by Lincoln Matt
But he wouldn’t try to do anything like that. The second Ricardo decided to come with us, he’d made his choice. I knew that, and he knew that. There was no going back. He had nowhere to go if he did. The cartel would track him down and take him out anywhere in Haiti. There was no doubt about that. And if he fled into the Dominican Republic, he would lose any chance he had of getting a good deal if he were caught.
And given the climate, he would be caught eventually. If not by the Dominican authorities, then by the cartel members who had made it into the other country already.
So we got him a room, and some food, and a hot shower, and then checked in on him to see if he would talk some more.
“Very well,” he relented when he opened the door to let us inside.
He was wearing a bathrobe and slippers, his dirty old clothes discarded on the side of the room. Honestly, he looked like a completely different person once he’d cleaned up. Just normal, with a couple of tattoos here and there, likely from his time in the cartel.
Alejandra looked surprised to see him looking so different, but Holm and I were unfazed. After the careers we’d had, this wasn’t at all surprising.
“You’re looking better, Ricardo,” Holm announced. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so clean.”
He sat down on the side of his bed, and we sat down at a desk propped against the opposite wall, turning the chairs to face him.
“Are you ready to talk some more?” I asked. Pushing him too hard could make him recoil again. We wanted to avoid that.
“I believe so,” he said with a sigh. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”
“No, I suppose you don’t,” I agreed.
“If you’re not truthful with us, we’ll find out,” Holm reminded him. “Agent Marston and I are very good at our jobs. You don’t want to mess with us.”
“I understand,” Ricardo said. “At this point, what do I have to lose?”
“That’s a good point,” I chuckled. “So, back at the bar, you were telling us that you decided to get clean because of the ‘monster drug.’ How about you tell us about that?”
Ricardo took a deep breath and began. “Well, it’s been in… what do you say in English… development for a long time, I think. There have been rumors in the higher ranks for a while.”
“Higher ranks of the cartel?” Holm asked. “How high up were you?”
“Third highest, I would say,” Ricardo said. “So not so high that I know everything about everything, but enough that I’m around a lot of people who do and so I hear stuff. I act mostly as… how do you say… bodyguard. Yes, I stay with highest ranking people and make sure they don’t get hurt, back them up in fights, that kind of stuff.”
“How long were you at this rank?” I asked.
“Since I got clean,” Ricardo said. “Before that, I just deal, though I was in charge of other dealers.”
“So, getting clean got you moved up in the ranks?” Holm asked, interesting.
Ricardo shrugged. “It’s hard to be on top of things when you’re high all the time. So makes sense to me why.”
“But, you didn’t get clean to get promoted?” I asked.
Ricardo’s eyes widened, and he gave a short, humorless laugh. “Oh, no. That would be very stupid.”
“Why?” I asked.
“If I was scared of the drug, why would I want to get closer to it?” he asked as if this were obvious.
“You weren’t close to it when you were dealing?” Holm asked. “How do they distribute the drug if not through dealers?”
“Some of us started to get some product toward the end of my time there,” he confirmed. “But most of the time it’s been… how do you say it… guarded? I’m not sure how to say it.”
“The people developing the drug have kept it a secret,” Alejandra said. “Is that what you mean? And they don’t want everyone to have it in their hands since it’s so dangerous.”
“Ah, yes, this is what I mean,” Ricardo confirmed. “It is very dangerous drug. If everyone was just running around with it, there would be problems. Especially in the beginning.”
“The beginning?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
“While they are first making and… how do you say… testing the drug,” Ricardo clarified.
“So, what does the drug do?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem like a party drug. And it doesn’t seem addictive, either.”
Ricardo gave another hollow laugh. “Oh, no. None of these things. Though kids at parties are good way to test it out.”
I exchanged a look with Holm. So we had been right about that theory.
“Test it out for what?” I asked. “What’s the purpose?”
“It is… how do you say… drug to get people to do things they do not want to do,” Ricardo said.
“What kinds of things?” Holm asked.
A sense of foreboding was brewing in my stomach. I knew there was something grotesque about all this, even beyond the way that girl’s body had been mutilated from the inside out.
“Anything, really,” Ricardo said. “They are… how do you say… awake when it is happening. And act like they are… how do you say… in control? But not actually. I don’t know how to explain it in English. I’m sorry.”
“Responsive?” Alejandra suggested.
“Ah, yes, I think this is it,” Ricardo confirmed. “They do not seem drugged entirely, though it is clear there is something… how do you say… off about them. But they are very… how do you say… they will do what you want.”
“So like a roofie,” I sighed. I’d thought as much.
“I don’t understand this word,” Ricardo said, shaking his head.
“A rape drug,” Holm clarified.
“Ah, yes,” Ricardo said. “This is kind of what it is. And definitely, this is big part of the market. But there are others, too.”
“Such as?” Holm asked.
“It is… how do you say… pleasing to watch?” he asked, looking to Alejandra for help find the right words again.
“Entertaining?” she suggested.
