Gray Ghost (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 1)

by Swinney, C. L.

  “It was something about the cocaine, the way it was packaged. It had a red horse head on it, pressed into the center of the brick when I opened it. Over the years, I saw lots more like it. This guy’s been pumping coke into Miami for as long as I can remember.”

  Pierce now had a lead with the red horse head. “Did they speak during the transaction?”

  “Yeah, but very little.”

  “Do you remember any of the conversation?”

  Chad noticed they’d arrived at the precinct. “If I remember right, the main guy’s cell phone, an old brick type, rang constantly. When the deal went down, one of the muscle men answered and said, ‘Go ahead. You’ve reached the Caller.’”

  Pierce slammed on the brakes and spun around to face his prisoner. “What did you just say?”

  “The guy said, ‘Go ahead. You’ve reached the Caller.’”

  Pierce tried not to show his excitement. “If you saw a picture of these guys, would you be able to point them out?” Chad shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. I think I saw the big guy again about six years later, but I don’t remember where.”

  Pierce took Chad inside and questioned him for another thirty minutes. He booked the twists of cocaine he’d found on Chad as property slated for destruction. Pierce considered putting together a lineup, but Chad was too high to keep his eyes open long enough to stare at the random photos. Plus, Pierce didn’t have any idea who the suspect was to prepare a proper lineup anyway.

  He decided to call Dix to give him an update.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Remy moved closer to his truck and tried to keep a safe distance from Bubba and Wilfred. He tossed around the idea of killing the two guys and making a run for it. They meant nothing to him and were expendable. But he owed Bubba for testifying in his defense a few years earlier. Plus, he didn’t want to clean their blood off his custom leather seats. So he decided against it… for now.

  When Bubba started asking him about the Caller, Remy was more than happy to tell them everything he knew about the cheating, lying bastard. Remy wanted vengeance. “He’s a real prick. Last year, we did an arranged drop. I gave him a hundred grand cash, and he gave me the worst coke I’ve ever seen. I barely made my money back.”

  Wilfred nodded. “You’ve been lookin’ for him ever since.” Remy smiled. “Of course. I want his head on a platter.

  Everyone I talk to has no idea who he really is or where he’s based. All I know is he doesn’t live on the islands.”

  Remy glanced toward Bubba and noticed the big man eyeing him closely.

  Wilfred interrupted. “We’re pretty sure the Caller hired a sniper to hijack the go-fast Sean and Preston were on. The sniper screwed up, killed both of them and sank the boat.”

  Remy interrupted. “The one stored downtown?” Wilfred nodded again. “Yep. It’s there to lure the Caller.”

  Remy laughed. “So why all the questions about who he is? If he shows up to get the dope, it won’t matter because you’ll know.”

  Wilfred took a step in his direction. “The problem is he may work for the Coast Guard. We’d have a much better chance of actually catching him if we knew who we were looking for.”

  Remy smirked. “It won’t matter when he’s caught. That is, if he comes.”

  Bubba spoke at last. “Dey not sure he’ll come. Dey think he might send someone else.”

  Remy frowned. “So if the trap doesn’t work, they’ll still need an actual person to hunt down.”

  Wilfred stepped back next to Bubba and nodded. “Exactly. You know anything that might link your guy to the Coast Guard?”

  Remy stared at Bubba but answered Wilfred. “You could be right. With all the deals he’s done in the Bahamas, it seems strange he’s never been caught. He’s been going for at least ten years without any problems. The only explanation of how only his drugs get through is if he has connections with the bastards patrolling the water.”

  Wilfred cleared his throat. “Well, thanks for your time. I bet you have business to attend to. You know where to reach us if you think of anything else.”

  Remy got back into his truck while eyeing Bubba.

  Wilfred called out. “Thanks. We won’t forget your help when it all comes down.”

  “Just stay away from my business.” Remy roared off.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Dix woke up first. From the position of the sun and the sounds of the birds chirping wildly, he figured it was close to seven o’clock. He thought about waking Petersen, but he didn’t need him right now. He showered, dressed, and walked over to the main house to see if he could scrounge up something to eat.

