Return to Base

When we got back to the hotel, I headed to the trailer while Katja said she was going to let her friends out to fly for a bit.

When I entered, I found MJ working at his computers, like usual, and Carter stood behind him, while David stood outside making a phone call.

“Any news?” Carter asked.

{if investigateSailboat > 1}“We went to the marina and placed the tracker on the sailboat.{if investigateSailboat== 2} We found **** in a compartment below deck and I sent photos to David; hopefully he can identify them.{endif}”

“Good. Maybe we’ll get something from that, but it has to be today or early tomorrow.”{else}“We went back to the Parkers’ house and someone had been there since I left. I wasn’t able to tell who it was and they left Miguel’s body.”

“That’s… concerning,” Carter said, and I had to agree.{endif}

“MJ has been here working on the contacts in Miguel’s cell phone. He got one probable, which Agent Sanchez and Badger went to investigate, and another seventeen possibles. David is trying to eliminate some of them as suspects by calling them.”

“So, did Maria get over her funk?” I asked, perhaps inappropriately.

“She’s working through it,” MJ said. “She’s spent a lot of time under cover and she knows what Gracie could be going through right now. And, frankly, it’s understandable that she’s worried.”

“I… I’m sorry. You’re right of course. I’ve certainly had moments when I was more focused on Mira than anything else.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry your sister’s caught up in this and I’m sorry you were nearly taken too.”

“Okay, okay. Enough being sorry. What can I do to help?”

“Well, I’ve got another probable for you, if you want to check it out.”

“Really?” Carter asked.

“Yeah, a contact listed in the phone as ‘Sabueso’, so I’m not sure if Miguel liked the guy or not.”

Carter asked what I was thinking, “What does ‘sabueso’ mean?”

“It’s like a hound dog. Not sure if that was a compliment or not,” MJ answered.

“Okay, where should we look for Sabueso?” I asked.

“He keeps his phone off most of the time, only turning it on to make calls, which is one of the reasons he’s suspicious. When he does turn it on, it’s been in several different locations, but three different afternoons he’s turned it on at a small cantina on the beach. Your best bet is to go there and look for him.”

“How will we recognize him?” I asked.

“If he shows up and turns his phone on, I’ll call him and act like a telemarketer, those are a thing here, right? Anyway, if he doesn’t answer, I’ll bombard his phone with text messages, which should draw attention.”

“Okay, Carter, I take it you’re joining me?”

“Sure, but it may be better if you approach him without your big black shadow,” he said with a wink.

So, I left Katja and David here with MJ and headed to the beach to do something that most assignments have way too much of, sitting somewhere and waiting for the suspect to show up.