Cross Hairs (22 page)

“Is that how you did it in Boston – well, except with a gold coin?”

Gold looked stunned for the first time during this encounter. Cal had hoped for such a stunning reaction earlier when he revealed that Mercer was the one who killed Gold’s son, but it was mild compared to this.

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

“You heard me. But I’ll ask you again: Is that how you did it in Boston? You know, how you murdered people – ruthlessly, inflicting as much pain as possible?”

“Wow, I really underestimated you, Cal. I had no idea you were such a thorough reporter. It’s a shame that you’re never going to get that career of yours going.”

Gold pointed his gun again in Cal’s direction.

“I wouldn’t recommend that if I were you – because it’ll be the last thing you do. Killing me and Kelly, that is.”

Gold laughed. “You sure do talk big, Cal. I’ll just have you know that you can chalk up your death to that big mouth of yours.”

Gold then pointed his gun again at Cal.

“You might want to rethink what you’re doing, Gold. I mean, you might be wondering where that red dot on your shirt comes from.”

Gold looked down to see a laser site pointed directly at his heart. He’d be dead in less than 30 seconds after a bullet pierced his heart. And he knew it. But he still held the gun on Cal.

“I would just put the gun down in less than two seconds or else you won’t have a hand any more,” Cal said.

Gold laughed and ignored Cal. Two seconds later, a sniper’s A3 G bullet nearly separated Gold’s hand from the rest of his body. His handgun fell to the ground.

“It’s over, Gold. Give it up.”

It
was
over. Cal could tell Gold had conceded by the look on his face. But this wasn’t the way Gold wanted to go out, rotting away in prison before getting the death penalty. Endlessly parading into courtrooms wearing shackles and an orange jumpsuit – it wasn’t his style.

Gold’s hand was gushing blood. He bent over, grabbing his right hand with his left in a worthless attempt to stop the bleeding. “You ruined everything! You were supposed to be under control.”

“Sheriff Jones couldn’t do the job?” Cal asked, fishing for a confession.

“Jones isn’t an asset, but he could’ve been a liability had I not included him.”

Cal smiled. A corruption trifecta – municipal government, local law enforcement and the FBI. This was perfect.

“I hope you’re happy, Cal – and you too, Kelly. You two have ruined my family’s life. My kids will grow up without a father. Nice work, scumbags.”

Kelly grinned. Then Cal mocked Gold with a sarcastic laugh, this time at Gold’s inability to reason.

“Me? Ruined lives? Consider the untold thousands of people you’ve laid waste to – individuals and families. All these drug users and people you’ve thrust into a life of crime – yeah, I’m a scumbag for ruining your family’s life, a family you only started as a cover.”

Gold grimaced, still trying in vain to stop the gushing blood. “It started out that way, but something changed along the way.”

“Yeah, it changed all right. You didn’t even mourn the loss of your son. He was merely collateral damage.”

Gold looked up at Cal and glared. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know you’re going to jail, Gold. It’ll be much safer than me dropping a letter with your whereabouts in the mail to the Scarelli family and letting them take you back to Boston – with the FBI’s blessing, of course.”

“Like I said, you don’t know anything.”

With that parting shot, Gold turned and leaped out into the canyon, joining Mercer in the cruelest of deaths.

Cal and Kelly both sighed in relief.

“Did you get all this?” Kelly asked, contorting her body to get her hands in a position to pull her iPhone out of her pocket and signal to the FBI sniper situated on top of a ridge. “Now, get down here and take these handcuffs off us.”

After meeting with Cal and Kelly earlier in the day, the FBI flew a sniper along with a full tactical team to a spot overlooking Gold’s favorite dumping ground at Cold River Canyon. While the FBI suspected that Mercer might be the mole, they decided to discreetly record all the events with Kelly’s iPhone, a device nobody knew she still possessed. The open line also allowed the tactical team to know how to react to the events happening in front of them. Mercer’s motives remained a mystery to the bureau, but it didn’t matter now.

