Buried Secrets

by Carol Ericson

  Sam patted the flash drive in his pocket. “We don’t know who we can trust right now. I don’t want this getting lost or deleted or corrupted. You saw what happened to Tucker in custody where he was supposed to be safe.”

  “I’m glad we didn’t see my cousin Wade in any of that drone footage, but do you think he could be involved?” Jolene dropped her arms from Sam and rubbed the goose bumps that had risen on them.

  “Do I think he knew that land was a dumping ground for dead drug couriers? No, but he knew those people wanted access to the land prior to the casino going up—and he gave it to them in exchange for money and support.”

  “Sounds like something Wade would do.” She smoothed the skirt of her glittery white dress over her thighs. “When Rob Valdez’s girlfriend, Libby, ID’d Ted Jessup in Rocky Point as El Gringo Viejo, did she mention a wife or a girlfriend? Where did this Karen Fisher come from?”

  Sam shrugged, the tuxedo jacket tightening across his broad shoulders. “I don’t know, but she and Jessup sure seemed cozy in the videos, didn’t they? She’s obviously the face of the financial empire EGV has built up with drug money. Jessup made sure to stay away from the public eye.”

  “We could just turn this information over to the cartels, and they’d handle it in their own way. They don’t look too kindly on double-crossers.”

  “There’s been enough bloodshed over Pink Lady, and if we can get Karen in custody, she’ll most likely sing like a bird and the DEA and FBI can shut down the production of Pink Lady for good.” Sam spun around from the mirror. “Does this look okay? The rental shop didn’t have time to do any tailoring.”

  She trailed her fingers down his lapels. “A little tight across the shoulders, but that just makes you look even more buff.”

  “Okay, because that’s the look I’m going for.” He rolled his eyes. “You, on the other hand, look like a shimmery white cloud of perfection. Actually, you look like one of those princesses Jess always wants me to read about. Wait until I tell her I know a real princess.”

  “When she meets this princess, she’s going to be extremely disappointed.” Jolene caught her breath as Sam grabbed her hand.

  “Does this mean you want to meet her?”

  Jolene nodded, afraid to speak around the lump in her throat, afraid to ruin her carefully applied makeup with tears.

  “Let’s get through this, first.” Sam pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. “Let’s go.”

  As they drove to Tucson for the casino gala, Sam drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, running through their plan. “Are you sure the AV guy you know at the hotel is working this gig?”

  “He said he was, and if not, he’ll give his replacement a heads-up.”

  “He’s not worried about losing his job?”

  She jabbed Sam in the side. “If everything unfolds as planned, he’s going to be the hero of the evening. He won’t have to worry about his job.”

  “I’ve put all the other agents who are going to be there on notice.” Sam ran the tips of his fingers across his clean-shaven jaw. “Even Nash.”

  “How’d he react?”

  “Nothing surprises Nash. He’ll do his job.”

  When they got to Tucson, they had to drive several more miles into the foothills to the Hacienda del Sol. Sam left the car with a valet.

  As they walked into the resort, Jolene pressed her hand against her stomach where the butterflies were flapping their wings furiously. They followed the signs to the ballroom, and when they entered, Sam slipped his hand into his pocket, withdrew the thumb drive and pressed it into her hand.

  They’d edited together the most pertinent pieces of the videos—the digging, the relocating of tarps into the side of the ridge along the border and the people behind it all. Thank God, she’d never seen her father on the videos—too recent for him—but she was almost sure now that Dad had discovered that tunnel or those bodies and had paid the price for his knowledge—just like Melody, Tucker, Contreras.

  Did Wade know the people he’d been dealing with had murdered his uncle, the man he revered and emulated? He must have guessed.

  Jolene spotted the AV setup at the back of the room. Lucky for her and Sam, the gala tonight was supposed to feature a presentation on the Yaqui tribe and their land in the desert, straddling the US and Mexico. The video would still feature that land—just not in the way the backers imagined.

  She squeezed Sam’s bicep through his jacket. “My guy’s here.”

  As she started across the room with purpose, Wade touched her shoulder. “Looking beautiful, cuz. I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “Oh, I’ve come around. I see the light now.” She nestled her hand with the thumb drive in the folds of her dress.

  Wade’s dark eyes glowed. “Glad to hear it because I just got word on those bones that mysteriously appeared at the construction site.”

  Jolene blinked. “Oh?”

  “Just some dried out bones from an archaeology site, not even from Arizona. Funny, huh? But that means, I’ll be announcing tonight that the project is proceeding as planned.”

  “That’s great.” She spread her red lips into a smile. “It just may not be proceeding with everyone on board.”

  She twirled away from him and snatched a champagne flute from a passing tray. Gran wouldn’t be here tonight, not her thing, but other tribe members stood in clusters around the room and Jolene headed for one of those groups.

  She could feel Wade’s eyes drilling into her back and didn’t want him to see her talking to the AV guy. As she chatted with family members, she glanced at Wade from the corner of her eye hobnobbing with the mayor and his cronies.

