Murder At The Podium Read online

  At eleven, she walked into the bar and found Nathan there getting her a Diet Coke, and Adam occupying a table, coffee cup in front of him. Nathan and Jill locked gazes briefly and Jill decided the message was I’m not happy with you getting involved in this case, but if you’re in, I’m your back-up.

  Jill walked over to Adam’s table and waited for Nathan, with two drinks in his hands, to approach before pulling out a chair for him. She introduced the two men.

  “Adam, when I mentioned your possible connection to the Sinaloa Cartel, Nathan indicated he preferred that I have no further contact with you. To be frank, you would be my most dangerous client ever, even though I have had attempts on my life several times in past cases. Perhaps I am jumping the gun, and you don’t need my help.”

  With a pained look at Nathan, Adam began, “I need someone's help and if not you, Jill, perhaps you can direct me to someone else who provides investigative services. After our conversation yesterday as you know I ran out to make arrangements to make sure my children are well protected and safe. That took me most of last night. When I contacted the police this morning for an update on their investigation into Stacy's death, I wasn't pleased with what I heard which was essentially nothing new to the investigation in the last twenty-four hours. I read once that every hour you get away from a murder investigation the odds increase that the killer won’t be found.”

  “Adam, I have many questions about the case but let me start with asking you why you think I could help with the investigation of your wife's death?” Jill asked. “Have the police followed up on your connection to the cartel?”

  “If they have, they haven't told me. I don't know if they have any suspects yet.”

  “That's surprising! I thought they captured Stacy's presentation on videotape. Can't they go back and look at the tape to see who placed the glass of water in front of her?”

  “That's just it, the videotape began rolling when the first speaker introduced Stacy to the audience. The water glass was already at the podium.”

  “How about the service hallways that staff use to bring supplies into the various conference rooms - do any of them have cameras for security purposes?”

  “I didn’t ask and they didn’t mention it, but surely they’ll have thought to look for those cameras,” Adam said.

  “Yes, I think they would have looked at that footage and gone from there. Let me return to my earlier question - what do you think I can do for you?”

  “I feel like I’m not getting much information from the police and I don’t know how to investigate the case. I feel like I need a translator between me and the police. As for why I am asking you, it is because of the recommendation from Ms. Jordan. My wife had great respect for her and so I respect what she said about you. My other option is to hire someone that I find from doing a search on the internet.”

  “You might be better served to hire someone with an investigator’s license from this state,” Jill suggested. She wanted the case on one level as she had never investigated a cartel. On the other hand, it might be bad for her personal safety and Nathan’s to take on this case.

  “Haven’t you worked in other states where you don’t have an investigator’s license? I looked you up before contacting you and I know you have solved cases in Colorado and Wisconsin,” replied Adam.

  “Yes, I have solved cases in those states and in my line of work, I have found that my medical degree was more important than an investigator’s license but I do have a PI license issued by the State of California. Adam, what are your plans over the next couple of days? Have they released Stacy to a funeral director for you yet? Are you joining your children?”

  Adam opened his mouth to respond then paused to gather his thoughts and replied, “The detectives said she would be released tomorrow to the funeral home. I need to return home and plan a funeral and I also need to spend some time with my children. I don’t know what I am going to do about a funeral service. Our friends and family will expect one, but I want the children to remain safe from the cartel. I’ll see if I can plan something very small and private for the children, my parents and me. I then could have a larger reception or something for our friends and co-workers. I don’t know yet, I’m going to bounce some ideas off of my parents as to what is best for the children.”

  “Where do you live?” Nathan asked.

  “Odessa. It’s about three hundred and fifty miles from Dallas. It’s a town that has a lot of oil industry companies. Stacy worked from home helping hospitals all over the south so it didn’t matter where in Texas we lived. The kids are with my parents in Houston.”

  “Sounds like you have no reason to remain in Dallas. The police can keep in touch by phone, and you have a lot of work to do figuring out the memorial and how to protect your kids on potentially a longer term than just the next few days. So as I understand you, you want me to separately investigate this case from the police to bring you and your family resolution.”

  “I’m not sure what I want,” Adam said hesitantly. “Do I need to sign a contract or something with you?”

  “Let me think about our conversation for a few hours then I’ll let you know. I’m mulling over a few options in my head including whether I want to take on this case. It’s a very intriguing case and I would love to help you find resolution with Stacy’s murder, but my team and I have come close to being killed in prior cases with villains that appear to be amateurs when compared to the Sinaloa Cartel. I just need some time to think about the ramifications of your request.”

  Actually Jill knew what decision she wanted to make, but she had others to consider. Nathan as the person closest to her would be at risk. Even if she didn’t have her teammates work on this case, were their names discoverable? Would the cartel sit in the background waiting for the perfect time to kill her and not just during the time she worked on this case? She wondered who she could ask for advice on the cartel’s behavior. Then it came to her - she would ask Leticia Ortiz from the San Francisco FBI office. Surely they understood the cartel’s behavior, perhaps had a dossier describing their patterns of behavior.

