Sky High Stakes (Pacheco & Chino Mysteries Book 2)

by Ted Clifton

  “I think we should spend more time on getting Big Jack elected mayor and then contact the FBI and push them to give us some work.”

  “Okay, we all agree that we’ll drop the Ruidoso matter.”

  Everyone stood and headed for coffee or out the door. While they didn’t have an active case at the moment there were other things that needed tending.

  The day after their meeting, though, Ray got a call from the governor’s chief of staff. Once off the phone, he called everyone and requested that they meet again in the conference room that afternoon

  “Looks like maybe we are not done with Ruidoso after all. The governor’s chief of staff called this morning and said that the governor would like to meet tomorrow in Santa Fe to discuss how to proceed on the matter. He said the governor wants our firm to continue to investigate the murders—we’re rehired.”

  “I guess that changes everything.”

  They made plans for Ray and Tyee to go to Santa Fe the next afternoon so they could meet with the Governor. There was a discussion about whether Ray should contact Tony, but the decision was made to leave that until after meeting with the governor. It might turn out to be that Tony was the reason the governor had contacted them directly.

  Sue and Ray attended a rally that evening for Big Jack. The turnout was very impressive, probably because of free beer, and the crowd was enthusiastic. Big Jack gave a spirited speech, promising to be an honest mayor and to represent all of the people, not just his cronies, the way the current mayor did. Ray thought Big Jack had real promise as a politician—all those years as a lawyer had been great training.

  Beverly attended, along with her children. She was very attentive to Big Jack. She was smiling more, these days, and even seemed to be walking in a different manner. There was something developing—but Sue and Ray silently agreed that they didn’t want to talk about it. As the evening progressed and more beer was served, Sue and Ray decided it was time to leave and offered to take the children home with them.

  The next morning the kids were up fixing themselves breakfast, but Beverly had apparently not made it back to the cabin. Sue said she thought she must have stayed at Big Jack’s to help clean up, prompting skeptical looks from both kids that seemed to say that she must really be pretty dim if she really believed what she was saying. Sue let it go.

  Ray and Tyee were ready to head out about noon. Ray could see that Sue wasn’t pleased with the way things were happening with Beverly and the kids. Otherwise she probably would have gone to Santa Fe. Happy, on the other hand, was pleased to be staying at home with his new best friends—the kids. Both children had adopted him as the one sure thing that existed in their lives. You could always depend on dogs. Ray took Sue aside.

  “Look Sue, you’ve got to fix this Beverly thing. She’s somebody you haven’t seen in over twenty years, and she isn’t your responsibility. I know you want to help, but you can’t let her mess with our lives this way. Her kids seem great—I’d think that has something to do with their dad. You’re allowing her to hide from their father, and maybe that’s wrong. Look, I don’t know exactly what’s right, but what’s happening right now doesn’t seem like it. If you want, I could get involved and help.”

  “No Ray, I don’t need you to get involved. It’s my problem.” Sue wasn’t pleased.

  “Sue, I’m sorry. I don’t want you mad at me. I told you I’d support you in whatever you decide, and I will. I’m just not sure that she can be a mother to these kids if she ignores them. Maybe your cousin is a part of the problem in her marriage. You can’t fix this problem—only she can. Help her but don’t let her become dependent on you. If she’s going to stay here she has to get a job and pay her own way—and someone needs to tell the father where his children are and that they’re safe.”

  “You’re right. I’m not mad at you as much as I’m mad at myself. She’s manipulated me from the beginning and I need it to stop. I’ll do something today. Thanks Ray. I guess I needed a nudge to get me doing what’s right.”

  Governor Johnson

  Santa Fe, New Mexico

  Ray and Tyee were in the colorful central eating area of La Fonda after spending the night at the hotel. Since the investigation was now being funded by the governor, having breakfast in an extravagant environment before their appointment with him seemed appropriate. The La Fonda Hotel was located on the famous Santa Fe Plaza, and had been serving some of the best Mexican breakfasts—without customers having to wait for a table—for many years. They enjoyed their breakfasts and both agreed that they might have to settle for salads for lunch.

