The Old Farts In Miami

Chapter 6

  They couldn’t get ahold of Bobby. Rob had been trying as well. No one had seen or heard from him, and the picture was beginning to get bleak.

  “Why would he take them somewhere? And where?” McKenzie felt a headache beginning to build behind his eyes.

  “I don’t know. Obviously, the drugs are involved, but I don’t understand how his kids fit in unless he hid them for safekeeping. Maybe someone threatened to do something to them?” John was trying to be optimistic, McKenzie knew, but he also knew John was probably thinking the same dark thoughts that he was.

  “What if he traded them for a debt or drugs or his own life?”

  “That would be pretty terrible.” John’s face paled.

  “So how do we find him?” McKenzie rubbed his head as he stared out the hotel window.

  “We could call Bailey, see if he can get a BOLO on him?” John shrugged.

  “He couldn’t request that from New York without having a reason for an out of state hunt.” McKenzie shook his head.

  Phil Bailey was another one of the Old Farts, and the only one that had actually decided to go into retirement, another reason why he wouldn’t be able to help on an out of state case. Most of his connections were good from his NYPD days, but not for actively using police intel and funds for a case in Florida.

  “We just have to tell Rob that we need to find Bobby and that Bobby was the last to see the kids.” McKenzie paused for a moment, and then suddenly turned to John, “What if she was lyin’?”

  “It’s possible. I mean, she wanted us gone and time to ‘clean,’ so she could have said anything to get us to leave.”

  “But she seemed sincere when we were leavin’ and she said she wanted us to find them.”

  “Just because she said it, and she was pretty and staring at you, doesn’t mean she meant it.” John cocked his brow at McKenzie, knowing how pretty women tended to cloud his vision.

  McKenzie frowned as he looked through the pictures and papers again, hoping to find something that would give him more direction. His frustration was growing and the limits he had in dealing with cases like this made him question his ability to actually solve the damn thing.

  “Alright, I’ll call…” and before he could finish his phone rang.

  “Rob? I was just about to call…yeah? Okay, we’re on our way. We’ve heard one story from his girlfriend and it doesn’t make him look too good, so I need a sit down with him. Yeah, I’ll tell you about it. Alright, see ya then.” McKenzie ended the call and looked up at John. “Rob caught Bobby tryin’ to break into his house. His son is a mess, apparently, and should be more than willin’ to talk. Maybe we can start makin’ some heads or tails of this mess.”

  John nodded and they gathered up what they needed before going over to the condo. McKenzie felt the fury was starting to build. This asshole was involved in the disappearance of his own kids, one way or another. It wasn’t something McKenzie could make sense of. The Old Farts were like family to him, even more so at times like this, and he could never imagine doing something to put them in jeopardy unnecessarily. A man’s own children was a whole other category of sacred, and he couldn’t see how anyone would screw that up so bad.

  Rob answered the door after McKenzie knocked and showed them in. Bobby was sitting in a chair, his face tear stained and red. McKenzie was glad to see some real emotion in the people involved in this mess, maybe it meant it was time for someone to start telling the truth.

  “I’ll tell you and him what the girlfriend said after we hear his story. I don’t want that interferin’ or making him change what he has to say.” Rob nodded in agreement with McKenzie, and with John, they headed into the sitting area.

  McKenzie and John took the couch as Rob lowered himself into his chair, setting his cane next to him. His mouth was already viciously destroying whatever sweetened rubber he had in there this time. McKenzie understood. Times like this made him a little more understanding as to why people smoked or did whatever habit to push through the stress. But he still couldn’t stand that gum.

  “Bobby, I don’t know if you remember, but these are my old war buddies, McKenzie and John. They’ve been helping me try to find your kids, and they have discovered quite a bit. I need you to talk to them, and tell the truth, or I swear I’m gonna call the damn law on you, right after I beat the shit out of you.” McKenzie had never heard Rob losing his temper. The man was known for his level head and calm demeanor.

  “I’ll tell you whatever I can, I mean it. And don’t call the law or they’ll kill them.” Bobby pleaded with his father before turning to McKenzie and John. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “How about with where the kids went and how we can get them back? That’s what we’re concerned about.” McKenzie’s face was stony as he stared at the man in barely masked disgust.

  “I think Lorenzo Mendez has them.”

  “You think?” Rob shouted causing Bobby to flinch.

