in jeopardy of attack,” Josie said. “I’ve already talked to the mayor about getting a National Guard presence here until we can get Medrano moved.”
“I say, ship the son of a bitch back to his own country and let the Mexicans deal with him,” Otto said. “Leave him for fish bait or drop him on his cousin’s doorstep. Just get him out of Texas.”
“What message does that send? You put enough pressure, enough of a threat on the Americans, and they’ll give you what you want?” Josie asked.
Marta stood from her chair and walked away, obviously shaken. Josie stood and poured three cups of coffee from the coffeemaker in the back of the room to allow her time to compose herself.
Marta sat down again at the table. “My country is imploding, and the people who care are terrified. And now we face the same terrorists here in Artemis.” She shook a fist at Otto. “This is how they operate! They terrorize the good people of the city into leaving, and they fill in the voids with crime.”
“Marta, we’re not going anywhere,” Josie said. “They will not get the best of us. This is our town. We have rules and laws that work, and we’ll move forward accordingly.” She paused to let her words stick. Josie had no time for philosophy or politics.
“We have questions we need answered. First, has either gang infiltrated Artemis? Any contact with those organizations, no matter how small, is too risky. We end it now. I talked with an ICE case agent who said there’s evidence the Medrano family has confirmed ties to both Houston and Atlanta. We knew they’d moved into Arizona, but they’re spreading out faster than I’d thought. I don’t think we’re anything more than a portal into the U.S. for either group, but they’re using us to get through. I hate to admit it, but Moss is right. We have to plug the hole.”
“How do you plug a hole that’s surrounded by a thousand guns?” Marta asked, her face still tense with worry.
“We gather information first. Marta, you make every contact you can tonight with anyone even slightly connected to the drug trade here in Artemis. Look for connections to the cartels. Otto, you concentrate on Red’s guns. Start checking with pawnshops and running the serial numbers from the Gunners’ policy manual.”
“You think Red’s death is connected to the cartels?” Otto asked. He stood from the table and stretched his back.
“Both groups are heavily involved in the gun trade, and Red had more money than a heavy equipment operator ought to have.” Josie pulled the photo of Red out of her folder and pitched it into the middle of the table. “We also have the photograph with Red standing next to a confirmed member of La Bestia.”
“I get he was involved, but what’s their motive for shooting him?” Marta asked.
“Almost three hundred guns.”
“I’d like to talk with Fallow again,” Otto said. “That guy wants to squeal to someone, but Bloster has him terrified.” Standing behind Josie, he reached over her shoulder and grabbed the photo of Red and the cartel members. He studied it, looking for missed details.
“Bloster is the one who has me worried,” Josie said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to the sheriff yet. If he’s not connected to Red’s death in some way, I’ll be shocked. At the least, I think he knows who killed him.”
Marta pointed at Otto. “I think you’re right. Fallow is the weak link. Tell him about the beheading last week in Piedra Labrada. The police officer who was doing his job and had his head cut off for not accepting the payment offered by La Bestia. Ask Fallow what he thinks will happen to him with no protection from us.”
“I want all three of us back out at Winning’s tonight,” Josie said. “I want to reexamine the blood evidence at her trailer. I’ll try luminol to see if the blood traces match up with Winning’s story. Smear marks, drops of blood, shoe imprints, a fingerprint from a blood smear. I feel like we’re missing something there.”
Josie’s cell phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up, didn’t recognize the number, and set it back down again.
“Marta, I’d like you to take photos of the crime scene and look at them with a fresh eye. I’m going to take Red’s nude pictures of Winning and check the angle, establish where they were taken. I can’t figure why Red would keep the pictures down