CECELIA'S MEMORIES

by Barbara Arthur

Disclaimer can be found in part one.

Comments are welcome at Barbart@globalsite.net

Part Two

Chapter 2

The Simons roared across the southern route which took folks from east to west and vice versa. Marlowe contentedly rode along, causing people in other automobiles to give the little red Camaro more than a passing glance. When the darkness brought cooler air, A.J. raised the top. The inside of the car grew quiet without the wind noise. Rick pounced on the opportunity to speak, as it had actually been two hours since he and his brother had exchanged words.

"Another rest stop comin' up. I, uh---"

"Yea, me too," A.J. said.

Rick grinned. "Marlowe too, I imagine. You hungry?"

"Sure, but I don't think they serve food at rest stops."

"No, but we could pull off in some town. Hunt a McDonald's, maybe."

A.J. peered across the seat. "Let's do that. Then you can drive, unless you want to get a motel."

"I'd rather press on," Rick hurried to say. "You can sleep, then I'll sleep when you drive again. We'll get a motel when we get there, rest a while, then look them up."

The younger man sighed. "You're sure he's there, aren't you?"

"Yep, pretty sure. The old gut tells me so."

Their rest stop duties done, they moved on until they saw a sign which directed them to a place to get a Big Mac. They did so, and then Rick took the wheel. It was nine o'clock in the evening in the Mountain time zone where they now were, but only eight by his watch. Peripheral vision told him A.J. was settling in for a nap. He sincerely hoped the guy could sleep. He would be in better shape to drive again later.

Rick's gut had told him a bunch of stuff over the years, and it now told him the next day or two might be hell, hell for him, for his kid brother, and---but how bad could it be for the old man in Albuquerque? He deserved all the hell he would get and then some.

Dad! Alive! How weird it was! Rick could easily remember when, at the age of fourteen, he'd ridden his bicycle home from school and just as he arrived, so did a police car.

"You live here?" the cop had asked him.

"Yea," Rick recalled saying. And he also recalled supposing the officer had come to tell his parents of something he'd done. But then fear suddenly gripped him. He wasn't in trouble! What was wrong! "Has somethin' happened to my folks, my brother? Hey!"

Rick shuddered. Even after all of these years, just recalling how the policeman refused to answer him, but went directly to the front door could upset him. The cop knocked and Mom came to see who was calling. Rick remembered standing off to the side and listening as Mom received the news that her husband, his beloved Dad, had, for some reason, lost control of his car and gone over a cliff about fifty miles from home. "I can still see her face, hear what she said. I still know how I felt at the time."

"What?"

He'd spoken aloud, Rick realized. A.J. had evidently dropped off and now was awake because he'd been thinking out loud. "Nothin'. Go back to sleep."

A.J. was sensitive and was not buying the story. "Rick, what did you mean? Whose face can you still see?"

"Mom's, when they came to tell her about Dad's accident."

"What did she say?"

Rick swallowed the lump in his throat. "She said, 'Oh, well, thank you for telling me.'"

"That's all?"

"That's all. Of course he told her where and everything she needed to know, but that's all she was going to say."

A.J. set up straight. "Rick, why have you never shared any of this with me? You've never told me this business you're saying now and you've never mentioned about hearing Mom say Dad was having an affair. I feel left out of things somehow."

"I didn't want you to think bad about Dad. He was dead and knowin' about these things wouldn't change that in any way, just give you bad feelings toward him, maybe.Now, of course, now that we know he's still alive, I wish I had told you. I just didn't---"

"No, you just didn't," A.J. began. "You kept---"

"I didn't want to hurt you, Damn it! I still don't want to hurt you!"

It was true what Rick said and A.J. knew it well. He turned his eyes to look out the side window into the darkness. "I know," he said and then laid back and pretended to sleep for a while. He did sleep eventually, but not before he went over and over in his mind the surprise Rick had revealed to him. Things were not as he'd always believed, if any of this was fact. The Dad he'd worshipped as a youngster was, perhaps, not the man the boy of nine had believed him to be.

A dream of his father woke him. They were playing pitch and catch on the front lawn. Dad was teaching him how to hold the baseball glove. It was a dream A.J. had often. He sat up, stretched a bit and yawned. "Well, Dad, I learned to hold that damn thing just fine without you."