  Several other guests were already awake. He passed one guy tying a Tarpon pattern on an Abel vise. Another stood on the deck overlooking Elliott Creek practicing his casting. Dix followed the scent of freshly brewed coffee. A counter in the lobby held the urn and cups as well as warm homemade cinnamon rolls. He’d scarfed down two cups of coffee and a couple of rolls before Petersen joined him. Dix wiped his mouth. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Like shit. I kept having odd dreams about my ex.”

  To lighten the mood, Dix replied, “Well, if it helps any, I was thinking about her too.” He chuckled.

  Petersen gave him the bird. “You don’t ever let up, do you? Anyway, let’s get back to this Caller guy.”

  “I’ve got a feeling we’re going to catch some major flak for taking this guy down. The list of people he’s controlling seems to get longer as we dig. There may be some political figures, both here and in the United States, whose heads will roll before it’s over.”

  Petersen nodded as he took a bite out of his own roll. “Too many people have died and are still dying because of this guy. His greed will do him in. He has to be unbelievably wealthy after all his years of trafficking. But he won’t let this load go.”

  Dix nodded, then stood to get himself one more cup. After all, who knew when they’d stop long enough to eat again?

  When he returned, Petersen said, “I’ll call Roger, Bubba, and Wilfred. You call our boss and Snead.”

  Dix grimaced. “I’ll make the calls. Pierce won’t be happy.” Petersen shrugged. “Oh well, get it done.”

  Dix raised an eyebrow. “Yes, sir.”

  Petersen laughed. “I must admit I enjoy watching you two butt heads.”

  Dix laughed. “Piss off.” He left and went outside to make his calls.

  The first person he reached was Sergeant Pierce.

  “Hey Dix, how the hell are you? I snagged a mid-level guy dealing in Liberty City last night. He had some information you might find interesting about your guy.”

  Dix noticed Pierce was being unusually pleasant and wondered why. “What did he tell you?”

  Pierce filled him in on the details.

  Dix whistled. “Someone else called him the Caller on his own without prompting?”

  “Right.”

  Dix was impressed. “Good. It looks like you’ve made the Miami connection.”

  “My guy bought a kilo from your guy. Stamped into it was a red horse head.”

  Now Dix was totally intrigued. “We found the same horse head on the coke we recovered from the speedboat.”

  “This guy, Chad, saw the group of guys pretty well, but it was a long time ago. He said even though it’s been ten years, he thinks he could identify him if he saw him again, say in a lineup.”

  “Wow. Do you really think he could ID the guy?” Ten years is a long time.

  “He’s used and sold cocaine for a long time. I think if you get the Caller, my guy pointing him out will help get a conviction. Or at least connect some dots.”

  Dix was genuinely appreciative. “Thanks, Sarge. I’ll let you know what I have here after I talk to everyone else. Keep your guy handy, okay?”

  Pierce growled. “I told Chad not to leave the city. Otherwise, I’d have an arrest warrant issued.” Pierce hung up before Dix could comment.

  Dix smiled. There’s the boss ma
n I know and love.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Snead had been trying to track down the mastermind through the internet with little success. He contemplated what to do next. Then his phone rang.

  “Dix here. What have you got?”

  “Nothing. What’s going on in the Bahamas?”

  “All kinds of stuff. You doing all right? You sound sort of down.”

  “I’m fine. Just hit a bump in the road and was getting pissy.”

  Dix said, “I talked to Michael Pierce. He’s been working the streets in Miami and found a dealer who made a connection to the guy were looking for. Apparently the dealer Pierce arrested did a transaction with our guy about ten years ago. He bought a kilo. It had a red horse head on it.”

  “Didn’t you guys find something like that on the cocaine from the speedboat?” Snead asked.

