Kaylin’s cell phone buzzed and she rolled over, glancing at the clock. 7:30 a.m. She’d overslept, even after the threatening text from last night. She checked the caller. Her boss. She sat up quickly. Sassme leaped off the bed and scrambled under it. What happened to warrant a call from her leader so early?
“Morning, Superintendent Thompkins.” Her voice did little to hide her morning grogginess. She cleared her throat.
“You sleep in, Poirier?” His rough tone revealed his cranky mood.
Great. Just what I need.
“I had an interesting evening last night.”
“I heard about the bombing. Why didn’t you call me? Had to hear it from Steeves’s boss.”
She winced. “Sorry, too much going on. What’s up?” She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers, dreading the words about to come from his mouth.
“You and Constable Steeves need to get down here right away. We’ve detained another DJ’s Florist van and sequestered the driver.”
She jumped out of bed and grabbed her clothes. “Understood. Be there as soon as I can.”
“You better. We need to wrap up this case soon.” He hung up.
“Ugh.” She threw the cell phone on the bed and ran to the bathroom. First her father and now her boss. Why couldn’t they trust in her abilities?
Then again, could she?
Forty-five minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the CBSA office at the Windsor-Detroit border. She called Hudson on the way and found out the doctor had released him. He’d be there as soon as he could.
Kaylin spotted the florist van out front as she entered the building. She wanted to get the lowdown from her boss first, so she made her way directly to his office and knocked.
“Come in.” His voice boomed through the door.
She steeled her jaw and entered. “Morning, Superintendent Thompkins.”
“’Bout time you got here. Where’s Steeves?”
“On his way. He just got released from the hospital.”
Her boss pulled out a sheet of paper. “Got the police report on the bombing. Says here it was a remote detonation.”
“Yes, someone was watching us.”
“You know this for sure?”
“I’ve had an attempted abduction, plus threatening texts.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
She sat facing his desk. “Sorry. I should have.” She hoped he wouldn’t let this be the reason to take her off the case. She needed to see this through no matter the cost. She didn’t abandon cases. “What time did the florist van come through?”
“Four a.m.”
“Why did the security officer stop it?”
“Too much of a coincidence since the shooting a couple days ago. The driver says he’s only doing his job, but we need to be sure it’s legit.” He clicked his computer and leaned in. “Driver’s passport is showing Bart Hardy. Has all the right certificate papers.”
“Same as the other van. Coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in those and that’s why you’re here. You and Steeves questioned the other driver. You should question this one. He’s getting antsy, though, since he’s been here a few hours.” He sat back in his chair. “Find some answers. Hardy is in interrogation room one. If you don’t wrap this case up soon, I’ll have to replace you.” He steepled his fingers. “Even if your father is the chief of police.”
Kaylin stood. She was good at what she did, but her boss never seemed to notice. “We’ll get something out of him.”
“You’ll need these.” He handed her the keys to the van.
She rushed out the door and collided with Hudson, falling into his arms. At his touch ripples of pleasure surged up her spine. She imagined what it would be like to stay in his embrace.
Snap out of it, Kaylin. Remember your secrets.
She gulped and stepped back. “Morning. You got here fast.”
He smiled, his eyes grinning back at her. “We have work to do.”
“How are you feeling?”
He rubbed his head. “Little sore, but okay. Did you sleep?”
“Some.” She pulled her cell phone out. “Got this text last night.”
He whistled. “Let me take your phone to have it checked out. Perhaps our team can trace the text’s origin.”
“I turned off the GPS. Should have done it sooner.” She handed it to him. “I doubt you’ll find anything. This person is too smart for that.”
“It’s worth a try.” He nodded over his shoulder. “I saw the florist van outside. Have you checked it out?”
She shook her head. “Do you want to do that before we interrogate the driver?”
Hudson opened the door for her. “Shall we?”
She nodded and pulled gloves out of her pocket.
She stepped outside and the stifling hot air greeted her, robbing her breath. She hated the summer. Too muggy for her liking. Even in June. Fall was her favorite. The colors brought her joy every year. She wiped the perspiration forming on her brow and walked toward the florist van. Using the keys, she unlocked the driver’s-side door. “Let’s start in the front.”
“How many were in the van?”
“Only a driver this time. Not sure why.” She opened the glove box and rummaged through the contents. Flashlight, set of pocket-size screwdrivers and vehicle registration papers. She reached in deeper and pulled out another object buried at the back.
A gun.
She held it up, dangling it by the trigger guard. “Look what I found. Seems as if this driver isn’t as innocent as he’s saying.”
Hudson held open a plastic bag and she dumped it inside. “Anything else?”
“I’ll check under the seats.” She pulled out her flashlight, knelt and shone the light. Nothing stood out to her. She rummaged under the cushion, her hand catching the edge of an item taped to the underside of the seat. She tugged at it, pulling out photos clipped together in a plastic bag.
“What do we have here?” She opened it.