  She and Nathan were soon standing up and shaking hands with Adam. They left the bar with a plan to return to their convention. There was a major closing session by a speaker that interested them both and then they had the remainder of the day free as well as the following one with Jill’s teammates arriving from Wisconsin in the evening.

  As they were walking toward the ballroom for the lecture, Jill said, “I’m going to call Leticia Ortiz and get her read of this cartel. I want to take this case, but not if it exposes you, Jo, Maria, and Angela. If by simply knowing me will put you guys in danger; even if you don’t work on the case, then I’ll have to pass on this investigation.”

  “Jill, you know that something else is going on here, don’t you?”

  Jill drew her brows together and asked, “What do you mean? Did you get an odd vibe from Adam or something?”

  “Or something. I think you should investigate Adam before taking on the case.”

  They arrived at the ballroom for the convention wrap-up and Jill noted she had about ten minutes before the start of the session. She said to Nathan, “Let’s select our seats and then I’ll step out to make a call to Agent Ortiz.”

  Nathan shrugged and continued into the ballroom for seat selection. After finding seats, she left her briefcase on the chair next to Nathan and stepped out to make the call. Moments later she listened to the phone ringing while composing the message in her head for the agent.

  She was startled from her thoughts when she heard Leticia’s voice, “This is Special Agent Ortiz, how can I help you, Jill?”

  “You know I think I have overstepped my welcome with the FBI if you have my number in your phone contact log. Thanks for taking my call. I wanted to talk with you about the Sinaloa Cartel.”

  “Jill, I keep you on my contact list as whenever you call, I know my day is about to get more interesting. Why do you want to know about t
he cartel? You need to be more specific with your questions as I could spend an hour briefing you on their behavior and history.”

  “Leticia, I am thinking about taking a case that will likely involve the Sinaloa Cartel,” Jill replied giving Agent Ortiz the highlights of her potential case with Adam Johnson. Then she continued, “You know that I have recently been hunted by some of the murderers involved in my investigations. These individuals didn’t have the reputation of the cartel for violence. If I nose around in their business and their connections, will I become a target? Do I have some protection being a U.S. citizen on American soil from their behavior?”

  “Jill, as a matter of policy I need to tell you to refuse to take this case. I would tell you this if you were investigating the ninety-two year old actress Betty White, as you have a poor track record for coming into violence with your recent cases.”

  “Come on Leticia, I could come to that conclusion myself. Tell me about the cartel’s behavior - will they be average bad guys or something far worse? I know in Mexico that they have wiped out entire villages, but according to the FBI, have they been known to target individuals or kidnap family members inside the United States?”

  Jill heard a sigh on the other end of the phone then the Agent said, “I’m not a cartel expert, let me contact my counterpart in the El Paso office as they are likely closest to the cartel and are far more intimate with its behavior. I’ll give you a call later today, okay?”

  “Thanks Agent Ortiz,” and they ended their call. Jill was able to return to her seat in the ballroom just as the speaker was being introduced.

  Nathan looked at her and asked, “Everything okay?”

  Jill nodded and whispered back, “Agent Ortiz is going to gather some intel and call me back this afternoon. That leaves us free to enjoy this speaker,” and with that they both tuned in to the speaker for the next hour.

  Later that afternoon, with the conference over, Jill and Nathan headed to North Park Mall to do a little shopping. Nathan was nearly as bad a clothes-horse as Jill was and she liked to get the flavor of a city by visiting its local shopping mall. This mall contained a Nordstrom, a Macy’s, a Niemen-Marcus, and a Dillards. She was looking forward to watching the southern belles go about shopping. While Jill was a diehard Packer fan, she had secretly enjoyed the vice of watching the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders reality show. From a dance perspective, the women trying out for the squad were amazing athletes, and the attention the cheerleading squad leaders paid to finding the perfect women to fit their brand was interesting watching as well. The only thing she knew about southern women came from watching that show.

  Strolling around the mall, she actually found herself doing a double-take; a woman in her 50s or 60s was sitting on a bench outside of Niemen-Marcus with what appeared to be fresh bandages from a face-lift. She had to give the woman kudos for going out in public with her face in disarray. Perhaps she was tired from recovering at home, or simply the store had an irresistible sale.

  Jill’s cell phone rang and she looked around for a quiet place to sit and take notes suspecting that Agent Ortiz was her caller. Nathan was two steps ahead of her and directed her to a quiet table in front of a restaurant.

  “Hi Agent Ortiz. What do you have for me?”

