The Big Guy Chapter 18

The Big Guy
Chapter 18

“That’s excellent advice, Matt. Would you shoot at a regular target for us?” I agreed, and a man's silhouette with concentric circles on his torso was removed to fifty feet until I told the Range Master to move it back to one hundred. I emptied the cylinder, reinserting the two unused cartridges and four from my belt. I was given the “GO” signal once my ear protection was in place. My thumb slid the safety off as I brought the pistol up to the horizontal, and I began firing as soon as my left hand joined my right on the grips.

A revolver like a .44 Magnum has such a strong recoil that the barrel is forced upward and must be returned to horizontal after every shot. I’ve done this so many times that my motions are second nature by now. I flipped the cylinder open as soon as I had taken the last shot. My left hand found the speed loader in less than a second, and I reloaded and closed the cylinder only an instant later. I had taken eighteen shots and reloaded twice in less than ninety seconds. The target showed eighteen closely grouped holes near the center of the target.

“I have probably taken twenty thousand shots with this pistol over the past dozen years. I spent every spare second practicing shooting and reloading while an MP in the Navy. I couldn’t do it as frequently as a marshal because I was often on assignments out of town or state.

As crucial as shooting practice is, it is equally important to practice with your other weapons like your baton and—in my case—with my dog. I’ve trained Max to do everything a human partner can do…and more. Not only can he respond to my commands, but he can also use his judgment. I’m sure you question that, but my experiences with him have often proven it. He took down an armed robber at a diner in Bascomb’s Landing in less than ten seconds by biting the man’s wrist and shaking his head. Two minutes later, he played with two little girls he had already played with. Later, when deputy sheriffs rushed in, and one of them got too close to me with his drawn gun, Max broke away from the kids and was ready to attack. He would have had I not stopped him. The good thing about a dog is that I can call him back. You can’t do that with a bullet.” I stopped then, and Paul asked if there were any questions. The next thirty minutes were spent asking everything from how old Max was to what kind of grips I had on my pistol.

“You won’t find these too often. I made them from a piece of black walnut my uncle gave me.

He had an old tree in his yard that split in a big storm.

It must have taken me ten tries before I finally began to get it right. I was tempted to use a lacquer or a wax on it, but lacquer can make the wood sticky, and neither sticky nor slippery is desirable on a pistol grip, so the only thing on them is the natural oil from my hands.”

After that, I spent the next thirty minutes helping the cadets shoot. I was incredibly amazed at the accuracy Aimee Johnstone exhibited. When I asked her, she explained, “My uncle Anthony taught me to shoot. My father disappeared when I was two, and my mom is in prison for burglaries she committed while she was addicted to crack cocaine. Uncle Anthony and Aunt Sonya took me in. We lived on a small farm, and sometimes we had to rely on rabbits, squirrels, or raccoons for meat, and we always had to deal with rats in the barn. I shot them too…still do on occasion.”

“Just keep in mind that there’s a huge difference between shooting an animal and shooting a human being. I explained my reactions after shooting the man who had taken George hostage. “My reactions vary on the circumstances,” I told her loudly enough so others could hear. “I had no reaction when I had to kill a drug runner because he was shooting at me—trying to kill me—but I wanted the hostage situation to end peacefully, and I felt that I had failed.” I left with Paul then to discuss my speech. I had been reluctant to mention it to Lucy, but she was thrilled.

“It’s a chance of a lifetime, Matt. Everyone will know who you are.”

“Maybe, but that’s not necessarily a positive thing. It’s in four months. Do you think you’ll be able to come with me?”

“Of course, silly, but I’ll check with Dr. Murphy if that will make you feel better.” It did so, and I began to work on my remarks immediately. Rather than play the hero, I decided to downplay my role, knowing that the audience of experienced law enforcement officers could read between the lines.

It took a while, but after almost a month, I recited it for Lucy, and she approved, telling me that she loved my special surprise. That had taken a bit of research on the phone. Finally, I was done with it, and after reviewing my notes and practicing for weeks, I was ready.

