Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(76)

He stared blankly at her.

“Come on, Hec. Enough.” Josie was tired of dragging information out of him. She raised her voice. “Your phone records will be subpoenaed. I’ll find out every phone call you or your dad made or received over the past year.”

“The Conroys.”

Josie felt a jolt of recognition at the name, but she kept a neutral expression. “What do they do, Hec?”

“They ship into Mexico.”

“I thought your dad did that?” Josie snapped back.

“Dad gets the cars ready and fits the money into the car frames. The Conroys have the big haulers that ship the cars.”

*

Josie and Nick got into the car and she faced him before turning the key. Her heart was pounding.

“Have we told you about the Santa Muerte necklace found at the office?”

He frowned. “No.”

“It was found on the floor. The chain in one place, the pendant in another, as if ripped off in a struggle. When Otto was researching what Santa Muerte stands for he discovered there’s a family in Artemis that worships her.”

“Let me guess. The Conroys.”

“Exactly.” Josie started the car and pulled away from the motel. “We’re getting closer.”

She drove Nick back to her house so he could leave for Mexico. He was anxious to set up the surveillance for the night. She then headed back to the police department and found Otto standing by the courthouse entrance talking to Sheriff Martínez.

“You hanging in there, Josie?” Martínez asked. He stood with his hands perched on his gun belt, his barrel chest emphasizing the physical power that served him well as a cop.

“I actually have good news. Hector Follet finally let loose. He said his dad called him at home several times after the Medranos brought Hec back from Mexico. The night Dillon was kidnapped, the Medranos called Hec to threaten him again.” Josie smirked. “Hec said he told his dad about Dillon’s kidnapping, and his dad hasn’t called him since.”

Otto leaned back and raised his eyebrows.

“And guess who ships the cars and cash to Mexico for Wally?” Without waiting for a response she said, “The Conroys.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Exactly.”

Martínez frowned. “Okay, give me the details.”

“Remember Christina Handley was shot from the side, a bad shot from the front of the office?”

Martínez nodded.

“We didn’t think the cartel would take that kind of shot. But, at the same time, who else would want Christina dead? Who else would have a motive for killing her?”

“Keep going,” Martínez said.

“I think Hec told Wally that Dillon had been kidnapped. Wally lured Christina to the office because he didn’t want himself, or his son, connected to the kidnapping.”

“But he’d been tipped off about the indictment, right? Didn’t Wally know about the subpoena for his records?” Martínez asked. “Why wouldn’t he have taken the records before he left?”

“He didn’t know about the subpoena. He found out about the indictment, panicked, took the money and ran. We didn’t find Dillon’s subpoena until after the kidnapping. Wally was long gone by then. When he left, his accounting records were the last of his worries.”

Martínez nodded slowly, beginning to piece things together.

“But when Hec told his dad that Dillon had been kidnapped? Everything changed,” she said. “All of a sudden, he had to worry the feds were going to figure out he was shipping cash for the Medranos. If the feds implicated Hec somehow, Hec could end up doing serious jail time.”

“So Wally came home to get the records and to get his son,” Martínez said.

“Exactly,” Josie said. “He’s already screwed his son’s life up. Imagine if Wally had to watch his son do jail time over a part of the business that Hec didn’t even agree with.”

Otto squinted at Josie and rubbed his chin with his palm. “You think Wally grabbed the files, and then killed Christina to remove the witness,” Otto said.

Josie nodded.

“Why wouldn’t he just break in and steal the files?” Martínez asked.

“He wouldn’t have had any idea where the files were. He needed Christina to find them,” she said. “And remember the missing computers? I think Wally took them, too. He wouldn’t have had any idea that we’d find files stored online.”

Martínez tilted his head. “You think the files were important enough for Wally to risk coming back to town? He’s hiding from the police and the Medranos. Pretty big risk.”

“Hec said his dad was furious with him for not leaving town. I think Wally is a lousy dad, but I think he loves his son. I think he’s worried Hec is going to take the fall for all of his bad decisions. He’s probably still hoping Hec will leave town with him. Maybe coming back for Hec and the files was Wally trying to be a good father.”

“That’s some screwed-up logic,” Martínez said. “Especially if he killed Christina as a result.”

“How many criminals use rational logic?” she said.

“Touché.”

“It gets better,” Josie said.