  “Hey Jill, it’s a mixture of good and bad news. There have been cartel associated murders across Texas, but they’re killing strictly their own drug runners, buyers, and sellers. There have been no kidnappings or murders of anyone not touching illicit drugs. South of the border, it’s another story and if you traveled there, you would last two days at most.”

  “How about Northern California, does the cartel reach there?”

  “Since I have been the Special Agent in Charge, there have been no cartel suspected murders. I can’t comment on the situation in Los Angeles or San Diego.”

  “Okay, this situation sounds like a reasonable risk to me. Do you have any sense of their computer skills? Has anyone tried to hack into a cartel computer system? I read somewhere that it’s a five billion dollar operation; surely they have computers to manage the complexity of that operation?”

  “Certainly some U.S. government agencies have tried to hack into their systems as a means of tracking their leaders, and intercepting shipments. It was how they captured El Chapo the first time by using cell phone records. Why?”

  “I just wondered if I do a bunch of computer research, do they have the technology in place to determine that I am looking into their organization on the internet?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that. Do you plan to take this case on? What’s wrong with letting local law enforcement do their job? Are they looking into the cartel connection?”

  “I am going to take this case on. I don’t know how much good I can do the husband, we’ll see, but I feel relatively safe taking on this case and even perhaps using some of my team members - I’ll leave it up to them. As for the locals here, I haven’t spoken with them yet and perhaps, they already have the case solved. Agent Ortiz, thanks for your help. I feel better equipped to handle this case.”

  Shortly, they ended the call and Jill returned to Nathan’s presence beside her at the table.

  Looking at him, she said, “I’m going to take the case. I believe I am safe from the cartel as long as I stay north in the United States. I‘ll give Jo, Marie, and Angela the facts about the cartel and let them make their own decision to participate or not.”

  “When are you going to have time to do any work? I thought the weekend was all planned out.”

  “It is all planned. We’ll do some work now but I think the bulk of the investigation will occur after we all return to our respective homes. Between now and when they arrive, I’ll send a contract to Adam, do some research on him, and meet with the police. I think the remainder will be handled from California.”

  Nathan didn’t say anything, just turned a skeptical eye on Jill as she grinned. An hour later she had a contract sorted out, an appointment with the police lined up for the following day, and two new outfits purchased at the mall. They headed back to drop off their purchases in the hotel room before walking the few blocks to the Dallas Museum of Art. They spent the rest of the day touring the museum and sculpture garden and catching an outdoor music concert at Warren Park then tried their luck at one of the many food trucks parked nearby.

  Nathan was meeting a potential client late in their hotel’s bar so Jill took the opportunity to drop an email to her friends about the case and begin work on developing a profile on Adam and Stacy Johnson.

  Chapter Five

  Jill enjoyed vacation time with Nathan. Unlike their daily lives wherein she needed to think of his or her schedule, staying in a hotel usually equated to undivided attention for each other. Long nights, private conversations, shared showers or baths and doing touristy things always reminded her of how lucky she was to have Nathan in her life. With that thought in mind, she started the day with a more than usual sunny disposition. Her friends would arrive that evening, and now she had a few hours on her own before Nathan woke up. While she liked the together time, she also cherished her early mornings when Nathan usually was asleep since he was a night person. Despite dating for almost three years they had never managed to synchronize their biological clocks. Jill quietly dressed, grabbed her laptop and headed down to one of the hotel’s breakfast options to begin work on her new case.

  She had a meeting with a detective Castillo later that morning. When she identified the case and her private investigator’s license to the detective, she almost heard the groan in his voice. She thought about the approach she would take establishing her legitimacy with the detective.

  After ordering breakfast Jill checked her email and noted that Marie had responded to her email, while Jo and Angela had not. No surprise there, she would have been shocked if Jo had replied as she was usually several days behind with reading her email. Next she got to work investigating the Johnsons.

  As Adam stated, Stacy’s history seemed t
o start when she was eighteen and try as she might, she couldn’t find anything else on her from high school or earlier. Jill was able to verify her nursing education and licensure. She worked for a health care system in their hometown and for most of the last decade by the same large purchasing organization as Barb Jordan. She had given a large number of presentations on wound prevention and treatment. At various times in her life she had supported programs in her kid’s schools, sport teams and scouts. Just an average American life. Jill stared at her picture looking for scars from plastic surgery, but she didn’t see any and Stacy likely had the work done nearly two decades prior when she changed other aspects of her identity.

  She moved on to Adam and found a more thorough history beginning with his middle school years athletic feats to a recent lecture he gave on fracking for shale gas. Of the two, Jill would likely find Stacy the more interesting lecturer. He also had an extended family whereas Stacy had none. She avoided researching their children at this time. Somehow that felt like she was exploiting children. After spending perhaps a half-hour, she could find nothing of concern in Adam’s background, so she moved on to creating a list of questions for her meeting with Detective Castillo.