Secret Vows

“What does this have to do with me, Dad?”

“I want you to be careful, son. We may have chopped off the head of the snake, but this snake is different because it has the uncanny ability to grow another head. One that belongs to Webb Irvine. One of Simon’s investigators found a witness who claims it was Basil and not Webb who’d stomped a man to death. Meanwhile Webb did a term for his older brother because, as a fifteen-year-old, he knew he would be sent to a juvenile facility rather than jail.”

“But Webb did go to jail,” Jason argued. The man had spent ten years in a California minimum security prison.

“That was only after he’d turned eighteen. There had been bad blood between Basil and Leon Burke because Leon owed him money, but the situation got worse when Webb got Leon’s thirteen-year-old sister pregnant, then denied the baby was his. Leon extracted revenge when he cut up Webb’s face. Basil retaliated by kicking him to death.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jason asked his father. “Basil’s dead and I doubt if Webb is going to follow in his brother’s footsteps.”

“I doubt it, too. But this is not about Slow Wyne Records. It’s about your mother. She’s earned the right to worry about you because she is your mother.”

Jason exhaled an audible breath. “Okay. I’ll give her that, but she can’t expect—”

“I know what you’re going to say,” David interrupted, “and I agree with you. You’re an adult, and you shouldn’t have to check in. Just promise me you’ll be careful, and I’ll make things right on this end.”

“I’ll be careful, Dad.” He’d say anything not to prolong the conversation.

Jason wasn’t argumentative by nature, eschewed confrontation and occasionally stepped in as the mediator during a family conflict. Unlike his older brother Gabriel, Jason never ingratiated himself into his sisters’ romantic relationships. The only love-related advice he’d given his siblings was not to get involved with anyone in the music business. Fortunately they’d heeded his warning. Alexandra had married a man who worked for the CIA, and Ana had recently married a U.S. marshal.

“Thanks, Jason.”

“No problem, Dad.”

He ended the call, shaking his head. Jason could not have imagined his day would begin with family drama. After all, it wasn’t the first time he’d taken off without letting his parents know where he was going. If they’d wanted to know his whereabouts, then they only had to ask Ana. But things had changed because Ana and her husband divided their weekends between Boca Raton and the Keys.

Jason had come to Mission Grove to get away from the chaos, madness and mayhem that had everyone in his family on edge for the past three months. All he wanted to do was go into the studio and write the music that had haunted him for more than a year. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he headed for the bathroom. He planned to be dressed by the time the cleaning service arrived.

Los Angeles, California

Webb Irvine came to his feet when the man he’d waited days to see was ushered into his home office. He hadn’t known what to expect but it wasn’t the pale, slightly built, seemingly emaciated man wearing small oval sunglasses, making it impossible to discern the color of his eyes. His gaze went from the shaved head, narrow face and down to an ill-fitting black suit. It was impossible to pinpoint his age. He could’ve been anywhere between thirty and fifty. Webb smiled and the network of scar tissue along his left cheek was reminiscent of blisters. What had been a shockingly handsome face was now hideously deformed.

He nodded to the woman whom he’d come to depend upon to keep his household running smoothly and to covet his innermost secrets; she was his mother. “Thank you, Donna,” he said softly. “And will you please close the door.”

It wasn’t until after the death of his brother that Webb had asked her to come and live with him. At first she’d balked, then relented. After all there was more than enough room in the Hollywood Hills mansion for them not to run into each other. Webb had fired his former housekeeper because she was a snoop. The woman didn’t know he’d installed cameras throughout the house, and every night before retiring for bed, he’d view the footage. At first he’d believed it was a fluke and that she was just straightening up his desk, but when he saw her attempting to open the wall safe behind a painting, he knew he had to fire her. His mother could care less about his business dealings. She was grateful he’d moved her out of Watts to an upscale community where the price for homes started at seven figures.

Webb took his visitor’s extended hand and then gestured to two facing off-white leather love seats. “Please sit down, Mr. Monk.”

“It’s just Monk, Mr. Irvine.”

Waiting until the man was seated, he walked over to a well-stocked bar. “Would you like something to drink, Monk?”

“No, thank you. I just celebrated my sixteenth year of sobriety.” He lifted a frightfully thin hand. “It won’t bother me if you have something.”

Webb smiled again. “Congratulations on your sobriety.”

