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

by Swinney, C. L.

  Dix poured over the call detail records of Robert Laurin’s cell phone, specifically around the time of Petersen’s shooting, and when the cops found the Range Rover. He noticed the device made and received a few phone calls, but was primarily used to send or receive text messages. This guy is smart; you’d need a wiretap to read all these texts. Dix called the telephone company back and asked if he could get all call detail records to include the cell tower information for each call. With this data, he’d be able to plot out a rough course of the phone’s travels as well as identify high frequency callers. If he could retrieve the contents of the phone, he’d use it for another idea that popped in his head while he worked frantically to bust this case open.

  Around the time of the shootout he and Petersen were in, the device made an outgoing call to a number in Canada. Dix assumed the phone belonged to one of the dead brothers and not their sister, unless she knew enough about phones to ditch it. Based on the call records, Dix determined three phone numbers appeared connected through calls, locations, and text messages. He wrote a search warrant for all the phones and had it signed by the same judge that he used on the first search warrant. The data came fairly quickly from the phone company and Dix asked Frazier if he could utilize Pierre from the tech room to help crunch the data. He agreed, and Dix had the phone company email all the files to Pierre. Dix and Frazier grabbed a cup of coffee and waited.

  Roughly two hours later, Pierre motioned for them to come back into the lab. They could see the excitement in his eyes.

  “Guys, check this out. So, I imported all the records, mapped out the call history,” he clicked a button on the large screen in front of them, “and came up with this.”

  Dix recognized the patterns displayed among the data while Frazier stood there with his mouth agape and dumbfounded. A series of red, blue, and green lines covered the screen.

  Dix tried to make sense of the map. “What do all the colors represent?”

  “Ok, check this out. So I coordinated the colors to each person; red and blue are the brothers, green is Marie—”

  Dix cut him off. “Wait, you have her number identified?” If that’s the case, we have options.

  “Yup, without a doubt.” He pointed on the large monitor. “This is her phone number and location of her phone now.”

  Both Frazier’s and Dix’s jaws dropped. The information on the screen showed Marie’s phone to be in Las Vegas. Before they acted on the information, they both wanted to know exactly what the phone data meant.

  Dix noticed a black number on the screen that Pierre hadn’t talked about yet. “What’s the black number?”

  “That’s a high frequency caller to all three of them, but mostly to Marie. And, judging by the photos and text messages, I’m pretty sure the user of that phone is banging Marie.”

  “Hold on! You have the actual photos and text messages? How the heck did you do that without a wiretap?” Dix asked incredulously.

  Pierre turned slightly red. “I did an exigent request for records and the phone company messed up and sent me all this info.”

  Dix wrinkled his brow and looked at Frazier. “You have any U.S. Marshals up here?”

  “Yeah, why? What are you thinking?” answered Frazier.

  “I’m thinking we do a pen register and a ping on Marie’s phone. We can get data from her calls and we can get the location of the phone through its GPS function. We’d be closer to nabbing her if those things pan out.”

  Frazier looked puzzled. “I’m not sure what all that means, but we’ve got several U.S. Marshals here in town.”

  Pierre smiled and leaned forward hoping to chime in to help the officers and demonstrate his expertise to Dix. “Hey Bill, we’ve got the capability of running that stuff right here.”

  Dix raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s convenient, let’s run the show through you then.” Pierre wore a great big grin on his face. He hoped it would convince Frasier to put in a good word for him when he reapplied for the officer position.

  Frazier continued. “I don’t know what the hell you two are talking about, but if it helps us nab the Praying Mantis, I’m in.”

  Dix worked on the search warrant and included the telephone number being used by someone appearing to have a romantic relationship with Marie Roy. He had to be creative with the probable cause for that specific phone. They woke the judge up and she begrudgingly signed the search warrant. Based on the nature of the case and the likelihood Petersen was in grave danger, Dix convinced the phone companies that this was an exigent case and asked them to build the pen register and initiate the cell phone pings as soon as possible.

  Less than thirty minutes later Dix, Frazier, and Pierre were able to pinpoint the location of the device. The phone showed in a residential area that was foreign to Dix, but meant something to Frazier.

  Frazier pointed to the monitor. “That’s a couple miles from the hospital where she killed my UC. I bet you anything it’s a safe house.” His chest swelled as he fought back an urge to strike the desk while thinking of the friend he lost. He took a deep breath before contacting dispatch to run the records for the house. No calls for service were noted at the residence.

  Dix looked at Frazier. “Well, you’ve got a few SWAT teams, why not send one over to the location and see if they can locate Marie?” Dix felt himself getting excited again. It felt good to make some progress.

  Frazier shrugged. “They’d probably only do a surround and call out. Let’s get a surveillance team together and see if we can spot her. If we see her, we can figure out a way to snatch her.”

  Dix nodded. “I’ve got a few guys left and you have some bodies, let’s get some radios and get out there ASAP.” He looked over at Pierre. “And if this phone moves or gets a call from the number we think is hooking up with Marie, you let us know.”

