Kelly laughed lightly. “Well yeah but just a little one. But when the muscle bound man calm man rounded the corner and introduced himself I relaxed after you stared talking to me. I still had little hope that the stop was worth my time. You were all business when you interviewed me on the spot. I was surprised as hell but so relived then you hired me.”
Life has a funny way of lining up paths. In retrospect Hooters turned out to not only be the best thing that happened to her but also for Mike. The very short stint at Hooters brought her to the Memphis bar, to become one of his best employees. Mike assured her that the situation at Hooters would not happen at his bar.
She remembered the very words he told her after she was hired. His deep voice spoke to her with the serious tone of a trail judge. “I don’t ever want anyone to feel disrespected at my bar. You should have to deal with that from anyone. That includes the customers, the staff, and me.”
The trust she had in Mike was instant. The friendship took a little longer but once it was reached it remained in tact and the friendship grew. Like the rest of the staff, but admittedly more frequently, Kelly constantly went to Mike with issues, concerns, and request. Just like he did with all the workers at Memphis, he always made the time to address them.
He maintained an open door policy that was not just a required statement from the boss to present an illusion of accessibility. He insisted on being approachable. The majority of the time Kelly as well as others would not have to say anything and Mike could somehow tell when something was wrong. In those cases he had to drop everything then drag them to the office.
With Kelly that was never the case. She had no problem calling on him on any day at anytime. Mike helped her with everything from repairs to her car, to moving furniture into her apartment. He treated her like a little sister and never once did he make a pass at her.
Emotions were very mixed when it came to the unusual relationship between them. He wanted to make her feel like she was always welcomed and never an annoyance but he could tell that she thought that she was bothering him at times.
“You know something Mike? Even my family members never learned how to be, like you. You don’t judge, criticize, or give unwarranted advice. You are just there for me.”
“Thank you Kelly. But you know that it’s not a big deal right? I’m there for everyone when I can be.”
“Yeah but you go the extra distance. Now I think that it is time that someone was there for you,” she said.
“I’m fine Kelly,” he assured her then returned t his silence.
They drove through the bare streets of Dallas with Mike floating back into his comfort zone. The wonderful world of silence always felt like a favorite pair of jeans. He focused on the lane in front of him but was not really seeing it.
Kelly moved uncomfortably within the silence. It seemed as if she searched for the right words to fill the gap. He knew that the quiet bothered her.
She turned to the side window unenthusiastically watching the buildings that lined the highway race by. She then turned straight ahead to peer into the headlights of the oncoming traffic. He did the same as the perfectly painted white lines all meshed together in one solid white stream. In fact, everything collided in the form of a transparent existence.
Mike’s thoughts reflected the pre dawn. His mind gripped on the darkening thoughts of Garcia. He couldn’t see the buildings, the perfectly spaced lines, or the road. Everything appeared as a mere backdrop for the dominating recollection of the man from his past.
He glanced over at Kelly in an effort to take his thoughts out of their dungeon like compartment. She pretended not to notice him looking at her as she slid her body a little closer to the passenger door opting to focus on the empty streets outside of the tinted windows.
Her small arms folded tightly across her chest. Mike needed to remove himself from his pensiveness. Perhaps his top waitress didn’t need a ride home from her boss, she needed a friend.
Kelly remained quiet and offered very little eye contact. Mike made a half attempt at light conversation but that was all he was able to give to her. The ongoing colossal struggle with revealing his inner thoughts refused to go away. Kelly would just have to sort her thoughts out on her own.
Keeping his thoughts inside soaked his DNA, it was the cloth he was cut out of and according to his mother; his father was the same way. Years of intentional evasiveness created habitual actions. This safety net, for more reasons than one, managed to keep everyone around him out of harm’s way so he was not about to abandon it. With the appearance of Garcia, the streak appeared to be over but his thoughts still felt better remaining tucked away inside.
Mike gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. The muscles between his eyebrows pulled together from the stress. He clenched his teeth to hold in the words that were trying to come out. Inside was too much to hold but far too deep to let out to anyone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The tension inside of the car rose at a steady pace with no end in sight. Mike’s effort to shake off the awkwardness could not get past by the way Kelly withdrew from him. He cut his eyes toward her without turning his head. It’s not what you think Kelly…not by a long shot.
She clearly had deep thoughts of her own. He spotted tears begging to form in her large round and dark eyes. Oh God not this.
He opened his mouth then quickly closed it. A deep struggle brewed inside as he twisted his neck to one side then even harder to the other. The tension building across his shoulders refused to let up and the mere thought of talking about his issues added to the tension.
He inhaled then before he realized it the words began pouring out of his mouth.
“About eleven years ago I was in the final weeks of my four year enlistment in the Air Force. At the time when I was about to get out of the military, I was stationed at Fairchild Air force base in Spokane, Washington.
