Jim Yellow Hand parked
his Chevy and locked the doors. Looking around the upper class neighborhood
of Swallows’ Roost he saw the plush homes of the rich but Jim wasn’t taking
any chances. Some prejudiced soul might spy the Eagle Feather that hung
at his rear view mirror and decide to take it. During his last assignment
in California, some unknown son of a bitch decided to push his vehicle
into the ocean.
Looking out the front
window of the lush house were two teenage girls. Jim smiled at them and
they smiled back. He went to the front door and before he could ring the
bell, the door opened and there stood the two blond teenage girls.
“ Hi! I’m Beth and this is my sister Sally,” Beth said and smiled up at
the six foot, smiling man.
“ My grandmother is expecting you. Please come in,” Sally said and gave
the stranger the once over with her blue eyes. Sally seemed very impressed
as she looked at the man’s black leather jacket, jeans and the large belt
buckle with beaded Indian design.
Jim followed the girls
into the hallway and a very attractive older woman walked up to them
“ Mister Yellow Hand, please come into the study.” Jim followed the three
women and looked about at the beautifully furnished house.
“ You have a very nice home,” Jim said sincerely.
“ Thank you, please have a seat. You were highly recommended to me by the
California police. They sent me your record and your photo. I also understand
you’ve worked with the FBI.”
“ Yes, the FBI has used my help in the past. Please call me Jim.” The woman
smiled but then a worried look came to her face.
“ Jim, as you know, I am Kathleen Ashbury. My son Evan, the girls’ father
is missing. I received a call from a Karen Stanton. She claims my son left
her standing at the altar when he never showed up for their wedding. Jim,
I didn’t even know my son was getting married.”
“ Your son’s first wife, where is she?”
“ My mom died of cancer six years ago,” Sally explained.
“ I see. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“ We’ve been getting other calls from people who will not give us their
names. They demand that we tell them where my father is,” Beth said.
“ Yes, and another disturbing thing is the FBI telling us that Evan was
a witness to a murder and that he never showed up for a court hearing,”
Kathleen reported.
“ What is the person’s name that is with the FBI?”
“ She’s a very nice young woman named Marty Burke.” A smile came to Yellow
Hand’s face.
“ I’ve worked with Marty on other cases. I’ll give her a call.”
“ If you haven’t checked into a motel as yet, I’d like you to stay here
with us. This woman my son was to marry is coming here tomorrow morning.
Inspector Burke is coming also.”
“ Thank you, I’ll gladly accept your hospitality,” Jim replied.
“ Good! Sally, Please take Jim to the guest room.”
After taking his luggage
out of his vehicle, Jim followed Sally to the guestroom.
“ You’ll find what you may need in the bathroom Jim. If the telephone rings
tonight, will you answer it? Some of these people that have been calling
us sound really weird.”
“ Sure, don’t worry Sally. I’ll get any calls that might come in,” Jim
replied.
“ Thanks! Goodnight,” Sally said and left the room
Jim immediately took
his cell phone and tried to reach Marty. At the motel Marty Burke reacted
to the signal on her cell phone. “ Hello, Burke here.”
“ Well, you never fail to surprise me. I can’t believe it. Marty Burke
in Massachusetts and assigned to the Ashbury case.”
“ Jim Yellow Hand! You’re the PI that they hired? Look you jerk, I waited
two hours for you at that damn airport in
Denver.”
“ I know, I’m sorry. The boss called me at the last minute and I couldn’t
get word to you. Will you forgive me?”
“ Ok! I know how that goes but I’m still holding you to that weekend in
Hawaii that we were suppose to take.”
“ Great! We’ll get there yet. I promise. I’m staying at the Ashbury house.
I’ll see you tomorrow. Good Night Marty.”
“ Good Night, Jim,” Burke answered with a smile as she turned off her cell
phone.
Jim was unpacking his
clothes when the telephone rang on the table beside the bed. He answered
right away.
“ Hello, Ashbury residence. May I help you?”
