O’Shea patted him on the back to signal he had had enough fun at their expense. “Well let’s go in and take a look, fire seems to be under control. If you two gentlemen would like to join us you are certainly welcome.” With that, he headed toward the door.
Chapter 37
After we arrived back at our hotel we needed to clean up. Between the smoke and blood spatter we felt dirty. We put our dirty clothes into a bag and planned on dumping them somewhere that night. The guns we had removed from the warehouse were in our rooms, we had carried them upstairs in a duffle bag and no one was the wiser. By 5 PM we were hungry and decided to have an early dinner, the day had tired us out.
We picked a nice restaurant off Route 10 and were enjoying a great meal. Sometimes I amazed myself, I had absolutely no emotion or regrets concerning the past few hours.
After dinner we were enjoying a cup of coffee and I decided it was time to call O’Shea. He picked up on the first ring; “Hello.”
Wow, not what, but hello, “I assume you already know.”
He was silent for a long time “Yea, I was there, messy, very messy. What about the guard, did you have to?”
I answered; “Unfortunately yes, he didn’t leave me any choice. There were two others, were they still there?”
“No, I saw the chairs and the ropes, so I figured you didn’t tie them to tight. That’s good.”
I could tell he wasn’t sure what to say so I decided to quickly leave him off the hook; “Hey look. Lucio was on my list anyway, so don’t fret about him. The guard was not going quietly, so we had no choice. Go home and relax; nothing new and exciting till tomorrow. One last thing though, Lucio took a special name to his grave with him, so he knew who sent the message. Have a good night.”
Chapter 38
It’s just past 10 PM; I’m sitting by the hotel pool smoking a cigar. I don’t like cigars, but for some reason I just had to have one. I was trying to put my life in perspective; I loved being home with my wife and friends, but I also loved the feeling of being on the other side, doing the things I seem to do so well.
I had spoken with my wife over the phone a few minutes ago, she was looking to go home or join me here. I want to be with her, but I know there still is danger. I am wondering if the removal of Lucio would be enough. Maybe Guzman will back off, maybe he won’t, I just don’t know. But can I take that chance?
Everywhere I go, people seem to die. Shit, maybe it’s me, bad karma or something. A few years ago, right after my first wife was killed, I thought of suicide. Thinking back now, I wondered how many people would still be alive had I done that, lots I guess. We had been extremely lucky, we are good at what we do, but luck has played a hugh part in this, I won’t kid myself. One minor zig here or zag there and the outcome could be very different.
I don’t want to kill anymore, I’m getting old and I have had enough. I just want to be left alone.
Carl and Shelby joined me, we smoked stinky cigars and drank warm beer, but we are friends, and nothing feels better than sharing moments with friends. I look at them and think of all the times we spent together; where would we be today had I not decided to look them up, who knows? But I know I must tell them how I feel, “I’m tired guys, I’ve really had enough. I just want to rest awhile.”
Shelby looked at me “I know this has grown bigger than we ever planned. I want to see Jasmine; I want to just live the rest of my life in peace.”
Carl was smiling, “I know you two probably think I’m going to disagree, but I’m not. This has gotten old, too much blood, and too much pain. I think it time we call it quits, if Guzman wants us, he’s gonna have to come get us.”
I was surprised but happy “Thanks guys, I was hoping you felt the same way. I going to meet with O’Shea tomorrow and tell him the game is over. He can arrest me if he wants, but they got nothing. I think he will be glad to see us go, we fixed his problem and I hope he can sleep at night I know I can. Let’s get some sleep, after breakfast we have a long drive home.”
I made my call to O’Shea and asked him to meet me at the Whippany Diner for 8 AM; he agreed.
Chapter 39
Its 8 AM and I’m in a booth at the Whippany Diner. Carl and Shelby are in another booth across the room. O’Shea walks in and sees me immediately. He stands and looks at me, and we shake hands. I can see he is emotional so I try to put him at ease “Hey, sit down have a cup of coffee, big guys don’t cry.”
He smiles as he sits “You fuckers are something, how the hell did you get onto that roof. We found some blood on the roof, are you hurt?”