Only three weeks remained before I was set to be released on an honorable discharge so my friends and I decided to celebrate at a local bar.” He paused as he felt the sudden rush of pain just from remembering that time of his life. “Anyway, a few others were getting out of the military around the some time as me. We partied hard to cover up the nervousness that I am sure most were feeling about parting ways from under the secure arm of Uncle Sam. The gathering was set to be our last little outing before stepping into the real world.” Mike turned to his side window then back forward. “My best friend at the time was Dexter James and we were all to ready to celebrate together. The original plan was to take separate cars but Dexter insisted that I ride with him. He was excited about the completion of a big car restoration project. It took some time but he managed to restore a Datsun 240Z sports car to showroom condition and couldn’t wait to show it to me.
When I finally saw it he had every reason to be proud, the car was done beautifully and it rode like a dream. When we drove to the get together and took the scenic route to downtown Spokane. We got to the party location which was also our hang out spot. Once there, we were met by all the guys we hung out with in the Air force and a few others that we just worked with on base. Instead of just a get together it turned out to be a wild testosterone fueled party but that was typical for military gatherings.”
Mike stopped again and stared at Kelly. “You sure you want to hear this?”
“Please Mike, I am already at the edge of my seat. Let me hear this ok?”
“Ok. See Dexter was only about 5’5” tall and no more then 150 pounds with a very low tolerance for alcohol. Needless to say by the end of the night Dexter was feeling no pain and his words were about as slurred as they could get. I wasn’t in top shape myself but far better then him. We closed down the bar and when it was time to go I told him that I would drive back to the base.”
They arrived at s red light and Mike paused but then nodded as if willing him self to finish the story. “I knew that Dexter loved his car so I was driving extra careful that night. I even downed at lea
st five cups of coffee during the final hours of the party. As I drove back to the base, I wouldn’t take his car a mile over the speed limit making sure to avoid any potholes that sometimes popped up out of nowhere due to the crazy weather that we got in the far north west.
Throughout the entire drive I took every precaution that I could think of to ensure a smooth ride back to the base. I even decided to take the back way to the base for two reasons. First, the long winding route through the mountains had very little traffic. Secondly, the dark stretch seldom had cops patrolling it.
The back path was not the way that most of the airmen liked drive to get to the base but I never had any issues with it. Although it was always dark I had traveled it so many times so I knew it well.
It was a 45 minute drive, and a two way lane with no street lights. I was focused on the road and the zero visibility ahead of me was not an issue. Aside from the music I was on my own since Dexter was out cold. I was a little worried about the slick streets at first but the temperature was about in the 40’s that night so the streets weren’t iced over like they tended to get in the winter.
As hard as I tried to remain focused, I still was not able to keep it together. The white lines began to appear blurry and I remembered letting the driver’s side window down then shaking my head to remove the mental fog.
Along the way none of that helped. I drifted off to sleep and the car veered into the next lane of oncoming traffic. Only one other car was on the highway that night. Actually it was a van and it was coming in the opposite direction right at me. By the time I snapped out of my daze, I was driving right into a pair of approaching headlights.
I was too shocked to react. Instead of doing anything I froze and just brace myself. The person driving van did react by swerving hard to avoid the collision. My reaction time or lack of it was much slower of course and far too late. The van’s hard turn caused it to fly off the road plowing down a deep ravine.
He gripped the wheel so tight that the circulation felt cut off. “The crash reminded me of the time when one of our B-52 plans crashed on the base. It was a sound that you can never forget; I can remember the sound to this very day. The collision was like loud thunder striking against metal and the result was a fatal one. The crash killed the two people in the van instantly.
The two people in the van were a twenty six year old woman, and the other was…” The words hung in the air as Mike ran his large hand across his face. Tears formed in his dark pupils the flowed from the emotional pull of unbreakable memories. The hard reflection caused his face to tense. “And um, and the other was her eight year old son,” he finished in a barely audible voice.
CHAPTER TWELEVE
Sadden silence consumed Kelly after hearing Mike’s astounding confession. She wanted to say something comforting but her instincts told her that Mike needed a good listener, not words. Any input from her would just become an unneeded distraction.
She could not help but notice how Mike’s body stiffened as stern wrinkles of apprehension surfaced across his face. He tightened his lips then frowned with deep concern that she knew came from him breaking his self composed silence. He softened his expression then continued to reveal a Mike she never knew.
His broad shoulders slumped from the dark recollection. “God…I was so close, the spot were the accident happened was no more then a couple of miles from the Air force base. The first ones on the scene were the military police. They, of course, protected us by covering up the fact that we were even involved. In the report they wrote that the lady just lost control of her van and we happened to be passing by to call in the accident.
Everyone, well at least Dexter, me, and the MP’s knew different. I was sure they could smell the liquor coming from my breath but we were rushed away anyway before the regular city police even showed up on the scene. The accident, cover up, and entire night were never talked about again.”
Kelly’s eyes released a steady stream of tears, “Oh my God Mike.”
