by Tom Fowler
“I’m surprised is all.”
“Guess we both scheduled something for the same day.” He slid onto the bench across from her.
“And time?” she asked.
He spread his hands and plastered an insincere grin on his face. “A happy coincidence, huh?”
“Sure,” she said to placate him. Lexi’s dad taught her about coincidences, especially as they concerned her mother. It explained a lot of the things she saw and dealt with as a girl. Uncle George walking into the room today was no happy accident. He and her mother planned it—probably this morning because Lexi made the visitation appointment late last night. She thought she’d feel a little vindication at coming here so soon after her dad ordered her out of the house, but now this whole thing reeked of a setup.
Before she could leave, a guard led her mother into the room. Despite the unease she felt, Lexi grew up with Rachel and hadn’t seen her in well over a year. She stood and gave her mom a hug. A nearby officer cleared his throat, and Lexi took her seat again. Her mother looked a little older, and her blonde hair lost some of its luster under prison living. She was still pretty, though, and she’d maintained a healthy weight during her time inside. “It’s so good to see you, Lexi.” Her mother sat next to her brother. Being across from both of them felt a little like an interrogation.
“You, too, Mom.” She smiled and hoped it looked legit.
“I was surprised you came so quickly.”
“Had an opening in the schedule,” Lexi said with a shrug. “It’s a light class day for me.” She was missing English and political science to be here, neither of which constituted any great loss. Her poli sci prof might be grouchy about it, but she maintained a solid A, and he’d just have to get over it.
“Well, it’s certainly good to see you. Tell me all about your schooling. How was graduation?”
They chatted about the final year of high school and the first semester of college for a few minutes. Uncle George sat and listened in silence, offering up one of his patented grins whenever the situation called for it. Lexi really didn’t like him being here. She’d never been close to him growing up, and as she matured, she realized he brought out the worst in her mother. He always had another plan, another scheme. What could he be after today?
“Did you hear me?” her mom wanted to know.
“What? Sorry, no.”
“I asked how your father’s doing.”
“He’s good,” Lexi said. “He enjoyed retirement for all of a few weeks before finding his mechanic job, but he’s happy with it.” She left out the incident with his former commander a few months ago and all the cartel stuff from the present.
“I’m glad he could step up and take you in,” Rachel said. Lexi’s eyes narrowed at the implicit dig, but she didn’t say anything. “Are you going to live with him while you’re in college?”
“Might as well. Even when I go on campus, it’ll save me the housing expense.”
“A smart girl like you didn’t get a scholarship?” Uncle George asked.
“Partial,” Lexi said. “It covers a nice chunk of the tuition, but I’d be out of pocket for housing.”
“I’m sure your father could pay for it,” Rachel said. “He’s working a job now . . . plus, he has his retirement. If you want to live somewhere with your friends, I think you should do it.”
Lexi shrugged. “I really haven’t made any friends yet. Maybe when classes aren’t over Zoom, it’ll be easier.”
“Don’t let your dad be a cheapskate,” Uncle George added.
“He’s not.”
“I’m just trying to look out for you.” Her mother smiled, and it even looked sincere. “It’s hard to do from in here.”
You might as well get used to it, Lexi thought. Rather than hurl a barb, she said, “I know, Mom.”
They talked a few minutes more before Lexi told them she needed to get back to class. “Thanks for coming today,” Rachel said. They embraced again, and even with the weirdness of her uncle being here, Lexi missed hugging her mother. “I hope you’ll see me again soon.”
“I’ll try,” Lexi said. She left the room, and her uncle walked with her. She figured he would, but she didn’t want his company. They signed out together and emerged from the depressing building into the sunlight.
“I’m glad you could make it today,” he said. “It’s the happiest I’ve seen your mom in a while.”
Lexi wondered what their game was, but putting the question to her uncle directly wouldn’t get her anywhere. It was better she kept her suspicions to herself for now. “Good. She looked happy. Probably not many opportunities in here.”
“You got that right.” He would know, having been behind bars a couple times, himself. Lexi didn’t want him to see her get into her car and drive away. She stopped at a nondescript Toyota Corolla. “This is me.”
“Good to see you, kid.” He gave her another side hug, and she didn’t even bother with the back pat this time. Lexi pretended to look for her keys in her purse while her uncle walked farther into the lot. He got into a battered Volkswagen GTI and left without a wave. She watched his taillights move toward the exit before she got into her car.
Héctor hated waiting on the phone. It made him feel he wasn’t being taken seriously. Finally, Tomás Quintero came back on the line. “I want some good news.”
“So do I,” said Héctor. “It’s in short supply right now.”
Silence served as the response. Héctor wondered if Tomás put the phone down again. After a moment, the lawyer said, “Are you still having problems?”
“We’ve run into a capable adversary. It’s nothing we can’t handle, but I’m going to need some more men.”
“We sent you more men.”
“I know.” Héctor sighed. “This man was a soldier. Special forces. I . . . think the crew underestimated him even though I specifically told them not to. I sent six men to deal with him, and only one came back alive.” Tomás lacked a way to verify any of this. Héctor’s crew would be loyal to him. Might as well blame Videl’s death on the meddlesome American, too.
