“You and your parents should have round-the-clock police protection. This is terrible.” Lorena Gallegos was distressed to hear about Cait’s freeway duel.
“One of these days Sonny Para will get his. Someone will cut that la serpiente to pieces.” Jack’s dad Eloy smacked a hand on the kitchen table.
“Don’t talk that way. Your blood pressure is high enough as it is.” Lorena rose and walked to a window looking out to the back of the house.
“Tribal police will step up patrols near my family’s house.” Cait sat next to Jack at the table. “My dad said members of his bear clan will take turns watching the house.”
The buzz of Jack’s phone heightened the tension in the room. He slipped into the living room to answer. Cait strained to hear his lowered voice. She wished he would take the call in front of his parents. The crisis affected them all, even though Jack might want to spare Lorena and Eloy the ugly details. His parents deserved to know what was happening, difficult as things might be.
Jack returned and met their inquiring looks.
“That was Jason Gonzalez. The kid whose parents were murdered a while back.”
“He introduced you to that poor man who worked in that warehouse?” Lorena fingered a string of rosary beads wound around one hand.
Jack nodded. “Jason said the guy’s name is Como Rico. Someone burned his house down. No bodies were found inside, so he and his wife must have escaped. Jason hasn’t been able to reach Como, and he’s worried about the couple.”
Cait rubbed an eyebrow. “What if they’re hiding out somewhere? We need to find them before Sonny Para does. Does Jason know if the Ricos have family around here? Maybe they’re on the streets or living out of a vehicle.”
“That man has been through hell, trying to do the right thing. If you find them, tell them they can stay here,” Lorena said.
“There’s no guarantee we’ll find them,” Jack said. “Jason doesn’t know where the Ricos went.”
“We should help them. It’s the least we can do,” Eloy puffed out his chest. “Sonny Para will have to deal with me.”
“They’ll be hard to find if they’ve gone to ground,” Jack said.
Cait got up. “I’ll check the homeless shelters near the downtown, ask if they’ve seen anyone who fits the Ricos’ description.”
Jack turned to her. “Not by yourself. I’ll go with you.”
“Let’s go, then.” She slung her purse over her shoulder.
Jack addressed his parents. “If anyone comes by, even someone you know, call me before letting them in. You might think I’m paranoid, but this is serious business.”
Eloy hooked his hands behind his head. “Don’t worry about us. I have a good hunting rifle and I know how to use it.”
“I know you do. But call me anyway.” Jack kept his thoughts to himself about how a hunting rifle might fare against automatic weapons.
***
Jack parked across from Good Samaritan Services on Trumbull Avenue in southeast Albuquerque, one of the largest homeless shelters in the city. A stream of people entered and exited the facility, some shouldering bedrolls and backpacks.
Cait and Jack headed for the main door of the complex, a cluster of buildings surrounded by a dried-out lawn and broken sidewalks.
Inside, a front counter was staffed by a man with a shaved head and a nose ring. He looked them over. “What can I do for you?”
Jack explained they were looking for an older Latino couple who had lost their home in a fire. “They could be living in their vehicle and might come in for food or a shower.”
“Just a minute.” The counter man made a call. A minute later, a tall, sinewy woman with short, nappy hair came through a door from a back office. A prominent scar on her cheek was counterbalanced by large silver hoop earrings.
“I’m Tessa Gardner, manager here. I understand you’re looking for someone?” Her smile was businesslike and her manner authoritative.
“We are. Can we talk in private?” Jack asked.
“Jesse here is trustworthy. He’s got my back.” Tessa move closer to the man with the nose ring.
Cait introduced herself as a reporter, and Jack as a cop. She explained that Como and Zena Rico’s house had been torched by a gang, and that they could be hiding out on the street. “They might not want to put friends or relatives in danger by staying with them. Or maybe they don’t have anyone to turn to.”
“What did these people do to piss off a gang?” Tessa asked.
“It has to do with drugs. Como turned his boss in to the cops,” Jack said. “Now the couple has disappeared.”
“Looks like you took a fall.” Tessa Gardner eyed Jack’s arm cast.
“I had a run-in with the same gang.”
“Wow. Who are they?” Tessa scraped a hand through her hair. “I understand it’s on the q.t.”
“Ever heard of Los Brutos?” Jack asked. Jesse opened his mouth then shut it.
“Who?” Tessa looked from Jack to Jesse.
