Page 3 of Caught
“Eh, maybe.” Omar was a former DEA agent. His skepticism was hard-earned.
“It wasn’t a slam dunk,” Ryan agreed. “We figured we’d lock him up and see if he’d deal.”
“Let me guess. Whoever he worked for had him sprung before you could turn him.”
“Surprisingly, they didn’t. They let him sit in lock up.”
“So he dealt.”
“No, he was murdered in a yard fight.”
“Murdered?”
“It seemed like a standard issue jailhouse fight at the time. But he took an unusually brutal beating, and now … after Nat and Grover, I’m wondering if it wasn’t a hit.”
“And the attempts on you,” Omar added.
“That, too.”
“Okay, the name is Cortez?”
“Right. King Cortez.”
“We’ll get Marielle on it. Any theory on why someone’s killing everyone related to that case?”
“Maybe. In the files, there was a memo from Natsuo to Grover. It’s dated after I’d already left. And Cortez was already dead. The case had been withdrawn, so I’m not sure why Natsuo was still working on it. But the memo quoted an article about a large quantity of ketamine that had gone missing from Fort Detrick.”
“That’s in suburban Maryland.”
“Right. About an hour from DC.”
Omar was quiet for a long moment. “You think whatever organization Cortez dealt for got their drugs from Army inventory?”
“Maybe. It would certainly explain why the DEA’s so interested in talking to me.”
Omar added, “It would explain why the DoD inserted itself into the investigation into Natsuo Ito’s death.”
“Right. Marielle told me last night that the DoD did the autopsy. That’s not standard procedure. The District of Columbia Medical Examiner should have done it.”
“I know. Olivia’s running that down. She’s gonna interview the cops who caught Natsuo’s case. It’s weird.”
“There’s something else weird about his death,” Ryan said. “Nat wasn’t a big drinker.”
“Yeah,” Omar agreed. “The story is he got falling-down drunk and tumbled down a set of stairs. But his blood alcohol level was basically zero.”
“Exactly. There’s more, though. Grover told me last night that he knew the bar owner. He called Grover when Nat died. He said Natsuo was plastered.”
“Somebody’s cleaning up loose ends. They’re paying off people like the bar owner and possibly the investigating officers.”
“And people who can’t be paid off are being eliminated,” Ryan finished.
“Crap. This is bad. You and Leila need to come back to campus ASAP.”
Ryan said nothing.
“Hayes, this is serious.”
Ryan was quiet for a moment longer, then he said. “We have something to take care of first. And we can swing by and get her Porsche. It’s still parked at the archive.”