I smile back, “Naw, nothing a little bandage won’t cure, I know you got to run that blood for DNA, you won’t get a match, but go ahead anyway. How about some breakfast, its good here, and I’m buying, it’s our last meal together.”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression, “Last meal, what’s with that?” I smiled again, “We have had enough, we’re just tired and old, we decided to let Guzman think it over, if he wants us, he’s gonna have to come get us.”
Now it was his turn to smile, “I’m glad, you might have put enough fear in him to send him packing. I hope so anyway. By the way, the drugs in those toys were probably worth in the neighborhood of twenty five million dollars; that put a serious crimp in his income. Plus you made him think about security, I heard he is definitely gonna take that long awaited vacation. So I think now is a good time to back off.”
The waitress came and we ordered our breakfasts; I look at him “I know I promised you I would confess and turn myself in, but I’m having second thoughts. I want to go home and just be left alone.”
He chuckled, “Our deal was when you got Guzman, and you didn’t, so no deal. Go home, enjoy your life, and don’t come back up here, even though the meatloaf is good.”
Our breakfasts were delivered and we ate silently. After we were finished I stood and offered my hand “Well Captain, it’s been a pleasure.” He took my hand with a firm grip, “No it hasn’t, but thanks, for Rosie and for me.”
“Oh, one more thing” I took the small caliber pistol Carl had taken from Lucio and placed it on the table. “This came from our friend, who knows, you run ballistics on it you might get a hit or two.”
I nodded, placed a one hundred dollar bill on the table, and left the Whippany Diner for the last time.
Chapter 40
We were a few hours from Camden when I called Rachael. I told her to head to the Tallahassee airport, long term parking lot and pick up my car. I gave her the slot number and told her the ticket was on the dashboard. She would turn in the rental and her and Jasmine would head for my house in New Orleans. If we timed it right we should be home around the same time.
We would drive till dark and spend the night somewhere, then drive in the following day. That should allow time for the women to arrive also. Carl’s truck would still be in Tallahassee but we decided to head to New Orleans and pick his truck up sometime later that week. We would make a mini vacation out of it.
We decided to drive to Chattanooga TN and spend the night there. Then the following day we could easily make New Orleans in a reasonable amount of time.
We had a good night’s sleep and the following day continued our drive. It was just past 1 PM when my cell phone rang, it was Rachael. Jasmine and her had been passing through Mobile AL and had been stopped by the Alabama State Police. The police were looking for my car and had a stop and detain order on me issued by the New Orleans Police Department. Since I wasn’t in the car, they had no reason to hold the women, so they let them go. Rachael sounded extremely upset. I told her not to worry; I would clear it all up when I got home. Truthfully I had no idea if I could clear this up or not.
I wanted to try and get ahead of this thing if it wasn’t too late. We stopped in Hattiesburg MS and I called the New Orleans Police. I told them who I was and was transferred to another officer who transferred me again. My heart jumped when the phone was answered “Homicide, Thibodeaux.”
&nbs
p; Homicide, oh shit, I felt the walls closing in already. “Hello Detective, this is Jessie Carr and I understand someone there is looking for me.”
There was a hesitation in his voice “Mr. Carr, yes, we have been wanting to speak to you, where are you now?” I knew I had no choice, I had to answer, but I wanted the interrogation on my terms. “Well Detective, I’m on my way back from a vacation trip, but I will be in town later today and would be glad to come by and talk to you, can you tell me what this is about?”
He answered quickly, “Well Mr. Carr we just need to clear up some information on purchases you made recently, this shouldn’t take long.”
I tried not to sound too nervous, even though my insides were shaking. “No problem, let’s see, I should be in town within three hours, where can I find you?” He gave me the address of police headquarters and his office number. I assured him I would be there before 5 PM.
After I hung up I explained what had gone on to Carl and Shelby. We discussed what had been said and one key thing the detective had said, purchases, what purchases. We talked it over and thought we had our answer, at least, I hope we did. We made a detour in Hattiesburg and rented a storage locker, all our weapons were dropped off there. This was the Homicide Department and that didn’t sound good.
