Chapter 26
26
T he raid on Oasis de Vida took place in the evening of the next day. Alejandro, Camila, and Buck were in a restaurant nearby when a line of police vehicles arrived with flashing red and blue lights.
“Here we go,” Buck said.
They quickly paid for their unfinished meals and went outside to watch from a distance.
Because of the cross-border implications, agencies on both the U.S. and Mexican sides were working together. Camila stood in front of Alejandro, elated as she watched the officers descend from their vehicles and block the exit from and entrance to the back of the building. Soon after, a federal police unit with Policía Federal on their hats arrived, followed immediately by two dark SUVs. When the occupants descended, they wore blue FBI windbreakers.
With so much commotion, bystanders congregated on the sidewalks, everyone asking what was going on and pulling out their phones to capture the unfolding scene. Employees were marched out of the building in handcuffs, ducking their heads to hide their faces. One doctor came out wearing blood-stained scrubs and a surgical cap, as if they had interrupted him in the middle of an operation. He at least had the grace to appear shame-faced with a bent head.
The speed with which the government organizations had coordinated to close the clinic demonstrated how seriously the authorities took the crime. Their intention was to shut down the network right away. She looked forward to when the prosecutions began.
They stayed until the local press arrived, and then they slipped away, walking several blocks to where Buck had parked his taxi. They climbed in the car, and he took off.
Camila twisted around in the seat to look at Alejandro. “Hopefully, there’ll be enough evidence there to not only arrest Dr. Shapiro but Javier Reyes too.”
“We hope,” Alejandro said.
“You’re doubtful?”
“Men like Reyes know how to cover their tracks. He’s been involved in shady business for a while.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed he’s implicated,” Camila said. She twisted back around to face the front, refusing to lose the triumphant energy coursing through her veins.
When they pulled up in front of the hotel, Buck stepped out and shook Alejandro’s hand. “It was good seeing you again, my friend.”
“Likewise. I appreciate your help.”
“Anytime. It was very nice to meet you, Camila. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again, under different circumstances.”
She gave him a hug. “I hope so too, and maybe you’ll even tell me the truth about what you really do for a living, since it’s clear you’re not a taxi driver.”
His blue eyes lit up as he laughed. “Until next time,” he said, refusing to respond to her comment.
They waved goodbye and waited outside until he drove off.
Upstairs, Alejandro and Camila went onto the balcony and watched the activity of the street below.
“How about we stay an extra day and go to the beach?” Camila suggested.
“Great minds do think alike, because I was going to suggest we stay longer. There will be less crowds at the beach this time of the year.”
Camila reached for his hand. “Thank you so much for your help. I couldn’t have done this without you. Not only did we get justice for Doug, those immigrants and other people will have justice too. I hope they throw the book at those bastards, and I can’t wait until they take down Reyes.”
Seated in the dark of his den at his compound outside Las Vegas, Javier Reyes sipped hiscognac as he stared through the window.
When he received the call from one of his men about the bust in Tijuana, he had not only been surprised, he’d been furious.
He watched a brief video on his phone, put together by the local news and sent to him by one of his men. The entire time his insides churned with anger. The news had descended like a pack of wolves, reporters shouting questions to accused staff as officers marched them out the building. Inventory bags, boxes, and computer equipment were all removed from the site and packed into vans.
The scene seemed chaotic, but an audible gasp went up from the crowd of onlookers when two bodies, covered in sheets, were removed from the premises and loaded into the waiting medical examiner’s van. Javier turned off the video then. He’d seen enough.
He switched his phone to look at the other interesting piece of media his man had sent—a close-up photo of the bystanders. To say he was shocked to see Alejandro and Camila standing in the crowd was an understatement. He had no proof, but they were the reason for the authorities swooping in to make arrests and dismantle his multi-million dollar network. Otherwise, why were they in Tijuana? They were both of Mexican descent, but seeing them outside the clinic was too coincidental.
He sipped his liquor, his mind running through the different ways to eliminate the problem of Camila Hughes and Alejandro Sanchez. They had turned into more than a nuisance. Six years. Those two had managed to destroy six years of work.
His connection to the clinic was weak. David had been the face of the facility and Javier’s ownership was hidden behind multiple layers of LLCs. At the end of the day, there was nothing to tie him to the facility, and if they did somehow dig deep enough to make a connection to him, he could simply deny having any knowledge of what was taking place. Which meant he had another problem to eliminate: Dr. David Shapiro, his longtime friend.
The two had always been an odd couple. David was a scholarship guy, while Javier had attended schools his father bought his way into. Unfortunately, it was time for their friendship to end. Once the FBI descended on David, he would crack, even if Javier provided legal counsel for him. When he cracked, he would bring down Javier, and he couldn’t afford to let that happen.
Unlike other people, he didn’t experience remorse about what he was about to do. He had a problem that needed to be solved, and he’d solve it. No different than when he’d solved the problem of his father’s betrayal, when he learned he really and truly planned to pass over him and give control of the casinos to his second in command.
He got what he deserved. He was nothing like Javier’s dearly departed mother, a woman whose love and care he had always appreciated, especially since his father had treated him like an unwanted cold sore all his life.
Javier spun around in the chair and placed his drink on the desk. Picking up one of his phones, he dialed the number to a dependable person who would help him sort out how to eliminate the problems before the rest of his business dealings were jeopardized.
“Hello, Javier,” the woman on the other line said. Her voice was like a purr and after all this time still shot electricity to his groin.
“Hello, sweetheart. I have a problem.”
“I’ve heard.”
Of course she already knew but listened to him go into detail and discuss the ramifications of discovery.
“How soon would you like to have these problems eliminated?”
“Immediately. What do you think?”
There was a pause. Then he practically heard her smile.
“I have an idea.”