“The gunshots to the chest clearly killed him. The loss of blood shows that his heart was beating normally when that happened. There were no signs on the body of restraint, defensive wounds, or a struggle, though.”
Decker’s mind leapt ahead of her words. “Meaning a man getting a wad of cash shoved down his throat is going to at least struggle against it.”
“It would be like he was choking to death,” added White. “He’d fight, or they’d have to restrain him first.”
Jacobs said, “And he’d have gag reflex and there would be evidence of that in his larynx and on his tongue and other indicia. None of that is present, only the abrasions one would find by ramming an object like this down someone’s throatafterthey were dead.”
Decker eyed White and said, “Some sort of message? Punishment or revenge?”
“That would make Draymont the target andnotthe judge,” said White.
“Who’s to say he wasn’t?”
“And they had to kill the judge because…?”
“She came downstairs, saw what was happening, and was attacked. She fled upstairs, where they finished her off.” He stopped. “But then why the note and blindfold left with thejudge?”
“Maybe that was just meant to throw us off,” suggested White.
Decker said to Jacobs, “Get the wad out of his mouth.”
She used another set of forceps to accomplish this and the money slowly emerged from the dead man’s mouth, the last thing that would ever pass through that portal.
She laid it on a clean cloth on a side table.
Decker put on a pair of latex gloves he pulled from a box and gingerly started to unfold the money.
“That doesn’t look like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or Andrew Jackson,” noted White as she peered around him.
The currency had the images of a white-bearded man looking out and a dark-bearded man staring to the left.
“Národná Banka Slovenska,” Decker read off. “Pätdesiat. It’s worth fifty of something.”
White pulled out her phone and typed in a search. She waited and then the result came in.
“It’s Slovakian. The Korun was the currency until the end of 2008. Now they use the euro. The two guys are Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius.”
“So the personal bodyguard of a murdered federal judge had old and no longer legal tender Slovakian banknotes stuffed in his mouth after he’d been shot to death?” said Decker.
He unrolled all of the bills, counted up the amount, pulled out his phone, and translated the money into dollars using an online currency calculator.
“At the old exchange rate it’s worth less than fifty dollars.”
“But it’s now worthless,” noted White.
“It looks like someone was making some sort of a point,” opined Jacobs.
“We need to find out all about Alan Draymont,” said Decker.
“His employer, Gamma Protection Services, would be a good place to start,” replied White.
Chapter16
THE NEXT MORNING THEY TOOKInterstate 75 east and drove the roughly two hours to Miami, where Gamma Protection Services had its headquarters. It was in a sleek high-rise near the water. Agent Andrews had been filled in on the cash found in Draymont’s mouth and had driven over with them.
As they headed up in a glass-enclosed elevator, Decker said, “Protection services must pay really well.”
“Ever thought about jumping over to that side?” asked Andrews.