  “Yep. Pierce’s dealer also said while they were in the middle of the transaction, the guy he was buying the dope from got a call on his cell phone. One of the other guys answered and said something like, ‘Go ahead. You’ve reached the Caller.’”

  “Interesting. Did he think the guys might be military?”

  “Yes.” Dix nodded his head.

  “So another connection to the military, dope with the same stamp as the stuff on the boat in the Bahamas, and the actual mention of someone as the Caller. That’s a shitload of circumstantial evidence, but hard to prove in court.”

  Dix hesitated. “Your guy said he thought he could identify who we think may have been the Caller. If we make a bust and do a lineup, we might get lucky.”

  Snead snorted. “Now that would be good for the jury trial.”

  Dix continued. “Other than that, I don’t have much. I asked Petersen to continue checking what happened locally while we got some shuteye.”

  Snead realized it was his turn to share additional discoveries with Dix. “I was poking around in Liberty City and ran into Tyrone Holmes. You remember the guy. He told me he did a deal with a guy about fifteen years ago. Sounds similar to what Pierce’s guy said. There was one guy in charge, and two guys that watched his back. Tye said they were muscular and had military haircuts.”

  “Really? Sounds like too many similarities to be a coincidence.”

  “Damned right. Tye also said one of the bodyguards called the boss ‘Skipper.’ I did a little investigating and found out the term was commonly used by Coast Guard seamen when referring to the person in charge of a cutter. Sometimes somebody other than a captain was in charge, so the crewmen called the person Skipper. Anyway, it’s another possible Coast Guard connection.”

  “Hmm. I keep coming back to the same conclusion. I’m afraid our bad guy is going to turn out to be thought of as a good guy in most circles. Whoever it is has too much knowledge of what all of us do.”

  Snead had hoped the perpetrator wasn’t in law enforcement or the military. “I contacted the main Coast Guard center to get confirmation about the use of the word Skipper. I also received a list of names from my computer-savvy friends of people who had access to the computer used to register the speedboat.”

  “How come you always have a connection? Never mind. I don’t want to know. Any names of interest?”

  Snead chuckled, then grew serious. “The ‘Bloodhound,’ but I crossed him off immediately. There’s no way he’d be stupid enough to get involved in something like this. He literally is the Coast Guard.”

  “Wasn’t the name used for the registration Jackie Spears, Jim Calhoun’s daughter?” Dix asked.

  “Yeah, but all the names used were of deceased people, so this could have been random.”

  “Okay, what else do you know?”

  “I sent the list to a Coast Guard secretary. She just emailed it back while we’ve been talking.” Snead paused to open the file attachment to his email. “Most of the names are marked off, meaning they no longer work for the Coast Guard, so they don’t fit our profile. Four names are left. The only one of real interest is Rear Admiral Tony Charles. I heard he’s running a new unit. It’s supposed to be like the SEALS, but for the Coast Guard.”

  “Do you remember the guy, Roger, who caught the sniper?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Turns out he’s retired law enforcement and Royal Navy.

  Now he’s a consultant for the DEA. His people have been investigating some local police officers and some Coast Guard people. One of the names he mentioned was Tony Charles.”

  Snead slapped his knee. “The finger seems to point at Charles. Does anyone know where he is right now? Someone should keep an eye on him, and maybe even let him figure out he’s being watched.”

  “I’ll mention it.”

  Snead still planned to check the other names. “Just to cover our butts, I’ll look into the other guys on this list. If I learn anything, I’ll call you back.”

  “Okay, thanks for your help.”

  * * * *

  Dix hung up and went to see what Petersen was up to. He walked down the dock and heard Petersen’s voice.

  Based on his end of the conversation, it sounded like he was talking to Wilfred or Bubba. As he rounded the corner, he saw Petersen on his cell phone. He didn’t want to interrupt, so he picked up a fly rod and began casting in Elliott Creek while he worked on the case in his head. He managed to hook a bonefish, and it took off up the creek before snapping his line. For a moment, he felt like he was on vacation again.

