First Chap = disclaimers
Alright, first thanks go to all reviewers and a special thank you to Betty for helping me out.
Secondly, this chapter mainly deals with loose ends on the Jesse, Mark, and Amanda front. Just assume that Steve and Angel are off being parents etc. Then, the next few chapters will finish up the story.
Enjoy!
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Jesse Travis walked slowly into Garlin's old pawn shop. Robert Garlin, Homer's son, looked up from the counter and waved him in. Jesse had visited the shop on several occasions while trying to piece together the murder.
Apparently, Robert, or Bob as he liked to be called, appreciated the interference of the short doctor. The 'family' was not about to give out any information that they had, but if Jesse wanted to put away the guy that killed Homer Garlin, they weren't going to stop him.
Things, Bob had told Jesse in so many words, had changed in the 'family.' Whoever killed Homer had become somewhat of a dangerous liability to them. He was asking for more and more of the 'action' and was too dangerous to put back in place by normal means.
The thing was, whoever killed Homer covered his tracks very well. The family couldn't send any anonymous evidence to the police because there was no evidence to find. At least, that was what they thought. Jesse, at the moment, was praying otherwise.
"Hey, Bob." Jesse said. His voice was slightly subdued. His earlier excitement had given way to doubts as he had made the drive from BBQ Bob's. What if his hunch was wrong?
"Hey, Doc. What can I do for ya?"
"Umm, well Bob, I was thinking…"
"Hey, I know you, Doc. That's that 'I've gotta crazy idea' tone. Like I've said before, if you've got any idea about Dad's murder, you follow up on it. I'll tell ya if I don't think you should do it."
Jesse grinned at the not so veiled reference about keeping him out of the 'family's way.'
"You know that big picture of the German Shepard that your Dad had hanging in the back?"
"Yeah, sure. What about it?"
"Do you think I could look at its frame?"
"The frame, Doc?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is not one of your more sane questions, but whatever works for ya. I'll go fetch it if you'll watch the front for me."
Jesse nodded and watched as Bob went into the back room. A couple of crashing and scraping sounds and three cuss words later, Bob emerged with the giant picture.
"Man, Dad sure had that picture wedged up there hard. I think he glued the frame to the wall."
Jesse nodded and had Bob lay the picture face down on the counter. He withdrew a Swiss army knife from his pocket and looked at Bob for permission before cutting. After receiving a confirming nod, Jesse cut away the paper backing to reveal absolutely nothing.
Disappointment colored his features. Bob frowned.
"Hey, Doc. Don't be discouraged. So your little theory didn't work out, you'll think of the right one eventually."
Jesse nodded a gloomy head. "I know it's just that I thought I'd finally figured out the mystery."
Jesse sighed as he glanced around the store. Maybe he should do some shopping. After all, the fenced goods were usually kept in the back. All of these items probably came from a legitimate source. He heard the phone begin to ring in the back room.
"Hey, Doc. I need to go take that call. Feel free to look around while I'm gone."
Jesse waved Bob back into the back room and strolled around the store looking at small knick knacks and a couple of floor lamps. Of their own will, his eyes went back to the large picture that sat on the counter. It was a very large picture with an equally huge frame. The frame itself was 7" wide on all four sides and at least 2" deep.
Jesse frowned and walked back over to the picture. The frame was a boxed frame. Whoever had built it had actually put a back on the frame. This meant that there was a hollow space inside of it like a box would have.
Jesse ran his fingers over the back of the frame. His brow furrowed together when he noticed that the bottom section of the frame had been reattached at some point. It had been done well, but one could still see where the original holes had been.
Without delay, Jesse whipped his knife back out and began prying at the nails. Surprisingly, they came out easily, a sure sign that the job had been done it haste. Jesse held his breath as he removed the board.
Nestled inside the frame lay a copy of 101 Dalmatians. Jesse's fingers quaked in excitement. He hurriedly pocketed the video tape and place the bottom half of the frame back.
Not wanting to have Bob tip off a possible informant, Jesse dug out his wallet and pulled out $500 in one-hundred dollar bills silently thankful that he had been going to get change for Bob's on his way back.
Bob came out from the back. His eyes quickly strayed to the picture.
"Find something Doc?"
