Jack stood in the driveway. Left message after message on his brother’s phone, to no avail. The sense of helplessness weighed him down like a slab of sandstone. Sonny Para had hurt Julius in order to get back at him.
Heart pounding, he called his boss. Described the bloody belt and thank-you card someone had stuck inside the mail box. The card was blank except for the imprints of two bloody fingerprints.
“The last time I saw Julius was at his match in Tucson. I assumed he came back to Albuquerque. Now I’m not sure,” Jack said.
A while back, he had confided to Mac Spitzer about Julius’ on-again, off-again involvement with the Lobos Negros gang, as well as his DUI arrests and a stay at a rehab center.
“Not good. Your parents have cell phones?”
“Just a landline.” Jack could see the dread frozen on his mother’s face as she stared at the belt he’d dropped on the porch.
“In case they get a ransom call, I’d like to put a trace on their phone line. We’ll be monitoring your cell phone too.” Spitzer sounded matter of fact.
“We’ve got a StingRay now?” Jack had heard the department had recently acquired a pricey piece of technology that allowed police to listen to cell phone calls.
“Cost us a pretty penny. The civil liberties types will be whining once word gets out.”
The suitcase-sized device, originally developed for national security and spy agencies but now available to local law enforcement, functioned as a cell tower simulator, allowing police to track and listen in on calls to and from specific cell phones within range. The equipment also let police overhear calls to and from any cell phone within a given area, a capability that guaranteed the use of the technology by law enforcement would be challenged in the courts.
Jack knew Cait would balk at the Albuquerque PD overhearing their conversations. The device allowed police to eavesdrop on anyone, not just criminals. With his family at risk, he was willing to pay that price.
“Another thing,” Spitzer continued. “Don’t forget you’re still on leave. I know how difficult this is, worrying about your brother. It’s best you don’t get involved in a case concerning your own family member. I’ll send someone by to pick up the belt and card.”
“Ok.” Jack acquiesced rather than appear subordinate. But he wasn’t about to just sit on the sidelines waiting to hear about his brother.
He gave Julius’ cell number to Spitzer and asked to be updated if there was any news.
As he walked into the house, he felt like the ground was shifting under him.
His mom stood like a statue on the porch, eyes sunken as she looked out at the street, as if expecting to see something horrific. His dad stood next to her and urged her back inside.
“Let’s talk.” Jack went to the kitchen, stuck the belt and card in paper bags, and returned to the living room.
Lorena and Eloy retreated to the couch. Her hands were twined together, lips and jaw cinched tight. Eloy’s expression was unreadable, as if he was holding back a flood of emotions.
“They’ll be doing tests on the belt. We don’t know if that’s blood on it, or whose it is. When’s the last time you heard from Julius?” Jack faced his parents.
“He came by before he left town. For Tucson.” Lorena covered her lower face with her hands, widened eyes peering at him. “When I saw that belt, I knew he was in trouble.”
Eloy stared back at Jack. “You said he won a big championship. But he never called to tell us. I’m wondering why not. Can you find him?”
Jack sighed. “Tucson is out of my jurisdiction. And I’m on leave in Albuquerque. But I need to be involved. It’s obvious this is about payback for that warehouse raid. It’s got Sonny Para’s mark all over it. I feel responsible. Julius should have been more careful, but I should have kept closer watch over him.” He rolled his shoulders back. “Did you see anyone out front this morning? Hear a car?”
“I didn’t . . . I should have . . .” Lorena dragged her nails down her cheeks. “Nothing.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Eloy patted her hand. “You either.” He looked over at Jack. “All we can do is pray and work as hard as we can to get him back.”
The wall phone in the kitchen rang. Jack shot to his feet and ran. “I’ll get it.”
He snatched a pad of paper and pen, growled into the handset. “Yeah?”
“Help me.” A whisper that stopped Jack’s breath.
***
“Julius? Where are you?”
“They got me.” A broken whimper. Not the self-possessed, cocky ‘tude Jack was used to.
A stab of pain shot through Jack’s chest. Before he could reply, someone else spoke. “Listen up or your bro will be carne asada.”
“You want money? No problem. How much? What will it take?” Jack kept his tone flat and businesslike, tried to stretch out the minutes. By now APD should be zeroing in on the caller’s location.
“You’re a cop. We know you don’t got money. But you can tell us where to find that snitch. The old guy, Como. Where is he?”
