the case agent both times. Josie reached Dixon on his cell phone as he was driving down the interstate from El Paso to Houston for a federal trial. She gave him the prisoner’s name and a brief summary of the murder at the trauma unit.
“I got your man, Josie. No doubt about it.” Dixon spoke with a slow Western drawl, making every word sound important.
“Is he family?” she asked.
“You bet he is. He’s referred to as ‘Cousin’ by his comrades in La Bestia. You got a nasty one. You better set up some guards outside. That bad boy belongs in maximum.”
Josie laughed. “He’s in the Artemis lockup. We don’t do maximum security.”
“Better figure something out. He’s a cousin to the Bishop, who is second in command in the Medrano clan. Gutiérrez left Medrano after he caught the Bishop having sex with his wife. He killed her, then left the organization.”
“So, not only has he turned his back on the most famous family in Mexico, but he has also brutally murdered the leader.”
“He will be killed. It’s a matter of time and opportunity.”
Dixon went on to explain that Gutiérrez had a relatively short criminal history of gun and drug charges in Mexico. However, intelligence from ICE had recently linked him to La Bestia’s weapons division. No surprise there. He was a suspected recruiter for U.S. cartel surrogates in El Paso and Laredo. Dixon said he would call his secretary and tell her to e-mail Josie several pictures of Gutiérrez with high-ranking gang members in both the Texas Machismo and the Tejana Guard.
Josie thanked Dixon for the information and promised to share the full case file with him at the close of the investigation. Next, she found Maria and asked to borrow a computer to pull up her e-mail account on the jail’s secure server. Maria set her up on a computer that was currently not in use in the booking room. Josie logged on to her account, and as promised, Dixon’s office had e-mailed her two pictures of Cousin Gutiérrez. Josie pulled a picture out of the steno pad she carried with her. It was the picture of Red Goff and the three Mexicans that she and Otto had seized from Red’s basement. She held it up to the computer screen. It was a definite match for Gutiérrez. He stood in the background, just to the left of Red, dressed in a camouflage flak suit, an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, staring intently at something beyond the photographer. Josie could tell the photograph was a few years old by the lack of gray in Red’s hair. Gutiérrez had just left the family clan six months ago, so the picture had to have been taken with members of Medrano. The news was an important step forward in the investigation, but it meant trouble for the town.
The jail contained two identical pods, each with their own day space: a fifteen-foot-square room with metal tables and chairs and a TV mounted near the ceiling. Each pod housed five single-bed cells that could be turned into bunk beds, thus doubling the size of the jail when necessary. Santiago told Josie one pod was full; the other pod had two cells in use, one of them occupied by Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez. The prisoners were currently all back in their cells after breakfast.
Santiago checked Josie’s weapon and put it in a locker, then escorted her back to lock up. Dooley, the six-foot-tall, three-hundred-pound day shift guard met Josie at the door with a smile.
“I want to shake your hand, Chief.” Dooley smiled widely and held a hand out as Josie entered the day space. Josie smiled back, confused, and shook his hand. “You are an official legend. Took down two cartel members in one whack. Single-handed.” He shook his head, still smiling widely.
“It wasn’t quite like that, Dooley.”
He winked and patted her gently on the back with his massive hand. “No need to be shy about it. I just want you to know the jailers got our money on you.” He started walking toward the cell containing Guitiérrez, jingling his ring of keys at his side. He said over his shoulder, “You keep holding the line.”
Josie assured him she would and asked about the prisoner. Dooley told Josie he had not heard a word out of Gutiérrez and that he had refused all food.
Dooley released the nurse, who was sitting in a chair outside the cell, reading a paperback book. The woman sighed heavily and thanked