The next morning I gave Jim a call as soon as I got free. After going through the switchboard at the station, waiting to be switched to Jim’s desk and then listening to it ring a time or two, he finally picked up following a brief pause…
“Sheriff Forsythe here – can I help you?”
“Jim, this is Steve. Have you got a minute?”
“Sure, Steve – but just a minute. Would you rather stop down?”
“Nah, I don’t have time today. Tell me what you know about a guy going by Shawn that my wife says is really Jonah Reynolds, well, at least that is what I think his name is… Ring a bell?”
“Hmmm… isn’t he the guy with the brother named Jeremiah?”
“Yes. And, I looked at the pics you gave me? He’s in two of them… does that mean anything?”
“Well, Steve, to be honest – I don’t know. We’ve got nothing on the Reynolds boys that I am aware of other than suspicions. But that’s all – I know of their names but I’ve never had a run-in with them. You say they’re in the pics, huh?”
“Yeah. You know the pic of the two guys sitting in the Chrysler? This Jonah is one of them. The other guy I’m not sure about but I think that pic of those guys in the warehouse has him off to the side – I’m just not sure… But here’s the funny thing. Kel and I were at dinner last night and we ran into this Jonah dude – only he doesn’t introduce himself as Jonah – he says his name is ‘Shawn’. Seems like a nice guy and all but I’m pretty sure he’s definitely hiding something. Anyways, he’s invited me – if invited is the way to say it – to come out to the very races you want me to go to but now we know where they will be. Oh – and he definitely knows about the TTA.”
“He knows about the TTA?” I could hear the interest level in Jim’s voice jump about 50%...
“Yep, but he thinks I only bought it from a guy who Teak sold it to – IF he’s telling the truth. He could be fishing too, I just don’t know. But either way, the races this weekend will be at the old County Airport site on Baty Road… sometime around midnight or so…”
“Ah… the old airport, huh? We’ve had tips and even some complaints about people racing out there but we’ve always just missed them. Midnight? Ok, we’ll be ready – but it isn’t the street racers we’re after, remember? Did this Shawn mention anyone else’s name or names?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, he did. He named three guys who were with him at the center of the crowd. A Morty, some guy named Billy, and… uh… let me think a moment… the name was weird in a way…”
“Was it Cy” Jim asked, his voice suddenly a little cold.
“That’s it, Jim! Cy! Why? Do you know these guys?”
“Steve, Cy is dangerous. He’s the guy we’re most interested in and is really the brains behind the entire operation we’ve connected Teak and his TTA to although it is MUCH deeper than Teak OR his car. We WANT Cy… badly. How did he act around Shawn, er, Jonah?”
“Well, to be honest Jim…. I would have said that Cy was just a hanger-on sort of guy. He didn’t say much at all, really. But come to think of it, he WAS the one who insisted that Shawn come inside and look me up at the restaurant… does this mean anything?”
“Ok, Steve… here’s what we’re trying to break down. Cy is the connection between a suspected drug smuggling/stolen cars for export business we’ve been trying to bust for over a year. Jonah – or Shawn – is probably Cy’s main muscle but we don’t have proof. The people who run this entire business are actually based out of Cleveland but they are GOOD…. What seems to be the case is that either the cars are flat out stolen or just come up missing – including one GNX that was stolen IN its trailer as well as its tow vehicle, a late model Ford Powerstroke. The thing is the cars never ever turn up… not at a chop shop, not in parts, nowhere. Yet, we’ve had reports that some of the cars ‘lost’ street racing disappear too. So, we’re pretty sure they are going out of the country on the same ship or ship that is bringing in a lot of drugs from South America and the Far East…”
I had to pause for a minute… this was WAY deeper than I even dreamed it might be. My guess up to this point was that Jim wanted to bust a car-thief ring. But now – drugs? Stolen cars going overseas?
Jim seemed to pick up on my brief silence…
“Steve, that is why I said the other day that maybe we better close this down. The Reynolds family issues are one thing – this Cy guy, now that you’ve positively linked him by name – is quite another. Tell me – was he driving a black STi last night?”
There was definitely a black Sti there that night…
“I saw one in the crowd last night… probably his?”
“Did it have red rims on it?”
“Yes, now that you mention it. I did notice that it had red spoke rims on it with polished wheel lips…”
“That is definitely Cy’s main ride. That car is stolen too – we’ve just never been able to catch up to it, much less with Cy in it but we know who’s behind it…
Steve, listen to me… Cy – and most likely everyone connected with him – are heavy-hitters. We would love to bust him on some silly street racing charge just to get him off the street to squeeze him a little bit because so far, we can’t bust him on the big stuff. Hell, we can’t even get him for a parking ticket – the guy is just squeaky clean for some reason. We suspect he might even have connections inside law enforcement but we just do not know for sure. I’m hoping that if we CAN pick him up on a legit charge – street-racing or double parking – that we can make him sweat a little. Why? Because nervous criminals make big mistakes they would not normally make if they are thinking they are safe… do you think he will definitely be there Saturday?”
