New Liberty by George Cramer

Author:George Cramer [Cramer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: George Cramer
Published: 2023-05-16T07:00:00+00:00

Chucho wakes up several days later with a tube in his throat; the doctors tell him he was fortunate to have survived with three bullet wounds.

He doesn’t feel lucky. Geronimo is out there somewhere—waiting.

24

Hector is delighted Maria Juarez finally agreed to stay over, but not until he asks her—in Spanish. After making love, they talk long into the night. Moments after falling asleep, his cell rings. Maybe if I ignore it, it’ll stop ringing.

“Hector, answer the damn thing.”

Reaching across Maria, he snatches it off the nightstand. “Hector.”

“Navarro, it's Bob Toliver. Get your ass out of bed. Be here in an hour.” The phone goes dead.

“I’ve gotta go to work. Please stay.”

Hector can see that Maria isn’t keen on getting up and driving home in the middle of the night. “I’m going back to sleep. I doubt I’ll be here when you get back.”

An hour later, he’s in Toliver’s office. His sergeant’s first words are, “Aren’t those the same clothes you wore yesterday?” Before Hector can think of an answer, Toliver asks, “Where’s your partner? I called him first.”

“How would I know? All you said was to get my ass in here.”

“Go get some coffee. You look like you need it, and bring me a cup, black. I’ll call Jones again.”

Davey Jones shows up twenty minutes later.

“Where the hell have you been? I told you to be here twenty minutes ago.”

“Why are we here, Sarge?” Hector dares to ask before Davey has a chance to reply.

“Remember Jim Collins supervised the homicide investigation after the drive-by shooting of the Los Scorpios Locos in July.”

Jones interrupts. “What’s that got to do with us?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut up? The 4-Aces did the shooting, but there’s no usable evidence. When LSL retaliated, Chucho Montemayor was the shooter. Well, Collins found five witnesses willing to talk, and three positively identified Montemayor in a photo lineup.”

“We know.” Jones says, “Collins got a warrant weeks ago.”

“Katie, fill everyone in on what the informant told you.”

“Chucho will be at a safe house today. She didn’t have the house number but gave me the street name and a detailed description of the place, down to a white picket fence.”

Sergeant Tolliver gives instructions. “Jim and his partner are standing by with a patrol unit a few blocks away. You and Hector will replace them on point while they grab a bite. Here’s what Jim figures is the address.” Adding, “It’s the only one on the block with a white picket fence.”

Hector wonders why Ontiveros didn’t call him. Why’d she call O’Brien? He asks Katie, who tells him, “Teresa tried to call you. It went straight to voice mail. She didn’t want to leave a message.” He checks two missed calls. He’d put the phone on vibrate at dinner with Maria, forgot to check for calls, and didn’t turn it back on until he got up to take a leak. “Damn it.”

The temperature is expected to reach one hundred degrees in New Liberty. No way am I going to suffer with the smell of Jones and his pigsty of a car in this heat.

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