The Cartel Enforcers (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 2)

by Swinney, C. L.

  Dix considered the riddle. “I’m too tired to even guess.”

  Petersen excitedly said, “I saw Romero. He was in a rental car keeping eyes on our hotel, which I can only assume means he was watching you and me.”

  “What the hell would he do that for?” Dix was stunned.

  “I had no idea what he was really doing so I doubled back, got to our hotel, and found a cab near the lobby. I decided to watch him since it seemed he was watching us. I rolled around a bit in the cab and had the driver park so I could watch Romero. After an hour, another male adult met up with him and got into the rental car.”

  Dix didn’t want to cut his friend off, but he was feeling exhausted and totally confused. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay awake, but he had to hear this.

  Dix said, “Okay, so what finally happened?”

  “They drove around the block twice and it appeared like Romero may have been pointing out spots that didn’t make sense at first. Then, after I really thought about it, the spots looked like great locations for an ambush for anyone leaving our hotel. I hate to say this, but I think Romero may have sold us to Calderon.”

  “Steve, that is serious. Romero has been with us since the beginning. I think he’s fishy, but selling us out to Calderon is a pretty big move,” replied Dix.

  “I know, but something about him has been wrong. I can’t quite figure it out, but he has been a part of all the chaos in this case. Plus, when the two spilt up, I had the cabbie go with the other guy. We followed him to a local strip club. From there he was picked up in another rental car. After that we lost him.”

  “Steve this seems like he’s up to something, but we may be grasping at straws.” Dix was wondering what in the hell Romero was really doing. He had his own reservations about Romero, but he needed something big to pin on him before actually doing something about suspicions alone. Even then, who do I tell? Kovach? No way, not until I figure out what he’s up to, he thought.

  “We lost the car, but I just got a text from Sullivan, she said she sent it to you too. It says a rental car showed up at Calderon’s house and two Hispanic males got out at the front gate and were met by some of Calderon’s men. They were let into the compound and the agents lost sight of them.”

  Dix looked shocked and ran his fingers through his hair. He rubbed his temples as he felt a pounding headache forming. “Don’t tell me it was the same rental car you saw Romero in earlier.”

  Petersen nodded. “Yup.”

  “Dang. Did you tell Sullivan?”

  “Nope.” Petersen only trusted one person in all of this and that was Dix. He was not about to share sensitive information with anyone but him. Although he did feel guilty not letting Sullivan know because he felt he could trust her.

  Dix said, “Well, I’d say we tell Kovach, but I’m not so sure he’s telling us everything. I feel like we’re fighting up hill on this whole damn thing. Maybe we just bow out of this right now.” Dix wanted to go to sleep, and then go home on the next flight back to Florida. To hell with these guys, he thought.

  Petersen considered what Dix said for a moment and noticed the scattered briefing notes and schematics for the S.O. warehouse. Both he and Dix had invested a ton of time and effort in the case and they both agreed someone needed to pay for all the murders. For once, however, Petersen was going to have to convince Dix to ride this out because it was obvious by the look on his face that he was totally done.

  “Ok, let’s calm down a second. We can use everything we have seen so far to figure this out. We wrap this up tomorrow and we get the hell out of dodge.”

  Dix was obviously still pissed off. “I’m about ready to catch the next flight home. My wife is already mad at me and these guys all seem to be up to something we know nothing about. I don’t need this stress.”

  “I know buddy, but this all goes down tomorrow,” as he looked down at his watch Petersen noticed it was actually the following day and continued, “I mean later today. I think Kovach is probably not the mole and based on everything we know, I think Romero is involved someway. We either share with Kovach or not, but let’s just keep on eye on Romero this morning if he slips up or we confirm something we can arrest him for, we take him off and keep him isolated so he can’t blow the whistle.”

  Dix was downing a shot of Jack Daniels as Petersen finished. His head felt like it was going to explode. He nodded his agreement and decided to plow forward.