The Memphis Police Academy takes twenty-two weeks to complete, so the graduates will be ready to join the force only three weeks before the conference. I spent much time with Daryl, Dan, and D’Anthony—a lieutenant I had hired away from Nashville—to review who we wanted to serve as training officers. And what shifts to use them on. All officers would eventually work every shift, changing every month. Despite having had quality experience at the Police Academy, recruits still had much to learn, so picking their training officers would be critical. Perhaps the most vital step would be getting the officers to agree to the added responsibility. I relied heavily on Dan for that.

Making arrangements for travel with Max wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Jonathan just rented an executive jet. Getting Caesar’s Palace to accept him was more complicated, but my father-in-law’s influence prevailed.

We left Memphis on Sunday morning and arrived at McCarron around noon. We had no trouble getting a cab at that hour, even with Max, but the bellhops were terrified even when I told Max to heel, and we walked into the cavernous lobby. I paid for everything on my credit card, and the city reimbursed my expenses once I returned to work.

After registering for the conference and getting my ID and lanyard, we wandered around the casino, and Lucy kept Max at heel the entire time. There was immediate shock and surprise from the other patrons, which evaporated once they saw how well-behaved and trained Max was. We returned to our room at four to shower, shave, and dress, and then we went to the ballroom. Lucy and I entered through the center door, and I told Max to SIT and STAY. Lucy and I then proceeded down the center aisle to a table off to the right reserved for the dignitaries and the keynote speaker—me.

Paul was there waiting for us, and he greeted Lucy and me, asking where Max was. “He’s here, but he’s waiting outside. I’m sure you’ll see him in a bit. We sat, and I took notice of the stage. I had been told it was only four feet above the main floor. Lucy and I ordered Cokes while salads were placed at each seat.

Dinner was pretty much what I expected—a decent tossed salad with ranch dressing followed by chicken breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and string beans. Dessert was a chocolate fudge cake covered with chocolate sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I’m not a big fan of chicken unless it’s Southern-fried, but the food was okay, and I ate it, especially when Lucy reminded me that we had missed lunch. Once the coffee and tea were served, the organization’s president stepped to the podium to give introductory remarks. Then, he introduced Paul as the chairman of the program committee.

“Thank you, Fred; it is indeed a pleasure to introduce an old friend and colleague. Matt Cahill is currently the Chief of Police in Bascomb’s Landing—a small city in southwestern Tennessee. Still, we all already know that from the conference literature or the national news.

Matt joined the Navy after high school, where he became a military police officer after completing basic training. After four years, he left the Navy to study Criminology at the University of North Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in three years.

He then became a United States Marshal, and he had one of the highest arrest records in the history of the service. I will tell you that he was the best partner I ever had as a Marshal.

He left the service about six months ago to take his current position. I’ve asked Matt to describe his involvement in stopping a multi-million-dollar drug ring after only six weeks on the job. I am pleased to introduce my very close friend, Matt Cahill.”

After kissing Lucy’s cheek, I stood and walked up the steps to my right, stopping to shake hands with Paul and hugging him. “Thanks for the great intro, Paul. It’s nice knowing I was your best partner when we were Marshals. Unfortunately, you only tied for my second-best with Daryl. Daryl Evans is now my second-in-command at Bascomb’s Landing.” I waved my hand to one of the employees at the rear of the large room as I raised the whistle to my lips.

After two short blasts, he opened the door and hastily stepped out as Max tore down the aisle, leaping onto the stage and stopping quickly at my side.

“My dog, Max, has been my best partner for six years. His name is Maximilian von, something that I can never remember. Max is smarter than many of the people I’ve met during that time, and as you can see, he’s looking around the room for my wife, Lucy.” I bent at the waist and pointed to her.

Lucy waved, and Max relaxed, sitting at my side.

“Okay, now let me tell you how I engineered the destruction of a central drug ring that had plagued our area for years. It all began when I got lost. I had to detour off I-40 west of Memphis, and between the darkness and the heavy rain, it was all I could do to see the road. I drove until I saw lights in the parking lot at Lulubelle’s Diner in Bascomb’s Landing, Tennessee. The woman inside offered me her couch for the night in return for a ride to her mobile home. As you can see, I’m big, and her couch was pretty small—more a loveseat than a couch, so she told me I should sleep with her.

