CHAPTER NINETEEN
The afternoon sun was sinking in the west and the traffic around the Nation’s Capital was beginning to build. Harry Kincaid stood looking out wondering if the ‘chance of snow’ that was predicted would materialize. D.C. area traffic was brutal on a good day. A good snowfall ought to really make things interesting. He could hear Bobby Lawson in his office across the hall. Bobby was on the phone and Harry had heard him early on say, “Sluggo, thanks for calling back.”
Harry’s own phone began to vibrate. He glanced down at it. Caller I.D. said ‘Out of Area.’
“Speak to me,” Harry answered.
“You’re the one who wanted to talk to me, or so I hear.” The voice of Pete Von Karmenn sounded good to Harry’s ears.
“Well, Major Von Karmenn, are you enjoying your little R & R down there below the border?” Harry laughed. “I hear you are staying in some real posh digs.”
“Oh, I highly recommend it, Kincaid. Fireworks nightly. Takes your breath away,” he said.
“Sounds enticing, but I like to observe fireworks from a greater distance than what I hear you’re offering.” Getting serious, Harry said, “Good to hear from you, Pete. You gave us a hell of a scare.”
“Thanks, Harry. It was a hell of a scare to me, too. But I think I’ve about got things figured out now,” he said.
“Well, good,” Harry exclaimed. “You can explain them to me then. As of this morning, our firm has been pulled into this. The Director of Central Intelligence is concerned about the whereabouts of that shipment of arms from Mesquite and who’s got them. He’s retained us to help you out, and track down the guns.”
“So, he knew about the shipment?” asked Pete.
“Yeah, he did,” said Harry. “And the Feds sanctioned it thinking that the goods were going to be used to fight Sinaloa.”
“Well, that makes me feel a little better. I’m holed up down here in Hermosillo,” Von Karmenn explained. “Been here all along. But I got sorta pissed off when someone tried to blow me up. I first thought it was my partner Jack Hastings’ doings. I didn’t know he owned Mesquite. Anyway, a little while ago I hijacked my Mexican contact. Scared the shit out of him. He’s going to find out where the guns are and who is in the food chain. I’ll tell you right now, though, it’s going to lead us right to the Sinaloa Cartel.”
“Don’t suppose you’ve heard about the troubles your partner is in, have you?” asked Harry.
“Hastings? No. What’s up?”
“Seems he’s been arrested on a charge of murder. Some young woman in Ok City. Don’t know the whole story yet,” Harry answered.
“No kidding?” Pete asked.
“That’s what I hear,” said Harry.
“Well, I learned early on that Hastings has a hard time keeping his pants on,” Von Karmenn said.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. By the way, it might interest you to know that it was your wife who told me about it,” said Harry.
“Carol? Really?”
“Yeah, really,” Harry thought Pete’s reaction kind of strange. “I don’t get why Carol’s been in the dark, Pete. She still thinks you’re dead. She called me the other night.”
“Yeah, Phil told me that she did.” Von Karmenn knew that he owed Harry an explanation. “With all my suspicions about Hastings, it was just better that Carol didn’t know,” he said.
“Okay, if you say so.” Then moving on, Harry asked, “What’s next? You got a plan?”
“Well, sort of,” Pete answered. “Miguel Sanchez is my contact here. He’s the one that I made the original deal with and the one I terrorized earlier today. He’s in the state government here and is supposed to dig into where the guns are and who’s involved. I’m to hear from him tomorrow. Then I’ll know what we are up against.”
“Well, you can bet that Big Daddy is gonna want a stopper plugged into that pipeline,” Harry said. “I’ll come down there if you need me, Pete. I’m getting paid, so…”
“Big Daddy?” asked Pete.
“Yeah, my code name for the Director of Central Intelligence,” said Harry.
“I always heard you were plugged in pretty high up. Let me see what Sanchez digs up. I wouldn’t mind having you down here. It’d be just like old times,” he said.
“Just say the word there, Pedro,” Harry offered. “Look, how can I get in touch with you? Phil’s been good about keeping that a secret.”