“You insisted you could handle this expansion north,” Tomás said. “We warned you it was a thousand miles from any support. Did we place too much trust in you?”
“No. This is just a snag. If we kill this one guy, we’re in great shape. The rest of the operation is humming along.”
“Minus a handful of men.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Héctor said. “You know we’ve been holding up our end. The product is moving. We’re taking care of the money. Does the boss have any complaints?”
“Only about his women,” Tomás said with a chuckle.
“I wish my troubles were so simple.”
“Look, Héctor, we can’t keep sending you more soldiers. We need to be ready for a war here in Mexico. You remember how it is . . . at least, I hope you do.”
“Of course,” Héctor said.
“I wish I could be certain. Perhaps your time in America has made you soft.”
“What are you telling me?” Héctor asked. He tried to ignore the barb, clenching and unclenching his fists as he paced the room. There were always problems with rival groups in Mexico. Tomás needed to come through. Moving an operation so far north turned out well for the cartel. The lawyer thought as much, and he had Bernardo’s ear.
“We’ll send you a few men with your next shipment,” Tomás said. “This is it, though. No more.”
“I hear you.”
“I want to be sure you do, Héctor. You solve this problem, or it’s over for you. Bernardo’s becoming less keen on this idea of yours. You’d better handle your business soon.”
Héctor understood. Failure meant death in the cartel’s world. He could accept it. He wouldn’t fail. “We’ll take care of it,” he said. “Consider the American dead.”
19
At her grandfather’s condo, Lexi found it difficult to focus on her work. She watched a recording of a lecture she’d missed due to h
er morning trek to the prison. It was just as dull when viewed later—if not worse. She scrolled through social media while her professor yammered on. Nothing interested her. She merely needed the distraction. When the video ended, Lexi removed her headphones and walked into the kitchen.
She hailed from a long line of coffee drinkers, so it was never the wrong time to brew more. Zeke joined her when the half-pot finished. She poured both of them a cup. The old man took his black. Lexi added milk to hers. “How was your morning errand?” her grandfather asked.
“Fine.” Lexi replaced the milk in the fridge.
“You gonna tell me where you really went?”
“What do you mean?”
Zeke took a seat at the nearby table and invited Lexi to do the same. She did. “Look, I like having you here. It’d be nice if your father talked to me about it first . . . but whatever. I might be an old coot, but don’t presume I’m an idiot.”
“I wouldn’t,” Lexi said.
“Good. Now . . . where’d you really go?”
“How do you know I didn’t drive to school?”
“No reason for you to,” Zeke said. “Bunch of people here have grandchildren in colleges all over the place. If the classes are virtual, everything else is, too. There’s nothing you need from your school you couldn’t do online.”
Lexi frowned. She’d never think of her grandfather as an idiot, but she figured she could get this one past him. “Fine.” She sighed. “I visited my mother in prison.”
Zeke paused with the mug of coffee halfway to his mouth. He set it back down before saying anything. “Your father know you went?”
“No, but he told me I should do what I wanted. He knows Mom reached out to me.”
“Your mother’s no good,” he said. Lexi started to object, but her grandfather put his hand up. “I know you love her. You grew up mostly with her and not your dad. Take my word for it, though . . . she’s no goddamn good. I tried to tell your father years ago, and he wouldn’t hear it.”
Lexi sipped her coffee rather than say something rude. “You never liked her?” she asked after stewing on it for a few seconds.
“She was always nice enough to me. I could tell, though, how something was off about her.” He shook his head. “Hard to quantify, but I’m sure you’ve met people where you just knew something was wrong.”
Her uncle, for one, even if Lexi enjoyed the benefit of hindsight there. “I think everyone has.”
“Your dad didn’t want to see it. He was smitten.” The old man snorted. “He ever tell you how they met?”
“No. They never talked much about each other even when I asked.”
“She was a secretary on base when your dad was at Fort Bragg. They dated for a while. She got fired at some point . . . said it was about the contractor downsizing, but I think something happened. Didn’t take her long to get a job as a bookkeeper. She got canned again . . . this time while your dad was overseas.”
“Was she stealing?” Lexi said.
“Of course,” Zeke said. “Your mom’s always been smart, so she was able to paper over it. It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember what tipped anyone off. I heard she was lucky not to get arrested, though.”
“My dad’s never told me any of this.” Lexi sipped her coffee and leaned forward in the chair.
“He doesn’t like to badmouth her. He’s too nice when it comes to Rachel.” Her grandfather shrugged. “I’m an old man. I don’t have time to be nice.”
Lexi grinned. “She stayed out of jail for a long time, though.”
Zeke nodded. “Sure. She never stayed at a job long enough to get caught. By the time your father came back, she’d been through two other places. Then, she got pregnant.”
“You wanted him to leave?”
“No. He wasn’t sure about marrying her. I think he knew what she was but didn’t want to admit it. His mother was big on not having a grandchild out of wedlock, so he and Rachel got married a few months later.”
“I don’t really remember Grandma.” Lexi frowned and stared at the bare tabletop.