Chapter 41
By the time we arrived at my house Rachael and Jasmine were already there. They were looking at the broken front door that had been screwed shut. They were both very upset, truthfully, so was I; we spent a few minutes talking and I assured them all would be well. I checked my car, making sure nothing incrementing was inside. I transferred a package I had picked up in Hattiesburg to my car, kissed Rachael and headed to Police Headquarters.
New Orleans Police Headquarters on Broad Street is an old building, as long as I could remember it looked like crap. Right now as I approached it, it looked even worse. I took the elevator to the third floor and found the Homicide Office. I opened the door and walked in, several men and a woman were at their desk, but the minute I walked in, everyone looked in my direction.
A man in brown slacks and a white shirt with a loose red tie approached me. He was a giant, probably well over six feet and two hundred fifty pounds. He introduced himself as Detective Ryan Thibodeaux, we shook hands, and he thanked me for coming in so promptly.
He escorted me to an interrogation room where another man, much smaller that Thibodeaux, was waiting. He introduced the other man as Detective Greyfield. They asked me to have a seat and wanted to know if they could get me anything to drink. I declined.
I was nervous, but tried not to show it, I just wanted to get whatever was coming over with. “Detectives, I’m glad to help the police any way I can, but I really don’t understand what the Homicide Department has to do with me.”
Thibodeaux sat across from me, “Well Mr. Carr, we have been looking for you to help us clear up some details with an ongoing investigation. Let’s just start by saying as of right now; you are free to walk out the door anytime you want. This is simply a voluntary interrogation at this time, is that understood?”
I shook my head “Yes I understand that, I just don’t understand why my wife was stopped while driving my car. That scared the hell out of her.”
Greyfield responded “We are certainly sorry about that, since we were looking for you we assumed you would be in your car. I hope she wasn’t inconvenienced too much?”
They were being way to polite, they were dancing around to stay on my good side. I would have bet had I wanted to leave I would be arrested immediately. “No she is fine, I just want to clear this up and help in any way I can, and by the way, someone broke into my house while I was gone and ruined my front door.” I knew it had been them; they had left a copy of two search warrants on my coffee table.
Thibodeaux looked slightly uncomfortable “Well that was us Mr. Carr, we are sorry about that, but we had a properly issued search warrant when we made entry.”
I sat back in the chair, “No problem, I’ll take care of that. Now what can I do for you? I haven’t seen my wife in two weeks and would really like to clear this up and get home. I think you can appreciate that.”
The two detectives looked at each other, Greyfield answered “Alright Mr. Carr, let’s start with where were you on the night of March 12th?” I pretended to be thinking, “To tell you the truth, I have no idea where I was, that was months ago, I just don’t know.” Thibodeaux looked at me “Let me refresh your memory Mr. Carr, you were in the Calliope Projects around 11 PM in beige Nissan Sedan. Now do you remember?”
I gave him a funny look, “What the hell are you talking about, I have never been in the Projects in my life and I never owned a beige Nissan; what the hell is all this all about?”
Thibodeaux must have been assigned the bad cop role “Mr. Carr, we know you purchased a car with phony ID and used it on March 12th in the Calliope project to murder four men, we also know you had an accomplice and know that accomplice to be Shelby Wilson, what do you have to say about that?”
I looked him straight in the eye, “Well sir, if you know all that; why am I sitting here not under arrest, afraid I’m going to ask for a lawyer? Well I’m not, I have no idea what you are talking about; I agreed to answer your questions, now I answered no to that one, so let’s move on. Also, yes I have a very close friend by the name of Shelby Wilson. I suggest you ask him what he knows, I’m sure it’s not much.”
Greyfield took over, “Ok Mr. Carr, we realize you came in on your own and thank you again, but we do need to clear up a few matters. We have a witness that says you purchased that car from him, also we have another witness that has you making a purchase at Louie’s Military Surplus; do you remember that?”
