by Val Welch
Carson smiled across the table. “What a day. Tired?”
She leaned back and smiled over at him. “Exhausted. But, it feels really good to be back at work. I still can’t believe that someone actually shot Gabe, though. Doc said another half-inch and he would have bled out right there on the station floor. I don’t think anyone is actually buying the EFA involvement scenario, do you?”
Carson paused for a moment lost in thought. “I know for a fact that Morgan isn’t. For one thing, EFA has never used a phone to call in a threat or claim responsibility. It’s always been via stealth e-mail. Secondly, I can see them coming after us, but not Gabe; he’s never been involved with the investigation or the arrests.”
She rubbed her lower lip. “So, if it’s not EFA, who? One of the locals? Who would have the most anger toward William and Eden or even Gabe?”
“I’ve been asking myself that. And the family of the night watchman that was killed would be at the top of my list.”
“Mine too, and I’m sure there are countless other families that were impacted by the meth sales in the community. We need access to all the criminal arrest records related to meth use since the Malone family started their little sideline.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right. Also, I’d like to see what the forensic guys come up with from the crime scene.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “By the way, what did you find out about Verde Monte Construction?”
“I think a subpoena is in order.”
She leaned in closer. “Really? Why?”
“Because many of the highway projects they’ve done coincide with the meetings in Globe, Kingman, Winslow and Flagstaff. I think we need to get Joaquin’s employment records and see if and when he worked on those projects.”
“Absolutely. Are you working on the search warrant?”
“Oh yeah, Morgan’s on it. He’s going to send someone from the Albuquerque office over there first thing Monday morning.”
Shelby looked around at the large Saturday night dinner crowd. “I’ve never seen this place so packed. Where’s my posse?” she asked, craning her neck to look for the undercover deputies Sheriff Presler had insisted on.
“One’s at the entrance and one’s at the bar,” Carson said, nodding across the room. “Shelby, after what happened to Gabe today, I think you need to take the death threat more seriously. Why not just hang out with your posse and let me take the lead on this?”
She laughed. “Ah, come on. I think I’ve been sitting on the sidelines too long all ready. Let’s go make that visit to Judith.”
Carson signaled the deputies their intent to move out.
Twenty-Four
Judith Navarro lived in a tidy little bungalow in one of the older sections of town. There was a late model sedan parked in the driveway and a light burning in the front room.
Shelby and Carson parked at the curb and waited as the deputies parked their unmarked unit across the street. Together, the four of them opened the front gate and walked up the sidewalk to the meticulously cared for home. One of the deputies skirted around to the back and one stayed with Carson and Shelby on the porch. Shelby knocked on the door and stood aside, watching the front window as a shadow moved through the living room toward the door and stopped.
She knocked again. “Hello, Judith, it’s Shelby Ryan. I need to talk to you.”
The curtain at the side of the door fluttered briefly and then the door slowly opened a crack. Judith appeared in the opening, tightly clutching a fuzzy, baby blue robe at her throat. “Shelby, I am very tired. Please come back tomorrow.”
Shelby put her foot at the base of the open door as Judith started to close it. “Sorry, Judith, I need to speak with you now. It will only take a minute.”
Carson stepped forward and placed his hand on the door. “Judith, I know it’s been an exhausting day for you. But, we need to talk about Gabe and Joaquin. Please help us.”
Judith slowly lowered her head and stepped back as she swung the door open.
Carson cut Shelby off and walked into the room first. Shelby followed right behind him with the deputy bringing up the rear. They were standing in a large square living room crammed with seventies era furniture. There was a small television in the corner across from a club chair and ottoman. Judith made for the chair, picked up the remote and turned the television off. She waved them toward the couch and perched on the edge of the chair. “Please sit down.”
Shelby sat on the couch and Carson sat near Judith in a large upholstered chair. The deputy silently disappeared toward the rear of the house.
