IMBERADO

                                                 Chapter V

The following Monday Travis was picking up a rental car at San Antonio International. It had been a dull and uneventful flight except for the change of planes at DFW in Dallas, his planes were in two different concourses on either side of the freeway separating them, and he had almost missed his connecting flight. It reminded him just how much he now hated Dallas, even though he had called it home years before and liked it when he was with the Dallas Police Department.

He had planned the trip after getting some information back from Helen. Sargent Davis was originally from San Antonio, and his full name was Antonio Rivera Davis. Davis was born here, he had graduated high school here and had enlisted in the Marines here, right after high school graduation. Travis and Andy agreed he should come here and follow up on any leads he could find. Levi had learned from his contact with an ex-Marine group that Davis was a member of a Marine Forced Recon unit at the time of his death and his friend was quietly asking around for more on the QT.

Travis planned on making his first stop at McCollum High School where Davis had graduated in 1979. After leaving the airport, he drove to the south part of the city where the high school was located. The first impression that struck Travis was that this was not in an upper-class neighborhood, in fact some might call it a barrio.

After checking in at the administration desk, Principal Wilson came out of his office and asked him to join him inside, after the two men shook hands.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Cody, and may I ask what a private investigator from Virginia is doing at my school in San Antonio, Texas?”

“A fair question, Mr. Wilson, and believe me it is nothing like what you see in the movies.”

“Darn, that’s too bad, I might could use a little intrigue today.” Wilson said with a smile and chuckle. “So what does bring you to our area?”

“I’m just checking off some blanks I have involving the family of one of your alumni from 1979. Antonio Davis to be precise.”

“Tony, so sad about him. That boy never seemed to catch a break did he?”

“I wouldn’t know about that exactly. I do know he died awfully young serving our country.”

“I heard about that, of course. But I knew Tony while he was here and he just never seemed to get a square deal.”

“How so?”

“Always tried to stay out of trouble; worked to keep his grades above average, good defensive lineman on the football team, won more than he lost wrestling and a fair runner on the track team. He just wasn’t good enough at any of them to get a college scholarship. But he never seemed to have many friends, kept mostly to himself as I remember, probably because of how some of the kids treated him.”

“What do you mean ‘treated’ him?”

“Well, you know how mean kids can be sometimes to someone who doesn’t try to fit in. Some called him “Macaroni Tony” and a couple of times that got him into a fight. Don’t get me wrong, he never started them, but he sure finished them.”

“Why Macaroni Tony, he was Hispanic not Italian?”

“Not completely accepted as Hispanic either. It was the name, Davis. His mom’s dad was white, and his mom was a whole other issue, if you know what I mean?”

“Not exactly, I guess?”

“Well the ‘macaroni’ came from his usually bringing his lunch, rather than buying it in the cafeteria, and it was usually Mac-and-Cheese. And his mom was not always around. You do know she was an addict and that they lived in a rented trailer over off of Harding, right?”

“I knew she was an addict, yes; I didn’t know where they lived here in San Antonio.”

“Yeah, that’s where. Mostly there were rumors that she hooked for a living sometimes to support her habit and even got arrested a couple of times for both. But Tony, he never missed a day of school, a game or a track meet. He even started working at a local hamburger joint after school the minute he turned sixteen and could.”

“Sounds like a tough life for a kid. What about grandparents, couldn’t they have helped out?”

“Maybe at one time, her dad was retired Air Force, but they both died in a car accident when Tony was in grade school. Besides I heard his mom and grandparents were estranged. Seems his mom barely graduated herself. Started doing drugs her senior year and got pregnant with Tony just before graduation, some say she was a party girl. Up and moved out of their house and didn’t tell them where she was going for a long time. I hear when she died Tony didn’t even claim her body or come home for a funeral.”

“That part I knew from his records. I hoped you might have some info on other relatives in his records that I could contact. You see, his death benefits were never paid out and it’s almost time when they expire.”

“We never have much past parents, sometimes grandparents. But even that wouldn’t be possible in Tony’s case.”

“Why not, may I ask?”

“Sure, his records were in with some others that got vandalized and burned about five years ago.”

“Seems like his bad luck never ended?”

“I have had the same thought, too bad, like I said he was a good kid at heart.”

“Thank you anyway, Mr. Wilson, I’ve tied up enough of your time and you have been very accommodating.”

“Sorry I couldn’t have helped more. Good day, Mr. Cody, and good luck.”

Travis shook his hand, walked out of his office and the building to his rental car. As he sat down, shut the door and turned on the key, he decided on his next stop. Leaving the parking lot he turned north and headed for downtown and the police department. Danny Markel was a detective there now and he knew Danny from when they both were patrolmen for the Dallas police department years ago.

At San Antonio Police Headquarters Travis asked for Detective Markel. His luck was good enough today for Danny to not only be on duty, but at his desk as well. Ten minutes later Danny Markel and Travis were at his desk in the detective’s squad room.

“It is sure good to see you, old son. How are you doing? I heard you took a medical from Dallas, moved to Virginia and went all private on us.”

“I did and that’s part of why I am here.”

