Cartel KIllers by Peter Ralph

Author:Peter Ralph [Ralph, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

IT WAS A LITTLE before sunrise, and I threw on my Astros cap and sunglasses before turning on the television and leaving via the back door and back fence. I had plenty of time to walk to the minivan. No one was around, but I glanced behind to ensure I wasn’t being followed. I parked some distance from The Pantry, entered at six-forty-five, and told the server I’d like to sit in the cubicle nearest the window at the rear of the restaurant. It was quiet, and there were only twenty or so diners.

Aaron Mercer’s lumbering form came through the door five minutes later, and before taking a chair, he gruffly asked, “Have you ordered?”

“I thought I ‘d leave it up to you.”

“You’re learning,” he said, catching the eye of a server he knew. “Two of my usual breakfasts, Sam. You know how I have my coffee, and he’ll have black with a trace of milk.”

“Good memory,” I said. “Do you usually have breakfast here?”

“Nah, only when a sucker like you is paying.” He grinned. “Why are you still here? How many warnings do you need before they get through your thick skull? Do you realize how lucky you were they didn’t kill you? How’s your dog?”

“He’ll be okay. He’s with my partner in California, but no one knows that, and I’d like you to keep it that way.”

“Where is she?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Jeez, I was only making conversation.”

“Sorry. I get touchy about Georgie and Tsar.”

“You had coffee with Jake. Does he know?”

“No, and there’s no reason to tell him. Not even California.”

“Sheesh, settle down. I only asked. Your dog’s got more common sense than his owner,” he said, rolling up his sleeves to reveal forearms bigger than my thighs. “If you had any brains, you’d follow him. Anyhow, you wanted to have breakfast. What do you want?”

“Where’d you get your manners? The DEA charm school?”

His laughter echoed around the restaurant. “I was told you were a wiseass. Make the most of it. You won’t be with us much longer, so you might as well make your wisecracks while you still can.”

“Agent Mercer, I’m not going anywhere, and no one’s going to kill me. I have a few questions for you. It’d help if, rather than delivering a sermon, you gave me some straight answers.”

“Agent Mercer? Is that what I am now? Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning? You can call me Aaron. After all, you’re paying.”

“I heard you the first time,” I said. “How are drugs distributed, and where are they distributed from?”

“How long’s a piece of string? Nondescript suburban houses, video stores, ice cream vans, cars, parking lots, motels, and street dealers. Often the traffickers rent a house and hire drivers to sell directly on the streets. A driver might sell $5,000 to $10,000 of shit in a night. The cash is either picked up by the traffickers, and the drivers are resupplied, or the drivers drop it off and pick up more drugs at the house.

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