Chapter 7

“I’m nervous,” said Tony, as he paced. They were in another motel room, waiting for the investigators to get there.

“I relaxed you before we came here,” said Heather, patting her belly. “I’ll relax you again after they’re done.”

“They won’t ever be done,” said Tony.

“We’re doing this to be free,” she said.

“I know that, Heather. I just don’t trust them. That’s all. And I can’t believe you’ve been talking to them behind my back.”

“If I had told you I was going to do that would you have cheered me on?”

“No,” he grunted.

“And I did tell you I was going to try to bring him down. These are the people who can do that.”

There was no knock. Agent Robinson just keyed the lock and walked in, followed by Agent Brooks, Trooper Davis, and an older man with graying hair.

“We need to pat you down,” said Brooks to Tony.

“Do I get to pat you down?” Tony responded.

“It’s just to make sure you’re not armed.”

“I have a concealed carry permit and I am armed,” said Tony. “I have a Rock Island forty-five in a holster on my right hip. I am not a danger to you. I just want to hear what you have to offer. If it’s sufficient to our needs, then we’ll have a nice, long talk. But at no time will I be a threat to you. There are a ton of threats out there to me, though, so I’m not going to let you disarm me.”

“Come on,” said Heather. “It’s four of you guys with guns against him. He’d be an idiot to even touch his gun.”

“Three men with pistols,” said the older, unidentified man. “Hi. I’m Roger Anderson, the Attorney General for the state in which most of this investigation is taking place. It is highly irregular for me to be here, but I suspect most of the crimes and victims are citizens of my state. I have a vested interest in all this because I’m expected to discover and shut down things like this. Giving immunity is a big deal. I’m an elected official, and if the voters believe I gave the wrong person immunity, I might be out of a job.”

“This is all highly irregular,” said Heather. “I think if we get on with it, you’ll be satisfied that you’re not giving the wrong man immunity.”

“I can’t give him anything until I find out what I’m buying,” said Anderson.

“How about this,” said Agent Brooks. “We haven’t advised him of his rights, but he’s an obvious suspect and we’re going to ask him to incriminate himself. If he answers those questions before being advised of his legal rights, then we can’t use that in court. We’ll know about it, though, and it can guide us further. How’s that?”

“If the defense finds out we did that they’d claim that anything else we got was fruit of the poisonous tree,” said Anderson.

“One moment, Gentlemen,” said Heather.

She pulled Tony to the bathroom but didn’t close the door.

“If we could offer to show them where a murder victim is buried, maybe that would get us what we want? And if they don’t, then you don’t show them. It’s not a crime to know where a murder victim is buried, is it?”

“They could make it into a crime,” said Tony. “That Anderson guy being here is a big deal, Heather. If he’s taking this that seriously then he wants to put somebody in jail and he’s not going to rest until he does. I’m not sure I want to be the sacrificial goat, here.” He stared at her. “But it’s a good idea, and maybe he can’t make it into a crime.”

They returned and Tony put his hands in his pockets. He looked like any relaxed businessman, in a suit with no tie.

“I can tell you where the bodies of six murder victims are. Is that enough?”

“How do you know?” asked Anderson.

“Because Bob told me to dig six holes with a backhoe where there was no construction project going on,” he said, calmly. “I also used the backhoe to fill in those holes. That’s all I’m going to say until you make a decision.”

Anderson stood there. He was obviously thinking. He looked at Agent Brooks. “What did your people say?”

“He’ll be put in front of a grand jury. He has to confess to everything he can think of that he’s an actual witness to, or things he did. In exchange he’ll be offered complete immunity to everything he talks about. If it is later learned that he perpetrated a crime he did not tell us about, then the immunity does not cover that crime and he can be prosecuted.”

Anderson looked at Tony.

“Are you going to take that deal?”

“I’d have to have two things,” said Tony. “I’d have to have it in writing, and it would have to come from both the Feds and you.”