That alone should tell you everything you need to know about the woman who is now my wife.

I stayed with her for over a week until the weather cleared up. On Friday, Max and I were in the local diner when two gunmen tried to pull a stick-up. Max took one, and I took the other. I had mine handcuffed in a minute, and Max had broken eight bones in the man’s hand, wrist, and arm in a lot less time. No shots were fired, and none of the fifty customers and staff were injured. The following day, I learned that the woman who had taken me in was Lucille Bascomb. Right—Bascomb, as in Bascomb’s Landing.

“On Sunday afternoon, Max and I were invited to her parents’ weekly party on their spacious patio, where I noticed that the bartender was spending a lot of time behind the bar.” I heard a few chuckles then, so I continued. “I can see that several of you also know what was happening.

After dinner, I told Lucy’s father that he was being victimized, and—sure enough—we found a bunch of empty bottles with all kinds of handwritten fancy brand labels on them. He poured the good stuff into the empty bottles and served cheap junk to the guests.

“Now we get to the first good part. Once we were in the study, he told us that he was working for one of the city’s police officers and that his roommate at Memphis University had bought drugs from him, too. At this point, I was still with the Marshals Service, but Lucy had asked if I might consider settling down there and if I could get a good job. She told me I could interview for the Chief’s position. Once I had the job, I phoned Paul for advice. He steered me to a state attorney, and the state police took over the investigation because I’d had a run-in with the cop in a restaurant, and I didn’t want to be seen when a drug buy was observed and recorded.

That could easily have messed up the entire deal.

“The state police were able to get video and audio of the drug buy, and from that, they got a warrant to bug the house where the cop and his parents lived. They overheard plans for a significant drug buy from a cartel in Mexico. The only problem was that there were many voices, and they couldn’t identify any of them. This led to the one part of the investigation that I regretted. My wife has lived in the city and knows hundreds if not thousands of people. She and I drove to Memphis Sunday morning with my lieutenant, Daryl Evans, to listen to the recording. That was the first time we realized how big this case would be.

“On the tape, we heard Jeremy Haynes, the patrolman I mentioned earlier; his father, Carl Haynes, the chairman of the city council and his wife; Gil Parsons, another city patrolman; Stan Irwin, a lieutenant in the P.D.; and Joe Wilson, the recently retired chief of police.” I hesitated then because of the reaction of many in the audience. I even heard several say,

‘Holy shit,’ ‘What the hell?’ and ‘Good God!’ among other remarks of amazement.

“It was during this meeting that I first heard their plans, and we began planning our raid. There are several packets of paper on your tables. I’m sure that most, if not all, of you realize that.

The top sheet shows an aerial view of the Bascomb Quarry. This old and obsolete mine is enclosed by an eight-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire.” I showed each feature on a large screen behind me using a red laser pointer. I described each step in detail, and my audience must have found it interesting because there was total silence in the room.

I told them about arresting Stan Irwin first and taking him to the state police staging area. Then I described how Daryl and I had sneaked up on Parsons and then how we had sealed the entrance with the two substantial ore trucks. “Everything about these trucks is huge; each one weighs more than 500,000 pounds, and with their beds tilted back, any attempt to ram them would just result in sliding up the ramps they made.”

Next, I described the actual raid, shooting the Mexican who had tried to kill me, capturing Carl and Mrs. Haynes, and how Daryl baited Jeremy Haynes into a “fight.” “It wasn’t much, but it did get Haynes out of the warehouse and into custody.” Once I was done, I asked questions.

There was no shortage as I answered their queries for almost an hour. The final question was about the type and quantity of drugs.

