by Aimée Thurlo
“Let’s place the mother of all orders, heavy on the Mexican turquoise, and try to deplete their inventory right now. It’ll take most of our capital, but if their greed exceeds their caution, we’ll be able to pull it off,” Lee said, handing her a package of coffee grounds from a box on a small shelf.
“That means we’ll have to start staking out Frank’s Automotive on a twenty-four-hour basis once they get the order. But what if the skinwalkers who handle this end of the business aren’t the ones who smuggle the goods in from Mexico?” she asked.
“We’ll cover all the bases just in case. Marie or whoever leads the pack will still have to contact whoever she’s dealing with in Mexico. Whether that’s done by telephone, or, more likely, in person, someone will have to place the order. But my guess is the smugglers and the dealers are one and the same. I’ve never seen a pack of skinwalkers with more than a half-dozen people. Unlike real wolf packs, which may have as many as fifteen or sixteen animals, skinwalker packs that large are really too conspicuous. And except for an occasional outsider like Angela, they rarely take in someone from another pack. They’re too territorial to cooperate with other skinwalkers. Experience tells me that we’ve seen all but one or two of the Silver Eagles,” Lee answered.
“Okay, assuming you’re right, we have Marie, Raymus, Stump, Angela, Long-hair, and the other two couriers we saw leave Frank’s Automotive the other day. That would total seven now, with at least one of them a newbie—Angela. Sound about right?”
“Considering the fact that this pack is more or less urban, yes. They may or may not live in the same house, but they will live close to each other. Never in apartment complexes, though; too many strangers who might get curious.”
“You’ve certainly done your homework on these creatures, haven’t you?”
Lee nodded. “But I’m still learning. I just hope I haven’t missed a detail that’ll turn out to be my death sentence.”
“From your lips to God’s ears. Now why don’t you refresh your Buckscent in case one of them just happens to drop by. Then we can eat breakfast. Afterward, I’ll call my boss and arrange for the monitoring to begin on the Silver Eagle telephone/Agreed?”
Lee nodded. “And I’ll get the order ready for them. You double-check it, then well wait for the pickup.”
CHAPTER 12
he barrel-chested Navajo man in his mid-twenties who came to pick up their order after lunch wasn’t one they’d met, but both recognized him as one of the men they’d seen leaving Frank’s Automotive with a cardboard box.
“Yáat’ééh, friend,” Lee nodded. “How may we help you?”
The man didn’t speak for a moment. Instead, he stood there checking out their layout and security. “No cameras?” the man asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at Lee, then Diane.
Diane shrugged. “We prefer guns.”
Lee wordlessly placed his pistol down on the counter, his hand over it.
The Navajo man held his hands out, palms up. “Hey, it’s cool. I’m just here to pick up your order.”
Diane reached under the counter, brought out an envelope with their letterhead on it, and handed it to him.
“That’s more like it.” The man took the purchase order out of the business envelope, looked at it quickly, then smiled.
He placed the empty envelope in front of Diane, wrote a number on it with a felt-tip marker, then slid it slowly across to her. Their order went into his shirt pocket along with the marker. “This is all the paperwork we need. Don’t worry, I’ll remember this came from you two. Just have the cash ready when I make the delivery.”
“When will that be?” Lee almost smiled. Finally it looked like they were about to get some real physical evidence on this investigation.
He shrugged. “Usually afternoon the next day, but this is a big list. I don’t know if we have it all, so it might take two or three days. But have the money ready tomorrow anyway, just in case I’m wrong about that.”
“Is that it?” Diane asked.
“Yeah. Call the number on the envelope before noon from now on when you need something. You kept a copy of our list, right?”
Diane nodded.
“Good. Keep it handy. We can sometimes get items that aren’t on the list, but that usually takes longer.” With a nod, he opened the door and left.
Lee looked at the telephone number on the envelope as he placed his pistol back into its holster. “No surprise there. That’s the Frank’s Automotive’s number—the unlisted one we took from Tsosie’s cell phone. The person monitoring the calls back at the Bureau will be able to speak Navajo, right?”
“Yeah, I requested that. The secretary in accounting is Navajo so she’ll be called in to translate. We’ll also get an E-mail with the text of every conversation. They’ll be transcribed immediately. If anything comes through that the tech thinks is urgent, we’ll get a call. Of course, tapes are being made and we’ll get updates burned onto CDs once a day,” Diane added. “We can pick it up on a PDA if we’re in our vehicles, or get the text read over a tactical frequency on radio.”
Lee shook his head slowly. “I remember wiretaps, listening in on party lines, black boxes, and lipreading. Eavesdropping has come a long ways in a short time.”
“Speaking of short time, I’d better get going. If I see anything other than what look like normal deliveries, I’ll call. You can take over for the night shift for obvious reasons.” Diane grabbed her jacket.
“Be careful. Let me know if anything seems out of kilter or you think you’ve been made. Got a disguise, right?” Lee walked with her toward the door.
“Trust me. Just watch out for that Elka woman, and remember she may not be working alone.” Diane unlocked the back door, looked around briefly, then left.