  “I’ve never met a governor. Should I bow?”

  “Well I guess that’d be up to you, Tyee. Keep in mind Governor Johnson is an old fart whose family probably were Indian fighters back in the day. So I don’t think you want to piss him off with your wiseass antics.”

  “Wiseass antics?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant to say your college-educated wiseass antics.”

  “Much better.”

  “The Governor can be a little difficult at times. There’s no question that he’d prefer to be living in the nineteenth century verses the twentieth. But he has a keen sense for what’s right and wrong—and it doesn’t matter who you are. If you’ve been wronged, the governor is on your side. He and I butted heads a couple of times when I was sheriff—he wanted me to do what he said and didn’t want to discuss my point of view. Anyway we learned to work together and I think we might actually have become friends. But if you cross this governor, you better be ready for a fight.”

  “Sue has given me specific instructions not to fight with anyone without her permission, so I guess I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  “Excellent choice.”

  Several blocks south of the Plaza on Old Santa Fe Trail was the state capitol. The governor’s office was located on the fourth floor. While the distance was probably walkable, they drove to be sure that they were on time for their appointment.

  The capitol building, known as the Roundhouse, was surrounded by acres of gardens. The effect was to place the building away from the active community, in a more serene environment. Ray always liked coming to visit the building, mostly due to the peaceful nature of the surrounding gardens.

  They entered and went to the fourth floor, which was only two flights up since they’d come in on the second level. They located the governor’s office.

  “Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Chino, the governor will see you now.”

  “Well son of a bitch. Sheriff Pacheco, how the hell are you? Hey, this must be your Indian sidekick. Oops, hope I didn’t offend anyone. Every fuckin’ thing I say seems to offend someone.”

  The governor was known for his bombastic manner. Some people found it endearing, some found him to be a loudmouth fool. He was term-limited and had two years left in office and had said, on more than one occasion, that he didn’t give a big fuck what anyone thought.

  “Good to see you, Governor. This is my partner and friend, Tyee Chino.”

  “Tyee Chino, it’s great to meet you. I heard about you pounding on that bastard bartender in Ruidoso. Maybe I should give you some kind of damn award. My god, you really are a big fuckin’ Indian.”

  Everyone shook hands. Tyee seemed stunned by the governor’s manner—the governor had that effect on a lot of people.

  “Well come over here and sit down and I’ll tell you why I asked you to come see me.”

  They took seats around a conference table in the corner of the large office. The governor seemed thoughtful before he spoke.

  “Tony Garcia handed in his resignation a couple of days ago. I think he’s been one of the best attorneys general this state has ever had—he’s also become my friend. I’m greatly saddened by his decision to quit. Ray, I know that you and Tony have been close over the years—do you have any idea why he’d be quitting?”

  “Governor, he’s been troubled by something ever since we started discussing the events in Ruidoso. I’ve sensed that h
e was holding information back from me since the beginning. He told me that he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he should have and that he blamed himself for the mess down there. I don’t know what it’s about, but something or somebody is causing Tony real anguish.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean. He hasn’t been candid with me either—it’s like he’s become someone else. Even though I didn’t want to, I’ve accepted his resignation. He made it effective immediately. I asked him not to do that, but he said no. Now I’m worried that there’s something criminal involved. I don’t know what’s going on, but his behavior the last few days screams to me that he’s running away from something pretty bad. I want to know immediately what this is about. I don’t want Tony to leave the state and then find out he was involved in something illegal while he was the fucking AG in my administration.”

  “I’ll need to meet with him at once. Governor, this is only a guess but I think it has to do with his wife or her sister.”

  “Well yes, meet with him. You’ve my full authority behind you to do whatever’s necessary, including arresting him if he won’t cooperate. I have to know what the hell this is about.”

