“It was a clean bust,” Hockley told Jericho. They were in Jericho’s office, both with cups of coffee, with the door closed. “Totally by the book. What makes you think Granger had anything to do with it?”
“You got a search warrant, went in, and found narcotics and illegal weapons,” Jericho said. “Tidy. What’d you use as probable cause for the search warrant?”
“Surveillance,” Hockley said. He sounded testy. “We had a guy on the hill across from the warehouse they’ve been working out of. He saw an ATV with a yellow slicker on it parked behind the building. We had a reliable informant who told us he’d been contacted by the bikers with an offer to sell considerable quantities of various narcotics. We’re working on chemical analysis to connect the narcotics with those that crossed the border on two nights this week. We had—damn it, Jericho, we had plenty! What the hell are you worrying about?”
“The bikers were only in that location because Wade burned down their old headquarters,” Jericho said tiredly. “He used the fire to stir up the bikers and make them think they were under attack from Chicago, but he also used it to flush them out of their safe hiding place. You never could have gotten that kind of surveillance at the old spot.”
“Okay, that sounds pretty paranoid, but even if it’s true, there’s no way anyone would ever believe Granger was operating as an agent of the police, so it doesn’t invalidate our search. We’re still fine.”
Jericho nodded. “He parked the ATV there too, or arranged for someone else to park it there. A yellow slicker? He was waving a fucking flag at us, telling us where to look.”
“Do you have any proof of that? Any actual evidence that connects Granger to the ATV?”
“No,” Jericho said. “Of course not. And I don’t have any proof that he was the one who brought the shipments across the border, or that he planted the drugs at the bikers’ warehouse. But I know that he did.”
“Planted the drugs?”
“If you connect those drugs to the ones that came across the border, then, yeah, he planted them. Even if you can’t make the connection, why the hell would the bikers stockpile that much quantity in a location known to police? It makes no sense, not unless Wade stashed the stuff there. Hell, he could have done it that first night, with the first shipment, while the bikers were running around worrying about the fire. He doesn’t have an alibi for the time after he left Nikki’s, does he? The bikers moved into a warehouse that wasalreadystoring drugs.”
“Jesus Christ, Crewe.” Hockley flopped back in his chair and stared at Jericho with disgust. “What the hell do you expect me to do with all this? I can’t go to the goddamn US attorney and tell him to drop the charges because some backwoods under-sheriff thinks his ex-damn-boyfriend is truly responsible for the crime!”
Apparently Hockley’s intel had gotten a little more precise than it had been the last time he’d been throwing around accusations about Jericho’s sex life. “No,” Jericho said mildly. “I don’t expect you to do that.”
“So, what are we talking about, then?”
“This is a federal case. You guys pushed your way in here and took over and that’s your right. But now that it’s gotten complicated? It’s still a federal case. It’s still your damn problem, and it’s not my job to tell you what to do with the information I’ve given you.”
“It’s not information, it’s fucking paranoia!”
“You’ve been investigating Wade Granger for the better part of a year, Special Agent Hockley. You really think anything I’m suggesting is beyond his capabilities, or not in keeping with his character?”
Hockley stared at him for a few long moments, and then spoke in a more controlled tone. “You talked to him, then? He— I know, he didn’t confirm anything. But he let you know this was what he did?”
“No. I’m putting a few things together.”
“But there’s no evidence, not even a half-assed, hinted-at, his-word-against-yours confession.”
“Nope.” Jericho tried to smile. “If it makes you feel any better, hedidgive me a half-assed, hinted-at, his-word-against-mine confirmation that the bikers took out those three wiseguys. One of them was an informant, maybe? That sound right? And Chicago sent them out to be taken care of. Bikers were doing their partners a favor.”
Hockley leaned forward. “Granger actuallytoldyou the guy was an informant? He had that information?”
“He had the information, but he didn’t actually tell me. He presented it as a hypothetical.”
“Of course he did.”
“But you’re able to verify that much, at least? One of the Chicago crewwasworking with law enforcement?”
Hockley gave him a look. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to share that information.”
“Yeah, that was good. That’s just how Wade tells me things. You guys have more in common than you think.”
Hockley snorted. “Anything else I should know?”
“Not something you should know, but something you already do. You having any luck finding the army of foot soldiers Chicago would have sent over if they were truly planning to go to war with the bikers? You findinganysign that we had more than a few visitors from the Chicago organization?” Jericho waited for a reply, and when he only got a frustrated glare, he shrugged. “Maybe they’re good at hiding. Or maybe they never fucking existed.”
Hockley stewed for a few moments, then said, “Okay, off the record, off the books. What am I supposed to do with this conversation?”
“On or off the record, I have absolutely no idea.”
