At Large

by C. M. Sutter

  “Better now that we’ve arrived without trouble. How about some cervezas to celebrate?”

  “Of course. Let’s sit in the kitchen.”

  The brothers followed Luca around the corner and into the galley-shaped space. Two other men leaned against the counter.

  “Who are they?” John eyed the men suspiciously and moved his hand closer to his waistband, where his gun was neatly tucked.

  “No worries. These are my friends Paulo and Ernesto. They’re the border patrol agents that took care of your legal paperwork. They’re here to drop off your new documents.”

  John lowered his hand and reached out to shake theirs. Curt followed suit.

  “Great. Let’s have a look.”

  The four men took seats at the table while Luca passed out the beer. Paulo lifted a briefcase and popped the locks. Inside was a large manila envelope.

  “Here you go.” He slid the documents to the brothers. “New passports and ID cards for both of you. Your name, John, is Manuel Cortez, and Curt, your new name is Jose Delgado. You’ll both have dual citizenship with Mexico and the US, but to be safe and stay off the radar, we’ve given you new identities for your US passports too.” He opened John’s US passport to the first page. “You’re Donald Hendricks.” He handed Curt his passport too. “And Curt, you’re Morgan Allen. A furnished home has already been set up for you across the border, thanks to our contacts in Mexico.” He smiled. “The refrigerator is stocked with plenty of beer, and the cabinets are loaded with food. Your home state in Mexico is Tamaulipas, and your city of residence is Matamoros. We work the American side of the border, but because of our affiliations”—Paulo winked—“you won’t have any problems coming and going from either side. Your payment has been received, we are very grateful, and we will remain loyal to both of you.”

  John stared at the images on his ID card, driver’s license, and passport, and then at Curt’s. “Looks like we’ll have to dye our hair black and grow mustaches.”

  Paulo continued. “Mustaches are very common in our culture, plus they’ll help conceal your true identity.”

  “How authentic-looking are these passports?” Curt asked. “I’ve never seen a Mexico passport.”

  Ernesto pulled out his own. “Go ahead and compare them to mine. I also have dual citizenship. They’re real passports, and we’ve stamped yours with prior dates so they look even more legit.”

  “Perfect.” John studied the documents and passed them to Curt. “I can’t tell the difference.”

  “Exactly,” Ernesto said. “And nobody else will either. As of now, you’re both citizens of Mexico and the United States.”

  The men clinked beer bottles with each other.

  “Looks like we’ll give these documents a test run tomorrow.”

  Paulo nodded. “We both work the day shift hours, and Luca can escort you into Mexico.”

  Chapter 19

  I arrived at the precinct early Wednesday morning with plenty of questions that needed answers. Luckily, as I was passing Lutz’s office door, I saw he was already seated at his desk.

  He called out to me. “Jesse, come in.” He blew over his coffee cup as I took a seat on the guest chair. “How’s Bandit, and what happened?” He wrinkled his face at me. “By the way, you look like shit. Didn’t you get any sleep?”

  “Not a lot. I was too pissed off and worried. Bandit ingested rat poison.”

  “Rat poison? Did he—”

  “No, thank God. The vet said he’d recover, but he had to spend the night at the animal hospital. I called this morning, and they said I could pick him up after work.”

  “How’d he get ahold of rat poison?”

  “Through an intruder who mixed it with hamburger. Mills came by to lend a hand last night. We installed a doorbell camera, and he helped me look for evidence.”

  “And?”

  “And we found handprints on the slider glass, but the person who lifted the panel out of the lock was gloved.”

  “Jesus Christ, Jesse. We need to get to the bottom of this and fast. What do you have for security measures at home?”

  I huffed with regret. “Obviously nothing. I never thought I’d need it, but I’m having cameras and motion-sensor lights installed all around the house today. I’m sure it’ll make my neighbor, Dean, feel more secure too.”

  “I bet it will.”

  “Boss, somebody is targeting me in particular. Night before last, a toxic plant was left on my porch. No note, no nursery name, so I’ve got nothing.”

