Chasing Suspect Three
A Novel
Rod Hoisington
Smashwords Edition
ISBN
978-1-301-08309-1
Copyright 2012 Rod Hoisington
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Cover design by Mark Hoisington
markhoisington.com
Editorial Assistance:
Karen L. Hoisington
For Vanna
Sandy Reid Mystery Series
by Rod Hoisington
One Deadly Sister
The Price of Candy
Such Wicked Friends
Chasing Suspect Three
Alive After Friday
Chapter One
Were I with thee, Wild nights should be our
luxury!~ Emily Dickinson
T
he day of the
Florida murder dawned bright and shiny. The woman didn’t notice.
Her days dawned nearer to noon. Life was too complicated any
earlier. Things that can’t wait until afternoon were usually
obnoxious.
Even so, on that particular morning, she
opened her eyes earlier than usual and tried to jump-start her
brain with coffee to tolerate her incredibly boring brother coming
to her apartment. Actually a half-brother—same mother. They had
grown up living in Florida with their mother; their fathers were
God-knows-where. Did they see each other now as adults? Not much.
Did she wish she were closer to him now? Not really. Did she
realize what he told her that morning would take her to a dark
place? Not until it was too late.
He showed up late as usual. They took their
coffee into the living room. She couldn’t believe she had prepared
coffee for him, yet it was better than his messing around in her
kitchen. Before she sat, she noticed a razor-thin shaft of morning
sunlight thrown across the floor from one window. She adjusted the
blinds to do away with the intolerable intrusion.
She chose the orange leather armchair and
motioned him to the couch. “You look worse than usual. Been up all
night?”
“Almost, just got in.”
“So why did you phone?” she said almost
nicely, meaning ‘spit it out and leave, so I can get on with my
life.’ “I’m guessing you caused some disaster somewhere, but why
don’t you go ahead and pleasantly surprise me.”
“I didn’t cause a disaster.”
“Why, are you slipping?”
“Will you just listen? I can’t go back to my
job in Miami.”
“Oh yes, you’re a messenger boy at some
embassy.”
“It’s not an embassy. A consulate, the
Salvadoran Consulate. And I’m not a messenger boy. I’m a diplomatic
courier.”
“That’s what I said, you’re a messenger boy.”
She quickly aimed a manicured finger at him. “Watch it! You spill
that coffee on my couch and you’ll be a dead messenger boy.”
“I don’t dare go back,” he continued. “Vice
Consul Ramirez got busted for trafficking in drugs using diplomatic
couriers.”
“What’s that got to do with you?”
He stared hard at her.
“Sonofabitch.”
“Exactly.”
She held up a hand. “Stop right there. I’m
not touching anything going down with drugs. Don’t want it in my
life. Don’t even want to hear about it. I’m a respected
businesswoman here in Park Beach. So, end of story. Drink up, say
goodbye, and I’ll go back to bed.”
“I wasn’t carrying drugs. I was carrying
cash. I was at the airport on my way to El Salvador to make the
buy, when all hell broke loose, and the FBI busted Ramirez. They
walked right passed me. I was left standing at the gate with cash
in the diplomatic pouch.”
“Are you saying you kept the diplomatic pouch
full of money you were supposed to exchange for drugs?” That
stopped her with the coffee cup half way to her lips. “So, the
consulate, the feds, and probably a drug gang are looking for you.”
She set the cup down and unconsciously scanned the room half
expecting some wild-haired thug with a knife in his teeth to come
crashing through her door. “I’m so proud of you, Bro, and all this
time I thought you were a dumbass.”
“What was I supposed to do? I wasn’t going to
go ahead and get on the plane. Can’t take it back to the consulate.
The place is crawling with feds. I guess I could have thrown it
away.” He chuckled.
“No, you’d have screwed up throwing it away.
Cash would still be blowing everywhere around the airport, and
you’d be on the evening news.”
“I’ve decided to keep the money. No one knows
I have it. The drug guys didn’t know the cash was on the way, the
feds think it was already delivered, and Ramirez’s people think the
feds took it at the airport.” He put his hands behind his neck and
leaned back on the couch. “I’m telling you it’s perfect.”
“The voices in your head tell you that?”
“I know how these deals work. No one’s
looking for me. The feds had their chance at the Miami
airport.”
“Wouldn’t those TSA people have found the
money anyway?”
He shook his head. “They can search me, but
the consulate pouch has diplomatic immunity. Plus it’s lined with
lead.”
“And you want me to do what? Cover your
tracks so you can disappear? You leave and I sit here with a large
target on my back. Dodging a ripped off drug gang isn’t the
excitement I’m looking for in my life.” She tucked some long blonde
hair behind her ear and asked, “How much are we talking about
here?”
“Never mind.”