“Ah, yes, this,” he said. “Entertaining. It is fun. So a party drug in that way. But not for the person taking it, for the people watching.”
“Are there other uses?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to hear the answer. Wasn’t it bad enough already?
“Yes, I guess so, but those are main ones,” Ricardo said. “The other is for organizations like cartel, to control people.”
“Control people?” Holm repeated, incredulous. “Like control their minds?”
Ricardo laughed for real this time. “Oh, no. This isn’t… how do you say… movie, nothing like that. But it’s good way to get rid of someone, scare them, get them to do what you want. Be very… I don’t know how to say… open to suggestion?”
“Impressionable,” Alejandra said, her voice filled with dread.
“Ah, yes, this,” Ricardo agreed. “But not control their mind like movie. Nothing like that. Just put ideas there and scare them. Kind of like… how do you say in English… person who waves thing in front of the face?”
He made a motion like someone dangling something and moving it back and forth.
“A hypnotist?” Alejandra asked.
“Ah yes, this,” Ricardo said. “One of those things. I won’t even try to pronounce it.”
“Okay,” I said, exchanging another look with Holm. I could see the fear in his eyes. It was the same fear I felt in my bones and in the pit of my stomach. Whatever this was, it was damn well dangerous. “Thank you for telling us all this, Ricardo.”
“Of course,” he said. “Is that all?”
“Oh no,” Holm chuckled. “We’re just getting started with you, man.”
The Haitian looked deflated but nodded his assent. “What else do you want to know?”
“Do you know anything else about the drug?” I asked. “How it’s made, whe
re it’s made, why it was made. Anything to do with that.”
“I don’t know much about that really,” Ricardo shrugged. “Just bits and pieces I’ve heard others say.”
“Anything could be of help,” Holm assured him.
“Okay,” Ricardo said. “Let me think. I know that they talk to witch doctor in border town, and he helps make drug. Everyone is afraid of them there. Witch doctors are always kind of scary, but this one is very much so. People I know who go there do not come back, or if they do, they look like their skin has been eaten.”
“They’ve taken the drug,” I clarified.
“Yes,” Ricardo said. “Not all who take it end up like that, but many do. They have been trying to find a way to make it not happen. That is why they do all the testing. It used to kill almost everyone. Now I would say less than half.”
“Interesting,” I said. “Does it have to do with the amount taken?”
“I cannot say for sure, but I don’t think so,” Ricardo said. “If it were normal overdose, why would they be so confused about why it is happening?”
“Good point,” Holm said. “So, they don’t want it to kill people?”
“No, much easier to just shoot someone you want to kill,” Ricardo shrugged. “Though terrible death is good motivator to do what you’re told.”
“So is having people make you do things,” I said. “So this witch doctor, is this the one in the Haitian town right across from where the border patrol station is on the Dominican side?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding. “That is the one. I’ve never been inside but had to stand guard outside a few times. I heard horrible things. Saw horrible things when they threw the bodies outside so the inside wouldn’t smell.”
“Sounds fun,” Holm said, looking like he might throw up again.
“And what’s with these masks that the guys at the airport bust had on?” I asked. “Can you tell us anything about that?”
“Ah, the Puerto Rican shipment,” Ricardo sighed. “That did not go very well for us.”
“It didn’t go very well for us either,” Alejandra reminded him.
“Ah, yes, I guess not,” he said. “Bad day for everyone.”
“So, the intent wasn’t to set off a bomb and make a scene?” I asked. “Why do that then?”
“To get away,” he said. “And to make people fear us more. I was not directly involved with that, but I heard some things. It was our first big push to get drug out to Dominicans and to other countries. They knew they might get caught by Dominicans. So they made plan for if they get caught, just in case. So it wouldn’t be total loss.”
“Total loss?” Holm repeated. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, if we get caught, we might talk,” Ricardo said with a nervous chuckle. “Like I am doing. And so, well, we needed way to get out of it even if they got caught. Also, to make Dominicans fear us more. That’s why the masks.”
“Why make us fear you?” Alejandra asked. “What’s the point?”
“To make us more able to get through in your country,” Ricardo said as if this should be obvious.
“How does that accomplish this?” Alejandra asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Your people hate us,” he said simply. “They look down on us. Suspect us as criminals always, even the good immigrants who break no laws. So if you fear us, you still hate us, but maybe you think twice when you try to stop us.”
Alejandra didn’t seem to know how to respond to this. Neither did I, so I moved on.
“So back to the masks,” I said. “Is that because of the witch doctor? What’s the connection to voodoo exactly?”
“Well, it is voodoo drug,” Ricardo said as if this should also be obvious. “And Dominicans are afraid of voodoo, so helps create more fear.”
“Okay…” I said. “How is it a voodoo drug? The witch doctor helped create it, right? Does it have something to do with voodoo beyond that?”
“Well, it’s from old drug,” Ricardo said.
I exchanged another look with Holm. Maybe I wasn’t so crazy to bring up the Haitian zombie powder after all.
“An old drug,” I repeated. “What old drug?”
