by Bob Blanton
“So none for anyone in San Diego?”
“It was a sample of four, so that might not be significant, but it would make sense to avoid posting on a site for someone local.”
“Have you looked for other postings?”
“Yes, I set a search up to find similar postings. There are lots of them, none are on the West Coast.”
Emily gave Matthew a smile letting him know that she thought that proved her theory. “How many?”
“Over five hundred sites and eighteen thousand two hundred fifty-three postings last week. It looks like my search had finished when I checked it an hour ago. But they’re not necessarily related to Malcom or the drug thing, asking someone to meet you at MDs, SBs, BKs, CJs doesn’t seem that unusual, but having a bunch on the same page on the same day with different destinations is weird.
“Wow, if they are part of the drug thing, that seems like a lot for Malcom to deal with.”
“I’m assuming that it’s a network. Probably covers all the new distribution for the West Coast.”
“That’s a lot of orchestration.”
“It is. And I managed to learn more about the first Malcom. His real name is Frankie Sutton, he’s a student at Mesa Community College, and has a job at Target. He looks legit, but I don’t know about his grades and attendance.”
“Hmm, it would be nice to be able to figure that out. Can’t you check on him a few times?”
“Sure, I’ve got nothing but time,” Matthew said, sarcasm dripping from each word. “Besides he’s out of it.”
“I guess we should focus on the new guy.”
“We?!”
“Sorry, but you’re the one who can pop in anytime he wants.”
“I guess,” Matthew said with a sigh.
“So the messages that Malcom typed in yesterday told his customers where and when to do the exchange.”
“Yes, the package of money that they gave Malcom had a code name for them and an order for the number of pills they want. Then he tells them when and where to come pick up the drugs on a Facebook page. They have a tightly orchestrated method for the exchange.”
“What?! Explain that.”
“Oh, I guess we didn’t talk about it. They meet at the restaurant, the buyer passes Malcom the cash, and he hands them a bag of M&Ms. Then when they leave the restaurant, if they’re carrying a bag of M&Ms, a skateboarder puts a flyer on their windshield and drops the drugs into the space under the hood.”
“A bag of M&Ms?”
“Yeah, I think that’s so that if the cops are watching they’ll think the bag contains drugs and bust them in the restaurant, like what happened yesterday morning. Then Malcom can claim it was just the buyer paying him back or something.”
“So won’t the cops be more careful next time?”
“Maybe, but it looks like Malcom is out of the program. He handed all his stuff off to Malcom II.”
“Oh, right. Good thing he has a job and is going to college.”
“Right. It’s well orchestrated. Malcom hands the drugs off to the skateboarder right after he arrives at the restaurant. They have identical backpacks and switch them. Then they switch them back on the bus after they’ve made all the sales. So, if things go correctly, Malcom never has the money and the drugs at the same time.”
“Except at his apartment.”
“True, but he’s got an excellent hiding place. I had to do some research on plumbing to figure it out. He puts the money and drugs in the vent pipe for the bathroom in his apartment. Actually, it’s the vent pipe for the apartment next to his, so I guess he could claim it wasn’t his if they raided him.”
“That sounds clever. Do you think Malcom figured this out on his own?”
“No, I’m pretty sure this is part of a master plan that was developed by the top guy. I bet he has every dealer in his network doing exactly the same thing.”
“But this new guy, he’s got to be like the old Malcom’s boss, right?”
“That makes sense since he got the text and they immediately met to hand off the stuff.”
“So if he’s like the distributor, then how does he work with his dealers?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to search his apartment to figure out much about him yet. I’ll do that later today or tonight. This morning when I checked on him he was entering stuff on different Facebook pages.”
“What kind of stuff?”
Matthew grabbed the pad they were making notes on and wrote out the first four entries he’d seen on Malcom’s list.
Waldo - 9780340928653
Mary – 9780553593549
Billy – 9780241323410
Oliver – 9780517524480
“There were eight entries on the list, but you get the idea.”
Emily rotated the page so she could see the list. “Hmm, what do you think the entries are for?”
“I’m guessing he’s using a similar code to the restaurant codes, but with a coordinate?”
“Makes sense since we think he’s a distributor.”
“Sure, so this would be a code for his dealers.”
“I agree, so what would the number be for?”
“A coordinate? A time and date for the pickup? It could be anything.” Matthew started rewriting the numbers breaking them into different groupings.
“Google thirteen-digit numbers,” Emily suggested.
“Are your fingers broken?”
Emily rolled her eyes at Matthew, but picked up her laptop and googled ‘thirteen-digit numbers’. “A bunch of references to the fact that there are no thirteen-digit phone numbers, something about sim cards.” Emily paged to the next set of results. “Here’s one, ISBN numbers are thirteen digits.”
“Okay, then google ISBN and one of the numbers.” Matthew recited the number for Emily.
“I get Of Mice and Men.”
“For this one?” Matthew recited the second number.
“The Bourne Identity.”
“That can’t be a coincidence.” Matthew grabbed Emily’s laptop.
“Hey!”
“I can type them in by memory, or do you want to play data entry tech?”
