State of Threat (State of Arizona Book 2)

by Doug Ball

  Ben went over the results, to date, of the scene investigation. “All we really have so far is a dead man, as yet unidentified, whose prints are the only prints we have. Time of death has been tentatively set at two to six days after the hijacking. There is evidence of someone being at the site for three days after the hijacking. Testing is in progress on all items we recovered from the site. Excavation of the site continues. We will clear all rubble down to below a level that existed before the explosion. The explosion was caused by an explosive not on the manifest of the shipping company. So, either there was a mistake or they brought their own. We think they brought their own at this point in time.

  “I will report new findings as soon as we have them.” He looked around like he was expecting questions.

  “If there are no further constructive comments,” he paused, “then thank the Governor for the donuts and coffee, and let’s get to work.”

  Chuck sidled over to the three DPS men and said, “Stick around, we’ll chat further.”

  They all nodded and grabbed another donut.

  Leon from DPS said, “This guy, Tank, is a mite suspicious, don’t ya think, leading us to his own property where the truck is then found. Sounds fishy to me.”

  Tan responded, “This is a local man, out of work, no indication of any assets, no record, and he was keyed into the equation because we needed someone who knew the area. He led us to many other sites first, each filling in a hole in the search conducted before we were involved. There’s a mighty slim chance you may be right, but I don’t think so at this point.”

  “Can I check him out?” Leon wouldn’t drop the idea.

  “Go right ahead, but I think it’s a waste of time.”

  Leon hit back, “I have been investigating crime since before you were even a gleam in your daddy’s eye. All things are possible, and this one hits me like a dirty smell.”

  “Your experience is why you are here. I am your boss, leader, facilitator, whatever you want to call me for one reason and one reason only, the Governor appointed me. I will tolerate questioning my decisions or findings, but I will not tolerate your tone or attitude. Work with me and the rest of the team, or go back to DPS and do what you were doing before your boss sent you here because you are supposed to be among the best. Your choice. Make it and end this crap. Understand?”

  “I think I’ll like working with you.” Leon smiled, stood, and held out his hand.

  Tan, knowing this was a treaty and all the apology he would get, stood and shook the proffered hand. “I’m glad. I’ve read your file and you get things done.” He looked around and repeated, “Any questions?”

  None were presented.

  Tan stepped up again, “Any questions for any of the presenters?”

  None were asked.

  “Okay, you can all see we just don’t have much. The extortion, the explosives, a dead body, and a hijacking are all out there as unsolved crimes. I have no new ideas. You know everything I know. It looks to me like we need to be out there hitting all informants, keeping our ears and eyes open, and just plain old fashioned working it out one step at a time. It will probably take a mess of steps to get a break, let alone solve this situation. I believe all of these are tied together, but please don’t let that stifle your thinking. They could be separate, but I doubt it.”

  From the nods and positive comments, Tan saw that most agreed with him.

  Later

  “I called you all here because we have a break, maybe.” Tan began the morning session. “The body in the truck has been tentatively IDed as Roger Wolinski, CDL with every endorsement you can imagine. He’s got a file an inch thick, petty stuff mostly like overweight, too fast, drugs – tons at a time – for which he did time in Texas, assault, under the influence, and that sort of thing. He also was busted for hauling a truck load of illegals north a while back and the Fed let him go because the folks in the box had air, food, and cots for the run; first class accommodations for their entry into a new life.

  “His record indicates he usually operates with a clown I’ve met before, a man with many names. I busted him with a load of untaxed cigarettes and stolen TV’s on I-40 within a week of finishing my indoctrination ride-alongs with CCSO up around Flag. Names, record, and data in the handout Chuck handed ya.”

  He stopped for a breather and another cup of coffee, before adding, “We need to find his partner and everything there is to know about these two for the last two months. The partner was toting a .380 auto when I busted him last. Had a permit to carry, lost it when he went to prison, all because of little ole me.

  “So, gentlemen, how do you want to handle this? Singles, partners, what?”

