Stone Investigations (Stone Series Book 4) Bob Blanton (books to read this summer .TXT) 📖

said they’d lethim get settled in before they called him.”

“Okay, where should we set up?”

“The kitchen table.  I think that’s easiest.”

Matthew and Emily took seats next to each other at theBrandt’s kitchen table.  Emily started reviewing her math homework while shewaited for the interview to start.

At 8:30, Matthew announced, “They just called him.”

“Good.”  Emily put her homework away and turned her notebookto a blank page.  When Matthew gave her a look, she told him, “I’m going totake notes.  It’ll be good practice.”

Matthew shook his head and chuckled.

“Come on, I don’t have an eidetic memory like you.  I have touse notes.”

“I wasn’t laughing about that; I was laughing at how seriousyou’re being.”

“Open it up, let’s see what’s going on.”

Matthew opened his portal on Dante.  He was just entering theconference room where Detective Vaughn and another uniformed police officerwere waiting for him.

“What’s this?” Dante asked.  He started to turn to leave theroom.  Another police officer blocked his way.

“Mr. Cruz, please be seated. We have some questions to askyou.”

“About what?”

“Please be seated.  I’m Detective Vaughn with the San DiegoPolice department.  This is Officer Lester.”

Dante sat down and folded his hands on the table and lookedat Detective Vaughn.  “Do I need a lawyer?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“I guess I need to know what this is about first.”

“Just a moment please.”

At that point, Agent Peters entered the room.

“This is Agent Peters with the DEA.”

Sweat broke out on Dante’s forehead when Vaughn introducedAgent Peters.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know this man?” Agent Peters asked, sliding aphotograph of Mr. Graham in front of him.

Dante visibly relaxed.  “Nope, I’ve never seen him before.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.  He might have come in here for something, butI never met him.  Who is he?”

“We’ll be asking the questions.  Do you know this man?” Agent Peters slid a photograph of Frankie Sutton in front of Dante.

“Sure, isn’t that the guy who sued the police for harassment? He got a big settlement didn’t he.”

“This is he, but did you know him before that?”

“Don’t think so.”

“How about this kid?”  Agent Peters slid a photo of Kaleb,the skateboard kid from the Starbucks.

“I don’t recognize him.  But then those skateboarders alllook alike.”

“How about this man?”  Agent Peters slid a photo of Emilio Fieldsin front of Dante.

“I don’t think so.  He might look familiar, but I can’t placehim.”

“Then can you explain this?”  Agent Peters slid a photo of Emiliodropping a packet of money in Dante’s lap on the trolley.

“That must be where I recognize him from.  He tossed thatenvelope to me.  I not sure why.”

“Then why would he do that two weeks in a row?  And why wouldthese guys be doing the same thing?”  Agent Peters spread eight photos showingthe money drops that occurred last Saturday.  Then she spread the eight photosfor the drops on Sunday.

“I guess I’m a popular guy.”

“It seems that way.  Do you know this guy?”  Agent Petersplaced a photo of the kid Dante used to handle the drugs in front of him.

“I’m not sure.”

“You seem to meet him quite often.  You’ve traded backpackswith him three times that we’ve recorded.  And you’d be interested to know thatwe followed him to the North Clairemont Library where we observed him placingpackages of drugs under various bookcase shelves.”

“I think I need a lawyer.”

“Sure.  If you call a lawyer, you’ll need to make surethey’re qualified to handle murder trials.”

“Murder?!”

“Yes, we’re very interested in your involvement with EvelynFrye’s death,” Detective Vaughn said.

“I’ve never met that woman.”

“Well, she died after receiving a package of pills, much likethose that your dealers deliver to their clients.”  Agent Peters punctuatedDetective Vaughn’s statement by adding a photo of one of the kids dropping apackage of pills under the hood of one of the user’s cars.

“I had nothing to do with that!  We dropped her as soon asshe was burned.”

“Does that mean you’re admitting to the dealing?”

“Sure, but I had nothing to do with the murder.”

“I think we should read you your rights before we proceed,”Detective Vaughn said.

“Sure.”

After reading the Miranda warning, Detective Vaughn asked,“Do you understand these rights?”

“Yeah,” Dante said.  He was clearly depressed.

“Now, do you want a lawyer?”

“Why bother.”

“So you’re declining a lawyer?”

“I just want to prove to you that I had nothing to do withthe murder.”

“Do you think she was murdered?”

“I don’t know, but Frankie sure did.  He lit out of here assoon as he got that settlement.  And the timing was pretty strange.  The guywho recruited me hinted that they’d kill me if I got blown.”

“And who was that guy?” Agent Peters asked, bringing Mr.Graham’s photo back to the top of the pile.

“Not him.  Like I said, I’ve never seen him before.  The guythat recruited me was a Latino.  Smart guy, but I don’t think he’s the guyrunning the operation.”

“What can you tell us about him?”

“Not much.  Met him at a bar.  He knew everything about me. My speeding tickets, where I grew up, schools I went to.  He even knew mycredit card balance.”

“Anything else?”

Dante shrugged his shoulders.  “Not really.  The ladiesthought he was good looking; he was really smooth.  He could read me like abook.  I only met him twice.”

“Then what happened.”

“I opened the mailbox like he told me, then entered theaddress on the Facebook account he gave me the login for.”

“Facebook?!” Detective Vaughn asked.

“Oh, you guys probably don’t know about that.  All thecommunication is via Facebook.  I have access to six accounts.  I put all theinfo about what I need there.”

“How do you get the drugs?”

“They come once a month.  In fact, I should be getting apackage early next week.”

“What kind of package?”

“An order of shoes.  I actually get to pick them out. They’re delivered to my box and inside the shoebox, there’s the drugs, the bookcovers, and any special instructions I’m supposed to follow.  Do you know aboutthem?”

Agent Peters laid a photograph of the package Dante hadshipped the week before.  It showed the book opened with the money exposed.

“I guess you do.”

“Explain about the shoes.”

“I order a pair of shoes each month.  Sometimes they’re forme, but most of the time I order for some kid.  I registered with a charitythat tries to