chapter thirty seven

word count: 641

"so when do i get to see janey?" bud asked,, knowing full well it would never be that easy...

"not so fast,, my new friend..." uncle frank laughed under his breath,, as he rolled his cigar in the ashtray,, he pushed the ashes around with the stub of his cigar... pondering the ashes as if what he was about to say was hidden in there somewhere,, and he had to find it....

finally he lifted his head,, looked directly at bud and smiled knowingly...

"you understand,, of course," he spoke slowly and distinctly,, "that there are certain aspects of this most recent,, shall we call it,, 'chain of events',, that concern me greatly...." he paused,, exhaled and continued,, "not the least of which is the unfortunate passing of my beloved nephew,, ruben. may he rest in peace...." he made the sign of the cross ,, glanced up,, as if into the heavens,, and then returned his gaze to bud....

"it has been brought to my attention,, that the piece of shit that we found in possession of your lovely wife,, more than likely perpetrated the untimely demise of my dear departed nephew,, as well..." he took a deep breath,, leaned forward on his desk,, settling his chin into the crook between his thumb and forefinger,, and stared directly into buds eyes...

"however,, i,, much like you ,, my friend,, prefer never to jump to hasty a conclusion... i want facts.. physical evidence even where ever possible... an eyewitness perhaps??? and that,, as i am sure you can see,, is where you come into all of this....."

"a friend of mine,, a trusted friend,, has led me to believe that there were others present,, there in the the moments that my ruben drew his final breath... others that can confirm or deny my suspicions,, and thus cut short this period of,, well,, indecision...."

"given your degree of expertise as a detective,, and your intimate knowledge of the point of origination of this atrocity,," he looked knowingly at bud,, causing bud to wonder if in fact he was privy to information concerning the investigation from which all of this had eroded.. "and your,, shall we say,, 'connections'? i have decided that you will be the one to find these 'others',, and bring them here to me... i want you to find them.. i want them delivered to me,, personally.. and i want them,, with in twenty four hours..."

"if and when you comply with my wishes,, i will reunite you with your wife.. and not until.." as he finished his statement uncle frank pushed back his chair,, stood and walked to the door.. for an instant bud thought that was it,, he was going to open the door and usher him out...

instead, as uncle frank opened the door,, he heard him confer briefly,, in hushed tones,, with one of his associates that stood just outside the door...

bud heard the sound of footsteps,, someone walking away? then silence.. finally the returning sound of footsteps,, but this time,, it was more than one set of footsteps,, and they were walking toward the door....

"uncle frank,," bud recognized a familiar voice as it broke the previously dead silence...

"come in,, please... i've been expecting you ... so glad you could join us.." uncle frank greeted the familiar voice warmly,, with an audible kiss on each cheek...

the two of entered the room and the door was closed behind them...they moved toward bud,, who was still seated in silence,, facing uncle franks enormous mahogany desk.. as they walked to the front of the desk and into buds field of vision uncle frank used his hand to signify his desire for bud to stand and greet the newcomer...

"detective," uncle frank smiled as he winked at his guest, " i believe you know my nephew,, my brother wally's oldest son,, warren..."