Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) (37 page)

“
Yeah, well, no kid should have to go through cancer.
”

“
I
’
ll tell Mary
,
and we
’
ll get everything set up. Thanks, Trace
. S
he really is a good
gal
. Just made a bad mistake.
”

“
No worries, mate, as
my Aussie friend
always says. Hell, the only guy who never made a mistake lived two thousand years ago. And you couldn
’
t
have
hire
d
him anyway.
”

C
hapter
3
4

C
hief Inspector Rand followed the police sergeant to a squad car
,
where Malcolm Trueblood was waiting
,
and opened the squad car door
.

“
Mr. Trueblood, I
’
m Chief Inspector Rand. I need to speak with you,
”
he
said,
sliding
in
beside Trueblood and clos
ing the
car door.

“
What
’
s this all about, Inspector?
”

“
We found a note the dead fellow
,
t
he guy
with his pants around his knees
lying
in the street
,
e
vidently
wrote
just before he expired.
”

“
What
’
s that got to do with me?
”

“
Your name is on the note. Along with the name
,
Pantelli
.
”

Chief
Inspector Rand saw Trueblood flinch at the name
Pantelli
.

“
I take it from your reaction
,
you
’
re familiar with the
Pantelli
s?
”

“
Am I being charged with anything?
”

“
Not at the moment. We
’
re just trying to figure out why this fellow was watching you
.
Why he w
as
carrying a vial of nerve toxin
,
and
why he
put
your name on the last thing he ever wrote.
”

“
I see. So you think I was the intended target?
”
             

“
Yes
, I do
. Do you remember a
while back when a Mr. Richard Rosenburg died of a stroke in a department store parking garage?
”

“
Yes, I do recall reading of his death. He lived not too far from me in North Vancouver.
”

“
Did you know the man
?
H
ave any business dealing
s
with him?
”

“
I knew he was involved in penny stock companies and had done fairly well over the years. That
’
s about it. Why do you mention it?
”

“
We think the
fellow
, lying
in the street
over
there
,
killed Rosenburg. And
you were his next target
.
”

“
Why would he want to kill me?
”

“
I think both you and Rosenburg are
,
were
,
involved in some way with the
Pantelli
crime family out of New Orleans. Look, we
’
re going to run your passport, travel records, phone records,
e-mails
, the full
-
meal deal.
If I were you, I
’
d be very cooperative.
Just because they missed tonight
,
doesn
’
t mean they won
’
t try again.
”

“
Jesus,
”
Trueblood whispered, lowering his eyes and
nodd
ed
.
“
Yes, I know the
Pantelli
s. I had a meeting with them in Las Vegas a short time ago.
”

“
What was the meeting about?
”

“
The company I run here in Vancouver
, Twisp River Resources, and the
Pantelli
s both own shares in a junior Vancouver
-
based mining company. I flew down to discuss our mutual holdings and to see
how
we might better benefit from our stock ownership.
”

“
Uh-huh. What
’
s the name of the mining company?
”

“
Montana Creek Mining
,
Corporation. It trades on the VSE. Symbol is MCM.V
.”

“
Do you own the shares personally
,
or are they owned by Twisp River?
”

“
They
’
re owned by the company.
”

“
Do you control the company?
”

Trueblood took a deep breath
.
“
N
o the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of an offshore holding company.
”

“
What
’
s the name and domicile of the offshore company?
”

“
Carib International. It
’
s based in the Cayman Islands.
”

“
Who controls Carib International?
”

“
I
’
m not at liberty to disclose that information,
sir
.
”

“
We
’
ll find out.
”

“
Good luck.
”

Inspector Rand smiled
.
“
Okay, Mr. Trueblood. That
’
s all for now. Do you need a ride home?
”

“
No,
sir
. My car
is
just down the street.
”

“
Okay.
Thank you for your help. We
’
ll be in touch. And Mr. Trueblood
,
don
’
t leave town without contacting me first,
”
Chief
Inspector Rand said, handing
Malcolm
one of his cards.

First thing the following morning Chief Inspector Rand was on the phone to FBI Special Agent
,
Beau Monroe.

“
Agent Monroe, this is Chief Inspector Rand in Vancouver.
”

“
Yes,
sir
. And what can I do for you this fine morning, Inspector?
”

“
Fine morning? You must not be in Washington. I saw
on TV
it was snowing like crazy in D
.
C.
”

Monroe laughed
.
“
T
hat
’
s why you
’
re the
c
hief
i
nspector, Inspector.
I
’
m in our New Orleans office.
What can I do for you
?
”

“
I think we got Rosenburg
’
s killer last night.
”

“
No
kidding
?
What happened?
”

Chief Inspector Rand filled
Agent
Monroe in.

“
The note had
Pantelli
and
Trueblood
written on it?
”
Monroe asked.

“
Yes, those two names and the letters
c-h-e-m-i
. Which we
’
re guessing was
going to be the word
c
hemist
.
”

“
Uh-huh. Any ID on the body?
”

“
Yes, a passport and
a
Las Vegas driver
’
s license. Both in the name of Joseph Baglio. We think both documents are forgeries. We checked with immigration
,
and
Baglio
entered
Vancouver
about a week ago.
He r
ented a car
at the airport
and a room at
a downtown hotel
.
Then he
more or less dropped off the radar screen.
”

“
Can you send us his prints?
”

“
Will do, just as soon as we get him decon
’
d enough to take them.
”

“
Jesus.
He
’
s a mess, huh?
”

“
Well,
i
f
he
isn
’
t,
he
’
ll
do until
a mess
comes along.
”

Agent Monroe laughed
.
“
O
kay
,
Inspector
,
send us everything you can, as soon as you can
, a
nd we
’
ll get
on
it. By the way, we may have a lead on
our dead
c
hemist
friend
.
We located a small
-
time druggie doing a nickel in a federal pen here in Louisiana. He claims a hit
-
man, using the nickname of
the
Chemist, did wet work for the
Pantelli
Family.
”

“
Good work, Agent Monroe.
P
lease keep me posted
,
and I
’
ll do likewise. Oh, one other thing. Share ownership in
Montana Creek Mining
keeps popping up.
As you know, i
t
’
s a Vancouver company
,
but according to Trueblood
,
their mining claims are in Washington State.
And
i
f you r
emember, Rosenburg supposedly shot
William
Thorn
ton
for trying to steal
his Montana Creek Mining
shares. Well,
it turns out
Trueblood
’
s company, Twisp River Resources
,
is a
lso a
shareholder
in
Montana Creek Mining.
And
it gets better. A
ccording to Trueblood,
members of
the
Pantelli
crime
family
are also shareholders
.
”

“
The proverbial common denominator.
Good work y
ourself, Inspector.
I
’
ll check on Montana Creek Mining
’
s U
.
S
.
holdings from my end. Please keep me posted on anything
else
you turn up
.
With the
Pantelli
s in the melee, it
’
s likely to get even more interesting.
”