"Say what?" Rick said from his place under the wheel.

Wishing he had not spoken aloud, A.J. tried to explain it away. "Nothing. Just talking to myself."

"Yea, well, sounded like you said somethin' about Dad."

"Rick, Dad deserted us, if he's still alive."

"Yes, he did, Kid. And that pill aint easy to swallow."

"No," A.J. agreed. "Maybe we should----"

"Nope," Rick sliced into his brother's statement. "We're goin' through with it. We're both big boys now, A.J. I been to Nam and I've seen you do a lot of tough stuff since we've been in the P.I. business. We can take it."

A.J. nodded. "Okay, but----"

"But what?"

"He'll never take your place, Rick. Even if we find him alive, he won't take your place with me. He gave that up when he left."

Rick couldn't see to drive, so he pulled off to the side of the road. He yanked his handkerchief from his back pocket, wiped his eyes and nose, then said, "Just for that, Kid, I'm gonna let you drive."

Stunned at his brother's show of emotion, A.J. nodded. "Alright, I will. You've kept this baby out of the ditch about as long as possible. I don't want to push my luck. Where are we, anyway?"

"Almost to Las Cruces," Rick replied, in control of his voice again. "Just a few hours yet."

They opened their respective doors and walked to the opposite side of the vehicle. Under the wheel again with Rick on the passenger side, A.J. gunned the engine and pulled back on the road. "Are you going to sleep?"

"Yep," said the other man, then maneuvered his hat down over his eyes.

A.J. chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Your shutting out the light when there isn't any. It's dark, Rick."

"Don't worry about it."

"I won't."

Rick dropped off and slept for three hours. A.J.'s voice woke him. His brother was talking to the dog. Rousing, Rick asked, "What's goin' on?"

"Just asking Marlowe if he needed some relief."

"What'd he say?"

A.J. grinned. "Rest stop two miles."

"That's what he said?"

"No, that's what I said. We'll stop there, then find a place for breakfast."

Fully awake now, Rick agreed. "Good idea. Where are we?"

"Thirty miles to go, Rick. Just thirty miles and we'll be in the same city as our father."

"Yea."

After allowing Marlowe to exercise at the rest stop and doing some walking themselves, the Simons proceeded up I25 to the small town of Los Lunas. There, they located a restaurant where they ordered huge breakfasts, wolfed them down, and got back into the car feeling fresh. Rick again assumed the driving duties.

"You still planning to get a motel first?" A.J. asked, when they were under way.

"Yep. We'll have access to a telephone book, a place to spread out maps if need be. A place to lay down. You didn't get much sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Sure, well, we need a place to leave Marlowe while we hunt up Mrs. Rings."

"Okay."

"Five miles, Kid."

Chapter 3

The five miles zoomed by. The brothers began looking for motel signs as soon as they passed the city limit sign. "Wish we knew more about what area Mrs. Rings lives in," A.J. said. "Albuquerque is a big place. We might end up a long way from her, or them, as the case may be."

"Don't matter," Rick said. "We don't mind drivin'."

A.J. shot his brother an aggravated glance. "No, we don't mind."

"Besides, I know where we're gonna stay. I've been here a couple of times."

"You have?"

Rick grinned. "I went with a girl from here once. I visited her folks with her."

"I don't recall that."

"You were busy surfin' and runnin' track."

Something occurred to the younger man. "Then you were close to Dad maybe and didn't even know it."

"Yea," Rick muttered. "I'm kinda glad I didn't know it then."

A.J. understood. "Mom?"

"Yea, it would have killed her."

"Yes, it would have."

Rick seemed to know where he wanted to go, so they rode on in silence. When he reached the big I interchange as it was called locally, he took the exit which would take him off of I25 and onto I40 eastbound. "There's a bunch of motels on the far east side on old route 66."

A.J. nodded. "Looks like Albuquerque is one of those growing places."

"Yea, good place to drop into and get lost."

"Rick?"

"Uh huh?"

"What do you plan to say to him?"

Rick shrugged. "Gonna play that by ear, Kid. You?"

"The same."

