Old Growth & Ivy (The Spook Hills Trilogy Book 1) (29 page)

Ivy's thoughts wandered away from the
case.  The work on the house was progressing well, with the painters
starting work downstairs.  Ivy was envisioning a Christmas wedding with
the party held indoors.  In the center of the lower garden, they planted as
large a noble fir as they thought would take root, which Ivy planned to keep
decorated with small white lights year round, adding and replacing strands as
needed.

She was exercising daily to keep her
anxiety at bay.  Mathew was right when he told her that being part of the
operation was less stressful than she might have expected -- Operation Spook
Hills taught her that.  Nonetheless the continuing worry about when the
next strike might happen was taking its toll.  On the bright side, she was
aware that Steve was secretly planning a trip to Europe for the holidays. 
Ivy caught him closing a document on his laptop called something like
"Holiday Europe -- 2013".  She pretended to have been looking
elsewhere to let him surprise her.  How pleasant were these interludes
where they could dream, plan, and hope for another life!  Without them,
she feared they each might despair.  They could see this new life in front
of them – one that they each seriously wanted and perhaps desperately
needed.  Yet the threat and danger of the Fuentes brothers lay between
them and their goals. 

Brian and Moll were briefing Steve,
Mathew and Ivy the next morning on their analysis of the FEDEX and UPS
data.  At first their findings took a backseat to showing off the software
they developed.  Their slick browser-based interface displayed the data
like Steve's models, but they dressed it up with color-coding and a stylized
dashboard, creating a sophisticated interface that made the data instantly accessible. 
It also had an artificial intelligence engine built into it that helped in
finding patterns and cataloging results.  The software used a brilliant
color scheme with galactic shades of deep blues, bright turquoise and neon
yellows.  Whenever a given task would take time in a very large database,
a variety of options were given to the user to present partial results as they
became available or to start a totally different process while the first one
was working.

"Chief, check out these major
trends in the deliveries to the Fuentes," Brian said trying to contain his
excitement.

Ivy wheeled her chair over to see the
projection more clearly and was sitting next to Steve, disturbing his
concentration with her proximity.  Having her close and smelling the
delicate natural scents that she wore distracted him.  Today she softly
exuded cloves and oranges.

Using an electronic pointer, Moll
started talking and indicating areas of the screen.   "For a man
living alone and isolated like Eduardo, getting deliveries takes some of the
pressure off his brothers -- and he has a lot of stuff delivered.  First
we made a table of shippers that we flagged as likely legal, like Dell, Amazon,
Saks, and so on.  We took out the shipment transactions from those
shippers and any return boxes back to those shippers, placing them in a
separate table."

"Next we sorted the remaining
transactions by count," Brian chimed in.  "Many were onesies,
twosies and we pushed those into another table for later research if
needed."

Moll picked it back up sounding far
more polished than usual.  "Then we sought patterns in the remaining
data with repeating deliveries.  Ninety percent of them were from four
companies named in the Fuentes style.   You see them here,
highlighted in turquoise.  For the past three years, two to six times a
month at random times, overnight packages were delivered to the Fuentes home
from four companies located in Las Vegas, Miami, Corpus Christi and Reno."

"Any pattern to the size or
weight of the packages?" Steve asked.

"Good question," answered
Brian.  "All are standard large UPS or FEDEX boxes that always stay
well under the required 20-pound limit.  We estimate that if they were
shipping dollars in twenties that they could send around $25,000 in a box or in
hundreds around $125,000."

"So $130,000 to nearly a million
a month," Mathew quickly calculated.  "Not big dollars for drug
profit, but on top of what is likely still laundered through banks or stashed
elsewhere, not a bad cash reserve.  Shipments of cash would give credence
to Ivy's theory that they have constructed an underground bank in those
mineshafts."

Steve noticed that Ivy was frowning at
the data.  That puckered brow meant she was thinking.  "Ivy what
are you scowling at?"

"For the transactions you
eliminated, have you matched the source delivery addresses with actual company
addresses where they have operations?" she asked Brian.

"What do you mean?

"This may be farfetched, but
these guys are devious.  Could they have set up a company, or several for
that matter, that appears to be a retailer, even say something like Amazon.com,
and pretend to run a distribution center using that company's logo, packaging
look-alikes, and so on, but are actually sending money to themselves?"

