by Doug Ball
“Bring friends.”
“Cool.”
The two men stuffed their throwaway phones in a pocket and smiled. Payday is happy day.
The scene
The pilot of the chopper announced, “Looks like we’re here if you’re looking for cops and Border Patrol,” and pointed ahead.
On the ground a dozen vehicles parked haphazardly near an area dotted with bodies that looked like folks sleeping in the dirt between the scrub bushes. Tan responded, “Looks like it. Find a place as close as possible without sand blasting the scene and land this thing, please.”
“10-4.”
The pilot dropped to within twenty feet of the deck, flared, set the bird down on an open spot among the scrub. “Gotta get back. Hope you got wheels down here.”
“We’ll make do. Thanks for the lift. Next time try to miss the ridges by a margin of more than 10 feet.”
“Hell’s bells, that ain’t no fun.”
Minutes later Tan and Abdul walked into the mess of vehicles, Tan holding up his badge.
A good looking Sheriff stepped out from behind a Santa Cruz vehicle. “We know who you are, Tan. Get over here. You are not gonna like it one bit.”
“What are you doing here, Sheriff Sara? You belong in the county next door. No excitement in Nogales anymore?”
“I was invited.”
“Congrats on the promotion.”
“Voters weren’t very smart, but the retarded retiring Sheriff recommended me for his replacement until this past election and then they voted me to stay.”
“You must have impressed someone.”
They walked toward a Cochise Country vehicle with SHERIFF on the side and no sign of lights or siren. Tim Waters came around the vehicle with his hand out.
Tan put a name to the face coming toward him. “Sorry, Tim, I don’t donate to any causes.”
“Dang, and I need the money.”
They shook hands.
Tim said, “I figure it was you we were waiting for. You got a mighty slow driver, or what?”
“Or what. Nice to work with you again. You still the boss forensics man down here?”
“Yeah, for both counties now, Cochise and Santa Cruz. Sara works my butt off and our new Sheriff in Cochise sits in his office and delegates. His reigning under-sheriff is over there.” He pointed, which caught the man’s eye. He motioned him over.
“Tan, this reprobate is the oldest Deputy Sheriff in the whole United States, Marty Higgins. Sole survivor of the Higgins feud out of Texas, or so he says.”
Higgins stuck out his hand, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Brown. Heard a lot about you and now I get to see what all the hype is about.” His face held no emotion that Tan could see.
“Pleased to come down and put on my show for the country folk, Deputy. Look forward to working with you. It’s your bailiwick, but I hope we can work together on this without any hassles. If my team steps on any toes, let me know.”
“As long as the state is paying the bill, it’s all yours. We’re broke, thanks to the War with Mexico and losing all that drug money we used to confiscate I have barely enough money to make pay rool and hang paper in the bathroom.”
“Okay, this little fella behind me is Abdul. He’s my little brother.”
Sara and Marty looked toward the scene.
“We better get to work.” Marty walked toward the bodies.
“Tan, you can go where you want. I’ve finished with the site and have nothing to report other than what you can see for yourself. We got ambulances coming to pick up these folks as soon as you say so.” Tim said, “It ain’t pretty and there’s nothing I can see with these old eyes that will help you solve the case.”
“Thanks.” Tan put his emotions in his pocket and grabbed a note pad and camera from his other pocket before moving into the midst of the mess.
Abdul took one look and walked to the side where he left his late breakfast in the dirt. The early breakfast came with the second eruption. He looked around sheepishly, “Sorry.” Then he noticed that no one was looking his way.
Tan took a look at a teenaged boy; two rounds had ripped through his body. He moved to a woman, and then a man, and then another boy. He looked around. Something gleamed in the dirt two steps away. He bent and picked up a casing with a twig.
He looked at it. “5.56 military.”
Sara held out a baggie.
Tim took the baggie, tagged it, and put it in his meager collection of evidence. “Usually we would have many of these, but someone went around and picked up all the casings. A couple of half wiped away tracks from military style boots along with the absence of others tell me that.”
Waters said, “All tracks ended at the two rut about 50 yards away from this scene. Brushed out most likely. No tire tracks.”
“Treat that case real nice and find us a fingerprint with a history so we can close this mystery by tomorrow and make the Governor happy.”
“Right.” The CSI man hated sarcasm.
As Tan walked around checking each victim, vehicles were firing up and leaving. There was nothing here for them now that the Governor’s office was in charge. One Border Patrolman said as he turned away, “Give us a call if you need help with anything.”
Abdul said, “You can count on it, my man.”
The AzBP man gave him a look and kept on walking.
Tim and Sara followed Tan around staying out of the scene as much as possible until Tan was past the body furthest south. It was a woman about thirty, nicely dressed in fashionable hiking gear and jacket that was expensive in Mexico because it was made in the U.S.A.
“This one had money. Any money on these folks?” Tan asked.
“Each had at least two hundred American on them. This lady had a thousand. This wasn’t a robbery, if that’s what you’re asking, Tan.”
“I was hoping it was. Now it’s just a random murder.”
