by Wilder, L.
“You’re still breathing, ain’t ya?” T-Bone snickered.
Ignoring their bickering, I got out of the truck and raced inside for my laptop. Once I retrieved it, I headed back to the parking lot to join the others. I just got back inside the truck when my cell phone started to ring. Without bothering to see who was calling, I answered, “Yeah?”
“Jackson?” Reece whispered with pure terror in her voice.
“Reece? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what to do.” I could barely hear her as she answered, “They’re going to kill him.”
“What are you talking about?” I pushed.
“They’ve got him tied up in a chair, Jackson. He’s bleeding really bad, and I’m not sure he’s even conscious anymore.”
“Baby, I have no idea who you’re talking about. Where are you?”
“A guy I interviewed … his name is Jason Brazzle.” She paused for a moment, then whispered, “I’m at his apartment … on the fire escape.”
“Goddamn it, Reece! What the hell were you thinking?”
“I just wanted to ask him a few questions,” she muttered.
I was overcome with panic as I leaned towards T-Bone and ordered, “Get over to Jason’s place. Now!”
Knowing she was in grave danger, I pleaded with Reece, “Baby, you gotta get the hell out of there!”
“I can’t, Jackson. They might see me if I move.” She gasped as she said, “He just pulled out his gun.”
“Who?”
“Navarro,” she whispered in shock. “Oh, my God, Jackson. Navarro is going to kill him.”
“Dammit!” I turned to Blaze as I announced, “Navarro is there with him, and shit is about to go down.”
Suddenly, I could hear the sound of sirens echoing in the background. “Is that the cops?”
“Yes! Thank God! I didn’t expect them to get here so soon.”
Fearing Navarro and his men would try to escape, I told her, “You gotta move, Reece. As soon as they hear those fucking sirens, they’re going to do whatever it takes to get out of there.”
“I’ll try, but …” The line went dead.
“Reece!” My blood ran cold when I could no longer hear her voice. “Fuck!”
When I realized we were still ten minutes away, I nudged T-Bone’s arm. “I need you to hammer it, brother.”
“You got it, brother.” He pressed his foot to the accelerator and asked, “You got any idea what’s going on over there?”
“Not exactly sure, but I think Navarro is about to kill Jason.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Gunner complained. “We can’t let that happen.”
“I’m afraid we may be too late. The cops just showed up,” I snarled. “If Jason wasn’t already dead, he will be now.”
Even though T-Bone was driving as fast as he could, I felt like we were moving in slow motion, making every second absolute agony. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as we sped towards Jason’s apartment. I had no idea what we were going to find when we got there, and the thought of something happening to Reece had me all torn up inside. That feeling was only made worse when we finally arrived at the apartment complex. It had been almost a half hour since I’d heard from Reece, and the place was covered with cops. Squad cars and ambulances lined the streets. Their lights were flashing bright, and there was yellow police tape draped around the entire area, preventing anyone from getting too close. T-Bone pulled up to one of the businesses down the street, and once we were parked, he looked over to me and asked, “Now what?”
I opened the door and pulled off my cut as I got out. “Wait here. I’ll go see what I can find out.”
“Be careful, brother. We don’t need the cops on our asses,” Blaze warned.
I nodded, then closed the door and started walking towards the chaos. I was looking for Reece when I noticed a couple of cops getting medical attention from the paramedics. I glanced over at the front door of Jason’s apartment, and I was surprised to see several cops escorting one of Navarro’s men over to one of the squad cars. Once they had him secured in the back, they went back inside only to return with two more. Three other men were brought out on stretchers with two more following close behind in body bags. As I stood there staring at all the mayhem, I wondered if Navarro might’ve been in one of the body bags, but those hopes were quickly squashed when I saw him appear at the front door. There were four cops at his side, and his hands and feet were shackled as they led him over to one of the empty police cars. They were just about to put him in the backseat when Blaze came up behind me. “Is that who I think it is?”
“Yeah, it’s him.”
“Damn. I can’t believe they actually got him,” he scoffed.
“They may have got him, but I bet he’ll be released on bail within the hour,” I grumbled.
“Any sign of Reece or Jason.”
“Not yet,” I answered as I scanned the area again.
“You think Navarro knew Rodrigo was in Jason’s apartment?”
“Don’t know any more than you do, brother. I’m just hoping he wasn’t one of the guys in those body …” I started but stopped when my focus was drawn to the side of the building. Reece was there with the guy from the diner, and they were talking to one of the officers. I had no idea what they were saying, but it was clear from the expression on Reece’s face that she was rattled. She seemed okay, physically, but I had to go over and check. I looked over to Blaze and said, “I’ll be right back.”
I skirted under the yellow tape, surprised that no one tried to stop me as I made my way over to Reece. Her bottom lip was trembling, and her fists were balled at her side. She was doing what she could to keep it together, but the minute she spotted me walking towards her, she broke down. Tears started streaming down her face as she rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I held her tight as I whispered, “You okay?”
