State of Threat (State of Arizona Book 2)

by Doug Ball

  10

  The Governor entered her office and headed straight for the tea pot. There was an ominous sense of dread in the air and she needed to be fortified by more caffeine. She had not even made it to the point of turning on the tea pot when the phone rang. Rachel caught the call. She stuck her head in the door, “Governor, it is Officer Brown for you.”

  “I’ll take it, Rachel. Thank you.”

  “Officer Brown, what’s going on in your office?”

  “Not much right now, but that will change in just a few minutes. I am in Flagstaff working on the death of a woman who was connected with the uprising of the tribes and now I believe is or was a part of the extortion attempt on Phoenix.”

  “What?”

  Tan sat down at the Lieutenant’s desk in CCSO head office. “Governor, this young lady was in the truck crash that got me acquainted with Robert, the DPS officer that was killed in Flagstaff, and she was involved in the phony bomb scare in Two Guns. WE found her prints on the dummy at Two Guns and the car. She was murdered on the road up to Snow Bowl last night. Two bullets in her head ended her life. The only clues are the slugs, if they find them, and a couple of fair shoe prints.

  “Governor, I think this threat is being generated by the same man who funded and instigated the uprising of the tribes.”

  “What?” The Governor was still standing in front of the tea pot. She flipped the switch and watched the red light glow. “Tan, I don’t know where you are getting this, but it makes sense. Where are you going with this now?”

  “We just keep plugging along. I need another person that just sits in the office and does the phone, files, and communications. Can you do that for us just for the duration of this case? I have four men working with me, all going in different directions and there needs to be a hub to hold the spokes together.”

  “Done. You can have Rachel starting Monday. That work for you?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Whoops, Governor. I apologize. You get me excited and I forget.”

  “Forgiven. Rachel is yours Monday. Keep me posted on this.” She poured water on top of her tea bag in her mug. “Bye, for now.”

  “I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  Her tea was cold.

  #

  Tan’s next call went to the office where Chuck had gathered the group. He filled them in, discussed the information gleaned from the Coconino troops, listened to what they had to say, and gave them direction.

  #

  “Officer Brown.” A uniformed officer entered the room looking around.

  “Yeah.” Tan stood up. “Whatcha got?”

  “Come with me, please.” The officer turned and went through the door at the far end of the room.

  Tan trotted for a dozen paces to catch up. The uniform practically ran to a large conference room with a large white board behind the head of the table. The writing on the board indicated it was a story board for the murder of one identified as Navajo Woman. Three AKA’s were listed under that name. Time of death was listed as 1920 plus or minus. Cause of death was two rounds to the head. Found on the body was a purse, cell phone, driver’s license, cash ($13.45), parking stub from the underground lot on Beaver Street, and lipstick.

  Tan jotted a few notes as the uniform told him to take a seat and the Sergeant would soon be here, whatever that implied. Tan took out his cell phone and called the parking place phone number listed only to find out they had no idea who held a receipt. They did point out that there was a time on the receipt that indicated when that vehicle had left the lot and the cameras were time marked. He asked them to check that receipt against the tapes and send him whatever was gleaned.

  The Sergeant walked in with a chip on his shoulder which became worse when he didn’t even say howdy, but walked to the board. “This is what we got. Any questions?”

  “Yes, Sergeant Bubba. You know me and I know you, come off the high horse. Congratulations on the promotion. Three stripes look good on you.”

  “Tan, you left us without thinking about the impact on us.”

  “It got me out of the way, your big competition, so you could be Sergeant Bubba, didn’t it. Like I was ever really needed that much.”

  Bubba had to laugh. “Yeah. I guess I oughta tell you congrats on your move to Phoenix and the Gov’s office. Wish you were still here. I’ll give you the stripes.”

  “No way, I like the good looking secretary I have, and then there is the plush office. I have goffers and vehicles at my disposal. Okay, the secretary is a guy. The office is a large closet and the car is one that DPS wore out two years ago. But, it’s different, really different.”

