Page 109 of Fatal Strike
“Hey, you can’t take off without me. I’m your partner.”
She exited the rental car. “Timing is too important.”
69
LEAH FOUND ROSS KEMPLERand Father Gabriel sitting in Everson’s office. Ross produced Judge Mendez’s notes in his own handwriting and the documented evidence. While Greer, Trevelle, and the judge believed their findings were inconclusive, their private investigation had uncovered substantial information to bring in Warren Livingston and Dr. Pablo Rios for questioning.
Leah was concerned about Father Gabriel’s and Ross’s safety and persuaded them to stay with Everson until Jon finished with the sweep of the dental office. She received a call from Silvia and took it outside Everson’s office.
“Are you all right?” Leah said. “The police were at your home, but you didn’t answer the door.”
“I must have been in the shower.” Her voice quivered. She must be in pain. “Are you in Galveston?”
“Yes.”
“Can you and Agent Colbert come by the house? I need to tell you something important about Dylan as soon as possible.”
“Is he with you?”
“No. Just come, please.”
“Jon’s busy, but I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Leah told Everson where she was going and left the building. She texted Jon and drove to the Ortega address.
After ringing Silvia’s bell and pounding on the door, Leah walked around to the back of the house with her gun drawn. Neat and clean. Perfect flower beds. The back door was locked.
She peered through windows. Nothing.
A gun barrel pressed against the back of her head. “Drop it,” a man said.
Leah obliged, and he pulled her wounded hand behind her back. She winced. Someone swung her around.
Two men. Both with weapons. One man grabbed her phone and tossed it into the flower bed.
“We’re taking a little drive.” The man who held her spoke with a thick Hispanic accent.
“Where?”
“You’ll find out.”
Jon had worked alongside the agents sweeping the rooms of Dr. Rios’s dental facility for the past several minutes, and they hadn’t found anything suspicious. Whoever had left there did so in a hurry. The computers had been erased of data, and that had to have been initiated before leaving the office. The tech guys in Houston should be able to recover the data.
“The reception area looks clean,” an agent said. “Fingerprinting will take time.”
Jon nodded. “I’ll continue searching for a little longer, then I’m heading to Chief Everson’s office.”
“Agent Riesel has my car.”
“I’ll make sure it’s returned.”
While the agents checked out Dr. Rios’s desk, closet, and credenza, Jon headed for the back room where supplies were stored. Clean. Orderly. Then a locked closet in the break room caught his attention. He snatched a tiny dental instrument from a nearby tray and picked the lock. Inside the closet, he flipped on a light. Stacks of small plastic, zippered cases markedDental Supplies for Mexico Missions. The cases were clear except for a bright-blue bottom about an inch thick. Why the extra padding?
He unzipped a case and removed a toothbrush, regular-size toothpaste, and dental floss. The bottom appeared to be glued and stitched. Grabbing a corner and slicing it with the dental pick, he pulled back the bottom.
Two layers of pills ... Prescription drugs with the same identifying codes as those missing from Molston Pharmaceuticals.
Jon ripped open enough dental aid containers to discover thousands of dollars of prescription drugs. Some of the drugs were not from Molston Pharmaceuticals. With the number of trips Warren made to Mexico, no doubt much of the stolen shipment had been transported under the guise of a mission project.
Why had they left the drugs behind? No time? Who’d alerted them?
