Chapter Twenty-Two
Jagger
The room was as silent as a tomb. Hell, even Boyd Newton’s face was pale.
“Mom, say that again, please. I’m with Thomas,” Bailey gritted out. I could tell his anger was slowly boiling, but it was going to shoot off like a volcano at any moment.
“No, son. I haven’t received any money back.
Why? Are you boys trying to rile me up like you did when you were younger?
I swear, I’m not putting up with it anymore.
You boys know I won’t tolerate tomfoolery.
For goodness sakes, you’re thirty-nine.” Mrs. Gregory sounded exasperated, but she wasn’t lying, as best I could tell.
Bailey pointed at Thomas. “Call or track Lindsey’s cell. Find out where she is.” Thomas gave him a quick nod before leaving the room with Boyd in tow.
“Bailey Joseph, you tell me what’s going on right now.” Mrs. Gregory projected a don’t-fuck-with-me tone that many mothers seemed to master. I couldn’t imagine going against her, face-to-face.
He sighed. “Mom, it’s a long story. Let me know if you hear from Lindsey, will you? Maybe plan a trip to Las Vegas in the near future?”
“I’ve got end-of-the-quarter board meetings this week, but I’ll plan something soon. Look out for your brother, please. Don’t let anything happen to him.” Mrs. Gregory ended the call.
Bailey turned to me. “Now what?”
“You stay here with Thomas. I’ve got a few things to do, but I’ll be back.”
I started for the door, but Bailey grabbed my wrist. “Where are you going? I’m coming along.”
“I’m going to find Marcelo Garcia and figure out the connection between him and Lindsey.
We need to get to him before the cops find him, or we won’t get a chance to question him.
I have a feeling he’s going to tie all of this together, but if Spitzer gets to him first, we won’t get our shot.
With all the shit Spitzer wants to use to get Garcia to testify and take down the cartel and the Viper Kings, he might give the asshole immunity.
We’ll never get any answers if he does.” Maybe I was wrong, but that was what I’d do if it were my case.
“I’m coming with you. I’m willing to do things you’re too moral to do in order to get some answers.” Bailey stood from the chair as Thomas came out of the bedroom.
“Lindsey’s not answering. We had tracking devices in our phones for the sake of security, but Rupert tells me her phone is offline, which means she’s taken the tracker out or she’s thrown her phone away.” That was telling, wasn’t it?
Bailey and I left the governor’s Vegas residence after Thomas gave Bailey a ball cap and sunglasses. We were able to escape through the Sunset gate without notice, and then we both hustled to my truck.
I noticed his bike in the back and knew we needed to get rid of it before we went looking for Garcia. “Let’s take your bike to the office and drop it off. Besides, we could use some backup.”
I planned to recruit Keats and Gree to give us a hand. They both got bored easily while in the office, and I was banking on them looking for anything to do.
Keats was a master tracker from his days in the Marines, and Greeley was the muscle we’d need if we were lucky enough to find Garcia. We could split up and attack the problem from two different angles if they were willing to help.
I went into the office and whistled at Keats and Gree. “Can you guys help me take a bike off the back of my truck?” Both guys were in the swamp playing trashketball. Leo and Diggs were nowhere to be seen.
Both men stopped their free-throw battle and turned to me. “A bike? You can’t lift a bike off the back of your truck?” Greeley was laughing as the two of them headed out the back door with me, Dixie trotting along behind them.
Denise was at her desk doing something, and I didn’t want her to hear my request. Nobody needed to get into trouble for lying to the cops if they were asked point-blank about my intentions with Marcelo Garcia. I’d take all the blame myself.
When Greeley saw the bike, he cracked up. “Now I get it. How’d you get it up there?”
Bailey laughed while sitting on the tailgate. “I gave three thugs twenty bucks a piece to help us lift it.” I was convinced the only reason those other guys hadn’t taken off with the Harley was that they thought we were cops. Thankfully, they hadn’t given us any trouble.
The three of them shook hands and went to work putting the fancy motorcycle on the ground.
“You guys bored?” They were both eyeing the Harley like hungry hyenas as I waited for them to answer.
No way would Bailey let either of them ride the damn thing, so it was better to get their mind on something else.