From childhood, she knew whenever he said
‘never mind’ he held a winning hand. “No, it’s perfectly fine. I’ll
help you.” She could always back out later. “Leave the money here
with me, and go do your hiding thing. I’ll look after it until
things cool down.” She expected him to burst out laughing.
“You know, something tells me handing you
three hundred thousand might not be a wise move.”
Her eyes widened as she mouthed the words
‘three hundred thousand.’ “You walked off with three hundred grand
in a little leather bag? Is that what you’re saying? Where is
it?”
He slowly shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll
take care of the money. You just cover me so I can disappear. Move
into my condominium and act like everything’s normal. Make like
I’ll be back at anytime. Don’t let the mail pile up, shit like
that. Anyone asks make up some story. Say I went to South America
to be with my father’s family.”
“Where are you actually going?”
“Better for you if you don’t know.
No, better for him. Once he walks away with
the money, she’d never see him again. There must be a way to work
this. Some way where he gets the grief, and she gets the money.
Trying to sound cool she said, “You can’t wander around the world
carrying that much cash in your back pocket. Take some, and leave
the rest with me until you need more. That would be the smart way
to do it. You can trust me. You trusted telling me your nefarious
story. So trust me with holding the money for you. After all, I am
your sister.” She wondered if he was dumb enough to go for it.
“Half-sister, so I trust you only
halfway.”
“In any case, you
are
going to give me
some, aren’t you?” Suddenly, she dropped her used-car-salesman
smile and screeched, “Get your damn feet off my coffee table.”
He straightened up. “Why should I give you
anything?”
“After all the times I’ve saved you?”
“Name three.”
“You say I haven’t helped you, but who do you
come running to every time you screw up that so-called life of
yours?”
“Yeah, you step in, confuse everything, and
then disappear!” He squirmed in his seat. “Telling you about the
money wasn’t such a great idea.”
“Cheer up. We have the money, and we’re going
to make certain we keep it. I think we should split it.”
“We, we, we. We think you should go screw
yourself.”
“Yeah, like you’re not worried about a gang
of Miami goons running around shooting off automatic weapons. I
certainly hope Ramirez’s people in Miami don’t find out you have
their money?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t rat me
out.”
“Of course not, you’re my loving, generous
brother who always takes care of me.”
“Do you ever discuss anything without making
threats? Doesn’t being a bitch ever bother you?”
“It’s the secret of my charm. I enjoy every
minute of it. You’d better keep this bitch on your side.”
He gave a shrug. “Okay, I’ll give you ten
grand.”
“That’s an insult. I want half.”
“Only half? Anything else? Don’t you also
want my left nut or something?”
“Now that you mention it, I’d like a pony for
my birthday.”
“Screw you. When the bad guys get here, I’ll
tell them you’ve got their money.”
They stopped yelling and were quiet for a
minute. Then she said, “I thought you had a pretty cushy job flying
official papers back and forth down there. How long have you
delivered money to El Salvador and brought drugs back in a
diplomatic pouch?”
He hesitated and looked down as though being
scolded, “A couple of years.”
She stared at him, shaking her head.
“Hey, they have a very nice health plan.”
“How did you keep all this from your
ex-wife?”
“We’re only separated. Anyhow, Margo knows
what I was doing.”
“What! She knows?”
“I used to work three weeks on and three
weeks off—same as all the couriers. After the drug stuff started,
they’d call me in when they needed a run. Took her only two seconds
to catch on. I haven’t seen her in weeks. At least she’s out of my
condo now. I need to change the locks, but she’s out.”
“You can’t leave it at that. You must do
something about her. I’d be more worried about Margo than Ramirez,
if I were you. When she figures out you took off with the money,
she won’t call Ramirez and bring the drug gang down on her. She’ll
call the feds. How much does she know?”
“She kept a log of the exact dates and times
I went down for each run and the amount of the bonus.”
“Holy shit, that’s everything. Why was she
keeping a log on you?”
“She suspected I was seeing someone in Miami
and spending money on her.” He turned so he didn’t have to face
her. “I know, I know. That’s why I’m here. I need to
disappear.”
“No, Margo needs to disappear. You’d better
get her out of your life fast. Drug gangs are pussycats compared to
a divorcing wife. As long as she’s around, you can’t run fast
enough or far enough.” She saw the look on his face and knew he got
the message.
He said aloud to himself. “Yeah, as long as
she’s around.”
She read his mind. “A hundred grand for me,
and I’ll help you do it.”
He was lost in thought. “Help me do
what?”
“Paint your condo, stupid. What the hell do
you think we’re talking about? I’ll set her up for you nice and
clean. You do the easy part and pull the trigger.”
“I forgot there are people like you walking
around loose.”
“Get wise, it’s the only way to shut her up.
You’ll be rid of her permanently. Think of it as a discount divorce
except you’re the rare husband who keeps all the money. All except
my hundred grand, of course.”