Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3)

by Swinney, C. L.

  A white male adult had walked in from the street carrying a large black duffle bag. He was dressed in an expensive suit and walked confidently. He entered the baggage claim area and walked directly to the carousel that Marie was watching. As Marie’s suitcase went by, the man nodded slightly and placed the duffel bag directly next to the suitcase. The man did this so discreetly it even impressed Marie. He fished out his cell phone and placed a call as he turned to walk back outside. So far so good, she thought.

  She slowly made her way to the carousel making sure no one was behind her. She detected at least two quick exit points, one outside to her left and one headed through a maintenance corridor near the carousel. As the duffle bag came around, Marie nonchalantly grabbed the bag and turned to walk away.

  “Excuse me! What are you doing, that’s not your duffle bag!”

  Marie didn’t skip a beat. She slowly turned to her right to see a little old lady shaking a finger at her.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Ma’am, but I think you’re mistaken.” Marie calmly scanned the area for threats.

  “No, I’m not, that’s not yours.” The woman pointed at the black duffle bag over her shoulder. Other people standing nearby had stopped and were now staring at Marie.

  She calmly scanned for which escape route would be best. As she did, she picked up a TSA Agent walking toward them. Shit.

  Before she decided what to do, she felt a hand wrap firmly around her waist.

  “Hey hottie, sorry I’m late. What’s up?” A male voice breathed in her ear.

  She cringed and spun around to see the man who’d dropped off the money bag was now hugging her and playing as though they were a couple. Wow, she thought, this guy just saved some lives.

  She tossed her hair and smiled genuinely. The nosy citizen looked completely shocked.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were with that man,” her accuser said.

  “It’s okay.” Marie smiled and looked at the man. “Honey, can you grab the heavier bag, I’ll hold on to this one.” She pointed at the suitcase coming closer to them.

  “Why, certainly,” he replied genuinely as he grabbed the suitcase with the cocaine.

  Marie noticed the TSA Agent had turned and headed back the other way.

  The man put his arm around Marie. “Shall we?” He motioned outside.

  She smiled. “Let’s go, babe.” They walked outside. To all those watching, they looked like any other happy couple looking for a getaway in Sin City. Both had never seen each other before, and would probably kill the other in the blink of an eye. But, their ability to adapt so quickly was the reason they were among the elite as far as criminals go.

  Once outside, they walked in separate directions without saying another word to each other. Marie observed the man get into a blue 1966 Camaro. She memorized the license plate and walked briskly to the rental car terminal. She placed the black bag in the trunk, unzipped it, and saw a large amount of cash. All good. She laughed out loud while thinking of the interaction with the buyer. His smell still hung on her shirt and Marie felt herself getting aroused. Easy, Praying Mantis, we’ve got work to do.

  Chapter 14:

  Dix dialed Petersen’s cell phone. He answered on the first ring.

  “Dix, hey man, what the hell is going on?” Petersen was bored out of his mind and wanted desperately to get involved in the case.

  “Calm down, Steve. First, what’s your status?” He chuckled.

  Annoyed, Peterson drew in a sharp breath and looked at Michelle to calm himself. “Well, they’re not sure they can save my hand, but I’m good with it... for now. I wasn’t earlier, but I’ve got Michelle, and I bet I can learn to shoot with the other hand.”

  “Oh, man, I’m sorry to hear that.” Dix grunted and shook his head. “But let’s just hope they can get you back up and running, okay?”

  Dix then gave Petersen a quick update on the case. He told him about the shootout and the Range Rover being found with two men in it.

  “Wait, wasn’t the getaway car from the alley a Range Rover?” Petersen seemed to be conducting his own investigation from his hospital bed.

  “Yup, but let me finish. It was the same Range Rover and there was a guy sort of alive that firemen pulled out of the burning vehicle. Before he died, the guy told me, ‘Roy’s, Toronto, we killed the cops.’”

  “What does that mean?” Peterson squinted his eyes.