“You were little when she died.” Zeke fingered the wedding ring he still wore. “She’s the one who spurred your dad to marry your mom, though. It was a mess when they got divorced. The UCMJ isn’t very friendly to soldiers, but your dad knew a JAG who found a loophole. Rachel got arrested. Eventually, they didn’t charge her, but putting her in cuffs was enough. Your father could divorce her and not lose a chunk of his pension, so he did.”
“Wow. I didn’t know most of that.” Lexi sipped her coffee, which grew tepid during the conversation.
“Like I said, your father doesn’t like to badmouth her. I’m not really trying to, even if it might seem like it.”
“It kind of does,” Lexi said.
“She and I ain’t exactly close,” her grandfather said. “She knew I was onto her. Your dad was blind to it all for a while. He loved your mother, but in the end, he couldn’t be with a criminal, and it’s the path she was walking.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t get custody of me.”
“Courts used to favor the women in this stuff. Always have. He got pretty generous visitation, though.”
“Yeah.” Lexi nodded. “He was around a lot.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to my work. Thanks, Grandpa. Interesting stuff.”
“Sure.” Zeke smiled. She freshened her java and walked back to her bedroom. For a few years before her mother’s arrest, Lexi suspected Rachel was a criminal. She also thought—or maybe hoped—it was something new. Not a vocation. Now, more things made sense. The frequent job changes. Her mother’s state of near-constant worry. Moving from city to city. Always with Uncle George not far behind. Then, the next apartment and the next plan. Lexi wondered anew what her uncle was doing at the jail this morning and what the two of them were up to.
After his trip to Talbot Lakes, Tyler went back home. Plenty of work awaited him, and he didn’t want to test Smitty’s patience by coming in late every day. He’d get there a few hours after his normal time now. Tyler felt bad about leaving his boss there alone, but he also had bigger problems to solve. On his drive into the shop, he called Lexi. “What’s up, Dad?”
“I see the two of you haven’t killed each other yet,” he said. “Progress.”
A light chuckle came from the speakers. “We’re getting along fine, actually. Grandpa has some interesting stories to tell.”
“He certainly does. I’m calling about our friends in Harford County, though. Can you help me with some research?”
“Sure. Let me get your laptop.” Her phone thunked onto something solid while Tyler puttered along on Northern Parkway. When she came back onto the line a minute later, he hadn’t moved very far. “All right. You’re on speaker now, too. I seem to have acquired a research assistant.”
“I want to see this fancy machine in action,” Zeke said.
Tyler saw an opening in the right lane and surged around a slow-moving white van. He zoomed through an intersection just as the light changed to red. Traffic picked up without the delivery vehicle gumming up the works. “You’re watching the right operator, then. I checked out Héctor’s neighborhood again this morning. He’s moving product from his house, and it’s not Amway or Mary Kay.”
“Wow,” Lexi said.
“Yeah. It’s more brazen than I expected. It makes me think he’s built some legal protections into what he does. Before, I would kick the door in, but someone else gathered the intel and assembled a report. Now, I need to do my own. Which means you get to do it.”
“I follow you.”
“All right,” Tyler said. He thought back to his first visit to Talbot Lakes. “Héctor might be in business with the property manager up there. Todd Windholm.” He spelled the surname for her. “Can you check it out?”
“Sure.” Lexi’s fingers tapped the keys.
“Wish we had this kind of stuff in my day,” Zeke said.
“I take it you have results?” Tyle
r asked.
“Working on it.” After more keystrokes and mouse clicks, Lexi came back on the line. “You’re right, Dad—they do have something together. Talbot Lakes Development. It’s an LLC incorporated in Bel Air. It’s also listed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Windholm Enterprises. A few others fall under the umbrella, too.”
“Shell companies?”
“Pretty much,” Lexi said. “The address for the parent business is a vacant lot. Another one turns out to be a convenience store that closed last year. There’s a lot of crap here.”
“Sure, but it gives us another potential avenue of attack. Anything else?”
“Yeah,” Zeke said. “Be careful messing with the cartel. They have ways of killing people you and I would never think of.”
“I’m pretty creative, Dad.”
“He’s right,” Lexi added. “You know you’re on their radar now. You’re going to push because it’s what you do. I only want you to be smart about it.”
“It’s the only way I know,” Tyler said. “Thanks, kiddo. Bye, Dad.” He hung up. Héctor cloaked his operation in the veneer of legitimacy. It could explain the local LEOs not wanting to go after him. Cursory research would reveal a retired imports executive who now developed real estate. Either they lacked incentive to look deeper, or Héctor funded the disincentive.
Tyler checked his mirrors again. All clear. He remained vigilant looking for a tail all the way to Smitty’s.
20
When Tyler pulled into the lot at Smitty’s, he drove around the perimeter and scanned for anyone casing the place. No one stood out to him. He parked in a vacant spot and texted Rollins. At work. All clear so far. Can you linger in the area in case? A moment later, Rollins replied in the affirmative. Tyler holstered his Sig at his hip, buttoned his work shirt over it, and walked into the shop. “Nice of you to join us,” Smitty said, standing near his desk. Through the window, Tyler saw Jake working on a car in the first service bay. It was about time he showed up.
