“Who do you think bought your purebred bulls at the private auction?” Dunn asked him.
John’s eyes widened. “That was Velasquez? But he was furious because the cattle had been used to transport drugs!”
Dunn sighed. “Yes. And he was outraged that two busloads of private citizens from Mexico had been forced to swallow balloons of drugs to transport across the border. That was Vega’s idea. It almost worked, too, except that Josie upset the applecart. Velasquez had a mole in the organization who tipped him off, just in time to save Josie’s life. She would have bled to death.”
It looked as if it was killing Marlowe to say anything kind about the drug lord. Some old wounds there, John thought, but kept it to himself.
“Where is she, exactly?” John asked.
“I’ll pull up a map for you.” He chuckled. “Velasquez saidyou were welcome. Apparently, Josie was more worried about what you’d think because she disappeared without a word.”
“Was she?” John was grinning from ear to ear.
He chuckled. “Take her those.” Dunn indicated the phone and the badge. “She took a burner phone with her, but she thought it was too dangerous to keep these on her, so I locked them in my safe. You going to fly down? Velasquez has a paved airstrip. You can land there. But you’d better phone first, so he doesn’t think you’re about to bomb him.”
“He saved Josie. I won’t lift a finger against him.”
“Neither can I,” Dunn said disgustedly. “He’s never broken a law in this country. Not even a parking ticket. And he’s related to some powerful people, not only in Mexico, but in Washington, DC, Spain and Denmark, of all places.”
“Some connections,” John remarked, pocketing the phone and the badge. “Thanks for letting me know. And for the map.”
Marlowe had printed it out. He handed it to him. “You can get it on your phone, but sometimes communications down on the border are iffy. I like printed maps.”
“So do I.” He shook hands. “Thanks a million.”
“Don’t let Velasquez muscle you out.”
“No chance of that,” John replied. “I’m persistent. Water dripping on stone...?”
Marlowe winced. “Don’t say that.”
“Why?”
“I was spec ops in the military,” he replied. “I did some jobs that I can’t talk about. A few involved water.”
John got it. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.” He grinned. “But I’m persistent anyway. See you.”
Dunn nodded. “See you. Safe trip.”
“Thanks.”
Marlowe sat back down in his chair and thought about the past, about how long he’d hated Velasquez, how much he’dwanted to hurt the man. He’d learned things about the drug lord that disturbed him, that challenged him. He couldn’t let go of the anguish. But he was surprised to find that he’d softened, even just a little bit.
John shared the news with the family as he prepared to fly to Mexico with their pilot.
“I knew she wasn’t what she seemed,” Heather said. “But I was right about the danger.”
“You were,” John replied.
“Is she going to be okay?” JJ worried.
Heather hugged him. “She’s going to be just fine.”
“She’s with a friend,” John said. His face hardened. “But that won’t last long. I’m bringing her home. We have doctors.”
“Indeed, we do,” Cole agreed with a hidden smile.
“Who’s the friend?” JJ asked.
