Burnt Toast (eBook)

All Bar (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
600 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
9798317821326 (ISBN)

Infos

Alvin Border has become a doctor and made a mistake resulting in an inquiry regarding if he can continue practicing medicine. Jay Pavlas became a Texas Ranger and made a mistake on a case where innocents were injured or killed. He was placed on suspension. Jay was asked to continue working on a case undercover while being suspended and enlisted Alvin to help.

Born in a Sulphur Company town in Southeast Texas. Moved from the town early in life and grew up on a farm a few miles away. Went to grade school locally and finished college. Have continued to live in the same area for all of his life.

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Both Alvin and Jay experienced the shock of being told that they could not pursue their dreams. It was an injustice in many respects. They both, in their own way, discovered how to move forward and build up their lives and do what they always wanted to do. During that discovery, they both met and fell in love with twin sisters who became involved in the case that they were trying to solve.

Textauszug

Chapter 1 Traps for Mice and Men – Cuero Auction Barn 1979

Jay woke up, startled. He must have dozed off. Mad at himself for falling asleep, he groggily looked through the binoculars. As he squinted through the darkness at the gate, he quickly turned his attention to the surrounding grounds and fence lines. There was nothing going on that he could see, even though the low light binoculars illuminated everything in an eerie greenish tint. The stake out of the auction barn was going on as he had planned but he had doubts that it was going down today, it was getting late. He was becoming more anxious about the possibility that this could yet again be a waste of time. He had already been involved in an earlier version of this same stakeout. Based on information received from a young boy, the Rangers had been alerted that it was going to happen last Tuesday. He had reacted quickly and mustered the task force, setting up the perimeters, back up and contingency plans. That turned out to be bogus information, costing the department in wasted man hours and delays on other work planned. He looked at his watch. The dim green light from the watch lit up the inside of the truck.

2:28 AM, he muttered. Then clearing his voice, he spoke softly into the recorder. “It’s 2:28 AM on Thursday morning, April 7th, 1979. There has been no activity at the barn and the suspect’s rig is still parked near the loading area.” He turned the recorder off again, mad at himself for falling asleep. His radio crackled and he heard the voice on the other end. It was Jeff Morrow, a fellow Ranger and one of his team on this stake out.

“This is two, there is some activity behind the barn in the direction of the creek,” Jeff responded. “There are several men approaching with the boy. They are keeping low and maintaining a distance from the lights around the yard. They are trying to be quiet but there must be seven of them plus the boy and his uncle. Jay, it appears that the kid was telling us the truth, this time.

“Roger that,” responded Jay. “Are you in a safe place where they cannot see you?”

“Yes, I am on top of the shed, they can’t see me from where they are approaching, and I am covered by shadow of the overhang from the auction barn itself. If I talk in a whisper, they can’t hear me above the sound of the fans in the barn stall areas.” Jeff’s position was perfect. Through the binoculars, Jay could see the shed. The yard lights around the auction area did provide some stumble light but the position of the nearest light above the auction barn stock yards, left a shadow of darkness over the shed roof where Jeff was located. Add to that the fact that Jeff had a small tarp draped over his low light gear, he was nearly invisible to anyone below.

“Roger that, we will keep the chatter down, and I will give you the go signal when they commit, over and out.” Jay looked at the interior of the truck that he was sitting in. It was close to the barn but was inconspicuous in that it was a broken-down truck that had been sitting in this spot for years. It smelled of dust and mold. It too was cast in shadow since it was parked under an old massive live oak tree. Jay had chosen this as a central position in order to direct the activities of the whole team. It was a team that he had set up. He had planned the entire operation and was confident that he had allowed for every contingency. It was important that this arrest be done properly. It was, after all, his chance to show the Major that he could trust Jay to get it done right. There were only two lieutenants in this Ranger Company, and he was trying to prove that being the younger of the two did not mean that he could not handle the load. He was concerned about the safety of all participants in this stake out. He had made sure that each of his men were equipped with bullet proof vests as well as the best low light gear that the Ranger Company possessed. Still, it was unexpected that the crooks would be approaching from that wooded area. He tried to remember if he had included that area in his plans. There were no assets stationed anywhere near that side of the barn.