“But you’d cooperate in that way if all that was done?”

Heather reached to take Tony’s hand.

“Yeah,” said Tony. “I’ll tell you anything I can think of. And I can identify people who saw things, or did things, and told me about them.”

Anderson reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a piece of paper that was tri-folded into a long rectangle. He handed it to Tony.

“I already had a conference with the AUSA that will prosecute most of this. I’ll pick up the pieces. He’s going to offer you the same thing as is in that document I just handed you.”

Tony opened the paper and Heather leaned in to read it with him. As they did so Agent Robinson extracted a similarly folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket.

“This is probably similar to that.”

Anderson waited until Tony looked up.

“I’ll do it,” Tony grunted.

“Then I’m not needed here and I have lots of other places I need to be. I have one piece of advice for you.”

“What?” asked Tony.

“I shouldn’t say this, because what you offer has to be received as a confession. These gentlemen will advise you of your rights and take you into custody. That will only mean you have to stay in this room until they are finished. In other words, you’ll be arrested and detained, but no charges will be filed against you. There is some legal mumbo jumbo in that process and it would make you more credible if you had an attorney to advise you during this process. What I mean, and shouldn’t say, is that when they ask you if you want a lawyer, you should say yes.”

“I don’t have a lawyer,” said Tony.

“Yes, you do,” said Heather. “Well, I do and he’ll take you on, too.”

“Okay,” said Tony. “I want a lawyer.”

“Let us go through the process,” said Robinson. “We need to dot all the eyes and cross all the tees. A lot of people are going to look at this and it has to be done right.”

“If you arrest me, you’ll have to search me and take my gun. I’m gonna be real nervous about that.”

“Was the gun you have on you ever used in a homicide?”

“No,” said Tony. “I never killed anybody. I watched some stuff. Bob made lots of us watch. It was to teach us a lesson.”

“Okay, then, I’m going to arrest you on suspicion that you abetted a homicide by digging a grave.”

“I didn’t say it was a grave,” said Tony.

“Let me finish,” said the agent. “After we arrest you and search you we’ll advise you of your rights and question you. Based on the immunity you have, no charges will be pressed and a thing called a detention certificate will be issued. That formally says you were detained, but not charged with a crime. I’d have to give you back any property I temporarily deprived you of.”

“Sounds complicated and looks complicated, but we’ve already prepared for this. I can have documents faxed to a computer of my choice and have everything in half an hour. During that time Agent Brooks will be here with your gun and will protect you from any danger that is perceived.”

“I can’t be gone all day,” said Tony. “I told Bob I was going to the dentist.” He looked at his watch. “I only have half an hour before I need to go back.”

“We’ll meet with you as often as possible,” said Davis. “Could somebody visit you where you live without causing suspicion?”

“I have nosy neighbors,” said Tony.

“Would they think it was strange if you didn’t come home sometimes?”

“No. That happens all the time.”

“Then we meet you somewhere else, use the time you have and keep moving forward. It may take a few weeks.”

“My house,” said Heather. “He drives me home every night. If there was someone there he could be interviewed at my house. And that would be after work, so Bob wouldn’t notice anything.”

“Unless he told me to do something after I take you home,” said Tony.

“Okay!” said Heather, frustration in her voice. “On nights when you didn’t have to go back you could be interviewed.”

“That would work for us,” said Robinson. “Since you’re going to have to testify, once the arrests start happening, we’ll arrest you first. Then we’ll have all the uninterrupted time we need to interrogate you. Except it won’t be an interrogation. It will just be us talking and getting you ready to testify.”

“Okay,” said Tony. “Arrest me.”

Brooks said, “Tony Partridge, based on a spontaneous statement you made, you are under arrest for suspicion of abetting a murder.” He held his hand out and Tony placed his pistol in it. “Now, I’m going to read you your rights,” said Brooks.

“I want a lawyer,” said Tony at the appropriate time. Brooks handed the pistol back to Tony, who holstered it.

