John Stone Law 5: A Legal Thriller by Dave Daren

Author:Dave Daren [Daren, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Skip’s answer was muffled by the sound of a female voice announcing the next flight departure from Mexico City. There was loud chattering in the background for a few moments before the voices faded, and then I finally could hear Skip well enough to have a conversation.

“Ya sitting down, John?” the old cowboy asked.

“Yes,” I frowned. “You’re on your way back to Dallas?”

“Aye, I am,” he confirmed. “Can ya remind me how Selina Howell described Cielo di Agave Tequila?”

I paused for a moment before I rummaged through my desk to find the legal pads I’d taken to the meeting with the Howells and Ackerman.

“She said it was a prosperous business,” I read my notes. “With several employees and the goal to hire ten more by the end of the year.”

“That woman knew nothin’ of her husband’s business, I’ll tell ya,” Skip revealed. “It’s a two-man operation, and I walked past the shop enough times to know somethin’s going on there besides tequila making.”

“Like what?” I prodded. “What did you see?”

“Big dudes with guns,” Skip said. “Never the same ones, but always with tattoos on every inch of their body.”

“Cartel?” I hazarded a guess.

“Maybe,” Skip replied. “I’ve got bad vibes about this, man. I haven’t seen any customers head inside, and I even paid someone to go in for me.”

“What did they report?” I asked.

“Tequila bottles are covered in dust and without labels,” he said. “Apparently, the shop has a storeroom at the back with more bottles, but I doubt they’re the same bottles described on the website.”

“So it reinforces what we suspected,” I sighed. “Something’s not right about Howell’s tequila business.”

“Not only that,” Skip sighed. “But the storefront’s a mess. All tattered, weather-battered, and colorless. I’m tellin’ ya, no real customer has set foot inside the shop in years, if ever. And I got strong cartel vibes from the gunmen.”

“Did any of them see you?” The sudden thought that I’d put my best legal consultant in danger made me sick to my stomach.

“Nah, don’t think they did.” Skip’s answer calmed my growing fear. “As far as anyone knows, I’m just another American tourist. I’m heading back today, so I’ll see ya in the afternoon. Has Howell called ya? Did he confess to killing his wife?”

“No, he hasn’t, but he called the office last night, and I have a meeting with him in…” I trailed off to look at my watch. “Ten minutes.”

“Careful, John,” Skip warned. “In case he’s a murdering psycho.”

“I think I’ll be alright,” I chuckled. “Safe travels, Skip. I’ll see you soon.”

I ended the call and stared unseeingly at my computer for a moment. What Skip had witnessed only confirmed my suspicions that Howell was hiding something from me. If his tequila business was bogus, what did that mean for the winery? Was it also a scam, but if it was, how come Selina Howell had never found out? The winery was supposed to be her baby, after all.

But maybe she had discovered it, and that’s why she was dead.

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