by J. T. Baier
He put his arm around Megan and gave her a quick hug. “Why don’t you go inside and try to get some sleep.”
“Not a bad idea,” she said, stifling a yawn. “What about you? Are you going to get some rest?”
“Not yet. There’s one more thing I need to do first.”
27
Riker waited until Megan was in her room before he took the car. He knew that she needed rest. She claimed after the attack that she would never sleep again. Riker knew better. The adrenaline would wear off from the last several hours and her body would demand rest.
The downside of that fact was his body demanded rest as well. He sat in the car parked in front of one of the nicer homes in town. His leg screamed at him and he wondered how many more times it could take pressure before it snapped. His eyelids felt heavy and tried to slide down, sending him into an unconscious world. He snapped them up, reminding himself that his force of will was much stronger than two small flaps of skin.
The task that sat in front of him could not wait until the morning. By that time the man in the house would be gone, and tracking a man on the run would take time that Riker didn’t have. He got out of the car and closed the door without making a sound. As he crept around the home, he could hear movement inside. He considered that there might be exterior security cameras, but he doubted the occupant currently had the time to watch them.
He reached a door on the side of the garage. This one had a simple lock and turned easily with Riker’s bump key. The garage held a high-end sedan with its trunk open. The door to the house was also propped open. Riker moved around the car, examining the contents of the trunk. There were several duffel bags and a suitcase. The duffel bags were lumpy, poorly concealing stacks of money within.
As Riker walked into the house, he almost collided with Doc Hanson. There was a thin layer of sweat on the man’s face, and he held a duffel bag that matched the others. When he saw Riker, he let out a soft yelp.
“Matthew, what are you doing here?”
“Don’t worry Doc; I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just looking for some answers.”
The words did little to calm Hanson. His entire body was visibly tight. “That’s good to hear, but you may not be my only visitor this evening. I’m guessing any other guest I have will not be so polite.”
“Then let’s be frank with one another. I think we are past the point of games.”
The doctor stared at Riker, his face pale. “Any information I give you will result in my death. Since I’d rather like to live past this evening, I don’t have much to say.”
“Based on what you said a moment ago, you may not make it past this evening no matter what you tell me.”
Doc hesitated. He pulled a gun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at Riker with a shaky hand. “That’s true, but I may be able to trade your life for mine. If I turn you over to them, I may just live to see another day.”
Riker slowly raised both hands and moved towards the table in the kitchen.
“Where are you going?”
“If we’re going to wait around for someone else we might as well get comfortable. I do have a fractured leg after all. Getting off of it sounds nice.” Riker casually took a seat at the table. He gestured to the chair across from him. “I’d love some coffee, but I’m guessing you don’t have time to put on a fresh pot.”
Doc kept the gun trained on Riker. His grip on the weapon told Riker that he had little to no experience using it. Doc took a seat across the table resting his elbow on its surface. “Who sent you here?”
Riker gave a slight smile. “No one, and before you ask I really am a beekeeper. I don’t work for any government organization or anyone else for that matter. I’m self-employed.”
“You’re telling me that you just happened to come into town and disrupt a drug trafficking operation? No one sent you?”
“That’s right. The only reason I came was for Coach's funeral. After that, one thing just led to another.”
Hanson gave a soft snort. “You’re telling me that blowing up a cartel barn was ‘just one of those things’?”
Riker shrugged. “I guess I am.”
“You want to tell me how you figured out I was involved?”
“I started getting suspicious when we talked in the coffee shop. You were a little too eager to have me help find Coach’s informant.”
Hanson gave a thin smile. “We hadn’t had any luck. I figured maybe you’d be able to do better. But certainly that wasn’t the only clue.”
“No. After my injury, you quickly changed tactics. You pressured me to get out of town. That supported my theory, but honestly, I didn’t know for certain until I got here and saw the duffle bags in your trunk.” He leaned forward. “What about you? How did you go from small-town doctor to drug runner? I mean this house is nice, but I would think you could afford it on a doctor’s salary.”
“You’re right. But having a couple million saved away for a rainy day is nice. I don’t run drugs, Matthew. I just help with management.”
“Is there a difference?”
“I’ve never shown up to anyone’s house in the middle of the night with a shotgun. From what I hear, I’m glad I wasn’t at your home this evening.”
“Okay, you haven’t killed anyone, but I’m guessing you ordered the men to show up at my cousin's place.”
“Like I said, I just manage. If it makes you feel better, they were just supposed to bring you in. There are a few people that have some questions for you. Although if what you just told me is true they will be disappointed by the answers.”
“How did you justify producing enough drugs for a medium-size city?”
Doc shook his head. “I got here by baby steps. It seems bad now, but I don’t think you can really judge.”
“You’re going to have to explain that one a little better, Doc. It’s pretty easy to judge someone who profits off the destruction of other people's lives. Especially if it is someone that they trust.”
“Have you ever heard the stories of how Pablo Escobar made his offers to government officials?”