Carson leaned toward Judith and smiled. “Judith, we just wanted to know if Joaquin has been found.”
Judith looked back and forth at the two of them, still clutching her robe at her throat. Tears began to slowly slide down her cheek and she dabbed at them with a crumpled tissue she pulled from her robe pocket. “I’m sorry. We are all very troubled about what is happening to our family. Gabriel has been shot and Joaquin is missing. We don’t know where to turn. Since Victor’s death, Gabriel has led the family in times of crisis.”
“Judith, Shelby and I are almost family. Please let us help.”
Judith glanced at the deputy who had returned from checking the rest of the house and was now standing near the front door. Carson followed her gaze, jerked his head toward the door and the deputy stepped outside. Judith visibly relaxed, leaned forward and whispered. “The ones holding Joaquin said we must not tell the police.”
Carson leaned forward. “Joaquin’s been kidnapped?”
Judith slowly nodded. “We must get money from the bank by eleven tomorrow morning. Then they will call back with further instructions.”
Shelby looked around the modest living room. “How much money are they asking for?”
“One million dollars,” Judith said, trembling.
Carson crossed to sit on the ottoman in front of her. “Judith, tell us everything that’s happened, from the very beginning.”
Judith leaned forward, wrapped her arms around her waist and began sobbing. Shelby’s and Carson’s eyes met over her head. “Do something,” Carson mouthed as he awkwardly patted Judith on the back.
Shelby crossed the room and stooped down at the side of Judith’s chair. “Judith, would you like me to make you a cup of tea?”
Judith whispered, “Yes, please.”
Shelby went to the kitchen, put the kettle on and explored the rear of the house while waiting for it to boil. Everything was neat and orderly. Like the living room, the furniture was at least thirty years old and in pristine condition.
She found what she was looking for in the den off the hallway: a large desk with a fairly new PC. The only item in the entire house made in the last decade. Shelby booted it up and rummaged through her shoulder bag for the flash drive she kept on her key ring. She downloaded all of the e-mail folders and Word documents onto the flash drive and stuffed it back into her bag. After stopping in the kitchen to make Judith a cup of tea, she went back to the living room.
Carson had Judith calmed down and was listening intently as she explained everything she knew about Joaquin’s disappearance.
“Judith, just to make sure I have this straight, let me repeat what you’ve told me. All right?”
Judith nodded as Shelby handed her the cup of tea.
“After the party Friday night, Rebeca and Joaquin went home. Around midnight someone came to the door and Joaquin went outside to speak with them. Joaquin came back into the house, told Rebeca he was leaving to help a friend and would be back in a few minutes. Rebeca went to sleep and woke a few hours later when her water broke. Joaquin was still not home. She called you to take her to the hospital and Anna, Joaquin’s younger sister, went to stay with the children.” Carson paused, waiting for Judith to silently nod her agreement before he continued.
“The next morning, after Rebeca had the baby, Gabe was shot and Anna received a phone call demanding one million dollars in exchange for Joaquin’s rel
ease. They gave you twenty-four hours to get the money and are calling back in the morning to arrange the exchange.”
Judith nodded again as she warmed her hands on the tea cup.
Shelby leaned forward and patted Judith on the arm. “Do you have a million dollars?”
“Yes, Lydia and I do.”
“How many people know this?” Shelby asked.
“Just the family.”
“Where did the money come from?”
“We sold some family property. The money is to be used to educate the children.”
“Judith, did you write the letter warning me to be careful?” Shelby asked, watching Judith carefully.
Judith averted her eyes, and then slowly looked up at Shelby. “Yes, I did. You released a plague in our midst and many are angered by it. You must be very careful, look at what has happened to Gabriel and Joaquin.”
“Do you know anyone specifically who may be responsible for shooting Gabe or abducting Joaquin?” Carson asked.
“No. Many are angry, but I do not know who did these things.”
Carson nodded and asked, “Judith, will you give us names of those people who you know are angry?”