  “A toxic plant for you and rat poison for Bandit? The message they’re sending isn’t too subtle.”

  “And I’m wondering if Patrol can increase their rounds in my neighborhood for a while.”

  “Sure.” Lutz jotted a note. “I’ll call Abrams and have him set that up as soon as we’re done talking. So, who has it out for you?”

  I shook my tired head. “The only case I’m currently on is the Tina Morton murder, and Hal and his girlfriend are in holding cells. What became of the Vasquez brothers getting picked up last night?”

  Lutz rolled his eyes. “They’re unaccounted for at the moment. Patrol hasn’t located them yet, but they’re sitting on the family house.”

  “So you’ve never heard a word about John Vance’s escape from MCC?”

  Bob tapped the keyboard mouse. “I keep checking their website to see if they’ve posted anything, but I’ve gotten zilch. The FBI likely instructed them to keep quiet, and I’m sure it’s their way of scooping up more players if nobody knows what’s going on.”

  “We can’t even find out if he’s been captured?”

  “Sorry, Jesse. I know it doesn’t seem fair, especially with the bad blood between you and John Vance.” Lutz typed MCC’s web address into the search bar. “Whoa, what’s this?”

  I leapt from my chair and rounded Bob’s desk. “What did you see?”

  Lutz pointed at the article on the right side of the page. “Looks like a guard named Trent Harvey got a shiv to the chest last night. Nobody knows who inflicted the fatal wound, but there has to be a reason why he was picked out.”

  John had a lot of connections in prison, and because of that and his drug empire, he was considered too dangerous to remain at MCC.

  I returned to my chair. “Is there any way to find out who visited him in recent weeks?”

  “Nope. Curt was on the allowed visitors’ list, and he’s the only name I know of. I inquired about that yesterday, as a matter of fact, and was told the FBI isn’t allowing any information to be shared.”

  “So we can’t even find out where the weapons came from that were used in John’s escape and who bought them? Flipping a bus had to take some heavy artillery like a rocket or grenade launcher. You can’t buy something like that online.”

  Lutz shook his head. “I disagree. These days, you can buy anything on the dark web, including grenade launchers. Regardless, it isn’t our case, and nobody is talking.”

  I stood up, knuckled Lutz’s desk, and walked to the door, feeling discouraged.

  “Jesse.”

  I turned back. “Yep?”

  “Take a half day, get that security system installed, and pick up your pup. We have a handle on everything here. With any luck, we’ll find the Vasquez brothers today and have answers by tomorrow.”

  I nodded a thanks to my commander and headed to the bull pen.

  Frank crossed the room and took a seat in my guest chair as soon as I sat down. With his elbow on my desk, he leaned in closer. “I’m thinking these acts are John Vance’s way of letting you know he can get to you however and whenever he wants. He’s trying to unnerve you.”

  “Just because he’s escaped prison? He could have done anything to me in the last three years just by snapping his fingers. I’m still not completely convinced he’s involved.”

  Frank frowned. “I didn’t think of that.” He followed me to the back wall, where our coffee station was located. “Apparently, we don’t have the Vasquez broth
ers yet.”

  I filled my cup and returned to my desk. “Yeah, Lutz told me.” I slapped my hands together as something came to mind. “Holy shit! I’ve got an idea that just might work. Come on. Let’s pay the crime lab a visit.”

  I bolted out of our secured wing, down a flight of stairs, and through two hallways to get to our forensics department. Frank followed on my heels. Inside, I approached Mike Nordgren simply because he was the senior tech. “I have a question for you, Mike.”

  “Yeah, shoot.”

  “How accurate is familial DNA?”

  “Very accurate. Why?”

  “Tina Morton had unknown DNA under her fingernails. No DNA profiles were ever collected on the Vasquez brothers, and right now, they’re conveniently unaccounted for. What if we swabbed Maria since she’s in custody and see if we get a hit on the DNA scraped from under Tina’s nails?”

