by Matt Lincoln
“If you believe that, why do you look so upset?” Holm asked.
“Coyotes, they’re not so good.” He fidgeted in his seat. “Our guys used to bring people to Florida. Now, they mostly go to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.”
Well, hell. There we had it. Coyotes were notorious for taking life savings from refugees, and if things got hairy, they’d split and leave the refugees to the maras and other criminals or governments.
“That’s nasty business, Enrique,” I told him. “It bothers you, huh?”
He nodded and looked down. “My friend’s family, they lost people, you know? But some got through.”
“Let’s work something out to keep you safe and to stop those coyotes,” I suggested. “I’m all for making people’s lives better, but these creeps are parasites. It’s not worth the excitement of the cars, is it?”
Hernandez was quiet a moment, and then he shook his head. “No, sir.”
I stood. “Give me a way to find Manny, and we’ll get you on your way.”
Holm produced a pen and small notepad from a leg pocket on his black cargo pants and wrote down an address and cell number. When they were done, Hernandez swallowed hard and dug the fingers on his good arm into his pant leg.
“Please say you were joking about my arm falling off, right?” Real concern glinted from his eyes.
I laughed. “Yeah, kid. You’re smarter than you look.” Maybe I couldn’t have sold him a swamp bridge. It didn’t hurt my feelings.
I walked toward the door. “And you have more of a conscience than most of your buddies, I bet. Stay out of that shit from now on, and we’ll see about getting you squared away.”
Holm stood and jabbed a thumb in my direction.
“What he said.”
We left the interview room and prepared to face Diane and, worse, Yoani.
CHAPTER 33
Yoani wasn’t sure what she’d hoped for, but Ethan’s way of handling Enrique Hernandez wasn’t it. She stood behind the window as he entered the interview room to speak with Hernandez.
“That man should be at the hospital,” Yoani told Director Ramsey. “I thought Americans were supposed to…” She hesitated. What she wanted to say and what she ought to say were different matters. “Isn’t this against your rules?”
Ramsey stared at the scene before them as Ethan began speaking with Hernandez.
“Our agents act with integrity,” she said in a formal tone. “Hernandez will get the medical care he needs. It’s not a life-threatening injury. Apparently, he doesn’t know that.”
Yoani focused on the interrogation. Ethan and Robbie were talking about the wound.
Holm said, “I’ve heard that gangrene can set it awfully quick. All it needs is a little bacteria in the wrong place. Our medic is good, but she doesn’t have all the supplies that the hospital has.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Yoani blurted out. “Why would they say that?”
“Just watch,” Mike Birch said from the other end of the window. “Not everyone is that sharp. The boys figured out Enrique here is a little gullible.”
Yoani still didn’t trust the older man, but she studied the body language in the next room and saw he was correct. Hernandez believed he might lose his arm. Ethan’s suggestion that being caught was enough to get Hernandez in deep water with this Manny person appeared to seal the deal.
“That didn’t take much,” Ramsey muttered. “There has to be something going on with this kid.”
“I agree,” Yoani said.
Hernandez’s slouch and lowered gaze screamed of guilt. It only changed when he spoke of the illegal car trade. That didn’t seem to upset him even though it was getting him into trouble.
When Ethan casually asked about Manny’s last name, Yoani leaned forward. She knew everyone hoped for the same name.
“Tell us more about Manny,” Ethan told Hernandez. “Does he have a last name?”
“Delgado.”
The corner of Ethan’s mouth twitched as if he might smile, but he didn’t. Instead, he rolled along.
“You said your crew moves cocaine.” Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and Yoani held her breath. “Anything besides cars and powder?”
“I ain’t proud… at least not exactly.” Hernandez spoke in a voice almost too quiet to hear. “I mean, we help people get out of Cuba, and that’s good, right? We save some lives, make others better.”
