Chapter 1...
...Lost Lambs
July 1st, 2017
1900 Hours
Tucson, ArizonaIt's night in Tucson, about four hours since the team all met up in Dust Plain. Two since checking in under fake names at a lonely motel off the highway outside of Tucson. Steve Foster would stay back and quietly await their return in one of two rooms they'd rented, both connected by a door to the other. They'd gotten ready in whichever way they did before a case or an op and then hopped into the Sonata and the Suburban, coming into town right around sunset. All plain clothes, no door-kicking tonight if they could help it. Werner, Ben and Javier in the Sonata, while the rest took the Suburban.
Frank Olvik was not an elusive man, making a living selling life insurance to the elderly and volunteering at the local homeless shelter in his spare time. Single, almost always away from home- an apartment on the west side of town they would learn- it made it easy for Dan and Rosa to confront him outside of a Starbucks a black from his apartment building. Badge-flashing and fast-talking had the rest of the team following Frank back home- US Marshals were putting him under protective surveillance due to his connection with David Jimenez, or that's Werner told him.
'Back home' for Frank was surprisingly well-off. He lived in a high-rise, paid for by his earnings with the insurance company. He entered in their worst salesman and after six months had become one of their best, he said. Hart Insurance company was the name of his employers. Werner and Atter had sat in on Dan's interviewing of Frank under the vague answer of
'consultants' when asked who they were. It was a run-of-the-mill affair, the interview, but Werner didn't want excitement this early in. David had returned from Mexico a month ago, this much they knew, but apparently he'd fallen into a depression sometime between leaving there and getting here.
Alcohol and drugs had started to muscle in on Frank's position as best friend, so he feared the worst when he knocked on his door and no one answered a few days ago. Missing persons report was submitted shortly after. When asked if David had any enemies, Werner- and Dan too, probably- was surprised by the answer. David was escorted and held for five hours after complaints about a man asking for interviews from several members of the local Mason's lodge. Apparently, he was working on a book about the occult and was going to use some of the information from the interviews he never got in one of his books. The co-author was to be Thomas Grant, whom Frank had not made an acquaintance with at all. When asked about any mutual friends Frank and David might have, they received only a few names; Melinda Vanderhalt, Francine Rodriguez, Raymon Jamesson, and Spencer Reef. Both Frank and David led a close-knit life, Frank said.
They thanked Frank for the information on David and his apartment address before leaving for David's apartments. It was almost the opposite of everything that Frank's apartments were, these were on the eastern side of town, located in a less-than-well-to-do area. A squadron of police vehicles could be seen outside, a couple of State PD uniforms standing outside and talking about where they were going to drink after their shift was over. Dan and Rosa's badge-flashing had saved the night from getting interesting once again. Of course, though, Detective Christina Albright didn't take too kindly to the Feds showing up unannounced and taking command of her crime scene. Other than her tone, there didn't seem to be a lot of resistance. The State PD seem to take an interest in them, some going so far as brazenly staring while others only take sidelong glances. There's a tension in the air with the team's arrival.
David's floor had just been cordoned off and none of the investigators had a chance to canvas the floor, get into David's apartment, or interview the other residents. Those are the team's jobs now. Ben and Victor are in the lobby, tasked with watching for anyone suspicious entering or leaving through the stairs or the elevator. Atter and Rosa were going to interview the neighbors. Dan was tasked with searching David's apartment.
Werner and Javier were going to find out more information on the mutual friends of David and Frank, perhaps pay a visit to the local Mason's lodge. For now, Werner wanted to find out more on David's escapades with the Masons. Asking Detective Albright about it only yielded the name of one officer, Carla Graves. Albright refused to give any more information. Asking the PD outside of the apartment building about Carla Graves gave the two a destination; Otis's Bar, on the outskirts of town. When Werner and Javier left the parking lot in the Sonata, Werner had felt uneasy. The glances and stares from the police put him on edge, Albright's attitude could be chalked up to throwing a fit that Feds were there to steal her glory. But something was still off. Pulling out onto the main road and driving to the south of the city,
he spotted only one other car- a black Corolla. Getting back onto the busier streets, he turned to Javier, "Head on a swivel, bud. Black Corolla, blacked out windows, look out for anyone else."
After a half-hour driving, they'd made it to Otis's bar and asking around for an officer Carla Graver brought them to her, a corner near the emergency exit, with a view of the entrance. She was blonde and had a masculline jaw, though that was the toughest part about her. Thick but short, hair done up in a bun and dressed in no way that asked for company. "What's this about, boys?"
"Agent Mendez and I have some questions pertaining to David Jimenez and Thomas Grant." Werner said.
