Authors: James Frishkey
“Hi sis…hope all is well with you. I’ve given our last discussion a lot of thought and looked inward to find out what I really want for my future. I’m still a young woman and would like to have children before I get much older. I don’t know if Joe is the answer but I do know that Bob isn’t and I need to get away from him or I will kill myself.” Mary’s voice was firm and her words were sincere.
“OK. I will give Joe a rough idea of where you are and see what he says. If he decides to try to see you face to face you need to pick a place where you can meet and be inconspicuous. Did Bob ever know about Joe?” Allison wasn’t sure why she even asked that question.
“No,” Mary replied. “Joe was never discussed.”
CHAPTER 27
L
ike clockwork the two mobsters were back in the Circle K the following evening. Again they parked away from the front and waited until the store was empty of customers before entering. Sathish was waiting and he had a young Hispanic girl with him.
“Well, I see you brought a new friend tonight Gunga Din. Is this the one who delivered the message that was left in the register?” Again the same thug asked the questions while the other watched the front door.
“Yes”, Sathish answered. This is Margarita. She was working when the woman came in to retrieve the message.”
“Hi there sweetie. Do you know why we’re here?” The young girl nodded yes to the stranger.
“Good,” he answered. “I don’t suppose you remember the number that was written on the paper do you?” This time she shook her head no. “OK, how about describing the person who picked up the message. Can you do that for me?”
“She was a young woman, blonde hair, kind of short. She gave me $20.00 and left in a hurry. She was driving a gray Datsun pick-up.” Margarita was very precise in her description which seemed a little suspicious to the mobster.
“You sure about the car?” he asked.
“Yes I am. My brother has the same truck. He does lawn work around the city. I am very sure that is what she was driving.” Margarita continued to cower behind Sathish as she spoke.
The mobster pulled out a crisp $100 bill and a slip of paper and handed them to Sathish. “Give some of this to your workers. I want you to call this number if you see this woman or her truck again. And get the fucking license plate number next time.” The meeting was over. The two strangers walked out without another word.
Later that day Silvio called Jackie with an update. “We’re getting close. I’m having my friends in the PPD get me a list of all Datsun pickups registered in Maricopa County. Shouldn’t take long to check it out.”
“Good.” Jackie answered. “I want to personally put a bullet in their fucking heads.”
—
Joe was using a borrowed Les Paul for gigs while his Strat was in hock. He was able to get a decent tone but had to get used to the extra weight of the mahogany solid body. He hadn’t spoken to Rick for over a week and had no clue what he should do with the information he obtained, which was very little.
Joe had left messages for Allison telling her where he was playing in hopes she would come see him but she had yet to show up. He was back at the “Side Door” and was playing 5 nights a week. The extra money was keeping his head above water but only barely. When he got home after playing Thursday night he saw a message light on his answering machine.
Hi Joe…its Allison. Hope you are doing well. Got your messages but have been pretty busy with the Symphony and haven’t had a chance to see you play. I would like to meet with you though. It’s kinda important so give me a call when you are free for a couple of hours. Bye.
All Joe could figure was that it had something to do with Mary and was serious enough that Allison thought it important to reach out to him.
Two days later they met at the coffee shop they visited when they first met. Allison was waiting for him when he arrived and motioned for him to join her. “Hi, thanks for coming”, Allison said as Joe took a seat. “I’ve spoken to Mary, Joe. She knows about our conversations and wants to see you. She is very unhappy.”
“Listen Allison”, Joe answered. “I haven’t told you everything that I learned about Mary and her husband. I know about his testifying against the mob and going into Witness Protection with Mary. These are very bad people he ratted against and if meeting with me puts her in even greater danger then I can’t do it. I’ll always love Mary and I think she knows that. This may be the best we can do for each other.”
Allison reached for Joe’s hand. “She knows the risks, Joe. There are no guarantees in life and you two may never regain what you had…but she wants to try if you are willing.”
“She’s asking a lot.” Joe continued. “I’ve never been one to run away from a challenge, but I’m smart enough to not run towards one either. This will take a lot of planning and money which I have in short supply.”
Allison offered to give him her entire savings if that would help sway him. “I know it’s not much Joe but it’s all I have. My sister shouldn’t have to sacrifice her entire future for one mistake. Please help her.”
Joe knew his life was about to change completely if he agreed to help. Was Mary really worth putting everything on the line for? Yes she was. He was going all in.
Allison would contact Mary and get a date and place for them to meet. Joe decided to talk to Rick and get some advice. Joe also had some Marine contacts that he could look up for help in Phoenix if the shit hit the fan.
“You’re out of your fucking mind Joe”, Rick told his old friend after hearing his plan to rescue Mary. “Phoenix is a 2,000 mile drive…three or four days if you’re lucky. Can that piece of shit you drive survive the trip?”
Joe explained his logic that the little money he had would be needed once he found Mary. Driving eliminated the cost of an airline ticket and rental car. He would just dump the Torino and they would disappear into Mexico, God willing. Also he could bring whatever weapons he might need without trying to get through airport security. “With Allison’s help I have just over $8,000 after getting my 1911 out of hock. I put a new set of tires on the Torino so the odds are pretty good I can make the trip without a problem.”
Rick saw his friend’s determination to follow through with this crazy plan. “You may need a little more fire power than a .45 pistol. I still have my M25 Sniper Rifle from my Seals days. It shoots like butter and only weighs eleven pounds with the scope attached. You need to take it and also pick up a 12 gauge pump for close quarter engagements, if you get my drift.”
Two days later Joe picked up the M25 and words of encouragement from Rick. “I hope she’s worth it my friend. Try and stay under the radar. The bad guys have more money and assets than you can imagine and they want blood.”