  The oldest of the group said, “Tan, I like working with a partner. I ain’t as young as I used to be and things slip by me lately. Can’t run as fast, heal as fast, think as fast, react as fast, or just plain work as fast as I used to. Anybody in this room works for me.” Glenn, Lenny to his friends and enemies, Engles had over 30 years in Law Enforcement and had been in investigation most of those years. Tan was impressed by his file.

  “That’s honest. I like working with honest men,” Chuck kicked in.

  Bruce Knotts only had 23 years, had been shot twice. One of the shots came from a snitch he had when working undercover in the northwest corner of the state. The snitch took after him hoping to put him down and gain some free dope from his suppliers. Bruce took out the snitch and rounded up three middle level suppliers in the area. It took the cartel over eight months to reestablish their lucrative business in that area.

  Bruce said, “I like partners, too. Don’t like my back exposed. You and me, Lenny?”

  “Okay by me,” was Lenny’s response.

  The third man DPS had given the Governor for Tan’s team was a veteran of 27 years, been fired twice, investigated by Internal Affairs three other times, was noted for his unorthodox methods, and was not afraid to get rough, real rough, if necessary. It was rumored he had expended more rounds in the line of duty than any law enforcement officer in Arizona history. “I like working alone. No witnesses that way.” Leon Baldinado smiled. He knew he was here to get him out of the Director’s hair.

  Tan had to laugh at his last comment. “No witnesses, no backup.”

  “I don’t care. No witnesses I don’t lose my pension. Director says one more problem and I am out on my ear. They call me the Lone Coyote. That’s why you got me, Mr. Special Investigator.”

  “I think we’re gonna need ya. Welcome aboard the train wreck.”

  Chuck shrugged his shoulders and looked at the other three men.

  Tan got real serious, “Bruce, you go with Lenny. The two of you are equals, no senior partner crap. Leon you’re on your own. All of you report in at least once a day. Chuck you will be backup for anyone who needs it and keep the files straight.”

  The rest of the men got up as if to leave, “Relax for a few more minutes please.

  “Chuck, I want you to make a complete investigation of the truck driver, Larry, - what was his last name?”

  “Ploughe. Larry Ploughe, Boss.”

  “Also, get on the load, become an expert on trucking explosives.”

  “Sounds like loads of fun.”

  “Okay. Leon you play coyote and chase what smells good to you. You are on your own.

  “Lenny and Bruce, you two chase the dead guy and his partner. I want to know everything about them.

  “I will keep the Governor and DPS Director informed on a daily basis, and continue to investigate the mine, the note, and the method, whatever that might be.”

  Tan looked around the room seeing faces as eager as he’d ever seen from cops and asked, “Questions, comments, suggestions?”

  Leon said, “Can I call on Chuck for back up if needed?”

  “Sounds like a good idea. If he is not available, call me.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Everybody get everybody’s cell phone numbers and the office number on your phones and get to work. Tha
nk you very much.” He paused and checked the coffee in his cup, “Gentlemen, we are a team. I am nominally in charge, but we are a team. Five brains, years of experience, many skills, and we will need every bit of those things. Team work will get it done. You got something to say, say it, but all press conferences come from the Governor’s Office and not from this office. Good hunting.”

  Leon was out the door in three steps, moving toward the back door of the building. Bruce and Lenny turned facing each other and started getting focused. Chuck cleaned up the leavings and wiped the tables, because it needed to be done.

  Tan watched and smiled. ‘Good group,’ he thought.

  #

  Leon began driving toward the northwest corner of Phoenix and calling in all the markers he was owed from his snitches. Within an hour he was sure this was not a low level crime job where word was on the street as fast as the crooks could put the scheme together.

