The Alex Troutt Thrillers: Books 4-6 (Redemption Thriller Series Box Set Book 2)

by John W. Mefford

  “What about your dad’s girlfriend Carly? Where was she?” Nick asked.

  “Crouching on the ground behind him. Anyway, even with Archie doing his best to return fire, one of the shooters got out of their car and brazenly walked around another vehicle to us.”

  “What the hell happened?” Brad’s voice was animated.

  “My first thought was that I wished my Glock would magically appear. Fortunately, just as the perp raised his weapon, Archie blew a hole right through his shoulder.”

  “Whiteshaft never misses.” Nick snorted.

  “What do you need from us, Alex?” Brad asked.

  “Well…” I took in breath and glanced at Archie. He rolled his arms, urging me to get to the point.

  “It all happened too quickly, but part of me thinks the gunmen were targeting Carly.”

  The silence was deafening.

  “Brad, Gretchen, Nick?”

  Nick spoke first. “We’re thinking about what you’re suggesting here, Alex.”

  “I’ve been reading more about this drive-by shooting while we’re talking, and it’s apparent the DEA thinks it could be linked to drug cartel activity,” Brad said.

  “Well, I discussed that with the lead DEA agent. He’s got a suspect in custody who admitted there was a new cartel flexing its muscle. He wondered if this was nothing more than the new guys trying to show off their power.”

  “What does he think about the angle that they were going after Carly?” Gretchen chimed in.

  “I didn’t bring it up. On purpose.”

  The sound of a thousand buzzing bumblebees came at us from two o’clock. Archie turned at the same time I saw it—Luke’s latest drone. Just before vacation, he’d used a gift certificate from his birthday to purchase the prized possession.

  “Don’t tell me the CIA has lowered itself to spying on its former agents,” Archie said, lifting his arm as the drone nearly shaved a wedge out of his sculpted hair.

  “Sorry, bad timing on Luke’s part,” I said.

  I could hear his giggle before I saw his face coming out of the darkened hallway.

  “By the way, it’s not just any drone,” Luke said. “It’s the Sky Viper v950HD Video Drone. The video is recorded in full 720p high-definition. It also has a six-axis gyro and accelerometer stabilization, and if you’ve ever flown one of these puppies, you know how important that is.”

  I pointed at the phone. “Remember, Mom is on a call.”

  “But I’m just bored, Mom. I need something to do,” he said as he watched the drone fly near the windows. “And it’s still raining. Jeez, I can’t catch any breaks.”

  “Luke.” I gave him the eye.

  “All right, all right, I’ll go back to my room and look at pictures of the Celtics dance team.”

  I did a double take.

  “Right on, brother.” Archie held out his fist, and Luke didn’t leave him hanging. He bumped fists, then put his hand back on the controller.

  “Thanks for encouraging him,” I said to Archie.

  “What, he’s fifteen, sixteen years old. It’s time for him to start giving everything a test run.”

  I made sure Luke wasn’t watching, and I balled up a fist and jabbed two knuckles into his shoulder socket.

  “He’s twelve, so understand your audience, dipshit,” I whispered.

  “Ouch, you hurt me.” His face scrunched into an accordion as he rubbed his shoulder.

  “Hey, Luke, this is Brad.”

  “What’s up, Brad?” Luke shifted his body and his drone closer to the phone. He actually sounded excited to hear Brad’s voice.

  “Did you catch SportsCenter last night?” Brad asked.

  “No, missed it. What’s going on?”

  “A ton, dude. First, the Celtics traded their first-round pick. But I was in such a rush, I didn’t see what they got in return.”

  “What is Ainge thinking?” Luke said. “We’ve got to get younger, not continue to sign these guys with no tread left on their tires.”

  Even though he’d interrupted a work call, I knew I’d interrupted his vacation. I gave him a pass and tried not to giggle at his advanced assessment.

  “On top of that, the Patriots have called a press conference for tomorrow. Lots of speculation about what it could be,” Brad said.

