| General Fiction posted May 11, 2024 | Chapters: |
...20 21 -22- 23... 
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Watching God work
A chapter in the book Right in the Eye
Right in the Eye, ch 22
by Wayne Fowler
In the last part Ben and Sylvia witnessed the pimp’s death at their door - a heart attack. The two gangsters failed to approach Sylvia’s house and called for help. The FBI Agent involved with Slim’s case contacted the Colorado detective who’d had Slim’s case when he awoke from his coma. The FBI gave the mobster contact case to Colorado.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Ben?”
Ben looked to his new bride who was obviously in deep thought, her coffee cup suspended halfway to her lips for some time.
“Do you think… You remember saying that we were to stand back and watch God work?”
“I do.” Ben’s words caused both of them to smile toward one another.
“Do you think my shooting the shotgun was, you know, somehow violating that deal? You know, like God’s gonna say, ‘I told you to watch, but now you’ve gone and done it. It’s all yours now.”
Ben smiled. “Oh, I rather think it was more on the order of Benji barking. God probably had that blast in his plan, humiliating those two.”
“They’ll be back, though, won’t they?”
Ben nodded before responding. “I expect. Maybe with help.”
“Help? Aren’t you worried?”
“You think God is worried?”
“Ben Persons, you are your father’s son, aren’t you?”
Ben’s eyes teared. “I’ve always prayed to be. But it’s been clear from very early on that I do not have his calling. I was called to be a pastor. I know that. But my father was special.”
Sylvia nodded, perking her head at the sound of an approaching car.
Benji’s ear straightened and bent toward the road, but he didn’t bark an alert, but rather quietly growled. Hearing the car pull into the driveway, Ben and Sylvia rose to greet whoever deigned to visit.
+++
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Persons, I’m Detective Donald Albion.”
Albion explained his familiarity with Slim, otherwise known as, Herschel Diddleknopper, his purpose being to let Ben and Sylvia know that he was in on the secret of his age and perfectly willing to allow it to continue to be their secret. Albion also wanted them to know that he was aware of Ben’s father’s history, including his exoneration and manner of death in Alaska. He endeavored to allow Ben and Sylvia to understand that he was versed in their affairs.
“Now, would you bring me up to date on everything you know, and/or suspect is going on, and then I’ll tell you why I’m here.”
They did, including the truth of Walter Thomas’s death at their door, as well as the two running from Sylvia’s shotgun blast the other night. “Detective Albion,” Ben said. “God told us to stand back and watch him work, but nothing in that tells me not to cooperate with law enforcement.”
“Ben, I have to be honest with you. I haven’t attended church since Sunday School, but I believe…” Albion nipped his inclination to accept the direction of Ben’s thoughts, returning to matters important to himself.
“That Walter Thomas, and his little hotel girlfriend… Well, that business had some far-reaching ramifications. And well, … just after you chased those two off, they called for reinforcements. And we believe that they are on their way. My best advice is for the two of you to make a tactical retreat, maybe to your home in California.”
Ben and Sylvia smiled. “Now Detective, how could we watch God work from a thousand miles away?”
Donald Albion paused a moment and then sighed before reaching for his briefcase. “All right then, let’s go to work. I have some pictures to show you.” There being only four photos provided by Agent Fisher, Albion dutifully passed them to Ben.
It wasn’t long before they pointed out the two that they’d seen in the Suburban, the same two as the porch lights exposed.
Albion nodded. “All right. Those others are men we expect might be responding to the call. The local Denver talent may become involved now, as well. The minute I see the need, which I hope…”
“… and pray,” Ben added.
“… and pray won’t be too late, we’ll have a company of state troopers at our disposal. In the meanwhile, we’ll just have two on hand, one patrolling, the other in plain clothes. My plan is for him to make himself a blind out in your back field somewhere.
“Now, since you choose not to leave, how comfortable are you…” Albion hesitated in his delivery.
“In making ourselves targets?”
Albion nodded. “See, we can act normal, encouraging them to come to us, or we can light this place up, discouraging attacks.” He looked at them as if leading them into following his train of thought.