Yoani gulped. There it was, the bigger admission. Delgado and González’s people were trafficking Cubanos, just like González’s father. She wondered whether it was the same operation after all those years. If the Americans could trace it back, the Cuban government could put those men into prison for the rest of their lives.
“If you believe that, why do you look so upset?” Robbie asked.
“Coyotes, they’re not so good.” Hernandez shifted and then slumped in his chair. “Our guys used to bring people to Florida. Now, they mostly go to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.”
Yoani gasped.
“That is worse than risking the Florida patrols,” she cried. “The coyotes take people’s money and then leave them to the gangs and police at the first sign of trouble. These coyotes are vultures.”
“Easy,” Philipe whispered in her ear. “This is information we need to stop them.”
She swallowed and nodded even as flashes of that night at the boat flitted past her mind’s eye. Had the coyotes gone down with the boat, or did they abandon it when things went bad? She never knew.
Yoani blinked the memories away as Ethan and Robbie finished with Hernandez and left him to the guards who were to take him to the hospital. Ethan and Robbie returned to the observation room moments later.
“He’s on the way to get patched up,” Ethan said. His blue eyes glinted in the dim lighting. “We’ll talk to the other two, but I think Hernandez just gave us our best leads.”
“Will he make a complaint about questioning him before he saw a doctor?” Yoani tried not to think about how a similar interrogation might have been conducted in Havana.
Ethan shook his head. “He was lucky. A good cleaning and a few stitches will set him right.” He met Yoani’s eyes. “You okay?”
She bit her bottom lip and glanced at Philipe. At his gentle smile, she gave a slow nod.
“I will be.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a slow whoosh. “Forgive me. All of this is new, and I feel, um…” The word wouldn’t come to mind.
“Overwhelmed?” Ramsey asked.
“Yes, overwhelmed.” Yoani turned back toward Ethan and Robbie. “What comes next?”
“I want to see you talk to the youngster,” Birch announced. Or Cartwright. The name situation was a headache, but the Americans called him by his new name. “There’s something familiar about him.”
Ethan raised a brow toward his boss, and Ramsey nodded.
“He’s a minor,” Robbie reminded everyone. “His mother is on the way, if she isn’t here already. I’ll go check.”
The lanky inspector left the room. His slightly stockier partner leaned against the window. Ethan tapped at the concrete beneath the window frame and stared at the wall on the other side of the narrow room. Yoani turned instead toward Ramsey. The woman didn’t look like a fighter, but Yoani had been told that Ramsey was Lamarr Birn’s partner before she was promoted to the local directorship. She must have been a badass.
“What do you think?” Birch asked. Yoani thought he was asking Ramsey but found his steely look aimed at her.
“Me?” Yoani looked back at Philippe and then Diane and then back to Birch, who nodded. “I don’t think like an inspector. My opinions aren’t useful to this case.”
“Pardon me, young lady, but that is a load of shit.” Birch knocked a knuckle against the two-way glass. “You reacted to what Hernandez said. It means something to you.”
“Of course it does,” she snapped. Ramsey inhaled, and Philippe stepped closer to her. “Coyotes killed my aunt and cousin. They drowned in false promises. I think these p
eople are the same ones who did this.”
Ethan straightened. “The González connection?”
“Yes. Why not?” Her chest tightened. “Maybe they use different names. Maybe newer boats. Maybe many things, but I think it’s the same people.”
Philippe stepped back and leaned against a wall. He closed his eyes and frowned. The expression passed before anyone else seemed to notice. Yoani turned away to allow him a little privacy. She intended to ask him about it later when they weren’t surrounded by American agents.
“I agree,” Birch said.
His eyes narrowed as guards brought in the youngest of the three. A faded woman in faded clothes trailed them in. Robbie returned to the room with a little news.
“The kid’s name is Cody Williams,” he reported. “His mother is Mara Williams. She got out of Cuba and married a man from Wyoming. They returned to Miami after Cody’s father ran his truck off a road while drunk.”
