Jeff,
finds himself in Atlanta Magic
Town
Chapter 7 of Magic Town ...
Saturday, 6:12 AM: The Stakeout
Jeff
has discovered that he is the absolute spitting image of the crooked
Congressman, Frank Schedz, and Nancy has convinced him to play along. Now he
follows her along to a stakeout at six in the morning looking for the
Congressman so Jeff can deliver a message to him. He learns more about this
beguiling woman as she sits with binoculars pressed to her eyes watching the
house with two porch lights. Soon a parade of characters, the mayor, police
chief, city council members and others come out of the house only to be
followed by the signal that something has gone very wrong!
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Author contact: Chris Lamela,
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Magic Town, Chapter 7
Saturday,
6:12 AM: The Stakeout
Shonna reached into her purse pulling out a five, tossing it onto the
table. They walked through the door, crossing the dark street to the blue
Mustang. Jeff walked around to the passenger door. Shonna opened the trunk pulling
out a sport bag, walked to the driver’s door, climbed in. She opened the bag, pulled
out a pair of very long binoculars and a Nikon camera with the longest lens
Jeff had ever seen.
“Tools of the trade,” she said, turning to lay them on the back seat. Putting
the key in the ignition, they pulled away from the curb.
In only a few minutes the car was pulled over in a neighborhood a lot
like the other they had been in earlier, filled with cars all parked
helter-skelter, now with a few lights on in the house windows.
“See that yellow house with the two lights on the porch way up there?”
Jeff craned his neck forward trying to see which house she was talking about,
nodding that he thought he knew the one. “Well here’s the deal, you got a few
Z’s last night, so I need an hour or so. I doubt there will be any traffic yet,
but here,” she reached back, grabbed the binoculars handing them to Jeff, “keep
an eye on that house, if anyone comes in or out, wake me. Wake me in an hour no
matter what.”
Jeff took the binoculars, inspecting them. He had never seen such a nice
pair before, focus, zoom, very nice. He looked through them, that door with two
lights over it looked like he could reach out and touch the doorknob. He instantly
heard Shonna’s even breathing, very impressed that she had managed to go to
sleep so fast. He also knew she had been up all night.
He watched that door intently for an hour. Nothing happened.
He leaned forward looking up through the windshield watching great gray
hands in the heavens slowly pulling the crescent moon back up into the darkened
sky, daylight timidly touching the horizon with the slightest golden rim.
Finally, he jostled Shonna who woke
so fast it startled Jeff, “What, anything?”
He replied that nobody came or went. She turned the key to look at the
car’s clock, seven twenty.
She took the binoculars from him, peering through them suddenly sitting
up straight muttering to herself, “Good job, Nancy
“Nancy
“It’s Shonna to you!” she gave a sly sideways smile. “Okay, Nancy
“Nancy
“So what did you just see?”
“Mayor’s chief aid just drove up. Yep, congressman’s there. Got to be.”
“Why don’t you just go in and get him.”
She grunted, “No thanks, nice way to get shot for sure. Any idea how
many guns are in there?” She watched intently, silent.
He watched her, turned his head toward the house, could see nothing.
“So how involved are you in this case?”
“This case? It’s my case.”
“Your case?”
“Accidental, really,” she glanced at him sitting in the passenger seat
next to her.
“How is it your case
accidentally?”
“I’m the one who found the first loose thread and just started following
it.” He listened, leaning toward her.
“I lived in Georgetown
“I thought you went to Brown.”
“I did for my undergrad, did my masters at George Washington in DC.
Lived in Georgetown
“Georgetown
She smiled, “Yeah, funny how things work out. I took a room. An old
woman, you wouldn’t believe her name.”
Jeff thought, smiling, “No, don’t tell me!”
She laughed softly, “Yep, with an O and two N’s.” Jeff laughed thinking
that spelling had to come from somewhere. “It’s the Irish spelling of the name.
Anyway, I lived there for two years. We became good friends. She was in her
eighties, was declining pretty fast toward the end, couldn’t leave the house.
So I started doing little errands, pretty soon was doing all the errands,
grocery shopping, that sort of thing. She had a part-time housekeeper who would
come in and cook and do laundry, but I did the rest of the housekeeping, taking
care of her.” She reflected. “It wasn’t bad, really. It was good, it fit perfect
with my school schedule. She was really nice to me, always interested in my
studies.”
She adjusted the binoculars keeping them pressed to her eyes. “Anyway,
she died. It turns out she had no family, at least that she knew of. I never
knew what that really meant, whether they didn’t speak to each other or what,
but nobody except a couple of old people who lived in the neighborhood ever
came to visit. No Christmas cards or anything. Turns out she left me the house
in her will.”
“Wow, that doesn’t happen every day. That was pretty lucky.”
