into which the men loaded Seg’s body. I walked back to the lodge to check out the logistics and discovered my little friend Don had gone for the day. The new clerk on duty was a little woman, looked like a student, whose name was Kiah…she was bright, attentive and seemed eager to help any deserving guest.
“Hello Kiah…such a lovely name, are you native to the area?” I asked pleasantly to break the ice.
“Oh, heavens no, I am an African/American student here to study the culture of the natives.”
“Do you happen to know who is responsible for taking care of Heinz, the dog owned by the guide Seg who had an unfortunate accident?”
“Good question Colonel, now ... Seg has passed, my guess is one of the other guides will take over.” She said with a smile.
“Is it possible for you to confirm this to be the case and while you do so, do you think it will be ok for me to care for the dog?”
“Well it is quite obvious, Heinz is attached to you Colonel…and you have paid for his service and so, let me make a quick call.” She dialed a number from her file, waited for an answer and got the answer machine.
“Colonel, according to the message the man I need to speak with is gone for the weekend, so I’m going out on the limb and say, at least until Monday morning Heinz can stay with you, and of course we know were you will be staying…and oh yes sir, there was an urgent call for you.”
Kiah handed me the call slip and I saw the name, Max Watkins…Urgent call.
“Kiah is there a dedicated line for a collect call to my attorney?”
“The only other line besides the switch board is in the manager’s office…and since you are making a collect call to your attorney, I see no reason why you shouldn’t have some privacy.”
“Thank you Kiah.” I said as I handed her a clean, crisp ten-dollar bill and she smiled as she switched on the light as I picked up the receiver and called Max collect. As I waited for the answer, I scanned the desktop for the familiar file with my name…and there it was.
“Max, I can’t stay on the phone long, but I need to tell you, I am in the manager’s office…there is a file here ... confirms the dirty deed you and I expected… they are trying to frame me for a cash payment from the military…its true and all here. I am going to copy this file now and I will call you from another phone.”
“Brandon, dreams are one thing but this...this is another.”
“Max, would a memorandum from the manager to his boss be sufficient to prove to you this isn’t a pipe dream from some whacko?”
“Don’t get your feelings hurt Brandon.”
“No, Max…it is more than that, it is my entire life and I ask you to hold on the line while I copy this file. I ask you to do so because I fear the young lady would see the light on the phone line go out and think I had finished my call.”
I found the copier and was pleased to see it was ready…just resting. It was a large industrial HP copier with an automatic feeder and collated the copies. I selected two copies and hit the print button. The memorandum was only ten pages so it was finished quickly. I replaced the file on top of the desk as I had found it and went back to the phone to relieve Max.
“Ok Max, I’ve copied the document and I must go, I promise to call you back before the day is over.”
I placed the duplicate copy in my shirt and went out to the lobby. I smiled at Kiah and thanked her for being so kind to me. Heinz was waiting expectantly and we went to the commissary were I purchased several cans of tuna, doggie biscuits, a quart of milk, a six-pack of cold beer and some chips. My new buddy and I headed to my room for an afternoon treat.
In the room I fixed Heinz’s lunch, setting the bowl in front of him and popped the tab on a can of Miller High Life and sat down to carefully review the file. There it was in black and white…” this man is a colonel in the US army and likely to become a General officer. This is a valuable man, like a plane, a weapon on whose design a fortune has been invested. He is an asset to the military and has within his memory bank all the secrets of the world’s greatest power.
The United States government will not be permit a member of its elite forces to be tried by any country whether he is guilty or not. The government of the United States will pay any price to clear his name and to free him. We hold the key to his freedom, and I believe we are entitled to a concession for the effort we will make on behalf of the world’s richest country.
“Kiah, please get me the Sheriff’s office.”
The call went through and was answered, “Sheriff’s office.”
“May I speak with Deputy Bill Cover?”
“One moment.”
“Bill Cover here.”
“Deputy Cover, this is Brandon Simpson.”
“Yes Colonel, a good piece of work, saving the county several thousand.”
“Well maybe you could find a big ham bone for Heinz, he is the hero you know deputy. I am convinced the dog sat at the site for two days…such loyalty is simply unthinkable in the world we live in…is there news?”
“Sorry we have nothing for you, the coroner has to do his thing but I am certain by Tuesday we should have his results.”
“Great, in the meantime, I have some things I must get in the mail and I wanted your permission to post them.”
“Be my guest Colonel, see you Tuesday.”
Wow, I thought, nearly back to normal.
The town of Powell River was a little over five miles from the camp and there were three modes of travel, take a golf cart, take a bike or take the ole’ Tom McCann’s. I chose the golf cart and soon had Heinz relaxed proudly in the shotgun seat were he enjoyed the sunny afternoon with the wind in his face. I too felt a certain joy and remembered as well the sight of my latest sweetheart, Princepe’ whom I had cause to leave in Venice, Italy were I was living before taking this side-bar.
The cause for leaving my beautiful Princepe’ took the form of a mother and father seeking to protect this lovely child of nineteen years of age from an elderly man of fifty…a scandal of scandals. For my part it had nothing to do with the need to salvage a vanishing sexual ego, I truly believe it was more about this unique human being who thrilled me, dazzled me, questioned me and made each and every moment I was with her a joy.
She was so unlike Bonnie, who was a brilliant woman, at all times deeply rooted in her medical profession…and in saving lives. Bonnie had the perfect temperament for a wife at that time in my life. We were both military, used a certain discipline, a code of ethics, hard work and little time or need, to have fun.
Then I lost Bonnie, and after four years of mourning, along comes the spider, a child really but somehow wise from the distillation of several generations of Venetians running through her precious veins.
At least five generations and more than five hundred years connected to the ruling class Medici family in Italy. The most influential family in the history of Italy. Its patriarch, Giovanni di Bic-ci de’ Medici who lived from 1360-1429. He was a Florentine merchant who amassed a fortune by skill in trading; a major supporter of the arts and was the virtual leader/ruler of Florence from 1421-1429. From his two sons, Cosimo (1389-1464) and Lorenzo (1395-1440) derived the two great branches of the Medici’s whose family tree included Pope Clement VII who was Giovanni’s great-grandson in addition to producing a Cardinal.
The Medici legend beginning in the mid-fourteenth century included the development of thirteen spectacular villas built throughout the Tuscany Valley. One of those built in the mid thirteen hundreds and was utilized as a hunting lodge for the Medici and his party. The property contained 220 hectors with bountiful vineyards for making wine, olive groves, a major garden for vegetables, a villa with more than 8,000 square feet with twenty rooms and two ancillary buildings to house the