“Do you know where any other meth houses are?” Mike asked.
David frowned, quieting for the first time. It was clear that the man was turning the question over in his mind.
“One is five kilometers or more from here.” Kino, who had been sitting by silently, took off his oxygen mask and spoke in broken English. “I have been there.”
Mike straightened. “Can you show me how to get to the house?”
Kino’s gaze riveted on the bodies, his jaw set, his eyes filled with tears. “That is my wife.” Tears trickled down his soot-stained cheeks. He raised his hand and pointed at one of the bodies as it was covered. “Her shirt…she was wearing the red one today.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mike said. A part of him hated to push a man who was so clearly filled with grief, but they had to act fast if there was even a chance they could catch Perez. “Can you help us find the other meth lab?” Mike asked. “We must find the man responsible for your wife’s death.”
Kino slowly nodded. “Yes.”
Mike looked at Joe, one of the paramedics. “Unless there’s a damned good reason why I shouldn’t, I’m taking Kino on a little ride.”
Joe glanced at Kino. “He doesn’t appear to have sustained more than a few cuts and scrapes.” He looked back at Mike. “He should be fine for a ride. Just make sure he gets to the hospital afterward for a thorough check up.”
“You’ve got it,” Mike said.
After he sent one of his deputies into town to get a warrant, Mike had a quick discussion with his deputies, Agent Wallace of the DEA, and Agent Davies of the Border Patrol. He then cuffed and escorted Kino to the YCSO SUV and put the man in the back of the vehicle.
With DEA and YCSO backup behind him, Mike drove from the meth lab as they headed further away from town into forested land. Sunlight filtered through the trees, the shadows across the highway growing long in the fading afternoon.
“Slow down,” Kino said when Mike had driven almost seven miles and Mike reduced his speed. Kino leaned close. “It is there.” Mike glanced over his shoulder at Kino who held up his cuffed hands and nodded toward a rough dirt road that cut away from the highway into the forest. “That road.”
Mike glanced to the road as he slowed the vehicle and looked at Kino. “You’re sure?”
The man pointed to a twisted and gnarled black oak with a flat-topped boulder at its roots. “I remember that tree and that stone.”
Mike pulled the SUV off the road and his backup did the same behind him. He climbed out and left Kino cuffed in the backseat. Mike walked to the back of the vehicle and opened it before putting on his vest and preparing for whatever they would face in the coming moments.
The early November air was crisp, cool, and smelled of the forest, a relief from the chemical-tinged air of the location they’d just left. Mike’s blood pumped at a steady rhythm, warming him against the chill.
The DEA agents and Mike’s deputies also put on their vests, strapping on leg holsters, taking additional ammo, AR-15 rifles, and whatever else they might need. They did everything quickly and efficiently. Mike and Agent Wallace worked together to plan their next steps.
In the meantime, the deputy who Mike had sent to town for the warrant called. He’d emailed a copy of the signed warrant to Mike’s cell phone. Mike checked his email, saw the warrant, and they were ready to go.
From what they could tell, the pothole-filled dirt road was the sole egress to and from the house, and they blocked it off with vehicles.
Within a short amount of time, sheriff’s deputies and DEA agents headed through the trees toward the house that was approximately two hundred yards from the highway. Two K9s accompanied them.
As quietly as possible, they worked their way to the home. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped beneath their shoes, making total silence impossible. But if there was no lookout and no one outside the building to hear, it wouldn’t matter.
They reached the outskirts of a large clearing and Mike’s pulse ramped up when he saw a gleaming red truck that he recognized as the same make and model as one belonging to Perez. They did a quick check on the license plate, and sure enough it was registered to Perez.
If they caught Perez now, they’d put the bastard away for a long time—if this was in fact a meth lab and they had the product on hand.
The house itself looked like it could fall apart at any moment. With its partially boarded-up windows, and walls that were weathered to a splintered dark brown, any hiker might have thought it was abandoned.
Damn, if this place went up it could easily cause a forest fire. The brush and trees were dry thanks to a meager monsoon season.
Nothing stirred. A moment later, a voice came from inside the house, breaking the silence. Someone barked orders in Spanish but the words were muffled and Mike couldn’t make all of them out. The orders were followed by a loud crash and then a string of curse words in Spanish that were so loud Mike could hear those clearly.
The deputies and agents stayed at the tree line surrounding the large clearing. There would be no breaking down the door or charging into a meth lab. It was far too dangerous. The place could go with a single muzzle flash. If they had to, they would send in a drone. They’d prefer not to send in any of the K9s due to the danger that the place could explode.
When the house was surrounded at a good distance, Mike caught the familiar pungent odor that went with meth labs, akin to cat piss. He had no doubt they’d found exactly what they were looking for.
Once everyone was in place, Mike conferred with Wallace and let her know that the truck in front of the house likely belonged to Jesus Perez.
Wallace nodded and Mike moved into place using a tree for cover, as were the other law enforcement officers. His muscles tensed and his jaw tightened.
After Wallace made sure everyone was ready, another agent used a horn to call out. “This is the DEA. We have you surrounded. Come out slowly, hands up where we can see them.” The agent repeated the commands in Spanish.
