was right.”
Nick watched the journalist carefully eye his beer and put his thoughts together. When his eyes met Nick’s, he seemed to consider something.
“They’re in Canada now,” Sandoval said, pointing to a photo of his family on the wall. “My wife changed her name back to her maiden name, along with the kids. Do you think they’re safe up there?”
“You mean from Garza?”
Sandoval nodded.
“Yes,” Nick said. “He’s been under intense scrutiny over the past few weeks. We have a few of his men in custody right now. Even though they’re not speaking, he has to assume one of them will turn. Anything I learn tonight would never be tracked to you.”
This seemed to be what the man wanted to hear. He finished his beer, motored into the kitchen and returned with two new cans. Nick accepted a second one even though his first was still full.
After another dose of liquid courage, Sandoval wiped the back of his mouth with his one functioning limb. He looked at Nick conspiratorially. “I know how he does it.”
Nick was smart enough to stay out of the way.
“There’s a small border town fifty miles southwest of Tucson, named Denton,” Sandoval said. “It’s a mining town. Every one of the three thousand people living there work at the copper mine. That’s besides the people at the few retail stores or the motel. The mine itself is just south of town and probably a hundred yards from the border. During my investigation, I’d interviewed several employees trying to figure out how much copper was mined from the place. I couldn’t find a single person who’d seen any of the finished product. I went to the mine and requested an interview with the owner, Sonny Chizek.”
Sandoval looked down at his beer. “That same night I was pulled from my motel room and taken to Garza’s chop shop.”
Nick said nothing. He couldn’t help but stare at the missing appendages.
“I have firsthand knowledge that Garza and Chizek are in business together,” Sandoval said. “I’ll never reveal my source, but it’s a fact. There’s no doubt in my mind, Garza uses that mine to distribute the cartel’s product. It’s less than a mile from Garza’s main residence.”
Sandoval met Nick’s eyes and must’ve seen the question lingering in his mind. The journalist still had a few instincts left.
“I didn’t tell anyone because Garza threatened my family. He had a guy come to my daughter’s school and scare the crap out of her.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing,” Sandoval said. “He told her she was being watched and that’s it. He was just sending a message.” Sandoval wheeled over to a table where the girls’ soccer trophies sat. He picked up a flash drive and wheeled back to hand it to Nick. “Everything is there. I edited out my sources’ names, but you’ll see what I found. You probably know most of it already. The mine was really my next story.”
Nick pocketed the flash drive and said, “Thanks.”
They sat there sipping their beers for a few awkward moments until Nick was compelled to get this information back to his team. He put his beer down and said, “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Yeah,” Sandoval said. “Don’t take Chizek lightly. He owns Denton. And I mean literally. It’s like a cult. They can sense an outsider coming before you park the car.”
Nick nodded. “I can have your family watched for the next few days until I get Garza.”
Sandoval seemed to like Nick’s bravado. His eyes flashed a glimmer of hope. “You really believe you’ll get him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Sandoval went to the kitchen and returned with a piece of paper. He handed it to Nick. “Here’s their address in Vancouver.”
Nick gave Sandoval his card and said, “Call me anytime.”
Sandoval took the card and put it in his lap.
Halfway out the door, Nick turned and said, “You’re a very brave man, Mr. Sandoval.”
Sandoval appeared to appreciate the concept. He nodded gratefully.
Nick headed back to his car, the vision of Donald Sandoval still vivid in his mind. The man all alone in an apartment full of family photos. Once he was behind the wheel, Nick dialed his cell phone and waited. When Julie answered, he said, “Did I tell you how much I love you today?”
“No,” she said. “But I’m a really good listener.”
Chapter 18
Nick returned to the Homeland Security office around ten and was surprised to find Decker standing behind his desk pointing a pen at the map on the wall, while Matt and Stevie stood next to him.
“What’s going on?” Nick asked.
“Roger was just showing us the soft spots along our border,” Stevie said.
“Is that so?” Nick said, opening the lid to an empty pizza box on the desk. He looked around the room. “Where’s Tommy?”
“Getting coffee,” Matt said.
Nick sat down on the couch and gestured to the map. “So where is our weakest position?”
“Well,” Decker said, “if I were searching for a crossing point for something important, I’d look over here, away from the high traffic areas.” Decker’s finger pointed to a section of eastern Arizona.
“What about Denton?” Nick asked, leaning back on the couch and crossing his legs.
That stopped Decker. He turned his head and said, “What made you say that?”
Nick shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
“A hunch?” Decker said. “It doesn’t even show up on this map.” Decker dropped his pen on the desk and faced Nick head on. “You still think I’m on Garza’s payroll?”
“I don’t know,” Nick said, truthfully. “Let’s go on the premise you’re not and see how far that gets us.”
Decker sat in his desk chair and folded his arms. “We’d seen surveillance shots of Sonny Chizek and Antonio Garza shaking hands at a local taco shop near Garza’s compound. The image was fuzzy, but we had our suspicions.”
“So what did you do?”
“First of all, you don’t go down there without some form of protection.”
“Okay,” Nick said, waiting for it.
“Three months ago we had a squad of Marines escort a crew of our agents into town. We spent forty-eight hours interviewing people and scouring the buildings for anything suspicious. Know what we found?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
“Did you examine the mine?”
“With a fine-tooth comb.”
“And?”
“Nothing.”
Nick nodded. “Did you bring mining experts with you to determine if there was any unusual equipment on site?”
Decker tilted his head. “No, we didn’t. But we brought a team of drug-sniffing dogs and they didn’t as much as whimper.”
“You speak with Chizek?”
Decker let out a small laugh. “He doesn’t exactly show his face.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he works and lives a few hundred feet from the border and he’s concerned about cartel thugs coming to kidnap him for a shitload of ransom. The guy is worth millions.”
