“That’s good. When I drove up the white van was parked right next to the semi. I never heard the exact description Mitchell gave you, but the one over there is an early 2000 model Chevy panel truck and is pretty beaten up for its age.”
“That matches to a T.” Brody looked over to his right and saw a pickup drive around the back. “Damn it to hell and back again, that’s one of the Jacks Bluff people. I recognized the markings. They sure don’t need to be here when any of this comes down, especially since we don’t know what to plan… playing it by the ear.” He swore again but used more profanity.
“They’ll be in and out of the drive-thru by the time anyone else gets here.”
Brody let out a sigh of relief, recognizing the adrenaline in his body beginning to flow faster. He’d done way too many stakeouts not to recognize the changes in his body. “I’m just tied up in knots, not sure what’s going on, having to put my trust in a CI who seems to be running the whole thing. Maybe she was the one who wanted me to think the cartel had gotten wind of our progress?” He answered his own question. “No. I trust her too much. There’s no way.” Brody wasn’t sure whether he was trying to convince himself or Rocky.
Brody looked down at a text message. “She pulled it off. Vic gave the DPS time to get in position, so when the semi gets on the highway, they’ll stop him, if we haven’t gotten him first.”
“My blood is rushing so fast, I think I’m gonna have a stroke,” Rocky admitted. “I’m used to it. I know you don’t have the human trafficking I had to deal with, but you can’t imagine opening up the back of a semi and seeing emaciated young women and children who are dirty, scared to death, and haven’t eaten in days. I’ll never get the look on their faces out of my mind.” He squared his shoulders. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like getting drugs and guns out of the hands of criminals is less important.”
“Well, I never thought of it in that way. Both are of the worst of the worst, as far as I’m concerned.” Brody leaned forward and gripped the steering wheel as he thought through the possibilities. The desperate need to find the answers and get this part of the mission over. Although he’d only worked with Rocky a couple of times, he had little doubt the newest Bonita County deputy was the top of the heap when it came to stakeouts, and he certainly was giving one hundred percent of his attention and skill to this case.
Rocky broke into his thoughts. “You know, nobody knows me, so how about I drive around where I can get a better view of the trucks and take Bruiser out for a leak?”
“That’s a thought.” Brody considered the pros and cons. “I like that. The doggie rest area is just on the other side of the drive, so Bruiser can give you a lot of information on whether there’s drugs in either of the trucks.”
Rocky patted his jacket pocket. “Got plenty of treats, if he finds something. He’s pretty sharp. That’s one of several reasons I bought him from the department.”
“I think he’ll be a real asset and sure am glad Deuce had made his agreement with you and Bruiser.” Brody couldn’t help but let out a easygoing laugh, in conflict with how he felt inside. “I already like that dang Deputy Bruiser, and he seems to like me,” he said.
“As long as you don’t come between me and him, he’ll be fine. But honestly, he likes the ladies more.” Rocky grinned.
“Okay, get out of here and let me know what’s going on.”
Brody continue to clutch the wheel, while he kept a lookout. He watched Rocky get Bruiser out of the Tahoe and take him to the doggie rest area.
To his surprise, Vicky continued to play the part of a Lot Lizard, but as always her favors were turned down. She knew how to pick the right trucker, knowing they had a schedule to keep.
The driver of the semi in question finally came out of the café with a drink in one hand and a carryout sack in the other. He went directly to his truck, but when he saw Bruiser raising all kinds of hell, sniffing and barking at the double doors of the trailer, he dropped everything and ran like a coyote was nipping at his heels.
Brody had barely moved around the café area, when he saw what was going on. He threw on his brakes and bailed out of his pickup. By the time he got to Rocky, Bruiser had been unleashed and was fast on the trail of the driver.
To everyone’s surprise, as the trucker got within a few yards of a stand of Cottonwood’s and took a leap over the railing, a half a dozen bodies came out of nowhere. But the lawman who brought him down with a knee to his back and wrestling like hell to get his hands in cuffs was none other than Sheriff Avery Danielle Humphrey.
