“You would let us go free?” Trudy asked. Thomas shook his head.
“Your days of walking around free are over,” Thomas said. Trudy looked down as she considered her options. Then she looked at Ginger, who looked as scared as she felt. “My time is running short, Mrs. Higgins,” Thomas said. “I need to tell my superiors something. What will it be? A chance at life? Or certain death?” That got her attention.
“Tell your superiors… we’ll cooperate. Fully,” she said. Thomas looked at Ginger.
“Ms. Rodgers?” he asked. “Do you agree?”
“Y… yes,” she stammered. Thomas nodded his head and looked at Ryan.
“Ms. Rodgers,” Ryan began. “Where is your brother, Jeremy? I know he’s in town. I know he was with you the night of the murder. We found his DNA on Mrs. Higgins’ bedding, along with yours.” She looked at him, surprised. “I get the impression the two of you are quite… close.” She nodded her head as a tear fell down her cheek.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“So, where is he? He’s in danger as well, you know,” Ryan said. “You can help him by helping us.”
“He’s renting a room at a house over on Third Street,” she said. “I think the woman who owns the place is named Anderson.” Ryan knew
the house, which was only three blocks north of them, and the woman who owned it. Mabel Anderson was a 75-year-old widow who had difficulty climbing the stairs in her house, so she slept in a downstairs bedroom and rented the upstairs room to supplement her Social Security.
Mabel was also one of Beverly’s long-time customers. Bev delivered eggs to her twice a week, letting the older woman pay when she got her check from the government. Sometimes, Mabel would bake them an apple or pecan pie, which Beverly happily accepted as payment for the eggs. Ryan loved her homemade pies and could eat a whole one by himself if Beverly let him.
Ryan met Mabel a few times and found her a warm, sweet lady who would help anyone who needed it. Everyone in town thought the world of her. If anything happened to her… He pulled out his phone and called Elaine.
“Sgt. Bledsoe, I need you to send deputies over to Mabel Anderson’s place right now,” he said. “Jeremy Rodgers is staying in her upstairs room. Bring him in. Consider him armed and dangerous. If his vehicle is there, have it towed in.”
“Right away, Sheriff,” Elaine said. Ginger looked at Ryan before speaking.
“Jeremy’s not dangerous,” she said. “And he doesn’t have a gun. Please, don’t hurt him.”
“I’m not taking any chances, Ms. Rodgers,” he said. “I saw what was done to Commissioner Higgins.” Thomas sat back in his chair.
“I think we’ve made real progress here,” he said. “Mr. Olmstead, I’ll need to speak with my superiors before we go much further.”
“Okay, Agent Jackson,” Marvin said.
“Sheriff, I suggest you put these women in isolation for the time being. Keep them separate from the rest of the population for the time being. The same with Mr. Rodgers. I’ll get with you once I’ve spoken with my superiors,” Thomas said.
“You think that’s really necessary? Isolation?” Ryan asked. Thomas nodded his head.
“I do, Sheriff. For their own safety,” Thomas said.
“Can you see to that, Ruby?” Ryan asked Deputy Alexander.
“I’ll take care of it myself,” she said.
“Thank you. I want guards on both of them, around the clock. Ray, would you mind following up on Mr. Rodgers when they bring him in?”
“Not at all, Sheriff,” Ray said. Ruby collected the two women and led them out of the room.
“Have medical do a complete screen on him as well. Make sure he doesn’t have any of those poison capsules in him,” Ryan said.
“Copy that,” Ray said before leaving the room. Ryan’s phone buzzed, so he looked at it. It was a message from Dr. Childress: “Something interesting you should see,” the message read. Ryan turned to Thomas and Marvin.
“Dr. Childress has something for us. I’m on my way down to take a look. Why don’t you join me,” he said. They both nodded their heads in agreement and left the room.
“Ah, you’re here,” Dr. Childress said when they entered the lab. “You should take a look at this.” He pointed to a large monitor on the wall. There, they saw an enlarged photo of one capsule. It appeared to have been broken.
“I broke the capsule to get a sample of the liquid inside. That’s being analyzed as we speak. But we found something else,” the doctor said. They looked at the photo and saw a tiny black device inside the gelatinous shell.
“What is that?” Ryan asked.
“Beats the hell outta me, Sheriff,” Ron said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. At first, I thought it was some kind of RFID device, like what that Swedish company came up with.”
“But why would something like that be inside a capsule filled with poison?” Ryan asked.
“Good question,” Ron said. Thomas looked at the photo closely.
“You think it’s some kind of remote control or something?” Ryan asked. Ron shook his head.
