and was to provide for me until I could get a divorce and recover what was rightfully mine. Obviously since I'm no longer living the money is of no importance to me now. But the information that I have provided must reach the proper authorities as soon as possible." I looked at Mel and he was staring at me.

"Do you know what that means?" I just nodded silently and looked at the money. It now held a whole new meaning to me. I picked up a bundle of bills and fanned it as I watched and smelled the faint odor of money and scorched paper drift past my nose. I broke into a smile and looked at Mel.

"We're fucking rich dude."

"You mean you are."

"Oh no this is ours. You saved Vicki's ass not me."

"But you got the case and kept it for her and nearly got shot."

"So what? Okay let's think about this a minute. We'll each take a hundred and fifty grand and put the rest into our home building business for seed money."

"Now wait a minute. Do you really realize you're giving away a ton of money?"

"Mel there is no way in hell I could ever live with myself if I kept it all. No that's not an option. Now if you don't want to do the business thing that's okay and we'll just split it down the middle."

"Russ I can't go along with that."

"Then we go into business."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do? I mean once you make that decision that's the way it is. What if our business fails?"

"Mel how much money did we have in our pockets this morning?"

"I'd have to count but I'd guess maybe fifty bucks."

"Even less than that for me. So if we lose money in the business we still have our hundred and fifty grand to put toward our old age or something." I could see Mel getting excited and then smiling he gave me a high five and said, "Damn it partner we better find some land to buy and soon."

Once our euphoria had passed I picked up Vicki's note and said, "We have to do something with this like she asked."

"I'm thinking the state police."

"I agree but anonymously."

"What do we do about the guy that wanted to shoot you?"

"Hell I don't know."

"He'll be back you know."

"Shit. It will really make me mad if he kills me before I get a chance to enjoy any of this money."

"Maybe we could set a trap for him."

"You watch a lot of late night television don't you."

"You got any ideas?"

"No."

"So how did this guy know about the briefcase?"

"That's a very good question."

"Could somebody have seen you with the briefcase at the crash scene?"

"I don't see how. You, me and Vicki were the only ones still alive except for Nicole and she was unconscious."

"Are you certain?"

"Well when I carried her out she...no I guess I'm not certain but I think so."

"Or did Vicki tell her about it?"

"Wait. She did say she and Vicki talked about it."

"So maybe they really did or maybe Nicole saw the briefcase. Either way in comes down to we have two possibilities as I see it. Either Vicki told somebody else or Nicole told somebody else."

"But why would either of them do that?"

"I can't think of why Vicki might."

"Are you suggesting..."

"Just exploring possibilities."

Chapter Seven

The possibility that Nicole was behind the guy with the gun really rattled me. Was she just using me? I was so overwhelmed by her beauty and sexiness that I would be an easy target and I knew it. Maybe I'd just figured out why she was so interested in me. I thought about what an incredible woman she was and it struck me that she could have about anything she wanted in life. In fact she was already wealthy and gorgeous so why would she risk getting involved with something illegal? "Mel she talked about her dad dying and she said she couldn't mourn because she didn't agree with what he was doing."

"Okay she said that, so what? At this point you can't believe anything she told you. Not until you're absolutely convinced she is without guilt."

"So you think I have to catch her at something. Trick her into revealing herself or proving her innocence."

"Yeah."

"I better come up with something pretty soon because once things are settled with Vicki, Nicole will be gone but my problem won't be. The bad thing is I don't know how to contact her."

"But if it is her she'll want to see if she can use her charms on you to get at the briefcase. That might keep her here a little longer."

"I'm afraid they'll just decide that if I was dead that would solve the problem just as well. I don't know if they know about the money but even if they do they might see that as the cost of doing business."

"I don't know how they would know what's in the briefcase."

"If Vicki was so against Charles' business she may have made a threat at some point or...hell I don't know maybe Vicki told Nicole thinking that Nicole was a sweet innocent woman. Maybe they just don't want to take any chances. Hell maybe we're nuts and clear out in left field with our thinking."

"And the guy with the gun?"

"Maybe one of their hirelings has this idea he'll gain some advantage by possessing the briefcase."

"And he'd know about it how?"

"Hell like I said I don't know. Maybe Nicole said something thinking he was a trusted employee."

"We sure have used the maybe word a lot."

We had abandoned the wine and switched to coffee so we could stay clear headed. I leaned back and said, "So if Nicole calls me as she said she would I have to have something in mind to set her up."

"I'd say your chances to do that will be few so yeah you better be ready." Mel barely finished his sentence before my phone rang. When I answered it I listened and looked a Mel and felt a rush of adrenalin. "Hi Nicole."

"Russ I'm sorry I had to leave you so quickly today."

"That's okay I know you have a lot going on right now."

