AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If the body belongs to Chavez’s daughter, Ray’s off the list.”
“Good.” Ray had never really been a suspect in anybody’s book, but Alex wanted the record very clear with Cooper. Not that Ray and Susana would leave on their honeymoon anytime soon. Not until Benny returned home safely.
At least they had a plan of action. Alex eased onto the highway and shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “In the meantime, we should also follow up with the PI he hired. Either the rest of those kids are dead and buried or his wife made a run for it and hid them to keep him from killing them, too. We have to find them, one way or another, to make a case against him.”
The line was quiet except for a faint buzz. “Or maybe the wife did it and then ran.”
“Either way, we have to find them.”
“If I had my druthers, it’d be alive and hiding.” Cooper sounded tired.
“Me, too, Coop.”
“The next step is the canine unit and then the PI.”
“Right. See you at PD when you get back to town.”
Alex disconnected. Benny missing. The four Chavez children missing. He hoped more of them were alive than dead, but the weight of his experience bore down on him.
So did the image of little bones arranged on a slab at the morgue.
Chapter Fourteen
Alex pulled the cell phone from his ear. He steadied the wheel with his other hand. He’d barely ended his conversation with Coop when the phone had vibrated on the dashboard. Joaquin’s loud voice held irritation. “Samuel wants you and me to check out a guy. You’re holding me up, man.”
“Sorry, I’m working the Jane Doe case, too. I—”
“Sarge says let Cooper handle the Jane Doe for a couple of hours.”
“Right.” Alex hadn’t had a chance to brief the boss on the latest developments, but now wasn’t the time to argue—not with Benny’s life on the line. Coop would keep him posted on the canine search at the ranch. “I’m five minutes from the station. I’ll slow down to fifty and pick you up.”
Joaquin laughed. “Where we’re going, you ain’t gonna want to take that fancy car of yours.”
“Bad roads?”
Joaquin chuckled again. “I was thinking more along the lines of bullet holes.”
Ten minutes later they were headed out of downtown in Joaquin’s ancient Blazer.
“So, where’re we going?”
“I’ve got a couple of uniforms meeting us at Miguel Suarez’s last known address.” Joaquin swerved to avoid a massive pothole, swore, and grinned. “Sorry. We’re gonna do a knock-and-talk. If the guy’s around.”
“So, who is he?”
“Suarez is Barrera’s muscle. Middle management. He dabbles in firearms, prostitution, a little extortion, a little gun for hire. Full-service bad guy.”
Alex touched his holster, glad he’d spent some time at the firing range the previous week. “Great.”
“Yeah, Eloy sends old Miguel out when he’s upset with you—when he needs to set something straight. He spanks you, you know you’ve been spanked. We’re thinking the drugs the kidnapper is after actually belong to Barrera and he sent Suarez to try to shake their location out of Benny’s mother.”
“I guess we should be happy we’ve found some connection.” Alex leaned back in the seat and tried to relax. “But I hate to think whoever has Benny is connected to Barrera. They’ll have no scruples about killing a kid.”
Joaquin’s face hardened. “They hurt a hair on that kid’s head, there won’t be any place they can hide.”
It was a good thing the Joaquin had chosen the right side of the law—he’d be one scary bad guy. He drove through two green lights before he spoke again. “So what’s up with you and Deborah Smith?”
Alex tensed. “What?”