Sylvia obliged. “And wonder when and where they would catch us: at the grocery, a restaurant, out for a walk…”
“Exactly.”
“And there’s no telling how long all that might take, or who all else might get caught up in it.”
Albion nodded. “This is desolate country. We should be able to spot them, but if we were to pull over a Suburban, say… And the people inside were not our two… We can arrest our two for your highway incident, maybe even for trespassing into your yard, though that one would be a stretch. But if we stop the new ones, we would have nothing to charge them with. Odds are, they would leave and be replaced with others that we might not know. And they might come in next time looking more like tourists than gangsters.
“And another sad reality… my boss won’t let me just move to Creede forever. If I don’t have anything to show, I’ll be assigned cases where I’ll … Anyway, I will be pulled.”
“We stay,” Sylvia said. “With the porch lights off. But the dog on.” Sylvia added to everyone’s grin.
+++
Detective Albion spent the rest of the day coordinating with Sheriff Tate and his two troopers. The undercover officer came to the house to introduce himself before setting up netting in the back not too far from the house. He declined their kind hospitality, insisting that once in place, he had to convince anyone that he was not there, including anyone with binoculars. His hours of total camouflage they had worked out, would be from ten until four.
“One thing,” he said, his eyes on Sylvia, “Please don’t shoot me.”
They all laughed, though the officer kept his eyes on Sylvia.
Once alone, Ben looked to Sylvia, “Albion.”
“You too? You see his expression change when he turned away?”
They both grimaced, unsure what to make of the matter.
+++
Of course, nothing happened that day, or that night, or the next. The officer with the backyard duty walked to the house to check out with Ben, seeing him on the back porch with coffee at four on the second morning. He finally accepted a cup.
Both stayed their cups in midair as a car slowly drove past the house. They couldn’t see it, but by the sound, it had a V-8 engine. The officer jumped up to inch around the house from the side of the car’s advance, hoping to see the back of it as it drove on. He was too late, as the car continued on.
“No idea,” he told Ben upon his return. “But I’ll stay around until daybreak. Ed, the front side man isn’t there. He probably left at four, not knowing we were back here having coffee.”
Sylvia joined them, having been roused by Benji’s growl.
“Might’ve been one of the sheriff’s volunteers,” the trooper said, doubting it as he mouthed the words.
It was Sheriff Tate who found the errant brick in the front yard later in the morning. The attached note read: by the time you read this 980 Santa Rosa Avenue will be ashes.
A phone call proved the note to be true. Arson was more than suspected since there were multiple origins of the fire.
Ben was filled with remorse.
“I didn’t lose anything of value, no photos of my dad at all. But there were a few of Mom I would have kept. And of course my old Bibles. I’d like to have those even if I never opened them again. But what hurts most was that it was my mother’s home, the house her father built. The town is probably glad that it’s gone, but Mom loved it. It was where she fell in love with my father.”
Sylvia expressed her confusion. “How could these men travel so fast. Be here and there, and back here?” She laid her hand on his arm, sitting on the sofa beside him.
The sheriff, interrupted the solemn moment. “They have a long reach, Sylvia. A phone call and houses can get torched anywhere in the country. I’m sorry, Ben. But these boys are mean, and they won’t stop until they get their way, or … Well, I just don’t know what it will take. Looks like they’re willing to spend real dough. Not sure Mineral County, or the state of Colorado is up to that kind of war. It’s way easier to tear down than to build, or protect.”
Ben and Sylvia nodded in agreement.
In the last part Ben and Sylvia witnessed the pimp’s death at their door - a heart attack. The two gangsters failed to approach Sylvia’s house and called for help. The FBI Agent involved with Slim’s case contacted the Colorado detective who’d had Slim’s case when he awoke from his coma. The FBI gave the mobster contact case to Colorado.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Ben?”
Ben looked to his new bride who was obviously in deep thought, her coffee cup suspended halfway to her lips for some time.
“Do you think… You remember saying that we were to stand back and watch God work?”
“I do.” Ben’s words caused both of them to smile toward one another.