  Luke landed the drone and set the controller on the counter. “Don’t tell me that Brady might retire.”

  “No one knows, but lots of rumors.”

  “Belichick too?”

  “I don’t know, bud.”

  “I’ve got to jump on Twitter and check all the sports gossip. Thanks for letting me know, Brad.”

  “No problem. And once you think you’ve figured it out, shoot me a text, will you? I’m dying to know.”

  “Sure thing. Later.” Luke ran out of the room like he had a mission in life.

  “Thanks, Brad,” I said as casually as I could, but deep down, he’d given me another reason to want him. He understood little boys and what made them tick. He was kind of acting like an uncle, or even a stepdad.

  Nick got us back on track. “So you were saying, Alex, that you didn’t tell the DEA agent your concern about Carly being a target?”

  “True, and in hearing you repeat it back to me, I’m not sure if my imagination is playing tricks on me. On the other hand, by not mentioning it, I might be further endangering Carly and my dad.”

  “So you want us to dig into her life, see if there is any way she could be associated with a drug cartel or drug smuggling in general. Am I right?

  “Full name?” Gretchen asked.

  “Carly Irsham.” I spelled it for her.

  “I’m already on it. I should be able to start feeding you data by tonight.” I could hear the clatter of the keyboard in the background.

  “Great. Thank you, Gretchen. And Brad, you’re okay with Gretchen working on this?”

  “I know she can fit it in. She’s a pro.”

  “Alex, have you considered what you’re going to do with this information?” Nick asked.

  “I’m hoping she’s lived a boring life, and I can lower my FBI antenna and not worry.”

  “What if it’s the opposite?”

  “Then…I don’t know. It will depend on what’s there.”

  Archie cleared his throat, and I locked eyes with him.

  I took in a breath.

  “Something’s up. What is it?” asked Nick.

  “Archie is working a case, and he doesn’t have access to the same resources he once had.”

  “And that’s supposed to mean what to us?”

  “Ouch, Nicky boy. When did I ever piss in your cornflakes?” Archie said.

  “Hey, it’s a local kid, from Boston,” I said. “Well, his parents live in Weston, and he’s a student at UVA. His name is Kyle Spencer, and he went missing while on vacation down here about eight days ago.”

  “Wouldn’t the San Antonio office handle this one?” Brad asked.

  “We tried rattling those cages,” Archie said. “And everyone there is either too busy or they just don’t see any evidence of foul play. But I guess they don’t know what I found out earlier today.”

  I flicked his shoulder with my hand. “What did you not tell me, Archie?”

  “I cornered Kyle’s friends coming out of the grocery this morning.”

  “Nice work. And?”

  “They were bickering like Ozzie and Harriet.”

  “Are you talking about Ozzy Osborne?” Brad asked.

  “Uh…no, junior. Before your time. Anyway, the pair were on pins and needles, not sure what to do.”

  “So they said Kyle was kidnapped?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And they told no one?”

  “Apparently. It all started when they went to the party house I was showing you on the bay side. It was the wildest thing they’d ever witnessed. More drugs than they’d ever seen. It frankly scared the shit out of them. So they slipped out the back window.”

&nb
sp; “They just left him there?”

  “They said he could handle himself in any situation, and to top it off, they knew he was about to score with some chick they’d met at the bungee jump.”

  Alex raked her fingers through her hair. “We need to find this girl.”

  “There’s more. They actually went back to the house because one of them left his wallet behind. When they peeked over the privacy wall, they saw Kyle being dragged out to a car and tossed into the trunk. That’s when this drop-dead gorgeous woman—their term, not mine—strutted out of the house and got into the back seat. The gate opened and the car left. That’s the last they saw of Kyle.”

  “Are these guys brain-dead? If they’d told the police right away, they might have been able to find Kyle that night,” I said.

