Gray Ghost (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 1) (16 page)

As Dix and Petersen left the bar, they spotted Roger’s car and waved him over.

“
Give us a lift?” Dix asked. “Sure. Hop in.”

Roger looked them over. “You guys look beat. When did you sleep last?”

Petersen settled into the back seat and laid his head against it. “Feels like at least a year.” He closed his eyes.

Roger started the car. “While you’ve been drinking at the local hot spot, I went by the storage facility. DEA agents working with the locals outfitted the place with surveillance equipment. When I told the DEA boys I’d see you, they said to tell you there’s a small container close to my house. It’s filled with all the equipment you might need. And I have your firearms and body armor.”

Dix frowned. “Why would DEA agents give all this information to you?”

Roger squirmed. “Well, there’s more to all of this, but I can’t let you in on it until the timing’s right.”

Dix all but shouted. “Fuck this. When I wake up tomorrow, my bags are packed, and you guys can deal with this mess. We gave up our vacation to help out. Shit, we’ve done most of this stuff on our own despite the local authorities. As far as I’m concerned, you can stop the damn car right here, and I’ll walk back to the lodge.”

Petersen roused. “I’m with Dix. We’re not the bad guys here, and we need answers.”

Roger looked nervous but apologetic. “Look, I know it wasn’t right. The DEA agents have used you two but kept what they knew hidden. I’ll tell you everything.”

“
What do you mean used us? What do you have?” Dix asked.

“
Five or six local officers have been dealing or stealing drugs. DEA and the local higher-ups asked me to help identify them. That’s why I know a few of their people.”

Dix frowned again. “You could have told us. The secrets on this island are pissing me off.”

Roger shook his head. “No. I was ordered not to.”

“
Anything else?”

Roger nodded. “Yes. My DEA contacts have been monitoring a Coast Guard rear admiral named Charles for about a year. He seems to be connected to the bad cops in some way. A few DEA agents vacationed in the Bahamas and set up surveillance on Andros, Exuma, and a few other islands. When the speedboat was stored yesterday, a .50 caliber 12.7 mm BMG round was found splintered near the engine block. According to DEA, the Coast Guard is the largest user of the rifle that shoots those. They also figure it would take a special unit to hijack the speedboat. The rear admiral, this Charles guy, is in charge of those units. DEA calls them rogue units.”

Dix considered what Roger had told him and the clues they’d been collecting. He was already pretty sure the Caller had ties to the Coast Guard; this almost sealed it for him.

They pulled up to the lodge. Dix knew he had to get sleep before his system completely crashed.

The detectives slowly stumbled out of the car. Dix patted Roger on the shoulder, and they headed to their cottage. Dix looked back over his shoulder. “Wake us if anything significant develops. Petersen and I are going to hit the hay for a few hours. And no more secrets, please.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As the G5 jet reached cruising altitude, Calhoun began getting updates from his sources in the Coast Guard, Royal Navy, and the Royal Bahamian Police Force.

His secure line rang. “Go ahead.”

He recognized Jorge Blanco’s voice. “Sir, the unit is briefed and has developed an operational model. We’re packed and racked for deployment. Still awaiting word from Charles to deploy.”

“
Very good. I’m not entirely sure if you boys will see action, but I’m glad to know you’re ready. This mission is intended for stealth, and not firepower and fireworks.”

“
Understood. The men are on standby when needed.”

“
Fantastic. I’ll notify Charles.” He hung up.

The phone rang again. “Go ahead.”

An adult male voice spoke. “We’ve got an issue, sir. Footage from the UAV of raising the speedboat showed two unknown white male adults in the mix. We checked and found out these guys are narcotics detectives from Miami-Dade. One is a newbie, Steve Petersen. The other is Bill Dix.”

“
The same Bill Dix from Miami-Dade PD who’s been in the paper?” Calhoun had read about a couple of his cases.

“
Affirmative.”

“
Okay, what else do you know?”

“
It seems everyone from DEA to the locals on Andros is hunting a guy named the Caller. They think he’s a major drug distributor.”

Calhoun raised an eyebrow. “Anything else?”

“
Unfortunately, yes. Two Royal Bahamian Police Force officers we’ve used in the past have gone missing. We heard rumors they were picked up by DEA.”

God damn it. Could anything else go wrong?

“
Oh, and investigators retrieved a splintered 12.7 mm round from the speedboat. They’ve already assumed it was a Coast Guard issue.”

Calhoun shook his head. “The next time I ask for an update, just tell me to remember what happened this time.”

The man on the other end chuckled. Then he suddenly became quiet. Calhoun noticed the stillness. “What’s up?”

No answer.

Calhoun reacted quickly. “Get rid of the cell phone and leave your location
now
.”

Across the line, he heard loud knocking followed by, “Search warrant. This is the police. Open up.”

Calhoun had hung up before he heard the outcome. His contact was a mid-level drug dealer and pimp who had DEA and Coast Guard connections because two of his sisters had married men in those agencies. This guy had met Calhoun, and it was probably only a matter of time before he’d cave to interrogation. But, Calhoun wasn’t sure they could get the information and process it before he retrieved the cocaine from the speedboat. The operation would take two days, and Calhoun hoped the authorities wouldn’t be able to find a link to him by then. He determined the man would give them false information to cover Calhoun’s tracks.

However, he moved up the plans to attack the storage unit to the following day just to be sure. He filled his son in on the changes over his Bluetooth as Junior piloted the G5 jet to Andros.

Calhoun finished with, “You see any problems stepping up the retrieval to tomorrow night instead of the next day?”

His son shook his head. “No.”