“I really have no idea, Sheriff,” Ron said.
“You still have the other capsule?” Thomas asked Dr. Childress.
“We do,” the doctor said.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take it with me,” Thomas said. “My agency has a very well-equipped lab, and I’m certain we can figure out what it is. I promise we’ll share whatever we find.” Ryan looked at Ron and Dr. Childress, looking for their input.
“We’re not equipped to analyze anything like this, Sheriff,” Dr. Childress said. “If they can figure out what it is, I say let him take it.”
“Alright,” Ryan said. “Go ahead, Agent Jackson. Don’t hold out on us, though.”
“You have my word, Sheriff,” Thomas said. Dr. Childress found a plastic container padded sufficiently to hold the capsule safely without breaking it and put the second capsule in it. He sealed it tight and placed it inside an airtight container.
“Be careful with that,” the doctor said, handing it to Thomas.
“How long before that chemical analysis is complete?” Ryan asked.
“Hard to say, Sheriff. Could be a few hours yet,” the doctor said.
“Keep me informed,” Ryan said. They left the lab and went back to Ryan’s office. It had been one hell of a day so far, and Ryan was ready to go home to his lovely wife. He poured them another cup of coffee and sat down behind his desk.
“Well, Counselor, what do you think of all this?” Ryan asked Marvin.
“Frankly, my head is still spinning,” the district attorney said. “How did you know I would be pushing for the death penalty?” he asked Thomas.
“Pretty easy to figure out,” Thomas said. “A popular Texas politician murdered in his own home by his cheating wife and her two accomplices. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t,” Marvin said. “You told them there was a chance they could live if they cooperate. What did you mean by that, exactly?”
“Just what I said,” Thomas told him. “I know we don’t have all the pieces put together just yet. But if my gut is right, and it usually is, there’s a whole lot more going on here than just the murder of a local politician. I’m talking about national security.”
“National security?” Marvin asked, confused.
“Yes. You see, we’ve been going after these people for some time now,” Thomas said. “You’d be amazed at what they’ve tried to do. I’m talking about the murder of a president, the murder of a former First Lady, and an attempt to murder another president. On top of that, they came this close to destroying our relationship with one of our closest allies,” he added, holding his thumb and forefinger very close together. “And that’s not to mention the thousands of lives and marriages they’ve destroyed.” He stopped long enough to let out a breath.
“We’ve managed to stop them so far, but there are times it’s come quite close to the wire. Those two women you’re holding have information I believe could put us much further ahead in the game,” Thomas said.
“Well, Agent Jackson, I’m all for national security, but we’re talking about the murder of a very popular man whose family has lived here for over 150 years,” Marvin said. “I just can’t let that go.”
“And no one’s asking you to,” Thomas said. “Look, it’s relatively early in the case. You still don’t have a complete picture yet. The toxicology report on Commissioner Higgins won’t be ready for a few weeks, and Mrs. Higgins’ hard drive is still being recovered. Plus, we have this capsule to analyze. You just apprehended the third suspect in all this, and you haven’t had a chance to interrogate him.
“Prepare your case as you normally would. Let me talk to my superiors and see what they say. No one is going to get off. Trust me on that.”
“I sincerely hope you’re right about that, Agent Jackson,” Marvin said. “Look, I have to get back to my office. It’s been a pleasure meeting you,” he told Thomas, extending a hand. Thomas shook his hand, and they watched him leave.
“Now that he’s gone, you want to fill me in on Callender?” Ryan asked.
“Here’s the Reader’s Digest version, Sheriff,” Thomas said. “Callender used to work for the District Attorney’s office in El Paso years before he came here. His wife suspected him of cheating, but she could never prove it. Instead of dealing with the issue like a rational person, she went to one of those spa retreats. Eventually, she became one of MMAS’ field operatives.
“He began getting those invoices and demand letters from MMAS and finally arranged an interview, thinking he was just dealing with someone looking to steal money from him. His intent was to threaten them with legal action. But that’s not the way it turned out.
“They wanted him to work as a mole in the District Attorney’s office there. He refused, so they threatened him with some of the vilest crap you can imagine. Even worse than what was done to your Commissioner Higgins. He told them to pound sand and left. That’s when he reached out to us.
“I was assigned to his case. Bottom line, we brought the local office down, but not before they made an attempt on his life. Made it look like a street gang. That’s when I got shot. Nothing major, just a flesh wound. They retaliated by killing his wife. You see, she was instructed to set him up to be killed. But she failed. Her body was found in the Rio Grande.