Fatal Dose

by K. J. Janssen

  His secretary Brenda gave him a cheery greeting. “It’s so good to see you again Mister Matthews. I know I speak with you a couple of times a week, but it’s not the same thing as having you here.”

  “I feel the same way, Brenda,” he said as he gave her a big hug, “I miss this place. I wish I didn’t have to be away so much, but growing the business is what it’s all about these days and it looks as if the new international direction is working out extremely well. Bruce tells me that you haven’t experienced any trouble keeping up with the new case files he’s been heaping on you. He also says that you’re helping with some of the document translations. I’m very impressed.”

  She flushed a little before answering, “It’s nice to finally find a use for the language courses I took in high school. Mister Crandall is such a nice man to work with. He and his wife Angelina invite me for dinner at least once a month. They’re such a sweet couple.”

  “I’m glad that you enjoy working for us as much as we enjoy having you. I thank my lucky stars that you were able to come onboard full time.”

  “It was my lucky day, too,” Mister Matthews.”

  “Well, do you have some files for me to look at? Bruce said you just finished last month’s expense report and next quarter’s revenue projections. I’d like to go over those and the status report for all open projects.”

  “Give me about five minutes and I’ll have those on your desk.”

  “That’s fine. In the interim, would you ask Bruce to bring the Chinese company file in?”

  After a cursory review of the file, Mark began, “Tell me about the deal. Where do we stand with them?”

  “Well, the name of the company will be Pharma-Smythe. Whether we go ahead or not is up to you. They dropped the Euro exchange thing. I think that that was just a political ploy suggested by their government. That’s all good, now. They’re ready to go. They have a start-up date two months from now.

  “What’s your feeling about it?”

  “I’m all for it. Its good level-three work for professionals, mostly for marketing, finance and customer relations types. It’ll certainly help our bottom line over the next year. I’m sure I can fit it in with my other work. They’re expecting an answer from me this week. The plan is to start operations within two months.”

  “Let me look over these reports and think about it a little more. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s review the accounts.”

  Later that day, in the privacy of his home office, Mark placed a call to Dennis.

  “Mark, how’s it going down there?”

  “It’s going great, Dennis. Bruce has everything under control.

  “Super. Things are progressing up here too. Milt Bagnold and I followed up on a lead and we uncovered another connection between Vennuti and Joan Paschal. It seems that she was involved in some pretty kinky stuff that Vennuti must have found out about and was holding over her head to gain her cooperation. At least that’s the take we have, as of now. We have a witness to some of this activity under protective custody.”

  “You know Mark, I’ve got a feeling that with all the small things we’re doing, we’re much closer than we realize in building a solid case against Vennuti and Atronen. So, anything additional you can uncover about Atronen’s operations will only provide more grist for our case.”

  “I agree, Dennis. It’s becoming very clear to me that if we can pull the plug on Vennuti we‘ll topple the whole syndicate. I’ll give Bruce the go-ahead to accept the assignment. I’ll set up a system that will allow me to monitor their activities and keep track of Pharma-Smythe’s employees.

  “If the Chinese company is in anyway tied to the cartel, I’ll find out about it. Personally, I’ve got a gut feeling that this company is intended to be a supplier for Atronen’s after-hours activities. It’s too coincidental that they are using Atronen as a distributor. It’s got drug cartel written all over it, and where they are, Vennuti won’t be far from the scene. Before we go any further, though, maybe Brock should contact Justice and State to assure that we won’t be interfering with any other investigation or international agreements having to do with the Chinese company. It is odd that the company was approved to business in the States and we weren’t in the loop. There’s so much of that stuff going on right now and we don’t want to get caught in crossfire.”

  “That’s a good idea, Mark. The last thing we need is for Washington to step in the last minute and prevent us from closing those guys down. Stop in when you get back. There are a few things I need to go over with you. See you soon.”

  Before he retired for the night, Mark called Wendy and talked for over an hour. She carefully avoided anything that might lead to a discussion about her new assignment. If she could avoid telling him a lie, she would feel a lot better about her secret assignment.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “Mister Simmons, it’s good to hear from you again.”

  Getting right to the point, Mel asked, “Ed, what did you find out?”

  “My guys have been checking around. You’re still on the list, but you aren’t as popular as you were at one time. You’re down to number fifty-nine. Basically that means that they are electronically monitoring all ports of entry and exit in case Mel Tarkington’s name shows up. Aside from that they will be checking periodically with international agencies to see if you show up on the radar of other countries. It doesn’t look like you have anything to be concerned about in the States.”

  “You know, part of me feels slighted that I’m down to number fifty-nine; just kidding, of course. That’s great news. Anything else I should know?”