“You didn’t tell me you were the police and I didn’t do nothing.” He threw an elbow toward her face.
“I damn sure did and if you throw another elbow my direction, you’ll get the worse Taser shot you can imagine, plus additional charges for assaulting an officer of the law.”
Once he was cuffed, she stood up, and Jessup, with the help of some undercover cops, brought the driver to his feet.
Avery wiped her hands on her pants. When the driver, now a perpetrator since he ran from a peace officer, was virtually pulled to the front of the Jacks Bluff pickup, she stepped in front of him and with a voice that softened to a mild roar with hard undertones of serious authority, said, “What in the hell were you running from?”
“I was scared of that damn dog.” The man snorted in a dismissive tone while he crossed his legs.
Avery’s voice raised two octaves as the other officers closed in on the perp. “I said legs apart, and I meant legs apart. If you don’t understand, I can certainly show you what I mean.” She stepped toward him. “You are only being detained at the moment, but I can charge you for fleeing from a peace officer. Do you hear me?”
He stared at her and didn’t say a word.
“I said, do you hear me?”
“Sure, bossy bitch, I hear you.” He snorted.
“Where is our ID and bill of lading?”
The driver stood there with a glazed stare. Brody had seen this many times before—almost every time a person had something to hide.
It took everything in Brody not to step in, but he had no doubt the sheriff could handle herself and there was plenty of support around her, including Jessup, Rocky, and by now a dozen uniformed officers from all branches of law enforcement.
“It’s in my briefcase in the passenger’s seat,” the driver finally said, apparently not wanting to push his luck with a dozen guns pointed at him, as well as two Taser guns. “It’s all in order. I’m not hauling anything illegal.”
“I’m going to give you your rights, since our K-9 is giving more signals than you’ll find at the airport that there’s drugs inside.” She stared him straight in the eyes. “You have the right....”
An hour later, Brody helped with the search and documentation, while the driver sat restless and vocal in the back of a police cruiser.
The adrenaline rush that had given a feeling of power and strength to Brody began to slow. He could tell by his heightened senses toning down.
Rocky turned to him. “Everything is in order, except for fifty pounds of coffee, which is on the bill of lading but isn’t in the trailer. Shows to be a drop-off in Dallas.” He shook his head and turned to Avery, who now stood beside Brody supervising. “Bruiser is still going crazy out here, so I’m gonna let him in the trailer, unless you have an objection, Sheriff Humphrey.”
“No objection from here. We have more than reasonable cause for a search, so go to it.” She looked over at Brody and raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he had any input.
He took it upon himself to answer an unspoken question. “I know of no reason we can’t let him up there.”
In only seconds, Bruiser sniffed around the whole trailer and gave his handler the signal for drugs. He continued to scratch and whine in front of twelve huge boxes of box springs and mattresses.
Rocky turned back to Avery
and Brody. “He’s never been wrong. How about we begin by taking them out one at a time and letting Bruiser do his job.”
Before the deputy could get the words out of his mouth, Brody was already going up the lift, along with Jessup and a brawny DPS officer.
When they reached the ground, Bruiser went into his spin, lying down and barking, indicating drugs were inside.
“Anybody have a knife on them?” Brody asked about the time Jessup removed one from his gun belt.
Brody made several slashes in the fabric stapled to the bottom of the box spring, revealing tightly wrapped packages of drugs.
“Jackpot!” Deputy Jessup said, as another adrenaline rush hit Brody right between the eyes.
An hour or so later, Avery said, “Deputy Jessup, since you’re the only one with a Kasota County vehicle, how about you escort Mr. Romero-Luna of Laredo to his new living facilities, and we’ll be in shortly to do an interrogation. He might be the driver, but I’m sure he can give Lieutenant Detective VanZant plenty of information.” She pulled out a tightly packaged rectangle of marijuana and handed it to Robertson.