“I don’t know but from what I saw of the way he, Mort, Billy, and Shawn seemed to be rolling together, I would bet that they ALL will be there…”
“Ok… then if you don’t mind, let’s let this play out. I’m going to put some gear on you to help us hear/see what happens that night at the airport. We’ll be less than 30 seconds away but make no mistake, this has a seriously big potential of going bad if Cy gets a clue he’s in a trap. Are you SURE you are up for this?”
I thought for just a moment… I thought about what was right, what wasn’t, and what I really, really wanted to do…
“Yes. Yes, Jim… I want to help. And, I would really like to race that Cuda too so let’s see what happens… plus, if I get to keep the TTA, it’s even better yet!”
I heard Jim chuckle a bit on the TTA remark…
“Ok, Steve… it’s on then. We’ll hook up with you Saturday afternoon to get the surveillance gear on you and your car – you are taking which car, by the way?”
“Actually, Jim… I’m going to take the TTA and the GSX. I just talked to Brandon and he’s going with me too but maybe I had better give him a chance to back out given the danger level here…” It was more of a question to Jim than a random thought…”
“Steve, I think we’ll be fine. There IS a risk but I think your pal will be ok. Just keep him away from Cy and his pals if you can when we give the signal we’re coming in, ok? That way he’ll be out of harms way. Same goes for you and Kelly too, if she’s there… when we come in, move aside FAST, clear? And remember, this ‘bust’ is only going to look like we’re trying to snuff out this clandestine street racing – we do NOT want anyone to think there is more to it than what it is… we need more info and to do that, we need to get a few people to talk, know what I mean?”
“I gotcha Jim… I’ll see you Saturday then and we’ll get this done… Hey…. I wonder if the rest of the Reynolds clan will be there that night…”
Jim chuckled a little bit.
“Cy IS a Reynolds, Steve. That is his name – Cyril T. Reynolds the Third. I don’t know for sure what his relationship is to Bill and Ned but I do know that his REAL last name is definitely ‘Reynolds’… Seems the apples never fall far from the tree, do they Steve?”
“Man, you’ve got that one right, Jim. I’ll see you Saturday..”
“See you then, Steve. Take care, ok? This is going to work… so try to not worry about it.”
*CLICK” He hung up….
Funny isn’t it? It’s funny when someone says, “Don’t worry about it”, that that is EXACTLY the time you begin to worry the most….
*********************__________________**********************
When I hung up, Kelly’s sleepy face looked just like I felt inside – concerned.
“What did he say, Steve?”
I reiterated all that Jim said and she just listened intently. Finally, when I told her how it was supposed to go, she just nodded her head.
“Steve… these Reynolds guys are bad news. If we can get them off the street without anyone getting hurt – and I know Jim will look out for us – let’s do all we can, ok?”
Wow! Just when I thought that Kelly might become a little more conservative, she goes and does an end-around and pulls out the trumpets to sound “Charge!”
“So, we just wait until Saturday night then, Steve?”
“Yes… unless something else comes along, Brandon is supposed to come over here around 10 or so and we’ll get the cars out. I think he’s bringing someone with him but I don’t know if it’s going to be Stacy or one of his Mustang Club buddies. Either way, he’s going to help us get the cars there and he’s also going to bring his own from what he said there earlier… I guess you’ll never get the street racer out of THAT guy!”
Kelly just sat there at the table, her chin in her hand as she smiled up at me….
“I don’t know Kel… time is going to drag now that we know what is coming Saturday…” I had to admit it – I was a little nervous but at the same time, a LOT excited. I just knew I would have a hard time being patient.
It was then that Kelly read my mind – again….
“You know Steve… I know something we could do to pass the time a little bit… at least for this morning…”
She grinned evilly – my favorite grin of hers I must admit.
She stood up and began to unbutton the top buttons on her night shirt, revealing some of her ample cleavage that swayed freely beneath the soft cotton garment as she walked towards me… She reached up and put her arms around my neck and began to kiss me deeply and passionately, pushing herself into me at the same time, knowing EXACTLY what I like… in a blink, I had forgotten all about racing, about Cy, about Shawn, about it all…
She finished the very wet, very deep kiss and then pulled back a bit to look me deeply in my eyes…
“Let’s go see if I made the bed, whadayasay Cowboy?”
“Cowboy”…. Ok, now there DEFINITELY was no mistaking what she had in mind - as if her kiss left any doubt.
“You got it, Kel… Sounds good to me…”
She twirled on her heels and I watched her walk ahead of me back down the hall toward our master bedroom, admiring the quick occasional glimpse of her naked shapely ass as the shirt bounced around… It looked like I might be late for work – again…
To be continued…
“Sheriff Forsythe here – can I help you?”
