“Tell Garner to contact my office and we’ll send him everything we’ve got. From now on, we coordinate. You’ll be the field agent on this, Joe. You’re doing a good job.”
Joe halted, staring blankly at the rose-colored sunrise. “Mr. Hagar, I wonder if we need to shield Katie Bergstrom in all of this? She’s walking into this crossfire and hasn’t a clue about what’s going on. Don’t we morally owe her a warning about her mother and what she’s up to?”
Hagar sighed heavily. “Sometimes people get used as pawns. Katie can’t help that she was born to this woman. And it’s certainly not her fault her mother turned to drugs and gunrunning. I’m sorry, Joe, but you can’t say anything to Katie.”
Fear rose in him. “At some point, we have to tell her. I mean, I can’t let her walk blindly into the situation. She could easily get killed if there’s an attack on Los Lobos by Garcia.” His hand painfully tight around the cell phone, he waited to hear what Hager would say.
Sighing, Hager said, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’re going to have to monitor this one step at a time.”
“We’re leading a lamb to slaughter.”
“I don’t see it that way, Joe. I know you’re upset and you’re worried for Katie, but she’s all we’ve got in this case. We have to get legal goods on Los Lobos. I wish it was different, but no one knew at the outset of this mission that Katie Bergstrom was innocent and had no connection to her mother. We had two satellite intel photos of Janet parked at the entry to the Elk Horn Ranch. Right now, I’ve got to think the mother was going to introduce herself to her estranged daughter, but got cold feet and backed out.”
Joe began pacing the length of the living room. “It’s the only logical explanation we have. Janet never contacted Katie. I don’t think it’s right at all to lead Katie on. She could get hurt, or worse, killed.”
“You’ve got two roles to play, Joe. One is to be our eyes and ears on the ground through Katie’s daily schedule. The other is, if she takes the job as a clerk in the store, you’ve got to monitor that situation, too.”
“How?” Joe nearly shouted the words. “I can’t be at Mercury Courier to watch over Katie and you know that. And we know Garcia has a stronger toehold here in the valley than Los Lobos. I’m really worried that we’re setting Katie up. I don’t feel good about this.”
“I know you’re upset, Joe, but right now, just keep doing what you’re doing. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find Xavier Lobos. He runs back and forth across the border in disguise. We know he visits Janet and his other key people who are setting up the new distribution system for him here in the U.S. There’s a lot at stake. Katie is our point person, whether she knows it or not. The mother is willing to trust her. We’ve tried to get people inside Janet’s operation with no success. Katie is the key to this lock, Joe. You have to make peace with what’s happening and stay alert. Katie needs your full focus. All right?”
Hating Hager’s decision, Joe said in a low, stressed tone, “Boss, I don’t like the decision, but I’ll abide by it. I understand the larger picture.”
“Sometimes, Joe, people get entangled in the investigation. The good news is, you are there. You see Katie five days a week. She has you as a guard whether she knows it or not.”
Joe wiped his aching brow; one of his migraine headaches was coming on. “I’ve got to go. I’ll report in tomorrow. Thanks.” He clicked off the cell, pulverized by the fear he had for Katie. Walking to the bathroom, Joe grabbed his pills and filled a glass with water. It was time to get dressed, but first, a shower. God knew, he felt dirty in a way he’d never felt before. As he stripped out of his pajama bottoms and left them lying on the floor of the bathroom, Joe wondered if being an FBI agent was the way he wanted to live his life. His parents had raised him to be honest and to have integrity. Joe hated lying to Katie. He turned on the faucets and stepped into the shower.
* * *
DEPUTY CADE GARNER SHOOK Joe’s hand. The sheriff’s deputy led him to a glass-enclosed room where they sat down. To Joe’s surprise, the FBI office had already faxed and emailed a large amount of information.
“I haven’t had much time to go over this material,” Cade said, gesturing to it. “The gist is, from what I can tell, we’re dealing with two competing cartels moving into our town.”