  “No idea yet, but the guy had a key around his neck.”

  Petersen rubbed his chin. “I wonder what it goes to?”

  “Again, I have no idea. The firemen also found another body in the cargo area of the burnt-out car. Frazier says there’s a bullet wound to the back of his head. We think these two guys were the ones who shot you and killed the officers on Las Vegas Boulevard.”

  Petersen wasn’t happy. “Well crap. There go our leads.”

  Dix snorted. “Don’t be a glass half empty kind of guy. I’m not stopping until we take this crew down. The Missus has already given me the green light.”

  Petersen chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? If that’s the case, I feel real bad for whoever’s left. Actually, never mind. They get what they get.” Petersen knew how tenacious Dix was. He was proud to be the man’s friend, and he was touched by the kind gesture by Dix to work this case on his behalf.

  “Steve, you think Michelle wants in on this?” Dix asked. He figured it would come up anyway, and he wanted to move forward and thought it should be discussed now.

  Petersen nodded. “We discussed it, but she’s saying she wants to stay put with me.”

  “Good, I just wanted to make sure. With your bum hand, someone needs to stay there and baby you.” It felt good to get back to jabbing his longtime friend. It meant they were closer to getting back to normal.

  “Pound sand!” Petersen excitedly replied.

  Dix laughed out loud. “That’s the Steve I was looking for. I’ll keep you posted.” Dix hung up and dialed Captain Pierce.

  Pierce didn’t answer, so Dix left him a voicemail. “Captain, Steve’s basically okay, and we’ve got a few leads to work with. Two of the shooters have been found dead. That leaves at least one left in the crew that we know about. Obviously narcotics and big money are involved. A dying suspect mentioned ‘Roy’s’ and Toronto. I’ll report updates as they come.”

  Dix noticed the younger officer that had picked him up was staring in awe at him. “What’s up buddy?”

  The young officer chuckled. “How the hell do you keep everything straight in your head? This thing is blowing my mind and you summarized it in a few statements on a voicemail.”

  Dix thought about giving the young officer a spiel about this being nothing and how he’s done much better work, but it would have burst his bubble.

  “It’s just experience. I’ve worked a lot of cases and you will too. I try to only talk about what needs to be talked about. The rest is a waste of time. You’ll get it before you know it,” he replied.

  The young cop thanked Dix as they pulled up to the burned out vehicles, which was now also a double-homicide scene. Dix texted his wife that he loved her and that he was in a town called Pahrump. He told her he missed her and was not closer to solving the case, but that he would try his damndest to solve it soon so they could go home.

  Dix walked over to see Frazier talking to one of the fire investigators. Frazier stopped talking and introduced Dix to the investigator.

  “Hey Hector, this is Bill Dix, he’s going to be helping us on this one.” They shook hands.

  Hector eyed Dix, which made him and Frazier feel a little awkward.

  Frazier tried to break the tension. “It’s okay, he’s a cop. A damned good one too. You can speak freely in front of him.”

  Dix jumped in before the fire inspector could answer.

  “Hector, I respect your concern, but let me tell you something. I’m pretty sure the two dead men from this vehicle,” he pointed to what was left of the Range Rover, “put a bulle
t in my partner. I plan to put the entire crew in prison or die trying.”

  Hector snickered. “Okay, I got it. So here’s the deal. I’m seeing burn marks indicating there was white phosphorous in the car, which means whoever set the fire wanted the thing to fry and burn hot for a long period of time. Secondly, the victim in the back was clearly shot in the back of the head based on the two holes on his skull. There’s evidence of some type of burned plastic around his hands, suggesting he was bound in the rear of the vehicle.”

  Dix and Frazier shot each other a look.

  Dix blurted out, “I wonder what that means?”

  Frazier shrugged his shoulders.

  Dix held up his hand, “Let’s not call these men ‘victims.’ Once those teeth come back and everything is sorted out, I’m positive these men killed two officers and nearly killed my partner. They certainly are not ‘victims’ in my book.”

