| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted September 12, 2021 | Chapters: |
...49 50 -51- 52... 
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Miguel slips away with Annie
A chapter in the book Secrets in the Wind
Secrets in the Wind - Chap 51
by Begin Again
| Background Jack McKinley's recent death appears to be suspicious. The investigation of one crime leads to another and so many other secrets in the wind. |
The large orange ball kissed the mountain tops, and yellow, red, magenta, and pink splashes spread across the horizon. Miguel tightened his fingers around the steering wheel, squinting into the blinding sun as the Land Rover sped down the two-lane highway. His eyes kept shifting from the road to his rearview mirror as the blue Mercedes crept closer.
Annie continued to scream and violently kick the back of Miguel’s seat. “Let me go!”
Miguel’s temper flared. “Ay Dios Mio.” Miguel swerved as he lost sight of the road. “Mierda!”
“Swearing at her won’t help. Why not throw her out and take off.” Exasperated, Miguel's sidekick just wanted to escape.
“My mama would never forgive me. I can’t kill the child.” The front tire left the road, and Miguel jerked the car back. “Puta Madre.” Miguel spat the offensive words and pounded his palm against the steering wheel.
“We need to lose the tail, Miguel. He’ll stop for the girl.”
“No, she’ll be our bargaining chip.” Miguel pushed the accelerator to the floor, but the Land Rover had no more power to give.
Annie grabbed Miguel’s thick black hair with two hands and pulled. The fluent Spanish curse words exploded in rapid succession. He lost control, and the Land Rover left the road, crossed a ditch, and smashed through a picket fence before he regained control and shot back on the highway. Miguel’s partner climbed halfway over the seat so he could grab Annie. He pulled her into the front seat and wrapped his muscled arms around her.
He growled, “Do another stupid thing, kid, and I’ll toss you out of this vehicle while it’s moving. Do you understand?” He tightened his arms for impact.
His gruff voice paralyzed her with fear. She stopped squirming and nodded her consent.
“Whoever the guy is in the Mercedes, he knows how to drive. Won’t this thing go faster?”
“I’m doing the best I can.” Miguel glanced at Annie from the corner of his eye. “On the other side of the bridge, there is a sharp turn, then the road splits. There’s a side road to the cabin. We’ve got a chance if he doesn’t see which way we went.”
“Look out!” A group of motorcycles entered the highway from a local biker’s bar. Miguel swerved, missing the first two bikes by inches, but now he had the advantage as he gunned the Land Rover across the bridge.
As Hank rounded the curve, the remaining bikers blasted onto the highway directly in front of the oncoming Mercedes. Hank stomped on the brakes and swerved, crossing the road, into the ditch. He twisted the steering wheel this way and that, trying to miss the trees before the car came to a stop. His front tires were sitting in eighteen inches of river water, slime, and mud. He put the car in reverse; the rear wheels spun on the muddy grass, digging the car in deeper.
Green muck dripped from the rooftop and slid down the windshield. Hank pushed against the car door and opened the door; brown murky river water flowed across the door jamb and left several inches on the floor covering his shoes.
His face contorted as he swung his feet out of the car and tried to stand. The mud acted like weak quicksand as it clung to his shoes. Bracing himself with the car, he fought to move to the rear and out of the smelly slime.
The agents pulled their vehicle off the side of the road, taking care to remain on the gravel. One rolled down his window and called to Hank, “You alright?”
“I’m just peachy! My $250,000 Cabriolet is sinking in a cesspool of who knows what... I lost the suspect, and my Gucci loafers smell like rotten fish.” His shoes squished as he moved closer to their vehicle. Hank stepped out of the loafers, made a wild pitch, and sent his shoes skipping across the water. “You better call your boss.”
“Already done. There’s a tow truck on its way. Unless you’re going to sink the car in the river too.” Both agents tried to conceal their laughter when Hank glared at them.