Joe felt the pain in his head, but, luckily, the medicine was working. Coffee also helped the headache turn down a notch. “That’s right.”
Shaking his head, Cade muttered unhappily, “Two?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Pushing through the papers so far collected, Cade drew out a photo of Xavier Lobos and one of Garcia. “These are two bad dudes. I’ve been working with the sheriff’s departments in Phoenix and Maricopa County. They’ve given us a lot of useful intel on these two nasty cartels.”
“Good, because you’re going to have to start pooling every resource from anywhere you can get it,” Joe said. He sipped his coffee and watched the deputy’s brow wrinkle with worry. “You said earlier you knew of Garcia?”
“Yes, he started landing a float plane on Long Lake, ten miles south of here. He got caught because the owners of the Bar H, who own half the lake, were being awakened twice a week by a low-flying plane over their home. We captured two drug soldiers and a local kid by the name of Zach Mason. We’ve been hoping to implicate Curt Downing, who is a major rancher and very rich, in the Garcia cartel, but we couldn’t. The two drug soldiers turned over evidence on the same man who hired the Mason kid to help unload the marijuana bales off the float plane. One of the owners of the Bar H, Val Hunter, saw the bales in an underground basement at Downing’s largest barn, but her camera didn’t work. And we didn’t have enough legal reason to get a judge to sign a search warrant to go in there.”
“Downing...” Joe said, raising his eyes in thought. “I’ve heard of this man.”
“Yeah, he owns Ace Trucking Company here in town. The FBI said they suspected he was using his trucks to distribute the marijuana.” He smiled and picked up his mug of coffee. “They said they were sending out an agent. That must be you?”
“I guess so,” Joe said. “I wasn’t given a lot of info on Downing. My focus is on Katie and Janet Bergstrom. Was Janet on your radar?”
“Not at all,” Cade said, picking up a recent photo of her and intently studying it.
“So we know Downing is moving drugs. We just can’t prove it legally?”
“Correct. Since the float-plane capture, Downing hasn’t been seen much in town. We think he’s lying low to let this incident die down. The guy is arrogant, filthy rich and thinks he knows everything.”
“Is he doing drugs?” Joe wondered.
“I’ve never seen Curt high on drugs, nor has anyone else.” Cade smiled. “It doesn’t mean he’s not on them, however. He’s just real careful.”
Nodding, Joe pushed the chair away from the table. “It looks like you have a bunch of strings but none are connected.”
“Not yet,” Cade agreed, shuffling all the papers and pictures into a file in front of him. “Give me a day or two to catch up with all this intel? I’m going to call my friend at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department for an update on those two cartels. Both are very active in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. If I hear anything, I’ll give you a call to keep you in the loop. I’ll assign another one of my deputies to keep Mr. Hager notified as well.”
Rising, Joe shook the man’s hand. He liked Cade Garner. He was efficient and knew his business. “Good enough.” Glancing at his watch, he said, “I’ve got twenty minutes to make it out to the Elk Horn Ranch to start my undercover day job.”
Grinning, Cade said, “I know Katie Bergstrom. I’ve seen Katie put on education shows with her raptors for a lot of the clubs and schools around here. She’s well-respected. And I’m glad to hear she’s not involved with her drug-running mother. Stay safe out there, okay?”
* * *
JOE FOUND KATIE hard at work at her desk. This morning, she wore a pink T-shirt that matched her pink cheeks. Her slightly curly black hair lay around her shoulders, blue highlights here and there. As usual, she had on jeans and boots. When she heard the sliding door open, she twisted around and looked toward him.
“Hi, Joe. How are you this morning?”
Katie sounded upbeat but Joe saw the look in her eyes. “Okay.” He tapped his brow. “Every once in a while, thanks to my injury over in Afghanistan, I get a migraine headache.” He stopped at the corner of her desk. “And one came on this morning.” He saw her brows move up, a look of sympathy crossing her features. Raising his hand, he added, “I took my medicine and I’m okay. It’s just that when they come on, sometimes I’m not myself and you should know that in advance.” He added a slight smile to go with the warning.
