C.: d.c. wants me to read the preamble to the book his is currently working on and offer an opinion. He says it is the penultimate book of the “Magruder Mysteries” series, so it Must be good!
THE MAGRUDER MYSTERIES’ A FULL PARDON; A GRAYING OF THE LAW
PREAMBLE
October 30, 2035; 1735
As Magruder checked for a carotid pulse in the neck of the onetime potential leader of the free world, making sure that he was, indeed, dead; a “boy in blue” appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
“Mr. Magruder, come with me, please. The Attorney General of the great state of Texas would like a word with you.” The cop led him to the police cruiser and Mark Joliet handed him his cell phone. His contact with the governor’s office hurriedly patched Magruder through to the governor’s mansion and he alerted the acting governor of Texas that the potential future leader of the free world lay dead.
The FBI began an immediate investigation into the situation, and Jay Magruder, once again, found himself in the middle of a volatile situation.
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October 31, 2035. Houston, Texas; Federal Bureau of Investigation Office, 0850 CDT
As he entered the FBI office ten minutes earlier than Mark Joliet requested he be there in the brief message he left Magruder on his voicemail the night before; It surprised Magruder to find Mark waiting for him, anxiously pacing the floor. Mark had asked his driver to let Magruder off at his apartment without even saying “goodbye.” Magruder didn’t take offense to this.. He knew that his old work friend, Mark Joliet, was a busy man.
In fact, it surprised Magruder that the Attorney General of Texas wanted to talk to him badly enough to make the short drive from his hotel to the local FBI office. Now that Texas was the most populous state in the union, Magruder was sure that his old work friend from the CIA and FBI had a lot of work to do since there was plenty of crime in both the large cities and small towns in the large state. So, to save time, why not talk in Mark’s hotel room or in the Magruder’s apartment? Unlike his other three wives, Magruder didn’t keep deep, dark secrets from Sarai. He had learned his lesson about those.
Magruder was interested to find out what was so important that Mark would ignore the rest of his duties for several hours, if not days. Was he worried that Sarai would betray him? Maybe he thought Magruder’s apartment and his hotel room had been bugged, he surmised.
“Jay, I’m glad you came in early,” Mark began. “There’s something we need to discuss, but not here. Let's take a walk to the parking garage. We’ll be out of the earshot of most people there. The noise the cars make will be helpful.” Mark started walking at a brisk pace, as Magruder followed him with a furrowed brow. He couldn’t imagine what this was about. His curiosity, however, was soon relieved.
“Jay, I called you from the landline yesterday because I think that someone has tapped my line on my cell phone, and I didn’t want to be stalked. I just wanted to leave as brief of a message as possible, though, because the lines in this office are also recorded. I didn’t want to talk in my hotel room, either. I’m positive it’s bugged as well. It was done by one of my own employees, though, so I cannot report it for fear of this information being leaked. I do trust Sarai, but these people are ruthless. They’ve probably had your apartment bugged for months, if not years! However, if we talk in person, there won’t be any record of the conversation.” Magruder was now fully invested in the conversation. He motioned for his friend to continue as car after car whizzed by the duo.
“I need to talk to you about a murder. One that I think you have a lot of information about. It’s something that happened in your past….”
“If it’s about the man I shot in South America, that was in self-defense. I was also protecting five other people…”
“No, Jay, it’s not about that man,” Mark interrupted before Magruder could expound any further. “You didn’t kill that man, anyway. The guy was bleeding out when he entered the room. The CIA found bloodstains on the carpet where he entered the room. It looks like someone severed his carotid artery. He (or she) must have been a long distance away, though. There was no trace of anyone being within about three hundred yards of the hotel room, and a Kevlar vest with five .44 magnum indentations on the left side of it was found in a dumpster near the hotel. It was an extra large size, so it would have fit Juan-Carlos. So. ..”
“299 yards,” Magruder thought aloud.
“What?” Mark was curious.
“Nothing. I was just estimating the distance of the shot.” Magruder realized he was implicating someone whom he didn’t care to implicate, so he stopped talking.
“I have a theory about the sniper who made the shot. Since none of the trees surrounding your hotel would support the weight of an average-sized man, or even a small one; I believe it was a small woman who killed Juan Carlos. She was using an arrow with razor-sharp edges on it.”
