“Holy shit,” I said, examining the photos closer. I saw several grainy pictures of Cyrus, with guns on tables around him. There were a few pallets nearby that were loaded with all manner of odd items, but stacked on top were what looked like clear bags of flower. I took a wild guess that it was drugs of some kind.
“I would have called you first, but this just couldn’t wait. I usually get a few favors from the ATF guys, whenever I give them a good tip like this, sorry.” His look said that he really wasn’t.
Truthfully, I really didn’t care. This sounded like it was the perfect way to get back at him, as well as move my desire to sell the business forward.
“Don’t worry about it. I came to you for a reason, so thank you. Did you find anything out about why he would want to kill me, or con my wife into cheating on me?”
“Not much, but it does look like he is preparing for a major sale. My hunch is that he wanted you out of the way. You could have caused him a lot of problems, and he was going to need to move all that merchandise somehow. Your planes make perfect sense, but not if you are there to catch him. I will look into that further, once he is in custody. Perhaps they can get me in to question him.”
That explanation gave me pause, and again had me wondering how I had never seen what a lying snake he was. I vowed to myself at that moment, to never be fooled like this again.
I thanked Curt, and gave Dani my credit card to pay him. After she ran it, and gave it back to me, I left the office. My stomach chose that moment to complain, so I went to a local Denny’s to get an early lunch. While eating my burger, my phone rang. I set the burger down, wiped my hands, and answered it.
“Hello, this is James.”
“James, this is Tony McGillian. You and I have a lot to talk about. Have you heard the news?”
“What news? I am eating, after just talking to Sandra about my possible divorce.” For now, I figured it best to leave out the P. I. meeting.
“Oh, I’m sorry. The news is that the ATF and FBI just raided a warehouse near the airport, and found your buddy Cyrus there with a ton of cocaine, heroin, and also a ton of illegal assault weapons. It looks like he got involved with some shady people, or something, but anyhow he’s locked up right now. This could be the opportunity you need to solve your problem of selling your business!” He sounded excited as he said all this.
At least someone could be excited right now. I was just glad that asshole was getting some sort of punishment. I knew that Curt’s call to the feds is likely what helped engineer his downfall, but I had no idea the level of shit that Cyrus was involved with. I had a brief sense of grim satisfaction.
“Ok, so that means I can get rid of him, and sell it all off now?” For the first time in what seemed like eternity, I now had a small nugget of good news.
“Pretty much. I will put in the petition in the next hour or two, to have him removed as partner in your business. I really doubt the judge will deny it, seeing the severity of the crimes he is accused of now. There is a chance they will go with some sort of temporary arrangement, since he hasn’t been convicted yet. Just warning you of the possibility.”
“No problem, just getting it going. I will still sell my half, even if he still owns his half. Will I still need his approval under a temp arrangement?”
“No, not unless he submits his own petition in court, and he will not likely be in much of a position to do that.”
I thanked him, and hung up. After putting my cell phone down, I paid the check and left. In my car, I sat at the exit to the parking lot. I saw a road before me. I had seen it many times before, but now, I saw it for what it could be… freedom. I could be free from a lot of shit, by just going down that road. I did something I rarely do and made an instant decision about what I was going to do. I felt liberated at having made a decision, any decision, which might make my life feel like it was my own again.
I hit the gas, and drove over to Shawn’s place. Once inside, I sat down and called the travel agency. I briefly explained that we had missed our trip due to an illness, and was wondering if I could transfer any of it to a new reservation. The agent informed me that I could get some credit for the missed trip, but it couldn’t be a complete refund. Also, there would be a fee for the transfer. I told the nice lady to do it, and set it up for one person instead of two, and changed the destination to Hawaii. I had always wanted to go there anyhow.
After that conversation, I started packing my things. Shawn came in, from whatever errand he had been running, and saw me packing. I looked up, nodded, and went back to putting my stuff back in the bags.
“Leaving buddy?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to take a break from everything. Not sure when I will be back, but I just have to get away from here. Kind of like a recharge of the batteries, or something like that. I need a fresh perspective on things, and I can’t get that here, no offense man.”
“None taken.” He went to the fridge and got out two bottles of beer, handing one to me. “Any idea where you are going, or for how long?”
“I am going to Hawaii man. I figure that a good slice of paradise should help me get out of this funk some,” I said.
He clapped his hand on my shoulder, “OK man, you just let me know if you need some company out there, or when you get back? Damn, if I had the cash, I might go with… heh”
“For sure man. Oh, not sure if you heard, but Cyrus was busted this morning for some pretty heavy shit. I talked with a lawyer, and he is filing to remove him as my partner. I intend to sell the business, so you may need to start looking for a new job after all. It all really depends on the new owners. I’m sorry about that part, but will make sure that all of you that have worked for me will be taken care of, as best I can.”
“Thank you. You always were a good boss and friend.” He gave me another one-arm hug, and with that, he left me to finish packing. I left the extra key to his place on the counter, and left without looking back. We had already said our goodbyes, so there was no point getting all mushy about it.
As I drove to the airport, I made two calls. First was my daughter, to let her know I was leaving town. I knew she would be unhappy, but I did my best to comfort her.
“WHAT? Daddy you can’t leave.”
“Honey, I am NOT leaving you. I am going to take a break, that’s all. I will always take your call, and I won’t be gone forever, ok?”
She was sniffling a little now, “Ok dad. Promise me you will come see me, soon?”
“I promise Maddy. You will never get rid of me,” smiling as I said it. “Plus, it would give you an excuse to come see me too, ya know? Hawaii isn’t the worst place in the world to take a vacation…”
“HAWAII?! You’re going to Hawaii? Oh god daddy, I’m going to miss you so much.” I could almost hear her smile return, “I love you daddy.”
“I love you more… Bye,” and hung up. My smile evaporated. That was horrible and touching at the same time. I loved her so much, and was still so pissed that she had to deal with this. Collateral damage, just as I had expected.
My second call, one which I had not really wanted to make, was to my estranged wife. How do I explain to her that she has ruined my view of our perfect life? Perhaps that was part of the problem. I would likely do a lot of self-examination while on this trip.
“Hello?” she picked up, after only one ring.
“Hi. I’m calling to let you know I will be out of town for a while. I need to get away from here, and will hopefully be able to figure some things out. I already called Madison, so she knows.”
She hesitated, “Like what things?”
“Like whether or not to divorce you,” I said with some menace, more than I had intended.