Sara said, “Tell him about the other woman, Marty.”
“Other woman?” Tan turned toward the two followers.
Tim answered with, “There was another woman. Her clothes are over there by that scuffed up spot of dirt. They were cut and torn off of a size four woman. Cheap, but stylish. Signs also of rape. I have swabs of blood mixed with what appears to my experienced eye to be male emissions. I have sent those swabs to the lab with my assistant. We’ll have to wait until we get back over the pass to find out the results of his tests. No signal here.” He held up his phone.
“Use the radio, Tim.”
“Oh, yeah.” He was bright red. “You can see the tracks of a pair of what I think are women’s sneakers headed back south. They go all the way to the border fence, four rusty strands laying on the ground as far as I could see.”
“Looks like someone wanted a survivor. Why?”
Sara said, “To carry a message, maybe.”
“Yeah, that’s what the Governor said, too,” agreed Tan. “Tim, while you’re on the radio ask someone to bring a car for Abdul and me. Four wheel drive. I’ll probably be making an invasion of Mexico. Second time for me. This time I’ll go without a weapon except my badge.”
“I’m on it.” Tim trotted to his van.
Sara said, “What could the message be after something like this?”
“You tell me and we’ll both know, Sara. From the tracks the woman was staggering for the first fifty feet or so and then she starts walking nice and straight.”
“She was probably stunned by the rape and the force used to gain submission.”
Another van left with the last body.
Sara looked around. “I need to get back to the office. Call if you need me.”
“You can bet we will. Got a radio you can spare until my car gets here?”
“Yeah. Got a spare hand held in the trunk.”
Tan walked to the car to get it from her as she popped the trunk with a button on her key ring and reached inside emerging with the radio in hand. “Here ya go. Bye.” She stepped in the car and left.
/> Tim walked back from his van. “Tan, your car is on the way. Higgins had one on the way when I called. The car was just entering Montezuma Pass moments ago. Give it 10 minutes on the outside. The blood does contain semen. There’s also mucus in one sample of blood I took down the trail a bit that tells me she had a bloody nose or lip. Do you think they would beat her up after raping her or did she fight back?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Tan didn’t really want to think about the woman. He’d seen rape victims before and none of those experiences were anything he wanted again.
“You mind if I split? This is my wife’s birthday.”
“Get out of here. You should have left with the last body. Thanks. Send me a copy of all reports, please.” Tan handed him a card. “All my numbers are on there.”
“Gotcha.” Tim ran back to his van and was gone.
Abdul walked up to Tan, “I think we’re gonna have a visitor, boss. Sounds of an engine coming this way from the south.”
Tan reached down to his ankle and pulled his backup gun. Handing it to Abdul, he said, “You don’t shoot except to defend yourself after I’m down.”
“Come on, boss. You start shooting and I’ll join you if there’s more than one.”
“That’ll work.”
They waited standing quietly in the puny January sunshine as the sound of an engine worked closer and closer.
5
With a grinding of gears and a bit of white smoke a jeep climbed out of the gully and onto the flat land below the macabre site. The jeep sported a white handkerchief tied to a long whip antenna and a red faced Mexican Major. The driver was no more than a kid in a new camo uniform with no stripes on his sleeve or collar.
The major got out of the jeep and stood still for a few moments, taking in the scene; his red face getting redder all the time. “Burro. Who are you?” He looked at Tan.
“When you can talk to me civilly I just might be willing to overlook your bad manners and talk with you. I am the Special Investigator to the Governor of Arizona, Colonel Les Brown.”
“Ju are no Colonel. You are a glorified traffic policeman. I know of you, Señor. You are the one who invaded our country and killed many of our people.”
“Only those who dealt in drugs and had two of my men hostage,” Tan turned his back as if he had something on the ground to look at.
“Do not be more of a burro.”
Abdul began a slow search of the ground, moving to the left of Tan with his eyes on the ground.
“Look, Major, you have violated the border of Arizona. You are now the invader of my country. I am an officer of the State of Arizona. I am here investigating the murder of 17 of your people and the rape of another. Tell me why I should not arrest you.”
“I am come to see the spot where my people were murdered and where one was raped, beaten, and humiliated by sending her home desnudo. We have heard your Governor’s message loud and clear. You tell the man that he is no man. He is a buey, a steer I think you would say. Or, maybe he is a puto.”
“I will tell him nothing of the kind. Who are you to talk like this?”
“I, you ignorant burro, am Major Rodrigo Rodriguez of the Army of Mexico. This is my part of the northern border of our magnificent nation, Mexico. The young lady who was violated in this place was my cousin.”
“It has been my experience, Major, that all of you Mexicans are cousins of each other.” Tan paused.
“Major, we will get nowhere talking to each other like this. I am no diplomat, nor am I an officer of a military unit. I have been a sergeant, twice. I am the Governor’s investigator. He sent me here to find out what happened here, capture the ones who perpetrated this crime, and see that they are in a position to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of our law. If you will kindly tell me why you are here under a white flag I will listen to you. If you keep up the belligerent bravado, I will arrest you and throw you in the nearest jail until you calm down. What message did Governor Reeves supposedly send you? I just need to make sure we all got the same message.”