“Sure have.” All eyes turned to Jesse, who brightened with the attention.
“My sister’s boyfriend , Ramos, was out in his ‘64 Buick Riviera, all tricked out with a sick new paint job. He stops at a red light on Central and Broadway and gets rear-ended. His bumper’s scratched and a tail light’s broken. The dude who hit him is in a big black Escalade. Mean-looking bald guy, tats on his neck and arms. Pulls a gun on Ramos, tells him to get lost. Anyway, the Escalade had a custom plate. “Sonny.” Ramos’ friends say don’t mess with the guy, he’s from a gang. Los Brutos.”
Jack looked back at Tessa. “Como and Zena Rico are hiding out from Sonny and his crew. Can you let us know if an older couple shows up who could be them? We’re trying to protect them.”
“We’ll be on the lookout.” She paused. “Months ago I saw TV news about some attacks on police officers. One was killed. They said a gang might be involved.”
“Those stories were about my partner and me.” Jack said. “I survived. This couple is up against the same people. That’s why we need to find them before it’s too late.”
“Wow.” Tessa did a double-take at Jack’s cast. “I’ll call the other shelters. If we see or hear anything about the Ricos, I promise we’ll be in touch.”
After leaving Good Samaritan, Jack and Cait sat in his SUV discussing their game plan.
“I’d like to swing by the station and see Captain Spitzer. See if he’ll update me about Los Brutos.” Jack started the engine and swung into the street.
“You’re on leave. Won’t he get irate?”
“I don’t see I have a choice. We have to stay in the loop.”
***
“Good to see you two again. Have a seat.” Mac Spitzer rose as Jack entered. Cait remained in the hall. “I’ll be by the vending machines,” she said.
Jack remained standing in front of Spitzer’s desk.
Captain Spitzer sat back down. “That arm healing up?”
“Cast comes off in a day or so, if I’m lucky. Then I won’t have an excuse not to take out the garbage.” Jack smiled.
“You’re looking good. And your brother’s all right?
“Gets out of the hospital tomorrow.” A cloud passed over Jack’s face, as he debated whether to bring up an unpleasant issue.
“So what brings you in?” Spitzer adopted a careful expression.
“I’d like to know how things stand with the Para investigation.”
The captain leaned forward, forearms on the desk. “Unfortunately that raid didn’t pan out. We’re no closer to putting Sonny Para out of business then we were six months ago. Seems like it’s about impossible to get anything on that guy.”
“I’d like to get back to work and take another crack at him.”
“Soon, soon. Right now, that’s not a good idea.” Spitzer cracked a knuckle. “You can extend your medical leave for a while. It might be better. What I mean is, you’ve been targeted, no question about it. Your family, too. And that’s bound to affect you, your judgment and your nerves. Sonny Para is ruthless. No telling what he’s liable to do.”
Spitzer traced a finger on his desk top. “If you go after Para again, what if he draws a bead on your fiancé?”
Jack gasped in exasperation. “For Pete’s sake, that’s already happened. I’m off the case, and he still sent gunmen after her on the I-40. She barely got away. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m on the case or not. Para still wants revenge on me. So I might as well get to work.”
“You don’t know it was Los Brutos that shot at Cait.”
“You don’t know it wasn’t. It makes sense. Para had us followed and ambushed on the way to Tucson. He watches my parents, kidnaps my brother. I’m going crazy, not being able to work. Don’t you agree that the more manpower on this case, the better?”
“You’ve got a point.” Spitzer gave Jack a long look. “Ok, then. First get the approval of your orthopedist. Then you can sit down with the team and go over things.”
Jack swallowed, his throat dry. He wanted to pose a question, but held off. There was no benefit to alienating his supervisor. He had confidence in Spitzer, had no reason not to. But the more Jack thought about the events leading up to the bomb in his apartment a month ago, the less he trusted his co-workers.
“Any idea where Para moved his operation?” Jack finally sat down. “Since he bailed out of that warehouse?”
“I wish I knew. All we had was the word of your informant—who’s disappeared—that the warehouse was a drug operation. Maybe you got bad intel. There wasn’t anything in there but rotten produce. You thought your guy was legit, but we all get fooled sometimes. Sooner or later, it happens to everyone.”
Jack clamped his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to argue about what Como Rico had told him. He had believed the man. There was no question that Como had been scared out of his wits. Spitzer wouldn’t care that the Rico couple was now missing, so Jack didn’t mention it.