Myka was a terror while Jud sat at his desk. He was finally on his original schedule of working day shift, but they were working on the Baymont/ South Bay case. Things weren't adding up if it was looked at straight on, but add Amos's information and it suddenly made sense. There was still a piece missing, so they were waiting for that to come in before they did anything else.
His team had been grateful for his return. Myka had driven them nuts about keeping on target with their investigation. She wanted to get things done so they could finally put a stop to the cocaine being pushed through their city. Another college student had been taken to the hospital for a drug overdose. His parents had been called, and police were waiting on them to fly in.
Students had been questioned. They'd been at Whiskey Roberts, one of Amos Meyers' clubs. They had been celebrating the hospitalized student's birthday when someone had approached them. It had been a man with greying brown hair and deep blue eyes. The girls in the group had called him tall, dark, and handsome. He had asked them if they wanted to have some more fun without too many consequences. They'd agreed and had followed him out on the dance floor.
No one had noticed that the student had been drugged until he had collasped on the floor foaming at the mouth. His skin had turned bluish grey as his body had spasmed on uncontrollably. His friends had enough knowledge to turn him onto his side to keep him from drowning on his own vomit until help arrived. He was in the ICU at the university hospital, the same university he attended.
Police had recovered all the glasses from which the students had been drinking. The lab was still working on all the details so they were still waiting on the results. The students had all walked through the police station, their moods downcast at the thought of something happening to their friend.
Amos had called after the students had left. His bartender had seen the entire situation and would come to the station to give his testimony. Whiskey Roberts would be shut down until the investigation was over, and Amos had promised not to allow students in his other club for the time being. It was starting to look as if he was being targeted by the South Bay Saints, and he wanted it to be over.
He hadn't said anything, but Jud could sense he wanted to ask the officer to help him again. Jud couldn't just help him; it would be a conflict of interest since he was seeing his son. He had to see the entire case through. If the South Bay Saints got a drug pipeline established in Baymont, they would have the capabilities to push straight through to the next county.
Up until recently, Baymont had been pretty much drug free. No one had produced it in the city, and those who distributed it had primarily stayed on the city limits. If there was a distributor in the city, there would be more overdoses like that student. Jud couldn't let that happen.
Jud's team stood over a map splayed out over the table in the break room. Gibson Clark - or Gibby- had spent the four nights Jud had been covering for Alexander compiling the map. In red, he had labeled the clubs that had been targeted. Whiskey Roberts and The Mixer were the main two, but Bennett's and Hamilton had also been noted. In blue, he'd labeled the two hotels and four restaurants owned by the Kings. In green were the places drugs had been found; Whiskey Roberts was the newest one as well as The Highland Hotel.
It was the purple markings that had everyone's attention. Those markings were where Saints members had been seen on the premises. Bennett's, Whiskey, The Highland Hotel, Mam's Pizzeria, and The Mixer. The most disconcerting one was the university. It could mean one of two things. Either someone was peddling on campus, or the Saints were recruiting. Sometimes initiation rites were performed on campus, almost like they were joining a fraternity.
Iain MacGregor had talked to some of the regulars at The Mixer after it had been raided. Most of them were over the age of forty, but there were a few younger people who sometimes came through. The regulars knew who was new and who popped in every so often. Iain had shown several pictures of people whom they didn't know. They hadn't seen any of the people at first, but when he'd shown the last three, he'd gotten a hit.
The first two had come in as scouts. They'd asked all the right questions and had danced with the women who were old enough to be their mothers. They had mapped the place out to know who was vulnerable and who wasn't. The last guy had come in and had targeted the younger crowd. They remembered how the man had made the younger patrons uncomfortable that they decided to leave.
Facial recognition software was still working to bring the names of the three men to the surface, but Jud's team had worked well when he had been away. It was why he was always sure they could do the job without him if they needed to. They didn't like it, but they could do the job alone.
"What do we need to do?" Myka asked.
Jud rubbed the back of his head. He hadn't figured that out yet. He was still waiting for the lab to get back to him on the toxicology of the glasses. He couldn't make a decision until that happened.
"I don't think we'll have to wait too long," Smith said. He was the final member of their team who specialized in entry. They glanced at him, but he wasn't paying them any attention. He was looking at the door. "Captain Mansfield is here."
Jud turned around and looked at his fellow captain. Jack Mansfield was in charge of Team 8 in Clearwater, Baymont's sister city. He had served in Afghanistan with Jud before he'd been promoted to captain. He'd been in Jud's platoon while he'd been first lieutenant just before he had been reassigned to special forces. They had become close friends, and it had been Mansfield who'd helped him get his position.
Mansfield hadn't changed much. His brown hair was showing his age, but premature greying had always run in his family. His brown eyes were still sharp as ever, and there was a slight tilt to his lips. Despite his jovial expression, Jud knew he would flip that switch at any time.
He extended his hand, gripping Jud's securely when the other man grabbed it. Jud was glad he had a good friend, because Mansfield was one of the few who knew all of Jud's history. He knew what the man enjoyed eating and what his preferences in clothing were. Most importantly, he knew where Jud's sexual preferences lay and he had never judged.
"Good to see you, my friend," Jud greeted.
"Likewise even though I wish it was under better circumstances," Mansfield replied.