  Hector looked at him apologetically. “You’re right. Sorry.”

  “No worries.” Dix let it go the moment he internalized the apology from Hector. He briefly considered his opinion about the death penalty and whether the two dead bodies deserved such a thing. But, they were cop killers, and in Dix’s book, they deserved to die.

  “We’ll keep looking for evidence from the car. We also located a set of keys and cell phone, but they’ve been burned by the fire. It’d take a miracle to get something from the phone, and some of the keys are melted.”

  Frazier thanked Hector for the update and the assistance with processing the scene. He asked if the police department crime scene investigators could also start processing the car.

  “Yeah, they sure can. We’ll work together to sort this out. I’ll see if someone recognizes the keys, see if it gives you any leads,” replied Hector.

  Dix nodded his thanks.

  Frazier turned to Dix. “I’ll also have my cell phone whiz look at the phone. That still leaves the key around the first guy’s neck. That’s gonna be a doozy to figure out what the hell it means or what, if anything, it opens.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Dix and Frazier started prodding through the burned out vehicle. They were looking for anything that survived the fire. Any shred of hope of cracking this case likely lay in what was left of the Range Rover.

  “Bill, I’m going to give a call to the hospital to check on my UC. I’ll ask him about ‘Roy’s’ and Toronto as well.” Dix nodded and kept poking around the debris.

  Before Frazier walked away he felt he needed to say something to Dix. “I’m with you on the whole suspect versus victim thing with these guys. I’m sure you know the political nonsense my agency has been dealing with lately, so between you and me, they’ll be suspects, but be careful using the term openly. The last thing we need is the media crawling up our asses.”

  Dix smiled and patted Frazier on the back, “Agreed.” Frazier headed back to his car to make some calls while Dix went back to work. He handed Dix the key he’d gotten as he retrieved his cell phone.

  Dix noticed mostly everything inside the car was charred from the fire or damaged by water. He used his foot to carefully move ash and soot. In the area where the two front seats used to be, Dix noticed what looked like a small lock box built into the frame of the front passenger seat. His heart began to pound as he hoped he’d found a lead. It dawned on him the box was small enough that the key located on the first suspect just might fit and open it.

  Dix pointed the box out to the fire inspector and CSI officer. Together they worked to remove it from the car. Once they were done, they placed the box on a small folding table and grinned while looking up at Dix.

  “Well, you gonna try that key?” asked the CSI officer as she pointed to the box.

  “I guess I probably should.” Dix put on a pair of rubber gloves and retrieved the key from the necklace around his neck. He tried it in the hole and noticed it appeared that it would fit, but the key opening had melted and appeared clogged with debris. The CSI officer retrieved a can of air spray from her truck and used it to blast air on the locking mechanism. Debris flew everywhere and everyone stared at the lock almost as if they were willing it to open.

  Dix retried the key, and after he jiggled it some, the key slid into place. “You guys ready for this? It feels like we’re opening King Tut’s tomb doesn’t it?” Hector and the CSI officer were captivated. Dix heard something over his shoulder and looked back to see Frazier walking up to them.

  Dix lifted the lid just as Frazier made it to the table. Everyone moved away like they expected some spring snakes to pop out, but it was anti-climatic. The lid made a thud as it hit the table and the box appeared to have nothing in it. However, Dix looked at the inside and something seemed off. He grabbed at the sides and asked the CSI for her pocketknife. He carefully played along the edges of the box with the knife and was able to expose a second layer that was previously concealed.

  “There we go,” Dix breathed. Inside the box they could see two leather wallets, a .45 caliber gun with a silencer, passports, a set of keys, and a stack of cash with a $25,000 band on it. Dix whistled and the CSI snapped photos. The group shared a quick moment of excitement while patting each other on the back.

  Dix and Frazier carefully pulled out each item and placed them on the table so the CSI could snap her crime scene photos.