“Sure, silver or lead.”
“That’s right. Take a bribe or take a bullet to the head. It is an easy choice for most people. It worked so well that other men use the same tactic.”
“But we aren’t in South America? No cartel would be bold enough to set up a production and distribution facility in the States.”
“Baby steps. We were simply a stop on the way to other cities in the distribution network. None of us invited a cartel into this town. We were just a regular small town with a drug problem. Then one of the generals got an ambitious idea. He wanted to corrupt a small town. Why cross a border when you can make the product here.”
The last pieces fell into place for Riker. “You can’t corrupt a large city. There are just too many people and elements to control. In a town like this five or six key people would do the trick.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
“You’re telling me that everyone here took the money? No one tried to stop them? This is your home. How could you all just give in?”
“We didn’t. Chief Raynor was never involved. All of us were already taking money to look the other way. When they decided to increase the operation they needed law enforcement involved. They made him an offer. He and his wife ended up with a bullet in their heads.”
Riker paused for a moment and then clenched his fist. “You covered that up. There was never any official report that they were murdered.”
“Like you said, you only need a few key people in a small town. After I saw what they did to the chief, my choice was easy. They also convinced the new chief that the choice was simple.”
“Do you even understand how many lives you have helped destroy? Don’t you care about anyone?”
“People were dumping poison into their veins long before these animals got involved. What I told you the other day in the coffee shop was true. I’ve watched the drug problem slowly spin ou
t of control in this town over the years. I don’t make them do it, and they’ll continue doing so with or without me. I could have died for a principle and changed nothing, or I could get rich and stay alive. I chose the second option.”
As Hanson finished his sentence Riker shot across the table. The doctor reacted by trying to move back and away from Riker, but he was too slow. Before the older man could stand up the gun was in Riker’s hand.
Hanson sat with a dumb look on his face. Riker sat back in his seat with the pistol pointed at him.
“Managers tend to lack the skills of the men with their boots on the ground. For future reference, this model has a safety.” Riker flipped up a switch next to the trigger guard of the gun. “Now it’s off.”
Doc Hanson lowered his head. “I don’t suppose you’d do me the kindness of pulling that trigger?”
“Not today Doc. In fact, I’m going to give you a shot at redemption. I’m going to clean this town up, but I need a little more information.”
“What could I possibly give you?”
“Good managers are organized. They always keep records.” Riker gave him a wink. “You strike me as a very good manager.”
Riker took his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Officer Alvarez.
Did you get anything from questioning the attackers?
Alvarez responded a moment later. Actually yes. We got a name from Smitty, the man you pointed out. Thanks.
I’m assuming that that name was Doc Hanson.
There was a long pause. Then she responded. Why would you say that?
I’m holding him for you at his house. You should get over here quickly. I also wouldn’t mention where you are going to the chief.
Alvarez texted back. Do not move a muscle. I’m on my way.
Hanson looked at Riker. “I thought you worked alone. Who was that?”
“I said I work for myself. I’ve learned that there are times when it’s better not to work alone.”
“You know that they are going to kill both of us. The best we can hope for is a quick death. I assure you that it isn’t always quick.”
“Actually neither of us knows that. The future can have a funny way of surprising you.” Riker stood up with the gun still pointed at the doctor. “I do have one more question for you, Doc, and I want you to tell me true.”
“What?”
“Do you have any good coffee? I really could use a cup.”
Ten minutes later, Officer Alvarez arrived to find Riker and Doc Hanson drinking coffee like old friends, boxes of records stacked on the table.
28
Riker set down the stack of papers he’d been flipping through when Alvarez walked through the door. Her face was unreadable, but something about the way her eyes flashed when she saw Doctor Hanson put Riker on alert. Every time he’d seen her so far, there’d been something reserved and careful about her demeanor. This time was different. What he saw behind her eyes was barely restrained fury.
Doc Hanson seemed to sense it too. He knocked back the rest of his coffee in one go. “Officer Alvarez. How are you?”
“Not great, but better than you, asshole.” She raised her left hand, showing a paper clutched there. “This is an emergency warrant to arrest you and to search your house.”
He carefully took the paper and read it. “So it is. Though the search warrant is rather unnecessary. I gave Matt here full access to my records, and I would have done the same for you.”
Riker gestured to the stack of papers and the laptop on the floor next to him. “I gotta say, it’s pretty interesting reading. Doc might be a lot of things, but a slouch at record-keeping isn’t one of them. This reads like a complete history into the cartel’s involvement in Kingsport.”
“The cartel?” The anger in Alvarez’s voice was even clearer now. “You brought a drug cartel to this town.”
“In a way,” Doc answered, his voice flat. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I’m not going to claim to be an innocent victim either. No point in that now. I’m as good as dead, and they say that confession is good for the soul.”
“You wish. Death is too good for you. You’ll be rotting in a prison cell for the next two decades.”