“ Who the hell are you?”
“ I’m the new maintenance man,” Jim replied.
“ Oh! Listen, tell that old dame she has forty eight hours to tell me where
Evan Ashbury is or she and those cute granddaughters of hers will really
be hurting!”
The caller hung
up and Jim frowned as he realized this gig was going to be a dangerous
one.
Chapter Two
Kathleen met Marty at
the door and led the way into the livingroom where Jim and the girls were
waiting.
“ I understand you are acquainted with Jim Yellow Hand?” Mrs. Ashbury said
to Marty Burke.
“ Yes, we’re old friends,” Marty answered and gave Jim a big smile. The
two teenage sisters looked at each other. Beth raised her eyebrow and Sally
covered her mouth to keep from giggling.
“ I’m glad you got here before Karen Stanton,” Kathleen said to Marty.
“ Now this is the woman that claims your son was to marry but never showed
up for their wedding?”
“ Yes. Oh there’s the doorbell. She’s here, ” Kathleen said and went to
the door. Jim sat down on the couch with Marty and the teenagers sat down
in the chairs, leaving the other couch for their grandmother and Ms Stanton.
All eyes watched a beautiful
woman in her mid or late thirties follow Kathleen to the living room. She
looked at all with tired eyes that held terror.
“ I’m Karen Stanton. Are you inspector Burke?” she asked, looking at Marty.
“ Yes, I’m Marty Burke. You may speak freely in front of all here. Investigator
Jim Yellow Hand is assisting me on this case,” Marty explained.
Sitting down beside Kathleen,
Karen fingered her gold necklace and said, “I got a call last night from
a man who would not give me his name. He said for me to go to Manomet Beach
Park and meet him at the bench that faces the swings in the playground.
He told me to be there at 2PM sharp.”
“ We got to get a picture of this guy. Jim and I will not be far away from
you Karen. I can get a picture with my camera while you find out what he
wants. After he leaves you, go directly back here and wait for us to return
here. Do you have a cell phone?”
“ I have a cell phone. Here is my card with the number and my address and
my phone number at my house.”
“ Are you listed in the telephone directory?” Jim asked.
“ Yes, I am listed.”
“ Well, now we know how you got that call last night,” Jim remarked and
looked at Marty.
“ We’ll check with the Telephone Company and see if they can trace that
call made last night, ” Marty said.
“ I hope it wasn’t made from a phone booth,” Jim said.
“ Yeah! Well Karen, we will be there at 2PM sharp. Remember we won’t be
far away from you. If that guy gets rough with you, Jim here will have
him on the ground in no time,” Marty said and smiled at Karen.
“ Thank you!” Karen remarked and this time she ran her beautiful hazel
eyes over Jim and gave him a warm smile. He smiled in return.
“ Come on Yellow Hand, it’s off to the Telephone Company for us,” Marty
directed.
Beth and Sally giggled
as Jim and Marty left.
“ Come on Karen, let’s have a little lunch,” Kathleen suggested and lead
the way into the kitchen.
“ We’ll be there in a few minutes, Gramma,” Sally said and motioned for
Beth to follow her. They went swiftly to their father’s room.
“ What are we doing?” Beth asked.
“ Look all around and see if we can find anything like letters, files,
pictures or anything that looks interesting.”
The girls searched feverishly
and finally Sally went through the countless mail that was overflowing
on Evan’s desk. She saw a dirty envelope with no return address. She picked
it up and studied it for a moment.
“ What did you find?” Beth asked.
“ This is interesting,” Sally answered and taking the letter opener into
her hand, she opened the envelope. There was a picture of Karen with a
note. Beth looked over her sister’s shoulder.
“ If you don’t come up with seventy five thousand dollars by next week.
You’re girlfriend will be dead!” Beth read.
The girls heard their
grandmother calling them from the kitchen. Sally put the letter and the
photo into her pocket and motioned to her sister, saying,” Beth, don’t
say anything to them about what we found No need to get them more upset
than they already are. I’ll give the letter and photo to Jim and Marty
when they get back.”