  Ray and Tyee shook the governor’s hand and said they’d let him know as soon as they knew something.

  Once outside, Ray steered Tyee over to a bench in the gardens.

  “Tyee, I was wondering if you could contact your guy at the FBI and see if they’d run a background check on Tony, his wife, and her sister.”

  “I can ask. If we’re working on something for them they’re always cooperative, but this may be different.”

  “Yeah. I know. If they say no, so be it. But ask. I’m just having a hard time finding the connection to Tony in all of this.”

  “I can go back to the hotel and make calls. Do you want me to walk and leave the Jeep for you?”

  “No. You take the Jeep. I’m going back to Tony’s office. If he’s there, I’ll try and see him. No matter what, I’ll leave him messages that will make it clear he better contact me or I’ll have the state patrol pick him up. Whatever happens, I’ll walk back to the hotel. I need some time to think about what’s happened.”

  Tyee headed out, while Ray went back inside the capitol building and directly to the AG’s office. He wasn’t surprised that Tony wasn’t there, and asked his secretary to locate him.

  “Sorry, Mr. Pacheco. I don’t know where Mr. Garcia is at the moment. I’ve placed calls to his house and to other places I thought he might be this morning, but I haven’t been able to locate him.”

  “Could I use Tony’s office to place a call to his house?”

  The secretary said that was fine and gave him Tony’s home number.

  “Tony, this is Ray. Not sure why you’re not answering your phone, but we need to talk. The governor is very concerned about what’s going on and has asked me to get involved. You need to call me at La Fonda by two this afternoon—if I haven’t heard from you by then, I’ll involve the state police and have you arrested. In the meantime, I’ll notify the state police to alert all airlines that you should not be allowed to leave the state, and tell them to take any other appropriate action to prevent you from leaving. You know better than anyone that this may not be completely legal, but the Governor is getting pissed at the fact you’re not telling him what’s going on—and when the Governor gets pissed he doesn’t care about legal niceties. Give me a call at La Fonda and let’s prevent this from becoming even worse.”

  Ray left, thanking the secretary, and began walking back to the hotel. The weather was pleasant and there were interesting shops and restaurants along his path. Ray made a mental note that he and Sue should come back real soon and spend some time in Santa Fe, enjoying the ambiance and the great restaurants.

  The walk back took about thirty minutes, and Ray felt refreshed when he arrived. He was going to his room when he saw Tyee in the dining room.

  “It is lunch time isn’t it? How did your phone call go?”

  “They seem responsive. I gave the FBI the names and some location information as best I knew it. He said that he’d get back to me ASAP. Of course ASAP could mean a week from now.”

  “Tony wasn’t in his office. I called his house and left a somewhat threatening message—gave him until two this afternoon before I bring in the state police and have him arrested. I’d think that would prompt either a mad dash to the border or a call.”

  They both studied their menus. Santa Fe is the highest US state capital, at 7,000 feet. That’s forty percent higher than the mile-high city of Denver. The height can create problems for people who haven’t adjusted, causing altitude sickness among other things. One side effect—a drawback or maybe a benefit, depending on your point of view—is that it seems to contribute to an enhanced appetite. Of course this doesn’t make the hundreds of restaurants in Santa Fe unhappy.

  Both Ray and Tyee settled on Mexican food, Ray going with a burrito and Tyee selecting enchiladas. They both ordered beer and settled back to relax while waiting. To hell with the salads. A few moments later a man approached them.

  “Mr. Pacheco, I have the Attorney General holding on the phone for you. If you like, you can take the call in my office.” Ray guessed that the man was the manager of the hotel, although he hadn’t introduced himself. Ray got up and followed him to a small office down a hall.

  “Well Ray, now you’re threatening to arrest me. And by the way, you’re right, that’s completely illegal unless you’ve got a charge to bring against me. I expected this of Governor Blowhard, but from you I expected better.”