  “I’m sure he does. I….I got involved in some things and with his sister, Marissa. Their family had switched from running guns to drugs, which is a lot safer, easier and much more profitable. We thought we could sort of take over the family business and all, so we did some things and Lorenzo found out somehow. He called me and threatened to kill me if I didn’t give him back what was his.”

  “The money and the drugs?” McKenzie questioned.

  “Yeah,” Bobby’s eyes flickered to his father, but the lack of response was enough to confirm that Rob knew about that already. “So, I told him I would but I needed some time. He said he would do that, but it wouldn’t be very long. Then my kids came to stay with me for a few days and Lorenzo showed up. He kept glancing at them and when he left, he told me that if I knew what was best for my kids, I would give him what he wanted. I went out the next day for some things and when I came back, Marissa was at the house by herself and said the kids had left. She thought they were tired of our trashy house with no internet and all that. I had a feeling that wasn’t the case.”

  “So she knows what happened and where they are?” John spoke up.

  “Probably, but I thought she loved me and everything, but now I don’t know. I don’t know what game she’s playing or what’s going on. I know my kids are gone, Lorenzo wants his money and everything, but where I kept it is empty, and my kids are gone, and no one’s saying shit.” Tears streamed down Bobby’s face, his whole body quivering.

  “She said you left the house with them. You were takin’ them out to eat but never came home with them.” McKenzie kept his voice even, hoping to keep Bobby somewhat calm.

  “That lying bitch! No, no, I never wanted them involved. I just wanted to see them for a bit, cause I knew if I couldn’t find out what happened to the stash, I was dead, and I’d never see them again.”

  “It never occurred to you, that bringing your children into your home with the sister of a cartel leader and your drug problems wouldn’t endanger them?” Rob’s voice shook. “I can’t believe you’re my son. I can’t believe you are this stupid.”

  Rob clambered to his feet, snatched up his cane and hurried out of the room. McKenzie lowered his head, his heart ached for his friend, but the adrenaline in him wanted to beat Bobby to a pulp.

  “You are one dumb ass punk, you know that?” McKenzie stared at the man, watching him trying to shrink into himself. “You’re going to tell us where Lorenzo is, where your stash was, where everybody and everything is, and then you’re going to stay here and kiss your daddy’s ass for being a dumb S.O.B. until we find your kids and get the cops involved. Being ashamed isn’t enough, you should be damn sorry for yourself as well as your kids.”

  It took almost an hour to get Bobby to give them all the names and locations of everything. McKenzie wasn’t convinced he was telling them all that he knew, but he had a lot more to go on by the time they left. Rob had returned to his chair, a sad and disappointed look haunting his eyes. John was nervous about leaving without having Bobby put in custody,
but McKenzie knew even if Rob was old, he could take care of himself. Any respect that man had had for his son, was nearly gone, and he wouldn’t hesitate to do what he needed to in order to get his grandkids back safely.

  McKenzie was still unsure of everyone’s motives. They didn’t know if Marissa and Lorenzo knew about Rob’s involvement in their father’s death, and his relation to Bobby. John had said the same when they got in the truck. If Bobby was as weak-willed as he seemed, it wouldn’t be much for Marissa to lure him into a trap so she and her brother could get some kind of retaliation on Rob. So far, no mention of Rob or the past had come up from anyone involved.

  The first place they decided to look into was where Bobby had said he kept Lorenzo’s “stuff.” A cheap storage facility and the key Bobby gave them, led them to one of the smaller units. Once inside, it was obviously empty, with no sign of anything it had previously held. McKenzie looked around more while John headed to the storage facility office. Even though the sky was starting to darken, the small family run establishment was still open.

  McKenzie came to the conclusion that there was nothing to find, and went to the office to see what John had discovered if anything. As he approached the door, John came out with a frown on his face and his iPhone held out.

  “I videoed the security video they had. They don’t have a way to give me a copy otherwise. Bobby and his girlfriend were the ones that moved the piles of money and drugs out of that storage locker.” John handed over his phone and watched McKenzie’s face as he viewed the video.

  “Goddammit, does anyone want to tell us the truth about anything?” McKenzie handed John his phone and shook his head as he went back to the truck. “Where to next?”

  “We could scope out Lorenzo’s place, and as much as that terrifies me, it seems the next logical step. Bobby said he has a yacht he stays on at one of the marinas. There are several old warehouses in a fenced in area at the marina.”

  McKenzie could see how hard it was for John to suggest such a move, and he patted his friend on the shoulder before setting off to the docks. He hoped that something, anything, would come to light there, and seriously was at risk of losing all restraint if it turned out to be another lie.