Border Crossings: A Catherine James Thriller (32 page)

Catherine and Matt touched down in Cancun about two hours after leaving Mexico City.  Ramirez and two other men they’d never seen before met them at the airport.

“Oh, shit,” whispered Matt.  “Let’s hope we don’t get arrested.”

Catherine looked at the other two men suspiciously as they approached.  One was an older, stern looking man in a military uniform.  “This is Vice Admiral Luis Alvarado,” Ramirez explained, “of our Navy.” 
The navy? 
Catherine thought.  “And this is Agent Alberto Rojas of the
Agencia Federal de Investigación
, or AFI, as I believe you’re familiar with it,” said Ramirez, introducing a short, thin man with not a single hair on his head.

“Pleasure,” said Catherine, shaking hands in a professional manner.  Matt said nothing, only stood behind her like a personal bodyguard.  They eyed him curiously
, but accepted his silence without pressing.

“These men are here at the request of our government,” said Ramirez.  “It seems our president received a call from your governor.  Ms. Woodall’s family has indicated that you would be arriving with information.  They’ve been asked to review that information, and if confirmed, to assist in the arrest of Victor Arismendez.”  She knew immediately Ramirez had not shared their previous exchange with the two men.

Catherine turned and looked to Matt, who merely shrugged as if to say,
you let Jim call them.  It’s your gamble.
  She turned back to them, “I’m going to need a moment, please.  We’ll be right back.”  The two men with Ramirez stared at one another in confusion as Catherine grabbed Matt by the arm and led him to a nearby table in the airport’s lounge.  They were further miffed when she said back to them, “Mr. Ramirez, would you mind joining us for a moment?”

Ramirez appeared a bit flushed as he excused himself from his two superiors.  The three sat down and Catherine quickly whipped out the book, going through the names in the ledger as quickly as she dared without missing any.  “This is a surprise,” she told Ramirez, still checking to make sure the two men who had accompanied him were not in the ledger.

“I agree,” he told her.  “But it was not my doing.  I got a phone call from an official in Mexico City.  He said to expect Vice Admiral Alvarado and Agent Rojas, and told me they would accompany me to meet your arrival.  I wasn’t sure how they could know of it.  I must admit, I was worried the wrong people may have already been on to you.”

“They might be the wrong people,” added Matt.

Catherine finished the list, “Well, I don’t see their names in here.  Not that that doesn’t mean they’re not in another ledger someplace else, but I don’t think we have much choice here, do we?” she asked, turning to Ramirez.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said.  “They know you allegedly have information that Arismendez is the man responsible.  There’s no hiding it, now, it’s already out.  But these two men are not your typical officials.  They report to the President.  I’m pretty sure you can trust them.”

“Pretty sure?” asked Matt.

Ramirez held his hands up slightly, “What can I tell you?  We are dealing with a very influential man.  I believe these men are who they say they are, but I’d be lying if I said I could guarantee it.  I’m in as much of a predicament here as you are.”

Matt wasn’t satisfied, “Even if they are who they claim to be, that doesn’t mean they’re on our side.”

Catherine looked over Ramirez’s shoulder at the two grave men who were eyeing them impatiently.  “I guess pretty sure will have to do.  We can’t do this alone and we have to put our trust in someone sooner or later.”

Matt said nothing, but Catherine knew what he was thinking.  She was thinking it, too.

She returned with Ramirez and Matt to the two men who were standing and talking together, both looking at the book Catherine held clutched in her hands.  “I have here a ledger detailing the accounts of one Fernando Ortiz.  I’m not going to explain where I got it or by what means, but inside is a list of names of corrupt officers and government officials.  We also know that Victor Arismendez ordered the kidnapping of Taylor Woodall and personally carried out her murder.  It’s my understanding that Mr. Arismendez was injured in the attack on the girl, that she bit his ear and wounded his eye.  I believe we will find significant DNA evidence at the home of Mr. Arismendez.  I further believe that officer H
ernando Vargas of the Quintana Roo anti-kidnapping unit, whose name appears in this ledger, was paid to hand over a witness in the case who was then murdered and that it is likely if he is arrested we can acquire his testimony in this matter.”  The two men stared at her, utterly dazed.  Catherine handed the ledger to the AFI agent and waited for their response, her breath held tight in her chest.

