Thin Gray Lines

by Mark Hazard

  “Stealing from their bosses? No honor amongst thieves?”

  “Arlo never really worked for the Tanners. He was a plant, always there on behalf of a larger interest. Baynes, too, I’d bet.”

  “Are you saying this smuggling was going on without the Tanners knowing?”

  “No-ho.” Corus chuckled. “The Tanners knew they were moving millions of dollars-worth of drugs through their onion co-op’s distribution center.”

  Bit by bit, Corus explained everything he’d learned, about the air drops, the packaging methods, the pilot who died on the farm, the worker plot to steal from the plane and then the DC storage bunker, and what he understood of the fight between Olive and her mother.

  “So this bust of the century Nelka is claiming credit for…” Jim stood up. “It’s the payload from one of these drops?”

  “I believe there were multiple drops per week, as many as twelve or fifteen a month.”

  “And all from a little Cessna?”

  “It was a larger model, but yes.”

  Jim looked in the bag and held up the data recorder in its sturdy steel box. “Then this puppy is gonna tell us the origin of those flights, the exact airfield.”

  “And if that field is in Canada?”

  “It complicates things for us. Smart on their part.” He stroked his mustache. “My god. This event didn’t just shut down a regional drug trafficker, it shut down a major flow of drugs into Asia.”

  “They’ll find another way.”

  Jim fell into his chair. “And we’ll never know.” He balled a fist on his desk. “Even if we’d taken Iris Tanner alive, she would’ve known turning on a cartel was a death sentence.”

  “I got the impression the Tanners didn’t know much about their supplier. It seemed odd until I understood Arlo’s true function.”

  Jim grunted.

  “Before Arlo left, and right after he clobbered Iris Tanner, he asked for my phone number. Said he wanted to know more about the competition who’d sent me.”

  Corus brought out his phone and set it on the desk.

  Jim stared like a hungry man looking at a burger.

  “When that phone rings, one of the biggest drug cartels in the world is going to be on the other end,” Corus said. “I’ve been asking myself what I’ll say when it does.”

  “Your instincts might need work, but they brought us to the party.” Jim looked up, bushy eyebrows rising with the wrinkles on his forehead. “It’d be rude not to dance with them.”

  “My instincts say go straight at them.”

  “Is that how you got Joller?”

  Corus’ breath caught in his throat.

  “You said there were three bulls in the ring with you. Jorge, Arlo. He was the third?”

  “I didn’t think you wanted to know.”

  Jim didn’t look away.

  “The straight approach was a death sentence, sir. I took a bit of an angle.”

  “You’re very honest for a walking enigma.”

  “But there’s a reason you’re not drinking margaritas right now.”

  “Am I crazy to have trepidation about you?”

  “No, sir. You’re the sanest man I’ve ever met.”

  “Some compliment.”

  “It’s why I trust you to guide me and challenge me. I’m learning that people see in me what they want to see. People see themselves. But at least you sense that it’s happening.”

  “You need me?” He waved at the files on his desk. “My retirement date can’t be too far off. Five, ten years max. Maybe it’s egocentric, but I don’t think they’re gonna stem the tide without me. I just don’t.” He wiped a hand over his face. “You gonna make it four years before I can bring you into CID?”

  “I can’t say for certain.”

  “Don’t lie to me but give me better than that.”

  “It’s my fervent hope?” Corus thought a while, chewing on a lip. “It’s this business with Arlo and his cartel, sir.” Corus brightened, perking up in his seat. “Ask me again in a month. If I’m still alive, I’ll give you a better answer.”

  Jim pressed his face into his palms and let out a long sigh.

  The End…

  Thank you for reading Thin Gray Lines, I really hope you enjoyed it. The third book in the Deputy Corus series, Line of Sin, is forthcoming in July 2019. For now, I’d point you to the original Detective Corus series where you will see Corus in action years later, after ascending to the role of Chief Detective. Those novels are more of a straight up detective mystery, but full of elements unique to Corus and his world. You can find Corus and the Case of the Chaos here.