CASEY DROVE TOWARD THE SENATOR'S RANCH WITH HER HAND ON Jose's leg, absently stroking the thick muscles. The sky ahead glowed with the promise of dawn. They turned off the country road and drove through the gates and under the metal archway that read LUCKY STAR. When the enormous hacienda came into view, Casey pressed her lips together and nodded her head. Her ex-husband came from this kind of wealth, the same fantasy world, and had been molded into the same type of asshole. Red-tiled roofs shaded the white adobe walls. Intricate wrought-iron doors and shutters graced the arched openings. Potted cacti and flowers crowded the tiled terraces and doorways, and a carefully manicured green lawn sprawled beneath giant gnarled oak trees that reached for the perfect navy blue sky.
Nearly a dozen gardeners crouched close to the ground, already pruning, digging, clipping, and sweeping in the gloom. A handsome young man wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks hurried from the house to open Casey's door and show them in. The young man's smile revealed gleaming white teeth and beads of sweat that glistened on his brown upper lip. A bronze lantern the size of a small car hung in the enormous circular foyer and a sweeping staircase ascended either side.
The young man led them into a study just off the foyer. They were greeted by Indian rugs, teak furniture upholstered in dark brown leather and animal skins, and the cool smell of old leather books. A ceiling fan swung its paddles in a lazy circle above. Jose slumped down in a leather reclining chair with his hands buried in his pockets while Casey took a seat by the deep barred window, clutching her briefcase tight and studying an oil painting of buffalo on a plain. They sat for almost ten minutes before the hardware on the door rattled.
When a strange man in an olive suit came through the door, Casey stood and craned her neck, expecting Chase. The man shut the door and held out his hand.
"Jeff Macken," he said.
Jose stared sullenly, and Casey looked at his hand until he put it down.
"Where's Chase?" Casey asked.
Macken's eyebrows shot up. "The senator? He has an extremely busy day that's already begun. He asked me to get this worked out."
"Do you know what I have here?" Casey asked, patting her briefcase. "Here, take a look."
She withdrew copies of the records Sharon had uncovered on Kroft.
"I'll lay it out for you the way I would with a jury," she said. "This is the pharmaceutical lab Kroft runs in Mexico, the place we know they're using human beings as guinea pigs."
Macken took the papers without expression.
"These are the transport records of the truck we have eyewitness reports of leaving the senator's quarry." Casey handed him a DVD. "You'll see the truck go through Mexican customs on this, positively IDed by our witnesses."
Casey handed him a separate folder and said, "I'd say this is our star piece of evidence, but it's not. Good enough, though. Copies of bank records showing the millions the senator has received from Kroft Labs."
Casey shut the briefcase. Macken looked up from the papers and studied her face.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Oh," she said, fishing into her pants pocket and taking out her cell phone, "right. This is the real kicker. The jury will love this, a cop on the witness stand always works wonders. Lots of credibility."
Macken shot a sneering smile at Jose and said, "Ex-cops bounced for corruption? Ex-cops under investigation for murder? He doesn't quite count, does he?"
Casey glanced at Jose, then turned her attention to Macken and said, "Oh, not Jose. No. Someone near and dear to your heart. Our star witness."
She hit the play button on her phone, already cued to the right point, and Gage's voice filled the room.
"They're gone. They're all gone…" Gage said.
"Where?" Teuch's muffled voice asked.
" Mexico," Gage said. "I don't know where. I don't. Chase knows. He knows."
Casey snapped it shut before Gage's scream and let the soft paddling of the fan fill the silence.
"You think he's too busy for this?" she asked.
"What do you want?" Macken asked.
"Everything I said on the phone," she said.
Macken blinked, looked at her blankly, and then said, "I think I should speak with the senator directly."
"Good idea," Casey said. "Mind if we wait outside? This place has an odor."