“Oh, there are many stories about it,” Ricardo said. “I always thought it was… how do you say… fake? But something you tell children…”
“An old wives’ tale?” Alejandra suggested. “A legend?”
“Yes, something like this,” Ricardo confirmed. “But yes, I always thought that. But I guess not. It is real, or was, or is now. I don’t know.”
“Is this what they called Haitian zombie powder?” I asked.
“Ah, yes, I think so,” Ricardo said. “But I think this is American name. Or English at least. I don’t know. But yes, this is why I call monster drug because it turns you into monster. Monster with no control or say in anything.”
“Okay,” I said. “So do you know anything about how it’s made? What it’s made of?”
“No, sorry,” Ricardo said, shaking his head.
“You sold it, though, right?” Holm pressed. “What did it look like?”
“Well, I didn’t sell to the people who take it,” he said. “Just the ones who give it to someone. Not a drug you want to take unless you’re crazy, maybe.”
“Why does it matter who you’re selling it to?” I asked. “It looks the same either way, right?”
“Not really,” Ricardo said. “Most junkies want a quick fix after they buy. I know this better than anyone. So we couldn’t sell it like that to them, needing to be put together and everything. I don’t even think you could put it together when you’re high.”
“Put it together?” I repeated. “We’re lost here, Ricardo, you’re going to need to back up and explain it better.”
“You have it, though, right?” he asked, looking equally confused. “You know what I am talking about.”
“What?” Alejandra asked, taken aback. “We don’t have the drug.”
“Yes, you do,” he said. “Or at least that’s what they said. They were freaking out about it so much, but they figure you wouldn’t be able to put it together.”
“There, you said ‘put it together’ again,” I said, leaning forward. “What does that mean? What are you talking about? Why would we have the drug?”
“Even though they try so hard with the bomb, you get it at airport bombing,” Ricardo said, blinking at us.
“All we found there were other drugs,” Alejandra said. “Cocaine. Heroine. All that stuff.”
To my surprise, Ricardo threw back his head and laughed.
“It worked!” he cried. “I cannot believe that it worked.”
“What worked?” I asked, suddenly tense. “What are you talking about?”
“You have the drug, you just do not know that you have the drug,” he laughed. “It is amazing. I can’t believe that it worked. Now, if I could just get back to cartel and tell them this, they might forgive me for telling you all this. Might. They would love to have this information.”
I leaned forward again and placed my hand on my gun, reminding him the gangbanger was at stake here.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Ricardo said, waving me off. “I like my chances with you better than with them, anyway. I won’t try to go back, not a chance.”
I leaned back but kept my hand resting on my gun. Just to be sure he knew I was still watching.
“So, how is it exactly that we have the drug?” Holm asked. “Is it hidden in those other drugs somewhere?”
“Oh yes, if you look for it, you will find it,” Ricardo said. “Just drain the other drugs, how do you say… filter through them. Then you will find. It is difficult to do. But when you find it, you will know. It’s extra hidden for airport run, too, just in case. That is all I can tell you. I’ve never done it myself.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, thinking through how I was going to explain that next time I talked to Bonnie and Clyde. “We’ll look into it, then.”
“I can
not believe you do not find in all this time,” Ricardo said, still chuckling a bit. “Crazy. My bosses, they freak out so much about this. Think we don’t have much time. People who survived bomb got killed over it, just so we knew not to fuck up so bad.”
“They killed everyone who survived the bombing from the cartel?” Alejandra asked, withdrawing in disgust. “Their own guys?”
Ricardo shrugged. “Not uncommon. Though so many at once was strange, yes. But it happens more than we would like. As I say, I like my chances better with you than with them. Plus, this way, I don’t worry about having to take drug.”
“Why would you have to take the drug?” I asked. “I don’t get that part.”
“To test it out on me, and to punish if I do something wrong,” he said. “Happened more before, when they were first making it. So they could get it just right, to kill fewer people.”
“I’m sorry, that must’ve been difficult,” Holm said.
“Made me stop shooting up,” he shrugged. “And got me here, so maybe I can have life someday. If you help me.”
“Well, you’re helping us quite a bit, so we’ll do what we can,” I said. “If you go to prison, it won’t be forever. I can promise you that.”
“I can live with that,” Ricardo said. “At least in prison, there is bed.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Holm chuckled.
“Alright, we have two more questions for you, Ricardo,” I said. “You’ve been very helpful so far, so thank you, but bear with us. We’re here because there was an American man going by the name of Jake Wallace, who was killed crossing over the border into the Dominican Republic. We believe he was killed by your cartel.”
“American man?” he asked. “I do not know a man by this name. I am sorry.”
“He also went by the street name Abel,” I said. “Does that ring a bell?”
As soon as I said the name, Ricardo froze.
“Abel is dead?” he whispered, looking around as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Yes, he’s dead,” I confirmed. “Very dead. Dozens of bullet holes in him. You know who he is?”
“He is leader of cartel,” Ricardo said. “Well, not only leader exactly, but leader.”