On the way out of town, Joe swung by Allison’s house for final instructions.
“Here is the number you are to call when you reach Phoenix. Leave the number to the motel you are in and Mary will call you with a place for you to meet.” Allison was frightened and excited at the same time. “She’s my only living relative, Joe and I love her and want her to be safe and happy. Do not contact me again until you two are safely in Mexico.” She hugged Joe and gave him a full thermos of coffee and some sandwiches for his long trip. “Good luck.”
CHAPTER 28
“L
ooks like we got seven good hits on our DMV search, Boss.” Sonny Gerardo explained to his Don, Silvio Tedesco. “Two are registered to a couple of taco crunchers in South Phoenix. I doubt they are worth checking out. The others are all over the valley.”
Silvio finished his espresso then gave Sonny his instructions. “Good. I want you and Pauly to personally check out each of these locations. Remember, it was a gray truck so don’t waste time if you find a different color. When you do find the right one you do nothing. Just get your ass back here and give me the details.”
Sonny and Pauly were ruthless killers and Silvio’s most trusted soldiers. God help the person who fucked with them or gave them any lip whatsoever. They were eager to handle this and score some points with the boss.
—
The Torino was holding up surprisingly well as the miles began to roll up. Joe spent the first night in St. Louis at a small Motel 6 rather than sleep in the car. He carried in the large bag that held his arsenal and spent the evening eating a Big Mac and meticulously cleaning and lubricating the sniper rifle and 1911. The new Mossberg 12 gauge was now loaded with buck shot and Joe taped six extra shells to the stock for quick access.
Joe also had a map of Arizona and studied various routes he might take to Mexico. The most direct and quickest route was through Nogales…about 3 hours. If they were being chased this was also the route the mob might expect them to take, assuming they saw Mexico as the best exit strategy. He doubted the Torino could make that additional journey and needed to consider using other transportation. Hopefully, Mary had a more reliable vehicle they could use.
Mary and Allison had a pre-arranged call routine into the rehearsal payphone. Mary knew Joe was on his way and should arrive in Phoenix in around three days. This gave her very little time to make arrangements on her end without alerting her husband or the Marshall Service. When Bob took the truck to work, Mary loaded a small suitcase into the trunk of their Buick Regal and covered it with a tarp and rags from the garage. Getting cash from the bank was another problem so she would wait until the last day and take a cash advance against their Visa Card. Bob would find out when he tried to use it and had no available credit left but by then she would be long gone.
While Mary was tending to her exit arrangements, Joe was finally rolling in to Phoenix. Following Allison’s instructions, he looked for a cheap motel in Scottsdale. As he drove down Camelback Road he spotted another Motel 6 and pulled in. This was perfect and cheap. He checked in after hitting a Wendy’s for some dinner and turned on the TV while he ate. He brought his .45 with him and left the rest of his arsenal in the trunk.
Joe dozed off watching the Phoenix Suns game and when he awoke it was almost too late to call the Circle K but he thought it best to make the call sooner rather than later. As luck would have it, Sathish was working when the pay phone began to ring. His senses were sensitive to that sound after his run in with the mobsters and he hurried to ring up the customer he was waiting on and ran to answer the phone.
“Hello?” Sathish said, out of breath.
Joe was silent for a brief moment before answering. “Is this a Circle K convenience store?”
“Yes”, Sathish answered. “Who are you calling?”
“I need to leave a message for someone who will retrieve it in a day or two.” Joe replied. “Please write this number down.” Joe read the number from his motel phone. “The person picking up this message will give you a reward. Got it?”
Sathish memorized the number before speaking. “I cannot continue doing this. Some very bad people came to the store and are looking for the person who picked up the last message. I am supposed to let them know if another message is left or they will hurt me and my family.”
Joe was stunned to hear this. It had to be the mob but how in God’s name did they find out that this store was a message drop? If this clerk alerts them, Joe is a dead man and the odds of Mary and her husband surviving go to zero. “Please, listen carefully. If you tell these people about this call you are issuing a death sentence to me and the person this message is for. I know I am asking a lot but people will die if you ignore my request. Do you understand?”
Sathish was silent for what seemed like an eternity. “I will say nothing if you promise this is the last time any call is made to this number.” Before Joe could answer the phone went dead. He could only hope the clerk was sincere. He was betting his life on it.
—
“Two more fucking locations to check out…this is getting to be a pain in the ass.” Pauly always bitched when he had to go a couple of hours without food. “Why don’t we each take one and get this shit over with.”
“Shut the fuck up you fat bastard.” Sonny answered. Pauly did make sense, though and Silvio wouldn’t care as long as they found the car. “OK, you take the one in Scottsdale and I’ll hit the Glendale address. Call me when you’re done.” Sonny dropped Pauly off at his car and headed to Glendale.
“Hey Donna,” Pauly yelled as he entered his house. “Make me a sandwich. I’m fucking famished.” Pauly’s wife was surprised to see her husband home this early but jumped to the task and had his lunch on the table in minutes. Pauly was in no big hurry. He lived in Awatukee and could get to his target objective in less than an hour. He would even have time for a short nap.
While Pauly was enjoying his pastrami sandwich, Mary was pulling in to the Circle K to retrieve the message that would change her life. Earlier that morning, she had taken a cash advance against their credit line for almost $5,000 dollars. The cash and what few items she had in the suitcase in the trunk was everything left from her old life. Hopefully it will be enough to gain her freedom.
CHAPTER 29
S
onny arrived at the Glendale address and saw a young teenage boy washing his pickup in the drive way. It was a dull gray primer and close enough to warrant a visit. “Hey kid, is that your truck?” Sonny looked out of place in his black suit and Wayfarer sun glasses standing in front of a cheap track home in a lower class neighborhood.