  The teams held a quick briefing and scrambled to get in the area of where Marie’s cell phone last communicated with a cell tower. Dix and Pierre knew the coordinates were not always accurate and the information wouldn’t get to them regularly from the phone companies, but they had no other option. The surveillance team managed to set up a perimeter and tried to blend into their surroundings. After that, typical with most narcotic surveillance, they hurried up to wait.

  Chapter 26:

  Marie finished a piece of toast and a cup of yogurt while contemplating an attack plan on Bill Dix’s partner. She’d determined the hospital wasn’t very easy to get into and she worried that the room would be heavily guarded. She assumed there’d be at least two officers guarding the target’s door and there was no telling how many more cops would be in, or around, the hospital. That’s what you get for killing an officer her little voice told her. Marie fired up her laptop and put the address for the hospital into Google maps. As it loaded, she wondered why Blass had such a hard on for Bill Dix and his partner. She’d killed the undercover agent and, for the most part, gotten away and escaped death. The last thing she wanted to do was stir up more shit and put herself at risk. All she really wanted to do was go back to Canada and lay real low for a long while.

  The map loaded and Marie examined it. Within a few seconds she pounded the table in frustration because she could see the local police department had a sub-station just a block away from the hospital. Shit, how the hell am I going to get past them? Even if I kill the target, I’m not going to make it out of there alive. She’d killed so many people so many ways she decided not to give up, especially since she told Blass she’d finish the job. She grew frustrated and shook her head because she couldn’t think out a way to make this happen. And, she had to concede that many, if not most, of the men she killed were usually vulnerable after having sex with her when she killed them. She’d not have that luxury this time.

  A ruse of some sort will be needed, but what? Marie studied the blueprints, local stores in the area, entry and escape routes, and finally came up with a few weak options. None of them had her surviving. Oh she’d kill the target, but she’d als
o end up dead. No man is worth that.

  She grew impatient and considered storming the damn hospital; kill everyone she could, then making a desperate escape attempt. That wasn’t an option either. Finally, after taking a deep breath and considering all of her options, Marie settled on one. She’d have to hire someone to push her into the hospital in a laundry basket. Trusting others made it risky. Nevertheless, she didn’t see another way she’d make it inside the hospital. Once inside, she’d have to kill a local worker, grab their official identification and put a thumbnail photo of herself on top of it to make it look right. After that, she’d take her time to locate the target before killing him. She assumed if she located a room being guarded, she’d found the right spot. Marie believed even with a gunshot wound on her arm, she could take out two cops, get into the room, and kill Bill Dix’s partner. After that, she huffed, things would be chaotic and she’d need a miracle to escape alive.

  Confident in her plan, Marie examined the cache of weapons and equipment stored in the safe house. As she replayed her plan in her mind, she selected the items necessary to pull of the hit on another cop. She laid several semi-automatic hand guns with extended magazines and sound suppressors, a nylon rope, some flash-bang grenades, a ballistic vest, a change of clothes, duct tape, and a trauma kit on the table in the kitchen. She grabbed a backpack capable of holding all of the items. She stood up quickly and felt queasy. The effects of the surgery and the painkillers caused her to feel nauseous and forced her to sit down. Once she cleared her head, she stood over the accoutrements. She grunted. You know someday, this is all gonna bite you in the ass.

  Next, she needed to make a phone call to get a driver who had access to a laundry truck. If she was lucky, she’d find someone with a connection to the hospital. She dialed the contact’s phone number and waited.

  After the third ring, a male adult answered. “What cha’ need?” He cringed after saying this. She always called wanting something near impossible to obtain, and she always wanted it within an hour.

  “I’m gonna need a Morton’s Laundry truck, a clothes basket large enough for me to hide on the bottom, and someone to push me into a hospital. Whoever it is needs to be top-notch, and if they blow it, I’ll put a bullet in their head.”

  “Oh that’s all?” the man asked as he shook his head and whistled. He scratched his cheek and thought about what his customer needed and whether he could get it.

  “I’m not in the mood to fuck around, buddy, can you get the shit or not?” Marie felt a kink in her neck forming and found herself suddenly cranky. She also began to feel cramping in her lower abdomen. Great, just what I need, my period.

  The supplier knew he was in dangerous waters with his client. “Absolutely. When do you need the stuff?”

  “Have it ready in an hour.”

  “What? An hour, that’s not enough—”

  “Can you get it done or not?”

  The man sighed. “Ok, in an hour.” He had no idea how he’d make it happen, but he knew he damn well better.

  “Who’s gonna drive the truck and push me in?” Marie was still concerned about this part of her plan.

  The supplier chuckled. “It’s gotta be done right, so it’s gonna be me.”

  This caught Marie off-guard, but the man was probably the best choice for the job. The supplier recognized how dangerous the job would be and had offered himself to ensure it would get done right.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” she replied. “You better not fuck this up. Get the stuff together, and I’ll wire the money in five minutes.”

  “I got it, but this is gonna cost extra. Send me ten grand now and ten grand after. I’ll be set up and waiting for your call in less than an hour.” The supplier knew his asking price was too high for what he was providing. However, locating the right laundry truck and the fact he was personally involved pushed the price up.