  Petersen finished his call and walked over to Dix. “We gotta talk.”

  So much for the vacation.

  “I spoke to Wilfred and Bubba. They said they ran into one of the biggest dealers on Andros, and he provided some information.”

  Dix raised an eyebrow and began chewing his nails. “Those guys seem overly resourceful. I wonder what they do when no one is watching.”

  Petersen shrugged and continued. “Apparently the guy we’re looking for has been working in the Caribbean for over ten years, maybe longer. Their contact said he primarily uses boats to move narcotics.”

  “Did the dealer say anything we don’t already know?” “He told Bubba and Wilfred the boats carrying the Caller’s narcotics are never stopped. The guy said there was no way he could get all his dope through without actually being involved with one of the agencies patrolling the water and knowing their schedules and tactics. The dealer said he did some checking on the guy.”

  “Let me guess, the Caller did him dirty.”

  Petersen grinned and nodded. “Yup, and the dealer said the Caller probably had access to the UAVs being used by the Coast Guard or made the decisions on where the Coast Guard boats would patrol. He said everyone gets caught sometimes, but not the Caller.”

  Dix wasn’t impressed. “Well, it’s just theory from a drug dealer. If it’s spot on, then it’s another connection to the Coast Guard. I’m thinking we need to focus on Coast Guard people. For all we know, the Caller may already be in the area watching everything unfold.”

  Petersen continued with his update. “I also called Roger. He said they, meaning the DEA, picked up the two local officers they’d been watching late last night. Roger said they questioned them at length. They admitted working for the Caller, and gave up the name of a mid-level dealer in Liberty City, who corroborated the information.”

  Dix straightened up. “That’s great work.”

  Petersen replied, “Whatever they said must have been verifiable because they got a search warrant for the dealer’s place in Miami. It was served early this morning. They kicked in the door and found the guy on the phone with someone, who they now think was the Caller.”

  “Why do they think that?”

  “Apparently, they detained the guy and grabbed his cell phone before he could destroy it. The preliminary information is the line was secured using technology only available to a small, elite group, primarily head honchos in places like the CIA, DEA, Special OPS, SEALS, and of course, the Coast Guard. It’s experimental and extremely hard to trace, which is why they suspect the
se guys were using it in the first place. They told Roger it might be a few days before their specialists figure it out. It’s time we don’t have.”

  Dix worried that time was about up on this charade. “Did they jam the guy to see what he knows about our Caller?”

  “Yes, but he lawyered up right away. He knows who we’re looking for, which makes him valuable, but he’s not talking, at least not right now.”

  “He’ll eventually turn over and become the star witness for the prosecution, probably for full immunity,” said Dix.

  Petersen continued, “With what’s on the table and the charges he’s looking at, I’m pretty sure his lawyer will tell him to take a deal. The only problem is, it will all be done down the road, which doesn’t help us right now.”

  Dix made up his mind. “We should focus on Coast Guard people, particularly this Charles guy.”

  Petersen nodded. “I agree. We need to check all the Coast Guard personnel on the island. We should also double check the storage facility.”

  Dix agreed, so they called Roger to take them on another ride.

  The old car he’d loaned them wouldn’t start.

  When he showed up, he told Dix and Petersen things were moving quickly. “The attorney for the guy apprehended in Miami reached out to the Feds and wants to negotiate a plea deal.” Wow, that was quick. Maybe too quick.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Jim Calhoun never got too excited about anything. He and his son saw the officers and weren’t concerned. They met the men with smiles.

  Calhoun stepped off the plane. “Good evening, gentlemen. I’m Jim Calhoun, Lieutenant Commander of the Coast Guard. Anyone know where your boss is so I can get up to speed on the operation?”

  A few of the local officers had no idea who Calhoun was and asked him for identification.

  Before he made a move to retrieve it, another officer shook his head and waved him on. He told the others they were talking to a legend, Jim ‘Bloodhound’ Calhoun. When the others heard the name ‘Bloodhound,’ they looked embarrassed.