At Manomet Park, Jim and
Marty found a place to hide under a large oak tree. They got there in plenty
of time because it was only twenty of two. Marty got her camera ready.
“ Well, as I guessed, both those calls last night were made from a public
phone booth,” Jim remarked.
“ Yes, but at least we know from the Telephone Company’s search, the calls
to you and Karen were made from a local telephone.”
They heard the ring of
a cell phone.
“ Is this you or me?” Jim remarked as they both checked. Jim smiled and
answered with,” Hello, Yellow Hand. Who is it?”
“ Jim, it’s Sally. Karen should be there by now and I found something in
my father’s room.”
“ Yes, we see Karen. What did you find Sally?”
“ A letter demanding money and a picture of Karen. I’ll give them to you
and Marty when you all get back here. Jim, please be careful!”
“ We will. Good work Sally. We’ll see you back at the house,” Jim said
and checked his revolver in his shoulder holster.
Marty got several shots
of the well- dressed man that was talking to Karen. They saw the man and
Karen sit down on the bench.
“ Looks like you can relax that magnum of yours, Jim,” Marty remarked.
“Yeah, he looks the perfect gentleman.”
“ I’ll be glad when I can get to my laptop and run his picture through
the FBI and local police files.”
“ Right on! By the way, where are you staying?”
“ At a bed and breakfast deal called Mrs. O’Brian’s Lovers’ Randevois.”
“ How appropriate. I’d like to help you. Do I have an invite?” Jim asked
looking straight ahead at Karen and the stranger.
Marty looked at Jim and
a broad smile came to her face as she answered,” Yes, Jim Yellow Hand,
you’re invited and I look forward to your help.”
“ Good! Well, he’s saying his good by to Karen.”
“ Yup! Well, look at that white limousine that’s picking him up”
“ Yeah! I got another hunch, Marty! I bet we’ll find he’s genuine Massachusetts
mobster.”
“ The Italian Godfather bit?”
“ Either that or Irish gansters. Here in Massachusetts, they have both.”
“ Well, I’ll be darned. This gig is really the best yet. Let’s get back
to the Ashbury house pronto.”
Jim and Marty got the
photo of Karen with the note from Sally. The note demanded money. Marty
explained that she and Jim had work to do on the case and they left the
Ashbury home and proceeded to Marty’s room at the bed and breakfast.
“ Jim, take a couple TV dinners out of the frig. The microwave is on the
counter top. There are soft drinks in there. I’ll fire up my laptop and
we can get to work.”
“ Will do,” Jim replied and opened the refrigerator.
It didn’t take long for
Marty to run the pictures she had taken through the FBI files.
“ Jim, take a look at this.”
Yellow Hand went to her
quickly and looked at the computer screen.
“ Marcus Gallo, president of Toys Galore. No doubt a cover for his real
business. I guess we have the Italian godfathers here.”
“ Not necessarily, look at his alias,” Marty
pointed out.
“ Alias Nick Gallager! Like I said before, this is some gig. Here, take
a break and eat your food.”
After Marty finished
her supper she ran the pictures through the local police records and found
nothing.
“ Well our Mr. Gallager is clean locally. I wonder who the guy was that
talked to you on the phone with the threatening message.”
“ I don’t know but maybe he’ll call back. I better stay close to Kathleen
and the girls. For now, give it a rest. You look beat, Marty.”
“ I am tired. I’ve got a headache,” Marty said and turned off her laptop.
“ Can I get you an aspirin?” Jim asked and started messaging Marty’s neck
and shoulders.
Marty looked up at Jim
and whispered,” No, I just need you Jim.”
Jim Yellow Hand’s desire
for Marty Burke was just as strong. They satisfied their passion for each
other by making love in the woman’s bed. Jim held Marty tenderly in his
arms but the minutes ticked away only too fast. It had been an hour as
Jim kissed her forehead and uttered,” Marty, I must go. I’m concerned about
the Ashburys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled her understanding
and watched him get dressed. She pulled the bed covers up about her nakedness
and said, “I love you Jim.”
