by Matt Lincoln
“It absolutely does.” Holm backed away from Cody and went back to his seat.
“Your history is why you are in Miami and why Cody is part of their operation,” I added. “If they’re trafficking in asylum seekers, he’s going to get caught up with that.” I stabbed my forefinger on the table’s cold surface. “Minor or not, those are some heavy charges.”
Mara curled her hands into twin fists and ran her tongue over her teeth.
“Fine.” She pointed at me and then Holm. “Keep your promise to protect Cody.”
“We’ll do what we can.” I wasn’t sure how much that would be, considering the gravity of Cody’s actions. “What do you know about the trafficking, Mrs. Williams?”
“Manny’s father ran a… a service.” She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “My parents only had enough money to send one person. I was the oldest child, the only one able to go on her own. So I did.”
“Have you been in touch with your family?” Yoani asked in a gentle tone.
“Why, so you can have them arrested?” Mara spat.
Yoani blinked, and her cheeks reddened. “No. I-I’m not… I don’t arrest people. I am a liaison, that is all.”
“It’s true,” I said. “She’s observing as we work this case since there are Cuban interests involved. We didn’t know people smuggling was part of the operation at first. At this point, we’re connecting dots, and that’s where we could use your help.”
Mara blinked. “I will help you with your case, but I will not endanger my family.” She turned to Yoani. “You seem to have good intentions, but it is not worth the risk.”
Yoani nodded. “Sí, yo comprendo.”
So much for getting Mara’s maiden name for Mike. I had a feeling that going back through her legal records wouldn’t help. After all the woman had gone through, I couldn’t blame her for being suspicious of government officials, especially with a Cuban liaison in the room.
“Let’s go back to the ‘service’ your parents paid to bring you to Florida.” I offered the warmest smile I could summon. “They loved you very much to do that.”
She nodded. “They wanted the best for their children.” She held up a finger. “That is all I will say about them.”
“Understood. What do you remember about Manny’s father?”
“His name was Jorge González.” Mara’s nose wrinkled. “Both of his sons were there, and he was as cruel to them as he was to anyone who stood up to him.”
Yoani gasped. “Two sons?” she asked in a faint voice.
Mara’s brow furrowed, but she answered. “Yes. Javier and Luis.” She looked back at me. “That’s Manny’s real name. Luis González. Not many people know that.”
I hid the electric thrill that ran through my body. Hot damn, there was our connection. Not just for us, but for Yoani to get justice for her aunt and cousin. All we had to do was get enough for it to stick, and then we could nail those bastards.
Cody gaped at his mother. “But he’s Manuel Delgado. He has the Delgado list.”
“I thought you didn’t know about the cars,” Holm drolled.
Cody froze and then waved it off. “I heard about the list. Nobody told me what’s on it.”
“Bullshit.” I stood and let the chair clank to the floor behind me. “You know about the list, which means you know about the cars.”
Mara held both hands up and shook her head.
“I don’t understand,” she cried. “Cocaine, refugees, cars, altogether?”
“Yes.” I picked my chair up from the floor and sat on it. “We know about that much, but there could be more. These guys like to diversify.”
“What a nightmare.” Mara turned to her son. “We are going to help put these men away, mijo.”
Cody gave a sullen nod. “Okay.” He looked toward me but didn’t make eye contact. “What do you need from me, Agent Marston?”
“Let’s start with an address.”
An hour later, we left for the evening. Yoani stopped me in the parking garage on our way out. She waved Philippe on toward the car with an agent who was to take them to the hotel. He hesitated, shrugged, and then went to wait with Holm.
“Why aren’t you going to arrest Manny tonight?” She kept her tone low so that it was only between us. “I thought you wanted this case over as quickly as possible.”
I rubbed the back of my head. “There are too many moving parts in this operation. We need a slam dunk to bring the González brothers in. If we go after ‘Manny’ now, we might get a conviction, but there’s no promise we’ll find out where Javier’s people are operating.”