  Dix said, “Okay. We observe Romero, don’t tell Sullivan or Kovach, and if we confirm he’s the mole we grab him and keep him isolated.” He liked Petersen’s plan and was excited that he came up with it because it demonstrated he was growing as a leader and Dix was damn sure he himself would never come up with the idea, not in the state he was in currently. Plus, all he wanted now was to solve the damn case and get home.

  Petersen could see his old friend was fading fast and began walking to the door to head back to his hotel room. He was also tired and needed some rest. He’d try to make sense of everything and wrap his mind around it all knowing it would help him fall asleep.

  Petersen opened the door and said to Dix, “Ok old buddy. I’ll see you in a few hours. Get some sleep. I know you. Don’t go back to planning when I leave.”

  Dix chuckled. “All right, I won’t. But I may be knocking on your door in a few hours and I’m warning you, I may be grumpy.”

  With that, Petersen left the hotel room and the door shut. Dix walked over to the schematics and his notes and almost began looking at them again. He grabbed a notepad to scribble down ideas if and when they came, and layed down on the bed. Before he could even look at the notepad again he was fast asleep.

  Chapter 39

  * * *

  The video from the UPS tablet was almost done playing on Calderon’s seventy-inch HDTV and Smith could tell he was pleased. Even some of Calderon’s men were smirking, which made him think they were impressed too.

  Calderon hit the pause button on the television and looked at Smith. “I knew I was right about you. Nothing better than seeing a target location up close and personal like that. I’ll have one of my guys make a copy and we’ll share it with the guys making the entry later today.”

  Smith replied, “That’s the plan. You going to tell me when this is suppose to go down or do I have to keep wondering?”

  “Patience, Mr. Smith.” Calderon snapped his fingers and two extremely attractive females wearing lingerie came out of a room next to the living room. Both slowly and sensually walked over and sat in Smith’s lap. They began immediately fondling him and kissing his neck.

  Smith was aroused, but kept his head on a swivel. This was unexpected and he needed to figure out what Calderon was up to. Smith smiled at him. “I need love like any man, but why don’t we hash out the plans for tomorrow first.”

  Calderon laughed and snapped his fingers again. The two women stopped.

  Calderon said, “Mr. Smith you’re a planner I see. Very well. We’ve already discussed most of it already. As for later today…” Calderon waited until the women were gone, “Have the men meet at my warehouse at noon. My benefit is at three. Hit the warehouse at four. That will be in the middle of my event and right during shift change at the warehouse. Get the money to the tunnels. After that, it’s not your concern.”

  Smith knew the rest of the plan now. He’d follow Calderon’s orders all the way up to the part about the money being put in the tunnels. I’ve got my own plans for the money.

  Smith said, “Will do. Your place at noon. If your informants get any more information about the warehouse or anything to do with our operation that you think I should know give me a call.”

  “Very well. Now about the women, they’re in the room waiting for you,” he winked and continued, “Don’t forget you have an operation in a few hours.”

  “Oh I won’t,” Smith said as he entered the room horny and in the need of a drink. He had a grin stretching from ear to ear and decided he’d have to make love to the women
to keep his cover intact. Plus, he knew Calderon would grow suspicious if he didn’t. Someone’s gotta do it, he thought as he chuckled.

  Chapter 40

  * * *

  Doug Kovach was seeing his wife and daughter off at the airport. They were in tears and he was so disappointed in himself for what he had caused his family that he could hardly bear it. He thought about jumping on the plane and never turning back.

  Kovach gave his wife a firm hug and said, “It’s going to be okay honey. I have one last thing to take care of and I’ll meet you in Minnesota.” Somehow his wife wasn’t too sure of that, but she loved him dearly and she was hoping for the best.

  He gave his daughter a great big hug and kiss on the forehead and said, “Baby, please don’t cry. Daddy will be with you guys soon. I love you.” He tried to let go, but she wouldn’t let him. He was tore up inside, more than he ever thought he could be. He was doing this for their protection and to fix some of his wrongs. It was the toughest thing he ever had to do in his life, but it needed to be done.