“Do you think my shooting the shotgun was, you know, somehow violating that deal? You know, like God’s gonna say, ‘I told you to watch, but now you’ve gone and done it. It’s all yours now.”
Ben smiled. “Oh, I rather think it was more on the order of Benji barking. God probably had that blast in his plan, humiliating those two.”
“They’ll be back, though, won’t they?”
Ben nodded before responding. “I expect. Maybe with help.”
“Help? Aren’t you worried?”
“You think God is worried?”
“Ben Persons, you are your father’s son, aren’t you?”
Ben’s eyes teared. “I’ve always prayed to be. But it’s been clear from very early on that I do not have his calling. I was called to be a pastor. I know that. But my father was special.”
Sylvia nodded, perking her head at the sound of an approaching car.
Benji’s ear straightened and bent toward the road, but he didn’t bark an alert, but rather quietly growled. Hearing the car pull into the driveway, Ben and Sylvia rose to greet whoever deigned to visit.
+++
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Persons, I’m Detective Donald Albion.”
Albion explained his familiarity with Slim, otherwise known as, Herschel Diddleknopper, his purpose being to let Ben and Sylvia know that he was in on the secret of his age and perfectly willing to allow it to continue to be their secret. Albion also wanted them to know that he was aware of Ben’s father’s history, including his exoneration and manner of death in Alaska. He endeavored to allow Ben and Sylvia to understand that he was versed in their affairs.
“Now, would you bring me up to date on everything you know, and/or suspect is going on, and then I’ll tell you why I’m here.”
They did, including the truth of Walter Thomas’s death at their door, as well as the two running from Sylvia’s shotgun blast the other night. “Detective Albion,” Ben said. “God told us to stand back and watch him work, but nothing in that tells me not to cooperate with law enforcement.”
“Ben, I have to be honest with you. I haven’t attended church since Sunday School, but I believe…” Albion nipped his inclination to accept the direction of Ben’s thoughts, returning to matters important to himself.
“That Walter Thomas, and his little hotel girlfriend… Well, that business had some far-reaching ramifications. And well, … just after you chased those two off, they called for reinforcements. And we believe that they are on their way. My best advice is for the two of you to make a tactical retreat, maybe to your home in California.”
Ben and Sylvia smiled. “Now Detective, how could we watch God work from a thousand miles away?”
Donald Albion paused a moment and then sighed before reaching for his briefcase. “All right then, let’s go to work. I have some pictures to show you.” There being only four photos provided by Agent Fisher, Albion dutifully passed them to Ben.
It wasn’t long before they pointed out the two that they’d seen in the Suburban, the same two as the porch lights exposed.
Albion nodded. “All right. Those others are men we expect might be responding to the call. The local Denver talent may become involved now, as well. The minute I see the need, which I hope…”
“… and pray,” Ben added.
“… and pray won’t be too late, we’ll have a company of state troopers at our disposal. In the meanwhile, we’ll just have two on hand, one patrolling, the other in plain clothes. My plan is for him to make himself a blind out in your back field somewhere.
“Now, since you choose not to leave, how comfortable are you…” Albion hesitated in his delivery.
“In making ourselves targets?”
Albion nodded. “See, we can act normal, encouraging them to come to us, or we can light this place up, discouraging attacks.” He looked at them as if leading them into following his train of thought.
Sylvia obliged. “And wonder when and where they would catch us: at the grocery, a restaurant, out for a walk…”
“Exactly.”
“And there’s no telling how long all that might take, or who all else might get caught up in it.”
Albion nodded. “This is desolate country. We should be able to spot them, but if we were to pull over a Suburban, say… And the people inside were not our two… We can arrest our two for your highway incident, maybe even for trespassing into your yard, though that one would be a stretch. But if we stop the new ones, we would have nothing to charge them with. Odds are, they would leave and be replaced with others that we might not know. And they might come in next time looking more like tourists than gangsters.
“And another sad reality… my boss won’t let me just move to Creede forever. If I don’t have anything to show, I’ll be assigned cases where I’ll … Anyway, I will be pulled.”