Agent Rojas took the ledger, began looking through it, quickly scanning at first but then slower and slower, his finger running over the lines in the book as the Vice Admiral stood next to him, reading as well.  When next he looked up he said, “We are in your debt, Ms. James.  I have been trying to find evidence of
señor
Arismendez’s crimes for quite some time.”  Ramirez looked up at him surprised.  “We’ve long known of his affiliation with the cartel, but never could get enough together to charge him with anything.  I’ll start with Officer Vargas.  I’ll get a warrant issued for him first and hopefully he’ll provide us enough information to finally pen Arismendez down.  Will you come with us, please?  We have much to discuss.”

As they walked with them Matt whispered to Catherine
, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’m improvising,” she said.  “Remember?”

Miss Lydia and Jose arrived in El Paso less than three hours after leaving the girls to die in the metal trailer.  Jose wanted to drive the truck into Mexico, but Miss Lydia knew better.  “Don’t be stupid,” she told him.  “They’re just waiting for this truck to come through.  We were lucky to make it here.”  She couldn’t have spoken truer words.  Little did they know they had come within an inch of being caught on their way to the border.  The highway patrol had been sitting under an overpass observing the traffic, waiting for the truck should it come by.  At just the right moment, though, they’d been pulled away by an accident, and the truck had escaped through their net.

They parked on the edge of a lot near the bridge where tourists often left their vehicles on the American side while enjoying a day of shopping in Mexico.  “Get our bags,” she told him, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

As she walked away and Jose began unloading the few things they’d brought with them, including the bag containing all of Miss Lydia’s money, a passing border patrol agent noticed the truck and checked its plate against the report they’d all been given.  When he realized it matched, he quickly jumped on the radio.  Just as Miss Lydia was coming out of the bathroom, a half-dozen police and border patrol cars swarmed into the parking lot and surrounded Jose.  Without more than a passing thought of remorse for her son, Miss Lydia quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd of people crossing into Mexico.

Jose could only watch in shock and fear as several men with badges began screaming at him and coming towards him.  He looked for his mother and caught just a glimpse of her as she walked away towards the bridge.  He was just about to call for her, but was tackled to the ground.  One officer kept his knee on Jose’s face while another yanked his arms behind him and began cuffing him.  “What’d I do?” he asked in feigned innocence.  “What’d I do?”

In all the commotion, no one seemed to notice one more little, old Mexican woman crossing the border.  She showed her identification at the checkpoint
, but the Mexican guard seemed so interested in what was happening across the border that he barely glanced at her.

Less than an hour after he was arrested, Jose was under interrogation by the Texas Rangers, but he wasn’t talking.  The authorities knew from Yesenia that the truck had left with the trailer, but had been found without it, so while they interviewed Jose they had aerial units attempting to traverse the highways and troopers checking truck stations and rest areas, but so far were turning up nothing.  And time was running out.

“Look at the clock,” said one of the rangers.  “With each passing minute, one of those girls might die, Jose.  And if just one of them dies, that’s capital murder.”

Jose shifted uncomfortably in the little chair.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.  You’ve got the wrong guy.”

The ranger leaned over the little table.  “I have a witness, Jose.  And our witness has told us absolutely everything we need to know to put you away for a long, long time.”

He began to sweat.  “Who?”

“You know who,” said the ranger.  “She’s not afraid of you any more, Jose.  And if any of those other girls have come to harm, you’re going to pay for it, Jose.”  The ranger pointed his finger at him.  “You, Jose.  You’re responsible.”

Jose shook his head.
  “No.  No, I wasn’t the one who left them.”

“Left them where?”  He stayed silent.  “Do you understand what’s going to happen here, Jose?  Are you aware of the penalty for capital murder?  Are you aware we can pursue the death penalty in a capital murder case, Jose?  Are you ready for that?  Are you really prepared to face those kinds of charges because you’re stupid enough to sit here with your mouth shut while these girls are dying?”

“You can’t,” he said.  “I’m not a citizen.  You have to send me back to Mexico.”

“Oh, we can and we will, Jose.  Haven’t you ever heard of Angel Maturino Resendiz, the rail car killer?  He tried to tell us the same thing.  Do you know where he is now, Jose?  He’s dead.  We tried him, we convicted him, and he was sentenced to death.  Make no mistake here, Jose.  We’re going to charge you with capital murder for the death of Trooper Daniel Shoal.
  And if any of these girls die, we’re going to charge you with capital murder for them, too.  You’re going to stand trial, and if convicted, you will face the death penalty.  But it’s up to you.  If you want to try and make a deal, you’d better speak up now, because pretty soon it’s going to be too late.  If those girls die, you won’t have anything to bargain with, Jose.  If they die, what do you think is going to happen to the person responsible?  You tell me, Jose.  What do you think a jury in Texas will say about someone like that?”