“That’s a long way,” Yoani said in a soft voice. She’d studied maps of the lower forty-eight. “Did she have connections?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Ethan pushed away from the window. “How much you wanna bet she had connections to people wrapped up in our business?”
Birch stepped closer to the window and narrowed his eyes.
“What’s her maiden name?” he asked.
Robbie shook his head. “I don’t have that yet.”
“No attorney?” Ramsey asked.
“No.” Robbie shrugged. “They don’t trust the ones the courts assign, and they can’t afford it on their own.” He frowned. “She didn’t say how she arrived from Cuba, but we can assume.”
“I wonder if González’s father was involved.” Yoani hugged herself. “That might explain why her son works with the same organization.”
Yoani looked past him and watched Mara Williams tear into her son. Cody cowered beneath her tirade, and Yoani moved to turn the speaker on so she could hear what Mara yelled.
Ramsey blocked her.
“That’s a privileged conversation,” she said. “We don’t get to listen in without permission.”
“Someone go ask Mrs. Williams her maiden name.” Birch pointed to Cody’s mother. “I think I know who she is.”
Everyone turned to stare at him.
“My contact, the one who knew Delgado’s name. I think she’s his daughter.”
Birch’s revelation opened some possibilities, Yoani thought. If this woman was connected in two different ways to Delgado’s operation, then they had more angles to pull a net tighter around him and González.
“I want to go in with you,” Yoani told Ethan. “I need to know, and I want her to tell me why she is yelling at her son. It’s about more than what he did today. I’m sure of it.”
Ethan met her eyes. Yoani had never believed in the notion that a person could look into another’s eyes and feel like they’re falling… until that moment. His sky-blue gaze was both an invitation and a question. Could he trust her? Could she trust him? Not the comfortable sort of trust they’d built as people on a case together, but on a deeper level.
“Okay.” Ethan looked over to Ramsey, and she gave a slow nod. Ethan turned back to Yoani. “Tread carefully.”
Yoani swallowed. This would be the first time she met someone who had fled Cuba and made it to the States. She wasn’t sure how she felt. As much as she loved her country, she wasn’t blind to its faults. Her own mother had tried to get them out, so Yoani could have a brighter future.
Whatever her reason, Mara Williams had left. Yoani didn’t care why. She only cared to find out if Williams was connected to Javier González’s father.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 34
Mara Williams sat proud and defiant next to her son, Cody. I pulled an extra chair to the table for Yoani.
“Mrs. Williams, I’m Special Agent Marston. My partner back there is Special Agent Holm.” I kept a close eye on the woman as I made the third introduction. “This is our liaison from Havana, Yoani Nuñez.”
Mara narrowed her eyes and reached for her son’s hand. Cody shook off his mother’s hand and crossed his arms.
“I have nothing to say to her,” Mara snapped. “I have my citizenship.”
“That’s not why she’s here.” I glanced at Yoani and saw her stiffen. “She’s observing as we investigate a case involving your son’s friends.”
“I told him those pendejos would get him into trouble.” She smacked Cody’s arm. He flinched but kept his hard expression. Mara’s nostrils flared. “My son will cooperate with you about what happened today, but he has never been to Cuba. He can’t help you with whatever you’re investigating.”
Robbie entered the room with a folding chair and a small voice recorder, which he handed to me.
“Actually, I think you both can help,” I told Mara. “You know Cody’s in a world of hurt right now after the stunt his crew pulled this afternoon. His age and cooperation will go a long way toward helping his cause.”
“I ain’t talking,” Cody growled.
His mom smacked him upside the head, but not hard enough for us to yell at her. I didn’t blame the lady. Her kid was a damn punk.
“He will talk,” she assured us. “They will threaten him, though. What can you do to protect him?”
“We’ll work with the juvenile courts and social services,” I promised. “Mrs. Williams, Cody or one of his pals fired at a federal agent. He’s lucky he wasn’t shot while fleeing.”