The doctor looked down at his empty coffee cup for a long moment before answering. “Officer Alvarez, if you think the cartel is going to let me live long enough to see a trial let alone prison, you are very naive indeed.”
Alvarez sank into the chair across from Doctor Hanson. “Tell me how it worked. You prescribed opioids and got them hooked? Then transitioned them to heroin?”
“Not initially, no.”
Alvarez leaned forward, the fury clear on her face now. Riker waited, aware that there was a fair chance she might attack the doctor at any moment.
“You son of a bitch. You prescribed Oxycontin to my mother.”
He met her gaze, his eyes blank. “Yes, I did. And she took the prescribed dose after her surgery and then stopped. She had self-control. Not all patients are like that. I suppose that after I watched dozens of patients get addicted and then turn to heroin after I refused to refill their prescriptions, I figured that I might as well make some money off of them.”
Riker looked at Alvarez. “If you want to hit him, I'm totally okay with that.”
The officer gripped the arms of her chair hard. “Of course I want to hit him. I’d love to do a hell of a lot worse than that. But we’re not going to play it that way. I want to do this thing by the book. I can’t give whatever fancy lawyer the cartel buys him any ammunition.”
“Other than the fact that this vigilante broke into my home and attacked me?” Doc said with a laugh.
“He’s not wrong,” Riker said. “I hope I didn’t screw this up for you.”
“Are you kidding? Since you’ve gotten to town, we’ve made more progress in taking down this drug ring than we have in the past two years.” Her eyes softened and she shot him a smile. “On the other hand, my paperwork has increased rather dramatically, so I’m not entirely happy with you.”
Riker returned her smile. “I don’t envy you that.”
Alvarez stood up and stepped toward Doctor Hanson. “Okay, let’s get you to the station. We’ve got a nice cozy cell waiting for you. I checked it before I left, and there wasn’t a single cartel operative hiding under the bed, so you can look forward to a peaceful night where you will most certainly not be murdered.”
“Perhaps not tonight,” Doc said, his voice deadly serious now. “Perhaps not even tomorrow. But El Leon will come. And when he does, your bars and your guns will not protect me.”
A chill ran up Riker’s arm. El Leon. “The lion. That’s the man you work for?”
Doc Hanson shook his head. “The man I work for wouldn’t deem to come to our little town himself. He’s not one for crossing borders. Too much exposure. But he will send El Leon, and that man is like a force of nature. He doesn’t think. He doesn’t feel emotions, as far as I can tell. He simply carries out his master’s wishes.”
Riker’s mind flashed back to a story he’d heard a couple days prior, in this very house. “He’s the guy who killed Donnie’s brother.”
“Yes. And believe it or not, that doesn’t even rank among the top three most brutal things I’ve seen him do. “Women…children….” He turned to Alvarez. “...police officers. He doesn’t care, and he shows no mercy. It brings me no pleasure to say it, but I truly believe we’re all going to die at his hands.”
Riker shrugged off the threat. It was hardly the first time he’d heard one like it. He’d faced his share of brutal enforcers, each of whom had made a career of striking fear into the hearts of their enemies, but he was still standing. If El Leon made the mistake of coming to Kingsport, he’d suffer the same fate as the rest of them.
“Enough.” Alvarez’s voice was even, but it was clear she’d been a bit shaken by Doc Hanson’s words. Apparently she didn’t have the same background as Riker when it came to facing off against killers. “I’ve about h
ad it with your scare tactics. On your feet, Doctor. You are officially under arrest.”
As she cuffed the doctor, Riker glanced down at the stack of papers on the floor next to his chair. He’d had the chance to skim through some of it before Alvarez had arrived, and it had provided quite a bit of context to what was happening in Kingsport. The good doctor hadn’t been afraid to put his co-conspirators' names in writing, and there were quite a few people implicated, including Luke. But there were two names Riker hadn’t seen, and he knew this could be his last chance to ask Doc Hanson about them.
He got to his feet and held up a hand as Alvarez started to lead the doctor away.
“Doc, answer me one more thing. Coach Kane. What do you know about his death?”
The doctor gave Riker a thin smile. “That’s why you’re getting mixed up in all of this? You really care about your old wrestling coach this much?”
“I do. And if you’re right about El Leon being this unstoppable force who’s gunning for you, what’s it matter? You might as well tell me.”
“I suppose you’re right. And I’d be happy to tell you. If there was anything to tell. Truth is, Coach Kane was a nosy busybody who was digging into our business, but I’m not sure what he found. If the cartel had anything to do with his death, it happened far above my paygrade.”
Alvarez shook her head sadly. “Come on, Doctor Hanson. Let’s get you to your cell.”
Riker followed them out to the car. Once she’d put Hanson in the back, he pulled her aside. “You need to be careful here. We’re going to have to watch his cell. He might be right about the cartel ordering his death.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “In a police station?”
“There’s something you need to know. Chief Myers is working with the cartel.”
Her eyes searched his, inspecting him to see if he was kidding. “That’s impossible.”