“Go ahead.”
Matthew typed the eight numbers he remembered. “They all come back as real books.”
“Cool, but won’t any thirteen-digit number come back as a book?”
“No, we couldn’t have used them all up. But let’s try one.” Matthew had his computer generate a random number, 64459462604835, then he entered it in the ISBN search.
“See, comes back as no document found.”
“Okay, so if they’re ISBN numbers, what does that mean?”
“They’re using books to swap things?”
“Or using the library as a blind drop,” Emily suggested. “It would be perfect, but how would they avoid someone else picking up the package?”
“I’ll have to try and figure that out. But we now know, or think we do, that this drug distribution system is using Facebook to coordinate delivery of the drugs to the users and dealers.”
“So how does Malcom get the drugs?”
“I don’t know.”
“And?”
“Yes, I’ll try to figure it out.”
“What about the money?”
“I said they paid him.”
“So Frye was his first client?”
“Why do you ask?”
“He only had her money. If she wasn’t his first, then he should have had more money on him.”
“I don’t think she was his first.”
“So where’s the other money?”
Matthew gave Emily a pensive look. “You know, Malcom told his contact he’d have to go back to Starbucks.”
“You mean the money is still there?”
“Maybe. Darn, we should have talked before.” Matthew opened his portal at the Starbucks and started searching the area where Malcom was seated. It only took him a minute to find the stash. “I think it’s still there. I need a flashl
ight.”
Emily grabbed her purse and handed Matthew the pocket flashlight she carried. “Here.”
Using the flashlight, Matthew was able to examine his find. “There’s a box mounted under the counter where Malcom was sitting. I think it’s stuck there with double-sided tape. There’s a slot in it, and . . . three money envelopes.”
“So there’s what, like three thousand dollars there?”
“That’s my guess. I think the box could hold eight to ten envelopes. It’s about an inch deep.”
“How can you fit ten thousand dollars in a box that small?”
“Hey, ten thousand dollars is less than half an inch.”
“Really?”
“Yep, look it up. U.S. money is just over one-tenth of a millimeter in thickness.”
“And you know this how?”
“I looked it up in the summer when we were tracking Sayid’s actions. I wanted to know how he was moving money around.”
“Okay, so do we tell the cops about the money?”
“That might tip Malcom II off. We need to figure out who his supplier is.”
“Okay, what’s he doing now?”
“He looks like he’s getting ready to head out, just what I need. Brea’s playing in one hour and I’m stuck having to keep tabs on him.”
“Quit whining. It’s not like you have to go out and follow him around. You can just check in once in a while.”
“Like that will be easy to do without my mom wondering why I’m zoned out.”
“Then stay here and watch it with me.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Matthew watched Malcolm II head out. Since he was at Emily’s he figured it would be a good time to search Malcom II’s apartment while he was out. Using Emily’s flashlight, he was able to see inside of drawers and files.
“What have you learned?”
“That he lives in an apartment and that you have no patience.” Matthew shouldered Emily away; she was leaning against him, trying to see through his portal with him.
“Sorry.”
It was a small apartment so there wasn’t a desk or something like that where one would expect to find a file. It took a few minutes of looking around before Matthew found a file box. It only took a few seconds to find a utility bill with the name Dante Cruz on it.
“Okay, his name is Dante Cruz.”
“Nice name.”
“Sure.” Matthew leafed through the files until he found the title to Dante’s car. “And he owns a new three series Beamer, no lease or bank loan.”
“So, he’s getting lots of money from his drug dealing.”
“Looks that way,” Matthew closed his portal and turned his attention to the TV. Brianna was just coming out onto the court for her warmup.
“You’ve got a few more minutes; check on him again.”
“Yes, boss.” Matthew did a quick check on Dante. It would be easier to keep the two guys straight now that they had real names. “He just parked at a lot downtown.”
“Okay. You better start watching, Brea is getting ready to receive.”
Matthew and Emily watched Brianna bounce on her toes as she prepared to receive the first serve.
“Oww!” Matthew cried as Brianna barely got her racket on the ball.
“Relax, it’s just one serve.”
On the next serve, Brianna made a return, but her opponent hit a cross-court winner off of it. Matthew started to sweat.
“I said relax. It’s just the first game.”
Brianna only managed one point off her opponent’s serve.
“Now, it’s Brea’s turn.”
“Alright,” Matthew exclaimed time and again as Brianna hit ace after ace. Eventually, she won the game at 40-Love; her opponent only got her racket on one of Brianna’s serves.
“Her serves are hot. She’s going to dominate from here on out,” Emily predicted.
“Come on Brea!” Matthew was crossing his fingers as Brianna set up to receive again.
Brianna returned the first serve and rushed the net behind it. She hit an easy cross-court volley to win the first point.
“See, I told you.”
Brianna won the third game, only giving up two points during play. “She’s cruising now,” Emily said. “Check on Dante, they’re changing ends, so there’s a ninety-second break.”
Matthew opened his portal. Malcom was riding the trolley south toward San Ysidro. He was just sitting on an outside seat, relaxed listening to tunes on his i-pod, his backpack clutched between his feet.