“Want to give them a lesson on where this came from and where it was going?”
“Be glad to,” Jessup said.
Rocky began, “See where they burnt in HC and OKC KCK? That means, Harbor Crew to Oklahoma City then Kansas City, Kansas.” He reached for a different bundle. “This one is marked HC and AUT HOT. Harbor Crew to Austin, Texas, and Houston.” He handed the brick of marijuana back to the officer, who was one of several unloading and counting the bundles.
“Sheriff Humphrey, I need to talk with you,” Broday said.
They stepped around the corner, and she asked, “We’re out of earshot. What’s going on?”
“What happened to the one pound packages of coffee that obviously was in the back of the trailer and is on the bill of lading?”
“I think you know exactly where it is,” she stated in a matter-of-fact fashion.
“This time do you want to call your uncle—I mean Judge Humphrey—and get a search warrant? I think we have more than enough cause, especially since Rocky can sign the affidavit as to how Bruiser reacted when he was taking care of business behind the café earlier today?”
“Time is of the essence, because once Mr. Mitchell learns of this arrest and seizure, he’ll dispose of any drugs he has.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how much more you can take. It’s been some long, hard weeks hasn’t it?”
“That’s why I’m in law enforcement, but I praise the Good Lord every day that Deuce will possibly be able to return to the sheriff’s department.”
Avery looked up at him with an irresistible smile that sent his senses into overdrive. “I’ve already had Tonya transcribe the events of last night, just in case anything in the future surfaced between Mr. Mitchell and any of us, including Tommy. So, with your affidavit of today’s event, we should have no trouble getting that search warrant. What do you think?”
“The truth. As much as I hate to admit it, we’ll find more packages of coffee than McDonald’s could use in a year.”
Chapter 25
Eighteen months later, Avery sat at the kitchen table at Brody’s ranch, sipping tea. He had fried bacon, scrambled eggs, and pulled biscuits from the oven.
“Oh, that looks good.” Avery grabbed a piece of bacon from the serving plate Brody placed on the table.
“Tastes as good as it smelled cooking.” She wiped her lips with her napkin. “Now, you promise not to tell Mama about eating bacon. She’d be so disappointed in me.” She couldn’t help but laugh at her own comment.
Brody turned away from the stove and gave her a smile to die for. “I promise. I’ll keep your secrets as long as you keep me.” He placed biscuits on a plate. “Isn’t that the rule now?”
She smiled and nodded. “I have to say, I’ve been through trials during my career and Danny Scott’s was the most grueling one I’ve ever been through. I don’t know about you, but I’m still exhausted.”
Brody placed the biscuits on the table and took a seat across from her. “I’m like you, it was hard to see Scott up there lying through his teeth, when it would have been better if he’d just fessed up.” He buttered two biscuits as he talked. “I couldn’t believe that he was the one who snitched on Stanley, making us all believe the Harbor Crew deal had gone down the river, just to throw us off. If he hadn’t done that, likely they’d have made another run without anyone catching them. My sister was so devastated that he was involved in the drugs right under her eyes.”
“For sure. Not just the drugs for the streets but being the moneyman. Are you sure she’ll be okay?” Avery asked.
“She’s strong and I’ll be there to help her. Talking about Scott, being honest isn’t in his personality. It’s just a shame that so much money had to be wasted on two trials: the change of venue on one, so many having to testify against him, and not to mention the trials were expedited through the courts.”
She took a sip of her tea. “It was sweet-sour to see Deuce up there on the witness stand. With everything he’d gone through and then having to testify. Broke my heart, but so happy he’ll be out of his wheelchair, on his feet, and returning to the office soon.” She sat her cup down, and continued, “I was really proud of Tommy. He answered each question like a pro. I know one thing, his moving to Huntsville and going to college at Sam Houston to get a degree in law enforcement is the best thing that could have happened to him.”