“Whoa, I wasn’t the one who shot at you,” the kid blurted out. “That was Kiko. He’s the one who said we had to go scare the guy.”
“Tell me about the guy and why you wanted to scare him.” I could have sworn I felt Mike glowering through the window. “That was pretty ballsy to go in broad daylight.”
“They didn’t tell me much.” Cody slouched in his chair. “Kiko said the old guy messed around in our crew’s business. He needed a lesson.”
“What kind of business?” Robbie asked.
Cody shrugged. “The usual.”
I raised a brow. “What kind of ‘usual’ involves guns and intimidation?”
“I ain’t a snitch.” The kid sneered.
Mara snatched him by the shoulder and whispered in his ear. His face went pale, and his eyes widened. I had no idea what she said, but he straightened in his seat and dropped his hands into his lap.
“Let’s try again, huh?” I cleared my throat. “What business is your crew into?”
“I don’t know all of it.” Cody stared at his hands. “I helped load coke into boats a few times. The boys said something about cars, but I never saw nothing.”
“Enrique knew a few things about cars,” I said. “Are you sure you don’t know anything about them?”
“I swear,” the kid insisted. “They don’t let me in on a lot. Ricky says I only get to hang around because Manny knows my mom.” He glared at his mom. “But she never talks to him.”
“That’s because there’s nothing to talk about,” Mara told him. “I hate him, and I hate everything he does.”
“Why do you allow Cody to spend time with his crew, then?” I was genuinely baffled. My gramps would have beat my ass if I tried hanging with a bunch of hoodlums.
She sighed. “I couldn’t say ‘no.’ Manuel helped me. If I appeared ungrateful, he would take everything away.”
“Talking to us is a hell of a risk,” Robbie observed.
Mara closed her eyes, and her posture sagged into that of a person worn by years of difficulty.
“I didn’t believe they’d put a gun in my son’s hands.” Her voice went so soft that I worried the recorder might not catch her words. “I knew he was bad news, but he promised.” She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “It was foolish, and now we must pay.”
“How did Manny help you?” I asked.
“When my husband died, I had nowhere to go,” she told us. “We were alone in Wyoming. I didn’t know who else to cal
l. Manny helped me find an apartment and a job.”
Yoani leaned forward and folded her hands on the table.
“How did you know to call Manny?” She kept her tone neutral, but she started to bob her knee.
Mara frowned at Yoani.
“He won’t give you what you’re looking for,” Mara said. “I don’t like him, but I do know he keeps his mouth shut.”
“She asked a valid question, Mrs. Williams.” I cast a side-eye at Yoani and gave her a little head-shake. “You were all the way north in Wyoming. There had to be some connection for you to go to Manny.”
Mara set her glare on Yoani and kept it there.
“His father helped me get to Florida when I was a girl.” She crossed her arms. “I have the paperwork to show I’m a legal citizen now.”
“We know Manny trades in cocaine and cars.” I caught Mara’s attention. “Does he move people now?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” she answered in clipped syllables.
Cody leaned forward. “Why are you harassing my ma? I’m the one who screwed up here.”
“There’s more going on that you realize, kid.” Holm stood and circled the table until he towered over the boy. “The people you’ve been hanging out with are more than drug dealers.” He scoffed and crossed his arms. “As if drug smuggling wasn’t bad enough.”
“They treat me like family,” Cody said. “They helped me and my ma.”
“And they threw you to the wolves today.” I slapped the table, and mother and son both jumped. “Was this the first time they had you go on a job?”
He looked at his mom and then cringed. “It was the second. Two. That’s all.”
Mara reeled. “And what was the first?”
“Let’s not go into that right now.” I tapped my fingers on the table. “My point, Cody, is that these people don’t give a rat’s ass about you or your future. To them, you’re cannon fodder. That bar owner could have messed you up bad.”
“I said my son will cooperate.” Mara looked up. “My history with Manny has nothing to do with Cody’s situation.”