“No I cannot. They will hurt our children.”
“Have people made threats against the children?” Shelby asked.
Judith refused to look at Shelby. “I must not say more. Please do not go to the police. The family must deal with this.”
“Does Lydia know of any of this?” Carson asked.
“Yes. She said we must pay the money.”
“Judith, please let me help you with paying the money tomorrow. It could be very dangerous for you to do it.”
“The man who called demanded that Anna’s husband, Troy, do it.”
Carson and Shelby made eye contact. “Judith, I think it would be best if you didn’t tell anyone in the family that you’ve told us of the abduction. Okay?” Carson said.
“Yes,” she said, obviously relieved. “I know Gabriel would trust you to help us, but many in the family would be upset I’ve told you.”
Carson took a business card from his coat pocket and handed it to Judith. “This is my cell phone number. Call me anytime, day or night and let us know if there are any new developments or if you need our help in any way.”
Judith weakly smiled. “Thank you. Gabriel has spoken highly of you both. I will call you tomorrow after Joaquin’s release.”
Shelby stood and hugged Judith. “Please come and lock the door after we leave and keep it locked.”
Judith followed them to the door and they waited as she slowly closed the door and locked it.
Twenty-Five
Shelby slid into the car, looked over at Carson and said, “Someone in the family is trying to rip her and Lydia off.”
Carson nodded. “Oh yeah. We need to check out Anna and her husband, right away.”
“Who’s calling Morgan? Me or you?”
“You. I’m driving,” Carson said, pulling away from the curb. “You know he’s going to bring the CIRG in, right?”
Shelby paused, holding her cell phone in her hand. “Yeah I know. But, that’s what it’s going to take to get this pulled together. We only have sixteen hours before the exchange goes down.”
“Is that what Gabe would want?”
She shrugged. “I think he’d want us to take care of his mom and Judith. We need surveillance on Rebeca’s, Anna’s and Judith’s homes tonight too. Oh, I downloaded her e-mail and Word documents onto my flash drive.”
“Good. Throw it into my briefcase and I’ll take a look at it later,” Carson said, glancing over at her as he turned down the street to Doc’s. “Are you going to call Lydia?”
“Yeah, and Doc too.”
At sunrise, Shelby, Carson, Doc, Lydia and Morgan were in Doc’s kitchen. It had been a long but productive night. As they suspected, after learning of Joaquin’s possible kidnapping, Morgan had immediately called in the Critical Incident Response Group headed by Special Agent in Charge Karen Reynolds who was currently sitting across the table trying to reason with Lydia.
“Mrs. Navarro, I understand your loyalty to family. However, it’s obvious from the research Special Agent Billings has done that your niece Anna and her husband have severe financial problems. And honestly, I don’t buy the whole kidnapping story. I think this is an extortion attempt by some of the younger members of your family,” SAC Reynolds repeated for the second time.
Obviously distraught, Lydia turned toward Doc for reassurance. “Please, how can this be?”
Doc looked at Lydia’s anguished face and sadly shook his head. “Dear, please try to understand, everyone here is trying to help you. It’s their job to look at all of the possibilities and plan accordingly. Please, just let them do their job.”
Lydia looked at Shelby. “Do you believe I should agree to this plan as well?”
“Yes, Lydia, I do and I think that Gabe would want it too. It’s critical that you tell no one, including Judith, of our plan. If we’re wrong, they’ll never know of our suspicions.”
Lydia turned to Carson. “Do you agree?”
“Yes, I agree, Lydia. It’s the best possible plan. If we’re wrong and it’s not Anna, Troy and Joaquin trying to steal the money, we’ll be ready to track the money and catch whoever is holding Joaquin. Statistically, you have the best possible outcome by letting us, the professionals, handle this for you.”
“Very well, I agree,” Lydia said, lowering her head.
Morgan, who had been leaning against the kitchen counter listening, turned to Reynolds and asked, “SAC Reynolds, can you go over everything one last time?”