Mathew started nodding. 
"That would make it much easier to ship money, have it appear to be books
or whatever and go undetected."

Moll picked it up. 
"Possibly more money back to the First Consolidated Bank of Fuentes? 
We'll get right on it."

"I'll request data on
international shipments
to
those four companies and all shipments
by FEDEX, UPS and DHL
from
any of the suspected Fuentes
companies," Steve said.  "If the international information pans
out, we should have grounds to get the legal authority to inspect packages as
they appear in the delivery companies’ systems.  If not, then we have to
figure out how the money is moved into the U.S.  With such a tight network
as the Fuentes run, I am guessing they wouldn’t trust the cash to underworld
carriers.  Moll, you see any packages in the Fuentes mail in Santa
Fe?"

"Small ones, like bubble wrap
brown or white ones.  Maybe a half dozen.  I do wonder, though if
those boxes I saw in the van contained more moolah-roo." 

"They must inventory the
shipments between each other by phone or using the shipper email
alerts."  Ivy said.  "We should check that out."

"Right," Steve said. 
"Now we have enough basis to gain authority for a stealth cell phone
interception device that we can have moved into the hills nearby.

"It intercepts how?" Ivy
asked, her expression curious.

"It puts out a stronger signal
than the local cell tower and the calls go to it first.  It will grab the
calls, record and transmit them to us while it also sends the call on to the
local tower."

"Devious.  I like it. 
No land line wire taps?" 

"We haven't found any evidence
that they have a landline."

"Can we get text, email and
Internet access, as well as voice?" 

Steve nodded.

"Why haven't we already done
it?"

"Very sensitive legal area --
invasion of privacy," Mathew interjected.  "That's why we have
to show probable cause and get the legal authority."

"Jeez, it's a wonder the FBI ever
gets a case solved."

"Frustrating at times, however we
do get them solved.  Believe me, we would rather move more quickly but we
have to adhere to due process," Mathew said, using his attorney
voice.  "We are part of the Department of Justice."

Ivy made a face at him.  Steve
continued with her train of thought.

"Everything about the Fuentes
operation points to their management of the logistics of the drug trade. 
They are moving the drugs between countries and cutting down bulk shipments in
bales into boxes of packets for street distribution through middlemen. 
That’s what we saw during the raid in Mexico.  That would mean they are
paid in big dollars for each sale of drugs.  Likely the twins handle
collections, or now maybe just one twin.  They may do some of the transport
of the cash using hidden compartments on the yachts."

"Maybe they moved in when Pablo
Escobar was gunned down in Colombia back in 1993.  Didn't he and his gang
handle the so-called logistics?"  Moll wondered aloud.

"Who?" Ivy
asked .

"Major drug lord," Steve
responded.  "Had most of the government and police forces in Colombia
on the take.  A special task force hunted him for years, finally running
him to ground in his home stomping ground of Medellin, Colombia.  Yeah
Moll, I think that is highly likely.  The Fuentes stepped into a vacuum,
used the Escobar business model, grabbed as much as they could handle and then
expanded from there.  Likely they are not quite as big or all-powerful as
Escobar, but they are keeping a major part of the Colombian drug trade organized."

"By the way," Brian said,
"The pattern of where the packages came from changed right after you
raided the drug repackaging plant in Mexico City."

"How so?"

"Fewer packages.  More use
of Miami and Corpus Christi."

"Bingo.  Could mean that we
killed a Fuentes twin in that raid and not an actor."  A cold smile
of satisfaction spread over Steve's face.

"Let's get busy," he
said.  "I'll call to get the international data. Moll, you and Mathew
research those retailer packages.  Ivy, brief me this afternoon on geological
soundings and the use of robotics in mineshafts.  Brian, listen in and
then review the maps of the known mine tunnels on the property.  I want to
sound knowledgeable when asking for a surveillance team to go exploring --
stealth mode, of course."

Ivy smiled at Steve and scooted her
chair back to her desk leaving a lingering scent of her perfume in the
air.  He inhaled, taking a sensory snapshot of the scent.  They had
set a tentative date of the second Saturday of December for the wedding,
getting a caterer scheduled and invitations designed for the celebratory
party.  Steve wanted all that to happen on schedule and then they could
move on with their relationship as husband and wife.  He had a need to
make that commitment and he thought Ivy felt the same way.  Given his
stubborn nature and her sometimes hot temper, they would have their squabbles,
but he knew that this relationship of theirs was one that would last.