“Yeah lucky, a poor little grad student with a big house right in the
middle of Georgetown
“Why, what happened?”
“About six months after everything was settled I get a call from a guy
saying that he was her grandson who started asking all sort of questions. Next
thing I know I’m getting a letter from some attorney saying he was contesting
the will.”
“I guess you would have to expect something like that, right?”
“Yeah. At first I wasn’t sure and started thinking that maybe he was
right, that he should have something from his grandmother. Then the next phone
call he started getting really jerky. Really hostile. So I got to thinking
where was he on the holidays, where was this guy when I was emptying her
bedpans and wiping her butt? The more I thought about it the madder I got. I
mean you don’t know me very well, but when I think something is mine I go after
it and I won’t let anyone take anything from me! Nobody!”
“So what did you do?”
“I asked around the agency and everyone said that there is one rule in
lawsuits: always make sure your attorney is better than theirs. So I got the
name of one of those, you know, really high-powered attorneys you read about in
the newspapers who was recommended by my boss’s boss who told me to call this
guy and mention his name. I just kind of held my breath because there was no
way I could pay for a three-hundred-dollar an hour guy. So I told him about the
situation, next thing I know I am getting copies of letters sent back and forth
between him and the grandson’s attorney, then nothing.” Jeff watched her in
anticipation. “Finally I got my nerve up to call this attorney, ask him what
happened, how much I owe him. He came on the line, said the other guy lost his
nerve and didn’t I read his letters? I said no, not really, so he told me to go
look at the letters and I would see that we threatened to counter sue them. They
went away. Well, I was really happy and all, but when I asked him how much I
owe him he kind of laughed, said not to worry that it wasn’t that much work, that
he did it as a favor for my boss’s boss. Seems his firm gets a lot of business
from the agency.”
They both laughed together, Jeff grinned, “Boy, so you were one really
well-connected student and didn’t even know it, huh? Did you ever go back to
read the letters?”
She glanced at him, “Yeah, and what made them go away was my attorney’s
threat to counter sue and to have the grandson charged with elder neglect! I
mean how could this guy pop out of the middle of nowhere trying to get his
hands on the estate when he never even bothered to send a Christmas card!”
“So that’s what they meant when they said to get a better attorney!”
“I guess so, but it sure was good advice, huh?”
“How is it that someone your age was in graduate school? Isn’t that the
thing people do in their twenties?” She gave him a sideways glance, “Not that
you’re not in your twenties!” They both laughed together as she squeezed the
binoculars back to her face.
“Oh, I don’t know, I just kept going in and out of school, each time not
finding anything that really got my attention until I happened to take a
criminal law class and, well, it just lit me up.”
She glanced at him, “Isn’t that what you did?” He frowned that she
somehow knew this little factoid about him.
“So how does this all fit into this case?”
“Well, it seems the congressman happened to have a house in Georgetown
She pulled the binoculars down rubbing her eyes, held them back up. “Anyway,
I started to notice more and more, how would I say it,” she paused in quick thought,
“let’s say non-Georgetown types more and more going in and out of his house. A
few times I kept seeing the same black man, a big guy who seemed to go through
cycles of hanging out at this congressman’s house, so I got curious. I took the
license plate of the car he was in one time, contacted the limo company, found
out he was the mayor of Atlanta.”
Jeff nodded, listening intently as she continued, “I was doing my
internship at Department of Justice which gave me access to just about any kind
of data that could help me figure out if anything was going on.” She glanced at
him, “I don’t know, there was just some kind of gut feel that something wasn’t
right. So I started doing all the usual checks, you know, income, tax returns, bank
accounts, property records, things like that, all the stuff I could get really
easy.” She shook her head slowly, “It didn’t add up.” Jeff cocked his head
listening. “I mean, how does a guy who makes eighty four thousand a year as
mayor live in a three million dollar house, drive three Mercedes, and have a
country club membership? This guy was rolling in dough.”
“Well, I suppose…” Jeff pondered, though he really had no clue.
“And none of it come through his bank accounts?” She shook her head just
slightly, not to lose her gaze on the house.
“Anyway, I was just finishing school, took a position with the FBI, got
too busy to do anything about it at first, I just kind of forgot about it for a
year as I was getting my feet wet at the agency. So one day I happened to walk
by his house and there’s the mayor coming out of the congressman’s house again.
So I went to my chief, told him about it and what I had discovered before. I
was expecting him to say thanks to watch him hand it to another agent, but
instead he appointed me as a co-lead agent and hooked me up with an older
colleague who decided this was going to be my case, used it more like a way to
mentor me.” She turned to him with a satisfied smile going back to her
binoculars, “Soon my mentor just kind of backed out of the case and there I
was, lead agent by default!”