“I’ve got a service that I check.” Von Karmenn rattled off the ten digit number of an answering service. “Just leave a message there. I’m quick to get back if needed.”
“Good enough. Let’s talk tomorrow,” suggested Harry.
“I’ll call when I’ve got something,” said Pete. “Good talking with you, Kincaid.”
“Yeah. Likewise, Pete. Keep your powder dry.”
Harry turned around to see Bobby Lawson standing in his door.
“Was that Pete?” Bobby asked.
“Yup. Same ole Pete. He’s been down there since they tried to kill him. He thinks he’s got a bead on things now. He’s going to call back tomorrow,” Harry explained.
“Good. Does he need any help?” asked Bobby.
“He might,” Harry answered. “Guess I’d better brush up on my Espanol, eh, Roberto?”
“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Shifting gears, Bobby said, “Hey, I’ve got some news from Sluggo.”
“Yeah? What?” asked Kincaid.
“Hastings pulled Sluggo into Mesquite Manufacturing as soon as he bought it,” said Bobby. “Made him a Vice President right off the bat and general manager of the plant. Sluggo never had any manufacturing experience, but Hastings just wanted him there to oversee things and look out for his interests. Hastings promised to give Sluggo some stock along the way, too.”
Harry walked over to the refrigerator in the outer office, with Bobby trailing close behind him. He opened the door and pulled a Diet Coke from the top shelf. “Want one?” he asked Bobby.
“Naw, thanks,” Bobby answered. Bobby followed Harry as he turned and walked back into his office. He continued. “Sluggo wasn’t aware that Pete Von Karmenn was working for Hastings at Talon until I told him. And Von Karmenn, I’m sure, didn’t know about Sluggo being at Mesquite. Obviously, Hastings wanted to keep the two companies separate.”
“Sure looks that way,” said Harry. He began digging in the top drawer of his desk, looking for something.
“So, let me tell you about their pistol,” Bobby said.
“Isn’t a pistol a pistol, Roberto?” asked Harry continuing to look through another drawer.
“Aw, man, you know better than that. But, the Mesquite MX21…”
Without looking up, Harry continued… “comes in either .45 cal or 9 mm. Takes either a nine or twenty-one round magazine, right?”
“Yeah,” Bobby responded. “How’d you know?”
“Phil Von Karmenn and his team of Green Berets are testing them for the Army down at Fort Bragg. He was on the range when I talked to him this morning,” Harry explained.
“So, do you know about the composition, Mr. Smarty Pants?”
“Composition?” Harry stopped looking for whatever it was that he had been searching for. “What about the composition?”
“The outer body, the grip, slide, barrel assembly and all the exterior parts are made of a resin composite. It’s lightweight and balanced, but durable as hell. The working parts, the guts, are made of a proprietary ceramic. Same story, hard as steel. Like Kevlar, put to good use.” Bobby seemed excited about this information.
“So?” asked Harry.
“So?” Bobby repeated. “So, do you know what this means, Harry?
“Go ahead and tell me, Bobby. You look so excited I don’t want to spoil it for you,” Harry answered.
“Just think about it. Composite and ceramic… It’s radio transparent,” Bobby exclaimed. “They cannot be detected by x-ray. This will be airline terrorists’ weapon of choice, Harry.”
Harry
sat stunned. The implications of what Bobby had just told him were sinking in. “We’ve got to get on this, pal.”
“Wait. There’s more,” Bobby said.
“What?”
Bobby went on. “Sluggo says that Hastings is in a huge mess out there. The news is covered with stories of him and the killing of that woman. Her name was Diana Ricci. Sluggo talked to Hastings yesterday and claims the woman was dead when he got to her apartment Friday night. He fessed up to an affair with the woman but says he didn’t kill her. Hastings is in deep shit over it.”
Harry sat there stroking his chin, deep in thought. Finally he said, “Bobby, just on a hunch, let’s get Annie to call her sister out there. Didn’t Annie say her sister is a criminal lawyer? See if she might know anything about this. Now that Big Daddy has us on the payroll, we’d better start doing something to earn it.”
“I’m picking her up after work,” said Bobby. “We can put in a call to Sally this evening.”