  Kovach’s wife and daughter boarded the plane and he stood there watching it leave. Tears fell from his eyes. After the plane took off, he gathered his wits and headed into work-possibly for the last time. An amazing sense of calm came over him and he was at peace with his decision to send his family away and with his plan against Calderon. Now all I have to do is man up and make it all happen, he thought.

  Chapter 41

  * * *

  Dix woke up to loud banging and instinctively grabbed for his sidearm. He glanced over at the alarm clock and noticed it read 8:02 a.m. Shit.

  He sprung out of bed and ran over to the hotel door and looked through the peep hole. Petersen was standing on the other side with a coffee and a bag of donuts.

  He opened the door and said, “Hey buddy, sorry, I guess I crashed and was sleeping like a rock.”

  Petersen laughed and said, “No worries buddy, we have a few hours until the fireworks begin.”

  Petersen came into Dix’s hotel room and they began drinking coffee and eating donuts. After some small talk about their families, the discussion turned to the case. They had come to similar conclusions and decided whatever happened today at the warehouse, they were heading back to Florida on the first available red-eye flight. Although, once Petersen agreed to this, he hesitated. He thought about Sullivan and what it was going to take to tell her how he felt.

  Dix heard his cell phone ringing and retrieved it. It was a call from Sullivan.

  “Hey Bill, how are you?” she asked.

  “I’m good, what’s up?”

  “Are you sitting down?” she replied.

  He looked at Petersen and motioned him to come closer. At the same time he activated the speaker function on his cell phone.

  Dix replied, “I’m sitting down and Petersen is listening with me.”

  Sullivan paused for a second and said, “Good, I was going to have to fill him in as well, but now I don’t have to track him down. One of the surveillance teams is still at Calderon’s home and we are working on getting a second team out there.”

  Dix interrupted, “What happened to the other surveillance team?”

  “I was getting to that. So the rental car from late last night took off at a high rate of speed from the Calderon compound at about two in the morning. The car broke the inner perimeter before anyone knew what happened. Long story short, an unrelated California Highway Patrol Officer saw the car merge onto the freeway and thought the driver was driving under the influence so he attempted to pull the rental car over.”

  “What? That could compromise this whole thing!” said Petersen.

  “The CHP Officer had no idea. He was just doing his job,” answered Sullivan.

  Dix said, “Okay, what happened next?”

  “Well, the car didn’t stop and accelerated. Several CHP officers and a CHP helicopter got involved in the pursuit. They chased the car down until it finally failed to negotiate a tight turn and crashed. The driver tried to run after the crash, but he’s got a broken leg. The two passengers were killed on impact.”

  “Geez, that’s crazy. I guess we have another one of Calderon’s guys to interrogate before the takedown today. But really, I don’t think I need to be seated to hear news like this Sullivan,” said Dix.

  “I haven’t told you who the driver was.”

  “Oh yeah, who was driving the car?”

  They heard her draw in a deep breath and waited for her reply. Neither of them had known her to get stressed out, but Dix sensed something big was about to happen.

  Finally Sullivan said, “It was Special Agent Romero.”

  They shook their heads and found it difficult to believe what she said.

  Dix couldn’t contain himself. “Are you kidding me? That little son of a bitch. I guess the riddle as to who the mole is has been solved. Is he talking?

  “Not yet. He was banged up pretty good. He’s in a secure location with no ability to communicate with the outside world. The higher-ups are beside themselves. Worst of all, I haven’t been able to track down Kovach to let him know,” answered Sullivan.

  “This is one of the most bizarre cases I’ve ever worked,” said Petersen.

  There was a silence in the hotel room and on the other end of the phone. No possible explanation could be given by Romero that would make sense. Dix figured the risk Romero took to meet with Calderon was great and it would explain why he quickly eluded the surveillance units. It was dumb luck for him that he was spotted by the CHP officer. Nevertheless, Dix was still baffled.

