Pipeline

by Brenda Adcock

  "It's our weakest point, but I don't know what else we can do."

  "You sure can't ask Susan. If she was involved in the McCaffrey thing, she'd cover for Camarena to save her own ass anyway. If we could sneak a peek at her files on ABP, we might be able to find out whether the company was actually paying to have the illegals brought in."

  I opened another file folder and handed it to him. He glanced over the pages quickly.

  "How'd you get these?" he asked.

  "Don't ask."

  "What about these 'Miscellaneous Expenditures'? Any idea what they are?"

  "Nope. I gave them to an accountant friend of mine in Kerrville, but he told me what I already knew. Could be anything."

  "So if the company was paying someone to bring illegals in, it could be covered under miscellaneous."

  "That would be my guess. Unfortunately, it would take a court order to dredge up all the files on ABP."

  "Maybe it's one of those implied things. You know, like Reagan and the Contras. Not a direct order, just a heavy-duty suggestion."

  "The company says it wishes it had more workers and is willing to pay a bonus to anyone who can provide them," I pondered aloud.

  "Then Camarena sees the chance to make some bucks from both ends of the pipeline. The company pays him for finding workers, and the workers pay him for finding them jobs. All he had to do was find someone to actually bring them in," Kyle continued.

  "So he turns to his cousin, Escobar, and they set up the pipeline."

  "Makes sense to me, but the paper trail would be a bitch to follow."

  "I got a load of illegals on film a couple of days ago. I haven't developed the film yet, but it covers the line from San Antonio to Mountain View."

  "Can you develop them here?"

  I shook my head. "I've got a darkroom at the ranch, but nothing here."

  "Then let's go to the ranch."

  "Not safe. After I showed my hand with Camarena, someone might be watching the house."

  "What about the darkroom at the Light? The building's open all night."

  Two hours later, Kyle and Pauli waited while I processed the pictures. After placing the prints in the dryer, I joined them in the newsroom.

  "You got 'em?" Pauli asked.

  "They're in the dryer. Be about another ten minutes."

  Kyle went into the darkroom, and I sat down in a chair next to Pauli.

  "What're you gonna do with all this shit now?" he asked.

  "Let Kyle write his story and turn everything over to INS, the DA, and whoever the hell else wants it, I guess."

  "The DA won't want the story released until he has time to round up a few people."

  "It'll take a day or so to write it up properly. Once it's edited and fact-checked, they can break the story any time. By then there shouldn't be any reason to target anyone. The whole world will know what's going on."

  Kyle came out of the darkroom carrying a stack of pictures.

  "That all of them?" I asked.

  "Yeah. Who's this guy?"

  I took the picture, and he pointed out Lopez standing behind his truck at the Produce Terminal. Pauli leaned over to look and recognized Lopez before I did.

  "Ernesto Lopez," Pauli said. "One of Escobar's flunkies."

  "He was one of the men who attacked Sarita," Kyle said flatly.

  "You sure?" I asked.

  "I'm not likely to forget any of them. They didn't try to hide their faces. But this guy Lopez, he really enjoyed what he was doing."

  "Did he seem to be in charge, or did he take orders from one of the others?" Pauli asked.

  "He wasn't in charge. One of the men was older. He seemed to be in control, but he had a hard time with this one."

  "Can you describe the older man?" Pauli continued.

  "Maybe mid to late forties, graying black hair, mustache," Kyle said.

  "Could be half the spies in San Antonio," Pauli said.

  "Guess I'm not as sure about the other three, but I really watched this Lopez. He didn't want to stop when the older guy told him to. He was ready to rape her."

  "Sounds like what Reyna said about him," I said to Pauli.

  Kyle closed his eyes and kept talking. "They argued about it in Spanish. Sarita was crying. The other two were holding her down on the floor, and Lopez kept looking at her and arguing with the older man. He called him something. Sounded like Ricky or Rico. Something like that."

  "Frederico Escobar," Pauli said with a smile.

  "But you called him Freddie," I said.