“I will give you time to consult with an attorney and interview you at a later date. Don’t leave town.”

“Got it,” said Tony.

“I’ll call you and tell you the next time it looks like he can stay overnight at my house.”

“Overnight?” said Robinson.

“You’re going to question him for hours, right?”

“Oh. Right.”

“I’m not going to bang him in front of you,” she teased.

“Thank you for that,” said Robinson.

“Can you fax those to me?” asked Vick, after she described what had happened and who was involved.

“I don’t want to use the fax machine at school,” said Heather.

“Then go to Office Depot and pay them to fax them to me.”

Twenty minutes later he called.

“I’ve never seen a deal this sweet, or this crafty. They must be expecting some amazingly important information, but Tony had better deliver. Make sure he understands that if he doesn’t do exactly what they say in that document, then it isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. I’d recommend he have a lawyer with him during all interviews, to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. That reminds me. I’ll go on retainer on the phone, but both of you need to have a dollar ready when I get there. I won’t be able to be there during all of his interrogations but I can prep him for the process. You, too.”

“Got it. When can you come?”

“I was going fishing tomorrow,” he said.

“Tony won’t be available until late, maybe midnight,” said Heather.

“Well, I guess I get to fish after all. Can you get me a motel room?”

“You can just stay in my spare bedroom,” she said.

“I’m gonna get paid a lot of money for this, Heather.”

“Fine. I don’t care. Just help us get through this without going to prison.”

“Based on the documents you sent me, he’s fine. They want the sun, moon, and stars but if he complies he’ll be okay.”

“Good,” she said.

“You, on the other hand, do not have a deal like he got. We’re going to need to be careful about what you say.”

“Why? I didn’t do anything.”

“You saw a lot and it might be said you abetted a crime. That will be bullshit, but let’s avoid it altogether. I want you to video link me into any interview they do with you. Wear an earpiece and I can advise you what not to answer or how to phrase it. If I can’t link in, then don’t let them interview you.”

“You’re a busy man,” Heather noted.

“I am, but I have a few dozen people working for me in my usual business model. You’re special. I hope to realize a large settlement on your behalf, but even if I don’t, I’ll know whether I want to get involved in whistle blower law in the future. You’re not a drag on my time, Heather. I’m eager to see how this all plays out. All I need to know is when they make arrests and charge people. Then I can slap our lawsuit on them and claim some of what will undoubtedly be seized by the government.”

“Okay,” said Heather. “If you say so. I think they’re going to start the interviews tomorrow night at my house. They’ll have to be in the middle of the night so Bob doesn’t sense something unusual or expect Tony to be at the club.”

“Call me when you find out,” said Vick.

“I will,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”

“Part of your payment will be to show me your tattoo. I’m a man and it sounds like it was fun to see.”

“Gee, thanks a lot. Why don’t you just come and watch a show. Most of the girls don’t show their tattoo, but I dance completely nude, so everybody is going to see mine.”

“You tempt me,” said Vick with a laugh.

“We’ll have to meet sooner or later,” she said.

“I’ll look at my schedule and think about it,” he said.

Tony sat on the couch and Heather sat down next to him, with their hips and shoulders touching. She reached to lay a possessive hand on his thigh.

There were new people there. Agent Brooks was there, but there was another man and woman he introduced as an FBI tech guy and IRS Agent Thurman, respectively. Heather didn’t really pay any attention to them. Trooper Davis was there, accompanied by a young man wearing glasses who was introduced only as “Ted our number cruncher.” He and Agent Thurman seemed to know each other and they sat together on chairs brought from the kitchen.

Both video and audio were recorded, as Tony began to describe what his life as a criminal had been like. Several times Heather’s grip on his thigh tightened as he described something that was an emotional scar on his soul. It was clear that he felt loyalty to Bob, because Bob had saved him from almost certain death (or prison) on the streets. At the same time, he had to do things and see things out of his loyalty that he found disgusting and repulsive. Several times he said, “You just got to swallow and go on.”