Finally, Gree looked at me. “What’s up?”
“We’re going to Horseshoe Casino to talk to Maria Ramirez’s boss. If you’re in, Gree, could you two go find your buddy, Detective Spitzer? If we can get him on board with my plan, maybe he’ll give us time to question Marcelo Garcia before he’s taken into custody—if Spitzer is even looking for him.
“I know Spitzer’s priority is finding the connections between the Víbora Cartel and the Viper Kings MC. I won’t interfere with his case, but I want to talk to Garcia about another matter. I think Garcia knows more about a blackmail attempt against a friend of mine than he’s willing to admit.”
Gree turned to Keats. “You wanna take a ride? I happen to know Spitz is taking a mandatory vacation day because he mouthed off to his boss. Right now, he’s at Atomic Golf hitting balls. I’m supposed to meet him in an hour for a beer.”
I wanted to pump my fist in the air. I knew Keats and Gree were reliable, and I hoped Greeley had some sway with Spitzer.
“Sure. I got nothing going on.” The smile on Keats’s face led me to believe he was more than happy to go along, though I wasn’t sure if it was the idea of some downtime or if he was anxious for a fight.
“Check in later, will ya?” I gave Gree a fist bump before Bailey and I headed for my truck.
Traffic to The Strip was a nightmare, but we arrived at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino within thirty minutes. The shift change for the cocktail servers, dealers, and croupiers had taken place at four, so I was sure Alaina would be on the floor somewhere for the evening.
Alaina was waiting her turn in line at the server’s area of the Center Bar, left of the main entrance to the casino. I waited until she was delivering drinks on the floor before Bailey and I took seats at two slot machines in her area.
“Cocktails.” She breezed by the banks of slot machines to cover her assigned area.
When she got to the machines where Bailey and I were sitting, I lifted a finger to stop her. “May we have two club sodas?” I pulled a twenty from my pocket and held it in my hand.
“Of course. Oh, uh, you’re that man who was looking for Maria. You said—”
“Yes, I told you she was dead. I have a few more questions, Alaina, if you don’t mind. Maria was pregnant. Did anyone here know that?”
Her mouth opened and snapped closed. “How do you know?”
“Coroner’s report. Who was the older Spanish man who used to drop by to visit her? I’m guessing it wasn’t her ex-husband, Pedro Vega, was it?”
“I don’t know his whole name. She called him Celo. I thought they were having an affair behind her husband’s back. He came in one night, asking for her, which was when I met him for the first time. He gave me a hundred dollars not to tell anyone that he’d come in looking—”
Bailey held out a hundred-dollar bill to her. “I’m giving you a hundred to tell us what he told you about Maria.”
I wanted to kiss Bailey. All I had in my pocket was sixty bucks.
“Okay. Uh, Celo used to drop off a duffel bag for Maria once a week, just before her shift began. She took it to her locker, and at the end of her shift, she took it home with her. I know because we walked out to the parking lot together.
“When Maria was scheduled to work, she shared an apartment here in town with someone I had never met. They’d been roommates for about a year, which is when the duffels began being dropped off here.
“I believe the roommate’s name was Paloma. Maria mentioned it a time or two, but she never said Paloma’s last name. I got the impression they hadn’t known each other before becoming roommates.” Alaina was careful to avoid my gaze.
“Why did Maria steal a Chimi purse from the resale shop down the street?” Bailey asked.
“Maria claimed she was picking it up for Paloma and that it was already paid for.
When she got arrested and was bailed out, she called to ask for time off to deal with her legal matters.
She said Paloma told her to pick up the purse because it had a key inside for a locker at the bus station that Maria was supposed to use to stash the duffel, instead of taking it home to give to Paloma.
“She also said Paloma threatened to have Ruiz harmed if she didn’t do as Paloma said. Unfortunately, Maria got arrested before she could get the bag to the bus station.” Alaina swallowed hard. She was definitely leaving something out.
“So, you know all this, and you haven’t told any of it to the police? Where’s the bag?” I asked.
“I don’t—”
Bailey stepped closer and gritted his teeth. “That bag is very important to someone, Alaina, and if they find you with it, it could cost your life. You’re dealing with some very dangerous people. Give it to me, and I’ll see that it gets to its rightful owner.”