Mike continued, “Later that week I was called to the office of my commanding officer. He would have easily been at the infamous party also, but had to work that night. Besides just being my superior, he was also a good friend. He closed his door and began telling me some additional inside information about the accident.
“Sgt. Andrews we may have a little situation brewing from your um recent circumstances.” Lt. Franz picked up a manila envelope stamped with the word confidential and read from it. “A civilian has been asking a lot of questions about what happened that night and has been very persistent. We also discovered that this civilian bribed one of the MP’s that was at the scene. We had to bring him in because after a few beers, he started mouthing off about the accident at a local bar. So it seems that either from guilt or the alcohol he felt the need to talk about it. A fellow airman reported that the he overheard the MP telling the entire story to someone a couple of days ago. We did some digging and discovered that the MP’s bank account grew by several thousand dollars overnight.”
The lieutenant gravely looked over the top of his glasses at Mike. “We pulled that MP in for questioning and he is in the process of getting discharged now, dishonorable of course. Mike that damn kid gave the civilian the license plate number to the car you guys were driving that night.”
Mike paused. “So the civilian used the information to trace the license plates of Dexter’s sports car.”
Kelly turned to Mike. “Traced? Someone traced his plates? So was this civilian person an investigator or something?” Kelly’s eyes would not even blink at this point.
Mike pulled his car up to her apartment complex entrance. A silver box attached to the small brick wall structure divided the entry and exit gates. Before he could ask, Kelly gave Mike the entry code. He pressed the four digits into the key pad and like Mike’s past, the large iron gates slowly swung open.
Kelly directed Mike through the complex to a parking space directly across from her building. He pulled into the reserved space and placed the car into park. The vehicle idled smoothly with an engine so quiet that the sound blended into the early morning sounds of the night.
“No Kelly, no it wasn’t an investigator. You don‘t even know how much I wished that it was just an investigator.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kelly sat quietly with thoughts that raced in her head like disturbed ants, but she said nothing. The car’s engine filled the soft purring engine then gently merged with the natural sounds of morning. She waited for Mike to speak first.
The city began to awake projecting even more of early morning’s familiar audible character. But Mike’s voice was anything but recognizable; something vital was missing in the tone of his voice. The blended smile that seemed to ride along with his words was no longer there. Tonight it had vanished, replaced by an air of obscurity.
His words laced with grave recollection coupled with dry undertones. His voice managed to reveal the tremendous amount of pain he carried for so many years. The pain clearly had not diminished.
As he recalled the past, stress laced words forced from his mouth. He could no longer support the heavy weight of carrying them all alone. “No, this was definitely not an investigator that was trying to find us.” He paused again rubbing his forehead with his rough hand. “See the woman who died in the car crash was named Elvia Perez. Her husband was Daniel Perez who just so happened to be deeply connected to the Mexican Mafia. After doing some research, I later found out more about the gang and just how serious this group was. It was formed out of the California prisons before taking on more sophisticated real world crimes. Perez was the brains and leader of the organization.”
“Wait a minute Mike, are you telling me that the mafia was trying to find you and your friend because of the accident?” Kelly said.
“No, not exactly. See the person that was trying to track us down was in search of his own justice. He decided to become judge, jury, and-” Mike’s words trailed of
f once again. “Let me just tell you what happened. See a couple of days after the accident, Dexter had gone missing for about four days. Everyone was worried since it was not like him to vanish without notice. After an intensive search, the local police found his restored 240Z parked at an abandon warehouse.
Dexter was still in the car. The police said he had to have been there for at least three days. A glass bottle was broken across his skull leaving extensive damage to his head. The same broken bottle was used to slash his throat and the remaining glass fragments were forced into his mouth.
The autopsy team said that the evidence showed that his throat was slashed last. He was more then likely conscious through most of the attack. My guess was that it was intended to be a slow painful death.”
Kelly’s mouth hung open without being able to form any words. Her eyes filled with heavy moisture. With no idea of what to say or do, she placed her hand gently on Mike’s forearm.
He spoke again pointing a finger at himself. “That was supposed to be me. Me, not Dexter. For a very long time I wished it had been me, I didn’t deserve to live. I was the one driving that night not him.”
“So I’m guessing that the police went after Elvia’s husband, umm the guy named Daniel right?” Kelly wanted to remain on the story but steer Mike away from the resurfacing guilt.
“No they could never tie the murder of my friend to Daniel Perez,” Mike said. “As a matter of a fact Daniel was out of the country during the time of the incident. Anyway, later on I figured out who actually committed the murder and it wasn’t Perez.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“So you’re telling me that you know who murdered your friend Dexter?” Kelly said.
“Yes, and it wasn’t too hard to do either,” Mike replied between gritted teeth.
He recited the painful events from a memory that sealed the incident inside of his head with photographic accuracy. His fading strength rejuvenated as Kelly urged him on.
“Mike I have to say that getting it all out is always good,” she assured him. “I bet that you feel relieved to finally get it all out in the open. I know I always do.”