Kyle’s phone rang. “Speak of the devil.” He hit the speaker button. “Tex, good morning. You’re on speaker with myself, Arden, Wolf, Caroline, Jake, Rachael, and Brock. What have you got for us?”
“Mornin’ y’all,” Tex drawled. “Glad everyone is safe after yesterday.”
“Thanks,” Jake and Rachael both said.
“Kyle, what’s Williams told you, if anything?”
“Kyle leaned forward. “He’s having to be a bit tight-lipped due to the ongoing investigation, and the fact that the Feds are stepping in. But you probably know all about that already, don’t you?”
“I surely do.” The sound of creaking leather filled the phone and Brock imagined the man sitting back in his office chair, getting comfortable. “Glass’s dealership’s been dealing more than cars these past coupla years, as you’ve probably surmised from the baggie you found yesterday, Brock. Cars in the front, heroin and coke out the back. Pills, too—opioids. Our boy’s been playin’ mule with his cars. Drugs are stored in the vehicles when they’re shipped to his dealership from all over the country. From there, they’re distributed throughout Colorado and up into Wyoming and out to Nebraska. Smooth little operation. Feds only just started sniffing around him but hadn’t connected the dots yet. But Glass has been slipping up, getting greedier and taking more risks. Obviously, he’s been getting high off his own supply.”
“He was paranoid as fuck yesterday,” Brock said. “Do you think he knew they were after him?”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t sound convinced,” Brock said.
“Well, you tell me. Man sounded paranoid, sure enough, but it was aimed at Brianna’s brother over an event that had nothing to do with him. Last I checked—and I did check—Brian ain’t no undercover Fed agent. And why monkey with one of the vans? Sure, he was jealous, but enough to potentially kill eight people?”
Jake cleared his throat. “I watched coke do some crazy shit to people’s heads when I was with the FBI. The guy already fits the profile of a grade-A narcissist and douchebag. Throw cocaine into the mix, and some people will do all sorts of things to get their way. They think they’re king of the world and bulletproof. If I were working the case back in the day, I’d say he was more than capable of rigging the van to lose its brakes and power steering, and he had a motive, as fucked-up as it is.”
Kyle nodded but didn’t look convinced. “Tex, have you found anything else on Brian Taylor? Anything that might link him to Glass beyond being Brianna’s twin?”
“No direct links, but I think we can speculate on a few things. Could be that he’s working with Glass. The boy has a big mouth, could get Glass in trouble. Or maybe they did some sort of deal that went bad.”
Brock sat up straighter. “You think Brian was targeting Jerold?” Everyone at the table looked at him.
“Go on,” Tex said.
“He knew that Brianna had a close call with a hit and run and came to check on her, looking over-the-top upset. Maybe that upset was actually guilt. What if he’d arranged for the car to be stolen as a warning to Glass? Then he heard what happened to his sister and felt guilty? I don’t know, I could be way off.” Brock shook his head. It still wasn’t quite sitting right, but he had a hunch he was getting closer.
“I don’t think you’re there, but I think you’re on the right track, Badger,” Tex said. “I had a little convo with a friend right before I called y’all. Kyle, you’ll be expecting a visit from Gina here soon. She’s wanting to have a talk with Jerold Glass and I wouldn’t doubt if she had a question or two about Brian Taylor.”
Brock’s eyebrows raised. If Tex was talking about Gina Smith, he wouldn’t want to be either Jerold or Brian. He’d never seen Kyle and Jake’s former teammate Gina in action, but he knew that when she talked to people, she got results. She was rumored to have been—or still was—with the CIA.
Kyle looked surprised, too. “I hadn’t heard, but it’s also Gina’s style to show up unannounced.”
Tex chuckled. “I could tell you a story or two, but I’ll save it for another time. Well, if ever. She’d neither confirm nor deny anything I said about her anyway.”
Kyle laughed. “Affirmative. That’s Gina.”
Tex went on. “So, I think our boy is a small fish on the hook to catch a bigger fish.”
“And Brian—”
“Might be collateral damage, might be smack dab in the middle of it,” Tex said. “Keep an eye on his sister.”
“Already doing it,” Brock said quickly.
“Brian Taylor is out on bail and supposedly staying with his parents,” Kyle said. “They live farther up in the hills from Lyons and I’ve had someone on them. The three of them are heading into town this minute.”
“To see Brianna?”
“Would be my guess. They attend the festival every year anyway.”
“So here’s our chance to question Brian,” Brock said.
“Sounds like it,” Tex said.