  Making her move, she swept up her skirt with one hand and sauntered toward the back of the room. “Derek?”

  The man behind several computers looked up. “You’re Jolene?”

  “Yeah, just like we discussed.” She slipped him the flash drive and five hundred bucks.

  “Is anyone going to come for me once they realize the approved programming is going to be replaced by this?” He held up the flash drive.

  “They’ll be occupied with other things.”

  As she turned, Derek stopped her. “Hang on. I’m going to put this video on my hard drive and give the flash drive back to you. That way, if someone does come back here and tries to stop the video by removing it, you’ll have your original.”

  “You’re worth every last penny. I do have another copy at home, but that’s a great idea.”

  “I’m doing it for our mutual friend, not really the money. I owe her.” He clicked and dragged and clicked again, and then handed the flash drive back to her. “Done deal.”

  Jolene slipped the drive into her white beaded evening bag and downed her champagne. No turning back now.

  She found Sam just as the lights began to dim, and soft music started to play. Slipping her arm through his, she whispered, “It’s all set.”

  Sam nodded toward Nash, spiffy in a custom-tailored tux, sticking close to Karen Fisher’s side.

  Karen sported a silver sheath, her salt-and-pepper hair braided over one shoulder. She didn’t look the part of a murderous drug dealer.

  As the hors d’oeuvres circulated and the champagne flowed, the speeches began. Wade announced to a delighted crowd that the bones found at the ground-breaking ceremony were planted and not native to the land.

  Sam bumped her shoulder and she replied, “Oh, yeah. Forgot to tell you that.”

  Wade continued, “The Desert Sun Casino is going to provide jobs and boost the economy, just like the pecan-processing plant did. As proud Yaqui, we will be good stewards of the land and property. Now, to thank the tribe, we put together a video of our heritage and culture to share with you tonight.”

  Sam put his lips close to her ear. “That’s our cue.”

  They split up,
Sam ducking out of the ballroom to reenter near the stage—and near Karen Fisher. Jolene crept along the back wall, returning to the AV center. As Derek handed her a mic, she slipped behind a green curtain.

  She watched through a slit in the curtain as Derek clicked on the drone video. She licked her lips and flicked on the mic as the video displayed on screens around the ballroom.

  The crowd oohed and aahed at the majestic aerial shot of the desert landscape in all its glory. As the pink-and-orange streaks of a desert sunset faded from the screen, replaced by footage of the ridge along the border, Jolene began to speak.

  “The Desert Sun Casino may come to fruition one day, but that land was used for something else before this project—something sinister. Buried in the sand are secrets, evidence of Yaqui land being used to move drugs and murder the mules in the know.”

  Shouts went up. Demands to hit the lights and stop the video echoed over the hushed silence of the ballroom. Jolene continued her narrative. When the video displayed Ted Jessup with Karen Fisher directing the relocation of people’s remains to the border area, the room erupted.

  Jolene took a deep breath, ready to identify the people on the screen, but before she could, shots rang out. People screamed and there was a stampede for the doors.

  Jolene dropped behind the curtain, reaching out and tugging on Derek’s pant leg. “Get down.”

  She squeezed her eyes closed and silently prayed that Sam hadn’t been hit by any of those bullets. Seconds later, bright lights flooded the ballroom, and Jolene blinked as strong arms lifted her from the floor.

  Sam folded her against his chest. “You’re all right?”

  She peered around his large frame at the stage. One man was down, and Karen Fisher, blood on her sleek dress, had her hands behind her back and Nash was cuffing her.

  Jolene swayed as she grabbed on to Sam’s arm. “We did it. Who’s the guy on the ground?”

  “Karen’s security. When she saw her face on that video, her guy tried to hustle her out of the room. Nash stopped him, and the man pulled a gun. The three of us were on him before he even had a chance to aim, so his bullets went into the ceiling and Clay shot him. He’s not dead, but Karen Fisher and Ted Jessup are finished.”

  Jolene rested her forehead against his shoulder. “How’d I do?”

  “You killed it.”

  “And Wade?”

  He stroked her hair. “He looked shocked. He may have to answer for some questionable business practices, but I don’t think he knew how they’d been using that land and why they were so anxious to have a hand in its development.”

  “I’m glad. I am.” She disentangled herself from his arms and tipped back her head to look into his face. “And I got justice for my father and all the others. That casino, if it goes up, won’t be built on lies and secrets.”

  Sam cupped her face with one hand. “Nothing worth having should be built on lies and secrets.”

  Epilogue

  “How much longer until you move back to Arizona, Sam?” Nash looked up from flipping burgers on the grill.

  Sam dragged his attention away from Jolene sitting on the steps of Nash’s pool with Jess on her lap. “Rob’s gotta be processed out first. Hey, Rob, when are you leaving Paradiso, already?”

  Rob Valdez, the youngest agent who’d barely been on the job two years answered without looking up from rubbing suntan lotion on his girlfriend Libby’s back. “My transfer to LA should have final approval in a few months. Anxious to get rid of me?”