Emily nudged him when Brianna was set to receive again. “Anything?”
“Not yet.”
They watched Brianna dominate her opponent, winning all but one point to take the game at 15.
“Quick, check again.”
“Still nothing.”
Brianna won the fifth game with four aces. “Another ninety seconds!”
Matthew tuned back to Dante. The trolley was just leaving a station. Matthew watched as a guy wandered down the aisle. As he passed Dante, there was a very discreet passing of a thick envelope to Dante, who waited a few seconds before slipping it into his backpack.
“Got him. He just got a money drop.”
Matthew continued to check in on Dante during the breaks, as they watched Brianna win the match 6-2, 6-0.
“She was pretty amazing,” Emily said. “The match tomorrow is for the title.”
“I hope she wins.”
“She’s got a good shot. She’s at the top of her game. But now what did you see with Dante?”
“Just a second.” Matthew grabbed the flashlight and used it to look inside the pocket that Dante had slid the envelope into. “I see eight envelopes, and they each have around twenty thousand in them.”
“Wow! That is a lot of money. Now we need to figure out what Dante does with it.”
“You keep saying we!”
“Well, I’m helping. I’m your timekeeper.”
“Right, thanks for that,” Matthew said as he pushed on Emily’s shoulder and laughed as she let herself fall on the floor.
“You’re mean. I’m going to sue. Maybe I can get the same lawyer that Frankie called.”
“Right, we’ll have to see if he gets anything out of that. I haven’t heard any news about it.”
◆ ◆ ◆
On Sunday morning, Matthew staked out Dante’s apartment. When he left for the trolley, he swapped backpacks with a skateboarder. This was a different kid than the one Frankie had used at the Starbucks and that Dante had continued to use. Since Matthew was pretty sure Dante was heading to the trolley downtown, he decided to follow the kid.
The kid took the bus to the North Clairemont Library. Matthew watched him tape dark boxes to the underside of the eight lower shelves in the various bookcases in the library. It didn’t take him long to verify that the boxes had pills in them.
That afternoon, Matthew went to Emily’s again to watch Brianna’s championship game. Jason and Alex were supposedly watching it at the Winthrop house. Mrs. Stevenson was taking Hanna and Sonja to a party for the afternoon which meant that Mr. Stevenson was free to play golf all day.
Brianna was facing off against Mariam Lockhart. It was the first time the two had ever played each other. The match was intense as neither woman lost her serve. Brianna won the first set in a tiebreaker 7-5. Matthew just cursorily checked in on Dante. He was sure he was going to follow the same pattern as yesterday so he decided to just count the money packages again at the end of the day instead of trying to watch the handoffs.
Brianna lost the second set in a tiebreaker 5-7 and was now preparing to serve for the first time in the final set.
“I can’t believe she can’t break her serve,” Emily said.
“Both of them are serving like demons. I don’t see how they’re keeping it up. But Brea is scoring the most points on her opponent’s serve, so you would think she’d eventually break her.”
“True, but she’s having to work awfully hard to do it.”
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The two watched as the final set played out similar to the first two. Brianna won most of her games at love, while her opponent always seemed to lose one or two points on her serve. Finally, it came down to the last tiebreaker.
“I don’t like this. Brea’s looking tired.”
“They both are.”
“I know, but she lost the last tiebreaker.”
“It’s hard to believe since she’s won so many points against serves. But then Mariam seems to be able to really buckle down during the tiebreakers.”
The two watched as the two women held serve to 7-7, then Brianna faltered and was broken on her serve. Mariam held serve to win the tournament.
“Damn, that was harsh!”
“Matthew!” Mrs. Stevenson scolded.
“Sorry.” Emily and Matthew had been so focused on the match that they hadn’t heard Mrs. Stevenson arrive with the two girls.
“I assume by that outburst that Brea lost.”
“Yes, all three sets were decided by a tiebreaker,” Emily said. “Brea just couldn’t hold out.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. But second place is still a big deal.”
“I know, but you know Brea, she’s going to be devastated.”
“I should be going,” Matthew said.
“Do you want a ride home?”
“No, I’ve got my bike. It’s not too far.”
“Okay, let me show you out.”
Once they were outside, Emily grabbed Matthew’s arm. “Did you check on Dante?”
“Yes, he had eight packages just like yesterday. I’ll try and see if I can figure out what he does with the money tonight.”
“Okay, see you at school tomorrow.”
They were both so distraught over Brianna’s loss, that they forgot to review what Matthew had learned about Dante.
◆ ◆ ◆
On Monday, Emily cornered Matthew before French class. “Well, what did you find out?”
“Not much. I did see him bundling the money up. He was using calipers to count it.”
Emily scrunched her brow in confusion, “What?”
“He was using a caliper to count the money. Money is a fixed thickness, so if you accurately measure how thick a stack is, then you know how much money is in it. It looks like they mostly get hundreds since he was making stacks of hundreds. Anyway, he was putting the money in stacks of fifteen thousand dollars, which is a bit weird.”