“ I love you, Marty, very much,” Jim replied with a smile and went quickly
out the door.
A man stepped out of
the shadows and watched Jim drive away. He looked up at Marty’s window
and saw her naked figure reflected against the window blind when she turned
on the light. The man grinned and looked again at Jim’s taillights far
up the street.
“ Well I’ll be damned. Cute little FBI gal is sweet on Indian Jim and he
gets a piece of ass while I have to stand out in the cold.”
Chapter 3
Jim reached the Ashbury
residence and noted all the lights were out inside the house. He got out
of his car and locked it before walking swiftly to the house. Reaching
the front door, he quickly unlocked it with the key Mrs. Ashbury had given
him. He quietly walked up the stairs to the guestroom and turned on the
little lamp by the bed. He was about to go into the bathroom to take a
shower when the phone rang.
“ Hello, Ashbury residence. May I help you?”
“ Ok! You can drop the act Yellow Hand. I know you and that beautiful FBI
chick are lovers. I was outside that bed and breakfast place and watched
while you and her were having a go. How is she in bed?”
“ Who is this and what do you want?” Jim demanded.
“ Take it easy Jim. I don’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I just thought
you might want to know that your little secret love affair isn’t so secret.
I don’t think my boss would be interested in knowing about you and Marty
Burke. For now it will be our secret.”
“ What is your boss’s name?
“ Now you know I’m not about to tell you that.”
“ Yeah and I ‘m guessing you’re calling from a public telephone booth again.”
“ You and Sweetheart Marty are pretty smart cookies. Well, it was nice
talking to you Jim. I got to run now. Nighty Nite!”
Jim immediately called
Marty.
“Hello!” Marty answered with a sleepy voice.
“ Marty, some jerk was out side of the bed and breakfast It was the same
jerk that called before. He just wants to let us know that he knows we
are lovers. He doesn’t think his boss would care one way or the other.”
“ I suppose he wouldn’t give you his boss’s name.”
“ Nope! I think he was calling from the same phone booth as before.”
“ No doubt, so no need to check with the Phone Company. Good night, Jim.
I love you,”
“ Good night, Marty. I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jim was about to make
another attempt to go to the bathroom for a shower when a soft knock was
heard at the door. He opened it and Sally stood with wide eyes at the open
door.
“ Jim, may I come in?”
“ Yes, come in Sally. What’s wrong?”
“ I fed the dogs early this evening and then I started to take a short
jog down the road and back when a dark colored truck almost ran me down.
I jumped into the bushes just before he hit me.”
“ He?”
“ Yes, I’m sure it was a man. Massachusetts’s plates were on the truck.
I caught a little of it. It was Shamrock 4—something.”
“ You did well Sally,” Jim said and observing
the big bruise on the girl’s shoulder he continued,” That bruise must hurt
you.”
“ Yes, I hit the ground real hard. Jim, you are the only one that has seen
it. Even my sister hasn’t seen it. I don’t want my family to know about
this. It would just make them more upset.
“ You’re a very brave young lady Sally. I’ll just tell Marty about it tomorrow.
Now try to get some rest.”
“ Ok!” Sally responded and looked up into Jim’s eyes and added, “Were you
with Marty tonight? You and Marty love each other, don’t you?”
Jim smiled at the teenager
and answered,” Yes, we love each other very much. One of these days we’ll
get married when the FBI and my busy schedule allows.”
Sally went to Jim and
wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her close and gave her a warm
hug.
“ I’m so glad you are here. I don’t feel so scared now. You, Marty and
I will always be friends, ”Sally said as she released the hold she had
on him and paused for a moment at the door.
“ Yes, we will, my dear little friend. Goodnight!”
“ Goodnight and God Bless you Jim,” Sally responded and left the room.
