Episode 2: Dirty Money Dirty Deeds, #2

by Nico Jackson

  "What happened?” Bobby said. "What am I doing here, Vasquez?"

  Vasquez wagged his finger. "You have been a very naughty boy, Robert."

  Bobby looked up at him. He frowned when the pain shot through his temple. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  Vasquez sat across from Bobby. "You've been drinking. You were picked up outside of a strip club. Passed out in your car. I don't even have to run an alcohol test. You reek. I'm sure there were some known felons in the joint. Besides, your parole prohibits alcohol. What were you thinking, Bobby? You're a coke addict. You need to stay as far away from alcohol as you can." He folded his arms. "Drinking can make a man make bad choices."

  Bobby rested his forehead on his hands. "What do you want? Why am I here?"

  "You didn't get the job done."

  "I did what you wanted. I put the bag in her living room, just like you said. I told you where I hid it. The rest is on you."

  Vasquez shook his head. "I had to let her go. She walked. We had her on possession with intent to distribute, but the AUSA back down on the charges."

  Bobby smirked. "Like I said, that's on you. I did my part."

  "No. We're not done. She's not in cuffs, you are. I need more. I need to know what she's doing with Sinclair."

  "Far as I can tell, she's seeing a lot of him. I don't know what else she's doing."

  "You need to find out. She's your sister; talk to her. She's neck deep in drug trafficking. You have to give me something."

  "I don't have to give you anything, man. I'm tired of you picking me up whenever you need something to do. What kinda cop are you, anyway? You spend more time running me in than doing your job.

  "Running you is my job," Vasquez said. "You said you would help me take down big Sam. That hasn't happened, and I'm not letting you off until it does."

  Bobby put his head in his hands. "Can't you leave me alone? My head hurts."

  Vasquez sucked his teeth. "What do you want me to do? You want me to go get you a cup of tea or something? What do you think this is? I need information and I need you to stop fucking around. If you don't hold up your end, you're on your way back to prison. And the time served for good behavior? It's gone. You'll go back for the full stretch."

  "I can't go back there."

  "Cheer up, buddy. You'll be out in another five years. That isn't such a long time, is it?"

  "You can't send me back."

  "Then you need to get me some more information. Where does she go? What did she do? Who does she spend time with?"

  "I told you, man. I don't know. She doesn't talk to me anymore. I can't find out anything if she doesn't talk to me. I can't wave a magic wand and make her tell me shit."

  Vasquez stood up and paced back and forth. He rubbed his chin and thought. He couldn't get a wiretap or bug on Kendra. There wasn't enough probable cause. After the search fiasco, every judge would be giving him the side eye. Bobby was his only way in, and he'd be damned if he let that fall through. "I'm tired of excuses, Bobby. You have to bring something to me. You have to do it soon. We're running out of time."

  "I'm doing what I can."

  "Are you sure that she's sleeping with Sinclair?"

  Bobby snorted. "If she's not, he's a new kind of punk. He spends a couple of nights a week at her house. Sometimes she doesn’t come home at night. She's gotta be with him."

  "Is it serious? Are they a couple?"

  "I guess they are," Bobby said. "They spend a lot of time together."

  "Isn't she doing work for him? What is she doing?"

  "How the hell would I know? Didn't you hear me tell you she's not talking to me?"

  "You need to find a way to get back in her good graces. You need to get her to talk. Maybe get her drunk."

  Bobby couldn't help but shake his head. Vasquez wasn't hearing anything he said. "Maybe you need to give me some ideas. I'm fresh out."

  "It's not my problem. I'm not the one on the bus back to jail. You need to figure something out."

  "It's not that easy, man. You're asking me to sell out my own sister."

  "You didn't have a problem planting that bag of pills in her house. Don't act like you care. When I told you what you needed to do, you jumped at the chance. You'd sell out anybody, including her. You don't care about anyone but yourself. It's what makes you a good informant. Why do you think I picked you in the first place? You're weak. You're selfish. You'll never amount to anything."

  Bobby tried to stand up, but the cuffs snatched him back down. "You can't talk to me like that! I'll tell them what you made me do. You'll lose your job. You'll be the one in jail. "

  "I can talk to you anyway I want. You're my bitch, and you always will be. What are you going to do? You gonna file a complaint? You gonna tell them I was mean to you? Who do you think they'll believe, me or you? There's no evidence I gave you those drugs. There is nothing to prove I told you to plant them in your sister's house. My fingerprints weren't on the bag. I wore gloves. Did you?"

