Chapter Sixteen #2
“But to be clear, what we’re looking at here—” I gestured to Judy’s laptop. “Is most likely cartel phone traffic using burners as they talk to each other.”
Judy grinned. “Bingo.”
“I get it…but please back up a second, Judy,” I said as an idea formed in my mind. “You said that because the FBI and DEA were on shared coms, the burner calls should come from an outsider, not one of us.”
Judy nodded vigorously, grinning as she patted my hand. “You get a gold star.”
I smirked.
“Which brings me to my next point.” Judy sounded excited as she talked.
“I was able to isolate several calls between one of the numbers in the building that night and a location of interest to all of us.” She smiled widely.
I don’t know why, but her teasing was beginning to aggravate me just a little bit.
I didn’t know Judy that well since she’d only joined the team after we made the move to L.A.
from Houston. I liked her sunny disposition most of the time…
just not now, when Joshua and his family’s lives were on the line.
I really wanted her to get to the point. “And are you going to share the location with us or make us guess?” I knew I sounded harsher than I meant to, so I picked up my coffee and took a big swig of it to hide my frustration.
“In the twenty-four hours preceding the raid, several burner calls were made to and from Gomez’ phone using a cell tower within the radius that includes 255 East Temple Street, Los Angeles.”
I shook my head, not comprehending the significance of the location.
“That’s downtown L.A., right?” Joshua asked.
“Right,” Napoleon said.
I glanced over at my quiet friend who hadn’t said much since they’d arrived. “Okay…and?” I threw up my hands in frustration as I looked back at Judy. “What’s located at 255 East Temple?”
“Headquarters for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.”
“What the fuck!” I barked out as I glanced at Candy. “The DEA has a…mole?”
“Two of them it looks like…well, there were two separate burner numbers that called Gomez’ phone from the location on Temple Street at different times prior to our joint operation, anyway,” Judy replied.
“Two?” I asked. “I thought you said there was one number trading calls with Gomez.”
Judy sighed then gave me a tiny smile, before patting my hand.
“You need to let me finish, Nash. We know one of the burners in question belonged to DEA Special Agent John Sibley who was killed in the building during the operation because we found it on his body. His phone called the phone we found on Gomez’ body. ”
“Wow,” Joshua said, looking wide-eyed. “That means he was working with the bad guys…or at least with Gomez.”
“Yes, but there was a second burner from DEA headquarters,” I interjected angrily. It was shocking to learn that there were two bastards on Turley’s team.
“Yes, and that unknown number also traded calls with Sibley,” she said.
We all looked up when Candy cleared his throat.
“Based on what Judy found here, it’s safe to say finding Sibley’s phone on his body and booking it into evidence before the person using the second burner could get to it, was a huge boon to this investigation.”
I nodded as the implications began to sink in. Had we not found the burners on Sibley and Gomez, we wouldn’t have learned that the two had been conversing at all.
“Wait—” Joshua said. “If I understand you correctly, Agent Sibley was working with the cartel but there was someone else from the DEA working with them too?” He pinned me with a look of extreme concern in his eyes.
I nodded.
Joshua screwed up his face. “Okay…this means there are—were—two DEA agents working with Gomez and the cartel.”
“We don’t know who,” I said, pointing to the laptop. “But it’s not looking good for the DEA at the moment.”
“So, for sure it’s a second DEA agent,” Joshua concluded.
“Or simply one of the sicarios hangin’ around the DEA’s buildin’,” Patsy added.
Joshua’s eyes widened. “Okay, that’s scary.”
I wanted to reach out and pull him into my arms, but that couldn’t happen. Not here, anyway.
As Joshua stared at me, I could almost see the gears turning in his brain.
“Someone fucked up big time here,” I said.
Candy nodded. “Look, Mr. Calder. I don’t want you to dwell on the worst. All we know is the phone found with Sibley was used to make calls to more than one burner as well as to the phone we took off Gomez’ body after Patsy killed him.”
“In quite spectacular fashion, I should add,” Napoleon said, smiling fondly at Irish.
“Serves the gobshite right for takin’ a little girl hostage,” Patsy growled.
“We also know that the phone on Gomez’ body was used to call the mystery burner several times the night before our raid and immediately after,” Candy said.
“I can’t believe someone warned that dirtbag Gomez ahead of the operation.” I sat back in the chair, clutching my cooling mug in both hands as I realized the implications. “He was tipped off by one of our own guys.”
“Correction,” Candy said, looking grim. “At least one DEA guy.”
“Noted,” I replied, doing my best to keep the anger out of my voice. But I was fighting a losing battle. “Why the fuck didn’t he leave the apartment beforehand then?” I practically shouted. “Why didn’t he tell all his rats to clear out?”
“Other than Sibley, we have no idea who made those calls from DEA headquarters prior to the raid, or what was said to Gomez,” Candy said. “Maybe he wasn’t warned at all, and those calls served another purpose.”
I shook my head. It didn’t make sense.
“You said there were calls from burners immediately after the raid also,” Joshua said.
I glanced over at him and nodded before turning my attention to Judy.