“No,” she mumbled into my shoulder.
“What happened?”
Her words were jumbled as she sobbed, “They killed that poor guy. It happened right there in front of me, and I didn’t do anything to stop it. I should’ve helped him, but I did nothing! What kind of person does that make me?”
“If you had tried to intervene, then they would’ve killed you too, sweetheart. You did the right thing,” I tried to assure her.
Still clinging to me, she cried, “Josue is a monster, just like his brother.”
“Yes, he is.”
I was still holding her when an officer walked over to us and said, “We’re going to need you to come down to the station to answer a few more questions.”
“Oh, okay,” she answered as she released me from our embrace. “Can he come with me?”
“That’s up to you, miss.”
“Will you go with me? I really don’t want to be alone right now,” she pleaded.
Before I could answer, the schmuck from the diner volunteered. “I’ll go with you, Reece. Besides, I’m sure the police will have some questions for me too.”
Ignoring him, I slipped my arm around her waist. “I’ll be more than happy to go with you, doll.”
“Thank you.” Then she looked over to Myles and said, “Hopefully, it won’t take long.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” he replied with a sappy look. “I just feel terrible about all this. You wouldn’t have even been here if it wasn’t for me.”
Before I could ask what he was talking about, the officer motioned over to Reece, “You guys can either ride with me, or just meet me over at the station.”
“We’ll meet you at the station,” I answered.
He gave me a quick nod. “Sounds good.”
Before we turned to leave, Reece said to the schmuck, “Hey, Myles. My … umm … car is around back if you want to ride with us.”
Myles glanced over at me with a disapproving look, making me want to punch him in the throat, before he answered, “Thanks, but I think I’ll just meet you over there.”
&nb
sp; “Suit yourself.” I took Reece’s hand in mine. “We’ll see you there.”
The street was still covered with cops and nosy neighbors, so it took a minute for us to make our way over to Reece’s car. She was about to get into the driver’s seat when I said, “I’ll drive.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
She dropped the keys in my hand and walked over to the passenger side. Once we were inside, I sent a message to Blaze and let him know I was leaving with Reece. As soon as he responded, I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. I had a million questions racing through my mind as we headed towards the police station, but I figured she’d talk when she was ready. I was right.
We’d only been riding for a few minutes when she started rambling, “My source called me a few days ago … He told me that my uncle had been at Jason’s apartment a few days prior. I went there to see if I could find out anything, and that’s when I met Jason. I asked him a few questions, and even though he answered them, I knew there was something he wasn’t telling me. I could feel it.” She let out a deep breath as she continued, “I actually thought it was a good idea when Myles suggested that we try talking to him again. But I also thought I’d have a better chance of getting more out of him on my own, so I came a little early.”
“How did you end up on the fire escape?”
“That’s the thing. I knew something was up when I saw that limo and the two black BMWs parked in the alley, and in my infinite wisdom”—she rolled her eyes and shook her head—“I decided not to wait on Myles and went around to the back. That’s when I saw the fire escape.”
“And you’re tellin’ me you thought it was a good idea to use it to get up to Jason’s apartment? Fuck, Reece. What were you thinking?”
“I was just going to look through the window. I didn’t think I’d actually see anything.”
“Do you have any idea how bad this could’ve turned out? You could’ve gotten hurt or worse … you could’ve been killed.”
“You’re right. I just wasn’t thinking.” She dropped her face into the palms of her hands as she grumbled, “I should’ve just stayed in bed an extra hour. Then I wouldn’t have to testify.”
“Testify?”
“Well, yeah. I was a witness. I’ll have to testify. It’s the only way they’ll be able to keep Josue behind bars,” she explained. “Although, there’s just one problem. Josue has a habit of killing off witnesses, so if he’s going to pay for killing Jason, I’ll have to find a way to survive long enough to make it to the hearing.”
CHAPTER 14
Reece
I’d found myself in some pretty precarious situations in my life, but I’d always managed to finagle my way out of them. This time was different. This time, there was no way out. While I was determined to see this thing through with Josue Navarro, I was a nervous wreck. I was trying my best to keep it together as I sat in one of the interrogation rooms and waited for Detective Rayburn to return. He’d been questioning me about what had happened at Jason’s apartment when he noticed my hands were trembling. He offered to get me a bottle of water, although I doubted that it would help. When he returned, the sound of the door opening startled me and I flinched. His smile was sympathetic, and he said, “This shouldn’t take long Ms. Winters. I just have a few more questions and then we can wrap this thing up.
“Okay.”
He placed the water bottle down on the table and sat in the chair across from me. I watched as he started flipping through a book filled with mugshots, and once he found what he was looking for, he slid it over to me. “I need you to take a look at this.”
“Okay.”
“I need to know if you can identify the man who shot Mr. Brazzle.”