"Is there any chance we could get together again?"

"Um...not before next weekend. How about Saturday morning? I was going back to the cabin again. Mel has a buyer so this will be my last chance to use the place."

"Oh I'm sorry I won't be able to make that Russ. I...oh I have another call coming in. Listen I have to make a trip for business but I'll be back next weekend sometime and I'll call you then."

"Okay I look forward to hearing from you." After closing my phone I looked at Mel and he asked, "You going back to the cabin again?"

"I wasn't planning to but I had the beginnings of an idea and I just said that to buy me time. Now I have to work out the details and be ready by next Saturday."

"But if she's going to be gone..."

"Ah so you tend to believe whatever she says too."

"Oh...yeah that's right. I make a crappy detective."

"Speaking of detectives let's copy those papers before we do anything with them and then hide this money."

"Here?"

"I think so. Then if something does happen to me at least you'll have it and not them."

"I think I'll sleep with it tonight just to see what it feels like."

It only took us a few minutes to copy Vicki's letter minus the page that mentioned the money and put it in an envelope. "Russ I think you better pack your toothbrush and stay with me. You won't be safe at home for awhile."

"I guess you're right."

"I think we better take Vicki's papers to the state police."

"I thought you wanted to stay anonymous."

"I wish I could but even though I've managed to stay alive this long I'm afraid I'm going to run out of luck."

"What about the money?"

I just looked at him with a smile and said, "What money?" I had it in my head that we'd just leave the envelopes with the police and go on our merry way. When I'm wrong I'm wrong all the way. We simply walked in and gave it to the officer at the desk. We were soon being question and the investigator looked at me and said, "So what do you think of the contents of the sealed envelope?"

"I have no idea since it was sealed."

"It has been opened and resealed. Did you do that?"

"That's not possible I looked at it. I had it in my hands."

"Oh it was resealed but it has been tampered with."

"Oh great that makes things all the worse."

"Oh? How's that?"

"Whoever is after me probably knows whatever is in that envelope."

"Why does it have to be him that opened it?"

"I'm just guessing but whoever it is seems to be one step ahead of me and everybody else."

"Maybe your friend Mel opened it."

"He was right there with me the whole time and besides I'd trust him with my life."

"Maybe you are."

That comment made me mad so I asked him, "Will that be all?"

"For now." It was well past midnight before Mel and I left the station. We had been separated and questioned for a long time before we were reunited and allowed to leave. As we left Mel asked, "What do you make of the envelope being tampered with?"

"Hell like I've said about almost everything else, I have no idea."

"So now we know at least somebody other than Vicki knew what was in that envelope." "I'm afraid so. In fact we may be about the only ones that are in the dark about that envelope."

For the next several days I thought about my Saturday at the cabin and what I would do. I drove up there after work and took some measurements and experimented with different ideas and then on Thursday I did a little shopping and then went back to the cabin again. I tried a couple of different ideas and tested them both. I discarded one and set the other one up and tested it again. Convinced that it would work as I envisioned it I felt ready. Now the real test would be would somebody come looking for me. Also would events unfold as I imagined they would. If not I could be in a whole lot of danger. When I got

back to town Mel was sitting in his chair and asked, "Well?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Am I going with you?"

"That would just put you in danger too."

"But if something goes south on you I could be a witness to help nail the guy."

"And you'd also be another target for them."

"Not if they don't see me."

"Let me think about it."

I did think about it and I knew he was right so come early Saturday morning we were both at the cabin and I was showing him my plan as I set it up. "You really think this will work?"

"Hell I doubt that anybody will even show up but if they do I think it will work yes."

"I'll step back and be the intruder and you take your post. I want to see how this will look." I had used one of my pillow cases and stuffed it with weeds to form a torso. Then with duct tape I attached a volleyball and then draped an old flannel shirt over the torso. With a wig purchased from Goodwill I covered the volleyball and attached a thin clear fishing line to the whole thing to give it motion. The whole thing was positioned on my low beach chair in front of the log so that all that could be seen from the back was a hairy head. Now if the bad guy came from the side I was screwed but that didn't seem likely to me. I pulled the fishing line and then asked Mel, "How does it look?"

"Better than I would have guessed but it needs a baseball hat."

"Great idea."

"I have one inside, I'll get it." With that in place we tried it again and added a few branches behind our volleyball creation. There was nothing more we could do so we got Mel's old shotgun, loaded it with buckshot and settled into our hiding place in the bushes at the property edge. We knew we could be in for a long wait, possible three or four hours. If nobody showed up by noon then we knew we had to rethink everything including Nicole and how I felt about her. As we settled down Mel asked, "Do you suppose we were followed?"

"Damn I forgot to pay attention. They might have been out there some place watching what we did."