  Archie held up a single finger. “Here’s why they got scared. While they were at this crazy party, they overheard a girl saying that among the party attendees were local cops, assistant DAs, and other officials. That stuck in their head. They felt like there was nowhere to turn. So they were just lying low, hoping Kyle would turn up and they wouldn’t be forced to go public.”

  I gazed into Teresa’s dining room at the china cabinets filled with crystal. I was trying to process everything Archie had shared.

  Nick spoke while I continued thinking. “Did Dumb and Dumber get the license plate of the car?”

  “Just the make and model. It was a red Mercedes sedan, 500 series.”

  “I can run some searches and see what we come up with in the five counties that make up the Rio Grande Valley,” Gretchen said.

  “Cool. That’s a start,” I said. “You might find fifty, you might find two hundred. That could take a while to sift through. We need more information on who owns that house.”

  “Did you talk to your hot friend?”

  I arched an eyebrow at Archie. “Teresa is her name. I spoke to her briefly this morning as she was running out the door. She said she would check a realtor database to see if she can figure out who the owner is.”

  “Okay, let me ask the obvious question here.” Nick coughed once, then he continued. “Why can’t we call up the San Antonio office and let them take the lead?”

  “Can’t,” Archie said without hesitation. “The college kids said a bunch of government bigwigs were at the party, meaning they were complicit in all the shit that went down. At least we have to assume so.”

  “You didn’t mention this before, that the FBI was on the list of folks in attendance,” Nick shot back.

  “But that doesn’t mean an FBI employee wasn’t there. Sounds like this party might have been hosted simply to influence or get dirt on as many officials as possible. Now, if you guys have any personal contacts in the San Antonio office that you trust, that’s another matter.”

  A few seconds of silence except for more keyboard tapping. “We can always bring in the San Antonio office later. For now, let’s keep it amongst ourselves,” I said, closing the topic for now.

  “I’ll step up and help out,” Brad said. “Alex, even with your friend checking on who owns the house, I’m assuming you still want us to find out everything we can about the owner of that house, any renters and so forth?”

  “You got it. Thanks. While you’re at it, let’s also complete our regular due diligence on Kyle’s parents.”

  I pointed at Archie’s phone and he said, “Oh, their names. Right.” He tapped his phone four times. “Thaddeus and Winifred Spencer.”

  “Do you think Kyle’s so-called friends could give a strong description of the woman they saw getting into the Mercedes?” I asked.

  “Even with their buddy being dragged to the car, when they mentioned the woman, their tongues were practically hanging out, so I’m guessing they could do that.”

  “Let’s hope. We need to give them another visit. Let’s see if we can get a Skype session set up with our sketch artist. I also want to quiz them further about anything else they might have seen or heard. I’m wondering if they can recall any specific names. Anything would help us right now.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Expecting the pool boy to show up?” Archie asked.

  “Funny,” I said. “By the way, set up this interview with Kyle’s friends quickly. Every day that goes by without building an evidence trail makes it less likely we’ll be able to find one, much less him, alive.”

  He gave me the two-finger salute, which I easily ignored.

  The bell rang again, and Luke came screaming down the hallway.

  “Gotta go, Brad, Gretchen, Nick. Copy the whole team when you send out the data so we can keep everyone on the same page.”

  “Including what we find on Carly?” Gretchen asked.

  “Sure.”

  “And by team, you’re including Archie?” Nick asked.

  The PI smiled while splaying his arms. Something about him looked like a used-car salesman.

  I sighed. “Sure. It just makes it easier for everyone.”

  I punched the line dead and got to the front door just as Luke opened it.

  “And what’s your name, little man?” Raul Marta, DEA, was bending a long stick of gum into his mouth, which reminded me of Nick and his longtime habit.

  Luke held out his hand. “Luke Giordano, nice to meet you.”

  A puzzled look washed across Raul’s face, but he knew better than to discuss the Giordano-Troutt name difference in front of my son.

  I ushered Raul into the foyer and shut the door.

  Archie pointed at the DEA agent. “Why’s he here?”

