Stone Investigations (Stone Series Book 4)
Page 17
“I had nothing to do with that! We dropped her as soon as she was burned.”
“Does that mean you’re admitting to the dealing?”
“Sure, but I had nothing to do with the murder.”
“I think we should read you your rights before we proceed,” Detective Vaughn said.
“Sure.”
After reading the Miranda warning, Detective Vaughn asked, “Do you understand these rights?”
“Yeah,” Dante said. He was clearly depressed.
“Now, do you want a lawyer?”
“Why bother.”
“So you’re declining a lawyer?”
“I just want to prove to you that I had nothing to do with the murder.”
“Do you think she was murdered?”
“I don’t know, but Frankie sure did. He lit out of here as soon as he got that settlement. And the timing was pretty strange. The guy who recruited me hinted that they’d kill me if I got blown.”
“And who was that guy?” Agent Peters asked, bringing Mr. Graham’s photo back to the top of the pile.
“Not him. Like I said, I’ve never seen him before. The guy that recruited me was a Latino. Smart guy, but I don’t think he’s the guy running the operation.”
“What can you tell us about him?”
“Not much. Met him at a bar. He knew everything about me. My speeding tickets, where I grew up, schools I went to. He even knew my credit card balance.”
“Anything else?”
Dante shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. The ladies thought he was good looking; he was really smooth. He could read me like a book. I only met him twice.”
“Then what happened.”
“I opened the mailbox like he told me, then entered the address on the Facebook account he gave me the login for.”
“Facebook?!” Detective Vaughn asked.
“Oh, you guys probably don’t know about that. All the communication is via Facebook. I have access to six accounts. I put all the info about what I need there.”
“How do you get the drugs?”
“They come once a month. In fact, I should be getting a package early next week.”
“What kind of package?”
“An order of shoes. I actually get to pick them out. They’re delivered to my box and inside the shoebox, there’s the drugs, the book covers, and any special instructions I’m supposed to follow. Do you know about them?”
Agent Peters laid a photograph of the package Dante had shipped the week before. It showed the book opened with the money exposed.
“I guess you do.”
“Explain about the shoes.”
“I order a pair of shoes each month. Sometimes they’re for me, but most of the time I order for some kid. I registered with a charity that tries to give poor kids shoes. The boxes are labeled with the charity name so it makes sense that I would get a box each month. Minimizes any questions.”
“Okay, and the drugs?”
“I post on the Facebook page how many pills I need. They come in the box.”
“And the money?”
“I send it along each week as I get it from the dealers. Always in units of 20 or 30K.”
“So if you’ve got more money than that?”
“I keep it until the next week. You have to fill the books up. It’s okay to stuff paper in to make up the 10K if you can’t make it 30, but that’s it.”
“So they trust you with the money.”
“Sure, who’s going to screw up a gig like this by trying to steal a few thousand.”
“Who does the accounting?”
“Don’t know, but every week I get a Facebook post saying how much I’m supposed to send in.”
“Who else do you know?”
“I just know my dealers. And that first guy I told you about. I’ve never talked to anyone else.”
“How did you learn how to do the money and the book?”
“A paper cutter and instructions came in the first shoebox.”
“How do your dealers find clients?”
“Oh, I forgot. Those names come in the shoebox, too. My first shoebox had a list of five dealers. They already had their clients. After that, I’d get a name for a new dealer and a list of clients to give them. Sometimes I’d just get a list of clients and which dealers to assign them to.”
“So you don’t look for clients?”
“Not really. The dealers get referrals from their clients. They give them to me and I send them up the chain. If the new client works out, the user that referred them gets a free month of drugs. The dealer and I still get our cut.”
“What’s your cut?”
“Dealers get fifteen percent, I get seven, minus expenses.”
“Expenses?”
“We have to pay the kids we use to handle the drugs. I pay mine five hundred a week, that’s pretty much the standard.”
“Okay, we’ll stop here. Now, Mr. Cruz, we need you to go back to your desk and do exactly what you would have done before. You are in no way to tip off the dealers or your supplier about this interview.”
“Does that mean I’m supposed to give out the drugs this weekend?”
“Right. You’re to proceed as if nothing has changed. If you tip anyone off, we’ll know and your claims about Ms. Frye won’t hold much water with us after that.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
“And, Mr. Cruz, do not try to leave town.”
“I won’t. Where would I go?”
“We’ll be watching you. Don’t mess it up. As you know, whoever is running this thing has a habit of cleaning up after themselves. You don’t want to wind up like Ms. Frye.”
Dante gulped, then nodded his head. “Yeah, I’ll be cool.”
“Why don’t you head back to your office while we continue our meeting with the building’s security team,” Detective Vaughn said.
Dante hurried out of the room.
“Mr. Cruz, be cool!” Agent Peters said.
Dante immediately slowed down. He shook himself then punched the elevator button.
Agent Whitehead came into the room as soon as Dante left. “Well, that wasn’t exactly as productive as we’d hoped.”