  “Okay, whatcha doing in this case, Tan?”

  “Between us and it has to stay that way. Phoenix is under a ransom demand. Half a billion bucks or this dude will destroy the town.”

  “That would be extremely difficult. How’s he gonna do it?” The look of disbelief covered his face. “There is no way short of a nuke to destroy a city the size of Phoenix.”

  “Whoever it is thinks he can. I am here to assist your people, not take over.”

  “Yeah, I heard that from the FBI just five minutes ago and they told me to stay home, they would take it from here.”

  “Same guy we played with at the Snow Bowl?”

  “Naw, new guy with a Washington, D.C. attitude. He says it’s all their case and for us to keep out.”

  “I don’t think so. The Governor might have a bit to say about that. It might be a Tribal member under their jurisdiction on the res, but they have no authority to take on cases concerning Tribal members totally off the rez unless they can tie it to the rez. What’s the name of the agent? I’ll see what the Governor can get done. Also, have you checked out the last few numbers on the cell phone? Perhaps that meeting was arranged over the phone.”

  “Working on that.”

  “Who’s she been seeing?”

  “Working on that.”

  Tan stood up and rechecked the white board. “Are you sure the deed was done where the body was found, or was she hauled there? Any tire tracks? No threads in the bushes?”

  Bubba checked his notes and replied, “Blood splatter and head components all over the surrounding trees, bushes, and grass behind the body indicate the deed was done where the body was found. Still hunting for the slugs. No tire tracks, or should I say, lots of tire tracks. It is a popular spot, particularly in the fall when the leaves turn. My own wife makes me take her there every year at least once. Crime Scene crew is still working on the threads in the bushes. Anything else?”

  “Nope. Can you keep me posted? Let’s go get some breakfast and discuss this further.”

  “I’ll drive, my car is not worn out.”

  Monday Morning

  The weekend was filled with dead ends. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office had found only one item of interest. The murdered woman’s cell phone had three calls on it from the day she was murdered. One was a pizza joint where she had ordered a pizza delivered to an address which turned out to be a park on the north side of Flagstaff. A pizza box with her prints was found in a trash can. Nothing new was learned from the box, half the pizza was still there. They wondered, ‘Was she supposed to meet a no show?”

  The second number was a bar in the low rent district. No one there knew anything, of course. The place was placed under watch. The only really interesting call was time stamped an hour before her estimated time of death from a throw away cell phone purchased in California two months earlier. They were trying to find out if any other calls had been made from the phone. Calling the phone got them a voice that said, “This phone has a mailbox that has not been set up. This phone is either out of range or not in service at this time. Try your call again later.”

  Rachel was added to the team at 8 AM and the six of them sat around drinking Starbucks and bouncing ideas off the walls. Leon said, “Let’s focus on the cell phone for another day or two. Who knows, the guy might just turn it on again.”

  Everyone agreed. Len
ny even took out his phone and tried to call it and got the same results. “Hell’s bells and cockle shells, still off.”

  Bruce said, “I’m still chasing the rabbit trail on the Muslim. Finding one man who appears to be moving every day or two is lots of fun, haha. Got a string of calls out to various nice motels and hotels asking about anyone who might look like an Arab or Iranian who acted suspicious or left without checking out. Nobody checks out anymore. So far, nothing.”

  “Got a thin lead about Williams Gateway Airport and some mechanic that knows a guy that knows a guy who might be working on a private drone. If there’s no objection I’ll head out and chat with the man.” Leon stood up and moved for the door.

  “Go for it. It’s the best we got so far,” Tan said filling his coffee again.

  Leon was out the door.

  Rachel asked, “Did anyone check out the ladies of the evening in Flagstaff. Some of those Middle East men have been known to pay well for their services in other places?”

  “Good idea. I’ll call Bubba.” Tan grabbed his cell phone from its holster.