The motel they chose went by the name "Westward Ho!" The Simons checked in for three days. Rick walked Marlowe while A.J. showered and shaved. After feeding the dog, Rick did the same. When he came out of the bathroom, his brother was sound asleep on the bed. Somewhat surprised, he was nevertheless pleased. A.J. did not have enough rest under his belt to face looking up Mrs. Rings and, possibly, their Dad.

I'm glad you can sleep, Kid, Rick thought to himself. I don't think I can now that we're hot on the trail. A telephone book lay on a table between the two beds in the room. Due to the size of the city, it was huge. Rick stared at it. Was Betty Caldron's name in it? Was that her name now? Maybe she'd changed it. Maybe she went by Simon these days. Did people here know them as Jack and Betty Caldron? Jack and Betty Simon? Other names altogether?

Nervous, Rick had all he could do to keep from waking A.J. Maybe if he turned on the TV and just watched with no sound it would at least give him something to do. No. No. No. I want to look in that phone book and I'm going to, he thought. Even if I find a name, I won't wake the kid. Before he could talk himself out of it, Rick grabbed for the heavy volume of phone listings and began thumbing through it.

Caldron. No Betty Caldron, but there were two B.Caldrons. Any Jack Caldrons? Yes! Three Jack Caldrons! Rick laughed silently. It would be incredible if any of these six numbers and addresses would lead him to his father. "At least we've got someplace to start," he said aloud.

"You say something?" A.J. inquired, rolling over to face Rick.

"Just talkin' to myself. Sleep on."

"No, I'm awake now, "A.J. said, sitting up. "Besides, you have the phone book in your hand and a strange expression on your face. What have you found, Rick?"

Rick smiled at his brother. "Some names, A.J., some names."

"Betty Caldron?"

"No, but some B. Caldrons and some Jack Caldrons."

"Rick, those are long shots."

"Yea, but all we got to start with."

A.J. rolled himself to a sitting position and put his feet on the floor. "Okay, then start, big brother. Start dialing."

Rick had another suggestion. "What do you think about drivin' by some of these addresses? Maybe we can see somethin', pick up a clue. Over the phone, we'll create suspicion."

"We're P.I.'s," A.J. reminded. "We can come up with some tricky stuff over the phone without--"

"Without meeting 'em face to face, huh?" Rick jumped into his brother's pause. "You afraid to see Dad?"

"Aren't you?"

Rick did not answer the question. Instead, he tapped the other man on the arm gently. "Get your shoes on. We're gonna take a ride."

In short order, the Simon brothers were in A.J.'s car and on the streets of Albuquerque. This time Marlowe had been left behind in the motel room. "We need a map of the city," Rick said.

"Makes sense," A.J. agreed from behind the wheel. "There's a service station up ahead. We can buy one there."

Rick waited for his brother to pull in at the station. He then jumped out, went inside and purchased a map. Back inside the car, he said, "Give me a minute here to find one of these addresses."

"Sure," A.J. responded, observing as Rick opened the huge map and struggled with the various folds.

"We should of done this in the motel room," Rick stated, obviously impatient.

"Let me---" A.J. began.

"No, I can handle it. Ah, here's one of the B. Caldrons. Let's see, we're here," Rick rambled, pointing at the map," And the address is here. Not far. Let's go. I'll direct you."

A.J. suddenly suffered from acute exhaustion of both mind and body. They weren't going to find their Dad at the address of a B. Caldron or anywhere else, he felt certain. He'd allowed Rick to involve him in this plan and it was crazy. He said so. "Rick, Dad's dead. Maybe, because Mom just died, we're reaching for something---"

"If you don't want to drive, A.J., I will, but I'm going."

"All right. All right. Which way?"

"We're on Central and this address is on Mountain Road. You take a right on Juan Tabo."

"Okay," A.J. said, and before he knew it, Juan Tabo signs came into view. "How far to Mountain Road?"

"Just a few blocks."

They rode along in silence, both looking for a street sign. "There it is!" Rick yelled.

"I see it, Rick," A.J. said, calm. "Don't get so excited."

Ignoring his brother's directive, Rick chirped, "Wouldn't it be somethin' if we found him at the first place we went to?"