“Yeah,” Agent Peters said. “I’ve told you this guy Graham is careful. I would suggest that we don’t do anything with him until he is actually in possession of the drugs. Who knows what he’s put in place to detect interference?”
“What are you suggesting?” Agent Whitehead demanded.
“That we avoid entering the cargo plane. We should wait until the drugs are in Fallbrook and then follow them. We should be able to connect Graham to them once we see how he distributes them.”
“And what leads you to believe that I plan to do otherwise?”
“Just concerned at the pace you’re setting. I think we need to exercise patience.”
“Well, I’ve lost my patience with you trying to undermine me. You’re off the task force. You’re to stay in your hotel until Tuesday, by which time I should have this wrapped up. Then you can go back to New York.”
“I’m the one that broke this case, you can’t do that!”
“I’m in charge and I just have. Now get out of here!”
“See, I told you he was a jerk,” Matthew said as he closed his portal.
“Poor Barb. It’s not fair.”
“We’ll see what she says tonight. Now, if we hurry, we’ll be in time for English Lit.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“I assume you saw the interview,” Agent Peters said when Matthew and Emily joined her again.
“Yeah. And you were right. He is a jackass,” Emily said.
“I don’t know what to do from here. You guys have been a big help, but it’s out of our hands now.”
“We can still look for ways to help,” Emily said as she nudged Matthew to get him to chime in.
“We’ll do whatever you want us to.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll just have to let it play out. I just wish I co
uld be there when they bust Graham.”
“Well, Emily and I are feeling a cold coming on. We’ll probably be at my house on Monday when Graham lands in Fallbrook. You could return my car and sit with us while we watch it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, my mom will be down at UCSD and my sister will be in school, so it’ll just be us.”
“I’d like that. Not that I’m hoping Branden screws it up, but if he does, I’d sure like to see it.”
“Then come on by. We’ll have a pot of coffee ready.”
“It’s a date.”
Chapter 16
Case Closed?
Matthew’s mother was pretty skeptical about the cold, but since Matthew was maintaining a 4.8 GPA, she let it slide. Thirty minutes after she left, Emily showed up.
“Where’s Barb?”
“Let me check.” Matthew opened his portal on Agent Peters to see where she was.
“She’s just turning off of I-5.”
“How did you fake your mom out on the cold?”
“Used a saline spray to cause some sniffles. I don’t think she bought it though.”
“I don’t think my parents did either. And when I told them I wanted to come over here and study, they were real suspicious.”
“Sucks lying to them.”
“I know, but it’s for a good cause. It’s not like we’re goofing off or doing drugs.”
“Yeah. Coffee.”
“Why do I have to make it?”
“Because you’re so picky about it. I’m good as long as it has caffeine in it.”
“Right!” Emily went to the cupboard and got the fixings for the coffee while Matthew put the water on. “How come you don’t have a coffee maker?”
“We just do a cup at a time, so when the last one went bad, we didn’t replace it.”
Agent Peters knocked on the door just as Matthew finished putting the water on. He used his portal to open the door. “Come on in,” he hollered.
“Weird,” Agent Peters said as she closed the door. “I still can’t get used to that portal of yours.”
“Wait until you get to watch through it,” Emily said. “Coffee will be ready in five minutes. We’ll be sitting at the kitchen table.”
“Okay.” Agent Peters picked the seat Matthew pointed at and turned and watched as the two finished making the coffee. “Very domestic, are you sure you two aren’t dating?”
“We spend a lot of time together, and we get along great, probably because we’re not dating,” Emily said. Matthew just shrugged. “Matt, where’s the plane?”
“It just took off from Catalina. So we’ve got twenty minutes.”
“Is there any chance you could teach me how to do that?” Agent Peters asked. “It would come in real handy.”
“He can’t. We tried and it wouldn’t work.”
“You tried?”
“Yeah, Matt was feeling sorry for himself back when we were tracking Sayid. He tried to hand it off to me, but it wouldn’t work.”
“We?!”
“Hey, I was there for support. And I helped at the Sackler.”
“Yeah, you did. I’m just feeling sorry for myself again. It’s very disruptive to try and keep track of someone. I have to keep popping in every few minutes. It’s not like I can put a wire on them and then track their movements with an alarm when they do something interesting.”
“I can see how that would be a pain. But if you could combine it with other methods, it would be very effective.”
“Matt would be really good at planting bugs. And he’s aces at getting passwords and putting little apps on someone’s phone.”
“Emily!”
“Yeah, you might not want to mention illegal things in front of a law enforcement officer.”
“See!”
“But don’t worry, we’re all going to break the law just a little today. But not the spirit of the law.”
“How would you like your coffee?”
“Black, no sugar.”
Emily poured three cups of coffee. She added cream to hers, then passed them out. “Are we ready?”
“They’re still in the air. Another ten minutes.”
“Matt, tell us how they’re set up?” Agent Peters asked.
“It’s the same as last time. There are three pallets of PC boards with the shoe boxes in the middle.”
“I don’t really remember much about the last time,” Agent Peters said. “Remember, I wasn’t looking at the plane until they dumped me in it.” She laughed at the memory. “And I wasn’t paying much attention to it when they were getting ready to toss us out of it.”
