Meanwhile back in Texas, Deputy Keenan was still in a quandary.-He couldn’t just forget he’d heard the sheriff admit his guilt in protecting the smuggling ring.-When the sheriff had left after the conversation Keenan had overheard, Keenan had gone immediately to the telephone and dialed star sixty-nine to see if he could tell who had called.-But it had come from an unlisted, throw-away cell phone, so that had netted nothing.-He still needed to talk to someone; but who?-Then the fulfillment of his wish for someone to talk to walked in the door.
“Hello, I’m Bernie Tavalerio.-I believe we met once briefly.-I was working with the Laredo Police Department on rounding up the smuggling ring.”
“Yes, I’m Deputy Colton Keenan of the Sheriff’s Department.-It’s good to see you again.”-He was thinking:-Right here is the man I can probably talk to about this whole thing.-I can be sure he’s truly interested in putting all the perpetrators in jail and he’s from way off in Kentucky so he shouldn’t have any local personal or political ties or loyalties.-But I don’t want to talk to him here.-
“Is there something I can do for you?”
“Well, after sitting in on the questioning of the suspects we have in custody, especially Carl Forrester, I’m not convinced we have all the people in jail who are involved in this smuggling ring.-I think there’re still some big bosses on the loose.-Some of the remarks Forrester made about having influence in high places piqued my interest.-I had thought maybe this office would have some other ideas on the possible higher-ups with influence.”
“Well, I don’t know if there’s any way we can help but I’d be glad to buy you a cup of coffee and talk about it.”-Keenan made shooing motions and shushing indications and Tavalerio, while not totally understanding the situation, did figure there was something to talk about.
Down at the diner on Third Street, Keenan chose an isolated booth, ordered coffee and surprised the hell out of Tavalerio as he brought him up-to-date on what he had overheard in the office and the probability of the sheriff’s complicity in the smuggling operation.
“This is almost unbelievable,” Tavalerio spoke quietly.-“I’ve been in town for several weeks now and there had been no indication that anyone was even remotely suspicious of anyone in the sheriff’s department; although, they didn’t seem anxious to get your law enforcement group involved in the arrest.”-
“Speaking for myself, I had no idea that he was crooked.-I had thought of him as a little lazy and sometimes faulted him for not seeming too interested in enforcing the laws he had sworn to uphold.-I also thought about that he was approaching retirement age.-At any rate, I sure don’t appreciate working for a man who is downright dishonest.-I don’t see any way, either, for me to have misinterpreted the conversation I overheard.-I know every person is innocent until proven guilty; but could you honestly say you could approach this situation with a totally open mind?”
“Certainly not!-There is open-mindedness and then there is stupidity.-It would be plain stupid to refuse to investigate these remarks he made.-He incriminated himself.”
“Okay, we’re in agreement; but what do we do now?-I did do star sixty-nine on the telephone after he left but it didn’t lead anywhere.”
“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to do a little investigating on my own.-Let me start by asking you if you have any possible co-conspirators in mind.”
“Oh, damn!-I knew you would ask that and what I have are some preconceived notions based on almost nothing but vague observations of his obsequious behavior toward two or three individuals.-These persons do have some political power over him, anyway, but his toadying attitude toward them seemed, to me, to be more than fear of political reprisal, somehow.-I hate discussing my boss with anyone, in the first place, because he is my boss and he represents this office, but also, because I could be wrong and it smacks of gossip, something I detest.-However, I was forced by his self-incrimination to consider it my duty to see if he is guilty.-These other people have done absolutely nothing to deserve my suspicion.-It is only that I have heard him talk to them before in that same tone of voice, that subservient, ‘I’ll do whatever you say’ quality in his conversation with them.-I just don’t feel justified in sharing those unsubstantiated feelings with you—or anyone else.-Can you understand that?”
“Absolutely, and I respect you for being loath to accuse others without some justification or proof.-Just let me do a little poking around on my own.-In fact, I think I may go ahead and have a talk with the sheriff, as was my original intention.-I’m sure glad I was able to talk to you first, though.-Maybe if I talk to him now, with what I already know, I can get him to incriminate himself or someone else unintentionally.”
“Okay.-Is it too much to ask that we keep an open communication between us so I can know what’s happening?-Then if something points in the direction of one of the people I have in mind, I can maybe help confirm it.”
“Perfect.-If you would give me your home phone number, I can call you there if I have news.”-They exchanged numbers and Deputy Keenan went back to work feeling considerably better about his situation.-When he knew the Sheriff was in his office, he had a tendency not to let the sheriff know he was around, thinking he might be able to overhear another conversation.-He thought perhaps he might hear the sheriff refer to someone by name or title or something that would indicate the identity of the person to whom he had been talking the week before.-But he was having no success so far.
Tavalerio was asking discreet questions in the DEA ranks and the police department.
"Is there anyone in office locally that you would be suspicious of in regard to this smuggling operation?-Do you think someone in authority may have been 'looking the other way' or maybe even actively assisting the smugglers?-I'm wondering if they could have gotten away with this activity this long without some involvement from local law officials."
He asked, but nobody gave him any answers.-He had the feeling that there were some suspicions but not enough evidence to prove anything; so, like Deputy Colton, they wouldn't say anything they couldn't prove.