I calmed down and sat back in the chair, “Yes, I remember that, the Army Surplus sure, not the car, your witness is confused, I never purchased a car.” Greyfield followed up “Ok, then let’s focus on the Surplus store, can you tell me what you purchased there and when you purchased it?” I answered, “Sure; well not specifically when, I don’t know the exact date; several months ago I guess. I purchased two dummy grenades, that’s not against the law, is it?”
Thibodeaux chimed in “No, purchasing them isn’t against the law, but using them in the commission of a felony is.” I looked at him with what I hoped was a surprised expression, “What the hell are you talking about, I bought those as a gag gift for a friend. We were in the Army together and I just needed to get him something small as a gag.” Thibodeaux had the I got him look on his face “Well Mr. Carr, one of those dummy grenades was found at the scene of a quadruple murder and the other was found in the Nissan you said you never purchased, how can you explain that?”
Again I had a surprised expression “Well I can’t, you see I never gave them to my friend, I forgot.” Thibodeaux smiled, well then Mr. Carr I guess you just got your wish; you are under arrest for four counts of homicide. Please stand up and put your hands behind your back.” I did as I was told, as he was putting cuffs on my and reading me my rights I said “I don’t understand, how you can arrest me for something I didn’t do, those grenades you found weren’t mine, I still have the ones I purchased.”
Greyfield stopped in the middle of the Marinda warning, “What did you say, you still have them, where are they?” I answered, “They are in the trunk of my car, have been there since I purchased them.”
The two detectives had that oh shit look on their faces. Greyfield asked, “Where is your car right now Mr. Carr?” I explained where I had parked and they took the keys from my pocket. Both detectives left the room. I sat down and waited.
I knew they would find the dummy grenades. Thibodeaux had made a mistake when he said he wanted to ask about something I had purchased. While Shelby, Carl, and I discussed this the only thing we could come up with was the car and the grenades. I couldn’t do anything about the car, but a military surplus store in Hattiesburg had the dummy grenades. Shelby purchased two of them and when I arrived home put them in the trunk o
f my car.
I sat for around an hour handcuffed in the chair; both detectives walked in with a plastic bag. Greyfield spoke “We found these in your trunk; are these the ones you purchased at Louie’s Military Surplus?” I looked at them “Yes sir they are, I put them there that night and they have been there ever since.”
Thibodeaux took over, “Well Mr. Carr, we still have the issue of the sedan our eye witness said you purchased. How can you explain that?” I look right in his eyes, “I can’t, I guess your witness is wrong, I don’t know what else to say.”
Thibodeaux wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Let me ask you another question, what was your relationship with Mr. Roger Buckle?” I answered, “Oh you mean the attorney, poor bastard; his partner was responsible for my wife’s death. He just wanted to assure me he had nothing to do with it, we became friends, I had some insurance money and a 401K to invest; he helped me with that. We met for drinks occasionally; that’s about it. I hadn’t seen him in awhile and then I hear he was killed, ashamed really nice guy.”
Thibodeaux was shaking his head; Greyfield took over “Mr. Carr, I read you your rights, do you understand them?” I nodded my head and affirmed I did; “Then let me ask you something else, have you ever been to a bar in the quarter by the name of The Nest?” I nodded yes “I sure have, I been there a couple of times, why?”
Thibodeaux shot back, “Because you murdered another person you had an argument with in that bar. We have you meeting someone in that location, having a verbal confrontation with them; leaving with them. And guess what, that person turns up murdered, now how can you explain that?”
I looked at both of them, “How can I explain what, the fact that I had a drink at a bar, and then someone turns up dead. What the fuck is this, you gonna try throwing a lot of shit against the wall and see if you can get some to stick. First you got me in the Calliope, than you got me in the quarter. Well I’m gonna tell you what happened in that bar, then you can lock me up, cause I’m tired of this shit. My wife had been murdered, I was lonely; I went in that bar hoping to pick up a woman. I met someone there and was talking with her, come to find out she was a hooker. Her fucking pimp came in and I paid him for a night with her. I spent the night with this woman and took her back to the quarter the next morning, end of fucking story. Now you want to arrest me for soliciting a prostitute, go ahead, I admit it.” I sat back on the chair, I was exhausted.