from the map he figured out that was where Los Alamos was. The Rio Grande was supposed to be somewhere over there, but he couldn’t see it. He picked out various spots on the landscape with the binoculars, occasionally checking the house.
He began to get drowsy and stood up to get his circulation going. What the hell was he doing out here in the high desert, watching a house, hoping Trini would move? He should be in New York, getting some work done, making some money, instead of letting this girl drag him all over the country.
Holly returned with their sandwiches, and they had just begun to eat when there was movement at the house.
“Some people down there,” she said, grabbing the binoculars.
Four or five people had materialized from somewhere and were standing around a car, talking.
“Is one of them Trini?” Stone asked.
“I think so. It’s hard to tell.”
The people continued to talk, then they got into two cars and left the house, driving up the road toward them.
“They’re moving,” Holly said.
Stone started the car and drove the few yards back to Tano Norte. “Let’s get a look in those cars.” He turned into the road, then pulled over to one side and got out the map. “I’m going to pretend to be looking at this. You watch the car as it passes and see if he’s inside.”
“Okay.”
Stone played the studious tourist, and a minute later the two cars overtook and passed him.
“Second car,” Holly said. “Trini’s in the backseat. Let’s go!”
“Wait a minute. Let’s not follow too closely.” He gave the car a good head start, then got moving. As they reached the paved part of the road he pointed into the distance. “There it is.”
“Don’t lose it,” Holly said.
Stone increased his speed to keep the car in sight. He followed it back onto the main highway, and they headed into the town. He followed the car until it turned into the parking lot of a large building only a short distance into town. He pointed at a sign. “It’s the federal courthouse,” he said. “They must be taking him to the U.S. Attorney’s office.”
“Or Trini is testifying in a case.” Holly opened the door.
“Where are you going?” Stone asked.
“I’m going to follow them,” she said. “You park the car.”
“How will I know where you’re going?”
“If Trini is testifying, they’ll be going to a courtroom, won’t they?”
“I can’t argue with that.” Stone found a parking place and followed her into the courthouse.
40
STONE STOPPED AT the desk before the metal detector and showed his Orchid Beach badge. “I’m armed,” he said.
“Sorry, Lieutenant,” the guard said, “only federal officers can carry inside the courthouse. You’ll have to check your weapon.” Stone gave the man his Walther and got a receipt, then he walked through the metal detector and into a hallway.
His cell phone vibrated. “Hello?”
“It’s Dino. Elaine’s tonight?”
“Sorry, it’s too long a drive.”
“What?”
“I’m in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
“What the fuck are you doing way the hell out there?”
“I’m with Holly. It’s the Trini thing; we followed him out here.”
“You’ve gone out of your fucking mind,” Dino said pleasantly. “I mean, I can see fooling around with this thing to get the girl in the sack, but…”
“Dino, this has nothing to do with sex.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Well, not much. I share her outrage that the Feds would let this guy take a walk, that’s all, and it worries me that she’s doing this alone.”
“Well, you’re going to worry yourself right into a federal prison, if you’re not careful. Lance told me about your attempt to bust this guy. You’ve been warned off. Why are you still in this?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m getting near the end of my rope. I’m ready to come back to New York.”
“Call me when you get in. We’ll have dinner, and I’ll straighten you out.” Dino hung up.
Stone put the phone away and looked up and down the hallway. No sign of Holly. He found a courtroom and peeked inside. It was half full of people, but there was no judge on the bench, yet. Holly was sitting in the back row of seats. He went in and joined her.
“What’s happening?”
“Trini and two FBI agents are sitting in the first row, behind the prosecutor’s table,” she said, nodding. “The guy at the table must be Byron Miller.”
Stone looked at the two men sitting at the table, their backs to him. “If the U.S. Attorney himself is trying a case, then it has to be an important one.”
A bailiff stood up and shouted the name of a judge, and the crowd stood until he was seated.
“Mr. Miller, call your next witness,” the judge said.
Miller stood up and called Trini, then waited while he was sworn and sat down. “Mr. Rodriguez,” he said, “were you, until recently, a member of organized crime?”
“Yes,” Trini replied. “Until late last year I worked for a family in Florida.”
“By ‘family’ do you mean a Mafia family?”
“Yes.”
“What were your duties?”
“I arranged loans for applicants and took care of collections.”
“Loans from the Mafia family?”
“Yes.”
“Were these loans made to people who could not obtain them from conventional banks?”
“Yes.”
“Were these loans made at very high interest rates?”
“Yes.”
“Was this, in fact, an illegal loan sharking company?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Did you attend a meeting of organized crime figures on June tenth of last year in Miami, Florida?”
“Yes, I did,” Trini said.
“What was the purpose of the meeting?”
“Some people from New Mexico wanted to get financing for a new racetrack.”
“Was anyone in this courtroom besides yourself present at this meeting?”
“Yes.”
“Could you point out these people?”
Trini pointed at the defense table. “Those two gentlemen right there.”
“Let the record show that Mr. Rodriguez is pointing to the two defendants, Roberto and Chico Rivera.” Miller turned back to Trini. “Did the organization you worked for make a loan to the Rivera brothers?”
“Yes, we did.”
“In what amount?”
