Chapter 44
CHAPTER
Early on saturday, sampson and I had filed reports on our surveillance of Valentine Rodolpho. Monday was supposed to be our day off, but Chief Pittman’s personal assistant called us both into work early.
When we got to his office, we found Detectives Edgar Kurtz and Corina Diehl already there, both looking hungover and pissed to be here on what was supposed to be their day off too.
Also there were Lieutenant Stacey Lindahl, commander of the narcotics unit, and undercover officer Nancy Donovan, who glared at us like we were traitors.
“Lieutenant Lindahl and I have read your reports on Rodolpho,” Pittman said to me and John. “You indicate, Detective Sampson, Detective Cross, that you observed Officer Donovan hug and kiss Valentine Rodolpho.”
We nodded, but I felt bad about the decision to report the undercover officer. I felt worse after Donovan blasted us.
“Try ‘You observed her hugged and kissed by Rodolpho,’” she said angrily. “Try ‘She made only the slightest of hugs and no reciprocity to his kiss.’”
Sampson held up his hands. “We didn’t expect you to be there, and suddenly you were in his arms and then skipping away. What did you want us to do, not report it?”
She shouted, “You could have told me you were putting Rodolpho under surveillance!”
“Calm down, Officer,” Lieutenant Lindahl said. “Don’t make this worse.”
I held up my hands too. “You are a difficult person to get in touch with, Officer Donovan, but you’re right, we should have told you.”
“If you’re following him without my knowledge, you are compromising my safety and my ability to work! Why were you following him, anyway?”
“Because you mentioned in one of your recent reports that Rodolpho is the weakest link.”
She calmed down. “I think he is. I also think there’s no way he’s going to expose his weaknesses to you or almost anyone else. Even with his leg, he’s too proud for that.”
Detective Diehl said, “But you think he’ll expose his weaknesses to you?”
“I’ll have to walk a thin line, but yes, I believe there’s a good chance that I can get him to confide in me. He’s at that playful, flirting stage at the moment.”
Chief Pittman frowned. “I don’t want it going farther than that stage on your part.”
Lieutenant Lindahl nodded. “If it does, you might as well come in from the cold, Nancy, because the entire case will be compromised.”
Donovan sobered and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Of course.”
I said, “What do you know about that minor fortress out in Davidsonville?”
“What?” Pittman said, puzzled. “What fortress?”
Donovan, Diehl, and Kurtz all looked clueless as well.
Sampson raised an eyebrow. “Did you read our report to the end or stop where Officer Donovan made her appearance?”
“I stopped,” Pittman admitted. “Fill us in.”
We described following Rodolpho to the driveway of P and E Imports and Exports outside Davidsonville and then the facility itself. Pittman, Lindahl, Kurtz, and Diehl seemed unimpressed until we told them about the fence, the razor wire, the big steel structure, and the guards with AR-15s.
Donovan said, “I heard something about that place.”
Lieutenant Lindahl said, “What have you heard?”
“Just that they call it the warehouse and they have meetings there.”
Kurtz said, “Who owns the company?”
Sampson said, “Incorporated in Delaware by Patrice Prince, who is listed as president. He used a rent-a-lawyer in Wilmington as counsel. Purpose of the company is import/export between the U.S. and Haiti.”
“Which is what he told us at the crab shack,” I added.
Diehl said, “What’s so important in his import/export business that it requires an East Jesus location, a security fence, dogs, and armed men?”
Sampson said, “We asked roughly the same question in our report.”
Kurtz scowled. “But what has this got to do with the deaths of those two kids? Isn’t that the case you’re supposed to be working on?”
I said, “We believe Tony Miller and Shay Mansion might have crossed someone in LMC Fifty-One and been killed for it. The warehouse seemed like an important find.”
Officer Donovan said, “And two killings are not beyond either Prince or Rodolpho.”
Pittman crossed his arms and sat back. “Well, hearsay and beliefs don’t get us search warrants on a place like this warehouse. We’re going to need more. Dismissed.”
He turned away from us, so we got up and left the room.
Kurtz looked at Diehl, murmured, “He does that kind of thing a lot.”
“He’s worse on the phone,” Sampson said.
“Got a personality disorder if you ask me,” Lieutenant Lindahl said.
“Low social skills, anyway,” I said.