Lee walked over to lock the door and watched through the peephole until she drove away. Alone, he went back to check the laptop computer. Nothing had come in from the Bureau tech.
Elka was sitting in her car in the parking lot of the Anasazi Inn, watching Rogers’s door while pretending to study a map of Santa Fe National Forest. Suddenly a large white Chevrolet Suburban pulled into the parking space beside his vehicle. Two security types with sidearms and matching blue jackets jumped out of the front at the same time two more exited from the backseat.
The curtain of his room parted slightly. Elka crouched down low, counting on the overcast skies to further block her from view. Two of the new arrivals, probably FBI or maybe even Secret Service, turned to keep watch while the other two, one of them an older-looking man, probably their leader, knocked on Rogers’s door. All of a sudden security around the ex-CIA man was being beefed up and Elka had a good idea why. The FBI or Homeland Security had picked up on her flight from Dallas to New Mexico and the CIA had made the connection between her and Paul Rogers.
It had been a calculated risk, but she simply hadn’t had enough time or resources to come up with another identity. Jochen had been their forger. It was getting harder all the time to sneak in and out of a country, not like the good old days. The world had changed a lot since 1878.
Patience was a virtue and one false move now could gain too much attention. She’d checked out right before breakfast and was now disguised as a much older, tired brunette with a deep tan and thirty extra pounds, all in the wrong places. Her car, which she’d stolen late last night, had different plates.
She waited a full five minutes, then started her engine and drove slowly out of the parking lot. One of the guards outside Rogers’s room gave her a brief glance, then turned his attention elsewhere.
Never complacent, Elka usually changed her look every time she switched locations and was grateful that the habit had protected her now. The FBI wouldn’t be looking for a woman fitting her current description.
In a few hours she’d be in Albuquerque again. Still on their communications blackout, she wouldn’t check her E-mail or meet with Bridget until tomorrow if the situation was still secure. Hopefully, by then, news of S
tate Policeman Leo Hawk’s death would be in the newspapers and on television, and they could get on with planning the next really big task.
T here was a light tapping at the alley door and Lee walked over to investigate. It could be a street person, one of the other business tenants, or someone planning on killing him the moment the door opened. The steel door itself would slow down or stop anything smaller than a high-powered rifle projectile, but he’d learned to expect the unexpected.
There was a video camera aimed at the rear entrance as well as the front, and he changed the channel on the monitor to pick up the feed. They really should have had two monitors, but they’d run out of resources and time.
A young woman stood there, wearing a long, lightweight, dark-colored jacket and a scarf over her head. Her face was turned away from the camera, probably intentionally.
He brought out his Beretta, and, moving quietly, looked through the peephole. Now he could see her face—it was Angela.
The lens on the peephole had good viewing characteristics and he could see that no one else was within fifty feet. He sprayed some of the Buckscent onto his clothes, a new supply that had arrived just an hour ago via FedEx, then opened the door a foot, not stepping out but letting her see him and his pistol. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m risking my life coming here, so I don’t have long. I’m alone and I wasn’t followed, so come outside, away from the cameras, and talk to me a moment. The Chicano cop or whatever she is can watch your business.”
It would probably be more dangerous not to talk to her, and he wasn’t about to explain to her that their only inside camera monitored the walk-in safe. “I’m stepping out back a few minutes,” he called to the empty shop. He didn’t want her to know that Diane wasn’t there.
Lee slipped on his cap and sunglasses and stepped outside into the bright light, hoping his sunscreen hadn’t worn off his hands. His pistol went into the holster, but was within a second’s reach.
“Let’s get out of sight, Lee Nelson, or whatever your name really is.” Angela looked up at him with her big brown eyes, showing more human fear than animal predator at the moment.
He pointed to the small recess where one slightly smaller building joined the next. There was a patch of shade that would protect him from direct light. The downside was that it would be impossible for him to see all the way to the end of the alley.
Angela grabbed him by the hand and pulled him with her into the shade. She wore a subtle perfume that reminded him of roses, and her lips were red and full. Standing this close to her, he found it difficult to remember how dangerous she was.
“You smell differently than before, but I know you. I remember your strength and your power. That night, before you let me escape, I was dizzy with the need to taste you. Your blood is … special. What kind of man are you?” Angela’s husky voice trembled slightly.
“You know I’m a police officer. Why have you kept that from your new friends? Or have you?” Lee wasn’t going to give out any information about his true nature. If she knew that he was, in fact, a vampire, she might know he could heal himself and had the potential to live a very long time.
“I don’t owe them any loyalty. To them, I’m still a stray. I don’t really trust them, and they don’t trust me either.” Angela reached out and held his arm, snuggling closer and pressing her thigh against his. “I don’t want to share you with anyone else.”
“You won’t have to unless you betray me to the others.” Lee smiled and put his arm around her waist. “But I’m going to have to bring them to justice, you know that. Can I count on your help?”
“Only if I get what I want in return.” She reached over and tickled him on his left side. He noted that she had the common sense not to touch him on the right, where his pistol was kept.
“Were you there when they killed the two cops?” Lee stepped back slightly, putting some space between them.