“Our authorities will track them down.” She didn’t look as certain as she sounded. “They’ll arrest Javier and make him talk.”
“But will they get what they need? These operations are like weeds. Their roots run deep. If you don’t pull them up all at once, they’ll sprout back up, even if the main stalk is taken out.”
“You think someone will take over even if the brothers talk.”
“Of course.” I touched her shoulder. “We can’t take shortcuts.” A thought hit me. “But we can plant a few seeds.”
“What seeds?”
I grinned. “You’ll see.”
CHAPTER 35
“You want me to do what?”
Wendell “Dollar Store” Muskie was one of our secret weapons for Miami-based crime intel. The guy had a knack for knowing when and where to hear things that helped our investigations. Most of the time, he came to us if he heard things he thought might relate to MBLIS cases. That morning, however, Holm and I went to him.
Yoani tagged along with Arturo close at hand. We’d picked them up from the hotel on the way to meet our informant. I wished we’d had time to hang out with the Cubans after the interrogations the night before, but we had paperwork that needed our attention.
“I want you to find out if Manny Delgado’s crew is dealing powder in Miami,” I told Dollar Store. I held out four twenties. “If they are, find out who and where.”
Dollar Store sucked in his lips and stepped back. I smelled a hint of weed, but not thick with smoke and body odor like his earlier days. The daybreak breeze made his greasy hair sway before his eyes.
“I do my stuff under the radar, Marston. You know that. I’m a listener.”
“I know, and I don’t want to cause you trouble.” I started to put the twenties back in my wallet. “We thought you might be slick enough to pull it off.” I turned toward Holm and shrugged. “Maybe I was wrong.”
“Like I told you, he has a particular skill set, and this isn’t it.” Holm yawned and then stuck his thumbs into his pockets. “We can find someone else to dig around.”
Dollar Store looked around the empty park where we stood. A thin treeline hid a narrow beach and creaky dock where he parked the speedboat he used for trafficking knock-off goods between Florida and the Bahamas. The remains of his previous boat rusted on the other side of the dock.
“It’s not that I can’t,” he whined. “It’s just that if they connect me to you, I’m finished.”
“It’s a fact-finding mission, Wendell.” I folded the bills but didn’t put them into my wallet quite yet. “Don’t go asking lots of questions. Just do whatever it is you do. We have two weeks at the least.”
He looked long and hard at the money and then toward his boat. Fuel wasn’t cheap, especially for those trips to the Bahamas and back. Heck, I couldn’t figure how he made scratch by selling worthless junk across the Straits of Florida.
“I could give it a go…” His dark eyes flicked back toward the dock. “If they get busted, they’ll go looking for who snitched. That wouldn’t be good for business.”
“Here, have some gas money.” I handed him the twenties. “Bring us some intel, and there’ll be more where that came from.”
Dollar Store plucked the money from my hand and retreated. “Look, I gotta think on it.” He waved the twenties. “This is down payment for this one or next time. I’ll let you kno
w.”
He slipped away through the trees, and I heard the aging speedboat motor crank into gear.
“Think he’ll do it?” Holm wondered.
“He usually comes through for us.” I shrugged and then turned toward Yoani. “He’s surprisingly reliable.”
“Do you always give money to criminals?” she arched an eyebrow.
“Only the ones who help us catch monsters.” My phone chirped as I led the others back to my car. I checked and found the message I’d been waiting to see. “Who’s down for breakfast with Mike?”
Yoani frowned but nodded. Arturo crossed his arms. I got it. Mike had skipped out under Arturo’s nose back in Havana, and then someone had the temerity to go after Mike on the same watch. Worse, another guard had died. I didn’t blame Arturo for being less than enthused to see Mike.
“We didn’t get to speak yesterday,” Yoani said as she got into the car. “It’s best to get this done.”
“Hrmph.” Arturo slid into the back seat and fastened his buckle. “My job is to follow you, Señorita.”