Brody shot her a smile. “I’m proud of the boy. He did what he knew was right and has matured the last year or so more than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
“There’s a lot to be proud of. Mother is doing fantastic after her breast surgery. Mesa is rescuing dozens of horses—”
Brody interrupted, “Don’t forget Lola Ruth still makes apricot-peach fried pies just for me. And Vic went to work for the police department.”
They finished breakfast and sat a while talking about everything from Clara to Rocky and Bruiser.
Laying his napkin beside his plate, Brody said, “Let’s let the dishes go for a while. It’s our day off, and I want to talk to you.” Without any resistance from Avery, he got up, rounded the table, and took her hand.
Once they were comfortable on the sofa, he continued, “I can’t let this go.” He put his arm across her shoulder and tucked her to his side. “Avery. Look at me, because I’m going to say this one time only, and if you don’t respond, I’ll have my answer. Avery, as hard as I tried not to create a problem, we have a big one.”
Avery placed two fingers on his lips, stopping his words. “I know exactly what you’re going to say, but I want to say it first.” She moved her fingers and took his face in her hands. Lifting his face to hers, she kissed him, allowing her whole body to fill with wanting. A sense of urgency created an intensity within her that made her kiss him again. Deeply yet allowing the gentle, smoldering flames within her to take fire. “Brody, I love you.”
“Sheriff Humphrey, you can’t say that because if you kiss me again like you did, to hell with updating the nepotism policy. I’ll collect beer cans from the trash and sell them to make a living. I want you so badly that it hurts.”
He took her into his arms and kissed her in a way that unlocked her heart.
After pulling back and looking deep into her eyes, he said, “I didn’t think you’d ever say those three little words. I’ve been wanting to tell you, but I had to keep it deep inside because of everything that was going on with Scott’s and Stanley’s trials.” He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.
“What are we going to do?” She asked when he finished.
“I’ve thought and thought about this, and since Deuce will be back in a couple of months, I’m going to give my notice—”
“Oh, no, you aren’t about to pull your service weapon and badge out and put them on the table,” she sa
id with a light tone.
“My gun is locked up. But, with you here and Jessup maturing into a successful deputy, I think, Avery, I’ll get married, if you’ll marry me.”
“First off, from hereafter would you please call me Dannie, and of course, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him deeply, then pulled away. “But—”
“Yes is all I want to hear. We’ll...I mean, Dannie, you and I will work out the rest.” He ran his hand up and down her arm. “I figure we can live either at the ranch or in Amarillo. It’s a short drive, and I’ve already checked. I still have a place with the joint task force. The Bonita County Sheriff’s Department is the strongest it’s ever been, and with Deuce returning and you becoming the new chief deputy, we’ll be in a good place.”
Avery still was trying to let his words sink in as there was a knock on the door.
“Were you expecting someone?” He stood up, straightened his shirt, and ran his fingers through his hair.
“No.” She grabbed her teacup and went to the kitchen to fix another cup.
The booming voice of Rocky Robertson floated through the air. “Hey, I knew you all would want to see this as soon as it came in, so thought I’d drive out and give it to you.” He looked around, just as Avery stepped into the living room.
“Oh, good, you’re here.”
“And the detective in you couldn’t recognize the old beat-up county Tahoe sitting out front,” she laughed a good-hearted, teasing laugh.
“Ah, so you drive that one.” His dimples seemed even deeper than usual as he smiled at her and held out an envelope. “This is what I think you all are waiting for.”
She knew exactly what it was but tried not to act too excited. “Want some coffee?”
When Rocky nodded his head, Brody headed for the kitchen.
As quick as was humanly possible, Avery opened the envelope and took out the pages. After a cursory review, she let out a deep, crisp, and clear, “Oh my goodness!” She still wasn’t able to believe what she’d just looked over. “Did you look at this, Rocky?”
Out of a Texas Night Page 25