A moment of silence.
Gunfire erupted from inside the house.
Wood splintered. Glass shattered.
“Shit,” Mike said under his breath as he ducked back around the tree.
All bets were off once the occupants of the house started firing at law enforcement officers.
Mike held his Glock in a two-handed grip, peered around the tree, and let off several shots at a shadow that passed a partially boarded up window.
At the same time, agents and deputies also returned fire.
Shouts in Spanish were followed by cries of pain from inside the house and more shots were fired.
An agent near Mike dropped, landing hard on the dark earth. Mike saw the agent clenching his teeth, his back against the tree. The agent reloaded his handgun, ignoring what appeared to be a thigh wound.
More yelling came from inside the house along with more gunfire.
Mike spotted movement to his left as he saw a man dive through a partially boarded window on the south side of the house, not far from Mike.
Perez. Even at the speed the man moved, Mike recognized him.
Betty saw him at the same moment.
Perez bolted between Mike and Betty, into the forest.
“Police!” Mike shouted. “Stop!”
Perez looked over his shoulder, extended his arm, and let off several shots with a handgun.
Betty cried out and Mike saw her go down.
Fury burned hot within Mike and he fired at Perez. The man stumbled and crashed through the underbrush as he moved in and out of the trees. Perez’s movements were too erratic for Mike to get off an easy shot.
Perez came back into sight and Mike got off three rounds before Perez dropped.
Gun aimed at Perez, Mike hurried closer.
Perez was facedown, body motionless. Mike couldn’t see his weapon.
Mike approached cautiously, his jaw set.
Just as he reached Perez, the man rolled over in a whirl, gun aim
ed at Mike.
Without hesitation, Mike fired three more rounds into Perez’s chest. The man collapsed, his head rolling to the side, eyes wide.
A twig snapped behind Mike. With one eye on Perez, Mike glanced over his shoulder and saw Agent Wallace jogging toward him.
“I’ve got Perez.” Mike crouched, put his fingers to the man’s neck and felt for a pulse. Nothing. “He’s dead.” Wallace came up beside him. “Did you see Turner?”
“One of your other deputies is with her now.” Wallace looked grim. “She needs medical attention.”
“Damn.” Mike started back, jogging to where Ernie was kneeling beside Betty.
Ernie pressed a blood-soaked cloth to Betty’s shoulder in a location her body armor couldn’t protect her. “Trying to get a few days off?” Ernie said.
Mike knelt on the other side of Betty. “This wouldn’t be my first choice of a way to get a doctor’s note.”
Betty grimaced, her face white. “I’m fine. Just get this big oaf off of me,” she said with a nod in Ernie’s direction. Even as she gritted her teeth, she added, “Did you get the bastard?”
Mike gave a nod. “He’s dead.”
Ernie’s eyes narrowed. “Good.”
A look of satisfaction crossed Betty’s features before she bit down on her lower lip.
Sirens approached and Mike raised his head. “I think your ride is here.”
“Can we stop for ice cream?” Betty asked with a strained smile. “Make it chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better.”
Mike squeezed her uninjured arm. “I’ll make sure to get you the good stuff.”
Ernie grinned. “We’ll even sneak it into the hospital.”
“I’m counting on it.” Betty gave a weak smile just before her eyes rolled back and her body went slack.
Mike’s gut twisted and he felt for her pulse and blew out his breath when he felt the strength of her heartbeat. “Pulse is strong. She passed out.”
Ernie nodded. “No doubt from the pain.”
“Let’s carry her to the clearing,” Mike said.
They carefully shifted her so that they could carry her out into the clearing without further damaging her shoulder. They took her to the spot where an ambulance was just pulling up.
Mike and Ernie let the paramedics take over. As much as Mike would like to stay with his deputy and be there for her, he needed to let the professionals take care of her while he did his job.
Thoughts of Kino losing his wife in the fire made Mike think about having a relationship with Anna and how devastating it would be to be in Kino’s shoes. It made him all the more determined to get Anna back. He needed her in his life and he knew that she needed him, too.
By the time both crime scenes were dealt with, Mike was beat.
They’d finally taken down Jesus Perez. The bastard would never hurt anyone again.
Chapter 23
Anna couldn’t take her eyes off of Channel 7 News on her TV screen and tensed as she sat on her living room couch. She watched smoke rising from the smoldering remains of what had housed a meth lab as a news reporter pieced together the details of the explosion.
“We are waiting for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office to provide us with more information.” Paige Windhaven wore a serious expression. “What we’ve learned so far is that workers in the meth lab are believed to be Mexican nationals, here illegally in the U.S. It is believed that four of the six individuals died in the explosion and two survived. We are working to get more facts to our listeners as soon as possible.”
Paige looked directly to the camera. “This is Paige Windhaven, reporting for Channel 7 News.”
Brian White, the news anchor, came on screen. “This just in. Another meth lab has been discovered. An unidentified Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputy was shot as well as a DEA agent. Suspects were killed in a firefight and arrests have been made. We are waiting for more details on this breaking story.”
Anna’s heart thumped hard in her chest. Had Mike been involved in the shootings? Could he have been hurt?