"It's highly unlikely," the other man said. "What's the address?"

Rick recited it and then they found it. "Pull over to the curb and we'll---"

A.J. realized immediately why his brother had stopped speaking. A young man and woman came out of the house with three small children and got into the car in the driveway. "Wrong place."

"Yea, wrong place," Rick agreed. "Let's move on."

"Where to next?" A.J. asked resignedly.

Rick opened the bulky map again, then consulted the book in which he'd written the addresses of the various Caldrons. "I feel a pull toward this one here," he said to his sibling. "Let's see---oh, it's clear out in the north end, north and west of here on Guadalupe Trail."

"May as well try it," the driver of the car said.

"Okay, back to Juan Tabo, follow that to Montgomery, take a left, and I'll tell you from there."

A.J. fired the engine and headed back to Juan Tabo. Following the street for a mile or so north, they came to Montgomery. "Now what?" he asked, after he'd made the left.

"Follow this west a while then we're almost to another of the many B.Caldrons. I feel something in my gut about this one."

"You probably have heart burn."

"Could be. If so, we'll go on to to the next name, the next house. Turn right here. Guadalupe should come up in a few blocks. Turn left on it."

A.J. did as he was told. He hated to admit it, but there was something going on in his gut too. A private investigator depended quite heavily on gut instincts. He had them on nearly every case they worked on and knew Rick did. As irresponsible as his brother sometimes was, he was also good at his work. "And so am I."

"And so are you what?" Rick asked.

"Good at my work," A.J. replied, then explained. "Just thinking out loud."

"Yea, well, here's the address, Kid. Park---"

"I know what to do."

"Yea."

Following the instructions Rick would have provided if given the opportunity, A.J. drove by the address in question, turned around and parked on the opposite side of the street and two doors down. "We can watch from here," he commented. "Looks like it's an old adobe house."

"Yea, that one on Mountain Drive was a lot newer and more expensive."

"This one is expensive," A.J. said. "These old adobe homes sell for pretty high prices. Looks like some land with it, too, the way it's fenced."

"Don't know what Dad would want with land at his age," Rick began to speculate. "Unless Mrs. Rings has a use for it."

"Rick, we don't know that Dad is---"

"How old would he be, A.J.?"

"You know the answer to that," the younger sibling replied roughly.

"Yea, I do, but it's hard to think of him as sixty five."

"Yes, it is," said A.J. "It's hard to think of him at all."

"Yea," Rick muttered, then bolted straight up in his seat. "Someone's comin' out!"

"A woman. Is---?"

"Yep, it's her. My gut was right. Mrs. Rings in person. Well, no time like the present to talk to her."

When Rick began the process of opening the door, A.J. yelled at him. "Wait!"

"Can't wait, Kid. I wanta know where Dad is."

"She's not going anywhere, Rick. She's just looking at the lawn. Maybe---"

Rick shot his brother a glance. "Maybe what? Maybe Dad will come out and we can waltz up to him and announce we're the boys he left behind?"

"He'd know who we are. So will the woman. Remember, she was at Mom's funeral, you said."

"Right," Rick agreed and sufficiently relaxed so that A.J., who had grabbed his arm, felt safe to let go. "We'll watch a minute or two, get the feel of things."

"I think that's best," A.J. said.

"Why, though?" Rick asked. "I mean, what are we waiting for, really?"

A.J. sighed. "I don't know. It's not like we're on a case."

"No. C'mon, let's go over and let her see us, see what happens."

"Okay."

"I'll talk to her if you don't---"

"Wait, Rick!" A.J. suddenly implored, looking in his rearview mirror.

"A.J., you're stallin'. What? A.J.?"

"There's a car parking behind us."

"So?"

"So, I don't like the looks of it, Rick."

Rick slid over until he could see in the mirror. "It's just a car, and old Buick, well, a few years old."

"There's a man in it," A.J. said in a low tone. "Look at him, Rick. Look at---"

"It's Dad?"

"I think so. What should we do?"

"Sit still," Rick suggested. "Sit still and see what he does."