I looked down at the headshots, and as soon as I saw his beady little eyes staring back at me, I pointed to his picture. “That’s him. That’s Josue Navarro … the man who pulled the trigger.”
“You know Navarro?”
“I don’t know him, but I know who he is. He’s been in the papers more times than I can count.”
He nodded, and after writing something down in his notes, he asked, “Do you think you would recognize any of the other men who were there in the apartment with him?”
“It might take a minute, but I’m sure I could.” We went through several pages, and it wasn’t long before I’d identified all but three of Navarro’s men. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t see them here.”
“That’s fine. We can try again a little later.” He pushed the book to the side, and as he reached for his notepad, he said, “For now, let’s focus on what happened today. Let’s start with why you’d gone to Mr. Brazzle’s apartment this morning.”
“I was following up on an interview I’d had with him a few days prior.”
“What kind of interview?”
“I had some questions about an article I was writing for the Memphis Metro, and Myles and I were going back to talk to him.”
“Myles?”
“Yes. Myles Dixon. He’s a freelance writer for the paper and was supposed to meet me there, but I arrived a little earlier than we’d planned.”
“So, you were supposed to meet this Myles Dixon fellow at Mr. Brazzle’s apartment, so you could follow up on an interview you had with him about some article you were writing.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, so how did you end up on the fire escape? Is this something you would typically do?”
“No. Not typically.” I took a sip of my water before I said, “I was just trying to get a look inside to make sure everything was okay.”
His eyes narrowed as he asked, “And what made you think you needed to do that?”
“There were a couple of BMWs and a limo parked out front. They didn’t seem to fit the area, and it made me a little suspicious.”
“Why didn’t you just wait for your reporter friend?”
I shrugged my shoulders as I answered, “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“I know this may be hard for you, but it’s better to talk about it when it’s fresh on your mind. Can you tell me exactly what you saw from Mr. Brazzle’s window?”
“I’ll try my best.” I paused for a moment before continuing, “Jason was bound to a chair with his hands tied behind his back. He was bloody and bruised, and it looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Two of the men kept hitting him over and over while Navarro kept asking him questions.”
“Could you hear what they were saying?”
“No, sir, but it was pretty obvious they weren’t happy that Jason wasn’t talking. He just kept taking it. No matter how hard they hit him, he wouldn’t say a word.”
“Then what happened?”
“When they heard the police sirens, Navarro raised his gun and shot Jason in the head.” I reached for my phone as I said, “Here. I took a picture right when it was about to happen.”
A surprised look crossed his face as he looked down at the screen. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! This is incredible.”
“Do you think it will help?”
“Absolutely, but I’m going need our tech guy to download that picture off of your phone, so we can put it into evidence.”
I paused when I remembered the video I’d taken of the surveillance footage. “Can’t I just send it to you?”
“It’s not that simple. We’ll need the time stamp and the number it was taken from.”
“But I have some personal pictures on there that I wouldn’t want anyone to see.”
“We’re not looking to snoop through your phone, Ms. Winters. We’ll only need to get that one image.”
“Great.” Before handing it over, I quickly deleted the video I had saved, then handed it over to him. “As long as it helps.”
“It will more than you know.” He shook his head in disbelief as he took the phone from my hand. “I can’t believe you actually got a picture of him pulling the trigger.”
“Yeah, but if I had I known that’s what I was
going to see when I got up there, I would’ve never gone up that fire escape.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you did, otherwise we wouldn’t have apprehended one of the biggest cartel bosses in the country. We owe you a great deal for helping us make that happen.”
“I just hope you can actually keep him behind bars. I know men like Josue Navarro have a way of beating the system.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to keep that from happening, and with you as an eye witness, he won’t stand a chance of ever being released.”
“I hope you’re right about that.”
He gathered up all his paperwork, then stood up and said, “I think that will do it for now. Let’s get this picture downloaded, and then you can be on your way.”
I stood up and followed him to a small office where his computer guy was located. We both waited as he pulled the file from my phone, and once he was done, the detective gave me it back to me and led me back into the waiting room. As soon as Jackson spotted me, he got up and started in my direction, leaving Myles sitting there alone. Just as Jackson had approached us, I turned to Detective Rayburn and asked, “So, what happens now?”
“Navarro will be charged with first degree murder, and once we get all the paperwork filed, there will be an arraignment hearing. I’m sure he’ll have himself a fancy lawyer, so that will probably be sooner than later. Considering Navarro’s history, the prosecutor will push for no bail.”
“When will you need me to testify?”
“I’ll be honest with you. It’s going to be a while.” He sighed as he said, “It takes months to get these kinds of cases through the court system, but we’ll do whatever it takes to ensure your safety. We need you at that hearing, so we may have to consider putting you into protective custody.”
Jackson gave the detective a fierce look as he said, “I’ve got her covered. I’ll see that she gets to the hearing.”
“You do realize that we’re dealing with the cartel here,” he remarked in a condescending tone.