  Bobby began to sweat. "There's no way my prints are on that bag. "

  "Are you sure? Are you positive you didn't leave any evidence? You're sloppy.”

  “No,” Bobby said. “I figured out how to get in and out of the house when I was a kid. I never told her how I do it. I guessed the alarm code. It never went off. There’s no way she knows I was inside.”

  “It's your fault Kendra got a walk. The funny thing is, she sat in the same chair you're sitting in now. She sat there for hours, and she never even blinked. I see who's the strong one in the family. She's got more balls than you, Bobby. That's how I know she's the key to this."

  “If Jay finds out I planted those pills, he’ll kill me.”

  Vasquez shrugged. “How is that my problem?”

  5

  Vasquez poured coffee into his mug, then dumped four teaspoons of sugar and an ounce of creamer in.

  “Whoa,” Captain Avery said. “Want a little coffee with your sugar?”

  Vasquez blew into his cup. The coffee was always scalding hot, and he liked it cooler. “ Have you ever know a squad room to have good coffee?”

  Avery grinned. “Can’t say that I have. Pour that out.”

  “I just made it,” Vasquez protested.

  “Pour it out, and come into my office. That’s an order.”

  Vasquez dumped his coffee into the sink and followed Avery. Avery closed the door behind them. He took Vasquez’s mug and opened the cabinet behind the desk. Vasquez peered over the desk. There was a single serve coffee maker inside. Avery brewed a cup and handed it to Vasquez.

  Vasquez took a deep breath, then a swallow of the coffee. “That’s a lot better. Thanks, Cap.”

  “Don’t tell anyone,” Avery said. “I don’t want a parade of people in here. Have a seat. There’s something we need to talk about.”

  Vasquez sat and enjoyed his coffee. “What’s up, Cap?”

  “We’re not making any more progress on the Sam Bishop case, are we?”

  “I’ve got some things in motion. It’s only a matter of time.”

  Avery made himself a cup of coffee before he spoke. “We have to shut it down. We’ve got more pressing cases. We don’t have any witnesses, we don’t have evidence.”

  “I think we can still get something from Kendra Mason.”

  Avery clenched his jaw. “You don’t want to bring that name up. I still have nightmares about you bringing her in. You made our job twice as hard with that stunt. The AUSA has a lot more questions when I call for charges. You were dead wrong. I should have given you time off, but you’re one of my best agents. One more stunt like that, and you could see yourself in early retirement. Kendra Mason is off limits. It’s not a friendly warning, it’s an order. Do I make myself clear?”

  Vasquez nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Put the case in the holding pen. We’ve got other cases to work on.” Avery looked at his watch. “Why don’t you take off for the day? You’ve been pulling a lot of overtime, and I want fresh
eyes on our new target.”

  Vasquez swallowed hard. He had worked on the Big Sam Bishop case for months.

  “I’m not saying we’re done,” Avery said. “We’re done for the time being. We’ll get back to it.”

  Vasquez stood. “Is that all?”

  “That’s all.”

  * * *

  Vasquez was on his third shot of tequila when he turned to Rogers. “Another round?”

  “One more,” Rogers replied. “Deanna will have my head if I’m too late.”

  Vasquez raised his hand and signaled the bartender. “One more,” he said.

  The bartender nodded and brought fresh drinks. “You good to drive, Uriel?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. You know I’ve done worse.”

  The bartender chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, you have.”

  “We’ve worked too damn hard to let this go,” Vasquez said to Rogers.

  Rogers shrugged. “Priorities change. Let it go, Uriel. We have another target.”

  Vasquez slammed his palm against the table. “We have to get Bishop off the street. He’s caused too much damage.”

  “They all cause damage, brother. It’s the way it goes. Today it’s Bishop, tomorrow it’s someone else. They’re like roaches. You kill one, another takes its place.”

  “I still can’t figure out what Jay Sinclair is up to. Nobody’s seen him make any deals. He’s not talking to any of the usual suspects.”

  “Maybe he’s not a part of it,” Rogers replied. “All his businesses seem legit. We could be going after the wrong guy.”

  “Strip club. Laundromats. Vending machines. Notice a pattern?”

  Rogers nodded. “Cash businesses. He’s got real estate, too. Maybe he’s exactly what he seems. Maybe Sinclair is an investor.”

  “Where did he get the cash to grow it?”

  Rogers took a sip of his beer. “You’re assuming he had to do something dirty to get the cash. The bank accounts didn’t show any unusual activity. Maybe he’s a thrifty guy.”

  “He’s dirty, I can feel it in my gut. Kendra’s dirty, too.”