Chapter 4
Jim was finally able to
take his shower and came out of the bathroom rubbing his head with the
towel as the phone rang.
“ Now what?” he said to himself as he noted the time was 3AM as he picked
up the phone and answered,” Hello, this is Jim Yellow Hand speaking for
the Ashbury residence. ”
“ Jim Yellow Hand, this is Evan Ashbury. I can’t stay on the phone long.
Gingas O’Toole and his Irish gang were holding me. They were holding me
down at the waterfront for ransom. I was able to escape this morning. Please
tell my family and my bride to be that I am alive and love them very much.
I appreciate you taking care of my loved ones. I must hang up now.”
“ Wait a minute! If you tell me where at the waterfront you are, I’ll drive
down and get you,” Jim said in a very anxious voice.
“ No, that wouldn’t be wise, Jim. I heard my captors talking to somebody
on the telephone yesterday. After they hung up they were laughing over
the fact that Billy Wyatt had discovered that you and FBI agent Marty Burke
are lovers. The yacht is at #10. It’s called ‘The Victor’. That’s all the
information I have. I’ve got to hang up Jim. I’m calling from the pay phone
and somebody just came on deck of the ‘The Victor’.”
Jim scribbled down the
information that Evan had given him and he hung up the phone. He set the
alarm for six and lying down in his bed, he tried to catch a couple hours
sleep.
Marty was just stirring
in her bed when Jim knocked at her door. She jumped to her feet quickly
and asked at the door,” Yes, who is it?”
“ Marty, it’s Jim. Evan Ashbury called me early this morning. “
Marty opened the door
and Jim hurried in.
“ Where is he? Is he home now?”
“ No, he’s down at the waterfront. He was being held for ransom but he
eluded his captors. We got to get down there to number ten. The yacht called
‘The Victor’ is owned by Gingus O’Toole. The creep that called me twice
is Billy Wyatt. I think he’s harmless but we got to find out whom he works
for. So get out those photos you took and I’ll look them over while you
get dressed. I got another hunch, Marty. I think we have a war between
the Irish gangsters and the Italian mobsters.”
Ten minutes later Jim
and Marty were at the police station. After showing their ids, they were
referred to Capt. Murphy. Murphy pulled up the record on Billy Wyatt. He
read it and handed it to Marty and Jim.
“ Wyatt is a low life. He doesn’t care whom he works for as long as he
gets paid well. I’ll haul his ass in later but for now we all better get
down to the waterfront. Agent Burke, you have the full support of the police
department. You are in charge.”
“ Thankyou. No police sirens at all, Evan Ashbury’s life is at stake. Jim
thinks there’s a Irish Gangster against Italian Mobster War going on here
and I ‘m inclined to agree with him.” She gave a photo to Murphy and asked,
“Please run this through your files, captain. We might get lucky.”
Murphy ran the picture
and then looked a little surprised as he said,” Your hunch is right, Yellow
Hand. This dude’s real name is Marcus Sabato. He’s a big time Italian Godfather.
Come on, let’s go!”
“ Go on! I’ll catch up. I want to just check with Kathleen and the girls
back at the Ashbury house.
Soon Marty and Capt.
Murphy were on their way to the waterfront with ten police cars and twenty
armed policemen in them.
Jim hurried in the front
door of the Ashbury house and heard talking in the living room. He went
into the room and stood amazed as he saw Kathleen and the Italian Mobster
locked in a very passionate embrace.
“ Jim, please come in. We owe you an explanation,” Kathleen said and motioned
for Yellow Hand to have a seat.
“ I’m Tony Sabato. Kathleen and I were college sweethearts. I still love
her very much,” the man explained and offered to shake Jim’s hand. Jim
shook hands and sat down, trying to overcome his shock.
“ Tony and I were in the same class at Boston University. We were young
and so much in love. I got pregnant and Tony and I started to plane for
a wonderful life together with the baby,” Kathleen said.