“I developed my theory when I learned the Colombians were developing some land by the Amazon River. An arrowhead was found on the ground where a building was being built.”
“Strangely enough, the arrowhead disappeared when the authorities came to investigate. Some archaeologists wanted to study it, thinking it was from an ancient Native American tribe. The historical society studied it, then supposedly returned it to the Bogota Police Department.”
“Neither it, nor any trace of it, has been found since. And the arrowhead was made of stainless steel. The Pueblos wouldn’t have had access to that type of equipment. They were peaceful people. Most were farmers. Some were hunter/gatherers, but none had access to stainless steel.”
“After the work alongside the Amazon was stopped for one day, the historical society let the work continue. The arrowhead was obviously from a modern-day weapon; probably a crossbow. That was the theory. ”
“Was there any blood or DNA on the arrowhead?” Magruder was now worried that the evidence would point in his or a close friend's direction.
“No, Jay, whoever did this was a pro. He (or she) knew better than to leave that type of evidence. It sounds like you may know more than you are letting on, Jay, but I digress. If you know anything more, don’t tell me. I would be obligated to report the information to my superiors, which may open a whole new ‘can of worms.’” “As far as the CIA and the local authorities in Colombia are concerned, you killed that man in self-defense, and in defense of five other people. The carotid artery was sliced, the coroner’s report now reads, posthumously by someone who was trying to take credit for killing a vicious criminal. Truth to tell, the shot was timed perfectly. Whoever made that shot timed it to hit Juan-Carlos’ left external branch of his carotid artery while the heart was beating, not at rest. That made him die quickly. You may have saved a life or two, though, because your shots deterred him from opening fire blindly and accidentally killing someone. ”
“The sniper used a crossbow, apparently, to make that shot because he (or she) knew that it would penetrate Kevlar. Some sniper’s bullets won’t. If the sniper had used a .50 cal. with armor-piercing rounds, you, or one or more of your colleagues would be dead, along with Juan-Carlos. The bullet would have kept traveling after it hit him. He (or she) would have used armor-piercing rounds to penetrate the Kevlar he may have been wearing. The bullet would have kept traveling after it went through Juan Carlos and his Kevlar vest. A .50 cal. bullet can travel up to five miles!”
“Whoever did it was one hell of a shot,. Using a crossbow at that range is something that would take a lot of practice. I doubt the best trained sniper the world has to offer could make that shot accurately fifty percent of the time! However, that person seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth.”
“Besides, Jay, did you really think that you were that fast? He already had his gun drawn and was opening fire when he entered the room. Fortunately for you and your companions, the man was dying as he entered the room. He couldn’t aim accurately. That’s what saved all of you.”
“Well, if that’s not the man to whom you’re referring, who are you talking about? I have only killed one man in my entire career…”
“It’s about Benito Suarez. Even though his family seemed not to give a damn when he died, they wanted his body exhumed when new techniques to test for DNA were developed. You were the one who brought the file to the Attorney General’s office, at the behest of the FBI. The Attorney General in Washington contacted me, because he knew that I had an established relationship with you from our days of working together for the CIA. I suppose you’re not aware that new techniques can determine DNA for up to forty years. My office found some DNA that matches some on file…”
“Okay, I admit it. I killed Benito Suarez. Now, just promise me that you’ll make sure that I’m not put into general pop. in prison so that I won’t be tortured before I die. Being an ex-cop would be a large detriment to a prisoner…” Magruder was painfully aware the state of Texas was one of the few states that may implement the death penalty as punishment for premeditated murder. He was willing to give his life to protect his secret and the man who saved his life thirty-nine years before. He wasn't willing, though, to be tortured first. “No, Jay, it wasn’t your DNA found on the body of Benito Suarez. The only DNA found was that of his nephew, Jose’ Leal. He had a juvenile criminal record. That's why his DNA was on file with HPD.” “Jose` was seventeen when he killed his uncle, though; and there’s no statute of limitations on capital crimes, like murder. That means that he’ll be tried as an adult for murder one, in the state of Texas…if he’s ever found. He seems to have disappeared for the last thirty-nine years. If you know where he is, it’s best that you tell me now, Jay, before the Leal Cartel’s leader or the CIA finds and kills him. It would be even worse, though, if someone from the Mendez cartel found him before anyone from his former cartel or the CIA did. They not only want him dead, but they also want information from him. That cartel finding him would have disastrous results. He would be tortured to extract the information the cartel wants before he dies. At least the CIA would just end his life as quickly as possible with a sniper bullet. I’m the only person that can help him. It would be best for me to deal with him, since the leader of the Leal cartel is out for blood!”
