How do you survive being shot and left for dead in the Chihuahuan Desert? By being found by a beautiful wildlife photographer willing to risk her life to save yours.
A bitter ex-cop fights for his life after he runs to the sound of gunfire on the Ri...
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A woman waited for Amos at the sheriff's office lobby when he walked into work the next morning.
"She's been waiting awhile." The desk officer spoke quietly, nodding at a black-haired woman with an infant in her lap sitting in a wooden chair, one of several lined along the red brick wall. "Asked to talk to whoever is in charge of narcotics."
Amos studied her. Young, round-faced, Hispanic. Long hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. He introduced himself. "I'm Deputy Mendoza. Narcotics. What can I do for you, ma'am?"
An attractive woman, plump with motherhood, said her name was Veronica Alamilla. She reached into a flimsy plastic sack, pulling out a doll. "Take it." She thrust it at him, her brown eyes wide with fright as if the object in her hand was evil.
Amos twisted his neck, motioning to her. "Follow me." Leading her into his office,e he gestured to a chair. "Have a seat. What's with the doll?"
"Look at it." Again, Veronica shoved the doll at Amos, lifting the infant to her bosom.
He took it, rolling the doll around with his wrist, studying it. An everyday, black-haired, blue-eyed baby doll, six or seven inches long, made of thin, pink, pliable plastic. Dressed in a pink smock. Turning it over, he noticed a tear in its back. He held it closer. White residue all around the rip. Slowly, his gaze moved from the doll to the woman. "Drugs?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I think maybe. Our dog died after chewing on it."
Opening his desk drawer, Amos drew out latex gloves. Donning them, he wiped the powder with a gloved finger, sniffing.
"When our little dog died, I saw this doll beside her. She had been playing with it, shaking it in her mouth." She pointed. "I asked the children, 'Where did this doll come from?' I didn't buy it. And my littlest girl, she finally admitted, she found it on a parking lot and brought it home." She lowered her head apologetically. "She just wanted a dolly."
Amos sighed, staring past Veronica out the window at the outside world. What the hell was it coming to? A kid couldn't pick up a doll without her mother having to worry it might be filled with poison. "What parking lot?"
"I asked. She didn't know. She's only four. The other kids didn't remember seeing her pick it up."
"Do you know how long she had it before the dog chewed it? To help narrow the search?"
Veronica shook her head.
"Can you list every place you've taken her the past week or so? Grocery store. Shopping center? Gas station? Any place with a parking lot."
She nodded.
He handed her a sheet of paper and a pen. "Anyone sick, from handling it?" Amos asked.
"No. I think, probably, she found it the same day the puppy died. I had errands. The dog. She was a puppy. She liked to chew." Her eyes were misty.
"I need to keep it," Amos said. "Have it analyzed." Probably heroin inside, but he needed to be sure. What kind? What grade?
Veronica held up both hands. "I don't want it back."
"Let me have you fill out some paperwork." Amos handed her some forms. "I appreciate you bringing this to us." He put the doll in an evidence bag and sealed it.
When she left, Amos called his team together. Three investigators worked under Amos in narcotics. The team worked closely with neighboring counties and DPS Narcotics.
He showed them the doll, explaining Veronica's story. "Has anybody seen a doll like this one? We need to find out where this came from." He passed the doll to the first deputy, Mike Scott. "We don't know what's inside, or how potent it is, but it killed a dog. Pass it around. Examine it. Check out the stamp on the right foot. A quetzal."
He focused on Mike. "You oversee forensics. Have the contents analyzed. Have forensics tell us everything they can about the doll itself and its contents. The dress fabric. What's the hair made of? We want to know everything about everything about that doll."
His attention shifted to the second deputy, Jimmy Landeros. "Jim, find out where these dolls are being sold. We need a list of every retailer selling them. I'm sure the ones with drugs are hidden within legitimate shipments of something. Maybe the quetzal identifies them as being the ones stuffed with drugs. Somebody screwed up, big time, losing it. Who's the supplier? Everything. Also, any other products with a quetzal emblem?"
Amos pivoted to his only female narcotics deputy. Azucena Jiménez was a rare breed. Beautiful, black Hispanic. No one would imagine she was a narcotics deputy. She could work undercover anywhere, but he always passed on putting her in that position. He didn't want to see Azucena lose her way like a lot of undercovers did.
"Azucena, pull surveillance video from every parking lot in the county. Mrs. Alamillia made a list of everywhere she could remember being with her kids." He passed her the list. "It's a starting point. We're looking for whoever dropped that doll."
He stood back, looking over his team. They were a good bunch. He hand-picked them all.
"We're looking at a $50,000 to $60,000 doll. How the hell did it end up here, in the hands of a four-year-old? That thing is kind of like a cockroach. You see one, you know there's more."
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