  “Deal. By the way, how the hell are you going to come up with the right laundry truck, and so fast?” Marie was curious as to how the supplier would make this happen, and she needed to make sure the truck fit in perfectly.

  “Don’t worry about that,” he replied coolly. “Send the money and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Bullshit, I need an answer or I’ll ask someone else.” Marie felt her face flush.

  “Ok, calm down, it just so happens my cousin works for Morton.”

  Marie laughed. “You lucky son of a bitch. Okay, I’ll send the money, and when I call, you better answer right away.”

  The supplier grinned. “I wouldn’t think of messing with you. The stuff you need will be ready.” Before he could ask what the real plan would be, she hung up on him.

  She sat in the living room of the safe house fairly confident the task ahead of her would be the most difficult of her life. However, she felt somewhat better knowing she had a plan, she’d have the tools for the job, and she had a pretty decent guy who’d be helping her. Marie would be on her own once inside, but that didn’t bother her. She worked far better alone. Nevertheless, she decided after this hit for Blass, she’d be taking a long break, out of the country. She clicked on the television looking for something to watch. After a few minutes, her eyes closed and she began snoring loudly.

  Chapter 27:

  Robert Blass had just finished checking on some of his businesses in Las Vegas. Some were legitimate, some not so much. He’d learned at a young age how to hide money and use corporations to keep people guessing. Then, to really toy with people, he donated money from parent companies to battered women and children, both in the United States and Canada. Blass assumed this charity would help shield his true identity. But that was the point, wasn’t it?

  He walked out of an intense board meeting. The investors were not happy about the direction he wanted to take the company, and they had let him know about it. When it was all said and done, Blass had gotten his way and the board members who went against him were told not to publically embarrass him again. Each of them had no idea what Blass was capable of, but the look in his eyes told them to keep their mouths shut.

  Once he left the company building, Blass texted Marie to see how she was feeling. She didn’t respond right away. Blass figured she was still feeling the effects of the surgery or maybe she was asleep. He waited a few more minutes and called her instead of texting her. He was hopeful the sound of her cell phone ringing would get her attention. The phone went to voicemail. Blass did not leave a message. Hmmmmm. I wonder what she’s up to? He looked at his watch. He had a plane to catch in two hours. The fact Marie was not responding concerned him slightly. He decided he’d drive over to the safe house to check on his lover and assassin before heading back to Canada.

  Chapter 28:

  Dix sat in the undercover car patiently and reflected on how he would not miss the countless hours he wasted on surveillance once he retired. That is, if I actually retire, he thought. He twiddled his thumbs and stared at the house he and his team believed Marie Roy was in. I hope we got the right cell phone, he thought. Dix recalled the fact that law enforcement had lost way too many good men and women to the killings committed by Marie Roy. He wanted to personally apprehend her and interrogate her. It even crossed his mind that it would be okay if she were killed in a shootout. It was unlike him, but he didn’t even care if she was captured alive. The amount of death and destruction she’d caused, the families she’d torn apart, it all overwhelmed him. Christ, I almost lost Petersen to this bitch, he fumed, agitated again. If she died by his bullet, it would not bother him. Dix had killed before, in the line of duty and while he served his country, but he never gained any satisfaction from it. This was different. A suspect had gone after his friend, a man he considered to be family. Dix felt himself getting pissed. He was not about to let some psycho bimbo take Petersen away from him.

  They watched the house for nearly an hour. Nothing happened. People on the surveillance team wondered aloud if they were at the right spot. Most of Dix’s co-workers felt confident the phone w
ould be in the house, but they were getting antsy too.

  Dix and Frazier looked at each other and sensed they were getting anxious as well.

  Pierre’s call to Dix broke the silence.

  “Dix, the phone just placed an outgoing call for about three minutes. I’m still seeing that the phone is close to you guys. Any movement yet?”

  Dix was relieved. He covered the cell phone and told Frazier the update and asked him to share it with the surveillance team.

  “No, nothing yet, but that’s good news. Any word on the phone number our phone called?” Dix answered back.

  “I thought you’d ask me that. So far it looks like it’s a drop phone. Oddly enough the name gives us nothing, but the cell phone provider gave me a Google account associated to it. This gave me an IP address to play with. As soon as I know something, I’ll let you know.” Pierre stared at the screen and used software to make sense of the data as he spoke.

  Dix knew the IP address combined with the Google account was a mistake by whoever was trying to remain undetected. He was hopeful Pierre would dig something up quickly.

  “Kind of a rookie move after getting a drop phone,” Dix said laughingly.

  “Yup,” answered Pierre.

  “Pierre, have there been any calls to the number we noticed was having some type of sexual relationship with Marie?” Dix was curious about who that person would be. He assumed the man had overwhelming power over Marie based on the fact she allowed him to live. Then he wondered if it wasn’t a man at all.

  “Nope. Wait a minute; speak of the devil, the number you’re asking about just texted our phone.”

  “Did she text back?” Dix hoped the two numbers would communicate more. If they did, he’d use them to keep connected to this case until he had a chance to pounce on Marie.