On that cheery note, I drove us to a small mom-and-pop diner. The scents of pancakes, bacon, and eggs made my mouth water as we entered. Mike waved from a table along the back wall which was away from the other early birds.
“It’s a nice little joint, isn’t it?” He waved for everyone to choose a seat, making sure not to jostle his healing arm. “I would’ve invited you to the Hut, but we know what happened last time.”
Holm sat across from Mike. Yoani sat between Holm and Arturo. I slid into the chair next to Mike. It felt like we’d taken sides, and I didn’t care for the feeling. Holm was my partner and best friend. We disagreed sometimes, but he rarely got angry with me. When he did, it simmered for way too long.
“Yesterday, you talked a lot about what your buddy did,” Holm said as a server brought menus. “Here’s the thing, Mike. We were wowed when we learned who you really are. Your service record is freaking legendary.”
Mike nodded, although the statement didn’t appear to cause him joy.
“You realized you don’t really know me, didn’t you?” he asked of Holm. “Kind of like Simon Kelley.”
I winced. Kelley was a SEAL legend turned bad. He almost killed Holm a year earlier when we went to take him down. If we hadn’t been starstruck, we might’ve looked at him earlier in the case. Or maybe not. It wasn’t my style to dwell on things.
“Exactly,” Holm said after a moment. “You keyed us in on how bad this guy was, and that helped break the case. But dammit, Mike, this past week has made me wonder if you’re another Kelley.”
There it was. We’d known Mike for almost a year and a half. He’d become like an older brother in arms. Considering we’d all done things we didn’t like to think about during our careers, it made sense not to ask the tough questions. That had to be what was going on with Holm.
Nobody spoke for a few moments. The server returned with coffee and took our orders. After he left, Yoani looked at the three of us in turn. Arturo kept his arms folded and studied the wall.
“You need to sort yourselves out,” Yoani told us. “I cannot believe I am going to say this, but Robbie, I think you are being too hard on your friend.”
Holm’s eyes widened, and I gaped at Yoani. Even Mike raised his brows. Arturo uncrossed his arms and curled his hands around his steaming coffee cup and gave Yoani a side-eye.
“What brings you to that conclusion?” Mike asked. “You know me less than these fellas do.”
Yoani placed her palms on the table.
“I am the only one here who has no military experience, but even I know that you special forces people have dark histories. Even though you offended my government, your actions seem to be honorable. I was angry with what you did, but if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be as close as we are to solving this case.”
“For all you know, I want revenge.” Mike tapped his spoon on the table. “Maybe I’m using everyone to find the people who did this so I can take them out myself.”
Yoani laughed. “And this is why I do not believe you for one second.”
Her disarming smile found cracks in the tension at the table.
“I suppose you’d do a better job of hiding a secret agenda, if you had one.” Holm’s tight smile was a small concession. “I want to know I’m not being played again.”
He touched his side, and I had a feeling he didn’t realize it. Holm was an easy-going guy, but it’d taken a long time to bounce back from the encounter with Kelley, both physically and mentally.
Mike closed his eyes for a beat and then let out a long breath.
“I would never hurt you boys,” he said in a soft tone. “It’s sappy, but dammit, I don’t have family left. You and the others at your office are the closest I have.” He looked Holm in the eye. “Robbie, if Kelley hadn’t died after he split you open, I would’ve made sure he did later.”
He spoke with absolute certainty, and it seemed that everyone at that table felt it. Arturo straightened.
“I would do the same if anyone hurt people under my watch.” The guard’s hardened glare set the hairs on my arms on edge. “Do not misunderstand me. I believe you MBLIS agents are honorable, and maybe you, Señor Birch, but no one will harm Señorita Nuñez while I am assigned to her safety.”
“Understood,” I told him. “You two and Philippe are also under MBLIS care, and we feel the same.”
Arturo gave a short nod and went back to staring at his coffee.
“I need to tell you something about my contact in Havana,” Mike said. “It’s not my place to give you his name. He’s a good man who got involved with bad people a long time ago. He hears things, a lot like your friend Dollar Store.”
