Gathering Fallen Rocks Ch. 13

Pete cleared his throat and resumed, "This is the County Sheriff's Department, FBI, the Attorney General, US Department of Justice, Border Patrol, and Immigration. Santos might be a big problem to you, but in this – he's just the speck in your eye."

Without another word, Pete turned on his heel, got into his car and drove off. Howard watched the dust cloud that followed his vehicle and forced himself to go inside. One month ago, nothing would have kept him from watching Santos Aguirre get what was coming to him. Yet, one month ago he had not met Gail Fisher. For once in his life, the bear was not going to stand on his hind legs and try to swat a gnat.

Three hours later, Howard and Gail were traveling down the highway, headed toward the townhouse to unload.

"Sweetheart, would you like to sleep at the townhouse tonight?"

"Really? So that's why you were in such a hurry to load up and leave. Oh yes, let's do it."

****

Within a week the US Department of Justice issued a press release announcing four individuals had been indicted regarding allegations of human trafficking. The individuals were charged with holding illegal aliens in "safe houses" near the US-Mexico border, extorting money from aliens' families through threats, holding female aliens in involuntary servitude to cook and clean, as well as with raping and beating them.

One of the individuals named in the indictment was Santos Aguirre, a US Citizen, who was taken from his home, along with a cache of weapons and more than eight hundred thousand dollars in cash. None of the currency was larger than a one hundred dollar bill.

The case came to the attention of law enforcement officials after a woman sought help following a particularly brutal rape. Agents of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted in freeing three other women from the Aguirre home on the night of his arrest.

Aguirre and his co-defendants were facing sentences of up to life in prison.

****

The County Clerk's office took several days to provide certified copies of the most recent documents. It was almost a month before the much older documents could be removed from the fireproof vault, copied, and certified as a true and correct copy of the original.

Atwood, Gail, and Petra were sitting in the break room waiting for Howard to arrive with the hamburgers. They laughed good-naturedly as he chastised them about the way they liked their sandwiches made. He visibly shuddered with each bite they took until everyone was laughing.

The receptionist appeared at the door, her telephone headset cord dangling down the front of her dress. "Atwood, the Deputy County Clerk is on line three. Do you want to return ..."

"I'll take the call in my office, Emily," he replied before she could finish her question. They could hear Atwood speaking as he walked around his desk to sit down, while Petra was wrapping his hamburger, hoping to keep it fresh until he finished his call.

"Hot damn," Atwood's voice sounded like an excited teenager.