Page 30 of Killer Moonshine

“Shit.”

“Shit.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“That little bit of information helped us a great deal,” said Pigsty. “We went back through applications for the last thirty years, given what we believe Hugo’s age could be. Obviously, we pulled only those that were rejected.”

“And?” growled Gaspar.

“And we found him. Not only was he rejected, he was rejected in the first interview because he lied on his resume. He claimed he was USMC, but we couldn’t find any truth to that. Gideon Samson.”

“Gideon Samson,” repeated Nine with a puzzled look. “I don’t remember that name at all.”

“He never got to you, and he wasn’t using that name. He was using the name Harry Borden. He even said his call name was ‘Killer,’ which seemed a bit over the top,” said Pigsty. “This guy is completely unstrung. Officials believed he may have killed his parents at the age of eighteen but could never prove it. He was always a suspect, never arrested.

“He joined the Merchant Marines under the name Cassius Borden. When I went back into the maritime records, Cassius Borden was deemed lost at sea, having fallen overboard during a storm. His body was never recovered.”

“Jesus, what a fucking shit show,” growled Ian.

“That’s not all.”

“Of course it isn’t,” said Ghost.

“After somehow surviving the alleged lost at sea incident, he appears in Karachi under the name Borden Hugo. There are several incident reports of him being found in locations where terrorists groups frequented, but he was always deemed an innocent businessman who’d lost his way.”

“Are we really that stupid?” asked Ghost.

“Apparently so. Our interview was done with him early on. He was only twenty-two or twenty-three at the time, and we conducted it in downtown New Orleans. It would have been one or two years after his alleged drowning. That was back when we didn’t want anyone on the property until they’d been cleared.”

“Right. We used to use the backroom at Brennans or Court of Two Sisters,” said Gaspar. The others nodded, remembering those days.

“He has had multiple surgeries from what I can tell from passport photos. He’s also been in a lot of countries that should make us very uncomfortable. Not just the Middle East but also Russia, China, Malaysia, and a few other fun hotspots.” Pigsty looked at Gaspar and grinned. “Thanks to your parents and their hospitable ways, and I suspect some magic, the bodyguard said that he’d not only promised these men in the Middle East to find you but also promised a constant flow of women to be trafficked.”

“Where is he?” asked Nine.

“I’m still working on that. The bodyguard was right. He doesn’t have any properties in his name, which means he’s used an alias to rent or buy them, or he’s squatting somewhere. He didn’t think that he was too far away because when they do call him with emergencies, he seems ready to appear within an hour or two.”

“Well, that leaves a pretty wide circle,” said Nine. “That could mean Baton Rouge, Lafayette, any number of places. Hell, if he has access to a private plane or helicopter, he could be in Mississippi or Texas.”

“Did the bodyguard give up the other locations of the stills?” asked Ian.

“He did, and the boys are taking care of those right now. When they’re all destroyed, he’s going to be livid and looking for serious revenge. But he did say that he had plans to mass distribute the moonshine. He’d already looked for a location to legally brew and bottle it and then sell it worldwide if he could. So, that wasn’t just a front.”

“Okay,” nodded Gaspar. “At least we have a few answers. He wants us, and the bastard is going to be sorry when he gets us. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last time. Any signs of these so-called Middle East friends of his?”

“Nothing that I can find,” said Pigsty. “Hey, I do have a question for y’all. When I was sending up the drones to search the area, I flew over Belle Île. Why are there thirty new houses out there, and the island expanded? Is someone else coming out there?”

Gaspar shook his head, frowning at Pigsty.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Pigsty turned the screen toward the men, showing them all the new cabins.

“I’ll talk to Pops about it, but I’m sure there’s a reason,” said Gaspar. “As usual, I’m the last to know.”

“What now?” asked Sly and Code, awaiting further instruction for their team.

“Right now, we wait to see what sort of reaction this man gives to all his stills being gone. He’s not just going to sit around. If we can find contact information for him, we can initiate that contact and let him know that he’s no longer in hiding.”

“Yaz. We need to find Yaz,” said Ian. “He can help us.” The others nodded, Gaspar stood to leave the room.

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