Had both Gold and Mercer survived, FBI officials knew any admission of guilt by Gold in this situation would likely wilt when held up to the law. But a revealing story written by a news organization could have forced Gold to make a desperate move – and that was when they knew the bureau could catch him. All that guess work, speculation and theory vanished in about ten seconds when Gold killed Mercer – and then it all became moot when Gold leaped himself. No FBI officials were complaining.

For the second time in less than 24 hours, Cal and Kelly avoided being flung to the bottom of Cold River Canyon.

CHAPTER 66

RIDING BACK TO SALT
Lake City in a government-issued SUV, Cal finally felt safe. Kelly did, too. Their adventure together over the past three days seemed surreal, something neither would have expected living in Statenville. But this wasn’t just adventure for adventure’s sake – this was about uncovering the truth and finding justice. It was hard work but rewarding work.

However, one question still remained: Could Cal and Kelly put together a story package with photos and videos that would find its way into print. A story of such depth and magnitude deserved a stage much larger than
The Register
. Then again, neither Cal nor Kelly knew if they had a job there any more. Not that they could seriously consider working in a town where their investigation ruined almost everyone’s livelihood in a direct or indirect way.

Cal felt the pressure to deliver.

Following a debriefing with FBI officials at the Salt Lake City field office, Cal pleaded with them to wait until morning to announce the death of Carmen Deangelo and the bust of Cloverdale Industries. Cal explained that his story would demonize only Mercer, not Walker. After a few minutes of haggling over the details, the FBI relented, considering that Cal had risked his life. It was the least they could do to thank him.

Nevertheless, Cal was ecstatic, excited about the challenge that awaited him in the coming hours. He and Kelly caught a cab to the
The Tribune
office and briefed Youngman on what had transpired. It was 6:30 p.m.

“OK, you’ve got two hours to write an exclusive for us that’s well sourced,” Youngman said.

“You got it – except for the exclusive part. Seattle is getting this story, too,” Cal said.

“Anyone else?” Youngman asked.

“Not as of right now.”

“Let’s keep it that way. Get my assistant to find you a workstation. And have Kelly meet with the photo chief,” Youngman shouted as he was leaving the office.

Cal's story that appeared in two newspapers the next day read as follows:

By Calvin J. Murphy

For The Tribune

STATENVILLE, Idaho – FBI officials confirmed the death of long-standing Boston mobster Carmen Deangelo on Wednesday when Deangelo plummeted to his death in Cold River Canyon after murdering an FBI agent.

Deangelo, who was living under the assumed name of Nathan Gold, had almost vanished before moving to Statenville in 1996. FBI officials claim that Gold established himself as a respectable member of the community before running for mayor eight years ago.

But Deangelo wasn’t leaving behind his life of crime – he was building a new one.

In 2001, two years prior to Deangelo being elected as the mayor of Statenville, he founded Cloverdale Industries, a fast-growing, multi-level marketing company that sold mostly vitamins and health products. When Gold assumed the mayor’s office in 2003, the FBI asserts that everything was in place for him to build an extensive distribution network for crystal meth in the Northwest.

“The death of Carmen Deangelo represents a major victory in the FBI’s war on drugs,” FBI Salt Lake City field office director Skip Donnelly was quoted as saying in a press release Wednesday. “Any time we can scratch a name off the FBI’s most wanted list, it’s a win for the American people. This particular removal of Carmen Deangelo’s name is a bigger victory than anyone could’ve ever imagined.”

FBI officials claim that Deangelo was the architect behind a vast drug operation that spread as far north as Vancouver, Canada, and east as far as Denver.

Deangelo stayed off the FBI’s radar for nearly 15 years. Then, in 2005, the FBI was alerted that Deangelo might be returning to his criminal ways after a known drug dealer’s body was found in Portland with Deangelo’s signature mark—-a gold coin from the 1800s stuffed in the victim’s mouth. It was the same signature Deangelo used for most of his alleged murders in Boston.

The FBI deployed two agents to Statenville to serve in deep cover and build a case against Deangelo and his Cloverdale Industries. The plan went awry beginning Sunday evening when the first of three local high school football stars were found dead in gruesome crime scenes.