  He broke the silence and asked Sullivan, “Who were the two dead passengers?”

  She snapped back to reality. “So far it seems they were female escorts working in San Diego. Very high end. Not exactly sure how they tie into our case, but they’re dead now.”

  Dix looked down at his watch and estimated he had some time to interrogate Romero. He wasn’t sure he’d get that chance because the Homeland Security Investigations people were going to want him sequestered and completely cut off from the world. And, once Calderon learned Romero was apprehended, he was a dead man. One thing they all had learned so far was there was no safe place to hide if Calderon came looking for you.

  “You think your bosses will let me interrogate Romero? Maybe I can learn more about Calderon’s plan,” Dix asked Sullivan.

  “I think maybe is the right answer. The bosses are sensible, but we’re caught with our pants down on this whole thing, and now it’s ten times worse. Kovach would have the ability to convince them to give you a shot, but I can’t get a hold of him.”

  “We need to track him down ASAP. Maybe he will see the news this morning and realize he needs to talk to us. Knowing him he’s probably aware of the whole situation and working out a plan to keep this thing together,” said Dix. He was worried about how Calderon would play things out now that Romero was in custody. Calderon would not know for sure whether anyone saw Romero leave his place, but if he had any sense, he would have to assume that was the case. Dix put himself in Calderon’s shoes for a moment. The only option he saw for Calderon was to kill Romero before he could talk.

  Dix said to Sullivan, “Romero is as good as dead. Calderon will kill him to protect his operation and make sure his attempt on the warehouse today still happens.”

  “I told the bosses the same thing. Only a select few know where Romero is, but there are only five trauma centers in San Diego. Calderon will figure out where he is pretty quick, and I think we all know he will not stop until he’s dead.”

  Petersen nodded. “Well Romero is a piece of work, but no one deserves to be hunted down. We’ll try to track down Kovach as well. Can you take care of the final coordinating of the takedown? Dix and I will meet you at the Sheriff’s Office in an hour.”

  “Okay sounds like a plan. You guys be safe. I have a feeling many more shenanigans are going to happen before this day’s over,” replied Sullivan. She felt slightly overwhelmed by the recent events. She
needed to be consoled. The thought of Steve Petersen being the one to do that flooded her mind. She tried to suppress any feelings she had for him, but it wasn’t working very well. She said out loud, “Petersen, you better not get yourself killed.”

  Chapter 42

  * * *

  Petersen and Dix quickly showered, and headed to their car in the parking lot of the hotel. Petersen scanned the parking lot for threats and noticed a car very similar to one driven by Kovach in the rear of the lot directly facing their rooms. Petersen used hand signals to get attention of Dix. They split up to meet at the suspicious vehicle. When they got closer they could hear the car running and saw Kovach inside. He was not moving.

  Dix looked around the remaining parts of the car while Petersen covered him. Once satisfied there were no threats in the vehicle and no obvious signs of foul play, Dix started shaking the car in an effort to wake Kovach. On the fifth shake he woke up with a concerned look on his face and his gun drawn. He noticed Dix and Petersen and quickly looked relieved.

  As he stepped out of his car Dix said to him, “Good morning buddy. You were sitting out here to protect Steve and me?”

  Doggedly Kovach replied, “Not exactly. I came by to give you an update and my system must have finally shut down. I sent my wife and child to our relatives in Minnesota early this morning, and I’ve been sleeping like shit this whole week. It all finally caught up to me, I guess.”

  Dix instantly wondered why Kovach would send his family out of town especially on a day like today. “You picked today to send the family out of town. What the hell’s going on?”

  Kovach looked him in the eyes. “I know for a fact you have suspected me of being the mole. And in some respects you were right.” Both Dix and Petersen immediately trained their weapons on Special Agent Supervisor Doug Kovach. An eerie quietness surrounded the three men. Neither Dix nor Petersen had a radio to call for help and they were not going to try to fish their cell phones from their pockets.