Neither Simon had ever experienced such a feeling before. They waited, looking ahead for a while, then glancing in the mirror. For what seemed like an hour to them, the blue Buick stayed parked behind them, the man they thought was Jack Simon remaining in it. Both brothers kept their counsel, each thinking their own thoughts. Finally, Rick broke the silence.

"I can't stand this, Kid, I'm gonna go back there and---"

"He's movin!" A.J. cut his companion off. "He's pullin' out!"

"Follow him!" Rick ordered.

"I don't know, Rick, I---he's gesturing. He wants us to follow!"

"Then follow!"

A.J. pulled away from the curb and headed down the street, keeping the blue Buick in sight. His Dad, a man he had mourned for a long time, was just ahead of him. "How did he know we were here, Rick?"

"I don't know, Kid. I don't know. I don't really like this much."

"Me either. You do think it's Dad, don't you?"

"It looks like him," Rick muttered. "It sure looks like him, but we gotta stay on the alert."

"Yes."

They drove on, the Buick maneuvering expertly through city traffic. Rick attempted to keep track of where they were, what turns they were making. It just could be the knowledge would come in handy later. He glanced over at his brother. A.J. was gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. Poor guy, Rick thought. This is going to be rough on him, rough on me as well. "A.J., take it easy now. We'll get through it."

"I know."

"He's turnin' again."

"Yes. It looks like---he is, he's stopping."

"Then, this is evidently where we'll meet Dad again," said Rick, calm.

"I'm not sure I want to."

"Stay here, then, if you want. I'll---"

"No," A.J. interrupted. "We'll do this together."

The Buick had parked on a dead end street. The man in it opened the door and got out. The Simon brothers followed suit, both feeling leery of the situation, even though they were reasonably certain it was their father they were dealing with. The man stood next to his automobile, not bothering to meet Rick and A.J. half way.

"Be ready for anything, Kid," Rick warned.

"I am," A.J. responded. "You do the same."

"Don't worry."

They walked side by side up to the man they had followed away from the Guadalupe address. When they reached him, Rick spoke. "Dad?"

"Yes," said the man. "I'm your Dad, Rick."

There were several moments of silence, then, A.J. said, "Why the hell did you desert us? Desert Mom? How could you---?"

"Take it easy, A.J.," Rick muttered.

"I didn't desert you, A.J.," the man replied. "And your Mother always knew where I was. We kept in touch, Cecelia and I."

"That's a lie!" the younger Simon brother asserted. "A dirty lie!"

"I kinda agree with the Kid here, Dad," Rick said softly. "Mom didn't know you were alive. She couldn't have hid somethin' like that from us."

The man smiled. "Well, she did. She did, bless her heart, because she knew she had to. If she hadn't, you boys would have been in danger. She took a risk, we both did, seeing each other, but we didn't want to put you two in danger. I still don't."

Rick and A.J. exchanged glances. Rick said, "Maybe you could explain that a little better."

"He's trying to say he's been in the protection plan," A.J. spoke up. "Is that right, Dad?"

"I thought you might catch on first, A.J. You have some experience with it, right? Amanda? I was sorry to hear about it. The program can tear families and others who love each other to pieces, but they keep people alive. They've kept you two alive by keeping me out of your lives. And that's where you'll have to stay."

"Dad---"Rick whispered. "Look, we can take care of ourselves. I mean, I thought you ran off with Betty----"

"No, Betty is my protection agent." said Jack Simon. "She's been with me all of these years, but not like you think. Betty's married to another agent."

"How did you know we were here?" A.J. asked, his voice breaking.

"I have sources," the man smiled. "I know all about you two, from your Mother and others. Now, you must go."

"No!" A.J. screamed.

"Let's do as he says, A.J.," Rick spoke calmly. "We'll go, Dad. I'm sure you know what's best for us."

"Yes, I do, Rick. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. I can't be with you for your own good."

"C'mon, Kid," Rick urged his brother. "I'll drive. Let's go."

A.J., stunned by Rick's attitude and being ordered away by his father, just stood there. "Dad, like Rick said, we can take care of ourselves. We're in the business of---"

"No!" the older man yelled. "Go home now. Look in your Mother's fur coat pocket. There's a letter. It will explain. Now go."