“I remember you put that information down on your résumé.” Katie couldn’t help but stare at his curved mouth. A mouth she’d kissed ardently yesterday. “Listen, do you want to go home? You do look a little pale.”
“No, I’m fine,” Joe said.
“Have a seat,” Katie invited, gesturing to the wooden chair at the end of her desk. “I think we need to talk about yesterday evening.”
Surprised, Joe nodded and sat down. Katie, as ethereal as she was, had more strength than he’d thought. He had to stop seeing her as a helpless young woman. “I think we need to talk, too,” he agreed. Katie gathered the papers and placed them beneath her clasped hands. He saw maturity in her eyes. And she was somber. Why? It suddenly occurred to Joe she might already be involved in a relationship. If so, why had she initiated the kiss with him? Mystified, he waited for her to speak.
Just then, a woman appeared at the glass door with a box in her hand.
Instantly, Katie was on her feet. “This woman just called me about ten minutes ago, Joe. She’s bringing in an injured bird.”
Joe stood up as the middle-aged woman entered the facility. She managed a slight, strained smile.
“Hi, I was told you folks take care of injured birds.” She held the small cardboard box toward Katie. “I was driving to work this morning and I found this hawk, or whatever it is, flapping on the side of the highway. I pulled over and picked it up.” She held up her index finger after Katie took the box. “The thing bit me, too.”
Katie peered into the box. “This is a hawk.” She gave Joe the box. “Thanks so much for bringing it in. We’ll try to save it.”
The woman nodded and said, “Great. Well, listen, I’ve got to go. I have a job to get to and I’ll be late. Thanks so much!” She turned and left.
Joe placed the box on the desk. Katie slowly opened the lid of the box.
She studied the frightened hawk. “It’s another immature red-tailed and it too looks like it might have a broken wing. We’ll take this one to Dr. Shep Baldwin. He’s the other vet I work with.”
Joe got busy and found a cloth to make the box dark. Raptors felt safer without light. The bird stopped moving around when Joe picked up the box. That was a good sign. Katie grabbed her purse and they headed out to the parking lot to her truck. Joe sat in the passenger seat and held the box.
Once Katie was on the main road leading into Jackson Hole, she was on her cell phone calling Dr. Baldwin. After receiving approval to bring the raptor to his clinic, she gave a sigh of relief. She pressed the cell phone off, and placed it in the center console. “Good news, Shep can take the raptor.”
“You alternate between Dr. Randy Johnson and him?”
“Yes, I try to not take advantage of either of them.”
“Spread the work out. Good idea.” Joe inwardly chafed. He wanted to talk with Katie about their kiss. Maybe later.
Dr. Shep Baldwin met them at the front desk. He smiled warmly at Katie as he took the box from Joe. “Hey, good to see you again, Katie. And you say you have a young red-tailed in there?”
Katie smiled and moved to the side of the desk. Shep had a very busy practice. There were dogs and cats, plus a white cockatoo waiting to be seen. “Shep, this is Joe Gannon. He’s my full-time employee out at our facility.”
Shep nodded toward Joe. “Nice to meet you. Come on back...” He turned and walked down the green-and-white-tiled hall.
Katie rushed ahead and opened a door on the left. This was where Shep worked on the raptors.
“Thanks, Katie,” he said.
Joe shut the door. He watched the doctor carefully place the cardboard box on the stainless-steel examination table in the center of the room. Katie’s head was almost touching Shep’s as he carefully examined the hawk. Standing there, Joe felt sudden jealousy. Caught off guard, he scowled. What were these feelings? Watching the two talk in low tones, Joe realized with a shock he was actually envious of the vet. Baldwin was tall, deeply tanned, athletic and handsome. Joe saw no ring on the doctor’s left hand. He watched Katie’s reaction to Shep. Was there something more between these two? It sure looked like it to Joe. He forced himself over to the examination table. Neither seemed to notice his arrival.