“Jim, this is Steve. Have you got a minute?”
“Sure, Steve – but just a minute. Would you rather stop down?”
“Nah, I don’t have time today. Tell me what you know about a guy going by Shawn that my wife says is really Jonah Reynolds, well, at least that is what I think his name is… Ring a bell?”
“Hmmm… isn’t he the guy with the brother named Jeremiah?”
“Yes. And, I looked at the pics you gave me? He’s in two of them… does that mean anything?”
“Well, Steve, to be honest – I don’t know. We’ve got nothing on the Reynolds boys that I am aware of other than suspicions. But that’s all – I know of their names but I’ve never had a run-in with them. You say they’re in the pics, huh?”
“Yeah. You know the pic of the two guys sitting in the Chrysler? This Jonah is one of them. The other guy I’m not sure about but I think that pic of those guys in the warehouse has him off to the side – I’m just not sure… But here’s the funny thing. Kel and I were at dinner last night and we ran into this Jonah dude – only he doesn’t introduce himself as Jonah – he says his name is ‘Shawn’. Seems like a nice guy and all but I’m pretty sure he’s definitely hiding something. Anyways, he’s invited me – if invited is the way to say it – to come out to the very races you want me to go to but now we know where they will be. Oh – and he definitely knows about the TTA.”
“He knows about the TTA?” I could hear the interest level in Jim’s voice jump about 50%...
“Yep, but he thinks I only bought it from a guy who Teak sold it to – IF he’s telling the truth. He could be fishing too, I just don’t know. But either way, the races this weekend will be at the old County Airport site on Baty Road… sometime around midnight or so…”
“Ah… the old airport, huh? We’ve had tips and even some complaints about people racing out there but we’ve always just missed them. Midnight? Ok, we’ll be ready – but it isn’t the street racers we’re after, remember? Did this Shawn mention anyone else’s name or names?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, he did. He named three guys who were with him at the center of the crowd. A Morty, some guy named Billy, and… uh… let me think a moment… the name was weird in a way…”
“Was it Cy” Jim asked, his voice suddenly a little cold.
“That’s it, Jim! Cy! Why? Do you know these guys?”
“Steve, Cy is dangerous. He’s the guy we’re most interested in and is really the brains behind the entire operation we’ve connected Teak and his TTA to although it is MUCH deeper than Teak OR his car. We WANT Cy… badly. How did he act around Shawn, er, Jonah?”
“Well, to be honest Jim…. I would have said that Cy was just a hanger-on sort of guy. He didn’t say much at all, really. But come to think of it, he WAS the one who insisted that Shawn come inside and look me up at the restaurant… does this mean anything?”
“Ok, Steve… here’s what we’re trying to break down. Cy is the connection between a suspected drug smuggling/stolen cars for export business we’ve been trying to bust for over a year. Jonah – or Shawn – is probably Cy’s main muscle but we don’t have proof. The people who run this entire business are actually based out of Cleveland but they are GOOD…. What seems to be the case is that either the cars are flat out stolen or just come up missing – including one GNX that was stolen IN its trailer as well as its tow vehicle, a late model Ford Powerstroke. The thing is the cars never ever turn up… not at a chop shop, not in parts, nowhere. Yet, we’ve had reports that some of the cars ‘lost’ street racing disappear too. So, we’re pretty sure they are going out of the country on the same ship or ship that is bringing in a lot of drugs from South America and the Far East…”
I had to pause for a minute… this was WAY deeper than I even dreamed it might be. My guess up to this point was that Jim wanted to bust a car-thief ring. But now – drugs? Stolen cars going overseas?
Jim seemed to pick up on my brief silence…
“Steve, that is why I said the other day that maybe we better close this down. The Reynolds family issues are one thing – this Cy guy, now that you’ve positively linked him by name – is quite another. Tell me – was he driving a black STi last night?”
There was definitely a black Sti there that night…
“I saw one in the crowd last night… probably his?”
“Did it have red rims on it?”
“Yes, now that you mention it. I did notice that it had red spoke rims on it with polished wheel lips…”
“That is definitely Cy’s main ride. That car is stolen too – we’ve just never been able to catch up to it, much less with Cy in it but we know who’s behind it…
Steve, listen to me… Cy – and most likely everyone connected with him – are heavy-hitters. We would love to bust him on some silly street racing charge just to get him off the street to squeeze him a little bit because so far, we can’t bust him on the big stuff. Hell, we can’t even get him for a parking ticket – the guy is just squeaky clean for some reason. We suspect he might even have connections inside law enforcement but we just do not know for sure. I’m hoping that if we CAN pick him up on a legit charge – street-racing or double parking – that we can make him sweat a little. Why? Because nervous criminals make big mistakes they would not normally make if they are thinking they are safe… do you think he will definitely be there Saturday?”