“
Son, I’ve thought about our last conversation. I’m considering retiring and letting you keep the business.” It was a lie, but he wanted the kid focused on the current operation.

“
I’m glad. I won’t let you down. Fasten your seat belt. We’re on final approach to Mangrove Cay. According to the contacts on the island, there are lots of local cops in the area. More than usual, and even some added surveillance equipment, too.”

Calhoun checked his seat belt and prepared for landing. The changes seemed normal based on what should be done when an agency finds an enormous stash of cocaine. “Continue as planned, son.”

The plane landed smoothly and taxied to the end of the runway. When the door opened, Calhoun and his pilot were met by eight Royal Bahamian officers. Calhoun noticed the fully armed men appeared unfriendly.
Play it cool
.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Pierce questioned his arrestee on the way to the precinct. The guy was looking at a minimum of three felonies based on Pierce’s observations. He’d consider lessening some of the charges if the guy talked, and he had hoped the man’s information would be useful for the case in the Bahamas.

Before they reached the precinct, Pierce pulled over and turned to face the guy in the back seat. “Listen, Chad, you and I have been playing the same game for ten years. Sometimes I cut you a break, but tonight I’m gonna put you away for the rest of your life.”

Chad was breathing heavily. “Okay, okay. No bullshit. What’s it going to take for some of this stuff to go bye-bye?”

“
You can start by telling me who the big guy is.”

Chad shook his head. “Come on, man. I’m dead if I say anything.”

Pierce smirked. “You already have by telling me the supplier is male. Cut the crap, Chad, or I’ll see to it you qualify for a life sentence.”

Chad was squirmy and nervous. “Dude, calm down. All right. Listen, why the questions about the supplier? You usually target dealers.”

Pierce snapped back. “I’m asking the questions, pal. You’ve got until we reach the station to tell me something useful. Otherwise, no deals.” He started the car and pulled out onto the street.

Chad hesitated. “Look. There’s one guy who only deals cocaine. He’s been in the business as long as you’ve been a cop. I met him for a big transaction. I had a chunk of cash, thirty large, and he had kilos for sale.”

“
When did you meet this guy? And what do you remember about it?”

“
About ten years ago. Remember when you caught me the first time? I bought the stuff from him.”

“
What do you remember about the guy?”

Chad seemed to gain momentum. “There were three guys. Two just watched the main guy’s back. They looked like badasses, buff with short haircuts. They had some serious weapons too, MP-5s, I think. I showed them the money, and the big man showed me the coke. He sold me a full brick for only thirty thousand.”

Pierce was skeptical. “Why do you remember all that? It was ten years ago, and you’ve sniffed a lot of junk since then.” He watched Chad stiffen in his mirror.

“
It was something about the cocaine, the way it was packaged. It had a red horse head on it, pressed into the center of the brick when I opened it. Over the years, I saw lots more like it. This guy’s been pumping coke into Miami for as long as I can remember.”

Pierce now had a lead with the red horse head. “Did they speak during the transaction?”

“
Yeah, but very little.”

“
Do you remember any of the conversation?”

Chad noticed they’d arrived at the precinct. “If I remember right, the main guy’s cell phone, an old brick type, rang constantly. When the deal went down, one of the muscle men answered and said, ‘Go ahead. You’ve reached the Caller.’”

Pierce slammed on the brakes and spun around to face his prisoner. “What did you just say?”

“
The guy said, ‘Go ahead. You’ve reached the Caller.’”

Pierce tried not to show his excitement. “If you saw a picture of these guys, would you be able to point them out?” Chad shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. I think I saw the big guy again about six years later, but I don’t remember where.”

Pierce took Chad inside and questioned him for another thirty minutes. He booked the twists of cocaine he’d found on Chad as property slated for destruction. Pierce considered putting together a lineup, but Chad was too high to keep his eyes open long enough to stare at the random photos. Plus, Pierce didn’t have any idea who the suspect was to prepare a proper lineup anyway.

He decided to call Dix to give him an update.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Remy moved closer to his truck and tried to keep a safe distance from Bubba and Wilfred. He tossed around the idea of killing the two guys and making a run for it. They meant nothing to him and were expendable. But he owed Bubba for testifying in his defense a few years earlier. Plus, he didn’t want to clean their blood off his custom leather seats. So he decided against it… for now.

When Bubba started asking him about the Caller, Remy was more than happy to tell them everything he knew about the cheating, lying bastard. Remy wanted vengeance. “He’s a real prick. Last year, we did an arranged drop. I gave him a hundred grand cash, and he gave me the worst coke I’ve ever seen. I barely made my money back.”

Wilfred nodded. “You’ve been lookin’ for him ever since.” Remy smiled. “Of course. I want his head on a platter.

Everyone I talk to has no idea who he really is or where he’s based. All I know is he doesn’t live on the islands.”

Remy glanced toward Bubba and noticed the big man eyeing him closely.

Wilfred interrupted. “We’re pretty sure the Caller hired a sniper to hijack the go-fast Sean and Preston were on. The sniper screwed up, killed both of them and sank the boat.”

Remy interrupted. “The one stored downtown?” Wilfred nodded again. “Yep. It’s there to lure the Caller.”

Remy laughed. “So why all the questions about who he is? If he shows up to get the dope, it won’t matter because you’ll know.”

Wilfred took a step in his direction. “The problem is he may work for the Coast Guard. We’d have a much better chance of actually catching him if we knew who we were looking for.”

Remy smirked. “It won’t matter when he’s caught. That is, if he comes.”

Bubba spoke at last. “Dey not sure he’ll come. Dey think he might send someone else.”