The Frame-Up (The Golden Arrow #1)(34)
“In the origin story of the Hooded Falcon, he’s an average Joe who stumbles upon a drug deal at a dock. Instead of walking past, he calls the police to stop it. The drug dealers see him, abduct him, stow him in the ship, then ultimately leave him on a deserted island where he has to fend for himself for months before a ship comes back. It’s where he hones his hunting skills to survive. The same smugglers come back to the island to pick up the stash. He sneaks aboard and ends up commandeering the ship, steering it into the port of Space City, and turning over the entire ship, crew, and drugs to the authorities.” I point to the rabbit. “The rabbit is the sign of his archnemesis—the White Rabbit, a Chinese drug lord. It’s accepted as a reference to China white, or a slang term for heroin.”
I look around, and all three of them are blinking at me. Suddenly I’m not so sure. “Didn’t you say that White Rabbit is what the street drug is called?”
“Yes.” It’s Agent Sosa who answers. Her mouth has puckered like she’s sucking on a Sour Patch Kid. “We did the field tests, and it’s positive for heroin. Possibly other elements, though more than likely that’s contamination from the scene. We have yet to do a full scan at the lab. It’s more likely that this drawing is in reference to the street drug.”
I bite my lip. Other contaminates like a designer drug? But . . . Occam’s razor. I suppose it’s possible I’m stretching this too far. I look at Matteo, who shrugs. We’re all in the dark here. Until I am sure that the Golden Arrow is trying to identify a specific nemesis, I should keep to the simpler explanations. “Probably.”
We tour the rest of the crime scene, but I don’t see any further indication of hidden messages or Hooded Falcon trivia. Towering stacks of boxes and crates, most of which are being sorted through, cataloged, and photographed by officers, fill the warehouse. The warehouse stock sheet says there are twenty bays of other goods to inspect, everything from books, magazines, and comic books to KitchenAid mixers, machine parts, and—I laugh—cereal. Crates and crates of cereal.
“Maybe they’re putting heroin in Cap’n Crunch. I’ve suspected it for years.” My joke earns a smirk from Matteo but not even an eye roll from Rideout. Great. He’s grumpy and he has no sense of humor. Detective Dursley it is.
Matteo points to the largest group of people in the warehouse, gathered around a small stack of crates on the floor. “We discovered the uncut heroin. Agent Sosa here has explained that more than likely it’s from Mexico, since we’re so close to the border and it’s not unheard of for illegal shipments of drugs to come on small boats from Tijuana.”
I frown. That doesn’t line up with the White Rabbit from the comics, but I’m still not sure how literal to take the story line. “Could it be from another country, say China?” Just the other week, Ryan pointed out an article online about the rise of the designer drug culture in LA. It said that countries like China, Laos, and Vietnam were hotbeds for synthetic drug production and that US port cities were starting to see more of them. Now that could be a nod to the White Rabbit in the comics. Something moves deep in my subconscious, and the image of the boat from the panel with the people tied to the dock surfaces.
“Could these drugs possibly be readying for export instead of going to other states?”
Agent Sosa squints at me.
“Well, it’s just that the initial drug bust was down by the docks, and in the scene it reminded me of from the comic, the drugs were being loaded onto a boat, not off.”
Agent Sosa flicks a glance at Matteo, then sweeps her dark page cut behind one ear and gives me a small smile that looks a teensy condescending, like she’s humoring a kindergartner. Which I practically am, since the most I know about drugs is that Tylenol Cold & Sinus wipes me out for three days. “We’re going to proceed as if it’s a standard drug trafficking case until proven otherwise. In my professional opinion, that’s what we’re dealing with.”
“It’s just . . . it’s a lot like the plotline with the White Rabbit in the series. Enough that I think you should look into it?”
Agent Sosa narrows her eyes at me, and I feel like I’m overstepping my bounds on my first day at work. “This is cut-and-dried. We’ll test it and send a report to the narcotics team, but it’s your basic pure heroin. Next it would have been cut, packaged, and trucked out to the surrounding area. I don’t even think it’s what the street teams are labeling White Rabbit. The lab will have to tell us. We’re wasting our time in this warehouse looking for clues, past testing the product.”
“One of the dealers from the first bust is with a notorious Mexican cartel,” Detective Rideout adds. “And I agree that the connection to the comic book is weak. We should move forward with the cartel theory.”
I’m not convinced. Or my gut isn’t. I shoot a look at Matteo. “The Golden Arrow is obviously a fan of the comic book. What if he’s trying to tell us something? In the comic, it has to do with China, and it has to do with shipping.”
Matteo nods slowly. “I agree that it’s too soon to dismiss the idea. That’s why we have MG here. She’s the expert. If she says there may be a connection, let’s follow up—no matter how out-there it sounds, Detective.” Rideout was muttering under his breath but stops short when Matteo calls him out.