  “There is one other thing. I had someone go over all the surveillance reports for the time we were watching Susan Harrigan for you. Just by chance, they found something interesting when they summarized the reports. One person kept cropping up. First at the hospital where she was staying, then at her place of business and later at her condo. We traced the license plate on the car he was using. The car belongs to Mark Matthews in Centerville, Ohio. Centerville is about three hours away from where she worked and lived. It appears that Susan Harrigan had either a lover or a partner in crime, or maybe both, but here’s the interesting part. My operatives checked telephone records and they managed to finagle her travel itineraries for the period around when you guys were having your computer problems. It seems your Ms. Harrigan visited this guy at his house the night before your computer was hacked and stayed there overnight. That is a bit of a coincidence, if you ask me. But wait, it gets even better. It turns out that the guy is a PI operating out of Centerville, Ohio. It seems like an odd mix, unless he was an accomplice.”

  Mel didn’t know what to think. John Portman told him about Susan, but nothing about a PI named Mark Matthews. Most likely John didn’t even know about him.

  “I don’t know what to make of that. It does seem odd, like you said. Maybe I didn’t finish the job after all. This guy may be as guilty as she was in toppling the NRBA and screwing up my life. Find out all you can about Mark Matthews. I want to know everything about his personal and business life. I’ll be in to see you next Thursday. Try to have the information by then.”

  “Sure thing, Walter. I’ll put my best men on it. See you Thursday.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Marco and Marcia sat in their usual booth at the Slip-In Saloon. Marcia held a large brown envelope in front of her chest, intent on first taking the opportunity to explain her change of heart about getting the information he wanted.

  “First, I want to tell you why I decided to do this. When I came across this agent’s history, it turned my stomach to think that she’s been able to get away with defrauding the Bureau for all these years. She acts so high and mighty with all of the support people at the Bureau. Maybe she is as smart as they say she is and all that, but she doesn’t deserve to have her job since it’s all built on fraud.”

  “I sense some moral indignation.”

  “You bet you do. Sh
e’s no better than those politicians they make resign because of fraud and cover-ups. If I had let this go through, she would have been in big trouble. She could even be looking at jail time.”

  “Marcia, if what you have is half as good as you say, it sounds as if you’re going to be twenty-five grand richer. Now give me that report.”

  She slid the envelope across the table. Marco anxiously removed the pages and gave them a quick scan. His jaw dropped in amazement as he read highlighted sections, then he grinned and went back to the beginning to read all the summary details. Special Agent Wendy Farrell, aka Deborah Martin was a close friend of the real Wendy Farrell who died of a drug overdose three months after graduating from high school. The two were so similar in appearance that they were often mistaken as twins. Deborah was living with Wendy when she died and she kept Wendy’s purse and personal things. The investigation into the girl’s death and Deborah’s personal drug abuse resulted in her spending three years in a juvenile facility on drug abuse charges.

  When she was released, Deborah moved to Spokane using Wendy’s identity to enroll at Washington State University, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class. She received a scholarship to Northwestern University Graduate School, where she majored in logistics, with a strong minor in criminal justice. During her last year of the program she was recruited by the FBI. At the time they were anxious to add female agents to the Bureau and in their haste to sign her they only performed a superficial background check. She aced Quantico and has been an outstanding member of the Cleveland Field Office including an appointment to the Pharmaceutical Drug Squad.

  Tracer information was tacked on at the end of the file that showed that a Wendy Farrell owed around one hundred thousand dollars to a national gaming enterprise for gambling debts accumulated at several surrounding area casinos. There was a note that indicated that the nature of the gambling debts could not be authenticated without access to classified software. The file concluded with Wendy’s address and her home and cell phone numbers.

  Marco slid the file back into the envelope his face expressionless. “That must be some software you use to get this kind of information. Leave it to the Feds to have such sophisticated computer programs.”

  “Is that your way of saying I did good?”

  “Don’t be coy. You know the answer to that. Yeah, you did good. This is exactly what I needed. I didn’t think you’d be able to uncover anything this incriminating. I’ll make the deposit in your Cincinnati bank account tomorrow. You’ve earned every penny. Make sure that the report that you hand in contains nothing about her that will cause any concern. It needs to be squeaky clean. I can’t have your bosses meddling around while I’m turning the screws on your Special Agent Wendy Farrell.”

  Marcia gave Marco a big smile. Inwardly she was exuberant. He fell for it. Dennis will be so proud of me.

  “You know what? I’m so pleased with your work that I’m going to break with tradition. Why don’t we stay and have a little dinner?”

  “I would like that, Mister Vennuti. Wow! What a big spender. Dinner at the Slip-In Saloon. I can hardly contain myself. Couldn’t he at least take me to a steakhouse?

  “Let’s have another round to celebrate.”

  She smiled. “I’ll drink to that.”

  During dinner, she dropped another tidbit. “I heard some rumors that Agent Farrell is unhappy with her current assignment and has a big dislike for the SAC Dennis Peterson. Apparently, even though she majored in logistics, her real love is criminal justice. She’s gone a few rounds with him about a transfer, real shouting matches from what I hear, but he refuses to reassign her because of her special skills in logistics.”