***********************
Sirens blared as every available rescue vehicle raced through the streets of Hayden to the local hospital. A continuous line of ambulances, squad cars, and vans crowded into the overflowing emergency room parking lot. Hospital staff rushed with gurneys to help unload the rescued migrants. Doctors and RNs assessed the level of trauma and need for care before assigning each patient a room. Most were suffering from smoke inhalation and dehydration, but a few required a higher level of medical assistance, including Jon and Cynthia.
The sheriff and his officers teamed with Garth’s FBI unit since rural Hayden lacked most modern technology that the FBI had at their disposal. Once they cleared the church and declared the smoldering fire extinguished, the fire investigator started his investigation with Garth and the Sheriff nearby.
“I sure love it when the arsonist makes my job easy. Two empty gasoline cans and the smell of the accelerant points to where and how the fire originated. My question and I assume yours, would be why someone locked people in the church’s abandoned wine cellar?”
“The one room has a stack of barrels that didn’t burn. If we track the lot numbers, my educated guess is they belong to the Sweet Haven Winery. It would explain Miguel’s frequent Tuesday visits.”
“But why bring the barrels to the church? It doesn’t add up.” The sheriff ran his fingers through his hair and put his hat back on.
“Here’s what I think was happening. When Miguel left El Paso with the barrels, he smuggled migrants in across the border. Recently, at another fire, my team discovered barrels with false bottoms and hidden packets of drugs.”
“False bottoms. You’ve got to be kidding me.” The sheriff walked over to the stack of barrels and turned one over. Picking up a brick, he smashed it against the bottom of the barrel, splintering the wood. “Well, I’ll be. Pretty clever.”
“Yup. I’m guessing the migrants came to the church to put the packets of drugs into the barrels. They’d do their job, thinking they were gaining a new life, only to discover they were being sold.”
“Human Trafficking? In a small town like Hayden?” The sheriff kept shaking his head in disbelief. “You aren’t serious, are you?”
“Right under everyone’s noses, and no one expected it.” The fire investigator nodded. “It’d take someone with a lot of money and a devious mind. Not too many in Hayden that could pull it off.”
The sheriff looked at the fire investigator and then at Garth. “If you’re implicating Miguel, that’s Sweet Haven. Are you telling me Jack and Liz McKinley are involved? Jack died in a plane crash over three or four months ago. And what about Father Jon? He had to know what was going on. It’s his church.”
“When I first came to town, it was merely a hunch. Our info said drugs were moving out of the area, but we couldn’t discover by whom. We followed the money, which was Jack McKinley, who was new to the area, and Mason Caldwell.”
“Caldwell! He owns half the county. With all his money, why would he get messed up with a small-time operation dealing with drugs?”
“You’re not getting the full picture, Sheriff. If the truck hauls 220 barrels with each load, we’re talking eighteen or twenty million dollars.” Both the sheriff and the fire investigator whistled their surprise. “Not to mention free labor to hide the drugs. And money for selling the workers when the job’s done. A real money maker!”
“I’d say so! I still can’t believe it was going on right here in this small town. Maybe it’s time for me to retire.” The sheriff walked away and stared at the charred beams.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’ve had an entire team working on it for months, and I haven’t connected all the dots yet. I think Mason wanted to buy Sweet Haven from the Cranstons. They wouldn’t sell, so he arranged their deaths. The fly in the ointment was when Jack got the upper hand, and the bank sold him the winery. The Cranstons kept their personal life to themselves, so when their sick daughter’s husband died in Afghanistan, they kept her existence a secret. Some people aren’t socialites.”
“This sleepy town’s a real Peyton Place.” The sheriff shook his head. “If you know all this, why haven’t you arrested Mason Caldwell?” The sheriff scowled at Garth.
“My opinions aren’t evidence.” Garth looked around the room at the aftermath of the fire. “We’ve got to find Miguel.”
“I can send a squad car out to Mason’s ranch. Maybe if we put the squeeze on Miguel’s mother, she might tell us something.”