Hudson leaned in. “What is it?”
She caught a whiff of his woodsy scent and inhaled.
I could get used to his closeness.
She rubbed her nose to clear the smell and concentrated on the job before her. “Looks like pictures.” She thumbed through them and stumbled backward. Pictures of her, Hudson, her father and Diane, with some type of ransom figure written on the back. “What could this mean?”
“Looks like they’re targeting the task force and anyone close to them. Good thing we have a protective detail on Diane’s house.”
Kaylin cringed. She hated that she’d now put her friend in danger. How far would this gang go to disband their task force? She put the photos back in the bag and reached in behind the seat, feeling her way around, but came up empty. She pulled a screwdriver from her pocket and removed the door’s side panel, examining it carefully, as it was a common place where drugs were stashed. She walked around to the other side and did the same to that door. Nothing.
Hudson moved to the rear of the van. “Time to check out what’s inside.”
She unlocked the back and opened the double doors.
Buckets of flowers lined every inch of the floor as well as side shelves.
“Okay, this is normal for a florist van. Flowers.” The overpowering perfume smell tickled her nose.
“Pull some out. I want to look at them closer.”
She brought out a bucket and placed it on the pavement. Irises, roses, daisies, bird of paradise and dried poppies filled it. She pulled out another bucket. That one was the same, except it held more poppies.
Hudson fingered one and lifted it out. The tan-colored dehydrated stem and seed head crumbled in his hand. “Oh, my.”
“What?”
“This is how they’re getting the drugs into the country. They’re using florist’s vans filled with dried poppy straw.”
“Is that illegal?”
“It’s a gray area. There are certain regulations that need to be followed. It appears the florist is disguising the dried poppy straw so people will think they’re just part of a floral arrangement, but the pods are crushed into a powder to produce doda. It all looks perfectly legal, but someone is obviously using it for illegal purposes.”
“How are they ingested?”
“The powder is used to make tea or simply stirred into a glass of water or drink.”
She stiffened her arms at her sides. “We need to talk to that driver. Now.”
“My guess is that’s why the other van was torched. They didn’t want us to see these.”
Kaylin felt a familiar surge of adrenaline at finally getting a break in their case, till one niggling thought broke through. Who was behind it all?
Hudson returned to his replacement cruiser and opened his laptop. He wanted to do a check on Bart Hardy to see if he had any priors and do a search on the gun. He typed in the van driver’s name and waited.
Kaylin sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window.
“What are you thinking?” Hudson now knew that pensive look. She seemed to be in a quandary.
“Just feeling angry they’re getting this drug across the border right under our noses. I wonder how many florist vans I’ve let go by without doing a thorough search.” She rubbed her neck muscles. Over and over.
He touched her arm, ignoring the spark igniting between them. Did she feel it, too? He pulled his hand away. Now wasn’t the time to think of the beautiful woman beside him. “It’s not your fault, Kaylin. They cleverly disguised the plant and would have had the proper certificates, so they sailed across the borders.”
“I suppose. Have we heard of anyone overdosing on this drug?”
“No, it doesn’t normally kill, but is highly addictive.”
She tilted her head and looked at him with an odd expression on her face.
“What?”
“Look at us getting along. I remember how we fought back and forth about Jake’s case. Almost to the point of sabotaging everything.”
He looked up from his laptop. “I know. I was so self-absorbed back then. I was getting over Rebecca and took my feelings out on you. I was bossy. Can you ever forgive me?”
“I appreciate you saying that. I’m just glad we were able to wrap the case up and book him.” She paused. “And of course I forgive you. As they say, it’s water under the bridge.”
His laptop dinged. He looked down to see a rap sheet appear on his screen, and whistled. “Looks like Bart has been in trouble with the law. Drug arrests, armed robbery and an assault. Seems like the Olivers only hire thugs to bring their flowers across the border. Interesting.”
“We need to get a warrant and talk to those owners again. See what’s in their back room.”
He grabbed the door handle. “Agreed, but for now let’s go have a chat with Mr. Hardy.”
They stepped out of the cruiser and made their way back into the building.
Kaylin stopped at the vending machine and purchased a snack.
Hudson followed her into the interrogation room. She plunked a water and granola bar on the table in front of the driver. Smart thinking. He was probably hungry from being there for over five hours. The woman knew how to get on his good side.
Bart Hardy grunted. The wiry redheaded twenty-five-year-old slouched in his chair. He chewed his fingernails on one hand and reached for the granola bar with the other.
Why didn’t this kid look scared at being detained? Did he care at all? Right now they had him for possessing an unlicensed gun, suspicious pictures that could connect him with the attempted abduction and poppies that could very well be turned into doda. Either he didn’t have a clue what he was transporting or he had a good poker face.
Hudson shoved the gun in front of Bart. “This yours?”
The kid’s eyes bulged. “Where did that come from?”
“Your glove compartment.”