He described Bob’s part in a professional “Body relocation business” where cartel members in Mexico charged people thousands of dollars to be smuggled into America, only to be told they still owed thousands of dollars and that if it wasn’t paid, then families in Mexico would “pay the price”. Many of these people became the capillaries that fed the cancer that was the cartels. Bob’s part in all this was to collect the refugees once they were in the US and transport them deeper into the country, where they could be dispersed to where the cartel wanted them. He did this by using shipping containers that appeared to be hauled by established trucking companies, but the markings on his trucks were counterfeit. Tony described how neither the cartel nor Bob cared whether the bodies they moved had more food and water than was absolutely required for whatever leg of the journey they were on. Dead bodies in the shipping containers were fairly rare, but those were just dumped on the streets of American cities.

If there were “suitable” women in a shipment they would be removed and Bob would send them to pimps for “a fee”. Heather heard Tony tell where the tattooed women went when they were too old to dance. If they had family they could ‘retire’. If they didn’t have family they were sold to pimps, too. When he sold them, the tattoo was altered so that the dragon looked more like a lizard. The women had no choice in this matter and Bob got most of them addicted to some substance so that he could control them with its supply. So did the pimp, once he bought her. Tony provided the names of six women he could remember and the street names of the pimps they had been sold to. As soon as he gave that list Agent Robinson got up and went to the kitchen, where he relayed the information to his office. From there it would go to field offices where these women were last seen and other agents would attempt to locate them and interview them. Tony said Bob kept a record of the women he sold in a thin red book that he kept in the safe.

Also in the safe were the books Heather had seen and photographed. Those kept track of the money coming in and out of offshore accounts that the IRS didn’t know about. He didn’t know how much was in these accounts other than “millions.” At this point Agent Thurman and Ted asked a flurry of questions to which Tony only knew the answers to maybe a quarter of.

Tony knew much more about the money Bob raked in in the club itself. He said he knew Heather had “contributed” at least twenty-three thousand dollars from her tips to Bob. He knew this because Heather had turned over that money to him and he had counted it before he gave it to Bob. Chuck had also taken money from her, but neither Tony nor Heather knew how much it was. Tony said Bob often just pocketed that money, instead of putting it in the till for the day’s proceeds.

What did go into the till for the day’s proceeds were bundles of cash that had nothing to do with the operation of the club. That money came in sealed containers, delivered in the mornings when the club wasn’t open yet. The van that had a liquor company logo on it delivered cartel money from drug sales. That van arrived every other day. Bob got a cut of that, but Tony didn’t know how much. Another truck showed up once a week that had money from prostitution in the city. Bob got ten percent of that, for laundering it. He said he didn’t take more because then he’d have his own excess funds issue.

Once a month Chuck flew to the Bahamas with specially built luggage that carried bundles of hundred dollar bills packed in them. They contained, so said Bob, some kind of chemical that fucked with the noses of the dogs airports used to scent cash. Chuck deposited this money in an off shore account, but Tony didn’t know what bank it was in. He said records of that were in the books Heather had seen, too.

“How much does he take each trip?” asked Agent Thurman.

Tony shrugged.

“The suitcases are heavy. That’s all I know.”

Then they got to the dead bodies and the mood in the room darkened. Heather’s grip hardened and then she moved her hand to take his as he described people who had crossed Bob or the cartel, and who were executed and buried. The location was a patch of land that Tony thought was three hundred acres. It was fenced and a tin building inside the gate had a sign on it that said, “Nichols Enterprises LLC.” No explanation or further information was presented to the public to identify what Nichols Enterprises LLC did, except that there were half a dozen pieces of big construction equipment parked around the yard outside the building. Most of it, Tony said, was junk and didn’t run. It was there for camouflage to make the backhoe fit into place. The backhoe worked and Tony operated it. It was used to dig quick holes in which to dump murdered victims. The bodies were buried deep so no odors could be detected. Tony said it only took him fifteen minutes to dig a grave and ten minutes to fill it back in.