  The room went silent, except for Tan on the phone, as the remaining five sipped and slurped from their cups.

  Tan finished his call. “Believe it or don’t, they have been checking the hookers. It appears that on Thursday evening one of the high dollar girls was lined up by a café owner to service a Middle Eastern man who took her to Little America where he was kind, got his ashes hauled, paid her well, and took her out to dinner when the fun and games were over. The name he used with the gal and the motel was Adam Usafi. CSI out of Flagstaff and CCSO are working the motel room. By the way, he left during the next night. A rent-a-cop security man saw him pack his car and leave around three or four in the morning. Said the car looked like a rental. They are checking all the rental companies in Arizona and California. They are expecting to find little except a link in the chain of evidence. The gal said he was a big tipper.”

  Tan put his phone on the table. “Good call, Rachel. Keep those cards and letters coming folks, we need all the crazy ideas and logical ideas you can come up with to break this case. Folks, time is getting short. Let’s chase everything all over again and lean a bit harder and pushier this time.”

  Rachel smiled and nodded her head in reply to the compliment, she wanted this job. Josie could have the Governor’s Office.

  #

  The drone left the ground with the ease of an eagle and climbed slowly to the west. Jason Johns, known by his friends and enemies as Wings, watched the bird fly high before he got in his car and pointed both vehicles toward Reserve. It had been rough getting the drone from the eastern side of New Mexico to the place it would make its dramatic entrance - as he called it - for the man paying the million bucks for a vehicle that cost less than a hundred thousand. As he left the tiny airstrip he thanked the FAA for funding all these little emergency strips across the barren stretches of the west. He only had 72 miles to go from Magdalena to Reserve where he would buzz the strip and land after making a few fancy maneuvers to show off for the Boss. “With no payload, I have lots of gas,” he said to himself.

  “Life was going to be so much more fun after the payday, today.”

  #

  LaTroy Williams entered the service access door at the east side of U. S. Airways Center in Phoenix. The traffic was bad today due to a wreck on I-10 on the curve just north of the junction with US 60. He had cut off at Maricopa and taken the city streets to work so he could come close to being on time, but was 15 minutes behind the buzzer.

  Entering the service room and grabbing his time card, he noticed his boss wasn’t here either. A bell rang in his head reminding him of the traffic jam at the 101 interchange the gal on the radio warned of as she had done with his route, that would slow the boss. His nervousness went away in a flash. He grabbed his coveralls from his locker, placed his lunch inside, locked the door, and walked to the radio rack. Unplugging a battery from the charger stand, he checked to make sure it was not the one that always dies mid-morning, plugged the battery into his radio, checked it out, hung it on his belt, and walked out onto the floor of the huge indoor arena.

  First person he saw was one of the event planners. “Hey, LaTroy, how’s it this morning. Packed house last night with high food sales. You got you a mess on your hands.”

  “I’m okay, my man, all is well, super janitor will see all, pickup all, and polish all before the event tonight. What’s the haps tonight?”

  “Circus. Elephants and everything.”

  “Oh, goody, elephant crap all over again. I think them clowns oughta clean up after the elephants. Add the extra cleanup fee to the rent and give me the money. I need it. My wheels is dyin’.”

  “I’ll check on that. Only found two purses and one wallet this morning. I will have them in the office should someone ask you.”

  “As always. Now, get outta here and let me and my helpers work.”

  LaTroy watched as the man turned and walked toward the entrance and the offices. His life was saved by his choosing just that moment to bend over behind a big speaker that had been left for him and the crew to move to storage on a pallet jack. The entire building was lighted up by a massive explosion, ripping the booking agent into pieces no larger than a Christmas card and splattering him all over the interior of the place. The speaker slammed into LaTroy’s side and carrying him to the chairs on the opposite side of the floor before he and the speaker became a part of the massive pile of chairs, speaker, trash, the booking agent, and anything else that would or could be moved away from the blast.