“Well,” Shep murmured, “it looks like this guy is lucky. He’s clipped his right wing, probably on a power line.” He carefully examined the hawk’s wing. “And no open fracture, which is good.”
“Can you save him, Shep?”
Looking up, the veterinarian smiled over at Katie. “I think so. Appears to be a straightforward closed fracture.”
“Phew, that’s good news,” she said in a whisper. The hawk was very still in the box, as if it knew these humans were not going to hurt it, but help it. The raptors were exquisitely tuned into everyone’s emotional reactions. And Shep was one of the kindest and most gentle people she knew. He loved what he did and it showed. “Do you want us to stick around to help?”
“No,” he said. Turning, he placed a cover over the box so the hawk would remain calm. He looked at his watch. “I’m in surgery at 10:00 a.m. I’ll get one of my assistants to prep him and we’ll take care of him right away.”
“Great, thanks. Just call and let me know when to come and pick him up.”
“Sure. You got room for him?”
Nodding, Katie said, “Yes, we do.”
“Great.” Shep turned and nodded toward Joe. “Nice to meet you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a bunch of four-legged patients waiting for me.”
Joe nodded and stepped aside. Shep walked to the door and opened it.
“Katie, how about me buying you a mocha latte at Mo’s some Saturday soon? We need to catch up with one another.”
“Terrific, Shep. Give me a call.”
Smiling, he said, “I will. Later...”
On the way back to the ranch, Katie noticed how quiet Joe had become. Fingers opening and closing around the steering wheel, she said, “Are you all right?”
Joe glanced over at her. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You seemed...” and she searched for the right word “...uncomfortable at Dr. Baldwin’s? Or am I wrong?”
Joe was shocked, squirming inwardly at her ability to sense his emotions. She was just like her raptors. “You seem to be good friends with the vet.”
“Shep has been a bedrock to Donna and me. He’s given so many hours of his time to the birds we bring to him. I really like him, Joe. He’s just a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.”
Joe felt envy gnawing away at him. Why the hell was he reacting this way? He shouldn’t be. “That’s decent of him to give so much of his time.”
Frowning, Katie heard an edge on Joe�
�s voice. What was going on? His brows were drawn down, his eyes straight ahead. She could feel him wrestling with something. But what? “So what about you? Do you miss somebody? Are you sure you’re okay?”
Katie’s questions were softly spoken and Joe didn’t consider them intrusive. “I’m okay. No, I don’t miss anyone, but I do miss the idea of marriage. Zoe, my ex-wife, got tired of me being sent overseas a year at a time to Afghanistan. Not that I blame her. She married me because she wanted me around, not gone all the time.”
“It had to be hard on both of you. Frankly, I don’t see how any military family makes it through two, three or four deployments. I feel it’s asking too much of our volunteer military people. It just isn’t right.” She glanced at him. “And I’ve been hearing constantly on the news how these long deployments are tearing up families and divorces are high. It sounds like your marriage was a casualty?”
Joe watched the Tetons emerge from the flat plain on the left as the truck breasted the long hill. He was glad he didn’t have to lie to Katie about his background. “It was.”
“What was Zoe like?”
“Beautiful. Accomplished. She was born here in Jackson Hole, where I met her. Now, she’s moved on to Chicago where she works at a law firm.”
“You met her here? Was she a high-school sweetheart?”
“Yes, she was. I was the captain of the football team and she was a cheerleader.”
“And so you knew her for a long time?”
“We did. We dated in high school. Then we went to different colleges. When I graduated, Zoe was back in town visiting her parents. I heard about it and drove over to see her. She’d just finished four years of learning to become a paralegal in corporate law. We lost touch with one another over the years.”
“Something must have happened when you met?”
“For sure,” he said, fondly recalling the special time with Zoe. “It was as if we picked up where we left off. I asked her to marry me before I left for my first tour in Afghanistan. She was getting ready to move to Chicago to take a position at a prestigious law firm. We agreed to marry quickly because I had thirty days before I left for advance officer training at the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton, California.”
The Defender Page 18