Page 91 of Desperate Justice

He pulled on his black driving gloves stuffed into his jeans pocket and lifted the discarded bear, freed from its cellophane wrapping. He saw something peeking through a slight rip on the bear.

Immediately he set the bear down and covered it with the sheets. Peeling off his gloves, he dropped them onto the bed.

“Allison, leave the room. Now,” he barked. “Get the hell out of here.”

She sped out of the room. He swore in Spanish and walked to the door but didn’t leave the room. His mind whirled. The bears were supposed to be left at several drop points after the photo opp. They’d received a text that anyone with a tan bear should drop them off either at The Dive Bar or a local store because the tan bears were designated for an orphanage.

Now he knew why the bears were separated.

Rafe dialed Jase.

Soon as his colleague answered, Rafe told him to contact Greg Whitlock with the Miami DEA.

“Tell him I need local DEA here within the hour. Have them dress like bikers to blend into the crowd here. I don’t want to create attention. Call Keith and have him let the agents into his room. Use extreme caution. Pack test kits, respirators and gloves, hazmat gear. Tell them to get into the hazmat gear before entering Keith and Debbie’s room. I need them to check out the tan bears on the bed inside that room.”

Jase’s voice lowered. “Copy that. Damn, Rafe, what did you find?”

“Fentanyl. I’m pretty damn sure of it.”

A low whistle. “Copy that. You okay?”

“Yeah. I didn’t touch it. I saw a clear package with pink and blue pills inside the bear. Keith and Debbie’s dog Comet is at the animal hospital. When the cellophane was removed from the bears, he sniffed the bear and got sick. Dogs have extraordinary scent receptors. Tell Greg what happened.”

“Copy that. What do I tell Lincoln?”

Rafe’s mind raced over the potential bureaucratic pitfalls. As his supervisor, Lincoln had been hands-off the Hernandez investigation, letting Rafe lead his team until Rafe botched the undercover assignment at the Hernandez mansion.

Lincoln had been firm on Rafe staying out of the investigation while he was suspended. If he failed to follow protocol, Rafe knew he could ruin his career and get Jase into deep trouble.

“Tell him I found something and you’re checking it out. If this turns out to be what I suspect, we’ll bring the team in to investigate, but quietly. I can’t risk letting Hernandez know we’re on to him.”

“Lincoln will want a team on this.”

“He’ll get a team.”

“He’ll be pissed you’re involved.”

“That’s my prob,” he shot back with impatience. “When Hernandez is finally arrested, Lincoln can get all the credit and the glory. And I’ll finally sleep easier knowing that son of a bitch Hernandez is behind bars.”

“Copy that. You think the local police will get wind of what’s going on?”

“I don’t want to alert them until we have something. Then we can work with the sheriff, if Greg vouches for him. Last thing we need is a corrupt local sheriff tipping off whoever did this.”

“Copy that. Where are you headed to?”

“The Dive Bar. I saw more of those tan bears in a box and I need to check them out.”

“Copy that. This sounds serious. Be careful, Rafe. I don’t like you flying solo on this.”

“I’m not solo. Thanks.”

He hung up and thought of Allison and groaned. He had to find a way to ditch her until he checked out The Dive Bar. It was getting far too dangerous. But what the hell could he tell her?

Being left behind was not going to happen. She lingered near Rafe’s bike, wondering what the hell he had found.

Somehow this had to be connected to her sister’s disappearance.

Rafe laid a hand on her shoulder. Her startled shriek was cut off by his hand clapped on her mouth.