A Texas Child

“The D.A. wants to wrap up this case, but he wants to be very careful the baby is unharmed. As do I.”

Tom snorted. “Like we go around hurting babies.” He made the call. “Stop the car, but make sure the baby is safe.”

They waited in silence. Myra hoped the stop went well and that Marco would soon be in custody. The time dragged. She glanced at Levi and he was doing something on his iPad. With today’s technology, he was probably keeping tabs on the car. One of the cool things about Levi was that he was a whiz with a computer.

The buzz of Tom’s phone startled her. He immediately clicked on. “Son of a bitch.” He slammed a fist onto the table. “Are you sure?...Yeah....Yeah....Let me know what he says.”

Tom ran a hand through his hair. “The driver was Juan Reyes. He works for the Mortez family and was ordered to pick up the car at the Brownsville International Airport. Juan says that’s all he knows. They’re taking him in for questioning.”

“Was there a car seat in the vehicle?” Levi asked, still on his computer.

“Damn it.” Tom reached for his phone again and asked the Brownsville police that question. Laying his cell on the table, he said, “Yeah, there was a car seat.”

Levi leaned back in his chair. “That baby is well hidden in Mexico by now and the law will never find him.”

Myra’s stomach churned. All she’d eaten today had been chocolate, and she had a niggling sense she was about to throw it up. She took a couple of deep breaths. What she’d feared most had just happened. Daniel was lost to them and to Natalie. How did she accept that?

Steve opened his computer and turned it so they could see the screen. He touched the keys. “This is the Mortez home in Brownsville. It sits on about ten acres with several metal buildings that are cooled and heated for those expensive cars. As far as we can tell, César Mortez, his wife and Marco live there. An agent checked the house yesterday and just the servants were there. One said the Mortez family had gone to the Matamoras home for a few days.” Steve clicked another key. “This is their home in Matamoras.”

Myra saw a three-story beige concrete structure with a red tiled roof. What caught her eye was the stone fence around it. It looked like a fortress and Steve echoed her thoughts.

“If Mortez has taken the baby to the Matamoras house, there’s no way in without Mortez’s permission and there’s certainly no way out without it, either. It would take a small army to infiltrate it, and the Mexican police will not help. There are not many Americans who are willing to go in, either. So I say we have a dilemma here.”

Levi studied the house on the screen. He pointed to several spots. “High-tech digital cameras are everywhere. They know you’re coming before you even get there.”

“So we just let him keep the baby?” Myra tried to keep her anger in check at this turn of events. It was hard for her to simply give up as the men were suggesting.

“There’s not much we can do, Myra,” Tom replied. “Not without getting a lot of people killed. After all, Marco is the boy’s father and he’s not in imminent danger.”

Myra jumped to her feet. “Don’t tell me that shit, Tom. Marco brutally beat a woman into a coma in this country and took her child. Natalie Stevens has full custody of that child. Marco broke the law here and he needs to be punished.”

“Marco is a Mexican citizen and I’m not sure what we can do to him in this country except deport him. I’ll contact the Mexican authorities, but I can guarantee you they will do nothing.”

Myra knew he was right, but it didn’t keep her from seething.

Tom looked at Levi. “Now, if Mr. Coyote wants to go in there and tackle Mortez and the drug cartel, he’s welcome to go, but no one from this department will volunteer. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.”

Levi’s eyes were on Steve. “What’s the Mortez family into?”

“We know it’s either guns or drugs, but we haven’t been able to catch them with anything. We’ve raided the house in Brownsville, stopped those vans carrying the expensive cars and found nothing. They seem to know when we’re coming.”

“How do you know they’re involved with the drug cartel?” Levi kept on.

Steve tapped another key and photos popped up. “That’s César, the father, with one of the kingpins of the cartel. Here are more of meetings in Brownsville. The Mortez family is involved with moving guns or drugs for them, we’re sure. We just can’t prove it, but one day they’ll slip up and we’ll get them.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Concerning the baby...” Steve closed his laptop. “Ava Mortez seems like a nice enough woman and I’m sure she’s taking care of the child. The conditions in Matamoras are not as good as they are in Brownsville and Mrs. Mortez spends most of her time in Texas. Once this cools down, she’ll probably bring the baby back to Brownsville. We keep close tabs on that house and we’ll let you know when that happens.”

“Sorry, Steve.” Myra reached for her purse. “I have a friend who is fighting for her life and I just can’t wait that long. If she wakes up and Daniel’s not here, I don’t know if she’ll survive. The only choice for me is to go to Matamoras on my own.”

“Are you insane?” Tom was the first to speak. “Stu wouldn’t want you to do that.”

“Probably not. But I’m going.”

“Myra, it’s not safe for a woman to go there alone. You’ve worked in the D.A.’s office long enough to know that.”

“Yes, I have, Tom. It still doesn’t change my mind.” She turned and walked out of the room.

Steve followed her. “Myra, please think about this. Just give this some time and we’ll flush him out.”

“Natalie doesn’t have time and Stu doesn’t, either.” She looked over Steve’s shoulder and saw Levi watching her. She could read his thoughts in his eyes: You’re crazy.

“Thanks, Steve. I appreciate your concern, but I have a feeling I’m on my own on this.” She continued her journey for the door and her legs were a little shaky once she reached her car. It was crazy. It was insane. But she couldn’t seem to do anything else. Wherever Daniel was, she knew he was afraid and wanted his mommy. She would take things slowly and feel her way.

There was no need to talk to Levi. He’d already made his position clear. Under no circumstances was he going into Mexico. She made her way to her office in the criminal justice building to tell her boss her plans.

Sitting at her desk, she gathered her thoughts. Could she do this? She thought of her parents and Jessie. And then there was Stu and Natalie. Who would help them if something happened to her?

Before she made any concrete decisions, she needed food. Opening her bottom drawer, she pulled out a protein bar and then went down the hall to the kitchen for bottled water. Munching on the bar, she resolved she couldn’t leave little Daniel in Mexico.

She hurried to the D.A.’s office and spoke to his secretary. “Is he available?”

“Depends.”

Myra knew this drill. She wasn’t getting inside unless it was important. “It’s about the Stevens baby.”

“Did they find him?”

Myra lifted an eyebrow. “You know I can’t tell you that.” Oh, turnaround was fun.

“Go in,” the girl said with a frown.

Myra tapped on the door and poked her head around. “Do you have a minute?”

Clarence waved her in. He was on the phone. Laying his cell on his desk, he asked, “Any news?”

She took a seat and told him what they’d learned.

“That pretty much takes it out of our hands.”

Myra smoothed an imaginary speck off her slacks. “I’d like to ask for some time off.”

Clarence nodded. “Sure, sure. I know this has been stressful for you. It has for the whole department. Natalie was very likable and easy to work with.”

Myra shifted uneasily in the chair, not sure how to say what she had to without him blowing a gasket. It was at that moment she realized she could lose her job over this. In the old days, that would’ve stopped her immediately, but she wasn’t young and naive anymore. She had the battle scars to prove it.

“I’m planning to go to Matamoras.”