“What did he say?” The shakiness in Kayla’s voice was unmistakable.
“His name is Agent Sullivan and he told me that the DEA hadn’t notified the FBI that anything was going on with the Montenegro. He also said that he thought that there was a possibility that the Chief at the Sheriff’s department might be involved with the cartel. He didn’t want me to say anything but Lawrence forced it out of me.” She shot Lawrence a dirty look.
“She has a right to know Anita. Look these aren’t the most upstanding characters to deal with as it is and that already makes this a really risky situation. The more information they have going in, the better. Besides, what if she or her mom decided to reach out to the Sheriff’s department for help?”
“No way would that ever happen. Why would we trust them anyhow? We trusted Detective Woods for three years and you see how that turned out.” Kayla replied caustically.
“Still, that’s not a secret that should be kept from you and your mother even if Agent Sullivan specifically requested that Anita keep it to herself.”
Kayla sighed. “To be honest, I don’t even care. In fact I’m kind of relieved that we don’t have to wait until Friday for this meeting. At least by tomorrow night, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re up against.”
Lawrence wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t skeptical by nature but nothing about any of this was sitting right with him. After Anthony’s murder, he had good reason to be mistrustful. It was already a given fact that anyone involved in the drug trade was untrustworthy but the fact that Anthony had so many secrets felt like a betrayal of their relationship. They were more like brothers than cousins but he never once gave any indication that he was in trouble. The fact that Lawrence didn’t pick up on it only made him doubt himself and his own observational abilities. Since then, he made a conscious effort to not only sharpen and refine his instincts but to do away with secrets in his life. He had learned the hard way that secrets can kill.
***
“What’s your plan?” asked Luciano.
Escobar merely smiled and reached for a cigar. “You’ll see, my friend, you will see.” Then he lit his cigar.
“Is everything ready?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No, not at the moment. I’ll let you know,” Escobar told Luciano as he blew smoke rings out of his mouth.
***
“Anita, did you call Agent Sullivan and tell him about the change of plans?”
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for? Call him and tell him.” Lawrence told her.
“Since when are you so bossy?”
“Since I’m here to look out for you, Kayla, her mother and Aunt Nat.”
“Nobody asked you to look out for me,” Anita was still testy over the way Lawrence had spoken to her earlier. A little voice in her head kept trying to tell her that he was right, but she wasn’t ready to hear it.
“Maybe not, but I’m here whether you like it or not. Let’s not forget, you’re the one who called Aunt Nat.”
“Yeah, Aunt Nat not Lawrence.”
Kayla couldn’t believe what she was watching and hearing. Anita was acting like a spoiled 5 year old. She knew she needed to nip this in the bud and fast.
“Okay, you’re mad at Lawrence for squeezing the information out of you and Lawrence is mad at you for not telling in the first place. Fine get over it. The one thing we don’t need is a bunch of arguing amongst ourselves, especially over absolutely nothing,” she looked at Anita. “I know he’s right, you know he’s right so just stop acting like a terror and make the call.”
Anita snatched up her phone and with aggressively exaggerated movements, looked up Agent Sullivan’s number then hit the call button far harder than was necessary to show her displeasure. After speaking to Agent Sullivan, she hung up the phone. Lawrence and Kayla just looked at her. “Well, what did he say?”
“He hasn’t made any headway and more than likely you’ll be on your own.
Even though Anita tried not to show it, she was scared for Mama Ann and Kayla. She was intensely afraid that the cavalry wasn’t going to arrive in time and that she and Lawrence would be useless in the whole endeavor. For the first time since this all started, she was more convinced than ever that they were all going to die.
Chapter 20
As Detective Woods got dressed, part of him was relieved that the day had arrived but a part of him was extremely wary and concerned. Escobar had given him no explanation as to why he had decided to move the meeting date with Kayla and her mother up let alone an explanation as to what he wanted to see him about. “Well why should he? It’s not like you’re his right hand man or somebody really important to him. You, Detective Woods are as dispensable as they come; just another payment to secure his operations.”
Detective Woods looked at himself long and hard in the mirror. He didn’t like to look too deep because he usually didn’t like what he saw. In spite of his diminished desire to be one of Escobar’s paid lackey’s, and the fact the he had taken a big risk by informing the Chief of what was going on, his conscience still was not clear. “Maybe it never will be,” he thought as he head out the door to the job he was soon to be fired from.
As he drove to work, Detective Woods began to wonder why the Chief hadn’t followed procedure and arrested him after he admitted his wrongdoing. By rights, he should have been arrested on the spot. Before he could come up with any reasonable possibilities, he was in front of the Sheriff’s Department. Woods was suddenly overcome with emotion. All he had ever wanted was to follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps and be someone who upheld the law and protected the innocent. He wanted to be a defender of justice and someone who could right wrongs by enforcing the laws that kept law-abiding citizens safe. His stupidity and disillusionment became the gateway for greed. He convinced himself that since there was so much wrong in the world that couldn’t be fixed; there was no longer really a reason to try. When all was said and done, he began to believe that there was something to the old adage, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” By the time he was approached by the cartel, he was like a peach ready to be picked.