She sighed. “A lot of traffic between Sibley, and Gomez beforehand. Then calls to and from this unknown burner after the raid. The first one was to Sibley, possibly ordering him to do something. It was a single call made after the operation when we were still searching for Gomez and it only lasted about nine seconds. The other calls—four in all—came from Gomez to that other unknown number. None of those calls connected.”
“That sounds like Gomez was double-crossed,” I said hesitantly. “Assuming the call made to Sibley came from another DEA agent, it might mean he was being directed to kill Gomez before he could get out of the building…maybe to cover up his own involvement.”
“And the other unanswered calls from Gomez might mean he was trying to get out and looking for the best way to do it,” Candy said.
I nodded. “Do we have ballistics back on the bullet that killed Sibley?”
“Yes, it came from the gun Gomez had with him,” the captain said.
I pursed my lips. “Well, that reinforces our previous suspicion of Gomez figuring out a double cross. He reached out to the mystery phone, but realized he wasn’t getting any help to exit the building, so he just turned on Sibley.”
Candy slowly nodded. “I hate to say it, but it appears that way.”
“That means a dirty DEA agent found my ID in the apartment and then sent a cartel—” Joshua broke off before looking at me. He was as white as a sheet. “What did you call it…a cartel hit squad?”
“The ones who came to your house? Yeah, that was a hit squad,” I said.
Joshua abruptly stood, pacing away from the table as he ran fingers through his hair.
He whirled around and the expression on his face was filled with fear.
He paced back and forth, hands on hips. “You guys are supposed to be the good guys! How do I know my family is safe if you guys—” He waved at us.
“I mean, how am I supposed to trust the FBI to keep my family safe?” He turned to look at me.
“How do I know it wasn’t someone in the FBI who was using that burner? ”
I jumped up from the table and reached out, pulling him into my arms. He was trembling and stiff as a board.
I bent and spoke quietly, feeling him relax just a bit.
“Because at one point that burner was either used from the DEA’s headquarters or in the immediate vicinity of their building, Joshua. That’s not us.”
“I can assure you that your family is safe, Mr. Calder,” Candy said from behind us.
I let go as Joshua pulled free and glanced over at my boss.
“The FBI doesn’t even know where they are. The U.S. Marshals Service handles witness relocation and only a handful of people with access to WITSEC records know where their protectees are sent. That’s part of their process. In addition, they’re guarded by marshals all the time.”
Joshua nodded letting go of me abruptly and stepping back. “But how do I know that I can trust the FBI?”
“I’d say the most glarin’ example of that would be that you’re still alive, mate,” Patsy said.
I sent him a glare before looking back at the man who trembled beside me. “Joshua?” Our eyes met. “Do you trust me?”
He frowned and for a few awful seconds, I wasn’t sure of his answer.
When he visibly sagged, I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, of course…of course I do, Nash. You’ve saved my life at least three times if you count the morning of the operation, at my house, and the gym.
” He came forward and took hold of my hand.
My fingers curled around his, not caring what the others thought about the touch.
“I’m sorry. Of course I trust you, Nash. ”
I nodded. “Then you can trust my brothers too. No one in the FBI is going to let anything happen to you or the kids.” I smiled. “Or Garbanzo.”
He snorted, smiling for the first time in a bit.
“Okay…and I’m sorry I doubted you. This is all just so stressful.
Sometimes, it feels like it’s happening to someone else and I’m just a spectator.
” His eyes were sincere, and I was relieved that the clouds in the gray depths were no longer on display.
Candy cleared his throat and we turned our attention back to him as Judy and the others stood up from the table. “Well, I wanted to keep you both in the loop, Hampstead. I have a call into the marshals to let them know of the situation.”
“Why?” Joshua asked. He dragged his gaze away from the boss and back to me.
“Because they might want you to go into witness protection with your family now, Joshua.”
He shook his head. “No, you said I could work.” When I didn’t reply he turned to Candy. “I can still work, right?”
Candy smiled. “For now, we’re leaving things just as they are, but just to be on the safe side, I’m sending two more of my guys over to stay here until all of this is resolved.
You should lay low and continue keeping vigilant until a decision is made.
” He stepped up to Joshua and squeezed his shoulder.
“Your safety and that of your family is all that matters.”
Joshua nodded, taking the hand the captain offered him. “Thank you.” He glanced around the room at the others. “And thank all of you, especially you, Judy.”
She smiled widely, walking over to hug him.
“No worries, Joshua. I promise I’ll keep on it.
I might have a few things in the works. Just stay here with Nash.
You’re in good hands.” She glanced at me before turning back to him.
“I think you already know he’s a good man and he’ll protect you with his life, time and again if that’s what it takes.
” She patted him on the arm before they all headed for the front door.
Once I’d said goodbye to everyone, reminding Patsy and Napoleon to go water my plants, I shut and locked the door.
The moment I turned around, Joshua flew into my arms. I hugged his body tightly against mine, resting my chin on top of his head. Judy was right. I’d kill anyone who tried to take him away from me.
Anyone.