“No, they don’t trust me with weapons yet,” she said, keeping her hand on his forearm. “I’d only been with this pack a few days when that happened. They put me in the back room of the shop that night, getting orders ready for the customers. Jacob was with me. The others, including Marie, shot the Navajo cop, and the state policeman too. When they came back they bragged about which of them actually fired the shot that killed them. Even Marie,” Angela whispered. She poked her head out and looked down the alley. “I’m making Jacob’s deliveries now that he’s gone. What really happened to him?”
“I made a deal with him and he told me how to hook up with Silver Eagle. I don’t know where he is now,” Lee said. Even if she could have seen through his sunglasses, he knew his lies wouldn’t show in the size of his pupils. They hadn’t for decades now.
She looked at him carefully and he wondered what she was thinking. Then she looked back down the alley again anxiously. “I’ve really got to go.”
“Not yet.” He took her hand. “How is the stuff brought in from Mexico?”
She smiled. “First promise me I’ll get what I want from you.” Angela reached up and teased his throat with her ruby red fingernails.
He honestly didn’t know if she wanted to rip out his throat or jump his bones. Angela could tease better than any woman he’d ever met. “You tempt me, but I’ll have to think about this. The one thing I can promise you is that I won’t do anything to hurt you when the time comes—unless you harm the woman with me. Now, about the smuggling?” He took her hand and held it against his chest so she could feel his heart beating.
The gesture softened her eyes. “They travel as wolves from a house near the border and carry their clothes and the money in special packs. They’re able to cross the fences at night, unseen, in that form. They travel very swiftly, but change back once they cross to Mexico so their suppliers won’t know what they really are. Once they’re alone again they change back to wolves and return. One night for the trip south, the next night back again. That’s all I know.”
“You’ve never gone with them?”
“Not yet. Stump told me how it goes down because I’m going to take Jacob’s place next time.” Angela pushed away from him gently and he let her go. “I have to leave now. If I can, I’ll be back tomorrow or the next day.”
“Let me know when they’re planning to leave for Mexico,” he said.
“How?”
“Do you ever answer the telephone there? In the room in the back?”
“Yes. I take the orders from the silversmiths now. Marie says they order more from a woman with a sexy voice.” She held his gaze, a slow smile playing on her lips. “Does it work for you?” she asked, letting her gaze drift downward to his groin.
“See for yourself,” he answered, feeling his body tighten. “Do you get orders every day?” he pressed, making sure they stayed on track.
She nodded. “Usually, but only in the mornings. The afternoon is for deliveries. We do a lot of business.”
“You’re going to get a lot of that from us. Diane or I will call every day to make some last-minute change in our order, or the next one coming up. Once you know when they plan to make a run, comment on the sexy voice of the caller—whichever one of us happens to be on the phone that day. Got that?”
“Yes. I’m going now.” Angela turned and walked down the alley.
“Where do you live?” he called out softly.
“Next time,” she said, looking back for a second but not breaking her quick stride. Angela turned the corner and was gone.
Lee sighed, then turned around and hurried back inside, locking the door behind him. The front door was set up with buzzer and automatic lock, so he didn’t have to worry that someone had entered unannounced. A quick look on the laptop showed there still hadn’t been any phone traffic at Silver Eagle. It was afternoon, however, and he didn’t expect anything.
His cell phone started to vibrate and he flipped it open. “Hello.”
“It’s me,” Diane said. “There was an extra delivery person who went out today.
A good-looking young woman that matched the drawing you made. Angela, right?”
“Yes. She came by here.”
There was a long pause. “Why?”
“She wanted me to know why she was keeping quiet about who we really are. It’s just as we discussed. She wants me for herself—in just about every way imaginable.”
There was another long silence. “I can imagine a lot, Lee. Did you make some kind of deal with her?”
“Not in so many words. She says she has no loyalty to the others, and gave me some information we can use. I think Angela’s attraction to whatever she imagines I am is stronger than her allegiance to the new pack. She thinks she has a chance to get something from me and doesn’t want to share. That’ll keep her from working against us—for a while anyway.”
“What did you promise her so far?” Diane asked.
“Not much, really. Just that I wouldn’t harm her unless she turned against you or me.”
“Is she starting to get to you?”
Lee wasn’t sure, but he knew he had to say something positive to keep Diane from worrying. “I’ve handled her so far, but well never be able to trust Angela. Be careful.”
It was dark when Lee arrived on foot carrying a bag of fast food. After circling the block, he’d approached from behind and slipped into the passenger seat of Diane’s car.
“What’s the situation?” he asked as he brought out a fresh cup of coffee for her and placed a bag between them on the seat. “I brought you dinner.”
“Thanks.” Diane took the cup, looking him up and down carefully.
“What? Angela didn’t bite me or anything. Not even a hickey.”
“Very funny. Now, about the situation—the mechanics are closing up the shop, and there has been no sign of any other activity.” Diane sipped the coffee.
“Okay. Here’s what I’ve got. There haven’t been any calls at all on the phone being monitored. Based upon what we’ve been told about them taking orders during the morning, that would figure,” Lee said. “Now, here’s what else I learned from Angela.” He gave her the relevant details about the smuggling operation.