Just coming to work felt like treachery, but until his Chief acted one way or the other, he would continue to come. He thought about resigning but chose not to do so. If he did, no doubt Escobar would quickly find out and that would open up a whole other can of worms. Maybe if he cooperated in the eventual takedown of Escobar and the cartel, he would find some measure of redemption. But as of right now, he was just a drug lord’s flunky, a dirty cop on the take showing up for work while putting on a mask acting out the charade of being a cop. “You’re pitiful,” he told himself as he entered the building.
***
Detective Woods made it through the day without incident and without so much as a glance from the Chief. Every time the Chief approached his office, Detective Woods would perk up thinking that maybe he was coming to give him some news as to what had been decided. But each time, the Chief passed right by. “As the Chief’s least favorite person right now it’s probably for the best,” he thought.
At the end of the day, he once again head to the Raven’s Nest partly to kill time and partly to get some liquid courage. As the day wore on, his initial sense of relief was slowly replaced by trepidation. He wanted to rid himself of that feeling as much as possible before arriving at the warehouse at 11:00. The time dragged on until he could take it no longer. He decided to go home to shower and change. By the time he was done, it would be closer to the meeting time and then he would soon find out what Escobar wanted.
Back at Mama Ann’s, a small pre-meeting was being held. Lawrence felt that it was necessary to come up with a plan should things go left. Anita reminded him that everyone at the warehouse would no doubt be fully-armed and prepared for any eventuality. The most they could do was pray because Escobar had an army and all Kayla and Mama Ann had was h
er, Lawrence and Aunt Nat. Suddenly infuriated, Anita screamed at Lawrence, “With all the people you know, you couldn’t bring them here for this? Knowing what Mama Ann and Kayla were up against, you mean you couldn’t recruit anybody to come with you?”
Lawrence understood her frustration. He spoke softly and calmly, not wanting to agitate her any further.
“Anita, I can’t just ask a bunch of my friends to stop everything to come to another town to protect people that previously I didn’t even know for some undetermined period of time. And in addition to that, how could I ask them to potentially risk their lives as though they don’t have families of their own. You know that wouldn’t fly.”
Again, Anita knew he was right but her nerves were starting to get the best of her. “So what do we do?”
“Just what we originally planned. Mama Ann and Kayla will go in one car, while you, me and Aunt Nat will go in the other. While Kayla and her mother go inside, we will find an inconspicuous location near the warehouse to park and wait, but not too close. Hopefully, nothing will go wrong but if it does we won’t be so far away that we can’t get in and help them the best way we can.” Lawrence spoke with strength and assurance. Kayla interrupted. “We appreciate all your help but let’s not kid ourselves here. If this meeting is not about a negotiation or even if it is and something goes horribly wrong, there is no way any of you are going to be able to get inside the warehouse in time to do anything other than identify our corpses.”
“Well dang girl, thanks but no thanks for the visual. But I get it. The least we can do is try,” Lawrence said softly.
Lawrence was suddenly angry and fought hard not to show it. Kayla was right. If things suddenly went left, the most he, Anita and Aunt Nat could do is get themselves killed. The three of them were no match for even a portion of the manpower or firepower that was no doubt protecting that warehouse.
Kayla looked at each one of them, her expression serious.
“But there’s no point in you risking your lives knowing you’ll have no win. If it goes bad, just assume we’re already dead and call the Police.”
Anita, Lawrence and Aunt Nat looked at each other.
“Promise me,” Kayla said forcefully.
After a few more moments of hesitation, they all promised.
***
Detective Woods head over to the warehouse and parked directly out front. The armed guards wasted no time drawing their weapons as he pulled up. Carefully and slowly, he got out of his car and waited for them to recognize him. After several tense seconds passed, one of them nodded and signaled for him to come. The others resumed their positions but never once let their guards down and remained watchful, heads swiveling back and forth as their eyes surveyed the distant landscape and surrounding area.
Once inside, Detective Woods was quickly escorted to Escobar who sat at his usual place behind his desk. Detective Woods walked up to the desk and without warning was bashed in the back of his head by one of the armed guards. He had just a second to register surprise before everything faded to black.
When Detective Woods awoke, he was in a chair in the middle of the floor. His ankles were duck taped to the chair legs and his hands had been duck taped behind his back. As his vision cleared, he saw Escobar seated in a chair about 3 feet away from him. He opened his mouth to speak and was punched squarely in his jaw. That was when he became aware that he was flanked by two of Escobar’s men on the right and the left. His mouth filled with blood even as his heart filled with fear. Finally Escobar spoke.
“I know you’re probably wondering why you’re in the position you’re in Detective.”
Detective Woods nodded but did not attempt to speak.
“You see, I have eyes and ears everywhere. What made you think that you could speak to your Chief and I wouldn’t know about it?”
Detective Woods eyes got wide.
That’s right. I knew about your little conversation before you even called me. You’re fate had been sealed ever since then.”
Now Detective Woods understood why the hairs on the back of his neck had been standing up and he kept feeling that impending sense of peril.