  Mike smiled. “I like the way you think, Detective. If there’s a familial match, then we’ll know that Tina was killed by one of the brothers, or at least somebody from the Vasquez family. If you get the commander’s approval and collect her saliva, we’ll check it right away.” Mike walked to the cabinet and handed me a swab kit.

  “Thanks, Mike. We’ll be back within the hour.”

  Frank gave me a back slap as we headed up the stairs and turned left at the main hallway. “Way to think on your feet, Jesse. Lutz will be all over this.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not just doing it for the department. I need to know who has it out for me too.”

  We met up with Lutz in the hallway as he was headed to the roll call room.

  “Boss, we need to skip roll call.”

  Lutz folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “Why?”

  Frank took over. “Jesse came up with a genius idea that we need to act on right away.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Since we can’t track down the Vasquez brothers, we have the next best thing sitting right in a jail cell. The clock is ticking, and we’ll have to cut Maria and Hal loose tomorrow if we don’t charge them with something. We’ll swab Maria, and Mike said he’d check to see if he could get a familial match to the DNA collected from under Tina’s fingernails. That could put the brothers behind bars or at least get one to turn on the other.”

  The commander waved his hand through the air. “Go on! Get it done.”

  I called our jail while Frank and I made our way to the lower level. Officer Bill Rebach answered the phone.

  “Bill, it’s McCord. I need you to put Maria Vasquez in a box. Frank and I are heading your way right now.”

  “Not a problem, Jesse. She’ll be ready in five.”

  “Are we going to give her a reason for doing a DNA swab?” Frank asked.

  I shrugged. “Nope. She’s a person of interest, so we don’t need a reason. It’ll end up as part of her police file, anyway.”

  After signing in, we entered box two and took seats facing Maria. Disheveled and wearing an orange jumpsuit—and having slept with yesterday’s makeup on—she was much plainer looking than I’d originally thought.

  “Morning, Maria.” I stared across the table at her.

  “Whatever. When do I get out of here? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “And that has yet to be established. Your attorney won’t let you talk to us, so you can’t prove your innocence. We do need to swab your DNA, though.” I slipped gloves over my hands and removed the swab from the wrapper. “Open your mouth.”

  “Why am I doing this?”

  “Because it’s standard procedure. Now open up.”

  She did, although grudgingly, and let me swab the inside of her cheek. I returned the swab to the sterile tube and sealed the cap, then I wrote her name and the time on the attached label.

  “So when do I get to leave?”

  “You aren’t supposed to be talking to us, remember?” Frank said. He opened the door and called out to Bill. “She’s all yours now. Thanks, buddy.”

  Frank and I crossed the hallway and followed the sign that pointed to the forensics lab. Back inside, I handed the sample to Mike and asked how long it would take.

  “Since it doesn’t have to be sent out, I can make the comparison right now with what we’ve collected from Tina. That DNA has already been entered into the database. It’s as simple as that, and I’ll have the results before noon.”

  We caught the tail end of Lutz’s daily updates as we entered the roll call room. What he’d told the group wasn’t much different than what he’d explained to me earlier. The Vasquez brothers were still in the wind, but the family home and their individual apartments were being watched by Patrol.

  “I want all their known associates talked to, and let’s see what shakes out. They’ve got to be laying low somewhere.”

  Henry spoke up. “Why would they even know they’re on our radar?”

  “Good question, Johnson. Somebody obviously tipped them off, and I’m leaning toward it being their sister, Maria.”

  Potter asked the next question. “Any word on John Vance?”

  Lutz shook his head. “Sorry, but we aren’t privy to that information. It’s apparent that somebody is sending a message to Jesse, so we all have to be diligent and push hard for more on the Morton murder. We have to charge Hal Morton and Maria Vasquez or cut them loose.” Lutz closed the folder that sat on the podium in front of him. “Let’s get busy, people. Time is of the essence.”