“You can try, but she’s terrified of Mason. I doubt she’ll crack.” Garth sighed. “I’m going to make a trip over to the hospital. It didn’t look good when they took Father Jon and Cynthia out of here, but if there’s a chance I can talk to them, maybe we can get a lead.”
All three men shook hands, and Garth climbed the stairs to the church rectory.
Summary... Cassidy is framed for murder. Allie goes undercover to protect Cassidy, but they are both stabbed. Cassidy's life is threatened again in the hospital, and she is pronounced dead (but actually in protective custody). Mason Caldwell runs many illegal businesses, including drugs and human trafficking. Jon, a priest and Cassidy's brother, has sold his soul. Mary, a caregiver, discovers her child she gave up for adoption thirty years ago. Cynthia and Michael are searching for gold on Liz's property. The mysterious woman (Faith) is dying from cancer and lives in a secret cottage with her daughter, Annie, Sebastion, and Mary. Darryl runs the winery, and Miguel is in charge of the vineyards. Garth and Hank are trying to solve the cases.
Annie continued to scream and violently kick the back of Miguel’s seat. “Let me go!”
Miguel’s temper flared. “Ay Dios Mio.” Miguel swerved as he lost sight of the road. “Mierda!”
“Swearing at her won’t help. Why not throw her out and take off.” Exasperated, Miguel's sidekick just wanted to escape.
“My mama would never forgive me. I can’t kill the child.” The front tire left the road, and Miguel jerked the car back. “Puta Madre.” Miguel spat the offensive words and pounded his palm against the steering wheel.
“We need to lose the tail, Miguel. He’ll stop for the girl.”
“No, she’ll be our bargaining chip.” Miguel pushed the accelerator to the floor, but the Land Rover had no more power to give.
Annie grabbed Miguel’s thick black hair with two hands and pulled. The fluent Spanish curse words exploded in rapid succession. He lost control, and the Land Rover left the road, crossed a ditch, and smashed through a picket fence before he regained control and shot back on the highway. Miguel’s partner climbed halfway over the seat so he could grab Annie. He pulled her into the front seat and wrapped his muscled arms around her.
He growled, “Do another stupid thing, kid, and I’ll toss you out of this vehicle while it’s moving. Do you understand?” He tightened his arms for impact.
His gruff voice paralyzed her with fear. She stopped squirming and nodded her consent.
“Whoever the guy is in the Mercedes, he knows how to drive. Won’t this thing go faster?”
“I’m doing the best I can.” Miguel glanced at Annie from the corner of his eye. “On the other side of the bridge, there is a sharp turn, then the road splits. There’s a side road to the cabin. We’ve got a chance if he doesn’t see which way we went.”
“Look out!” A group of motorcycles entered the highway from a local biker’s bar. Miguel swerved, missing the first two bikes by inches, but now he had the advantage as he gunned the Land Rover across the bridge.
As Hank rounded the curve, the remaining bikers blasted onto the highway directly in front of the oncoming Mercedes. Hank stomped on the brakes and swerved, crossing the road, into the ditch. He twisted the steering wheel this way and that, trying to miss the trees before the car came to a stop. His front tires were sitting in eighteen inches of river water, slime, and mud. He put the car in reverse; the rear wheels spun on the muddy grass, digging the car in deeper.
Green muck dripped from the rooftop and slid down the windshield. Hank pushed against the car door and opened the door; brown murky river water flowed across the door jamb and left several inches on the floor covering his shoes.
His face contorted as he swung his feet out of the car and tried to stand. The mud acted like weak quicksand as it clung to his shoes. Bracing himself with the car, he fought to move to the rear and out of the smelly slime.
The agents pulled their vehicle off the side of the road, taking care to remain on the gravel. One rolled down his window and called to Hank, “You alright?”