“Wow, that’s quite a story. So this is your case.”
She glanced at him with a nod. “That was two years ago. I’ve been on
this case since. I figured the congressman has been involved for four years, a
year before I discovered it, the year while I let it be, and two years since.”
Jeff watched this woman sitting next to him. He couldn’t see her captivating
eyes looking at him as he suddenly felt a wave of deeper understanding of this
woman, a warm flow over his body trickling over his head, through is hair like
a warm shower onto his shoulders, washing down around his back as he felt a warm
flush across his chest, feeling his face turning flush. He was glad she was
looking into her binoculars and not at him that moment.
“So you said I am going to be doing some kind of talking sense into
somebody.”
She glanced sideways to him quickly, back to the binoculars. “Yes, I
believe he’s in that house, but we need to make sure he’s alone. This is going
to be a very serious talk.”
“What am I supposed to be saying to this person?”
“Well, you’re not exactly going to be doing the talking, more like
delivering a message.”
“What kind of message?”
“That it’s time to straighten up and fly right. Look, don’t worry about
that right now, I’ll fill you in when the time comes.”
They sat in quiet, Jeff squinting in the morning light to see the house.
“Oh, good,” she said softly, “sweet.”
“Update?”
“No, false alarm, that’s not who I thought.” She kept the binoculars
clutched to her face. “So did Pick get you at the ATM next to Ricky Rocket’s?”
“Why?”
“Good. He just walked back out of the house.”
“Yeah, Rickey Rocket’s. How did you know?”
“I swear every lonely white business guy must go to that ATM at least
once in his life. You wouldn’t believe the people he hauls to Magic Town
She adjusted the binoculars, “But I wonder what he’s doing there?”
Jeff got a hurt expression, “People, as in other guys? As in lots of
them all meeting up with Pick at that ATM?”
“Yep.”
“That’s his routine?”
“Yep. Always the same. Let me guess, you bought him drinks and dinner, then
followed him over to Magic Town and you spent how much there? I saw you spreading
a lot of money around. He’s the best pick pocket in Atlanta
Jeff reached into his pocket pulling out twenty-two dollars doing a
little arithmetic in his head, “Two hundred and something, maybe two hundred
ten dollars.”
She adjusted the binoculars again, “Who’s that with him? Hmmmm. All that
cash plus your credit card, drinks and dinner, tips of course, always really
big tips, right?”
Jeff stared at the money in his hand, “God, maybe three hundred dollars!
He did it all with a smile! And I smiled the whole time too!” He chuckled to
himself. “Well, I’ll be damned, I’m the best Mark in town, huh?”
“Yep. He’s the best pick pocket in Atlanta
“Well, I’ll be god damned. Three hundred dollars.” He looked up at the
car ceiling laughing out loud, “Pick!”
She laughed with the binoculars to her eyes. “Your common street mugger
may get what, fifty bucks? A hundred? And a night in jail for all his trouble! Yep,
Pick’s definitely a star when it comes to his style of pick pocketing white
guys standing at that ATM.” She frowned with an intent voice, “Well there they
go, but who was that other guy?”
Jeff laughed again, “Does he work for your agency?”
“Nope, he’s a free agent.”
“But you pay him?”
“A few thousand. He is an extra set of ears and eyes for us, nothing
strategic. But I trust him and he has given us some really good inside
information. Plus,” she glanced away from her binoculars, “he keeps dragging
all you businessmen to Magic
Town
She shushed him adjusting the zoom on the binoculars. “What the hell are
these guys all doing up so early? On a Saturday? There’s something really big
going on here.” She put down the binoculars, rubbed her eyes picking them up
again, looking up and down the street. “Oh, Christ, please no.”
“What,” Jeff strained to look down the street, “what?”
“There’s an unmarked up the block watching.” She sighed. “Protection.”
“Protecting what?”
“The mayor’s assistant left. That must mean the mayor is in there, no
other reason to have a watch. Don’t worry,” smiled Shonna, “they are about to
leave.”
“Leave?”
“Yep, his honor is just coming out. Oh, god, the chief, too. Hand me the
camera.” Jeff reached back handing it to Shonna, she set the binoculars in her
lap. In less than a second the camera started clicking and whirring with the
auto-winder. Silence. More clicking, whirring. “Jesus, what are all those guys
doing there? What the hell is going on? What are they all doing here?”
“Who all?”
“The mayor, vice mayor, two, no, three council members, the police
chief, two others, look like captains. God almighty, in uniforms even, arrogant
pricks, what’s wrong with these guys? Is there a party going on in there? Why
are they standing at the curb like that? What are they waiting for?”
She watched intently. “Who they hell are they?”
“Who?”