"It usually takes a lot to get you out of your hidey hole in Clearwater. What's going on that you need to come see little ole me."
Mansfield's smile lit up his face. "Nothing about you is little." Jud shook his head and refrained from calling him out. "I brought some information you may need."
He turned around and motioned for one of his men to do something. The door opened and a young woman came in. By the look on her face, she was nervous. She had to be Mansfield's classified informant. Anyone who was that scared had a lot to lose.
She stopped beside Mansfield and looked around the assembled team. She smiled tentatively, her lips quivered as she tried not to cry.
"This is Claire Engles. She is the daughter of Clark Engles, sergeant at arms for the South Bay Saints," Mansfield introduced. A stunned silence wafted between them. "She knows what happened at Belladonna several months ago."
"Isn't Belladonna one of the Saints' clubs?" Iain asked.
"It is," Claire confirmed. "It's also the main club the Saints do their business out of."
"Before we get into that," Jud paused, "why are you turning against your family? Aren't you afraid of the backlash?"
She nodded, but her face took on a dreamy look. "I met the man I'm going to be marrying while at school here in Baymont. If he finds out my father is a drug lord, I'm afraid things won't work out. He wants to be a police officer after school, and I don't want to compromise his chances. Plus, I have seen too many things to stay silent."
She went on to tell them about the case that had shut down Belladonna for five months last year. She had pictures of the sorting operations and bagging process. She showed them pictures of all the money the Saints had stashed in Anton Bernard's safe in the basement.
What shocked them the most was she had videos of the initiation process. Prospective members were tasked with going into other cities and trying to chat up those who looked like they would be easy targets. They were supposed to get the person as drunk as possible then bring them back to a predestined spot where they would be drugged. Once that happened, they made sure they were hooked and wouldn't be able to go a day without a fix.
Claire handed the pictures to Jud's team, and the captain realized what was going on. They were scoping out Amos Meyers' places for a hostile takeover. If they could get the Kings' leader ousted, they could sweep in and take over the businesses and city. They would have plenty of places to distribute to a wider community.
"What are their plans?" he asked. He had to even though he already knew what was going on.
"They're importing all their drugs through Venezuela. Anton Bernard is close friends with a cartel leader and he gets his kilos for a steal. Then he jacks up the prices to pay for the product and makes money at the same time," Claire said.
"Why does he want the Kings out?" Myka asked.
"If he can expand his drug trade, he can link up with his cousin in Highclare. They would have a united drug ring for the eastern half of the state."
Baymont was situated between Clearwater, South Bay, and Highclare. Clearwater was clean since Mansfield had taken over the narcotics unit. He didn't allow his drug lords to step out of line. Their ability to import had greatly decreased in the last several years, forcing them to leave the city. So far, Baymont had been drug free until the last several weeks. If the Saints were pushing north to Highclare, it would mean they had to take over Baymont to unite with their brothers.
Kaye Swift was the cousin to which Claire referred. She had taken over Highclare at a young age, killing the former leader of the Highclare Dragons to take his position. If Anton was her cousin, he more than likely had extended his connections to her. That would mean twice as much cocaine traveling between the three cities if they were linked. The only thing that kept that from happening were the Kings.
"There is an initiation scheduled at a new location," Claire continued. She looked at her notes. "It's a place called Bennett's on Carnival Street."
Jud's blood ran cold. They were now expanding into Luke's territory. Up until recently, his establishments had been left alone. He had known his father's places would be targeted first, but now they were getting ready to take out the Prince of the Kings. If they could do that, maybe they could get Amos to capitulate.
"When is this supposed to happen?" he asked.
"Tonight." A tense murmur ran through Jud's team. "They're reeling from the overdose of the student and want to cement their new members as soon as possible. If they can take out Luke Meyers before they're caught, they will have a foothold to expand upon."
"Jud?" Myka said.
Mansfield looked at Jud and knew instantly what was going on. His pallid face was a dead giveaway to what was going through his mind.
"Do I need to lead this?" he asked. His voice was softer than he would talk to anyone else. He also guessed most of Jud's team didn't understand so he wouldn't out him.
Jud shook his head. "No, no. I'll be able to do it. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon."
He slipped into command mode. He sent his team to do their respective jobs, sighing heavily as they walked away from him. He took a sip of his coffee as Mansfield's team member escorted Claire back to their safe house. Mansfield stayed with him, watching him closely.
"How long?" he asked.
"Four years. His dad just found out," Jud answered. "He's going to be there tomorrow night. He rarely leaves during the hours of operation. The only day it's closed is on Monday."
Mansfield patted his shoulder. "I can do this for you. If it's going to hinder your capabilities to do your job, I will do this favor for you."
Jud shook his head again. "No, I have to be the one to do it. I can't sit on the sidelines if something happens to him."
"All right, just make sure you let me know what happens? I'd hate to feel responsible for something happening to you."
"Thanks for the information, Jack. I really appreciate it."
Jud watched his friend walk away from him. All of his emotions were going haywire inside him. Luke was in danger, and he wasn't sure how he was going to get him out of it. His gut said someone was going to get hurt before the night was over.
Sighing heavily, he got up to go do his job. He didn't have time to call Luke to give him a head's up. He hoped that the younger man wouldn't be too angry with him. He was doing the best he could with what he had.