“I’m just peachy! My $250,000 Cabriolet is sinking in a cesspool of who knows what... I lost the suspect, and my Gucci loafers smell like rotten fish.” His shoes squished as he moved closer to their vehicle. Hank stepped out of the loafers, made a wild pitch, and sent his shoes skipping across the water. “You better call your boss.”
“Already done. There’s a tow truck on its way. Unless you’re going to sink the car in the river too.” Both agents tried to conceal their laughter when Hank glared at them.
***********************
Sirens blared as every available rescue vehicle raced through the streets of Hayden to the local hospital. A continuous line of ambulances, squad cars, and vans crowded into the overflowing emergency room parking lot. Hospital staff rushed with gurneys to help unload the rescued migrants. Doctors and RNs assessed the level of trauma and need for care before assigning each patient a room. Most were suffering from smoke inhalation and dehydration, but a few required a higher level of medical assistance, including Jon and Cynthia.
The sheriff and his officers teamed with Garth’s FBI unit since rural Hayden lacked most modern technology that the FBI had at their disposal. Once they cleared the church and declared the smoldering fire extinguished, the fire investigator started his investigation with Garth and the Sheriff nearby.
“I sure love it when the arsonist makes my job easy. Two empty gasoline cans and the smell of the accelerant points to where and how the fire originated. My question and I assume yours, would be why someone locked people in the church’s abandoned wine cellar?”
“The one room has a stack of barrels that didn’t burn. If we track the lot numbers, my educated guess is they belong to the Sweet Haven Winery. It would explain Miguel’s frequent Tuesday visits.”
“But why bring the barrels to the church? It doesn’t add up.” The sheriff ran his fingers through his hair and put his hat back on.
“Here’s what I think was happening. When Miguel left El Paso with the barrels, he smuggled migrants in across the border. Recently, at another fire, my team discovered barrels with false bottoms and hidden packets of drugs.”
“False bottoms. You’ve got to be kidding me.” The sheriff walked over to the stack of barrels and turned one over. Picking up a brick, he smashed it against the bottom of the barrel, splintering the wood. “Well, I’ll be. Pretty clever.”
“Yup. I’m guessing the migrants came to the church to put the packets of drugs into the barrels. They’d do their job, thinking they were gaining a new life, only to discover they were being sold.”
“Human Trafficking? In a small town like Hayden?” The sheriff kept shaking his head in disbelief. “You aren’t serious, are you?”
“Right under everyone’s noses, and no one expected it.” The fire investigator nodded. “It’d take someone with a lot of money and a devious mind. Not too many in Hayden that could pull it off.”
The sheriff looked at the fire investigator and then at Garth. “If you’re implicating Miguel, that’s Sweet Haven. Are you telling me Jack and Liz McKinley are involved? Jack died in a plane crash over three or four months ago. And what about Father Jon? He had to know what was going on. It’s his church.”
“When I first came to town, it was merely a hunch. Our info said drugs were moving out of the area, but we couldn’t discover by whom. We followed the money, which was Jack McKinley, who was new to the area, and Mason Caldwell.”
“Caldwell! He owns half the county. With all his money, why would he get messed up with a small-time operation dealing with drugs?”
“You’re not getting the full picture, Sheriff. If the truck hauls 220 barrels with each load, we’re talking eighteen or twenty million dollars.” Both the sheriff and the fire investigator whistled their surprise. “Not to mention free labor to hide the drugs. And money for selling the workers when the job’s done. A real money maker!”
“I’d say so! I still can’t believe it was going on right here in this small town. Maybe it’s time for me to retire.” The sheriff walked away and stared at the charred beams.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’ve had an entire team working on it for months, and I haven’t connected all the dots yet. I think Mason wanted to buy Sweet Haven from the Cranstons. They wouldn’t sell, so he arranged their deaths. The fly in the ointment was when Jack got the upper hand, and the bank sold him the winery. The Cranstons kept their personal life to themselves, so when their sick daughter’s husband died in Afghanistan, they kept her existence a secret. Some people aren’t socialites.”