"Yeah, would you believe that your Dad was hoarding cash in there? I found five-hundred bucks in there."
Bob chuckled. "I guess Dad really was a hustler at heart. Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for."
Jesse held back his grin. "That's okay. I'll see you around, Bob."
"Bye, Doc."
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Jesse sat with bated breath in front of his TV screen. When he had pulled out the cassette, he had seen that someone had placed a tab over the recording head so that they could record on the protected cassette. After a couple of minutes of colorful animation, a fuzzy black and white picture took over.
"I warned you not to talk to Sloan, Garlin. But you just didn't listen. You keep talking to that do gooder, and there's no telling what might happen."
Jesse shivered as he heard that voice. He'd always gotten the creeps from Jackson Peters. Now, he knew why.
"I didn't do anything. He asked some questions; I answered them, but none of my answers ratted out anyone. You know being belligerent makes the cops suspicious."
Peters slapped Garlin across his mouth.
"Don't you think I know what you'd love to do? You're too soft to be in this business. You want out. Well, if you want out, I'll give you a one-way ticket. However, I am a reasonable man. Bring me $100,000 dollars down at the pier in three nights, and I'll forget I heard anything."
Garlin nodded mutely. Peters started stalking towards the door.
"Oh, and, Garlin, don't play with Sloan. People around him end up as dead as he should be."
Jesse expected the tape to end there, but it didn't. Homer Garlin came to stand in front of the video camera.
"If you're watching this, I guess it either means I'm dead or I finally got enough courage to tell. Jackson Peters works for my crime family. He has killed, stolen and cheated his way through life. If I'm dead, well, he did it. He has two lackeys: Sal and Sam. I've never met them, but I've heard stories and they aren't pretty.
I rigged this tonight so I had proof. Stolen merchandise is good for something. I had to wreck my favorite tape for this. I couldn't find a blank one quick enough, I think Peters saw me fiddling with the video case when he came in. I hope to God he isn't smart enough to figure anything out. Tell my wife and Kids I love them."
Jesse stared at the screen as the picture returned to animated dogs and singing. He'd just solved Homer Garlin's murder and in the process opened up a can of worms.
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Mark was fixing dinner when he heard his front door swing open and footsteps hurry towards the kitchen. For a split second, he thought that it was Steve returning from work. Then reality caught up. He turned to see who it was that had the security code to enter the house.
Jesse popped up in his field of vision.
"Jesse, what on earth is wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong Mark. In fact, something's great. Well, great in a really morbid sense 'cause there's dead people and mobs involved, but…"
"Jesse, calm down. Now, what is this all about?"
"Mark, I have a video to show you."
Mark looked at the video Jesse held. "I hate to break it to you Jess. But I saw that when it first came out in theatres."
"What? Oh, that isn't the tape. Well, it is the tape, but that isn't what's on it."
"Jesse, you aren't making much sense."
"I know, I know. But, once Amanda gets here and we all watch the tape, you'll understand."
"Amanda is coming?" Mark queried.
"Yeah, she should be here in about ten minutes. I'll go get your VCR running."
Mark shook his head at Jesse's antics. He was shaking his head later in disbelief as the end of the segment Homer Garlin had taped.
"I don't believe it." He said in shock.
Amanda bowed her head. "We trusted him. If he killed Mr. Garlin then…"
"Then he probably had Steve killed and framed that poor kid rotting in prison." Jesse finished for her.
"And you were the only one to see it. I'm sorry for doubting you, Jesse." Mark said as he looked at his younger friend.
Jesse smiled. "You were hurting Mark. You wanted the pain to go away. When I hurt, I get suspicious of everyone around me. Who knew having a jerk for a father would pay off?"
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The day Jackson Peters was arrested for the murder of Homer Garlin, Steve and Angel were flying out to the East coast to see her family and have them meet Marcus. The whirlwind of publicity that ensued was barely noticed by the family as the alternately fought with each other and cooed over the baby.
By the time they returned from the trip. Neither particularly cared about following the story on the news. Jim's only comment was that the detective in the sidebar story had cruiseline initials.
The press never showed Steve's picture. It was never necessary for the coverage and Mark wasn't read to let them rifle through snap shots. By the time they got permission to show a picture of the Lieutenant, the trial had begun, and they had other things to report.