“No way. What would a Virginia Shamus be doing in San Antone talking with an old pal cop?”

“Well I’m trying to get some information on Guadalupe Davis? You wouldn’t happen to be able to help me, would you?”

“You mean Quaalude Mary?”

“I don’t know, do I?”

“If you’re looking for a junkie, part time hooker/party girl who overdosed about five to six years ago, you do?”

“Sounds like her from what I know now. What can you tell me?”

For the next hour the two old friends talked about Sargent Davis’s mother, her record went back years. She had been arrested three times for solicitation and twice for drug possession starting in 1960. Danny confirmed she had an illegitimate son at eighteen and at the time of her death the son was a Marine serving overseas. He confirmed that her body was not claimed within the allowable time and she had been cremated. He also confirmed the death of her two parents many years before in a hit and run car accident with a drunk, who served time for vehicular manslaughter. Guadalupe had been the only child and claimed all their possessions. Danny said she had been out of the system for a while after that, but when she reemerged, he suspected that the money had run out again. He wasn’t surprised when she overdosed, he said it wasn’t an if, but when, she would.

By then it was Markel’s time to be off duty for the day and he asked Travis over for dinner. It had been good to see Danny’s wife and how their kids had grown. He took the opportunity to tell them of his engagement to Andy. Danny was both flabbergasted and happy for Travis. He and his wife said they would now have to make a trip to Virginia to meet the woman who could finally corral Travis.

Travis spent the next morning at the newspaper’s archives reading old issues with accounts of Guadalupe’s arrests and obituary. He looked up the news account of her parent’s accident and their obituary, in this one he found a name for her mother’s sister as surviving them, at that time it said she was from the Midland area. Travis copied her name on his note pad and left the newspaper archives. Once he was back at his hotel he called information and got a number for the woman. He called the number and a woman answered.

“Hello.”

“I’m sorry, is this Mrs. Donna Chavez? My name is Travis Cole and I want to tell you this is not a sales call.”

“Yes, I am Donna Chavez, what is this about?”

“Mrs. Chavez, I am looking for any relative of Antonio Davis and found information leading

me to believe you were his aunt. “

“Yes, I was Antonio’s great aunt. Why are you looking for his relatives now? I read he died 5 years ago in that attack in the Middle East.”

“Yes m’am. But since his mother and grandparents were deceased before him, he had no heirs to claim his death benefits. Now, you weren’t named as a beneficiary, but the time is about to expire if you wanted to initiate a possible claim.”

“Oh, I guess that means that tramp of a mother he had is dead too, I didn’t know that. She pretty well abandoned her parents and family years ago. Besides, I don’t have any claim on his benefits, nor do I care to. If that is all you want, then I could just say thank you and goodbye.”

“Before you go could I ask if you know of any friends, a girl friend or anyone he was close to that I might be able to contact?”

“Well, maybe if I can remember her name? It was a long time ago, now. The last time I heard from Antonio he was stationed in California and talked about a girl he liked. I think she was in the Marines too, stationed on the same base he was, Pendleton I think. Let me see, I think her name was Donna, yes it was. He made a joke of her having the same name as me, sorry I don’t remember her last name though. That’s about all I remember, sorry, I hope that helps. I better go now, good luck to you, Antonio was a good boy, and he deserved a better mother.”

“Thank you Mrs. Chavez, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

Travis looked at his watch and saw he needed to be checking out of the hotel and getting to the airport. He wanted to check in for his flight early and he needed to turn in his rental car before he could. Well he had another name, but Pendleton was a huge Marine base and Donna was a pretty common first name, this would be a longshot at best.

Three days later Travis was on his way home from a security gig in D.C. he was thinking about his next move in the investigation. Neither Levi nor Helen had called with any new information on the name Donna yet and he was not surprised, that first name only, from that many years ago had been a long shot.

Just as he walked into his house after clicking the button to close the garage door his mobile phone rang.

“Hello, Travis Cole, how may I help you?”

“Travis, this is Danny in San Antone, got a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up? I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“Me either. Am I remembering right, did you tell me you had visited with Mr. Wilson at the high school before we met a few days ago?”

“Yeah, we talked about Sargent Davis from when he went to school there, why?”

“He was found dead this afternoon, looks like a heart attack, coincidental don’t you think?”

“Very, anything odd to make you think elsewise?”

“Not exactly, a neighbor called the fire department. She heard a smoke alarm going off, knocked on his door and no one answered, so she called 911. They broke in door and found him dead on the kitchen floor.”

“No smoke or fire?”

“Not when they got there, he had a pan scorching on the stove, which was what set off the smoke detector. He must have been making macaroni and cheese for dinner when it happened.”

“Macaroni and cheese, you sure?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well he told me that kids called Davis, Macaroni Tony during high school because he brought that for lunch every day and a couple of times it caused a fight. You say the fire department had to break in.”

“Yeah, the place was all locked up.”

“Don’t want to tell you what to do, but I would do two things. First check for any signs of forced entry that got locked back up, and second an autopsy to see if he was drugged.”

“Why, what are you thinking?”

“Not sure, but too convenient a coincidence for me.”