He stopped. He’d done this before, when he was thinking of what to say next. Thus far the only questions anyone asked him were for clarification, or more detail. Now he looked down, remained silent, and everybody saw a tear roll down the shiny skin of his left cheek.

“What?” asked Heather.

“I’d forgot,” was all he said.

“Forgot what?” asked Agent Brooks.

“There was this family, on vacation or something. They were lost and they drove onto the farm because the gate was open. We were there and I was digging a grave. They just drove up and the guy gets out and says they’re lost and he asks for directions. We couldn’t believe it. I mean I couldn’t believe it, for sure. And the woman screamed from inside the car because she saw the body we were getting rid of that day. And then the guy saw it, and he ran for the car. Bob shot him in the back.”

Again he was silent for a long time.

“And the rest of them?” asked Agent Thurman.

Now tears were making tracks on both cheeks.

“They put them all in with the guy we were there to bury,” he said.

He looked up.

“The car they were in is still in a shed at the place. I was supposed to take it to the crusher but I was sick for a week and never did it.”

“You were sick?” asked Thurman, who seemed to understand Tony, and knew what to say to keep him talking.

“Bob knew it was too much for me,” said Tony. “He had this stuff he shot in me if I got too bad and it put me to sleep. Eventually he just put me in his office and I watched TV all day long. They have this channel that has old stuff on it. I liked Bonanza and MASH and a bunch of those old shows. I remember I was fine one day and then this one called Petticoat Junction came on and there was this family on it and I broke down and he gave me a shot. After a week I went back to work and I forgot about it.”

“Until now,” sighed Heather.

“Yeah.”

“And you saw Bob kill them? He did it himself?” asked Brooks.

“He shot the man and woman. There were two kids. Teenagers. Chuck took care of them. That place is out in the country and there are no houses within three or four miles, so nobody hears gunshots. I remember I sat there, horrified. I mean it was one thing to off some criminals and put them in the ground, but I couldn’t believe these people had just driven up and Bob and them turned around. I was sitting on the backhoe and I turned it off when the guy got out. It just all happened so fast, but I remember Bob yelling at me to start the backhoe and fill the grave in but all I did was sit there until Chuck got up on the machine and said if I didn’t fill it in, he was going to put me in there, too, and fill it in, himself. For a long time I believed the only reason he didn’t was because he didn’t know how to run it.”

“What kind of guns did they use?” asked Trooper Davis. Everybody looked at him. “What did Bob and Chuck use to kill this family? When we dig them up, what caliber of bullets will we find in the bodies?”

Tony blinked.

“It was a long time ago. I mean it has to be ten years since that happened. Bob carries different guns. I don’t know which one he had that day.”

He blinked.

“Chuck loves this Taurus 40. It’s all I’ve ever seen him carry. He likes knives, too. Chuck is like ... like he has nerves of steel. One time he cut off three fingers of this guy with a hatchet. He did them one at a time until the guy finally said what they wanted to know. He didn’t even flinch. Chuck, I mean. It was like he was trimming fingernails instead of cutting fingers off.”

“Any idea where this fingerless guy is now?” asked Brooks.

“He’s one you’ll dig up,” said Tony. “Bob was like that. He’d promise you if you cooperated you could live, but once he got what he wanted, he didn’t take any chances there would be revenge, or anybody testifying. He just offed people he saw as a threat.”

“So how many graves are out there?” asked Brooks.

Tony closed his eyes and his lips moved. The people in the room realized he was doing math in his head and Ted gasped as he realized math was needed.

“We put five graves in a row,” said Tony. He blinked. “There’s a lot of rows maybe five or six? I’m not sure.”

“Fuuuck,” groaned Ted. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

“You and Agent Thurman can leave,” said Brooks. “We’ll call if we need more from you.”