Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(94)
“This isn’t about Delores. Why do you do that? Why do you devalue your own life because you don’t have a family?”
Josie was surprised at his tone. He was angry, his voice loud in the otherwise silent parking lot. “I get the importance of you being there, but let’s be smart,” he said. “You don’t barge into an investigation in a foreign country without some thought. Call Nick. Get an update before we go any further.”
Taking in his rigid posture and fists, Josie felt a terrible sense of guilt for dragging him in this far. Still, she nodded and called Nick and was relieved when he answered.
“Tell me what’s happening,” she said.
“We found the house, Josie. The bedroom windows are boarded up. Sergio is here. He talked to one of the neighbors, who said the lights are on in the kitchen all the time, curtains pulled tight in the kitchen and living room. The neighbors say they’ve never seen a female enter or leave. Just men looking around before they enter the house. The neighbors said no one on the block makes eye contact with anyone who parks in that driveway. No one will confirm that it’s the Medranos, but I’m sure of it.” Nick paused. “If it isn’t Dillon in that house, there’s someone else being held.”
“Otto and I are on our way now.”
She was surprised when he didn’t protest. “Sergio can meet you at the border crossing. He’ll get you through the checkpoint, then you ride with him. No guns. Bring your badges. We’ll get you weapons when you arrive.”
“I’ve got pictures of the money on my cell phone. Proof, if it comes to that.”
“Okay. I’m pulling the team together now.”
She hung up and kept her phone out, staring down at it. “We should call the mayor. Or the prosecutor at the very least, to let them know our plans.”
“You’re right. We should.”
She hesitated and looked up at him and he pursed his lips.
“We both know the prosecutor’s answer. And the mayor’s,” she said.
“Which is why we won’t tell them.”
“We could lose our jobs. Law enforcement officers crossing the border illegally? Mayor Moss would love to see me fry over this one,” she said.
“They won’t fire me at this point in my career. Drench wouldn’t allow it. They could force a resignation, but I’d still get my retirement. You, though…”
“Otto. If I don’t do everything in my power to bring Dillon home?” She shrugged. “The mayor can go to hell.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
When Josie and Otto arrived at the border crossing, Sergio was standing at the gatehouse with a guard who waved them through to a parking lot. Josie locked the jeep and she and Otto got into Sergio’s marked Federales police car. He took off with sirens and lights and sped through the city streets of Ojinaga, then drove a state road thirty minutes back toward Artemis’s sister city, Piedra Labrada, a town of roughly five thousand people. Sergio took the opportunity to fill them in on the progress that had been made.
“After Nick left you yesterday evening, I met with him at the police station. He had already contacted me several days ago about his belief that Dillon was being held close to Artemis but still in Mexico. The neighborhood where we believe Dillon is located is peppered with cartel activity. Many poor people, barely hanging on. There’s allegiances to the Medranos. People know if they protect the cartel, they get protected in return, maybe even rewarded with a job. Maybe money to send their kids to a private school.”
“Where is Nick’s team located?”
“We’ve set up a command post at an empty house a half block from where we believe Dillon is being held. Nick is getting a floor plan based on other houses in the neighborhood. We meet at one A.M. to plan for the rest of the night.” He glanced at the clock on the car radio. “We should be there right on time.”
Once they arrived in Piedra Labrada, they drove through several blocks of small one-story homes.
“Is this the old St. Agnes district?” Otto asked.
“That’s it. But the Catholic school burned down in the seventies,” Sergio said. “It used to be middle-class families, but most moved out when the Medranos moved in. The families who still live here want out, but no one’s buying.”
Most of the homes they drove by were lit up brightly against the cold night. Josie wondered what kind of hell lay behind some of those doors.
He pulled into the driveway of a home that looked dark from the outside. “This was an empty house. The owners just left it. The windows were already boarded up. Good for us. Gives a measure of privacy.” He shut off the car and turned to Josie. “Nick has two men positioned on the street, observing the safe house. If anything happens we’ll know.”
They entered the command post through a side entrance that led into a small kitchen, lit by a fluorescent light fixture typically seen in outdoor garages. A long, narrow table had been set up using sawhorses and a board, and several folding chairs were positioned around it. Josie could see Nick talking on his cell phone in a darkened living room situated next to the kitchen. The living room was littered with scattered boxes and odds and ends that made it look as if the home had been deserted in a hurry.
A policeman in a Federales uniform walked into the kitchen from the living room. Sergio introduced him as Marcos Alonzas. He was a middle-aged man whose uniform sagged on him as if he’d recently lost a great deal of weight. He nodded, smiling, but when Josie tried to ask him a question he gave her a quizzical look and shook his head no. Sergio explained he knew very little English. This was a big concern. The officers’ inability to clearly communicate with each other put them all at a significant disadvantage. As the commander in charge, Nick would be the primary source of communication, but he couldn’t be in all places at once. If shots were fired from multiple locations, it would be critical for the officers to communicate the position and actions of the shooters to each other. Their lives could depend on it. Josie and Otto both knew rudimentary Spanish, enough to get by on traffic stops, but not enough to communicate in a high-stress situation. Marcos smiled warily and nodded at Josie, worry also evident in his eyes.