  “You need to let it go.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Vasquez finished his drink and put money on the table. “I’m calling it a night.”

  * * *

  Kendra went into her kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. The doorbell rang, and she looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. She went to the door and looked out the peephole. Vasquez was on her porch. He banged his fist on the door.

  “Do you have a warrant, Agent Vasquez?”

  “I need to talk to you. Open the door.”

  Kendra sighed. “No. Do you have a warrant?”

  “No.”

  “Then get your drunk ass off my porch.”

  “Jay Sinclair is a criminal. He’s gonna take you down with him.”

  “Good night, Agent Vasquez. Are you going to leave, or do I have to call the police?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “Good night.” Kendra turned.

  Jay was standing on the stairs. His chest was bare, and water dripped from his shoulders. He had a towel wrapped around his waist.

  “Were you there the whole time?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I came down when I heard the noise. Vasquez is a problem.”

  “No kidding.”

  He followed her into the kitchen. “I didn’t realize you had come downstairs.”

  “I came down to get wine, and this fool showed up.” She opened a cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses.

  Jay stood behind her and put his arms around her. He kissed her neck. “I’m not a criminal. It’s in the past.”

  “I know,” she said, leaning against him.

  “I’ve got something to tell you. You may not want to hear it, but I think you should know what happened.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Tiny had to throw Bobby out of the club. He ordered a bottle and refused to pay. He got drunk and started yelling that it should be on the house because of your relationship with me.”

  “Oh, really? Is that what he said?”

  “Yeah, more or less. There’s more. He’s been spending a lot of time at the precinct. He’s gotta be snitching. When did you put in security cameras?”

  “They’ve always been there.”

  “When was the last time you looked at the tape?”

  “I never looked at the footage. The animals and delivery people set it off all the time. The alarm never went off.”

  “Do they upload the video?”

  “Yes. I can go back thirty days.”

  “Why don’t we take a look?”

  He picked up the wine and glasses. They went into the living room and sat on the sofa. She pulled out her laptop and checked the footage from the previous day. They watched as an animal scurried across the screen.

  “What the hell was that?” Jaylen said.

  “The woodchuck. He lives in back.”

  They watched the other videos for that day. Nothing but animals and a delivery from UPS.

  They went to the previous day. They watched videos for almost an hour before something caught Kendra’s eye. Bobby went onto her back porch and looked around. Then he went back down the stairs and disappeared. Kendra checked her alarm history.

  “That motherfucker. The motion detector in the living room must have picked him up. My system was disarmed and rearmed a minute later from the living room keypad. He never used a door or one of the back windows.

  “How did he get in?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Why would he put mollies in your house?”

  “That’s what I’m going to find out.”

  Jaylen thought for a minute. “No, play it cool for now. You beat the charge.”

  She tapped a few keys. “I set it so I get a notification whenever the alarm is disabled.”

  “He knows the alarm code?”

  “I never gave it to him.” She frowned. “But it’s our mother’s birthday.”

  He shook his head. “Come on, Kendra.”

  “I know, I know. I’ll change it.”

  “He’s got to go. You know that.”

  Kendra tilted her head to one side. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  Jay set his glass on the table. “He put drugs in your house. He was willing to see you go to prison.”

  “It was Big Sam’s brand. Sam wants him dead. Where would Bobby get the pills?”

  “Vasquez. He was talking to Vasquez today.”

  Kendra looked around. She leaned toward Jay. “Should we be talking?” she whispered. “Could they have bugs in here?”

  Jay shook his head. “I had my guy sweep before you got home.”

  “You brought someone in without me knowing?”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted to make sure you’re safe. I was with him when he worked. I’ve been here ever since. Your house is clean.”

  “You wanted me safe.”

  “Vasquez is dirty. He probably held back those mollies on another bust and gave them to Bobby.”

  “You want to kill my brother.”

  “I don’t have to kill him. All I have to do is withdraw my protection.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “There’s a big difference.” He touched her cheek. “I don’t want to see you hurt. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. It’s your call. You make the decision.”

  Kendra drained her glass. She looked at the floor, then at Jay. “Could there be another reason he’s been talking to the police?”

  Jay let out a long breath. “Baby, you know better than that. He thinks he’s entitled to what we have. You told me yourself, he thinks we’re up to something. He tried to send you to prison. He’s in the club telling them he’s entitled to free drinks. He thinks we owe him, and that makes him dangerous.”

  Kendra poured herself another drink. “I never thought I would consider killing my own brother. I didn’t think it would come to this, but
you’re right,” she said. “He’s got to go.”

  * * *

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