“I didn’t put it there. It ain’t mine.” He opened his water and drank.
Kaylin folded her hands. “You expect us to believe you came all the way across the border and didn’t know you were carrying a gun? I find that hard to fathom.”
“I’m telling the truth, man. I’m just a driver for DJ’s Florist.”
Hadn’t they heard the same thing from Akio? “How many runs do you make in a month?” Hudson pulled out his notebook. He always took notes the old-fashioned way.
“Two to three. Or sometimes more depending on when the boss wants me to go.”
Hudson watched the man’s body movements, looking for signs of deceit. “You mean Lyle Oliver?”
“Yes. He and his wife hired me.”
“How long have you been working with them?” Kaylin leaned back in her chair.
“Four months now.” He unwrapped the granola bar and took a bite.
Hudson tapped his pen on the table. “Do you know Blaine Ridley?”
“Who?”
“Blaine Ridley,” Hudson said. “He was a passenger in another DJ’s Florist van that was torched.”
“I don’t know anything about that and I don’t know the man.” The kid took a drink of water.
Either Bart was a good actor or he clearly didn’t know anything. Nothing in his body language showed he was lying. Uninterested, maybe. Hudson decided to try a new tactic. One that should get this kid’s attention. “Did you know the last driver that crossed the border was killed by a sniper?”
Bart spat out the water, spraying it over the table. “What? Am I in danger?”
His reaction told Hudson he really didn’t know anything. “Tell me about your prior arrests.”
“Just some dumb things I did in college. I assure you I’m clean now.”
Kaylin tapped the table with her thumb. “What were you supposed to do with the delivery once you brought it across the border?”
“Deliver it to DJ’s Florist, of course. What else do you think I’d do with flowers? Sell them on eBay?” He bit into his granola bar.
Hudson was tired of his cocky attitude. “Is that all? What do they do with the dried poppy straw?”
“How do I know? Put it in arrangements, I suspect.”
“They never told you anything else about their business?” Hudson stood and leaned against the wall, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops.
“No. Like I said, I only deliver the flowers. Nothing else.”
Again, the kid’s facial expressions didn’t reveal any hidden secrets. Hudson picked up the bag with the pictures and plunked it on the table in front of Bart. “Are these yours?”
“What are they?”
Kaylin removed the pictures from the bag and spread them out. “What does it look like?”
Her cynical words revealed her mood. Seemed she was getting tired of this useless interview.
Hudson, too, was getting annoyed. “We found them taped underneath the passenger seat. You’re telling me you didn’t know they were there?”
Bart picked up the picture of Kaylin and turned it over. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He glanced at Kaylin. “This is you.”
“Yes, are you targeting me?” Kaylin asked.
“No! I’m innocent. When are you going to let me go? I ain’t got nothing more I can tell you.” He finished the bar and crumpled up the wrapper. “Should I be calling a lawyer?”
What more could they hold him on? Nothing about his behavior seemed suspicious. They needed to talk to the Olivers and get the scoop on their real business. Clearly there was more going on at DJ’s Florist than they let on.
Hudson had one more question for the kid. “You ever hear the name Valentino?”
Bart flinched and looked at his fingers.
Now they were getting somewhere.
Hudson returned to his seat. “Tell me about him.”
Bart’s face contorted and he rubbed his hands together. “Never met the man.”
“But you’ve heard of him,” Hudson said.
“Yes.”
Kaylin gathered the pictures and put them back in the bag. “You’re in a lot of trouble here. Tell us what you know and perhaps that will help your case.” She stood and circled the table.
Bart slumped in his chair. “You have to believe me. I don’t do drugs anymore, but when I was back in college, everyone in the business heard of Valentino.”
Why hadn’t they? The police had many leads on different drug dealers, so how had Valentino stayed under the radar for so long? Obviously, he was good at hiding. Or had well-placed connections. “Did you deal with him?”
“No one did. He was the big dog and everyone feared him.”
“In what way?” Kaylin asked.
“Anyone that tried to skim off the top ended up dead. He has no mercy and he’s always watching.”
Hudson glanced at Kaylin.
She stopped pacing, eyes widening. Concern crinkled her brow.
Could Valentino be the one targeting her and the chief? If so, why? His need to protect her washed over him again. He would not let anyone hurt her.
Kaylin sat down. “Do you know where we can find him?”
Bart shook his head. “He’s everywhere. No one knows.”
“How can we get in touch with him?” Hudson tugged at the collar of his gray uniform shirt.
“You don’t. He contacts you.”
That didn’t do them any good. How could they set up a sting without being able to get in touch with him? They needed to find Blaine Ridley. “Do you know anyone else in his organization?”
“He has goons do his dirty work, but I don’t know their names.” He leaned forward. “Be careful. Word on the street is he’s infiltrated the police force.”
Hudson’s muscles tensed as a thought struck him hard and fast.
Could Valentino be a cop?
Whom could Hudson trust now?