“He died in a hit and run.” Johnson grimaced. “Nice guy too. Left behind a wife and four kids.”
Jimmy spoke up. “The woman this guy replaced”—he jabbed at the paper with his forefinger— “had a heart attack about a year ago.”
“Walter nearly died, with O’Donoghue lined up to take his place. The new director at Southwestern worked with O’Donoghue at DEA, and the manager knew him from NYPD. Y’all see a pattern?” Cronyism at its finest. Lucky hadn’t dug up this much dirt in a single day since living on the farm.
“But why? And to what end?” Jimmy asked.
“Honey, I’m home!” Cruz strode into the dining room, flipped a chair around backwards, and sat, arms folded over the back. He grinned. “Sorry I’m late.”
Trust Cruz to make a big entrance. He also laid his accent on thick.
“Keith, Jimmy, this is Cruz. I could tell you his last name but then I’d have to shoot you.” Actually, had Lucky ever known his last name? Chances were, he’d been through more fake names in his career than Lucky.
“Mucho gusto,” Cruz said, with the smile he probably practiced in the mirror.
Lucky ignored him—for now. “What do all three offices have in common?”
Jimmy raised his hand, looked around sheepishly, and lowered it back to his lap. “A major drug pipeline comes through Texas from Mexico, straight across the South and up through Virginia on its way to DC and New York, two major drug markets.”
The guy was so much smarter than he looked, and quoted textbooks. Yup, so like Bo’s early days. “Cruz, here, is an agent for an international drug task force, who also poses as a cartel leader in Mexico.”
Jimmy’s eyes widened, and he glanced back and forth between Lucky and Cruz. Keith cast sidelong glances Cruz’s way, but he’d been in the Atlanta office during Bo and Lucky’s Corruption case, and likely knew all the details.
Cruz’s smile grew wider. “What can I say? I’m a busy man.”
Lucky paused to allow Cruz to watch Landry’s video and for Bo to bring him up to speed, beyond what Lucky told him on the phone.
Once Cruz turned off the video, Lucky continued, “Based on what Landry said, not that I put much stock in what comes out of his mouth, and the job shakeups at Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, my guess is that money is changing hands to arrange safe passage of drug shipments.” Lord knew Victor Mangiardi had greased plenty of palms back in his day to ensure shipments traveled from point A to point B undetected.
Cruz snapped into all-business mode. “I’ve already got agents on it, trying to arrange a meeting with the director in Texas. Two other cartels are rumored to have made deals for safe passage of drugs across the border and through their territory. If we come to an arrangement, we watch what happens.”
“I’ve set up surveillance,” Keith said, “O’Donoghue can’t take a shit without us knowing.”
Lucky did not need the visual. “I’m sure he has RF detectors. Camera finders.”
Keith grinned. “He asked for some equipment a few weeks ago, checked it out, and knows it works. I snuck into his office and replaced everything yesterday. I even changed the asset tags in case he recorded the numbers. Any microphones I plant will come across as wi-fi, and the camera detector hasn’t worked in five years.”
“Then why keep it?” Bo asked.
Keith shrugged, though far too smugly to be apologetic. “For times like this. Of course, when you become boss, you can always splurge on some new equipment.”
Bo had to become the boss first.
Though she appeared focused on the task, Lucky caught a whole lot of side-eye between Johnson and Cruz. Oh, hell no. Yes, he’d gotten the “she’s a grown woman and can take care of herself” speech lately, but Cruz was not the kind a man you wanted around a friend on the rebound. He was so good at undercover work Lucky wasn’t sure Cruz even knew when he was lying.
He was a Mangiardi. What could Lucky expect?
Then again, Johnson might only be admiring the view. And Cruz probably flirted with his own hand before jacking off.
Lucky cleared his throat to get Johnson’s attention. “Rett, get in touch with your old friends at Southwestern. Just be friendly, but see what gossip you can get about the new management. Jimmy, you do the same at the Virginia office. Bo, I hate to ask this but…”
Bo let out a dramatic sigh. “I know. I gotta kiss up to O’Donoghue. Again.” He puckered, then made a face, which brought a few chuckles from around the table.
“Keith, can you install surveillance in O’Donoghue’s office? He knows better than to say too much on the phone, but arrogant people think they’re above the law and might slip up. I want to know if he’s contacting Landry. I sent you the email address from the video, and the number I got the text from.”
“Working on it,” Keith said. He looked up from his laptop.
Really? Keith, obeying Lucky without a fight? Sweet!