“I don’t know but from what I saw of the way he, Mort, Billy, and Shawn seemed to be rolling together, I would bet that they ALL will be there…”
“Ok… then if you don’t mind, let’s let this play out. I’m going to put some gear on you to help us hear/see what happens that night at the airport. We’ll be less than 30 seconds away but make no mistake, this has a seriously big potential of going bad if Cy gets a clue he’s in a trap. Are you SURE you are up for this?”
I thought for just a moment… I thought about what was right, what wasn’t, and what I really, really wanted to do…
“Yes. Yes, Jim… I want to help. And, I would really like to race that Cuda too so let’s see what happens… plus, if I get to keep the TTA, it’s even better yet!”
I heard Jim chuckle a bit on the TTA remark…
“Ok, Steve… it’s on then. We’ll hook up with you Saturday afternoon to get the surveillance gear on you and your car – you are taking which car, by the way?”
“Actually, Jim… I’m going to take the TTA and the GSX. I just talked to Brandon and he’s going with me too but maybe I had better give him a chance to back out given the danger level here…” It was more of a question to Jim than a random thought…”
“Steve, I think we’ll be fine. There IS a risk but I think your pal will be ok. Just keep him away from Cy and his pals if you can when we give the signal we’re coming in, ok? That way he’ll be out of harms way. Same goes for you and Kelly too, if she’s there… when we come in, move aside FAST, clear? And remember, this ‘bust’ is only going to look like we’re trying to snuff out this clandestine street racing – we do NOT want anyone to think there is more to it than what it is… we need more info and to do that, we need to get a few people to talk, know what I mean?”
“I gotcha Jim… I’ll see you Saturday then and we’ll get this done… Hey…. I wonder if the rest of the Reynolds clan will be there that night…”
Jim chuckled a little bit.
“Cy IS a Reynolds, Steve. That is his name – Cyril T. Reynolds the Third. I don’t know for sure what his relationship is to Bill and Ned but I do know that his REAL last name is definitely ‘Reynolds’… Seems the apples never fall far from the tree, do they Steve?”
“Man, you’ve got that one right, Jim. I’ll see you Saturday..”
“See you then, Steve. Take care, ok? This is going to work… so try to not worry about it.”
*CLICK” He hung up….
Funny isn’t it? It’s funny when someone says, “Don’t worry about it”, that that is EXACTLY the time you begin to worry the most….
*********************__________________**********************
When I hung up, Kelly’s sleepy face looked just like I felt inside – concerned.
“What did he say, Steve?”
I reiterated all that Jim said and she just listened intently. Finally, when I told her how it was supposed to go, she just nodded her head.
“Steve… these Reynolds guys are bad news. If we can get them off the street without anyone getting hurt – and I know Jim will look out for us – let’s do all we can, ok?”
Wow! Just when I thought that Kelly might become a little more conservative, she goes and does an end-around and pulls out the trumpets to sound “Charge!”
“So, we just wait until Saturday night then, Steve?”
“Yes… unless something else comes along, Brandon is supposed to come over here around 10 or so and we’ll get the cars out. I think he’s bringing someone with him but I don’t know if it’s going to be Stacy or one of his Mustang Club buddies. Either way, he’s going to help us get the cars there and he’s also going to bring his own from what he said there earlier… I guess you’ll never get the street racer out of THAT guy!”
Kelly just sat there at the table, her chin in her hand as she smiled up at me….
“I don’t know Kel… time is going to drag now that we know what is coming Saturday…” I had to admit it – I was a little nervous but at the same time, a LOT excited. I just knew I would have a hard time being patient.
It was then that Kelly read my mind – again….
“You know Steve… I know something we could do to pass the time a little bit… at least for this morning…”
She grinned evilly – my favorite grin of hers I must admit.
She stood up and began to unbutton the top buttons on her night shirt, revealing some of her ample cleavage that swayed freely beneath the soft cotton garment as she walked towards me… She reached up and put her arms around my neck and began to kiss me deeply and passionately, pushing herself into me at the same time, knowing EXACTLY what I like… in a blink, I had forgotten all about racing, about Cy, about Shawn, about it all…
She finished the very wet, very deep kiss and then pulled back a bit to look me deeply in my eyes…
“Let’s go see if I made the bed, whadayasay Cowboy?”
“Cowboy”…. Ok, now there DEFINITELY was no mistaking what she had in mind - as if her kiss left any doubt.
“You got it, Kel… Sounds good to me…”
She twirled on her heels and I watched her walk ahead of me back down the hall toward our master bedroom, admiring the quick occasional glimpse of her naked shapely ass as the shirt bounced around… It looked like I might be late for work – again…
To be continued…