  "Just because he hates being called Freddie," Pauli answered. He looked at Kyle. "If you saw a picture of this older man, think you could ID him?"

  "Absolutely."

  Pauli stopped at the police department long enough to appropriate a picture of Escobar. Without the slightest hesitation, Kyle picked him from a group of ten mug shots that Pauli handed him. We might never get Camarena, but we had Lopez and Escobar by the balls. We celebrated over enchiladas and Coronas before driving to Pauli's again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  PAULI OFFERED KYLE the use of his computer to write the story then contacted Reyna to give him the good news about Lopez. We had a witness to the attack on Sarita, and a witness to the smuggling of illegals and the sale of fake government documents. Kyle could return to Sarita, and they could plan to live happily ever after in Colorado. The story would help assure his future, and as I watched him putting it together, I felt something I had never felt before — pride. He had stuck it out until the end, even though I knew from long experience that every instinct was telling him to run.

  Pauli was at the sink chopping lettuce and whistling softly to himself when I went into the kitchen for another cup of coffee.

  "How's it going?" he asked as I poured.

  "It's going to be a great story. Wish we could have tied up everything, but this will be good enough."

  "If the Feds take a serious interest in Camarena, maybe they can nail his ass, too."

  I shrugged and sipped at the coffee. The phone rang, and Pauli wiped his hands on a dishtowel before answering it. He listened for a second and pointed the phone at me.

  "It's for you, Jo. Your ex."

  I would be glad to finally be able to tell her that everything was fine. That our son was going to be around a while longer. I decided not to tell her about Sarita. It was over, and Sarita hadn't been badly hurt physically. I didn't see any sense in upsetting her over something that couldn't be changed.

  "Hi," I said lightly as I took the receiver. "I was going to call you..."

  "Jo," she interrupted me. I noticed that her voice sounded different, subdued, like someone trying to find a good way to tell you bad news.

  "What's wrong, Cate? Are you all right?"

  Pauli swiveled his head around to look at me. I just shrugged. She hadn't said anything yet, but my stomach told me there was a problem.

  "Cate? Answer me, honey. What's wrong?"

  Her voice was shaking when she finally spoke again. "Susan and I have been abducted, Jo. I'm supposed to read something to you."

  "What? By whom?"

  "Please, just listen. Put everything you have about the ABP story in a briefcase, and bring it to fifteen-twelve Alameda..."

  "Wait, I don't have anything to write on." I looked around and found a pencil and a napkin on the kitchen table.

  "Okay." I repeated the address.

  "Be there at three o'clock. If you are, Susan and I won't be hurt. And come alone."

  "That's only an hour, Cate. Is someone there with you?"

  "Yes."

  "Hand the phone to whoever it is."

  I heard a man's accented voice as she apparently tried to give him the phone and then what sounded like a slap.

  "Cate! Someone speak to me, goddamn it!"

  A man's voice came on the line. "You have one hour, Ms. Carlisle. Do you understand what you're to do?"

  "Yeah, but how about we meet someplace a little more neutral?" I stalled.<
br />
  "Fifty-nine minutes," he said as he hung up.

  I slammed the receiver down. When I looked up, Kyle was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "They have your mother," I said. "And Susan."

  "How..."

  "Someone had to have seen us together either at the ranch or in Austin. Whether they took her from work or home I'm sure Susan must have been with her. These guys have eyes every goddamn place!"

  "What do they want?" Pauli asked.

  "Everything we have on the ABP story by three o'clock. I'm supposed to take it to an address on Alameda." I slid the napkin toward him.

  "Fuck, Jo, that's in the middle of Escobar's territory. No one will come out of there alive. It'll take us thirty minutes to get there ourselves."

  "Guess they figured we wouldn't have time to call in the cavalry with a deadline like that. Kyle, grab everything and put it in a briefcase or something that looks like a briefcase."

  "I'll get the car started," Pauli said.

  "I'm supposed to be alone, Pauli."