Jeff pulled the binoculars from Shonna’s lap holding them up to see two
really big black men just coming out of the house, signaling to the mayor. “Smile
boys,” Shonna smirked as the camera clicked and whirred a few times.
“Wait, that tattoo!” Jeff adjusted the binoculars, “I saw him last night
at the club!” He heard three clicks and whirs.
“The mayor’s turning to get into his car,” she said quietly.
She paused, “Finally Perkins! Damn I thought he abandoned us! Here he
comes driving up. Where you been big guy? Out of the car.” Long pause. “Good
boy, Perk, wave to the nice mayor, grin, let them know you are there and you’ll
play babysitter. Good boy.” Pause. “Waiting till they leave.” Pause. “Good. Now
go into the house, signal us what’s going on, then come back out with your
hands on your hips and we’ll come have our little chat with the congressman.”
“Who is Perkins?” Jeff glanced at his watch noting the time.
“The bouncer.”
“The big guy from Magic
Town
Still peering through the camera she smiled, “You bet, he’s our eyes and
ears there. Doesn’t miss a trick, has this like photographic memory for faces.
He thought you were the congressman so that’s why he put you up front.”
“I thought I got up there because of my tip.”
“Oh, I’m sure he was glad to keep your money, but no.” Jeff remembered
some of the things Perkins said to him, asking about his driver, remembering
when he first came in and him saying even
for you, sir.
“So this Perkins, is he a cop, too?”
“No, he works for the club. We manage to pay him more on the side but he
doesn’t know anything about me, about Nancy, he thinks I’m just the stupid blonde bean counter, even though
I not even blond. I am sure he wants to get into my pants.” She laughed,
“Especially after last night!”
Jeff gave her a sideways glance that she could sense even with the
camera to her eye. Yeah, he thought to himself watching her sitting next to
him, I’d like to get into your pants,
too! He leaned back just a bit as he could picture her trim body that he’d
seen last night at Magic Town, picture that beautiful body laying on some bed.
He put that image on his hotel bed, her coaxing him with curling fingers. Him
standing there admiring her, undressing with her saying things like what a manly
man he was, giving a little shriek seeing him naked, Jeff approaching the bed…
“Yeah, Perkins.” Jeff snapped out of his daydream turning to her. “He’s
a good guy and he’s so big people are afraid to screw with him. That helps
everyone in the club, especially me. Really keeps a lid on things. I really go
out of my way to help him out when he needs. Got him out of a couple messes.”
Jeff could hear Shonna breathing heavily as she watched through the
camera so intently. She was waiting for something to happen. She motioned to
him with her right hand, “Open the glove compartment.” In the glove compartment
there was a police radio with a little red light zooming back and forth across
the face.
“Why don’t you guys use cellular phones?” He prided his Motorola clam phone the little four-inch square
wonder that he carried. It was back in his suitcase because his company was
getting all upset that his bill was running over nine hundred dollars a month.
They were wanting him to refund his personal calls. The roaming charges were
running up to two dollars a minute so he just figured out that pays for a lot
of calling-card calls for a tenth of that.
She nodded, “Cell phones are too unreliable. Can’t take chances. Maybe
when they get the network built out, but we can’t take chances of no
communication.” He nodded, she was right. He recalled a long phone conversation
he had once while driving around Los
Angeles
“Hand me the microphone,” she motioned holding out her right hand,
taking it holding it to her mouth. Still looking into the camera she clicked
the side of the microphone, “Tom, you there?” There was an unintelligible crackling
with a voice in there somewhere. Jeff couldn’t make out a word. “Good, yeah, Perkins
will give the signal in a second. Then we can go in to have that talk with our
little man, assuming he’s not passed out as usual.”
Jeff assumed she was talking about the congressman, wasn’t sure as he
glanced at his watch again, nearly two minutes had passed since Perkins went in.
“She leaned forward, pressing the camera to her eye, “What’s taking him
so long?” Another full minute passed, her breathing quickening. “Where is he? Where
is he? What’s taking so long?”
She gave a small sigh of relief, “Good, there he is.”
Jeff glanced at the time again, four minutes had passed since he went in.
“What’s he doing? He’s looking back into the door. He went back in again!”
She threw the camera onto the back seat pulling the binoculars away from
Jeff’s face while still holding the radio microphone. “Tom, here he comes out
again, he’s just coming out! But what’s he doing, where’s the signal?”
“He crossed his arms!” Clicking the mic she screamed, “OH, GOD, CROSSED
ARMS! CROSSED ARMS! WE GOT TROUBLE! TOM! WE GOT TROUBLE! I’M GOING IN NOW! WAIT
FOR MY SIGNAL!”
“I’M GOING IN NOW!”
“I’M GOING IN NOW!”
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MAGIC TOWN !
http://chrislamela.blogspot.com/2012/05/magic-town-chapter-8.html