She used the remote to click off the news then rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger, trying to assuage the ache there.
Mike was in her every other thought. Had he tried calling again? She’d kept her phone off and he hadn’t left any messages.
Why would he call her?
Once again she was being irrational and her mind went places it had no business traveling to. She’d screwed up and hurt him not only personally, but professionally as well. She should have known that Chad would let out the truth in exactly the way he had. What a dramatic way to benefit himself by hurting Mike. It had probably been his plan all along.
Her belly clenched and she felt as if she might throw up. She’d felt sick to her stomach every single day since the debate and she wondered if it would ever go away.
For a long sad moment she thought about Chandra, her best friend and Chad’s sister. She and Chandra hadn’t spoken since Anna had started seeing Mike. So many times she’d wanted to call Chandra and cry on her friend’s shoulder.
Not only had she lost her aunt and uncle, but she’d lost Chandra, too. And Mike.
She clenched her jaws. Not Mike. The relationship with him had never been real. She’d been nothing but a pawn in Chad’s game and he’d sacrificed her and her family in a deft move.
Her anger with him hadn’t dimmed and would eat away at her if she didn’t let it go. But how could she? After all that he’d done.
She wasn’t sure if it was irrational to still be angry with her aunt and uncle. By coming across illegally, they’d done this to their family. They’d lost their children and they’d torn Anna’s heart out. Now she was left to pick up the pieces of her heart as well as Pablo’s and Josie’s.
Her aunt and uncle had been there for her from the time she came home from college when her parents died, helping her through rough times and the good. She couldn’t imagine what her life would have been like without them, but she couldn’t help being upset with them because now they weren’t going to be here for their children.
It was Sunday afternoon and she and the kids hadn’t gone to church that day. They hadn’t been back to church since that horrible night. People they knew from the church stopped by to check in on her and her cousins or bring by casseroles and Anna was grateful to know such good people. She never asked anyone in because her emotions were far too raw. She told visitors they were doing well and would be back to church soon.
Anna checked on her young cousins. Pablo was on his bed reading a book with no jacket on it, so she couldn’t tell what it was.
“Hi, Pablo.” She stepped into his room after knocking on the doorframe. “What are you reading?”
He shrugged. “The City of Ember.”
She sat on the edge of his bed, the mattress dipping and squeaking. “Did you get the book from school?”
He nodded, still looking at the book. “Mrs. Marko loaned it to me.”
Anna smiled. “You’ll have to tell me about it when you’re finished.”
“Okay,” he said, eyes still focused on the book.
Anna squeezed his knee then got up to head to Josie’s room.
Josie was sitting on the floor, playing with Barbie dolls, alien action figures, and large-sized Legos in primary colors. Josie loved dolls and spaceships and it looked like she was building a spaceship with the Legos.
Without breaking the silence, Anna sat down with Josie and began building a spaceship, too. Soon Josie started talking, telling Anna about her Barbie dolls going into space and meeting aliens on other planets. The Barbies had tea parties in front of the spaceships and invited the aliens so that they could get to know each other. Anna couldn’t help but grin at Josie’s vivid imagination.
When the Barbies returned to Earth, Anna stood. Her knees ached after sitting on the floor for so long. “I’m going to make brownies. Sound good to you?”
Josie nodded and smiled. Brownies were one of her favorite t
reats, something that only Anna had made for the family. “A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top?” Josie asked.
“You bet.” Anna smoothed her hand over Josie’s hair before leaving the bedroom.
She was almost to the kitchen when the doorbell rang and startled her.
Who could it be? It was probably someone from church with a casserole. The media hadn’t bothered her for some time now, so it likely wasn’t them. Mike had to be in the middle of the mess that had been reported on TV, and she doubted Chad would show his face around her. As busy as she’d been with her business and family, she hadn’t made many friends locally outside of church.
She made her way to the front door, and peered through the peephole. Her eyes widened in surprise.
Chandra.
Her heart thumped against her breastbone as she slid the bolt lock open with a thump. She stepped back as she opened the door.
For a long moment they looked at each other. Chandra’s platinum blonde hair was pulled back and she wasn’t wearing makeup. She clenched her purse strap like she didn’t know what to say.
“Hi, Chandra,” Anna finally said.
Chandra’s throat worked. “Hi, Anna.” Her voice came out sounding broken.
Anna’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Can I come in?” Chandra hesitated. “Please?”
“Sure.” Anna stepped out of the way, feeling off balance, like something was about to go sideways. “Would you like a Coke or water?”
Chandra shook her head. “No thank you.”
“You look like you could use something chocolate.” Anna offered Chandra a smile. “I have fudge ripple in the freezer.”
Chandra managed a smile in return. “First, let’s talk.”
When they were seated in the living room, Chandra’s eyes watered, as if she was about to cry. “I’m so sorry, Anna.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “So sorry for everything.”
Anna moved to sit beside Chandra and put her arm around her friend, trying to think of what to say.
Chandra lowered her head. “First I overreacted when you started dating Mike McBride. That was none of my business and if our roles had been reversed, I know you wouldn’t have acted the way I did.”
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