“The young daughter of my uncle’s wife’s sister’s daughter was walking south when I find her crying and naked. I cover her with a blanket and take her to a hospital in Nogales, Mexico. She say the men that do this told her Governor Reeves was going to do this to all who cross the border and next time there would be no survivors. Then she cried that she wished she had not survived. My cousin is being watched to make her not kill herself. How you say, suicide?”
“Yes, Major, suicide. I am sorry for the mistreatment of your cousin. My Governor sent me down here because neither he nor Arizona had a part in this. He sent no message. Had he a message to send it would have gone through proper political channels. He is an honorable man.”
The Major said, “Who would do such a thing as this, Señor Brown? Only our bárbaro, Señor, and they would not bother people like this. Tell me, who could do this and why?”
“I do not know at this time, but I will find out and they will be brought to justice.”
“I have justice for them in my gun, Señor. Call me and I will administer it.”
“May I have your name and phone number? I would like to interview the survivor. We may need to work together, Major.”
The Major pulled a pistol from his belt at the small of his back, but before he could do anything with it, Abdul said, “No. No. No.”
The Major looked over his right shoulder. Abdul’s pistol was six inches from his head.
The Major dropped his gun, turned, and walked back to the jeep. After getting in he said, “I will be back.”
“You come north of the border again, Major, and I just may have to kill you.” Tan’s voice was as cold as his words.
Tan walked to the pistol on the ground, picked it up, dumped the magazine, emptied it, jacked the slide to eject the chambered round, slammed the empty magazine in position, and walked to the Major. “Don’t forget this. I would not take it from you. I want us to be even the next time we meet, Major Rodriquez. Go in peace, but do not come back. If you do, be prepared to use that gun.”
He turned and walked toward the sound of a coming vehicle. Abdul followed the Major to his jeep and, as the Major sat down, he said, “Don’t come back or even let me see you anywhere. If you do, I will squeeze you like a grape until nothing more comes out of your body. Do you understand?”
The Major just sat there.
The driver said, “Shall we go, Major,” between quivering lips.
“Do you understand, Major?” Tan sounded like a drill sergeant talking to a boot on the first day of boot camp.
“Yes.” He paused, “chófer, andelé.”
The driver put the jeep in gear, spun a tight circle, and dropped into the gully grinding gears every time he shifted. The sound of the jeep quickly faded and surrendered to the sound of cars coming from the north.
Tan looked at Abdul, “What did I tell you about that gun?”
“To use it at my discretion.”
“Exactly.”
They turned to meet the car.
A deputy got out of the first car and stood still with his mouth open and his hands slowly rising. Tan turned to see a lone man with an M-16 standing not thirty feet south of him. He walked toward the man and put both hands on his shoulders as Abdul stood with the pistol in his hand doing nothing.
“One, it is good to see you. Will you help us?”
“Yes I will, but I know nothing, Tan.”
“How is your father?”
“He is well.”
“And your mother?”
“She is in pain with her arthritis.”
“I will pray for her.”
“What happened here? Damned Major almost ran over me.”
Tan gave him a run down and a few guesses.
One said, “My father and I will work to find out what we can on our side.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “My number is the only one on this phone, Tan. Call me when yo
u need me and I will use it to call you with any info I may have. If anyone other than you or the big Negro there calls me I will hang up. Use San José for a call sign and I will use Santa Gabriella as mine. Any other words and I destroy my phone. Comprender?
“Yes. Abdul and I only. San José and Santa Gabriella.”
“That is uno grande hombre you have there.”
“You got it, One.”
One turned and began walking south. As he walked men stood and followed until there was only one man in sight who looked back at the three standing by the car before disappearing.
“Damn,” the deputy said.
“Nope. There may be salvation in this case,” Tan turned and said.
Abdul just laughed as he said, “Impressive.”
Tan asked, “There any place good to eat around here.”
“Sierra Vista. What do you like?”
Tan said, “You drive, we’ll think on that a bit.”
The other car turned around and followed them back the way they had just come.
6
Governor Reeves waited until the White House switch board found the President.
“Yes, Governor?” were the first words from the President’s mouth.
Arizona’s leader dumped the whole incident on the nation’s leader, ending with, “We would like to have some assistance from the FBI in this case. I am asking for 10 agents to assist in this investigation.”
“I can do that.”
The Governor relaxed.
“If you will return that sorry state of yours back to the sorry excuse of a state it was before your predecessor told us where we could put our good money in no uncertain terms and then caused Mexico to attack you trying to get us to intervene.”
“I could try, but it won’t work. I don’t want that and neither does my legislature nor the people of the great state of Arizona. We have started a new day in statehood.”
The phone went dead.
He called Texas. The Governor of Texas responded with, “We are part of the way to what you did. We’ll join you all the way if I can get it through my legislature. I think that will happen.”
