like a .22, but I couldn’t be sure because they didn’t let me in.”
“I’ll leave that all to Garrett,” she said. She kept her voice low. “Nate texted me. Someone planted sixteen kilos of coke in his truck, he’s being detained by SAPD.”
“Nate? Are you shitting me?” Brad shook his head. “I’ll find out what the fuck is going on, this is ridiculous.”
“Shh,” she said, looking at the officer, who was too close for comfort. She moved farther away and Brad followed. “I don’t know any of these cops.”
“Jane Travis is in the pool house. She’s okay, I’ve worked with her a couple of times over the years. But I don’t know anyone else.”
“Sean was arrested, Kane is missing, and now Nate is being detained. This is no coincidence. You need to be careful. If this”—she waved her hands to indicate the search—“is all related to the Hunt family, you’re in as much danger as any of us. Strength in numbers and all that.”
“Does RCK have proof? Other than Sean hiring a PI to look for Elise Hunt?”
“No. But Nate’s in trouble, and he’s our best friend. He was involved in the Rollins investigation. I have to assume that anything Nicole or Tobias knew, Elise knows. Hell, I don’t know, Brad!” She forced herself to remain calm. “Nicole had an SAPD officer on her payroll. He’s now in federal prison. He may not be the only one.”
“Eric Butcher,” Brad spat out. “I trusted him. We worked together on three different active warrant searches and he was one of them all along.”
Butcher had pled guilty and provided information on how Nicole Rollins recruited cops in San Antonio. He didn’t turn in any of his colleagues, but gave enough information that they found two more on her payroll. But that didn’t mean there weren’t more.
Money wasn’t the only thing that motivated cops to turn.
“If you want me to stay and watch your back, I will.”
“I’m safe here. As safe as I can be. Do you really think you can find out what’s going on with Nate?”
He nodded. “I’m in a unique position to help considering I’m DEA. If drugs are involved—especially in that quantity—they’re going to call us in, even just to consult.”
“I have a huge favor. I’m sure Nate will be fine—he’ll probably be here soon—but if something happens and he has to deal with this drug situation, can you stay here with Jesse when I go to Houston?”
“Absolutely.”
That relieved her. She didn’t know who else she could call in to watch her stepson. Jesse was thirteen—almost fourteen—and a smart kid who had been training with both Kane and Sean. But he was still a kid, and she needed him safe.
“Thank you. As soon as the police are done here, I’m going to get Jesse. Please keep me informed every step of the way about Nate, and I’ll let you know if I learn anything about Sean or Kane.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “We’re going to find out what’s going on, Lucy.”
They walked back into the house, but after Brad left Lucy felt suddenly very alone. She went to the kitchen to make fresh coffee. She needed something to do.
Garrett came in behind her. “Where’s Donnelly going?”
She hesitated, and Garrett frowned. “I can’t help you if you’re not honest with me, Lucy.”
She looked around. The officer following her was on the far side of the kitchen, pretending to look at her phone. She motioned for Garrett to come over to the kitchen sink. In a quiet voice she told him what she knew about Nate. “Brad’s going to find out what’s going on.”
“Does JT know?”
“I don’t know. Nate texted me.” She pulled out her phone and forwarded Nate’s message to JT.
Garrett spoke quietly. “The warrant is specific, but they are taking every firearm they have found except for the shotgun and the rifles and your service weapon. They can do so. I think it’s just them flexing their muscles, because it’s clear that they believe that the gun they found in the plane is the murder weapon, they’ve already sent that to ballistics and put a rush on it, but they won’t have results before next week. They’ve also taken a lot of Sean’s shoes and clothes; again I think just to flex. They’re almost done.”
“Good.” She needed just five minutes to decompress and figure out what was going on. “When they’re gone, I’ll get Jesse. Either Nate or Brad will stay with him while I’m in Houston. He shouldn’t be alone,