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The tires of the car squealed and kicked up gravel as it started down the road directly toward me. I judged the distance, figuring out whether I needed to spring off to the side or fire a couple of rounds into the windshield.
Then the driver hit the brakes, and the wheels skidded along the road, causing smoke to come off them. The Dodge slid to a stop inches away from the car I’d borrowed from Sandy.
I kept my cool and walked around the police vehicle’s trunk. I kept my eyes on the Dodge and noted that neither of the occupants moved a muscle. They were both staring at me. That’s when I noticed how young they were. Probably not even thirty. That worked into my plan very well.
I stayed at the trunk and used my left hand to motion both of them to come over and talk to me. It was a casual movement, not an order from an angry cop.
They both showed some decent judgment as they eased out of the car slowly and made sure I could see their hands clearly as they approached.
The taller one, who had a scraggly beard, said, “Is there something we can do for you, Officer?”
I gave him a quick smile and said, “Let’s cut through the bullshit. You’re Billy Ray, right?”
&n
bsp; The lanky young man looked a little surprised and nodded.
I kept my eyes on both of them to make sure no one did anything stupid. My pistol was still in my right hand, hidden from sight below the trunk of the car.
I said, “You saw we had the entire cavalry at your house. I know you’ve got to be curious about what’s going on.”
They both stared at me silently. Then the shorter one, D.T., shrugged. “I wondered what could attract so much attention.”
Good—I had them hooked. The first step in my plan.
I said, “Your boss, Dell, is in custody. He’s already told us quite a bit. He told me that you hid the heroin in a compartment at the top of the closet in his office.”
That got their attention. Just the way I wanted it to.
Now I took a little risk. “He told us about the bodies, too.” I let that sink in. “But I know you two work for him, and I want to give you a chance to save yourselves some serious prison time. Prison time up here, in a place where you have no family and no friends and where no one really likes Texans.”
Streeter was right all along. If I went into court and said he told us where the drugs were hidden while he was being threatened with a pistol, he’d be out in less than an hour. But if these guys volunteered the information, if I used their statements, then we had a much better chance in court. But I had to sell it. This is what cops did all the time. They sold their ideas to peers and superiors.
I said, “Boys, you better make a business decision real quick. You can be on the train as it leaves the station or under it. It doesn’t make much difference to me. I just want to make a better case against your boss. He’s already implicated you guys. I was just curious if you wanted to act tough or go home and see your families.”
It was Billy Ray who cracked. He realized I wouldn’t know about the drugs in the closet unless Dell really had said something. He had no idea how much or how little his boss had said, but he had definitely talked. That’s all it took.
The lanky young man said, “What do you need from us?”
I smiled. I knew Sandy had a voice recorder in the car. This was going to work out just fine.
Chapter 90
I showed up back at the house and met Sandy on the porch. I had a well-deserved smug smile on my face. She looked over my shoulder at her car and saw D.T. and Billy Ray sitting in the backseat.
She said, “What’s this? Do you have probable cause on these two?”
“They’re on our team now. They’re not even cuffed.” I held up her voice recorder, which I had used to take statements from both young men.
I hit Play, and Billy Ray’s voice said, “There’s a hidden compartment at the top of the closet in the office. We always keep as much as ten ounces of heroin in that compartment, plus whatever else we’re selling.”
Sandy just stared at me. It was exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping for. I like to surprise people once in a while.
I said, “They both have lived here in the house for more than two years, and I had them write out their consent for us to search the entire premises.”
Sandy was still speechless.
I liked it more as each second passed. I said, “Now no cheesy lawyer can attack the search warrant we were going to get. And it doesn’t matter what Dell Streeter babbled about before they took him to the hospital.”