I chuckled. “Nobody is quite like Dollar Store, but I get your point.”
Holm rolled his eyes but said nothing.
“When I went to see him, he asked to see if I could learn anything about his daughter. She got out a long time ago, and she only contacted him once, after she married a man from Wyoming.”
“Oh…” Yoani cut a look at Arturo. “The woman they interviewed last night married a Wyoming man.”
“I think you were right,” I told Mike. “It makes sense. After things have cooled down, maybe you should talk to her.”
“Maybe,” he murmured, and then he brightened. “Ethan, you have the rest of today free, right?”
“As long as nothing comes up.”
“And as long as Diane doesn’t saddle us with more paperwork,” Holm added with a roll of his eyes. “You know she’d love us to catch up.”
I waved it off. “We need a day off. Did you have something in mind, Mike?”
He grinned. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
CHAPTER 36
“You’re a treasure hunter?”
Yoani cocked her head as she examined our prizes from The Searcher’s Chance. The bags and box were still in a bin of salt water in order to preserve the state they were in until we got back from Cuba. We were at my houseboat, where I’d left the bin. My living room smelled like stagnant seawater since opening it, but it was a price I didn’t mind paying.
“It’s not about treasure,” I told her.
“But treasure isn’t a bad thing,” Holm pointed out. “It helps fund the search for The Dragon’s Rogue.”
“We have an expert who can help us see what’s what.” I placed the lid back on the bin. “That’s where we’re going to meet Mike.”
Arturo glanced at his phone, and I realized it was getting close to noon. His shift was about over, which meant trading him in for Philippe.
“I guess we can get someone to take Philippe to the shop.” I smiled at Arturo. “If you want to stick around to see Bill work his magic, you’re plenty welcome.”
The tough guy cracked a small grin. “I have always liked stories about pirates and treasure.”
“Me too,” I said with a laugh.
Thus situated, we piled back into the Dodge Charger with the bin in the bac
k seat between Holm and Arturo. I may or may not have manipulated things a little to get Yoani in the front with me.
Coins and Things was the fascinating shop where I met Bill Meyer and, through him, his daughter. Emily Meyer and I had a short relationship before she went to teach at a university in Barbados. Bill had become a good friend. He was the expert who helped me identify, preserve, and sell coins I’d found in a cave and later, when we found coins where someone had walked the Dragon’s Rogue’s plank with a cannonball attached to his leg. The “and Things” of Bill’s shop included everything that wasn’t a coin.
Yoani gaped at the antique collection at the front of Bill’s shop. Arturo took a few good looks himself, but Yoani was drawn to a pair of cobalt blue urns with complimenting hand-painted angel motifs on the fronts. I glimpsed at the tag and saw that they were from Sevres, France, in the eighteenth century. The price was more than I’d shell out, but I was more of a muscle-car kind of guy.
“Ethan!” Bill rushed out from behind the coin cases and to the bin Holm and I lugged in. “I’ve been dying to get my hands on your salvage.”
I laughed. “I have, too, but work called. We have the day off, and I thought we’d bring our new friends in to see my personal project.” I gestured toward them. “This is Yoani Nuñez, and that fellow over there is Arturo Renteria.”
“Ah, these are your guests from Havana.” Bill smiled and held out his hand. “I hope you enjoy your time in Miami.”
“It has been interesting.” Yoani gave him a warm smile as she shook his hand. “We have many vintage items at home, but I haven’t seen a collection like this. You have wonderful taste.”
“Why, thank you.” Bill beamed as he ushered us to the room behind the coin cases. “Mike is waiting for us in the back.”
The bell at the front of the shop jingled. Philippe and one of the junior agents from the MBLIS office sauntered in, both speaking in rapid Spanish until they saw our little group. Philippe was back in charm mode as he walked up to Yoani. He glanced around at the antiques with a lack of apparent interest as she took him aside and whispered something. His face darkened his face at first, but some of the glower receded by the time she finished.