"Or went on by so they could come sneaking back." "After this stunt I have to quit this crap I'm not any good at it."

Chapter Eight

The spring air was still cool enough to keep the bug population down but even with that we were having trouble sitting still as sticks poked us and we grew increasingly restless. Mel whispered, "Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all."

"It was the best I could come up with." We were silent again as we waited and I wondered. Could Nicole really find me that attractive? I had to accept the fact that I wasn't in her league so the answer had to be no. She either was trying to use me or at the very best she was influenced by my rescuing her. The privileged lifestyle she had as she grew up was a long way from anything I could be a part of or even imagine. I thought about Alana and hoped that I would be around to have dinner with her come evening. I also knew I was going to have to work hard to even deserve her let alone keep her as my girlfriend. I also knew that was what I really wanted more than anything else. That and to have a safe life again.

I didn't hear a sound but something caught my eye and my whole being focused on the point. Then I could see him as he slowly came around my car.

He was a white guy, short and stocky and wore a muddy green shirt. I thought my heart was going to explode and I could feel myself shaking from head to toe as I gently pulled on the thin line. My alter ego moved slightly, leaning toward me and then back straight again like it was shifting positions a little. The guy stopped and watched silently and then advanced a few more steps before stopping again. He raised his weapon and took careful aim...and fired. I should have pulled the string to make me tip over but I was too shocked to think of that. The slug made the hat fly off of the volleyball and the guy moved closer. Then he saw what he'd really shot. He had to know instantly that he had screwed up and that was when he saw the fishing line leading straight to me. That was one little detail that I had failed to consider. I was well hidden but when he looked straight at me I knew I had been discovered. He raised his pistol and all I could see was his hands as they gripped it and then I heard a loud boom and I waited to feel the pain. It took me several seconds to realize I wasn't going to feel pain because I hadn't been shot.

Mel came out of hiding with the shotgun still pointed at the guy on the ground and a wisp of smoke drifted from the end of the shotgun. I stood up on shaky legs and the two of us looked at our assailant. Mel's round of buckshot had torn into the guy's hip and he was just recovering from the impact and the shock and surprise. As he tried to reach for his gun lying on the ground near him Mel raised the shotgun and simply said, "No no." I went over and moved the pistol well beyond his reach with my foot and came back. I was still near shock but I had thought about what I might do if I had the chance so I asked him, "Who

sent you here?"

"Fuck you."

"Very eloquent. Befitting someone with your skills I'd guess. Well I know who it is but I want to hear you say it so we're going to play a game. I'm going to pack your balls in ice until you talk to us. If you don't talk you'll end up as a woman with a limp dick. I'll get the ice." I came back with my ice chest full of ice and lunch and told the guy, "I hope you got some pussy last night because after this you won't even be able to enjoy your own hand. Now if you move you'll be shot in the other hip understand?" There was no sound coming from him so I started to undo his jeans.

"You're a sick bastard."

"No I intend for you to tell me who sent you and I'll stop at nothing until I do hear that. Remember I know so don't try lying to me because it won't work."

He watched as I undid his belt and he said, "Nicole."

"Ah so you do remember excellent and you even gave me the right answer." I stepped back then and told Mel, "I'll go call for the police and an ambulance." "Take your time, with any luck he'll bleed to death before they get here." I only had to drive about three miles or so to get my cell phone to work so I placed the call and was back in minutes but a county sheriff wasn't far behind me. By then Mel had put the shotgun on the ground and was standing back away from it.

Once the initial questions were over and the ambulance was gone a detective said, "Okay walk me through it again." We went through it yet again and he would stop me every minute or so with a question as we went along. "What did you think would happen or perhaps hope to have happen?"

"I figured that if anybody even showed up they would shoot the volleyball and run off feeling like they had accomplished their mission."

You didn't expect them to see if you were dead?"

"Hell no."

"Okay go on."

"Then he saw the fishing line and I knew I had screwed up. He looked right at me and raised his pistol and smiled."

"Smiled?"

"Yeah he gave me a big toothy grin."

Mel then said, "And that's when I shot him."

"With the shotgun."

"Yeah, buckshot."

"So you planned to shoot him."

"Hell no that was just in case things went south and they did. Had I not shot him Russ would be dead and maybe me too."

The officer just looked at the two of us for a second and then said, "I don't know how the prosecutor will view this whole mess but you can bet the detectives will have some questions. You'll have to come down and talk to them and give us your fingerprints and statements."

I smiled and said, "Our prints are already on file from when that guy that assaulted us at my house."

"Oh yeah that's right. Is this the same guy?"

"No damn it."

"So this might not be the end of it."

"Probably not but only time will tell." Mel secured the cabin and then we drove to the police station and gave them our statements. Before we could leave the investigator from the state police came in and looked at me.