He hadn’t outlined what he wanted from Monk, but the fact that the man had agreed to meet with him would warrant a celebratory cocktail after he left. Opening the built-in refrigerator, he took out a bottle of sparkling water and poured it into a crystal glass. Sitting opposite Monk, he raised the glass in a salute. “I want to thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

Monk wanted to tell the man with the scarred face that he’d only agreed to come in person because Webb Irvine had been recommended by a mutual friend. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll let you know whether it can be done.”

“Are you familiar with Serenity Records?”

Monk nodded. “I’ve heard of them.”

Putting the glass to his mouth, Webb took a deep swallow. “They’re my direct competition and...”

“And you want them eliminated,” Monk said, reading Webb’s mind.

Crossing his legs, the president and CEO of Slow Wyne Records stared at the toe of his imported slip-on. “I think I better give you some background information on my dilemma. My late brother hired someone to eliminate Ana Cole. She’s responsible for the day-to-day operation of Serenity.” He paused long enough to take another sip of water. “Basil hired a sniper to take her out, but they missed and shot one of her relatives.”

“That was his first dumb mistake,” Monk drawled. “If you want to eliminate someone, you get up real close and personal and put a bullet in her head.”

Webb gritted his teeth. He wanted to tell the man in black that he shouldn’t speak ill of the dead but he didn’t want to alienate him. Not when he was prepared to pay him an obscene amount of money to give Basil in death what he wasn’t able to obtain in life.

“You can’t go after her again,” Monk continued.

“I know. That’s why we’ve shifted our attention to her brother. His name is Jason Cole.”

“Where does he live?”

“Boca Raton, Florida. We had someone on the inside at Serenity that told us he still lives in his parents’ home, but mentioned he may have a place in either Washington or Oregon.”

“Did this person tell you which city?”

Webb shook his head. “No. She’s no longer working there.”

Monk rested his hands on his knees. “Tell me about this Jason. Is he married? Does he have a girlfriend or children?”

“I believe he’s single. I’m not certain whether he has a girlfriend, and I doubt if he has children.”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s easy enough to find out about his kids.”

“If he has kids, then I don’t want them touched.” Webb didn’t know how, but he could feel the heat of Monk’s gaze behind the dark lenses.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, Mr. Irvine, but I don’t kill children. If Jason has children, then it would make him more visible. After all, children have to go to school. I will eliminate your Mr. Cole using my own methods. You’ve been told that my fee is half down and the other half when the job is completed. Once I pick up my final payment, you will never see me again.”

The sweep hand on Webb’s gold timepiece made a full revolution before he asked, “What if you don’t complete the job?”

Bloodless thin lips parted in a feral grin. “I’ve never started something I didn’t finish. But if I don’t, barring divine intervention, then you’ll be out a half million dollars.” Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, Monk took out a cell phone, placing it on the love seat cushion. “This phone will be our only contact until the job is done. I’ll call to give you updates. If you don’t pick up, then I’ll call again because I don’t believe in leaving voice mails or texting.”

“If I miss the call, then I’ll just call you back,” Webb said.

Monk shook his head. “You won’t be able to call me because I’ve blocked all outgoing calls. Once we conclude our business arrangement, the phone will be deactivated. You’re in security, so I know you’re familiar with burn phones.” Monk flicked his wrist, glancing at his watch. “I don’t want to be rude but I must leave. My taxi is waiting and the meter is running.”

Webb stood and walked over to his desk. He picked up a large expandable pleated envelope, handing it to Monk. Earlier that afternoon he’d opened the safe and counted out five hundred thousand dollars in hundreds and fifties. He normally wouldn’t have had more than ten thousand dollars in the safe, but that was before Basil passed away.

When Basil’s houseboy had called to say he’d discovered the lifeless body of his boss sitting in a chair in his home office, Webb had rushed to the Beverly Hills’ mansion and emptied the safe. He didn’t own a counting machine, so it’d taken him almost three days to tally more than six million dollars in cash. Basil had drawn up a will, leaving Webb everything: house, cars, jewelry, money in several personal bank accounts and Slow Wyne Records. He now was the head of two companies. Slow Wyne and a security company selling high-tech surveillance equipment.

Webb had contacted his former cellmate to ask if he knew someone to help him with a personal problem. Ian Scott had spoken to his father, a shadowy man with ties to organized crime. Mr. Scott had quoted a figure and Webb had agreed. He would’ve paid any amount of money in order to bring down Serenity Records.