“Surprise, surprise, he’s gone too.”
“So he must’ve been in on it and got tipped off,” said Harry.
Tyree nodded. “He’d been a judge down in Texas. And he spent time in South America, least that’s what he told me.”
“They know drug dealing real well there.”
Tyree added, “See, I been reading about how easy it is to ship stuff up from Texas that comes over the Mexican border. Seems there’s two ways to deal prescription drugs. Steal it or make it.”
“Make prescription drugs?” said Caleb, looking astonished.
“Drug labs in Colombia in particular have been producing oxycodone knockoffs by the ton and smuggling them in here,” Alex explained. “The stuff isn’t pure, of course. It’s not like a filthy drug lab has the same quality control as a legit pharmaceutical manufacturer. And that’s why it’s so dangerous.”
Tyree nodded. “So maybe our friend the judge had connections down there. Maybe the place was too hot to hold him. And when he stumbled across old Divine he thought he’d found a good place to lie low for a while.”
“So the judge has the pipeline connections. Would your brother have big-city connections for distribution purposes?”
“Eighty percent of the prisoners up there are from big cities and most of ’em were in the drug business and killed somebody. That’s what got them to Dead Rock. So, yeah, he might have distribution contacts.”
“But if your brother is involved in this, how did they get together? Were they friends?”
“Mosley went up to the prison once a month to mediate. I thought that was right funny when I first heard about it.”
“Why?”
“My brother’s not much into compromise. It was always his way or the highway.”
Annabelle said, “You don’t seem all that surprised to learn your brother might be a criminal.”
Tyree gave a weak smile. “I was the son who won all the sports awards and Howard was the one who got all the academic scholarships. The dumb jock and the smart older brother. But he had another side to him. Cruel, I guess you’d call it. Before I got bigger than him, he would put the hurt on me if I did something he didn’t like. That’s why him and me have never been that close. And he always liked to live well. And while he’s the top dog up there, it’s not like wardens make a ton of money, even at a supermax.”
“Peterson was an accountant. Maybe he was doing the books for the ring. Maybe he was skimming and they found out,” Alex suggested.
Tyree rubbed his hand along his chin. “There might actually be more to it than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have a town fund here. An investment fund that Peterson was doing the books on too.”
“A town fund?” said Annabelle.
“Yeah, people and businesses pooled some money. Abby kicked in quite a bit; she had more than anybody else. It’s done real well over the last few years. Paid quite a dividend.”
“Which is why Divine is a lot more prosperous than other towns like it,” added Reuben.
“But it might not be because of great investments,” ventured Harry.
“No,” said Alex. “It might be for another reason: they’re using the town fund to launder the drug proceeds.”
Annabelle said, “And it’s a perfect way to do it. Lots of little checks cut. A town in the boonies. Who’d suspect? The cash comes out pure white.”
Tyree said, “What if your guy is up at that prison, how do we get to him? It’s not like we have enough to get a search warrant.”
Annabelle snapped, “Screw a search warrant. What we need to do is just get up to that prison and get him out fast if he’s there.”
They all stared at her, Tyree looking the most nervous.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, ma’am. My brother is a pretty smart guy. And if he is involved in all this, you can bet he won’t let us waltz into the place and look around.”
“That’s okay, Sheriff, I rarely go in the front door. Shirley told me about those miners getting killed and that’s why they call the prison Dead Rock. She mentioned a parallel shaft. I wonder where it is and how far it went in?”
Tyree said, “I don’t know the particulars.”
“I can check at the local library,” Caleb offered.
“And find out everything you can on Dead Rock prison,” she added. She looked at Tyree. “And I’d appreciate everything you can tell me about the place too.”
“I’ll be glad to, but there’re lots of places to hide folks up there,” Tyree pointed out.
“I’m sort of counting on that,” said Annabelle.
CHAPTER 74
THERE WAS ANOTHER CHOPPER in the vicinity of Divine and it soared along the treetops before landing in the parking lot of Blue Spruce Prison.
Only one man got out of the bird; he walked unhurriedly toward the prison.
It took a few minutes of processing at the front entrance and a phone call. And for such a special visitor, the warden himself came down.
Macklin Hayes shook hands with Howard Tyree.
“What does the CIA want here?” Tyree said in a surly tone.
“I think you have one of my men here,” the CIA chief answered pleasantly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“All right, we’ll play the game. For now, anyway. His name is Joe Knox. He’s about six-one, two-twenty, with slicked back salt-and-pepper hair. He should have another man with him. A little taller, leaner, white hair, cut short. Answers to the name Oliver Stone or John Carr depending on the day and the situation.”
“There’s no one here who fits that description. Now, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. This is a supermax prison and unauthorized visitors are never welcome even from the CIA.” Tyree’s men clustered behind him.
Hayes looked slightly alarmed. “You seem to have me outnumbered. My goodness, what was I thinking?” He put the slim briefcase he was carrying down on a table, popped it open and drew out a slim file. From it he took several slips of paper. “Drug-running, was it? Yes, that’s right.” He gave a mock shiver. “I’m sure you all are suitably tough and dangerous, so I must watch my step.” He pressed his long, bony fingers against the pages. “These documents are awaiting signature by the attorney general to authorize a lockdown of this prison and all personnel here.”
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds that your drug-dealing operation is funneling monies to terrorist organizations that have infiltrated the United States.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Actually, we already have the proof ready to go. This document,” Hayes continued imperturbably, “is an arrest warrant for Joseph Knox, John Carr and Howard Tyree. You can see that it’s duly signed.”
The warden didn’t even bother glancing at the papers. He said, “You might be a big deal in Washington, but in case you haven’t noticed this isn’t Washington. So I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s the whole point,” said Hayes. “Let me see Knox and Carr and you’ll have no more problems.”
“Right. If they were here, and I’m not saying they are, how do I know they wouldn’t tell you some bullshit story that you’ll use to come after me? Tell me that?”
Hayes looked at his watch. When he glanced back up, his smile was gone. “I don’t give a shit about your little drug operation. In the grand scheme of things you don’t eve
n rise to the level of a hemorrhoid on my ass. You have one minute to take me to these men.”