  “Anxious to get back to Paradiso. You’re going to be a different kind of busy out there in LA, but that’s probably what your career needs right now.”

  “Yeah, most of my family is in LA, and I’d like to be closer to them.”

  Libby rolled over and sat up. “Thanks to you and Jolene, I don’t have to worry about Ted Jessup coming after me for IDing him anymore, so we’re free to go wherever.”

  Nash’s fiancée, Emily, sauntered onto the patio from the house, balancing their son, Wyatt, on her hip. “I wish I’d been at that gala. The look on Karen’s face must’ve been priceless when she saw her mug on that screen. I never liked her, anyway.”

  Emily took a seat next to Jolene in the pool, and Jess started pinching the baby’s toes and squealing.

  Clay and his wife, April, jogged across the lawn with their dog, Denali, and Chip at their heels.

  April pushed a lock of blond hair from her face. “Are we talking about EGV again? I’d rather forget him. He killed my father and was responsible for the deaths of Libby’s mother and Jolene’s father. He was a one-man wrecking crew.”

  Clay told the dogs to Stay and grabbed a beer from Nash’s outdoor mini-fridge. “His gal pal Karen sure turned on him fast once the FBI had her in custody.”

  “I wish I’d been there when they busted down his door.” April huffed out a breath and reached for a bottle of water. “Hey, Sam, you want some water?”

  He held up a hand and she tossed him a bottle.

  Libby sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. “The casino project is going forward, isn’t it, Jolene?”

  “It is. My cousin was able to provide some evidence about the financials that helped the DEA, so they’re going easy on him. I think he lost the confidence of the tribe, though. They’re looking for some new leadership.”

  “How about you, Jolene?” Nash raised a plate of burgers. “Food’s on.”

  “Yeah, how about you?” Dropping his bottle by the side of the pool, Sam slipped into the water and paddled over to Jess. “The tribe trusted your father, and they’ll trust you, especially after you took care of business at the gala.”

  She made a face. “Not for me.”

  The others vacated the pool to swarm the food Nash and Emily had set out.

  Sam ducked his head under the water and popped up in front of Jess, who squealed and giggled. Sam blew bubbles in the water. “She likes you.”

  “The feeling is mutual.” She tucked a wet lock of Jess’s hair behind her ear. “Her mom is okay with your move and the custody arrangement?”

  “She’s thrilled, Grandma not so much.”

  “Gamma. Gamma.”

  Emily traipsed back to the pool, holding out her arms. “Do you want me to get this little one some food?”

  “Thanks.” Sam scooped up Jess and handed her over to Emily.

  As Denali trotted behind them to the table, Jess kicked her legs and yelled, “Chip, Chip.”

  Jolene laughed. “We’re going to have to teach her that not all dogs are named Chip.”

  “We.” Sam pulled up next to her on the step and curled an arm around her waist. “I like the sound of that.”

  She hung her arms around his neck. “You’re sure you want to return to Paradiso? Never mind Rob, California could be better for your career.”

  “I love Paradiso. I love the shifting moods of the desert. I love the pulsating heat and the violent monsoons. But most of all, I love the woman who took me back, the woman who taught me to love this mysterious land like I hope she’ll teach my daughter.”

  She grabbed his face with both of her hands and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. “Lessons start tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Look for more books from award-winning author Carol Ericson later in 2020.

  And don’t miss the previous books in

  Carol Ericson’s Holding the Line miniseries:

  Evasive Action

  Chain of Custody

  Unraveling Jane Doe

  Available now wherever

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from Last Stand Sheriff by Tyler Anne Snell.

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  Last Stand Sheriff

  by Tyler Anne Snell

  Chapter One

  Declan Nash wasn’t having the greatest of days.

  Not only was it raining cats and dogs and elephants, his trusty old pickup had decided not to be so trusty.

  “Come on, Fiona.” He rubbed the dash trying to coo the truck into stopping her lurching and ominous rattling sound. Fiona the Ford wasn’t impressed. Declan admitted defeat by taking the upcoming exit. There was a gas station at the corner of the short road. He pulled in, sighing. “After everything we’ve been through, you decide to pitch a fit now and here of all places?”

  The city of Kilwin, Tennessee, was an hour out from where he had been on the highway. Which meant his hometown of Overlook was an hour and twenty minutes out of reach.

  Not that he was reaching for it.

  He might have been the sheriff of Wildman County but, as of that morning, he was just a man on vacation.

  Or, at least, he was trying to be.

  Declan sighed into the empty cab again. His dark blue Stetson, one he only wore on his off days—which meant he hardly ever wore it—sat on the passenger seat mocking him.

  “You’re about to become an umbrella,” he told it.

  The rain was having a great old time drenching Declan to the bone after he got out and propped up his hood. He hadn’t parked under the gas station awning, worried about his truck catching fire and making a bad situation way worse. That decision got him wet but was reassuring as steam billowed up, angry, at him from next to the engine. There was also an overpowering oil smell.

  Declan jogged back to the cab and grabbed his phone.

  Just in time for the interior lights to blink out.

  His battery had died.