The deaths rocked the quiet southeastern Idaho town. Residents were told that the student-athletes all overdosed on meth, but local law enforcement officials pressured the coroner’s office to release falsified reports.

But on Tuesday, an independent examination of evidence by FBI officials found the cause of death to be markers the meth was laced with, not the meth itself. The markers were supposed to induce what appeared like the sudden onset of a rare disease, which would alert the Center for Disease Control and subsequently the FBI. But the marker was never intended to be fatal, according to the FBI. The chemical was a marker that deep cover FBI agents were supposed to insert into random batches of drugs to track how far the operation’s network extended.

However, a rogue FBI agent undermined those efforts by engineering the additive to have a deadly effect – forcing liver bile into the bloodstream quickly, which led to uncontrollable itching beneath the skin. Already high from using meth, all three victims scratched themselves to death. One of the victims happened to be Riley Gold, Deangelo’s son.

Nevertheless, Gold and local law enforcement officials didn’t want to attract unwarranted attention to Statenville and chose to dismiss the deaths as coincidence.

But the case hit a fever pitch on Wednesday when the FBI had an opportunity to illicit a confession out of Deangelo in a covert operation. However, Deangelo chose to take his own life, plummeting into the Cold River Canyon at the southern part of the Idaho wilderness area instead of facing charges. Just moments before, Deangelo had killed FBI agent Elliott Mercer, wounding him with two gunshots before shoving him off a cliff and into the canyon.

Deangelo was suspected in the murders of more than a dozen people while living in Boston as a captain for the Scarelli family.

FBI officials have also seized control of Cloverdale Industries and have shut down operations until the bureau completes its investigation of the alleged drug making plant.

***

Cal’s journalistic efforts delighted Youngman, who edited in the details of how the case related to Salt Lake City – the drugs were flowing into the city from Cloverdale Industries. The Seattle newspaper did likewise.

It made for a compelling lead story on the front page in both cities, strengthened also by Kelly’s compelling photojournalism that captured the images of the people and places involved.

“This is outstanding work from both of you,” Youngman told the two former
Register
employees. “I’d love to offer both of you a job, if you’re interested.”

They both promised Youngman they would consider it, but at the moment, they were crashing hard from the adrenaline rush of the last three days.

The FBI provided a security detail for both Cal and Kelly, putting them up in separate safe houses that night. It was only a safety precaution FBI agents told them, adding that there was likely nothing to worry about. But the security presence helped Cal and Kelly both sleep well that night. They needed it – an awkward reunion with Statenville awaited them on Thursday morning.

CHAPTER 67

WHEN CAL AND KELLY
walked through the doors of
The Register’s
office late Thursday morning, the handful of employees remaining stood and clapped. News traveled fast, though the magnitude of such news in Statenville warranted a special edition. But it was an edition that would never get printed.

Guy was gone and FBI agents combed the publisher’s office for anything that could link him to the illegal activity going on with Gold and Cloverdale Industries. Joseph Mendoza was destined to lose control of the paper due to his ties to Gold. Sammy Mendoza would likely find some jail time, too – not the ideal candidate to take over the family business. If Kelly chose to stay in Statenville, it looked increasingly likely that the keys to the Mendoza treasure trove –
The Register
– would be handed to her at a young age.

Daniel Richardson, one of
The Register’s
board members, greeted Cal and Kelly. He informed the pair of the plans to restructure the newsroom, offering Kelly the role of publisher and Cal the title of executive editor. It was another decision that needed time.

Cal thought it sounded like a romantic idea – marrying Kelly, settling down in a small town, and making
The Register
a trusted source of information again. But as much as Cal liked the thought of it all, the idea that he would have to stay in Statenville – cow town, Idaho, as he liked to call it – for the rest of his life wasn’t so appealing. Maybe it wouldn’t have to be that way. Maybe he could have his dream girl
and
his dream job. They could investigate more corrupt politicians and governments together and win a few Pulitzers …