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“So now we know those houses were used as pill press operations. Your guys would not have been going in there, which means Martinwas lying.”
“But if they were undercover they might have.”
“Martin told me she had seen them go in there a couple of weeks before. If they had been in there as undercover agents, they would have reported the pill press operations to their agency contact.”
“That’s true.”
“Martin had to know that I would probably go check that out right after she told me.And I did. Now, why do I think a review of her phone records would show that she immediately phoned Fred Ross or somebody else? And the next thing you know, Brian Collins shows up pretending to be a cop next door and tries to kill me. See, I don’t think he was watching the place. Why would he be? There was nothing left there; they’d already cleared out. I think he was called there to kill me, becauseMartin had basically told me a lie to get me to investigate the place. This was all a setup. And it was prearranged to be initiated if I came to question Martin and seemed to be getting too close.”
Kemper looked thoughtful for a few moments, then said, “We obviously know about Ted Ross and the drug ring. But is there something else?”
“I think there’re a lot of things, and notall of them are drug-related. So maybe they’re of no interest to you.”
She smiled. “Before I joined the DEA, I had an ambition to become an FBI agent. It was a last-minute change in my career path.”
“Why?”
“On a stupid bet my best friend in the world took a PCP cocktail and it fried her brain. I remember visiting her in the hospital, staring down at a beautiful youngwoman who no longer had a mind. And from that moment forward, my whole life was going to be about taking down the monsters who sell that poison.”
“I can see how that would alter your career path,” said Decker.
She leaned forward. “But my interest extends to taking downallbad guys.”
“Glad to hear that.”
She dropped her voice. “As an add-on to what we discussedbefore, we strongly suspect the presence of a major pill press operation in western Pennsylvania. That’s why a big-time operator like Brian Collins would be here too. If he was involved, you can take it to the bank that some heavyweights have descended on Baronville.”
“And now we know that Ted Ross is supplying them with all the fentanyl they need.”
Kemper straightened. “That’sright. But you already know all this. So why did you want to meet?”
In answer, Decker slipped his badge off his belt and laid it on the table.
She stared down at it before glancing back at him with a perplexed look.
“What does your badge have to do with it?”
“Notmybadge,” replied Decker.
“Then whose?”
“You’ll see. But I need your helpto get there.”
