The Good, The Bad and The Murderous (Sid Chance Myseries Book 2)
Page 22
Sid saw the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County highway sign. They were almost home. “I wonder if Deputy Chief Kozlov is involved?”
“That’s another item. It hasn’t been announced yet, but I got wind of it a little while ago at the CJC. DEA agents pulled a major raid today on a gang affiliated with the Mexicans. A Metro detective was included. Deputy Chief Kozlov was closeted with the chief.”
“Agent Eggers told me Ramsey Kozlov was a target of the investigation. It must have been a lot further along than I anticipated.”
“Sounds like the deputy chief has a problem.”
When he got off the phone, Sid painted the picture for Jaz as they breezed past the airport.
“You going to call the chief?” she asked.
He began punching numbers on his cell phone. “Done.”
When he finally got through to the chief’s office, he explained who he was and that he had important information for the chief on the Delgado and Ivey murders. Although it was late on a Saturday afternoon, the MNPD head man remained in his office. He finally came on the phone.
“What information do you have for me, Mr. Chance?” he asked.
Sid explained briefly that they had captured Carlos Ruiz at his cabin and turned him over to the local sheriff.
“I was aware that you’ve been investigating the Delgado and Ivey cases,” the chief said. “I’d like to talk with you about it. Could you possibly come by my office now?”
Sid was a little shocked but quickly agreed. “I’m riding with Jasmine LeMieux, who has been helping me with the cases.”
“Bring her along,” the chief said.
A career Nashville policeman, Galen Thorne had served the department for more than thirty years. Starting as a patrolman, he had worked in all of the bureaus, including Field Operations, Investigative Services, and Administrative Services. Along the way, he had picked up a degree in criminal justice. Sid knew the chief’s reputation as a cop’s cop. And seeing the expression on his face across the desk told him it had been a most trying day.
“I’m familiar with your background, Mr. Chance,” Chief Thorne said. “District Attorney Sam Grizzard in Franklin is an old friend. He told me about the raw deal you got in Lewisville. He’s quite fond of you.”
Sid nodded. “That’s nice to know.”
“It’s my understanding that you got involved in the Delgado murder case at the request of young Burden’s grandmother.”
“That’s correct.”
“What led you to this hired killer, Carlos Ruiz?”
“It’s a long story, Chief. Basically, Mrs. Ransom told us her grandson went to Prime Medical Equipment to inquire about a Medicare EOB showing she owed money on a power chair she knew nothing about. When we searched the place, we found evidence indicating it was involved in Medicare fraud. We turned it over to the FBI and got their help when we found a witness who saw a man leaving the rear of the store about the time of the murder.”
“Was this information shared with the detectives on the case?”
Sid glanced at Jaz and back at the chief. “At our first meeting, we were told it was obvious Burden was guilty as sin, that we’d better quit tinkering with a Metro homicide case and get back to chasing scumbag husbands.”
Chief Thorne twisted his face into a dark frown. “That was unfortunate. I understand you’ve reported a new development in the case against Miss LeMieux.”
“Yes, sir. When Carlos Ruiz tried to kill me in my house early Thursday, he wore night vision goggles. He said, ‘It’s just like with that Ivey woman, Chance. I can see you, but you can’t see me.’ Of course, he shot her in the back of the head.”
The chief pointed to a stack of papers on his desk, which appeared to include a couple of “murder books,” binders that contained evidence gathered in homicide investigations. “I’ve done a lot of reviewing on these cases this afternoon. If Ruiz murdered Mrs. Ivey, and I’m not doubting your word, how do you explain the gloves with Miss LeMieux’s fingerprints?”
“Detective Grimm confronted us during our search of the medical equipment store. He saw Miss LeMieux pull off her gloves and drop them in the chair where Delgado was shot. One of them was the glove found on Mrs. Ivey’s porch.”
“You’re accusing Detective Grimm of creating false evidence?”
“No, sir. Detective Grimm mentioned the gloves to his partner, Detective Kozlov. A witness saw Kozlov enter the closed store late that afternoon. When I questioned Grimm, he admitted telling his partner about the gloves and acknowledged that Kozlov said nothing about going back to the store.”
The chief tapped his fingertips on the desk. “So you believe Detective Kozlov provided the glove to drop at the murder scene?”
“I have no direct evidence. It’s purely circumstantial, but the circumstances fit. And there’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
He told the chief about his encounter with Ramsey Kozlov outside the Ram’s Horn Bar Monday night. “I believe that led to Carlos Ruiz’s decision to come after me.”
“This is terribly disturbing,” Chief Thorne said, shaking his head. “It’s the most distressing situation I can recall during my tenure with the department. What you’ve just told me fills a lot of holes in the picture I’ve received from the DEA, the FBI, and these files. Detective Kozlov has been arrested by DEA agents for providing protection to a drug gang in the Nashville area. It makes sense that his handling of the Delgado homicide was an effort to cover Ruiz’s complicity.”
“And the Ivey murder looks like an effort to take us out of the picture,” Sid said.
