Chapter 17
The woman on the phone introduced herself as Alice Johnson, captain in charge of statewide narcotics.
If I hadn’t known that she was calling from Oklahoma, I wouldn’t have been able to tell from her neutral accent.
Her inflection was different from what I was used to here in San Francisco, but otherwise it seemed sort of a mellow mix of Midwestern and Southern.
All I could really tell was that she sounded sharp, which was what I cared about.
Captain Johnson said, “I hear you found one of our witnesses dead in San Francisco.”
“Yes, ma’am. You guys had her identity as Tina Barnes, though we’ve learned that her real name was Audrey Ware.”
“I know her. I’m sorry she’s dead. She could be a pain in the ass, but she provided pretty good information on dopers who visited topless bars in Oklahoma City. She was a great witness at a big trial we had in Muskogee.”
“I heard about that. The meth operation?”
“Exactly. Because of her we were able to drop the hammer on half a dozen serious meth dealers and two manufacturing houses. It may not mean much in California, but here in Oklahoma it was a big deal.”
I said, “A good case is a good case—it doesn’t matter where it is.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but meth has just been killing us the last few years. Everyone talks about fentanyl, but meth is the big problem around here.”
“We have our own issues in San Francisco. Cocaine deaths have been on the rise and the opioid crisis hit us hard.”
“I’d trade you both of those problems for meth. At least in the scope of the cases we work here in Oklahoma. But I’m sure you don’t need me to preach to you how important good police work is.”
I gave Captain Johnson everything we had on the case so far and ended by asking her, “Do you think those Oklahoma meth dealers could’ve been angry enough to come out here and murder Tina?”
After a long pause, Captain Johnson said, “My instinct is that it’s unlikely.
This isn’t like the mob in the movies. These were all local dealers.
They’re basically just a bunch of hillbillies who figured out how to make a profit by ruining people’s lives.
They wouldn’t have the resources to reach out to a victim in California.
I’m not sure they even care after the fact.
If they could’ve kept her from testifying, they might have done something.
They don’t murder witnesses after they testify. ”
I thanked the captain. I typed out everything Randy Hicks would need to know in an email and sent it to him. Then I noticed Brady sitting in his office. After I strolled over and knocked on the doorframe, he grunted for me to come in.
I had a good relationship with my current lieutenant, who was also Yuki’s husband.
His reputation around the department was stellar.
I had always found him to be quite insightful when it came to bigger issues.
Maybe it was his quiet manner of letting other people talk until they’d already said too much.
Maybe it was just his muscular appearance.
He stayed in impressive shape and wasn’t afraid to sit on surveillance with us.
I laid out everything I’d learned in the last few days.
From the bodies found at Marshall’s Beach and Golden Gate Park to Cindy’s story about the missing girls in San Julio.
Through my entire narrative, my lieutenant never said a word.
When I was done, he looked at me for a few seconds before he spoke.
He said, “If I follow everything you’re saying, you’re thinking there could be some sort of trafficking group that might be responsible for the disappearance or murder of all these women.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then why are you in here talking to me and not out on the street kicking ass?”
It was hard not to smile. This was the kind of boss you dreamed about. It was a case a lot of people would’ve shied away from, but he was telling me to attack.
That’s what I intended to do.