  “That’s good to know, too. I’m glad you remembered that.” Never one for pleasantries, he added, “Let’s finish dinner and get out of here. I’ve got some important planning to do.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Milton, Dennis and Wendy met in Dennis’s office to make contingency plans for dealing with Marco’s eventual contact with Wendy. They worked out several scenarios, including what she would to do if Marco contacted her by phone, mail or email at the office, what she would do to do if he called her at home and what she would do if he suddenly approached her on the street. The next step was to wait until it happened, which they all agreed would probably be soon.

  They didn’t have to wait long. Wendy arrived home around six-thirty and was greeted by the demanding ring of her land phone. Before picking the handset up she pressed the record button.

  “Wendy Farrell, or is it Deborah Martin?”

  She hesitated a few seconds before asking, “Who is this?”

  “That’s not important right now. What is important is that you listen carefully to everything I’m about to say. Understand?”

  Again she hesitated before replying, “I’m listening.”

  “How I found out your little secret is of no importance. What is important is what we’re going to do about it. I’m talking about a ‘quid pro quo’ here. That means that in return for my silence, I’m expecting something big from you in return.”

  Wendy interrupted. “I’m well aware of what the term means,” she said with a testy tone. Get to the point.”

  “I’d advise you to watch your tone of voice, missy. You have everything to lose if I decide to expose you, so listen up. You’ve built your career on a web of lies. I can bring you down with just one phone call, so you better give serious consideration to what I’m proposing.” Marco waited about a moment to let his words sink in. “You’re a member of the Pharmaceutical Drug Squad at the Bureau. The activities of that squad pose an immediate danger to me and to my company. I need to know in advance whenever they uncover anything about our operations and what their plans are to deal with it.”

  “This is Marco Vennuti, isn’t it?”

  “Well, it ain’t the Justice Department, lucky for you. Since you know who I am, you are also well aware of what I’m capable of doing should you decide to cross me. May I continue?”

  “You may, but I don’t see how I can help you, even if I were inclined to do so.”

  “You act cool and collected, but if I know human nature, you’re starting to sweat long about now. Let me tell you exactly what you are going to do. Atronen is going to be moving a special shipment of high quality designer drug knockoffs very soon. It has to go through without incident. That’s where you come in. I need someone on the inside that can tip me off in case the FBI or local authorities get wind of the shipment, so we can adjust our plans. There’s close to half a billion dollars riding on this. Heads will roll, including mine, if anything goes wrong. I might add that if I go down, your head will be on the chopping block as well. These are top quality generics so you don’t have to feel any guilt about this.” He let his words sink in for a moment and concluded, “Have I made myself clear so far?”

  “You have, but I’m just one member of the squad. Unless we have a group meeting I don’t always know what is going on with everybody else. A lot of things are done independently.”

  “Look here, Deborah or Wendy, I know that you’re the logistics expert on the squad. There is no way that following up on information about potential drug shipments is not going to involve you. Don’t play games with me; you can only be a loser. I’m going to give you a special phone number to contact me twenty-four-seven. It’s untraceable and encrypted, so don’t even try to connect anything back to me. I know there is an element of risk involved in this, but no more than the game you’ve been playing for years with your phony identity. I believe in incentives, so when the shipment goes through without hitch, I’ll sweeten the pot with a twenty thousand dollar bonus for you. I hear that you owe the casinos a lot, so that should help you out a bit.”

  “How did you know about that?” she asked with alarm.

  “I make it my business to know everything about my partners.”

  “I’m not your partner, at least not willingly. I don’t want or need your money. I
just want you to go away.”

  “Don’t be so high and mighty, missy. I’m afraid that that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. We’re in this together for the long haul, so don’t even think about double crossing me.”

  Marco hesitated a moment and added, “I wasn’t involved in her death, but I understand that a fellow agent of yours, Joan Paschal, recently lost her life in an explosion. That’s not meant to be a threat, but it should act as a reminder that bad things can happen when things go wrong. Apparently there are other players in this equation and they don’t all play by the same rules, but I can just assure you that if you’re on the square with me I’ll do the best I can to protect you.”

  Wendy thought, Sure you will, like you protected Joan, but she replied, “Okay, I understand completely.”

  “Call me anytime you hear anything that could involve Atronen or me personally, but even if there is nothing to report, I want you to call between nine and eleven every night. I want to know you’re still in the queue.”

  Marco gave her the special cell phone number. “Remember, I want to hear from you every day.”

  With reluctance in her voice she replied, “I can do that.”

  “Can and will if you know what’s good for you. Have a good night, now.”

  Wendy placed the handset back in the cradle. She rewound the tape and placed a call to Dennis on an untraceable cell phone. She played the recorded conversation and they both agreed that their scheme seemed to have gone off without a hitch. They were a step closer to the demise of Vennuti and Atronen.

  “This looks good, Wendy, but keep your guard up. Vennuti is one person you have to watch carefully. The man is a psychopath and his behavior is unpredictable.”

  “Thanks, Dennis, but don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”