The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 32

Domingo sat by himself while waiting for the detectives to begin his interrogation. As the door opened, he steeled himself for what would happen. He went through his mind for the hundredth time what he was supposed to say and do if he were ever caught. The thought that he was now dead to his employers crossed his mind, and the fact they would make sure he was physically dead if he talked also weighed heavily on him.

"Domingo, I'm Detective Taylor. Are you comfortable? Need some water, maybe a snack or something?" He set a file folder on the table as he took his seat.

"This how you build a rapport with me? Do you think I haven't done this before? Come on, dude, let's get this over with."

"If that's the way you want to play it, Domingo. I'm going to be honest with you right now. I'm not really interested in the drugs you guys had. I'm here to talk to you about a kidnapping."

"Don't know nothing about it."

"Oh, sure you do. Now, let's try this again. I want to know who gave the orders to kidnap Dr. Harper."

"Who's that?"

"Okay, this is the part where I tell you that lying to me will not help you. Right now, you're looking at accessory to kidnapping and attempted murder. That's enough to potentially put you away for life."

"I said, dude, I don't know anything about no kidnapping."

"Is that so?" he asked as he opened the file and pulled out two mugshots. "Well, these two scholars say you do. You remember Fernando and Manuel, don't you? They sure had a lot to say about you. You want to try a different lie this time?"

"I don't recognize them. They could be anyone for all I know."

Taylor kept his cool through the denials. "Domingo, I know you work for someone. So, let's quit trying to say you don't. I only want to know who ordered you to kidnap Dr. Harper."

"I don't know anything about the kidnapping of some gringo doctor. I don't know anything about those two guys. And before you ask, I know nothing about the drugs."

"Told you I wasn't interested in the drugs," Taylor said as he stood and walked back to the door. He opened it and called for someone outside. "I bet you recognize him, though," he said as Agent Martinez entered the room. The color in Domingo's face vanished at the sight of Martinez.

"Surprised, amigo?" Martinez asked him as he stood by the table. "My name is Agent Antonio Martinez, DEA. We need to talk about your boss, Domingo. Detective Taylor here tells me you're involved in a kidnapping. I have you for distributing a controlled substance across international and state lines. That's federal time, Domingo."

"You got to ask yourself, Domingo," Taylor said, "how long do you think you'll last if we put you in general population in either a state or federal facility? Do you really think the guys you work for will believe you kept quiet? My bet is they'll take you out to be on the safe side. That sound right to you, Agent Martinez?"

"It's what I would do," Martinez answered. "I know for a fact if you were calling the shots, it's what you would do, too. Isn't that right, Domingo?" Domingo dropped his head, shaking it back and forth. "If I were you, I'd start talking now. Maybe I can get you into protective custody. Otherwise, you can take your chances. I wouldn't count on making it to trial, though."

Domingo squirmed in his chair nervously. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"You work for Santiago Barbero, is that right?" Taylor asked him. Domingo nodded his head. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, who gave the orders to kidnap Dr. Harper?"

"Barbero ordered me himself."

"Why did he order the kidnapping? "Taylor continued.

"He said the guy who keeps his money moving needed Dr. Harper's wife out of the way. Said that she was refusing to cooperate with us anymore, so she outlived her usefulness."

"Why not just kill her then if that's the case?" Martinez asked him.

"He said that his money man didn't want her dead. He said that exposing her involvement would bring less heat and make it so he could take her place. That would make it easier for him to move the larger sums of money without attracting attention."

"What's this money man's name?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know, man. Barbero never told me."

"So, how did Barbero find this guy? How did he start working him?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know. It's probably some guy who bought some coke and got threatened into working for Barbero—lots of people like that. You'd be surprised what you can find out about people who buy drugs. Especially the successful ones, since they like to brag."

"And you have no idea who he is other than he works in the office with Erin Harper?"

"I just relayed the orders. I don't know anything about how Barbero's money flows."

"So, what do you know? Make it good because your life may depend on it," Taylor said.

"Hey man, my job is to recruit people to run the drugs and ensure the product gets to where it needs to go. Those two guys, Fernando and Manuel, I picked them up at random. They quickly proved they knew what they were doing. I recommended them to Barbero, and he did some background checking on them. He knew they were wanted in Arizona, so Barbero chose them. The doctor was not supposed to be harmed as long as she did what she was told. That's all I know."

Taylor looked at Agent Martinez, and the two men exited the room. They stepped outside of the room and shut the door behind them. "What are you thinking?" Martinez asked.

"I think that's all he knows. At least we know now for certain that Barbero is the guy who ordered the kidnapping. That's another charge you can put on him when you finally catch him." He took a deep breath and released it quickly, trying to gather his thoughts. "We need to compare notes with what we know about the businesses used to move the drug money. I think Erin Harper can help with that."

Martinez responded, "I will have our office share what we have. If Mrs. Harper can help us narrow our suspect list, it could go a long way to shutting down Barbero's money trail."

"My thoughts exactly," Taylor said as the day's fatigue set in. "Look, it's getting late. Let's call it a night and start again tomorrow." Martinez agreed to meet again in the morning after collecting his office's information on Barbero's operation. With that, the two men parted and called it a night.