  He went home and put on his good suit and hit the cocktail lounges of the shakers and movers of the Southwest. One little tidbit came to his ear in the first hour of nursing a Gimlet. Someone had paid big money for a remote control aircraft which was capable of flying 100 miles with a 1000 pound payload. ‘Explosives are heavy and enough of them in the right places could severely damage the metro area, the highrise buildings in particular,’ he thought. He pulled out his note pad and a gold fountain pen to write himself a note to check out the airports, with a close check on the small, well maintained ones. He poured the remains of his drink into the glass of the man next to him. The man’s eyes were on a blonde sitting alone in a corner and he would never know the difference.

  #

  Bruce and Lenny sat at the table of a coffee shop trying to outline a plan of attack on the case. “How would you go about destroying Phoenix, Bruce?”

  “I’d set fire bombs all over town in the older buildings that don’t have sprinkler systems and fill cars with gas cans and park them in underground parking garages. Then I’d blow them all at the same time with a remote device. Start enough fires and overwhelm the FD and the town burns. I don’t know if that would cover a half billion dollars damage though. There’d have to be a bunch of bomb placements and someone would trip over at least one of them. What about you?”

  Lenny sipped his coffee and looked around the room, took a bite of his pie, chewed, and swallowed. “Well, I really can’t think of anything short of a nuclear device that would do enough damage to really call it destroying Phoenix. Standard explosives, just like your fire bombs, would require too many spots even if you could tumble the tallest buildings into the rest of downtown. Backing up the sewers and letting the sewer system overflow might be nasty, but not town destroying. Somehow, there must be a way to really put a hurting on this burg that would require few people (too many can’t keep secrets), a single location (maybe two), and rip the place up with a lot of monetary value.”

  “How about a dirty bomb? All those explosives in the middle of a load of radioactive material with a long half-life. Just a truck load of trash from one of the uranium mines surrounding the bomb parked up wind on a reasonably windy day goes ‘bang’ and the whole town is radioactive with nothing actually destroyed but everything so radioactive you couldn’t live here for years. How’s that sound?”

  “I don’t know if it’s feasible, but sounds like a real possibility. We better get moving before that happens.”

  The two of them sat silent for more than ten minutes as the waitress kept their coffee cups full and never said a word. A loud argument in another corner of the coffee shop did not even merit their attention.

  “Well, hell’s bells and cockle shells, let’s go check out the dead guy’s last known address and see what Phoenix PD has on him and his buddy. Perhaps we’ll get lucky.”

  “Or not.” Bruce replied.

  They got up, each throwing a ten on the table and walked out.

  “I got an old buddy in the Investigations group. Let’s go borrow his computer for a bit.”

  “We need one of our own. I’ll call the Boss on the way and see what he can do.”

  After a few minutes on the phone, Lenny said, “One laptop with wifi hub coming up. Tan was mad at himself because he didn’t think of that.”

  “Sounds good to me. Wanna go by there and get it, or what?”

  “Let’s still go by my buddy’s office, Chuck will need time to round up what we all need.”

  #

  Lenny pulled up the file on Roger Wolinski. “Tan wasn’t exaggerating when he said this clown had a thick file. I haven’t seen more than two others this thick and this guy never did any real big time. He must be connected somewhere.”

  Bruce asked, “But, where? That’s the question. Perhaps his connection got tired of him after this job.”

  “Or, he just plain screwed up and they took him out. Lot of drinking and possible drugging in this file. I wouldn’t have trusted him with info on a heist this big, let alone let him walk away with all the answers. He’s the kind that would get caught for feeling up a barmaid and tell all he knows about the heist to get a lesser sentence.” Lenny didn’t like repeaters at all. One had taken a couple of shots at him just because he was wearing a badge.

  “Okay,” Bruce said, “he’s got a sister in Avondale and his lifelong buddy is inside the prison in Florence. Oh, wait a minute, there’s an ex in Scottsdale and a romantic interest in Mesa. This boy got around.”

  “What do ya think? Go together or single?”

  “Mesa is on the way to Florence, so I could get two in one trip and you could get Avondale and Scottsdale. I think time is the important factor here. How’s that sound?”