  “Well, we have two passports here with the names Bruno Roy and Joseph Roy, guess that solves what one of the guys was talking about,” said Frazier.

  Dix looked at the passports carefully. The stamps inside indicated the men had been to Afghanistan, Mexico, the United States, and mostly Canada. “Yeah, and they spend most of their time in Canada, which answers the other part of his statement.”

  Frazier rubbed his chin. “I’m thinking this confirms these guys attacked you and Petersen and killed the two officers on the strip.”

  Dix nodded. “I totally agree.”

  They placed the .45 caliber handgun with a silencer on the table next to the bundle of cash. Frazier and Dix each grabbed a wallet and began sifting through the contents. They found identification cards for Bruno Roy and Joseph Roy from Toronto, Canada.

  Frazier shook his head and whistled. “We sure got lucky here.”

  “Why’s that?” asked Dix.

  “We’ve got all this stuff about the Roys and Toronto. It’s a good thing too because my UC and the fellas had no idea what the name or location meant,” said Frazier.

  Dix grinned. “We needed a break and we got it. Now we gotta figure out one more crucial thing.”

  Frazier looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

  “We gotta find the third shooter that Petersen and I saw in the Range Rover. He’s probably responsible for the two dead guys from this car.” Dix wondered how Frazier would have forgotten something like this.

  “Oh, about that,” he said in an embarrassed tone. “The surveillance cameras on the strip clearly show that the driver of the Range Rover was a female.”

  Dix raised an eyebrow. “Well, isn’t that interesting,” he mused as he thought about what it meant that the third shooter was a highly skilled female. “We need to find her ASAP, but I gotta say, based on all the damage she’s caused, we may have our hands full if and when we locate her.”

  Chapter 15:

  Robert Blass called people he’d trusted and used as part of his criminal enterprise for over twenty-five years. He needed to learn anything and everything about a narcotics detective named Bill Dix, at least more than he already knew. Before Blass saw the man with his own eyes, he’d assumed he was more of an urban legend. Turns out, he was a real narcotics detective and apparently the best of the best. Seeing Dix caught up with Marie and her idiot brothers freaked Blass out. Now he was uncomfortable and it pissed him off. He did not believe in chance and the sighting of Dix made him second guess his entire operation. He considered calling it quits completely and disappearing. He was confident no one would find him and the amount of money he’d stockpiled would allow him to live lavishly until he
died.

  But then something inside him, a voice really, told Blass he needed to look deeper into Bill Dix, see if he could outsmart him. It was as though Blass forgot about business, about making good, sound decisions, and turned the situation personal. To hell with this Bill Dix guy, no one can outsmart me.

  Each person he talked to told him specifically not to toy with Dix, but it only fueled Blass. All his common sense slipped away. A voice in his head told him Dix was better than him. But Blass knew one thing for certain—no one was better than him. No one. He felt an overwhelming urge to crush Dix—but not just kill him, he wanted to humiliate him. Blass shook his head and pitied anyone who would be foolish enough to get in his way. No one messes with a Blass.

  Within minutes, Blass had concocted a plan to lure Dix into a trap so he could have his way with him. He chuckled as the plan required using Marie as bait. He was impressed with Marie, but she was, just like all the other women, expendable. He used them for sex and business, and then, when he became bored with them, he’d have them killed or he’d kill them himself.

  The G4 pilot’s voice over the plane’s intercom interrupted his thoughts. “Mr. Laurin, we’re descending into Las Vegas. We’ll have wheels down in fifteen minutes.”

  “Roger that.” Blass nodded.

  The private stewardess sauntered down the center aisle and raised an eyebrow at him. “One more quickie?”

  Her offer brought a smile to his face. She was voluptuous and pretty, and had a bit of a wild side. He grabbed her in his arms and began unbuttoning her blouse as she growled at him. Just as he finished having his way with her, the plane landed and Blass became more focused than he’d ever recalled being. Time to hunt Bill Dix, he mused.