Craig Wilkins stepped down from the helicopter and bent low. He ran at a half jog towards the waiting SUV. His boss, Mark Adams, was waiting for him with a manilla folder in his hand. He handed Craig the folder instead of a handshake.
“This time you’re here because we want you here, not because you’re on some half-baked crusade,” Mark said.
“I consider all my crusades fully baked, sir,” Craig said.
Mark grimaced.
“Maybe this is a bad idea, bringing you in,” Mark said.
“I’m here now,” Craig said.
“Don’t think for a second I can’t put you back on the chopper and send you back to Arizona,” Mark said.
Craig kept his mouth shut. Normally things with Mark were easy going. They’d worked together for a long time, and Craig, for all of his quirks, got results. In the end, that was what mattered, but something big was off, something Craig didn’t know about.
Mark motioned for Craig to get in the passenger seat of the SUV. Mark took the wheel. Just the two of them in the car. Craig had expected other agents, people to help him get a feel for what was going on. Something was seriously wrong.
“What’s going on?” Craig asked.
“This cop you’re hot to go after, this Detective Varela, she was at the scene of the murder of the daughter of a very important witness,” Mark said.
“How important?”
Mark didn’t answer. Just gave him a look. Told him to look at the crime scene report in the folder.
Craig flipped it open. Saw the photos and read the witness reports. The shack had been turned into Swiss cheese by high velocity long range rounds, but nothing had hit Maria.
“Shit, do we think she killed the daughter?” Craig said.
“We don’t know what to think. According to the crime scene, she was lucky to get out of the building alive, unless,” Mark said.
“Unless she was the one shooting,” Craig said.
“Exactly, but we have a witness who is pissed and threatening to tank a very important investigation, one that goes right up to the top of the military chain and even involves the staff of a US Senator,” Mark said.
“The staff?” Craig said.
“We think the senator was involved, but we’re not going to be able to prove it,” Mark said.
“So why am I the only person in this car?” Craig said.
“Because we haven’t unsealed the indictments yet, and we need to work it out with the witness because he’s the linchpin of the case,” Mark said.
“And he wants to know what happened to his daughter, but you need someone you can trust to look into it because if it comes out before the indictments are unsealed, they can eliminate evidence,” Craig said.
“Or witnesses,” Mark said.
“How long do I have?” Craig asked.
“Yesterday,” Mark said.
“Shit,” Craig said.
“There’s more. The detective’s girlfriend is missing.”
“Which implies she’s a victim,” Craig said.
“Maybe whoever put her up to kill the daughter wants her to do something else and are pressing her,” Mark said.
“Sounds a little far-fetched,” Craig said.
“Reread that crime scene report and tell me about far-fetched. Something is seriously wrong in Las Vegas, and we need to figure it out and quick or the biggest investigation we’ve had in over a decade is going to fall to pieces,” Mark said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re giving this to me,” Craig said.
“Because you’re already after her, so you already know all about her. Who else can hit the ground running?”
Craig looked out the window. They were flying up a freeway heading for the strip. The hotels gleamed in the fading sunlight. What Mark was saying about Maria didn’t mesh with the impression Craig had of her. He could see her being a vigilante, a killer even. But in the pocket of criminals; that, he didn’t believe. Something different was going on here, but maybe, he could use this to get the answers he really wanted.