The man walked back to his car and got in. He drove hurriedly away, leaving Rick and A.J. to look after him. They stood quietly for some time, each thinking his own thoughts. A.J. broke the silence first. "We can't just let him go, Rick. Not after all these years."

"We went through all of this with Amanda, Kid," Rick said. "I'm sorry as hell I didn't let this lie. If I'd known I was going to put you through this again, I wouldn't have."

"I know," A.J. said. "I know, Rick. It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

Rick nodded. "We might as well head back to the motel, get Marlowe and get out of here."

"What do you suppose is in the letter Dad mentioned?"

"We'll find out when we get back to San Diego. Let's go."

And so the Simon brothers retrieved Rick's dog and headed out of Albuquerque. They drove back to their California home in almost total silence. When they spoke it was of something which had nothing whatsoever to do with their father or their mother. No sorrow, no anger, no puzzlement, no nothing. They simply did not speak of their experience in New Mexico.

They took turns driving and sleeping, although neither slept much. They arrived back home in San Diego in the early afternoon of the following day. "We go to Mom's?" A.J., driving at the time, asked.

"Yep." Rick answered shortly.

They arrived at Cecilia Simon's home, parked and entered. "Where would her fur coat be, A.J.?" Rick wondered.

"Probably packed away in one of those boxes," A.J. sighed. "At least the box will be marked that it contains clothes."

"Yea, let's go."

In the upstairs bedroom where their mother slept, they found the coat rather quickly. Then, they stood back and stared at it lying on the bed. "Aren't you gonna look in the pocket, Kid?" Rick asked.

"Aren't you?" A.J. answered with another question.

Rick paused, then said, "Sure."

A.J. watched his brother pick up the coat, feel in one pocket, come up empty, then feel in the other. This time, he pulled out an envelope. I don't know whether I can stand this, the younger man thought. Rick was opening the envelope, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Here it is, I guess," Rick said, making quick eye contact with his sibling.

"I'll read it, if you want," said A.J.

Rick only nodded, then handed it over to the other fellow.

A.J. took it and began to read: "Dear Rick and A.J. I'll be gone when you read this, if you read it. I have no guarantee that you'll find it, and it may be just as well if you don't. But if you read it, I want you to know that I loved you both so very much. No Mother ever loved her children more. But fellows, I misled you for many years about something.

It is no little thing that I misled you about. You see, your father did not die when you thought he did. In fact, Jack is still alive. He witnessed something quite terrible a few months before he left us, something which he had to testify in court about. I know you boys understand all about these types of things now, so I won't go in to the details. The bottom line is he feared his wife and sons would be in extreme danger, along with himself, if he stayed with us. So, he became a part of the protection plan and faked his death.

I knew all along your Dad was alive. I hope you'll forgive me. Several times, ten to be exact, Jack and I met somewhere. He hated for me to take the chance, and I didn't until you were both adults. Jack knows I'm leaving you this letter. Do not try to find him. Do you hear me? Do not try to find him. Not because he's still in danger, or you would be. That's not the case."

A.J. paused in the reading and glanced at Rick. "What does she mean?"

Rick shook his head. "Finish it, A.J., then we'll know."

The younger man switched his focus back to the letter and searched for his place. "The truth is, your father is ill, very ill. Our deaths won't occur very far apart. Isn't that something? We'll be together, maybe when you find this letter, we will be. Rick, A.J., I loved you very much and it breaks my heart to say good-bye. You'll be alright together. Please stay together. I know, and have often told your father, your love for each other will sustain you. Love, Mom"

A.J. laid the letter on his mother's bed. "Do you believe what she said?"

"He didn't look sick," Rick said. "Did you think?"

"No, I thought he looked healthy for a sixty five year old."

"He probably told Mom he was sick, so she'd tell us that. She probably insisted to him that she was going to leave a letter, so he worked out a way to get rid of us quick if we happened to find him."

"I don't think he's in the protection program at all," A.J. said.

"No. I think I was right in the first place. He devised a way to run off with Betty Caldron."

"Very clever."

Rick nodded. "A.J., let's you and me do what Mom asked us to. Let's go on together."

A.J. looked at his brother. There were tears in Rick's eyes, and he felt tears in his own. "Let's do that," he said, then reached over to embrace the only family he had left.


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