  "Hell, you can't get there in less than an hour alone. I know a few back streets that might save us some time. Hang on a minute." Pauli picked up the phone and dialed. A minute later he was talking to Reyna and relaying what was happening. He hung up without saying goodbye and once again removed his gun from the desk drawer. "I didn't use this damn thing this much when I was active duty," he said as he shoved it into his jacket pocket.

  "What about me?" Kyle asked. "I know how to use a gun."

  "You're staying here," I said.

  "The fuck I am!"

  "They just want me, Kyle. As far as they know, you're not even in town."

  "I have to be there, and I won't get in the way. I love her, too, Jo."

  We really didn't have time to argue. Time was slipping away. Pauli had left the room and returned with what looked like the world's oldest briefcase. He tossed it to Kyle. "Put everything in that," he instructed.

  He turned to me and handed me the smallest handgun I'd ever seen. It looked like a toy except it wasn't orange.

  "You know they'll search me," I said. "I wouldn't get ten feet with that Tinker Toy."

  "There's a slit in the bottom of the briefcase. Slip it in there under the paperwork. Most of these idiots are too lazy to search a bag carefully enough to find it."

  "What if I get a real overachiever in the search department?"

  "What are you worried about? Either way they're probably gonna kill you, and either way they get the information."

  I wasn't feeling any better after a pep talk like that, but we were on our way with fifty minutes left. Pauli planned to stop at the edge of Escobar's territory and let me drive the rest of the way. He and Kyle would have to go the last ten or twelve blocks on foot. I felt certain Kyle could get there but wasn't sure Pauli could walk that far fast enough to make a difference. His size alone would make it hard for him to sneak up on anyone, and I didn't remember seeing a lot of Dempsey Dumpsters the last time we had been in the area.

  Pauli pulled over to the curb and shifted his car into park. He turned to me, and his face didn't inspire confidence. "Drive slow. The kid and I have to have enough time to get near the building. If it's the one I think it is, it's sort of a warehouse with lots of open space inside. Stall as much as you can. I don't know how long it will take Reyna to get here."

  "Don't come busting in there, Pauli. I can't take the chance Cate will be hurt."

  "She'll be okay, Jo. Just stay close to her if you can. She's not the primary target. You are."

  Pauli and Kyle got out of the car, with Pauli leading the way. I glanced at my watch, and when they had disappeared around the corner of a building, I pulled away from the curb. Driving slowly, I tried to find numbers on the buildings. I was beginning to get frustrated when I saw a man step out of an alleyway. As I slowed down even further, he moved toward the car. I recognized Lopez as soon as he bent down to look into the car.

  "Pull in there," he instructed, pointing to the alleyway.

  I went down the alley and stopped about halfway down. As I got out of the car, I looked around at the tops of the buildings lining the alley. I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone there. Suddenly, Lopez slammed me against the side of the car with enough force to knock the wind out of me. As I gasped for breath, he searched my clothing a little more vigorously than necessary.

  "Where's the briefcase?" he asked.

  "In the car," I managed to say.

  "Get it and let's go."

  I reached into the front floorboard and grabbed the briefcase. A few yards down the alley, we turned into a walkway that opened into a small courtyard. Six or seven men stood around and almost came to attention as Lopez and I joined them. Lopez went into a door off the courtyard, and I followed him but was stopped by one of the men before I could enter the door. A moment later, Escobar, trailed by Lopez, came out the door.

  "Where's Cate Hammond?" I demanded.

  "You search her?" Escobar asked Lopez, who nodded that he had.

  "The bag, too?"

  "No, not the bag, Rico."

  "Then do it now."

  I held the bag out and Lopez took it. He opened the bag and dug through the papers inside before closing it and handing it back to me.

  "You come alone?" Escobar asked me.

  "I did what I was told to do."

  Escobar stepped aside and motioned me inside the building. I waited to see if he was going to follow me, but he remained outside with the others. The door opened into a narrow hallway. I didn't see any other doorways leading off the hallway and walked in the only direction left, straight ahead. The hallway was about sixty feet long and led to what appeared to be a cavernous room at the other end.