“We stay,” Sylvia said. “With the porch lights off. But the dog on.” Sylvia added to everyone’s grin.
+++
Detective Albion spent the rest of the day coordinating with Sheriff Tate and his two troopers. The undercover officer came to the house to introduce himself before setting up netting in the back not too far from the house. He declined their kind hospitality, insisting that once in place, he had to convince anyone that he was not there, including anyone with binoculars. His hours of total camouflage they had worked out, would be from ten until four.
“One thing,” he said, his eyes on Sylvia, “Please don’t shoot me.”
They all laughed, though the officer kept his eyes on Sylvia.
Once alone, Ben looked to Sylvia, “Albion.”
“You too? You see his expression change when he turned away?”
They both grimaced, unsure what to make of the matter.
+++
Of course, nothing happened that day, or that night, or the next. The officer with the backyard duty walked to the house to check out with Ben, seeing him on the back porch with coffee at four on the second morning. He finally accepted a cup.
Both stayed their cups in midair as a car slowly drove past the house. They couldn’t see it, but by the sound, it had a V-8 engine. The officer jumped up to inch around the house from the side of the car’s advance, hoping to see the back of it as it drove on. He was too late, as the car continued on.
“No idea,” he told Ben upon his return. “But I’ll stay around until daybreak. Ed, the front side man isn’t there. He probably left at four, not knowing we were back here having coffee.”
Sylvia joined them, having been roused by Benji’s growl.
“Might’ve been one of the sheriff’s volunteers,” the trooper said, doubting it as he mouthed the words.
It was Sheriff Tate who found the errant brick in the front yard later in the morning. The attached note read: by the time you read this 980 Santa Rosa Avenue will be ashes.
A phone call proved the note to be true. Arson was more than suspected since there were multiple origins of the fire.
Ben was filled with remorse.
“I didn’t lose anything of value, no photos of my dad at all. But there were a few of Mom I would have kept. And of course my old Bibles. I’d like to have those even if I never opened them again. But what hurts most was that it was my mother’s home, the house her father built. The town is probably glad that it’s gone, but Mom loved it. It was where she fell in love with my father.”
Sylvia expressed her confusion. “How could these men travel so fast. Be here and there, and back here?” She laid her hand on his arm, sitting on the sofa beside him.
The sheriff, interrupted the solemn moment. “They have a long reach, Sylvia. A phone call and houses can get torched anywhere in the country. I’m sorry, Ben. But these boys are mean, and they won’t stop until they get their way, or … Well, I just don’t know what it will take. Looks like they’re willing to spend real dough. Not sure Mineral County, or the state of Colorado is up to that kind of war. It’s way easier to tear down than to build, or protect.”
Ben and Sylvia nodded in agreement.
Ben P. Persons: 81-year-old son of Ben Persons
Sylvia Adams: grand-daughter of Livvy and William Ferlonson
Martha Crawley: Livvy's daughter, Sylvia's mother
Oroville Johnston: grandson of Arville, Ben Sr's friend
Walter Thomas: pimp of the child prostitute in the Creede Hotel
Isaac Fisher: FBI Agent
Donald Albion: Colorado State Trooper detective
Sheriff Tate: sheriff of Creede and Mineral County, Colorado
Slim Goldman (Herschell Diddleknopper): miner who Ben (senior) rescued in 1886
Mary Diddleknopper: Slim's wife, great granddaughter of LouAnne (Slim's girlfriend from the1870s)
3 more chapters
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Sylvia Adams: grand-daughter of Livvy and William Ferlonson
Martha Crawley: Livvy's daughter, Sylvia's mother
Oroville Johnston: grandson of Arville, Ben Sr's friend
Walter Thomas: pimp of the child prostitute in the Creede Hotel
Isaac Fisher: FBI Agent
Donald Albion: Colorado State Trooper detective
Sheriff Tate: sheriff of Creede and Mineral County, Colorado
Slim Goldman (Herschell Diddleknopper): miner who Ben (senior) rescued in 1886
Mary Diddleknopper: Slim's wife, great granddaughter of LouAnne (Slim's girlfriend from the1870s)
3 more chapters
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