Jose dropped his head.  “Okay,” he said.
  “I want a deal, but first I want a lawyer.”

They worked quickly to get him one and, of course, the public defender immediately wanted the death penalty off the table for any exchange of information.

“We get the girls back alive and he testifies against any other defendants if and when we find them, as well as whoever else was involved, and we’ll agree,” said the assistant district attorney.  “Your client is a cop killer.  This is the best he’s going to get and it’s contingent on those young women being found alive.  If they’re not, I will be asking for the death penalty.”

With that, the deal was struck.  “Now, where did you leave those girls, Jose?” asked the ranger.

“At the park,” he told them.  “Guadalupe Mountains park, a mile or two off the main road.”

“How long ago?”

Jose looked at the clock on the wall.  “About five hours.”

The ranger passed Jose a blank piece of paper and a pencil.  “Draw me a map, Jose.  And you’d better make it a good one.”

There was a look of sheer disbelief on Vargas’ face when an armed unit of five AFI agents walked into the police station, past stunned faces and cries of surprise, and right into Vargas’s office with their weapons drawn.  They were led by Agent Rojas.  “
Hernando Vargas, I have a warrant for your arrest.”

“You can’t be serious,” he told them.  “What for?”

“Murder.  You accepted twenty five thousand dollars from the criminal Fernando Ortiz in exchange for handing over the minor known as Juan who was murdered to prevent him from telling the authorities information regarding the kidnapping and murder of the American, Taylor Woodall.  Deny it if you wish.  I assure you we have irrefutable proof and you will only be punished more severely.”

They took him into custody and led him out in a walk of shame the likes of which had not been seen before in the station.  And when they had him seated at the AFI headquarters, they confronted him with the ledger and the testimony they’d already acquired from Maria and
Auntie Nita about the phone call that had led Vargas to Juan.  The evidence was overwhelming and Vargas cracked within an hour.

“Did Victor Arismendez tell you to find and turn over the boy?” Rojas asked, making
sure to mention Arismendez nonchalantly to imply he already knew who was behind the crime.

“No, Arismendez had some other guy call me,” Vargas confessed.  “His name’s Ortiz.  I’ve worked some outside jobs for Arismendez here and there
, and when the news broke about the girl, this Ortiz guy called me up and told me Arismendez gave him my number.  He said he wanted me to tell them everything we learned as the investigation went along, quietly.  He told me I was to call him directly, never Arismendez.  He said if I did, that after the investigation was over I’d have enough money to retire if I wanted.  After I talked to the boy and realized what he knew, I called the guy, and he told me to just drop the kid off in the city.  There was a car waiting.  I handed the kid over and they gave me an envelope.  That was it.  I didn’t do anything other than that.”

“What was in the envelope?”
  He lowered his head in silence.  “Vargas, what was in the envelope,” Rojas asked again.

“Twenty five thousand dollars.  I didn’t know they were going to kill the kid.”  Vargas put his hands over his face in defeat.  “I didn’t know, I swear.”

“Did you ask?” asked Rojas.  Vargas didn’t answer.  Rojas stood up and walked out of the interview room, but halfway through the door he turned and looked back.  “Would knowing what they were going to do really have stopped you, Detective?  Somehow, I doubt it.”  He left Vargas alone with his thoughts to think on it.

Catherine, Matt, Vice Admiral Alvarado, and Ramirez had all been outside the room watching the interview on a monitor when Rojas came out.  “We got him, right?” Catherine asked.  “He said he got paid twenty five thousand, which matches the entry in the ledger.  That should be enough evidence to get a warrant for Arismendez.”

“Well, he said he talked to Ortiz, not Arismendez,” said Rojas.  “But I think the information in the ledger along with the fact Detective Vargas said Arismendez gave Ortiz his contact information is enough, yes.”

“Don’t call him Detective,” said Ramirez.  “He’s not one of us.  Not anymore.”  Rojas nodded.

“So what happens now?” Catherine asked.

“Now is where I come in,” said Vice Admiral Alvarado.  “If agent Rojas is able to secure a warrant based on this testimony, I will be in charge of the arrest.  We will have the full resources of the military at our disposal.”

Catherine didn’t fully understand why the Mexican Navy was apparently going to be in charge of apprehending Arismendez, but she decided she wasn’t going to question how Arismendez was taken down, so long as he was taken down.