I wasn’t sure what Bailey was thinking or how he jumped to the conclusion that Alaina had the bag, but I was grateful he’d thought of it. “Alaina, if you have the bag, you’d be smart to turn it over to us.”
She started nervously babbling. “I have it. I hoped someone would come looking for it and I could get a finder’s fee, you understand. I make decent money, but I’d like to go to LA to become an actress. The money would help me find a place to live.”
Her eyes were damp, but that didn’t matter to me. “If the Víbora Cartel finds out you took something that belongs to them, you won’t make it to Barstow, Alaina.”
“I… I’ll… It’s in my car. I’ll take you to it now.” She then turned to a bartender and smiled. “Javie, I need to run to my car. I forgot my phone.” He nodded, and we followed her to the elevator for the employee parking garage.
She was parked near the exit, so I followed her to a little red Mercedes convertible. Oh, she needs money to go to LA? Maybe for another Mercedes?
She opened the trunk and moved a winter coat out of the way, revealing a large black duffel bag used for traveling with golf clubs.
“Thank you for not being stupid, Alaina,” Bailey said as he snatched the duffel from the trunk.
Thankfully, I saw the gun under the duffel before Alaina could reach for it. I pulled my Sig from under my shirt and pushed it into her back. “I wouldn’t if I were you. That would be dumber than holding out on that bag.”
She held her hands up, and Bailey and I hurried out of the garage basement to one of the ramps leading to the second level, where I’d parked my truck.
“Fuck! This is...more of a mess...than I thought.” I was huffing and puffing so hard as we ran up the ramps, I was surprised I got that much out.
Bailey, who was ahead of me and carrying the heavy bag, turned and laughed. “We’ll work on your physical fitness when we get out of this shit storm, baby. Come on!”
I ran harder, and we finally found the truck. We put the duffel in the toolbox in the back before gunning it the hell out of the parking garage. We took Koval to Las Vegas Boulevard and headed to Sunset to catch CR-215 to South Rainbow.
I didn’t stop until we pulled into the parking lot of Sparks Bail Bonds. At least I knew I had allies there.
Bailey got out and headed for the toolbox to retrieve the golf bag. “Wait.”
I saw a black Mustang in the parking lot that belonged to Brian Greeley, parked next to an unmarked police cruiser, based on the plates. If Greeley was back, he likely had Spitzer with him, and I wasn’t ready to give up our only leverage to get time with Garcia.
“Let’s go inside first. That’s Gree’s car.” I pointed to the black beast near the rear entrance.
Bailey nodded and closed the lid on the toolbox. We went to the back door, and I pushed the bell before unlocking it to let us inside. We walked into the swamp to see Gree and Keats standing outside Sparky’s office, the door closed.
“What’s going on?”
Gree waggled his eyebrows. “Spitz is inside with… Drumroll, please.” Keats slapped his thighs with his hands to simulate a drumroll before attempting the sound of a cymbal crash with his mouth.
“Thank you, my good man.” Gree then turned to me. “Marcelo Garcia. Looks like Garcia is going to turn on his brothers, be they motorcycle or cartel. So far, he hasn’t given up where his loyalty lies.
“He is, however, going into hiding with the assistance of the US Marshals Service. Fitz was able to hook Spitz up with a marshal’s detail without having to call in the DEA quite yet.
Spitz wants to use Garcia’s contacts to round up the whole bunch—cartel and MC—and he refuses to let you question Garcia.
He’ll share information with you when he gets it, Jagger, but he won’t allow you in the room with Garcia alone. ”
“What’s the charge?” I asked.
“Spitz is going for drug-trafficking and distribution, but that’s all he’ll say,” Keats answered.
“Where’s Fitz?” I asked.
“Inside acting as a witness for Spitz in case Garcia wants to pull some bullshit like harassment or brutality. What did you two find out? Does he work here now?” Gree pointed at Bailey.
“Maybe when Sparky and Monty get back. Anyway, get Fitz and Spitzer out. I have more information to share.”
“I’ll get them,” Bailey said as he walked to the door and knocked. He glanced at me and winked.
When Fitz opened the door, Bailey whispered to him. Fitz nodded and turned to Spitzer. “Can we step out for a moment?”