“ Yes, but my father put an end to our joy by telling me he’d pay for an
abortion and set Kathleen up with good will money.”
“ I told him where to go and Tony backed me up,” Kathleen added in a sad
voice.
“ Kathleen returned home to her understanding family and nine months later
my son was born.”
“ You’re saying Evan Ashbury is your son?” Yellow Hand remarked.
“ Yes, Evan is our son,” Kathleen remarked with pride.
“ One more thing I must tell you. Karen is my younger sister. Evan wouldn’t
have left her at the alter if he could have helped it.”
“ I didn’t know about Karen until this afternoon,” Kathleen added.
“ Somebody in a dark colored truck tried to run down Sally. Any idea who
that would be?” Jim asked.
“ No! Whoever it was it was not any of my men. It wasn’t Gingus O’Toole
either. He’s a harmless fool, trying to make some easy money!” Sabato remarked.
“ Tony told me he posted body guards to protect my granddaughters and myself,”
Kathleen reported.
“ Good! Now we better get down to pier 10.”
“ I’m going with you!” Kathleen announced.
“ Don’t try to talk her out of it. When she’s determined, she usually gets
what she wants.”
Jim grinned and said,”
Ok! Let’s go.”
Sally, her sister Beth
and Karen were hiding behind the door to the living room. When Jim and
the others left, Sally watched at the window until she saw the car speed
away. She turned and looking at her companions, she said,” Come on lets
get our bikes and peddle to the pier.”
“ Yes, I know a short cut to the pier. When we get there we can hide our
bikes by the phone booth,” Karen advised and led the way out.
Chapter Five
“ Who the hell is that guy?” Jim Yellow Hand asked as he saw an elderly
man arguing with two unidentified men on the deck of the ‘Victor’.
“ That’s my boss who also happens to be my father,” Tony Sabato answered.
“ Oh, that’s just peachy! I hope you don’t have anymore surprises, Sabato,”
Jim remarked.
“ No, that’s the whole mess,” Sabato answered.
“ You and Kathleen stay here! I’m going to get closer and see if I can
hear what the argument is about,” Jim said and slowly made his way under
the bridge to the boat. He discovered Marty under the bridge with gun drawn.
“ Tony Sabato and Kathleen were lovers. Evan is their son.”
“ I know and here’s another bit of news, Evan is an undercover FBI agent.”
“ Great! I suppose Murphy and the police are here.”
“ Yes, we got to get onboard, Jim. That guy arguing with the senior Sabato
is the man that we want. Murphy and the police are standing by,” Marty
whispered to Jim.
Jim waited a few moments
and then managed to pull himself to the walking side of the bridge. He
gave Marty a hand up and over. They made their way on deck without being
seen.
“ You are a double crossing son of a bitch, O’Shea!” Marcus Sabato was
saying to the other man.
“ Look, I didn’t want anyone hurt Sabato. Someone always gets hurt when
they are in the way of making a million dollars.”
“ Running down teenage girls is what you do also, O’Shea.
“ I couldn’t take any chances that she might have seen me. O’Toole is a
bungler. I couldn’t trust him for the job. I tried to do away with her
but she’s fast.”
“ Enough talk O’Shea, where’s the goods?”
“ Five hundred pounds of cocaine below. Come below! Give me the money and
I’ll give you the goods.”
Marty smiled and gave
Jim the thumbs up sign when she realized that Jim got all of the conversation
on his small tape recorder.
Marty and Jim then watched
the two gangsters go below where ten heavily armed men waited with the
cocaine.
Unknown to all,
Sally, Beth and Karen also made their way onboard ship. On the pier, Captain
Murphy saw that Marty and Jim were onboard and making their way below.
He signaled his policemen to move closer to ‘The Victor’ and hold their
position. Karen and the Ashbury sisters had observed how Jim and Marty
had gotten onboard and they followed in their footsteps. They then hid
in a dark area under the steps that led below and listened.