“Right. Anyway, they unloaded the crate of cocaine on Catalina like before and now they’re bringing the pallets with the pills to Fallbrook. I’ve never witnessed what they do in Fallbrook, just what they do before.”
“How will they unload the plane?”
“I assume the same way they loaded the one that goes to Long Beach. They have a small pallet jack they put on the plane to move the pallets around to the cargo door. Then they have a forklift that they use to take the pallet off the plane and move it to the warehouse. I don’t know what they do about the drugs.”
“Well, we’ll see. Have they landed yet?” Emily asked.
“Just now. Okay, I’ll open up for viewing.” Matthew expanded his portal so that the two women on each side of him could lean in and watch.
“This is really cool. And you can just move it around?”
“Yes. I just have to think about where I want to see and it moves so I can.” They were all watching the plane as it taxied toward the cargo storage shed that Mr. Graham used.
“Nice,” Agent Peters whispered. “Wait, can they see us?”
“The other end is tiny, so they’d have to be right up against it to be able to see this side. Don’t worry, I’ll close it or move it if any eyeballs start to get close.”
“There goes Mr. Graham to get the forklift and pallet jack.” They watched Mr. Graham put a pallet jack on the forklift and raise it up so the copilot could pull it into the cargo bay. A minute later the first pallet appeared next to the cargo door. Mr. Graham picked it up with the forklift and maneuvered it into the cargo shed. Ten minutes later all three pallets were in the cargo shed. The pilot shut down the plane and joined Mr. Graham and the copilot in the cargo shed.
“Is everything copacetic?” he asked.
“Let me check,” Mr. Graham said as he moved to the first pallet and examined it. Seeming to be satisfied, he moved to the second pallet. He immediately tensed up and started to curse under his breath. “Did one of you unwrap this pallet?!” he demanded.
“No, why would we?”
“I don’t know, but somebody has been in it.”
“How can you tell?”
“See this liquid here,” Mr. Graham said, pointing to a smear of gel that was running down inside the plastic that wrapped around the pallet.
“Yeah, but that couldn’t have happened on the plane. Nobody went back there once the pallet was loaded. Could it have happened in Guatemala?
“No, they verify it after they load the pallets. It had to happen on the plane. We inject this liquid in after it’s wrapped in the plastic. The only way for it to run is if someone removes some of the boxes. It relieves the tension and the gel will be squeezed out when you put the boxes back.”
“Well, it wasn’t us.”
“Shit. Turn the center box on top onto its side.” Mr. Graham ran to a toolbox at the side of the shed and spun the combination lock. After unlocking it, he grabbed three flares, tossing one to each of the other two. Then he grabbed a crowbar and levered the center box of one pallet so it turned on its side. He lit the flare and dropped it into the void.
“There’s a void between the shoeboxes,” Matthew explained. “I wondered what that was for. Should we do anything?”
“Can you put out the flares?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never tried anything like that.”
In quick order, the three men dropped a flare down the center of each pallet. “Time to go. Expect there to be police outside. Don’t do anything stupid or say anything. They probably don’t have a thing on us.”
The three men left the shed and Mr. Graham locked it behind him. “Thanks for the lift. I’ll see you guys in a couple of weeks,” he called out as he headed toward his pickup pulling his suitcase.
“Federal Agents! Freeze!”
“Ah, . . . sure officers. What seems to be the problem?” Mr. Graham asked.
“We have a warrant to search you, the plane, and the storage shed,” Agent Whitehead said as he stepped forward.
“Be my guest. I can’t imagine what you’re looking for.”
“I’m sure you can.” Agent Whitehead nodded to another agent holding a crowbar.
“I’d be happy to unlock the shed for you.” Mr. Graham’s offer was ignored as the agent pried the hasp off the door to the shed. When he opened the door, smoke started pouring out.
“What the heck!” Mr. Graham shouted. He stepped back and stood and watched as the agents fumbled around looking for a fire extinguisher. When they found one, it was totally inadequate to put the pallets out, but they did manage to keep the fire from spreading to the building.
“Well, that’s a complete cockup,” Agent Peters said. A minute later her phone rang. “That’s probably my boss.”
She answered the phone with “Peters” and then listened for a minute. “Yes, sir. . . . Yes, I believe the Mexican Federales will be searching the factory in La Paz now. . . . Yes, hopefully, they can find evidence we can trace to Graham. . . . Yes, sir, I can be there in twenty minutes depending on traffic. . . . No, I’m in Rancho Santa Fe returning the car I borrowed. . . . I’m sure I can borrow it for another day, or I’ll take a cab. On my way.”
She closed her phone and looked at Matthew.
“The guys in Mexico aren’t going to find anything. As soon as Graham left that warehouse, they busted up the pill machine and flushed the Fentanyl down the drain.”
“But how would they know, Whitehead had the cell signals jammed?”
“I’d bet he had a failsafe in place. If he didn’t text by a certain time, they were to flush everything.”