Shelby touched Doc on the arm and pointed down the hallway. “The two of you should go get some rest. We’ll take care of everything.”
Doc helped Lydia to her feet. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go lay down for a couple of hours before you go to the hospital to see Gabe. Shelby will wake us if anything develops.”
After they left the room, Carson got up to make another pot of coffee and SAC Reynolds went over the plan again.
“Mrs. Navarro wears a wire, goes into the bank and leaves with the money in a duffle bag. She then meets Troy Abbott at Joaquin and Rebeca Navarro’s home to wait for the call.”
“Does the bank even have a million dollars?” Shelby asked.
Reynolds looked up from her notes and shook her head. “No, most banks don’t have that kind of cash lying around. We’ll be providing the sequentially numbered bills. The trip into the bank is purely for show in case they’re watching. We’ve already contacted the manager and she’ll be working with us.”
She glanced back at her notes and continued. “If and when the call comes and Troy Abbott leaves with the money, he’ll be followed via a tracking device that’s being sewn into the lining of the duffel bag.”
“How many units will you have tracking him?” Morgan asked.
“We’ll have a total of five units involved in the operation. Two surveillance units are already in place at Joaquin Navarro’s and Troy Abbott’s homes. We’ll have two mobile units following the money and a mobile command unit set up in a hanger at the airfield. After Troy Abbott leaves, we’ll just have to play it by ear. The key is not losing him. We’re monitoring all the landline phones in the family and we’ve put tracking devices on all of the cars. The Pine Ridge Police Department is on standby and if things go south on us, we can throw up road blocks within minutes.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. There are dozens of four-wheel-drive trails out of town,” Shelby said. “What about air coverage?”
“We have a Department of Public Safety chopper standing by at the airfield in case we need it,” Reynolds said.
Morgan stood, stretched and picked up his coat. “I think we’ve done all we can at this point. Let’s try to get a couple hours sleep and meet at the mobile command unit at nine.”
After Morgan and Reynolds left for their hotel, Shelby put the empty coffee cups i
n the sink and turned to look at Carson. “Are you up for a little reconnaissance adventure?”
He shook his head. “Oh damn, I don’t like that look, it usually means big trouble. What do you have in mind?”
“A trip to Gabe’s house and a little look-see.”
He shrugged. “I might as well join you, because I sure as hell can’t stop you.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll sneak out the back and circle around through the forest. The posse won’t even know we’re gone,” she said over her shoulder as she grabbed their coats from the mudroom.
Twenty-Six
Twenty minutes later, Shelby and Carson emerged from the forest behind Gabe’s house, casually crossed the open expanse of lawn and walked up the back steps to the screened-in porch. Carson pulled the unlocked screen door open and they entered the porch.
“I can’t believe he doesn’t lock his doors,” Shelby whispered. They moved to the kitchen door and peered through the window.
Carson tried the handle, it turned easily and they walked into his spotless kitchen. “Nice,” Carson said, looking around.
Shelby walked over to the drawers and started rummaging through them. “The usual kitchen stuff, silverware, a junk drawer, but most of these drawers are empty.”
Carson opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “A few bottles of beer and a couple of carry-out containers. Typical single guy stuff.”
They wandered out to the dining and living rooms. Everything was orderly and covered with a fine layer of dust as if it wasn’t used often. “He must spend most of his time at the station or maybe upstairs,” Shelby said, leading the way up the staircase.
They paused at the first door to the right of the landing and Carson slowly pushed it open. Shelby swallowed hard as they stood in the doorway, silently taking in the room. The walls were painted a pale buttercup yellow, the ceiling a robin’s egg blue and large puffy clouds had been painstakingly stenciled onto the ceiling. There were several pieces of white furniture huddled in the corner under a clear plastic drop cloth. In front of the bay window a white wicker rocking chair sat in a lonely vigil over the front yard.