The elder Sabato opened
his suitcase and looked at O’Shea and said,” Go ahead, count it if that’s
something that turns you on.”
“ No that won’t be necessary. I’ll trust you. Give him the cocaine men.”
One of O’Shea’s men opened
a sack of one hundred percent pure cocaine that the ship had brought in
from China. Sabato put a bit of the cocaine to his lips and tasted it.
“ Nice doing business with you O’Shea. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime,”
Sabato said and prepared to leave.
“ Hold it right there! You’re all under arrest!” Jim yelled as he pointed
his revolver at the two.
“ You men go up on deck and don’t try anything
because my finger is a little itchy on this trigger,” Marty ordered as
she motioned to O’Shea’s men to go above.
The men went on deck
where Murphy and his policemen apprehended them.
At that moment below, O’Shea drew a knife
from his shirt and stabbed Yellow Hand. Marty reacted by firing her revolver
at the gangster but she missed and O’Shea turned on Marty with his knife.
Sally jumped out of hiding and knocked the knife from O’Shea by a kick
to his groin. The wounded Yellow Hand recovered enough to fire his revolver
at O’Shea and the gangster fell to the floor dead.
“ Hold on Jim! We’ll get you some help. Hold on my darling. I love you,”
Marty said to Yellow Hand. Jim tried to smile as Beth ran to the stairs.
“ Hello! Jim has been shot. We need an ambulance. Please help!”
Jim Yellow Hand fully
recovered from his wound and the elder Sabato as usual made a bargain with
the authorities for his release if he told them the name of the contact
in China from whom O’Shea had gotten the cocaine.
“ I understand you’ve been offered a permanent job with the FBI,” Marty
remarked to Evan Ashbury.
“ Yes, but I turned it down. I’m content with just being private citizen
Evan Ashbury, devoted father to my two wonderful, brave daughters and husband
to my dear Karen.” he answered with a smile.
“ Evan and Karen will marry here at the house two weeks from today. Why
don’t we make it a double wedding and you two get married here also,” Kathleen
said as she gave Jim and Marty a very warm smile.
“ Thank you Kathleen but Marty has to turn in her report to Washington
personally,” Jim advised.
“ Yes, but I’ll be back for the wedding. Sally and Beth, please continue
to watch out for Jim while I’m gone.”
“ We sure will,” Sally answered with a smile.
The time went by fast
and the wedding was a beautiful one. Jim Yellow Hand was best man and Marty
Burke was maid of honor. Kathleen Ashbury added to the festivities by announcing
her marriage by justice of the peace to Tony Sabato.
Like the saying goes,
all good things must come to an end, so it was time to say goodbye.
“ How can I ever thank you enough?” Kathleen said as she embraced Jim and
Marty.
“ Our door is always open to you. I understand you have booked a flight
to Hawaii,” Evan said.
“ Yes, this time I think this guy won’t leave me waiting at the gate,”
Marty remarked with a smile.
“ When you get to ‘ The Royal Hawaiian’ you’ll find that you’re booked
on an extensive tour of all the islands. You’ll also find that your bill
at the hotel plus all other expenses have already been paid. in full. Have
a wonderful honeymoon!” Evan said with a broad smile.
“ Thank you,” Jim replied and shook hands with Evan. Marty hugged him and
smiled with a tear of joy clouding her eyes.
Jim looked at Sally and
Beth and grinned saying, “ Come here, you two.”
They went into his arms
and he planted a kiss on their foreheads.
“ Maybe when you come back to visit you two will have a Jim Yellow Hand
Jr.,” Sally suggested. Her sister Beth just giggled.
“ Maybe! We’ll see what we can do!” Marty said with a mischievous smile.
Marty and Jim waived to
all once again before getting into their vehicle. Then they drove away
as Sally lingered a moment after the others had gone back in. She looked
at what Jim had placed into her hand before leaving. It was his eagle feather.
Sally kissed the feather and looked to the sky as she murmured, “God Bless
and keep you, Jim.”
The end
|