“Since you’re going to die anyway, it’s quite safe for me to tell you what you never really needed to know. Under normal circumstances, if I found out that we had been infiltrated, I would order the offenders killed immediately. But somehow it pleased me to know that I could turn the DEA’s undercovers. That’s why no real information was finding its way to the DEA. They were purposely misled to believe that their men could not reach me and were unable to come up with any useful leads or information. Their job was to distract and deter whenever necessary.”
Detective Woods’ heart sank. Escobar continued, “But, as with any plan, sometimes things don’t work out. Sometimes things slip through the cracks. The DEA found out about the shipment I had scheduled for this Saturday.” Escobar shrugged. “It happens. But this time,” he laughed, they’re going to be so disappointed. Once I found out who leaked the information, I had them taken care of and then I arranged for the shipment to arrive on Friday, a full day earlier. By the time the DEA arrives on Saturday, we’ll be long gone.” Escobar laughed again. “What’s the matter Detective, is this all too much for your puny brain? Then let me help you out.” Escobar gestured to one of his men who went to the door and opened it. A man strolled over to the desk and stood near Escobar. With a smile on his face, Escobar said, “I believe you two have met.”
“Hello Detective Woods,” Lieutenant Wilson said while reaching for his hand. “Oh that’s right you can’t shake hands right now, you seem to be just a little tied up.” The arrogant smirk on his face said it all.
Woods was starting to piece things together. The Lieutenant was, on the Chief’s orders, supposed to contact the DEA. Because he was in Escobar’s pocket, he never actually made the attempt, but lied and said he did knowing the Chief would never go behind him to check; hence the delay in hearing from them. Since undercovers rarely know about each other, the ones who were found by Escobar had no knowledge of the existence of the other undercover agent who
Escobar had remained oblivious to. Because their cover wasn’t blown, they were able to fill the DEA in on the news of the shipment. Then due to an unfortunate turn of events, Escobar eventually found out the source of the leaked information and killed him; he was probably fish food at the bottom of the river.”
“I see by the look in your eyes that you are starting to connect the dots,” Escobar said with way more cheer than the situation required.
“Detective, I told you that you were not the only one I had in my pocket. Don’t you realize that the success of my operation depends largely on my intelligence, trust, fear and discretion? Let me break it down for you. I am the brains of this operation, I fully trust no one but inspire fear in all those who work for me and this in turn prompts discretion. No one who works for me, with half an ounce of sense, would ever think to cross me. They know the consequences for doing so. Towns like Lambert are small and relatively innocuous and don’t typically draw the attention of the FBI or DEA. It’s also large enough to supply the resources needed to operate unnoticed and undetected. And by resources I mean, those on my payroll such as you and the Lieutenant here and this wonderfully empty warehouse that just happens to sit by the most unused and unsecured river I have ever seen.” Escobar almost seemed giddy. Then his expression turned deadly serious.
“Oh, and let’s not forget the storeowners willing to launder a little cash. And that brings us to the matter of Gary Richard’s wife and his daughter.”
Escobar leaned down and looked Detective Woods directly in his eyes. “How much have you told them? And do not lie to me.”
“Nothing. I’ve told them nothing.”
“So you want me to believe that even though you wanted to champion their cause that you never mentioned that I was the one responsible for the death of their beloved husband and father?”
“Didn’t I tell you about the mo
ney as soon as I found out?
“Oh Detective, you’re not answering the question. Did you or did you not reveal my identity to them.”
“No. I never told them who you were. I never gave your name.”
“Well no matter. I just simply cannot allow them to live. No that would never do. Unfortunately, since the DEA knows of my operations here, we must leave. I can’t afford to wait for mortgages and all the rest of it. If I have to shut down operations here completely that means I have to shut ‘everything’ down. For those who maintained their silence, they will walk away with their lives. For those who crossed me or owe me, well…”
There was nothing Detective Woods could do; nothing he could say that would change what was going to happen. He couldn’t even warn Kayla. At one point in time, he had thought himself important in the grand scheme of things and now the reality of just how wrong he was slammed into him like a freight train. He wasn’t even a small fish in a big pond; he was nobody; a disposable flunky who developed a conscience too late in the game to be of any use. He never knew just how far Escobar’s reach was in the community and now that he had a better idea, it was much too late. Just then one of Escobar’s men duck taped his mouth shut. He closed his eyes against the blow he knew was coming. And then, when it came, everything faded to black.
***
At the precise moment that Detective Woods was getting smashed upside the head for the second time, Kayla and her mother were arriving at the warehouse. They were both momentarily stunned as they saw the sheer number of armed guards on the premises. They looked out the car window, unsure of what they were expected to do next. They didn’t have to wonder for long. A guard, who looked like he was chiseled out of stone, walked up to the driver’s side window and motioned for Kayla to get out. Another guard who appeared to be carved from the same stone slab stood at the passenger side and motioned for her mother to get out. Both were fully armed with AR-15 rifles. Kayla and her mother wasted no time getting out of the car.
MY FATHER'S KILLER: Kayla's Story Page 15