Magruder thought for a moment before answering. “No, I haven’t seen or heard from him for the last thirty-nine years. I guess that he'll remain at large for the rest of his life.” Magruder wanted the conversation to end there, but Mark was insistent that it continue.
“That’s bad news, Jay, since both the cartel he and his uncle were involved in, and the chief rival cartel, the Mendez cartel, are trying to find him. The Mendez cartel wants to find Jose` as bad as the Leal cartel does. Apparently, they had a deal with Benito to combine the two cartels when he took control of the Leal cartel. And the CIA, in connection with the two cartels, is conducting a worldwide manhunt for him….”
“Where do I fit into this scenario?!” Magruder wondered aloud.
“You’re the best P.I. in the world at finding missing persons, almost everyone believes, including me. That’s why the CIA sent me to talk to you. They thought I would have more influence over you than anyone else.”
“Jay, I know that you and Jose` were close at one time, so I’ll address that aspect of this case. If you’ll find him before the CIA or either cartel, I’ll guarantee that he gets a fair trial. I even convinced Jack Moore to represent him on a pro bono basis.”
“Jack’s friends with the sitting governor of Texas. He’s been promised by the governor, if Jose is convicted, he’ll receive a full pardon from the governor.”
“If one of the two cartels and/or the CIA finds him before you do, though, Jose` probably won’t survive. The CIA snipers are ordered to shoot on-site, since he’s considered to be a fugitive from justice. If one of the two cartels finds him first, it would be a much worse death, though, for Jose’ than being killed by a CIA sniper bullet. They will make sure that he suffers before he dies. The Mendez cartel will try to extract the information they seek from him first, which, I'm sure, would be painful.” “If the wrong people in his former cartel find him first, he may meet with a brutal death. One-half of the members want him dead because he killed his tio in cold blood, and the other one-half of the members of the Leal cartel want him to be the new don for the same reason. They know Bennie was a loose cannon and a very dangerous one at that. Ridding the world of him was a good thing, according to that faction of the Leal cartel.”
“However, him taking control of his former cartel could be a fate worse than death. He’s on the radar of the FBI, the CIA, and the Houston Police Department. The cartel wouldn’t be able to operate with him as its don. That would cause hard feelings toward him, and the one-half of the cartel that wanted him as don. He would then probably be tortured and killed. It would just be a matter of time.”
“Because of the situation with my dishonest, unidentified coworkers, you’ll need to resign your part-time position with the FBI solving cold cases before you hunt down Jose.` You’ll need to use your own resources. I’ll try to get you reimbursement after the case is closed, but I can’t make any promises. I’m appealing to you as a friend of both mine and Jose’s to find him first, Jay.”
“If you’re still connected to the FBI, they may use the information you gather and find Jose` before you do. That wouldn’t be a good situation, believe me. They want to get their man, and will do anything to accomplish that goal; since these agents are associated with one or both cartels! The CIA and the cartels working toward the same goal gives them a lot of power and a reach across the whole world!”
Magruder chose his words carefully. If Jack Moore, the best lawyer in Houston, and one of the best in Texas was involved, Jose’ may be found innocent. A full pardon, though, was an iffy prospect. Jay contemplated whether he could put his trust in the lawyer with the best reputation in the American South’s largest city. He knew that his and Jose’s lives were at stake, and Magruder wanted to make amends and avoid putting his and his friend’s fate in someone else’s hands. “Just arrest me. I was the one who told Jose` what to do. Therefore, I’m responsible for Benito Suarez’s death.” “That’s not the way it works, Jay,” Mark interrupted his colleague. “The DNA is what this case is based on. My suggestion is that you go to work and find Jose’ first, before anyone else does. That’s his best hope of survival.” “Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I have no time to spare.” Magruder then went to his car and dialed a familiar number. He needed the help of his largest investor (both financially and physically) and interpreter for this mission, since he would be obligated to use his own resources.
In the meantime, another of Jay’s large friends needed a lawyer…
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