  Chapter 20

  John sat on the sweeping front porch of Luca’s house as he waited for everyone to get out of bed. Curt, who drank more beer than he should have last night, was still sleeping, but to his credit, he had done most of the driving during that fourteen-hundred-mile trip. Back inside and refilling his coffee cup, John saw Luca walk toward him.

  “So you are among the living?”

  “Barely.” Luca rubbed his temples, groaned, and looked around. “Too many cervezas. Curt still sleeping?”

  “He is.”

  “Excuse me.” Luca walked into the kitchen and answered his ringing phone. He had a short conversation with someone, hung up, then nodded at John. “Curt’s phone should be ringing any minute. Conway didn’t know if you had a burner yet, and he wanted to speak with you.”

  “Sure, thanks. What’s for breakfast?” John joined Luca in the kitchen, pulled open the refrigerator door, and peered in.

  “Anything you want. Help yourself.”

  After pulling out the carton of eggs and a bag of tortillas, John opened the cabinets and searched for a frying pan.

  “I’ll make breakfast,” Luca said. “I know my way around this kitchen pretty well.”

  “Good, I’m starving.” John walked to Curt’s buzzing phone that still sat on the table from last night. He looked at the screen and saw that it was Conway. “I’ll be outside.”

  Luca nodded and cracked four eggs into the sizzling butter.

  With the phone in hand, John returned to the porch and took a seat on the ladder-back rocking chair. “What’s up, Mark?”

  “Mr. Vance, I wanted to update you on the most recent events.”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “For starters, I gave the detective’s dog rat poison.”

  John laughed. “Did it do the trick?”

  “Don’t know since I didn’t stick around too long, but the mutt really gobbled down the hamburger it was mixed with.”

  “Okay, what else?”

  “The Vasquez brothers were instructed to leave town for a while. I guess their sister, Maria, and the husband of the murder victim are being held in police custody while they try to dig up evidence against them.”

  “No surprise there. Police procedure 101.”

  “She called Mauricio’s phone from jail and updated him.”

  “Doesn’t that bitch know the calls are recorded?”

  “You’d think so, sir, but she is only good for her looks, not her brains. The cops wanted to know if she had brothers because of the tire-slashi
ng incident. Guess a neighbor saw two men at McCord’s cruiser, and now they’re looking for them. We’ll either have to continue on without their help or look for new assistants.”

  “Nah, that’d be too many people linked to us. Have the brothers continue doing what they were hired to do. They can camp out at Cruz’s house since he isn’t on anybody’s radar. Let Cruz know that, and then tell him to get rid of their phones. Later, I want McCord confronted in any manner you see fit. Just make sure he can’t track you or the Vasquez boys back to me.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll tell Cruz, and we’ll keep eyes on McCord’s house and every move he makes.”

  Luca opened the screen door and popped out his head. “Breakfast is on the table, John. Come in and eat while it’s hot.”

  Curt was already at the table when John walked in. He sat quietly and sipped coffee.

  John raised a brow. “Not hungry, brother?”

  “Coffee is all I can stomach this morning. Maybe later.”

  John stabbed the fried egg with his fork, dipped a torn piece of tortilla into the yolk, and popped it into his mouth. He tipped his wrist and checked the time. “You have an hour to pull yourself together, Curt. We have to do a test run at the border, and I won’t allow anything to go wrong.”

  Chapter 21

  Frank and I joined Lutz in his office as we waited for Mike’s call. We were told the DNA testing was complete, and the much-anticipated results were minutes away.

  “We’ll have a lot of leverage with Maria if the results come in as familial DNA,” Frank said.

  Lutz agreed. “Damn right we will, and we’ll hang everything on her if she doesn’t give up more information about Tina’s murder. She knows a lot more than she’s letting on, and I bet she has an idea where the brothers are holed up too. Chances are, Tina’s murder was completely her idea, and she had one brother, or both, carry it out.”

  I tapped my foot impatiently as we waited. I wanted to be there when the call came in, but I also had to meet the security camera installation crew at my house in less than an hour. Lutz glanced at the clock.