  “He’s taking me along to interview the perp they picked up a couple of weeks back.” I gave Archie the eye. I didn’t want to get into the reasoning behind why I was going: to learn more about this rival drug cartel battle going on and to determine if there was any way my dad’s girlfriend could somehow be caught in the web.

  He gave me a slow nod, then he turned to Raul. “I’ve got awful breath. Can you spare a piece of gum?”

  Raul pulled out a crumpled stick and handed it to Archie.

  “Perp. Sounds intriguing, Mom, but I thought we were going to go do something.” Luke crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. I got a strange look into the future as to what my son might look like as an adult.

  I leaned on my knees to be eye level with Luke. “This won’t take long. Two hours max, then I’m all yours.”

  He puffed a breath through his nose, then he turned and peered out the back windows. The rain was coming down in sheets.

  “Perfect timing. We take a beach vacation, and it frickin’ rains.”

  I could feel the glare from Raul and Archie. I chose not to correct Luke’s use of language this time. I rose to standing and pondered my decision-making…again.

  “I can take the kids to go do something fun,” Archie said.

  “You? What do you know about kids?”

  “Mom, that’s a great idea. I’m game,” Luke said.

  “See, the kid even likes it. Believe me, I can easily connect with kids. It’s kind of natural.”

  I twisted my lips and thought for a second. Archie was rather juvenile. And what were my options? Teresa was at work, and her son Corey wasn’t around either. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage any type of social interaction between Corey and my impressionable fifteen-year-old daughter.

  I wagged a finger at Archie. “Okay, you’ll get one shot. You mess this up, you won’t understand what hit you.”

  Luke ran off whooping at the top of his lungs that he would finally be released from prison. I grabbed my purse and opened the door, then flipped back around to the babysitter. “You sure you got this?”

  “Walk in the park,” Archie said between gum smacks.

  “What’s your plan?”

  “I’ll just wing it, go with the flow. We’ll figure it out.” He shot me a wink.

  I walked out the door feeling oddly comfortable that Archie was in charge.

  9

  As we pulled up to the entra
nce of the small, private prison just outside of San Benito, my riding buddy, Raul, got a call. The warden said that Diego Reyna was found dead just an hour earlier, dangling a foot off the floor from a metal wire wrapped around his neck. The cause of death was ruled a suicide.

  Raul immediately started cursing in Spanish. Then, after finishing his rant, he questioned how quickly this death had been ruled a suicide. He reminded the warden that Reyna’s revelation about the rival cartels and their unique ranking system was probably just a small amount of what he actually knew. Although Reyna had lawyered up, Raul’s plan had been to convince the prisoner to reveal the whole truth in exchange for bringing the Reyna family to the States from Mexico, all with new identities far from the border, and offering him immunity from all charges.

  I heard the warden’s responses and the ongoing heated exchange—even though the phone wasn’t on speaker.

  “I admit that our system is not foolproof,” the warden said. “Just like any other sector of business, we have a few bad apples in the bunch.”

  Raul, who was so worked up that he was sweating profusely inside the air-conditioned car, fired back. “So you’re essentially conceding that someone on your staff allowed this so-called suicide to take place.”

  “I…uh…”

  “I don’t even know why I’m using the term. We both know that Diego Reyna did not commit suicide. This was murder.”

  “If it was, then we will get to the bottom of it, find out who was involved and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

  Raul’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You think that’s going to do us any good? In case you haven’t heard, murder is one of those things that you can’t take back. Reyna is dead and so is our one and only hope of gaining valuable intel about how these cartels operate.”

  “We will reexamine all of our hiring policies and procedures to ensure there are no gaps, especially with those prisoners who are deemed as high value to the federal government.”

  Raul just tossed his phone to the seat without bothering to end the call. We sat in the parking lot as a rumble of thunder rattled the car’s frame. I could hear the warden making some new proclamation. He was so busy covering his ass he didn’t even realize that Raul had lost his patience and literally tossed him aside.