“Maybe so, I’ll have it checked out, hell I’ll go check the house myself. Call you back if anything turns up.”

“Thanks, Danny.”

After hanging up from Danny, Travis placed a call to Helen.

“Helen have you gotten anywhere with that name of a woman Marine at Pendleton?”

“Not yet, why? You knew it wasn’t much information to go on.”

“I just heard from a friend in Texas and I’m trying to get pushy, but I need to find her if at all possible.”

“Sure, I’ll do the best I can. And hey, by the way thank you to you and Andy. I heard from Levi, we’re having dinner and drinks tonight.”

“Cool, scold him again for me. It shouldn’t have been this long. I’ll tell Andy tonight.”

“Thanks Travis, I’ll call you if and when I find anything on this Donna woman.”

“Thanks Helen, later.”

“Later.”

Travis went down stairs to his office and got on his computer, he signed into Fidonet and placed messages for NDN Will and Bulldog 1369.

When Andy got home he told her about the call from Danny Markel and his call to Helen, including her date with Levi that night.

“Good, it’s about time. You know I like Levi a lot and all I want is for him not miss out on a woman who truly cares about him.”

“I know Baby, me too. I told her to scold him again for me, and she told us both thank you.”

“What are you thinking about in Texas?”

“I think I owe your dad an update, see if he gets the same gut feeling I got?”

“Okay, why don’t I call him and see if he’ll come over for dinner tonight. We could talk about it then?”

“That sounds like a plan, what would you like to have, I’ll go get something out.”

“Oh, let’s just do burgers and fries, Daddy likes that on the grill.”

“Great, you call and I’ll get the stuff ready.”

Travis handed Andy the mobile phone as he headed toward the kitchen.

An hour later Sheriff William Dexter was there and all three were sitting down to burgers and fries with cold beer on the deck. Travis had brought Dexter up to speed with what he had learned while in Texas and the call from Detective Markel earlier that day.

“So you think Sargent Davis killed this high school principal in San Antonio? Don’t get me wrong, I agree it is a suspicious coincident. But how and why would he do that after so many years? I mean why now, do you think he found out you had been there?”

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t think he could have found out so quickly. But still, if Danny calls back and confirms my suspicions, then we have another problem. Not only do we need to find him because of Jim’s murder. But now we need to find him before he, or the agency suspects we are investigating Jim’s death as a murder. I emailed to the two hackers this afternoon, to see if they would help?”

“Get any replie’s yet”

“No, at least not before I came upstairs and we called you.”

“Well hell, I’m done with the grub. Let’s go down to that office of yours and see”

Once in Travis’s office and his computer on and logged into Fidonet, he saw there no replie’s yet.

“Not yet, Dexter.”

“I see stuff sent to the names you mentioned last time. But who is this ‘Imberado’ that sent them?”

“That’s Travis, Daddy, his great grandmother gave him that name and I can’t wait until you hear why.” Andy said before Travis could answer and started chuckling after she said it.

“Why, what’s so funny?”

“Go on Imberado. Tell daddy the story.” Still trying to contain the laughter under her breath.

“Okay, but you don’t have to enjoy it so much though.” Travis answered her with that ‘I’m caught’ looking smile he flashed her before continuing.” My great Grandmother Juanita Walkingstick gave me the nickname when I was about 3 years old, and called me that more than she called me Travis up until her death when I was ten years old.”

“Okay, but why and what kind of name is Walkingstick? Sounds Indian but Juanita sounds Mexican?”

“Right on both counts. She was a full blood Apache and the first of her clan to marry a white man, my Greatgrand Father Wallace Duncan, a prospector who came from Mississippi to the Superstition Mountains in the early 1890’s. And ‘Imberado’ loosely interpreted means bad temper, sometimes Apache words are hard to translate literally. They tend to mean more than a word but as she meant it, bad temper is as close as you can get. According to her, my grandmother and mom, I would cry and raise Cain when I didn’t get my way.”

At this Dexter and Andy started laughing in earnest. Travis got a flushed face at first and then joined in the laughter. Andy’s laugh especially was contagious.

“Hell, I could tell you some stories about Andrea and her brother.”

“Hush, Daddy. We don’t need to go sharing my childhood antics right now.”

“Oh, come on, it just shows how alike you two were.”

“Daddy, hush.” The bark was there, but so was the loving daughterly smile.

“So if I may ask, how much Apache blood do you have, no offence intended?”

“I’m one-eighth Apache, and I am damn proud of it. I knew my great gran until I was ten and she taught me a lot, after she was gone my Grandma took over. Well that is except for what Grandpa Conner’s taught me until I was fifteen when they died in a car accident. Grandpa had been a Texas Ranger before he moved to Arizona and became an Arizona Ranger and married Grandma. Boy could he tell some whoppers. But he could also ride, shoot and track with the best of them.”

“I’ll bet he was a man to be reckoned with. And it seems he instilled some real good instincts in you.”

“That would be him, Sheriff.”

“Well, my instincts tell me Andy has made a good choice. But I should go, let me know if and when these hacker friends of yours answer back with any new leads we can follow.”