“Who? I don’t know anyone by that name. Give me a description.” Jack guessed the voice on the line was referring to Jason Gonzalez’ acquaintance, the warehouse worker.
“Don’t BS us. You’ll find out. Ask your cop buddies.” The caller rasped out a laugh. “Tomorrow morning, have an answer. Or we feed your brother to the vultures.”
***
Cait stared into the darkness outside the living room window. It was after eleven and her brother hadn’t returned from the Rincons.
Finally she heard his truck pull up. She opened the front door and he came in, followed by a rush of cold air.
“What a day.” Chris dumped a large backpack on the floor, limped over to a chair and unlaced wet, muddy boots.
“How’d it go?” Cait padded over to the stove and put a tea kettle on to heat.
“No sign of hunter or jaguar, but something weird happened up there. We made it a little past Manning Camp when we heard a helicopter in the distance. We saw it drop down on the other side of Tanque Verde Peak, near Cow Head Saddle. It lifted off before we could get anywhere near it. I called around. It wasn’t from the Park Service, State Fish and Game, or law enforcement. Strange.” Chris rubbed his eyes and yawned. “We also found some trail cams like you mentioned. Jon can’t tell whose they are, but they are the expensive type that sends images via SIM cards.
“There were some hikers on the Tanque Verde Ridge trail and further up toward Mica Mountain. No Curt Wester or anyone with a rifle.” Chris stood. “I’m done for. Gonna shower and pass out.”
“Can I make you some dinner? Nuke a burrito?” Cait called after him.
“I’m not fussy. Be right out,” he called from the bathroom.
She went through the motions of making tea and microwaving dinner, still thinking about Jack’s call that evening. Julius was being held ransom. Not for money, that would be too bloodless. His kidnappers wanted to trade him—assuming he would still be alive—for the whereabouts of someone named Como, who Jack guessed was the older man who Jason Gonzalez had brought to the Thai restaurant.
It was too much to hope that Albuquerque police would be able to listen in on and trace further ransom calls. The likelihood was that the kidnappers were using burner phones from different locations to avoid being tracked.
She was ready to race off to Albuquerque to be with Jack and his parents during this crisis. He wanted her to stay put. Sonny Para had already grabbed Julius; the gangster would love to snatch Cait too. She finally agreed to remain in Tucson and look after Fern and Clark Bush.
The sound of Chris sitting down to the table brought her back to the present.
“I keep thinking about that helicopter.” He stirred honey into his tea and started in on a burrito. “It lifted off right before sunset toward the southeast. Toward Benson, but it could have gone in any direction. Helicopters don’t have to file flight plans. They can fly under the radar, so to speak.”
“Could it have been dropping off supplies for someone in the back country? Or picking up an injured person?”
“The Park Service would know if someone’s camping in the Rincons or the wilderness area, since you have to get permits to do that. They’d hear if someone was injured. So who knows what the helicopter was about.” Chris stretched his neck to work out a tight spot.
“Something to do with poaching?” Cait swirled her tea bag in the mug.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Jack’s brother was kidnapped.” She knew Chris was tired, but she couldn’t keep it in. Her eyes teared up.
Chris listened without comment until she’d finished. “I’m so sorry. What a nightmare.”
“Yeah. Jack feels guilty. He wants to go do his job, but he’s still on medical leave because of the concussion and broken arm. I want to help but he doesn’t want me in Albuquerque.”
“You’re welcome here, that’s no problem. I know how you feel, but I agree with Jack. You being there might complicate things, make you a target.”
“God, why is Julius so stubborn? Jack kept telling him to be careful.” Cait waved a hand. “Here’s another thing. How do we know where he is? They could be holding him in Tucson somewhere. He won that championship belt here. Maybe it was delivered to his parents’ mailbox to make them think he’s in Albuquerque?”
Chris propped his elbows on the table and cupped his chin in his hands. “You’ve got a point. Jack’s so afraid for his brother, he’s not looking at all the possibilities. I’d be the same way.”
Late into the night, Cait kept thinking about Julius being in Tucson. What about that surly woman in his dressing room at the casino, the one with fingernails like claws? Lita the taco truck operator. Shouldn’t be too hard to find. What if she knew where Julius was? If Cait got a sense that Lita was hiding something, holding back, she’d drag it out of her, long nails or not.