***

Mathew worked with Moll and Brian to
review the data in their database, analyzing it with the dashboard they
built.  He found their software to be even slicker than he originally
thought.  He could see that once they had a couple of banking clients
under their belts, their business was going to take off.  Mathew considered
asking to be an investor.  With that notion, he realized he was thinking
like his Dad and maybe that was okay, as long as he made time for a strong
personal life and family.

He noticed that the relationship
between Ivy and Steve was changing and deepening.  He wondered what caused
the change.  Maybe it was because they were mostly recovered from the
shootings.  Whatever the cause, Steve now regarded Ivy with even more love
than before.  He acted as if he could not get enough of watching
her.  Their separation last summer and then the tragic shooting at their
reunion had brought them closer.  He could almost see the invisible
strands that bound their hearts together.

Mathew forced his thoughts back to the
case against Astuto.  Ivy's conjecture might be right about the bogus
fulfillment companies.  They found what Moll called an Amazon.com twinner
company in Corpus Christi.  The agent that Steve sent to check out the
site found a small office suite, which only contained empty cartons and tape
with the Amazon.com, cases of blank white paper and a funky sort of drill
press.  The office was unmanned.  As Steve would say,
"Bingo."  They added shipments from that warehouse location to
their suspect shipper list. 

The data on international shipments
was due to arrive the next day from DHL, quickly to be followed by UPS and
FEDEX.  Brain and Moll were eagerly anticipating getting their hands on
the international shipment data.   Since their prospective first
client had postponed their startup until January, this data analysis for Steve
was a good filler project for them.  Until this case Mathew had never
appreciated what great data hounds those two were, much less understood their
hidden talents for analytical software design and programming.  He enjoyed
watching them transitioning from FBI agents into businessmen.  The tool
they developed appeared readily adaptable to many types of transactions. 
After this was over, they needed to sit down with Ivy and Steve, brainstorm
uses for it and broaden their horizons on marketing.

Working with a designated group of
legats in
D.C
, Steve verified that all the required
paperwork was prepared to obtain the necessary legal authorization for the
package inspection, the cell traffic interception and the mine shaft
exploration.  As soon as they had the analysis of the international
shipment data, he would move to get the necessary search warrants and court
orders.  Mathew noticed a change in how Steve was working.  He acted
more trusting of each person's ability and he delegated more.  This
approach let the team perform around him while he pulled the threads together
and handled the critical work with the FBI Legats.  His mind was just as
sharp, but Mathew could see that he was sharing the responsibility for results
more with each team member.

They continued to track the twin's
movements in and out of the United States under as many false identities as
they knew about.  Eduardo appeared to stay at what they dubbed "The
Bunker" in New Mexico.  The delivery trucks rolled up the driveway a
few times a week.  Other than that, it was as if no one lived there. 
Yet someone must.  This was the toughest time on a case, when they were
close, but not close enough to act.  They had to follow the sage advice
from Virgil:
Durate
et
Vosmet Rebus Servate
Secundis
,
Carry on and Preserve Yourselves for Better Times.

***

Finally by the second week of
November, Ivy was relieved that Steve judged they were positioned to obtain the
legal authority they needed to advance their case against the Fuentes. 
The international delivery data arrived in three drops to the secure server
they had setup.  Moll and Brian attacked it with all the single-minded
intensity of two wolves after their quarry.  They worked all night, waking
Steve, Ivy and Mathew at five in the morning to share the results. 

All five of them were jubilant! 
The international data showed regular shipments from various Astuto businesses
that they identified in Colombia and Mexico.  They matched the timing of
those packages to the locations of the twin(s), based on their alias passport
data, as he or they moved in and out of the United States.  Mathew, Steve
and Ivy verified the data and the findings to be certain their facts were
right.  Once they confirmed that all was in order, Steve authorized the
legats in D.C. to take forward the requests for intercepting packages to the
Bunker, for setting up the cell phone traffic monitoring and for exploring the
mines on the Fuentes properties.  Once they had the judge’s approval, they
could proceed with each initiative.