Chapter 17
The next morning, Stan woke up at seven, but when he tried to go back to sleep, he kept thinking of Molly Rogers. Would she come forward or continue to hide? Since he had three more hours before he’d find out, he got up, made coffee, and got the newspaper. When he opened it, there was an article about his TV interview and his challenge to the witness to come forward. He read it quickly and then began flipping through the rest of the newspaper. In the Metro section was another poll showing that whereas Kristina had gained ground on Ron Wells in the race, he still led by seven percentage points. Knowing that Kristina was an early riser, he gave her a call.
“Good morning.”
“Hi,” she said sleepily.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, I was up. Did you see the latest poll?”
“Yeah. You’re making progress.”
“Not enough. We’re running out of time.”
“Don’t worry. Things can change in a hurry.”
“You’ve certainly proved that. Do you have a death wish or something?”
“No. I just ran out of patience. I’m getting burned out over this investigation. Rebekah’s about to divorce me. I had to do something drastic to get it over with.”
“Well, I hope it works out.”
“I’m optimistic.”
“So, I’m getting tired of being behind in this race. When are you going to drop your bomb on Wells?”
“Soon. But the timing’s not right yet.”
“Care to enlighten me as to what dirt you have on him?”
“No. You’d just worry about how it would play out. It’s a distraction you don’t need right now.”
Kristina sighed. “Alright then. I’ve got to get going. I’ve got a breakfast meeting with the executive committee of the Junior League.”
“Great. They should be all over your campaign, being a women’s organization.”
“I’ll soon find out.”
“Okay. I’ll call you over the weekend to see how it turned out.”
“Thanks. Hope your witness shows up.”
“Me too. See you.”
As Stan hung up the phone, Rebekah walked in and grabbed a cup of coffee. “Who was that?” she asked.
“Kristina. Just checking in to see how she was doing.”
“She’s ten points behind in the polls. She’s going to lose.”
“Seven points as of this morning, and she’s going to win.”
Rebekah rolled her eyes. A wave of anger washed over Stan, but he managed to stifle it. He turned to the sports page to see how UCLA was doing in the football standings. He noticed his alma mater was 7-2-1 and had a good shot at going to the Liberty Bowl. A few minutes later, Reggie and Mark walked in, and Rebekah poured them both a bowl of cereal.
“Go get your daughter,” Rebekah said. “I heard her playing in her crib.”
Stan got up and went across the house to Marcia’s room. She was standing up in her crib when he entered the room. He swept her up out of the crib and set her on the changing table. She laughed and smiled at him.
“Okay, little girl. You hungry?”
Hearing Stan, Peter ran into the room. “What are you doing, Daddy?” he asked.
“Getting your sister ready for breakfast. Are you hungry?”
“Yep,” he said and ran out of the room.
Stan picked Marcia up and carried her to the kitchen. After depositing her in her highchair, he sat down to finish reading the paper.
“When do you have to leave?” Rebekah asked.
“I’m going to hang around until Agent Rutledge calls. It could be anytime now. I don’t have class until eleven.”
“Are you sure Molly Rogers even watched your interview yesterday?” Rebekah asked.
“I hope so. I had someone call her and tell her to be sure and watch it. Even if she didn’t, it was on all the news channels at six and ten last night, and there was a blurb about it in this morning’s paper.”
“I hope she saw it.”
After breakfast, Stan tried to study but found it difficult as the anticipation was killing him. Finally, at ten fifteen, he got the call from Agent Rutledge.
“She showed up at police headquarters about fifteen minutes ago,” Agent Rutledge said. “I’m on my way to pick her up.”
Stan breathed a sigh of relief, told the good news to Rebekah, and then left for SMU. When he got there, he went to Professor Hertel’s office and discovered that Paula and Professor Hertel had indeed gone off to San Antonio del Mar. Hertel’s secretary gave Stan a note with their hotel name and room number written on it. After class, Stan called Greg Wolford for an update.
“One of our men spotted Brad Thornton a few minutes ago,” Wolford advised. “He’s not being held hostage or anything, but there are three of Morales’ goons there keeping an eye on him.”
“Excellent. Professor Hertel’s down there with Paula Waters as we speak.”
“I know. My man’s going to meet with them tonight to confirm the sighting.”
“Alright. I’m going to go meet with Melissa Thornton and then Agent Rutledge to advise them of the situation and discuss strategy. I’ll call you late this afternoon for an update.”
“Very good. Talk to you later,” Wolford said.
It took Stan over an hour to get to the jail in McKinney and get in to see Melissa Thornton. She was very glad to see him.
“You must have found Brad,” she said.
“Yes. He’s at a resort in San Antonio del Mar with three of Morales’ men.”
“Hmm. They’re keeping him in Mexico so he won’t be arrested and can’t cooperate with the FBI.”
“It looks that way,” Stan agreed.
“You’ve got to go down there and rescue him.”
“Not me,” Stan protested. “I just agreed to help you find him.”
“We’ve got to get Brad back here. They’re not going to babysit him forever. Eventually, they’ll just kill him to be sure he doesn’t talk.”
“Maybe the FBI can have him extradited?”
“You think so? I’m so worried about him.”
“Possibly,” Stan replied. “I’m going over there in a little while to discuss another matter. I’ll ask them about it.”
“Good. I don’t want to lose him. Whatever you do, you’ve got to act quickly.”
“Like I said, I’m going over there right now.”