“This sleepy town’s a real Peyton Place.” The sheriff shook his head. “If you know all this, why haven’t you arrested Mason Caldwell?” The sheriff scowled at Garth.
“My opinions aren’t evidence.” Garth looked around the room at the aftermath of the fire. “We’ve got to find Miguel.”
“I can send a squad car out to Mason’s ranch. Maybe if we put the squeeze on Miguel’s mother, she might tell us something.”
“You can try, but she’s terrified of Mason. I doubt she’ll crack.” Garth sighed. “I’m going to make a trip over to the hospital. It didn’t look good when they took Father Jon and Cynthia out of here, but if there’s a chance I can talk to them, maybe we can get a lead.”
All three men shook hands, and Garth climbed the stairs to the church rectory.
Summary... Cassidy is framed for murder. Allie goes undercover to protect Cassidy, but they are both stabbed. Cassidy's life is threatened again in the hospital, and she is pronounced dead (but actually in protective custody). Mason Caldwell runs many illegal businesses, including drugs and human trafficking. Jon, a priest and Cassidy's brother, has sold his soul. Mary, a caregiver, discovers her child she gave up for adoption thirty years ago. Cynthia and Michael are searching for gold on Liz's property. The mysterious woman (Faith) is dying from cancer and lives in a secret cottage with her daughter, Annie, Sebastion, and Mary. Darryl runs the winery, and Miguel is in charge of the vineyards. Garth and Hank are trying to solve the cases.
 Recognized |
Theodore (Ted) and Meredith Cranston - previous owners of Sweet Haven Estates
Jack McKinley - present owner of Sweet Haven Estates - deceased
Elizabeth (Liz) McKinley - Jack's widow and owner of Sweet Haven Estates
Alyssa Shelton - (Allie) Liz's best friend and an Investigative Journalist
Darryl Pennington - Estate Foreman for past and previous owners
Mary Hunter - Retired nurse and current caregiver of Faith and Annie
Faith Cranston-Newton - daughter of the Ted and Meredith Cranston
Annie Cranston-Newton - Faith's daughter
Sebastian - the lovable St. Bernard and Annie's companion
Dr. Eugene Copeland - the local physician
Sofia Sanchez - Mason Caldwell's housekeeper
Miguel Sanchez - vineyard supervisor
Jon Saladino - Priest and much more
Cassidy Rotello - assistant of Mason Caldwell
Mason Caldwell - rancher and owner of a gambling casino
Garth Woodman - (Jeremy) Undercover FBI
Hank Armato - Private Investigator
Emmy Armato - Hank's wife and also retired detective
Cynthia - librarian, historian, town gossip, and wanna-be detective
Michael - realtor and Cynthia's nephew
Tango, Poppa, Howard, Pete - FBI agents
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Jack McKinley - present owner of Sweet Haven Estates - deceased
Elizabeth (Liz) McKinley - Jack's widow and owner of Sweet Haven Estates
Alyssa Shelton - (Allie) Liz's best friend and an Investigative Journalist
Darryl Pennington - Estate Foreman for past and previous owners
Mary Hunter - Retired nurse and current caregiver of Faith and Annie
Faith Cranston-Newton - daughter of the Ted and Meredith Cranston
Annie Cranston-Newton - Faith's daughter
Sebastian - the lovable St. Bernard and Annie's companion
Dr. Eugene Copeland - the local physician
Sofia Sanchez - Mason Caldwell's housekeeper
Miguel Sanchez - vineyard supervisor
Jon Saladino - Priest and much more
Cassidy Rotello - assistant of Mason Caldwell
Mason Caldwell - rancher and owner of a gambling casino
Garth Woodman - (Jeremy) Undercover FBI
Hank Armato - Private Investigator
Emmy Armato - Hank's wife and also retired detective
Cynthia - librarian, historian, town gossip, and wanna-be detective
Michael - realtor and Cynthia's nephew
Tango, Poppa, Howard, Pete - FBI agents
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