  Alarms were sounding as LaTroy, who could not hear them, tried to push his way up through the rubble and chairs. He smelled smoke and dust. Trying to pull with his left hand brought severe pain, he looked at the arm. “I busted my arm. First bone I busted in all my life,” he said to no one. All he could see was dust and that stopped quickly as the particles got in his eyes and caused them to weep out of control. “Help,” he screamed.

  #

  Tan and his troops heard the explosion. Leon came running back in. “There’s a large cloud of dust coming from the area of the Airways Center. I think someone or something just blew it up.”

  They all ran toward the cloud a few blocks away. People were running away, up wind, in numbers that made the movements of the responders toward the dust and smoke difficult. Lenny pulled out his badge and gun, screaming, “Police, take cover. NOW!” Folks hit the ground. The rest of the team joined Lenny and began leaping over people now on the ground.

  Sirens sounded from all directions. A ladder truck creeping toward the explosion, slowed by the crowd, allowed the team to leap to the sides, after a quick flash of Tan’s badge, and ride in with the FD.

  The main door at the corner of East Jefferson and South 1st Street was gone. Smoke poured out of the hole in the wall. The team left the fire truck and started directing traffic as Tan moved in closer. “What happened here, Boss?” Rachel asked as she trotted along beside him.

  “Get back. Now.”

  “I’m a medic. I can help.” She noticed a side door blown open and pulled Tan that way.

  Inside they crawled on the floor for visibility until they turned the corner which led to the main floor of the arena. Hearing LaTroy’s frantic cries they entered, Rachel heading for the voice and Tan checking out as much of the rubble as he could see into without disturbing anything.

  He smelled smoke just as Rachel called out, “Got a man over here. Need lotsa muscle. Fire about twenty feet from us here.” She repeated it until Tan got there.

  “What we got?”

  “Buried, broken left arm at the least, and fire coming our way.

  Tan started throwing rubble and chairs away from the man he could just make out in the dust. Rachel asked, “Give me a hand here?”

  They rolled the speaker on its wheels and pushed it a foot away before it jammed up on some trash on the floor. Tan reached in and took a table off the man’s leg, two chairs from under the ta
ble, and saw that the man was clear.

  “Okay, let’s get you out of here. Give me your good arm. Tell me if the pain is too bad or anything else we need to know.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Rachel cradled the arm as Tan pulled. Slowly the man rolled forward until he could get his left leg under and push up. Then his right leg. He yelped, “Stop. Somethin’ wrong with my right leg.”

  Rachel took a look. “Sprain I guess. No blood, no swelling. Let’s move. We all need to get out of here.”

  “I’m with you, Lady.” The clean-up man was smiling and looking toward the door they had entered. “That door is fastest and away from the entry.”

  They passed two firemen coming in as they headed out, “Anybody else in there?”

  “Didn’t see any. There is an open flame.”

  LaTroy yelled, “There’s one of the front office boys still in there.”

  “Got it. You exit. We’ll fight fires and do rescues now.”

  “That’s your job and you guys do it well,” Rachel said, smiling at the man.

  “Thank you, now get out.”

  Tan said, “Yes, Sir.” They trotted toward the door LaTroy bounding on one leg between them. A gurney with two paramedics met them at the door.

  “Got the radio call you were coming out. We’ll take it from here. You two folks better go to the triage site across First Street and get some air to start cleaning out those lungs.” The paramedic pointed the direction.

  “We’re gone. I’ll want to talk with this man, soon. Where you taking him?”

  “Don’t know. It depends on where dispatch directs.”

  “Great.” Tan looked at LaTroy, “What’s your name, Sir?”

  “LaTroy Williams.”

  “I’ll be around later. I need to talk to you.” He flashed his badge.

  “Don’t know nothin’ but bang, flash, I’m in a pile of trash.”

  “Hold that thought.” Tan smiled and left for the triage site.

  LaTroy knew better than to not follow the directions of the expert. It would also give him documentation for his insurance and workman’s comp.