  “Let’s get on it.”

  #

  Tan called Rachel, told her what was needed in the way of computers, hubs, office supplies, and a space close by where they could meet in private and all their info and materials could be stored. Chuck glared at him the whole time. Rachel was unsure how to deal with the request, but told Tan she would get right on it. Tan hung up.

  Looking at Chuck, “What’s your problem?”

  “I thought it was my job to be the gopher.”

  Tan sensed something deeper than infringement on his job description. “It is. It was just easier to call her myself than to tell you what was needed, you write it down, you call, she has questions, you ask me, I tell you, and then she says okay, and you tell me it’s okay.” He put his hands on hips and gave Chuck a look of ‘beat that one’ sucker.

  “Dumb reasoning there, Boss.” Chuck met him eye to eye.

  “Why, because you want to get a date with her or something along that line? She is kinda cute in a sorta mature way, isn’t she?” A mischievous grin spread across his face.

  “Well, yeah.” Chuck actually blushed.

  Tan laughed so hard it took him a while to respond. “Okay, next time I’ll let you call. If she calls back you talk to her like I’m not here. I want my troops happy and that’s worth the extra effort to me. I hope it works out for you so you can focus on the case and not on every woman you see.”

  The two of them sat in the office looking at each other, Tan breaking into occasional fits of laughter and Chuck trying to figure how to get out of the corner he was in.

  Tan broke the awkwardness by saying, “Why don’t you get a history of the truck, the driver, the company the trailer belongs to, and the company that shipped the explosives. Think you can take your mind off the lovely Rachel long enough to handle that? Oh, yeah, get all you can on the company that ordered the explosives.” He tried his best to stay calm and serious, but it was hard. He had found Chuck’s weak spot.

  Chuck just nodded his head, grabbed his phone and note pad, and walked out the door. The back of his neck was red.

  Governor’s Office

  General Miguel Rios enjoyed working with this Lady Governor. Together they, with the help of about 30,000 friends with guns, had stopped the Mexican invasion of Arizona in its tracks. The win was an overwhelming victory. Too bad the M
ilitary establishment of the United States had not been allowed to intervene. Just because a President tried to teach Arizona how much she needed him. Turned out Arizona did quite well all by herself, with the help of a lot of folks with guns who were now being called The Citizen Militia by the press.

  He walked into the outer office, saw Rachel, and said, “Would you announce me to the Governor, please?”

  She took one look at him, “And just who might you be, soldier boy?” She was smiling.

  He took no offense. “I might be just about anybody, but I just happen to be the Governor’s favorite Arizona National Guard General, Miguel Rios.”

  “Oh, you’re that soldier boy.” She stood up behind her desk and saluted, “Spec Four Rachel DeMont, at your service, Sir.”

  He returned the salute, “Where were you?”

  “Back up forces in Flagstaff awaiting the Indian uprising, I served at the Snow Bowl after it was all over. I’m a medic. Wasn’t pretty or fun at all, but I did my job and got my Arizona Defense Medal. Hope I never have to do it again. That was bad. I’ll let the Governor know you are here, General.”

  She returned rapidly and held the door open for the General saying, “Right this way, General. The Governor has about twenty minutes before she is due at a Rotary Club speech.”

  “Thank you, Rachel. Thank you also for your service.”

  “My pleasure.” She closed the door.

  The Governor stood and held out her hand to the General. He took it in both of his big paws and smiled, “What’s the big deal? You text me in a very important meeting with my staff down at the Irish Pub and want me to come a running.”

  “We have a problem. Have a seat. It’s a long story and I only have time for the short version.

  She laid out the extortion threat to him.

  “Bottom line is I need you to work with the Department of Emergency Management Director Swarz and put together a master emergency plan for severe destruction of Phoenix. Evacuation plans, moving hospitals, emergency transport, all that good stuff. I want to be able to evacuate most of this city within 24 hours. I know there will be folks who won’t leave, but all the rest I want out of here.