  When I reached the end of the hall, I looked around and saw Camarena standing in front of a table to the left of the doorway. He motioned me forward, and I saw that he was holding a revolver. To my right, Cate and Susan were sitting in chairs, bound and gagged. I started to go to them, but Camarena stopped me.

  "They're still breathing. Bring the case to me."

  I tried to give Cate a reassuring smile as I turned toward Camarena. As I got closer, he leveled his revolver at me. Reaching the table, I set the briefcase down and stood there looking at him.

  "Can we go now?" I asked.

  "You can all go in a moment. But first I have to see what you brought."

  "So look. It's right there in front of you, asshole."

  His jaws tightened, and his knuckles whitened as he gripped the revolver tighter. "You open it," he said.

  I opened the briefcase and looked inside, wishing I knew what the hell to do next. "By the way, the pictures of your kid came out better than I thought they would," I said.

  "But it kinda looks like you won't be getting them now."

  "That's a shame, but I'll survive without them."

  "Hope I can say the same," I said, looking at him. I pulled out two manila folders and laid them on the table.

  "This it?"

  "I put everything on CDs, too," I said, reaching back into the briefcase. I managed to find the slit Pauli had made in the bottom and slid the gun out. I picked up two CDs with the same hand. As I brought my hand out of the briefcase, I dropped the disks on the table, holding only the gun.

  He laughed when he saw how small the pistol was. "And what do you think you're going to do with that?"

  "I'll blow a hole in your head big enough to look through," I answered, raising the pistol. "All I want is to take Cate and her partner and get out of here unmolested. Now put your gun down on the table, slowly, and back away. You can have this other shit."

  He smiled at me in a way that was unnerving, but put the gun down anyway. "And how are you planning to get past the men outside?"

  "Well, I haven't quite gotten that far yet, Felix. How about if you come around here so you can escort us out?"

  I heard a sound behind me, like a chair moving. I turned halfway to see if Cate was all ri
ght but wasn't ready for what I saw. Susan was standing up with a gun in her hand. I glanced at the smiling Camarena and opened my mouth to speak. I never got a word out before Susan fired twice. The first bullet tore into the skin of my right side, and even though it was off the mark, the second shot was good enough to shatter the humerus of my left arm. As I fell, I saw the terrified look on Cate's face as she witnessed what Susan had done.

  I fell forward and hit the floor hard but wasn't sure whether I was injured as badly as it felt. I was bleeding profusely and could feel the warmth of my blood as it spread up and down my clothes. It only took a few seconds for my body to react once it recovered from the initial shock of being shot. I closed my eyes against the burning pain in my side and down my arm, deciding that no matter what, playing possum was the only option I had left. I heard footsteps coming toward me. A hand grabbed my shoulder and rolled me halfway over while I held my breath as long as I could.

  "You got her, Bradley."

  "Can't tell if she's dead or not with all this blood, but she will be soon enough if she keeps bleeding like this."

  I was still holding the pistol and allowed Susan to take it from my hand. I could hear my heart beating, rushing blood past my eardrums, and prayed that Pauli would bust through the door in time to save Cate. When the door opened a moment later, I thought my prayers had been answered.

  "Everything okay in here?" an accented voice asked.

  "Go back outside, Ernesto," Camarena ordered. "Bring my car around. We're almost through. Don't be surprised if you hear a couple more gunshots."

  I watched through barely half-opened eyes as Susan began pacing between my body and where Camarena stood. Loss of blood had begun making me dizzy, creating ripples of nausea in my stomach.

  "That's a nice souvenir," Camarena said. "Derringer, isn't it?"

  "I guess so."

  "Good thing we slipped that revolver to you."

  "Well, if it weren't for you and that idiot cousin of yours, we wouldn't be in this mess. All you had to do was get rid of Kyle and that would have been the end of it. But no, you had to get cute and send some kindergartner to do it."

  "Rico said it was the best way."

  "Rico was wrong, Felix!" Susan seethed. "The junior hitman fucked up and brought her into it."