Chief Thorne stood and leaned his hands on the desk. “It’s sad what one or two bad apples can do to foul the air. This department is filled with dedicated, hard-working officers who put their lives on the line every day for our citizens. They deserve everyone’s trust. I’m committed to preserving that trust, and it starts with freeing Djuan Burden and removing the blot that has been placed on your reputation, Miss LeMieux.”
Chapter 43
Sunday morning’s newspaper devoted most of the front page to the aftermath of a Texas hit man’s murderous rampage through Nashville, and the parallel drug bust that netted a gang of traffickers and one Metro detective. Carlos Ruiz maintained his silence, admitting nothing. He was held without bail. Ramsey Kozlov was still undergoing interrogation. His father, the deputy police chief, announced his retirement after a long career with the department.
With Bart reassigned to the attempted murder at Sid’s home, he continued the investigation and soon got a ballistics report on the .22 shells found in the hallway. They had been fired from a pistol recovered with Ruiz’s belongings left in the rental car stashed in the barn beside Sid’s property.
Working in cooperation with the FBI, the Office of Professional Accountability investigators put together two conspiracy to commit murder charges against Ramsey Kozlov, who had been decommissioned as a police officer. One involved the Ivey murder, the other Ruiz’s attempt on Sid’s life. He also faced other charges, including tampering with evidence.
Later in the week, following news stories exonerating Jaz of any complicity in the murder of Earline Ivey, Sid got together with Jaz in her office to go over final details of their investigation. She planned to talk with the local Welcome Home Stores manager about finding Djuan Burden a job. As Sid made a final check of the report, the gate warning sounded. Jaz turned to the monitor and saw a woman who appeared to be late thirties or early forties, long black hair, large cross earrings dangling down her neck.
“Can I help you?” she asked into the microphone.
“I’m Francine Thomas, Earline Ivey’s sister. Vanita and I would like to talk to Miss LeMieux.”
Jaz stared at the screen in astonishment. She got a glimpse of the girl in the seat beside her aunt.
Recovering quickly, she pressed the button to open the gate. “Please come on up,” she said.
Jaz and Sid walked out to the front porch,
where they watched a brown Toyota Carolla pull up to the parking area. The woman and the girl got out and walked toward them. Vanita was a small, thin girl, her hair tied in pigtails, one on either side of her head.
Jaz smiled as they approached. “I’m Jaz LeMieux. This is my colleague, Sid Chance. I’m pleased that you’ve come to visit me.” She looked down at the girl. “I wanted to come to your mother’s funeral, but with everything that had happened, we didn’t think it would be appropriate.”
Vanita stopped a few feet away and held a hand up to her face, her large eyes moving to Sid and back to Jaz.
“I understand,” Francine Thomas said. “It was a bad time for all of us.”
“Won’t you come in?” Jaz asked, motioning toward the door.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I brought Vanita because she wanted to say something to you.”
Jaz stooped down to the girl’s level. “What is it, honey?”
Vanita gripped her hands in front of her. “I wanted you to know my mom wasn’t a bad person. If she hadn’t said those things about you, she wouldn’t have died.”
Jaz felt like Vanita’s small hand had clutched her heart. “I know she wasn’t a bad person. She was caught in a terrible situation, faced with the prospect of losing your home. She had to make a choice about how to save it.”
“Earline made the wrong choice,” her sister said, a contrite look on her face. “She had lost her savings in a scam that was supposed to’ve made her a lot of money. She got behind on her mortgage, and those people approached her with a way to keep her and Vanita in their house. She didn’t want to do it at first, but then she got the final foreclosure notice. It tore her apart.”
“I wish I’d known,” Jaz said. “I might have been able to help her.”
“After all the publicity came out, and the newspaper and TV folks hounded her, she told me she was sorry she’d gone along with it. But it was too late then. I’m sorry for all the trouble it caused you.”
Jaz reached out and hugged the girl. “I’m sorry for all the heartache it’s caused everyone, especially you, Vanita.”
She felt the small arms encircle her and looked down to see tears coursing down Vanita’s cheeks.
Jaz turned back to Francine. “Please let me know if I can help out in any way.”
“I think you already have.” The woman gave Jaz a tight-lipped smile.
Jaz kept her composure until Vanita waved as they drove away. She turned to Sid as the tears poured out. He put his arms around her and held on until she stopped crying.
It was finally over.
About the Author
Chester Campbell got bitten by the writing bug when he started work as a newspaper reporter while a journalism student at the University of Tennessee. That was more than 60 years ago. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, magazine editor, political speechwriter, advertising copywriter, public relations professional and association executive. An Air Force intelligence officer in the Korean War, he retired from the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel. He is the author of five books in the Greg McKenzie mystery series and two books in the Sid Chance series. He also has two books out in a trilogy of Post Cold War political thrillers. His first Greg McKenzie novel, Secret of the Scroll, won a Bloody Dagger Award and was a finalist for Foreword Magazine's Mystery of the Year in 2003. The first Sid Chance book, The Surest Poison, won the 2009 Silver Falchion Award at the Killer Nashville Mystery Conference. He served as secretary of the Southeast Chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and is past president of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Visit his webpage at http://www.chesterdcampbell.com.