“That’s a good one. There were just over 500,000 tablets of Oxycontin and twenty kilos of pure, uncut cocaine. There was also more than a ton of marijuana baled in plastic. We also confiscated the $1,250,000 in cash, which was the payment for the drugs. I’ve learned that all those charged have pleaded guilty, hoping for leniency. However, I have also been told that the minimum sentence will be twenty to fifty years plus heavy fines—millions-- and there is still the matter of income tax evasion to be resolved.

“That concludes my prepared comments, but I’d like to know if you were paying attention to Max while I was speaking. He knows that he is close enough to me that he can protect me, but he has never once taken his eyes off my wife since I pointed her out. He has been in many restaurants, so he knows what servers are supposed to do, but if anyone were to hurt Lucy, he’d be on him in a second.

“Thanks for your kind attention, and if you should think of any additional questions, I’ll be around for the next four days and be pleased to answer them for you. Come on, Max.” I walked off the stage to my seat next to Lucy, who greeted me with a big, juicy kiss before hugging and petting Max.

The organization's president made a few remarks, thanking me again for an excellent presentation. He commented about Max: “I can understand why Max is such a good partner. Since you trained him while you were a Marshal, I would have thought he would be government property.”

I stood again to reply. “He was until I bought him. My commander told me to leave him in his office when I resigned. Unfortunately, Max refused to follow his orders. He wouldn’t even move from where I left him until the commander gave up. He came to me when I snapped my fingers to call him. He will follow some directions from my lieutenant, who he knows well, and from my wife, who he loves, but that’s it.”

I held Lucy’s chair as she rose, and we walked out of the ballroom. I shook many hands and received some pats on my back until one chief from a major city on the East Coast asked if there was a moral to my story. “I guess it would be that you never know where even the smallest situations can lead, so it’s a good idea not to ignore them. In this case, a little attention to an insignificant concern led to the breaking up of a big-time drug ring that had accumulated more than twenty million in profit over only four years. That money is in the Caymans but will be confiscated before we return home.”

“Once again…great job.” He shook my hand again, and we went our separate ways.

Lucy and I had reserved a small suite because we wanted a little relaxing room. I had set up Max’s bowls in the small bar area, knowing that neither Lucy nor I would drink anything other than water or soda. We cleaned up and then returned to a reception held by one of the significant vest manufacturers. Of course, we took Max and had no problem getting him into the room. We met Paul and Steven Johnson, the Bascomb’s County Sheriff. My impressions from our prior meetings were that he was an efficient lawman but a bit too political for my tastes.

Nonetheless, we had a cordial meeting talking with them and a few others who knew either Paul or Steven.

We left before eleven to return to our room for a much-needed rest. But first, we did the same thing we always did—we made the most incredible love with lots of touching and kissing and foreplay that got us so hot for each other that we were almost on fire. Lucy pulled me into her, surprising me with her strength.

Once I was deeply seated, she held me in place with her legs around my back. “Afraid I’m going to run away,” I asked teasingly.

“Oh no; you’re not going anywhere except in and out of my puss. It’s the best exercise I’ve ever done…believe me!” I did. It was my favorite by far.
I gave Lucy two screaming orgasms by the time I finally came, drowning her pussy by the time I was done. Lucy lay beneath me with an angelic smile when I kissed her and backed away. Her eyes opened suddenly as if in shock.

“I’ll be back. I have to take Max out.” I climbed into a pair of shorts and sandals, then grabbed one of the plastic bags I’d brought and my garden trowel, just in case. Fifteen minutes later, I climbed into bed. Lucy squirmed into my body before kissing me, and I fell sound asleep seconds later. I lay on my back for several minutes, reflecting on my life and how it had changed since I lost my way just a few months ago.

The rest of the conference was what I expected. There were lectures on new scientific techniques and panel discussions on common problems like getting sufficient funding for equipment. I did appreciate one session on federal grants since that was something new for me.

Mostly, I enjoyed the vendors’ booths and displays. I went through them with Paul while Lucy spent time in the expensive shops with Max. Only once had a clerk objected to his presence by grabbing Lucy’s arm, something I doubted she would ever do to a customer again. Lucy told me that Max growled and bared his teeth but held back from anything more at Lucy’s command.


To be continued