“Where are you, number three?” asked Jay.

“Three here replied William Hart. “I am positioned with the Calvary, about a quarter mile down the road. We are positioned in a hay barn, ready to go on your signal. Our ETA to your position is less than one minute.”

“Roger that, three. Stay alert, it looks like it is going down soon. Over and out.” William Hart was a good Ranger. He preferred to be called Will but was always ready to help with any job. Although young, he was very good at what he did. Jay had hand- picked Will for this duty and had convinced Major Rogers that he would be needed.

Jay pulled his revolver and made sure that it was loaded and ready. His mood brightened now that it looked like the intelligence they had received was going to pay off. Although he believed the boy informant was telling the truth and that his story of the bandits pressuring his uncle into helping seemed plausible, he had been concerned. His whole plan of catching the gang red-handed depended on the boy’s story being correct. The first time Jay had seen Adan Cavalos, he was convinced that the boy was very sincere and mature for 16 years of age. He was quiet and respectful yet there was a fire that burned inside of him. He wanted these men caught.

It took some guts to come to the Ranger Station and essentially lay out the gang’s plans. Adan’s uncle was kept under guard by the gang and was told that if he did not go through with the theft, that he and his wife would suffer, as well as all his relatives. But somehow during his uncle’s confinement, Adan was able to slip out and repeatedly go to the Ranger station, either while he was supposed to be in school or during after-school activities. At first the team did not believe Adan because the story he was telling seemed so elaborate and unrealistic. At first, the Major chalked up the story as one being told by an imaginative kid. But as Adan began to provide the details on the vehicles, and related overheard conversations about other jobs, complete with descriptions of the gang, the Rangers started cross-checking his story against facts from previous cases. They found similar patterns and descriptions of the people involved. It was then that the Major decided to perform some surveillance. If there was any chance that these criminals included Michael San Juan, the Major knew that he had to take it. That man was wanted for murder and numerous other crimes, too many to mention. All that they needed to do was confirm his identity and they could arrest him on the spot. Armed with new information coming in from that surveillance, the Rangers started cross referencing the data coming in. License plates on the suspect’s 18-Wheeler were originally provided by Adan, as well as license plates on two other vehicles. Their movements were tracked by Will with some help from the DPS. The 18-Wheeler was stolen, as was one of the other vehicles. The story started to make sense and Adan’s observations proved to hold together.

What Jay did not like was the chances that the kid took in telling them of the plot. He feared Adan’s safety as well as the danger that his aunt and Uncle remained in. Ultimately, what Jay feared the most was that innocent civilians were in the line of fire and continued to be in danger if the Rangers waited to act. If Adan’s activities were discovered by the gang, Jay knew that they all would be killed by this gang. The original charter of the Rangers was always to protect residents. This went back to the original Stephen F. Austin land grants when the unit was formed. Back then there were Indian raids, and innocent citizens were being terrorized. Now today, these gangs are doing the same thing, but in a different way. But the effect of these raids today was the same. These citizens were now being hurt or killed, robbed, extorted, kidnapped and forced into helping the criminals. The Rangers could not allow this to continue. The fact that the gang had changed the original date of the crime from last Tuesday had raised questions in Jay’s mind initially because he believed that the kid had been discovered. Now it appears that he wasn’t discovered and that tonight, the crime will finally be attempted. Maybe the change in the date had more to do with the availability of the prized bulls than anything else. Jay mulled over the possibilities. If this gang was the same gang that perpetrated those other crimes, then the chances were good that the risk he took in approving the ongoing surveillance and the time spent on the previous stake out was worth it. This gang of...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 3.11.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• ISBN-13: 9798317821326 / 9798317821326