“Thanks, Stan. You’re a good friend.”
After driving all the way to McKinney, Stan wasn’t thrilled about having to go all the way back to FBI headquarters in Dallas, but time was critical, so he had no choice. It was nearly four o’clock when he stepped into the lobby and checked in with security. They made him wait until Agent Rutledge came down to pick him up.
“Stan! You finally made it. Where have you been?”
“I had a class I couldn’t skip and then I had to go up to McKinney to tell Melissa Thornton that they found her husband in San Antonio del Mar.”
“Who found him?”
“The PI firm we hired—Burger & Wolford.”
“They’re sure he’s there?”
“Yeah. He’s being babysat by a three of Morales’ men. She wants you guys to extradite him back to the US. Can you do that?”
“No. He hasn’t been charged yet, and even if he was, extradition takes time.”
“But wouldn’t he be in protective custody pending the extradition?” Stan asked.
“In the US, that might mean something, but in Mexico, a prison is a very dangerous place to be stuck.”
“Hmm. She’s afraid they’re going to kill him if he’s not rescued soon.”
“She’s probably right.”
“So, what can we do?”
“I don’t know. Probably nothing, unless—”
“Unless what?” Stan asked.
“Unless, you wanted to organize a rescue?”
“Me? How in the hell would I do that?”
; “You couldn’t do it by land, but since the resort is on the ocean there wouldn’t be too much risk.”
“Really?”
Agent Rutledge told him her plan, and Stan listened with great interest. She told him the investigation of Brad Thornton and his money laundering operation was about finished, and with or without Melissa’s cooperation, they were about ready to go to the grand jury to ask for several indictments. Since Brad Thornton was their primary target, his absence was a huge problem. If they tried to extradite Thornton, he’d likely be killed by the cartel before he made it back to the US. If, however, someone rescued him and brought him back voluntarily, they could arrest him immediately, put him in protective custody, and go forward with their cases.
“We can put you in contact with some ex-Navy seals who can help you with the rescue.”
“Why don’t you just hire them to do it. I have no military training.”
“We can’t legally do that, but you could. Besides, Brad doesn’t know them. He may not be anxious to leave with a stranger. He knows you and is much more likely to cooperate if he sees a familiar face. But, it will be dangerous, so I wouldn’t blame you for declining the suggestion.”
“It’s just that Rebekah will have a stroke and I’ve got so much going on right now.”
“It would be a way you could help save Brad Thornton’s life and at the same time help the FBI finally put the Burilo Cartel out of business.”
Stan sighed. “Okay. I don’t give a rats ass about Brad Thornton, but I’ll do it for Melissa. I like her. She’s a nice lady.”
“Good. I’ll make the arrangements.”
Stan nodded. “What did Molly Rogers have to say?”
“She admitted to taking the necklace and seeing two men leave the Shepard house that night, so Rob Shepard is off the hook. The Medical Examiner is going to revise his determination as to the cause of Rob’s death from suicide to murder.”
“Oh, thank God. What a relief.”
“We had Mrs. Rogers take a look at the two men who tried to kill you and Mrs. Thornton, but she couldn’t identify them. She says she only saw them from the back as they were climbing out the upstairs window.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. It would have been nice to have been able to wrap that case up and be done with it. Were you able to compare the extra prints they found at the Shepard house with your two prisoners?”
“Yes. They weren’t a match.”
“Damn. That’s a shame.”
“I know, but we still might find some evidence to link them to the murders.”
“I hope so. If they did it, we can’t let them get away with it.”
When Stan got home, Rebekah was elated with the news that Rob had been cleared of the murders of his family. Stan suggested they go tell Tom and Marge Shepard in person, but since they couldn’t find a babysitter, they settled for a telephone call. Stan made the call, and Rebekah picked up their second line.
“Tom, this is Stan Turner, and Rebekah’s on the line as well.”
“Oh, hi, Stan, Rebekah. How are you?”
“Wonderful. You should put Marge on the line. I’ve got good news.”
“Okay… just a moment,” Tom said.
“Hi, Marge said.”
“Hi. I’ve got good news.”
“What?” Marge asked.
“I just left the FBI, and I wanted to be the first to tell you that Rob has been cleared of all murder charges. The witness came in this morning and acknowledged she saw two men leaving the house just after the murders. She also admitted to stealing Cindy’s necklace.”
“Oh, my God! I can’t believe it,” Marge said. “Thank you, Stan. This is wonderful news.”
“Yes, I’m so relieved,” Tom said “I knew Rob couldn’t have done something so terrible.”
“No. We knew it too,” Rebekah said.
“So, do they know who was responsible for murdering our children and grandchildren?” Tom asked.
“It may have been the same two guys who tried to kill Melissa and me, but they don’t have any proof of that yet.”
“Well, just clearing Rob’s name is enough for now. We really owe you big time, Stan. I know you put yourself and your family at great risk to clear Rob’s name. If there is ever anything we can do for you, please let us know.”
“Yes, Stan,” Marge said. “Please let us do something for you.”
“No, that’s not necessary,” Stan said. “I did it as much for Rebekah and me as I did it for you. Cindy and Rob were friends, and we couldn’t let their lives end in a lie.”
“God bless you, Stan,” Marge said tearfully.
Stan and Rebekah hung up the phone, feeling pretty good for the moment. Stan used the happy moment to tell Rebekah about his plan to rescue Brad Thornton.
“You’re going to do what!” she screamed.