  “Tony, you left me and the governor no choice. All I want to do is talk to you. When can we meet?”

  There was a pause and Ray could feel the tension through the phone. Tony was about ready to explode.

  “Okay. I’ll meet you in La Cantina at Coyote Café. That’s the rooftop bar above the Coyote restaurant. It’s just a couple of blocks from the La Fonda.”

  “When?”

  “At two this afternoon.” He hung up.

  Ray went back and finished his lunch, filling Tyee in on what had happened.

  The Coyote Café on Water Street had just recently been opened by Mark Miller. An instant hit, it was almost impossible to get a reservation. Not a big concern to Ray, since he understood that it was a little pricey and probably didn’t serve his favorite green chili cheeseburger. He climbed the stairs to the rooftop bar and looked around for Tony—who wasn’t there. It was a couple of minutes before two, so Ray asked to be seated and hoped like hell Tony would show up. If not, bad shit was going to happen.

  Ray became increasingly nervous as time passed. Somewhere around two thirty Ray was about ready to leave and contact the state police when he saw Tony come in. He looked like he’d aged years just in the few months since Ray had last seen him.

  Tony came over, but said nothing to Ray. He took a seat and ordered a beer. Ray joined him.

  “Tony, I’m sorry you’re having problems. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can find some kind of solution.”

  “Ray, I know you mean well, but there is no solution other than to resign and leave. I know the governor’s worried that I’ve committed some major crime that will bite him in the ass after I’ve gone, and I guess I can’t blame him for being concerned. I think I’ve been negligent in my job, but there has been no crime committed by me or my wife that will embarrass the governor.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what this is about?”

  “Ray, I told you before that Marino was my wife’s half-sister’s ex-husband. When I found out who was causing the problem, I delayed acting because of that connection. As a result, people got hurt. That’s it. I didn’t do my job because of my wife. As a result I’ve decided to resign—end of story.”

  “Bullshit. Tony, that doesn’t make any sense. You didn’t act as quickly as you should—so fuckin’ what? That’s not even a firing offense, that’s a get-your-ass-chewed-out-by-the-governor offense, and you know it. Tell me what’s going on.” Ray’s
voice had gone up a little, causing a few people to turn their way.

  “Ray, if you’re going to yell at me, I’m leaving.”

  “Sorry.”

  For a while they sat and drank their beers. Ray wasn’t sure how to proceed, so he just waited.

  “What’s the Governor going to do?”

  “If you don’t give me a believable story, he’s going to arrest you. Until he can find the truth—legal complications be damned. And you know he’ll do it.”

  “Yes, he would. Ray, this is difficult but I’m going to tell you what I know. You need to convince the governor not to pursue this with me or it’ll blow up in his face.”

  “Tony, tell me the truth and the governor will stop. Threatening him will only make him dig in, not let go.”

  “Yeah. You’ve been a good friend Ray. I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”

  “I still don’t know what this is.”

  “Right. As you know, I met my wife in Houston. I was a prosecutor there and we met when she was arrested. It started because her fiancé had overdosed and she found the body. She panicked and ran. There are lots of details here that I’ll tell you if you want, but for now I’ll give you the short version. She was arrested mostly for being overdressed in a shitty neighborhood—that was when I met her. The desk sergeant called and said they had a high-class woman in custody and he thought someone from the district attorney’s office should come down and talk to her. That was me. Eventually she told me about her fiancé and we sent someone to his apartment—but there was no body. In fact, a body was never found. I helped her, and I fell in love. I probably cut some corners to protect her. While there wasn’t a body, her fiancé was a major player in politics and very wealthy. He was also gay—their engagement was just a facade to appease their families. His disappearance became a big deal—lots of pressure from a lot of politicians, including the mayor, to find him or recover his body. Nothing happened. Without a body or other evidence of foul play, no charges were ever brought. She was the prime suspect, but never charged. Because of my less than professional way of handling the matter, I was fired. We married and ended up in Las Cruces.”