“He met Luis Mendoza in Italy three years ago and has been with him ever since. No close friends, except two post-op transsexuals, who have ‘husbands’ and live near Orlando. They are American and she met them at a party held on a yacht owned by a legitimate business associate of Luis. But they are not likely to come out of the woodwork for this.”
“What about the relatives, are any of them likely to want to collect the body?”
“Sir, I took the liberty. One of the US Embassy staff has already attended the Heber home and the answer was, “I have no other children.
“I drew up a legal release to deal with the body as we see fit, which was signed by Herr Heber.”
Sean looked at Ryan. The young man was an excellent lateral thinker.
“Good work. Okay, here’s how we play this. No mention of the victim’s true gender is ever to be released. All reports will state she was female. If we release the fact she was male, then although Luis’s standing may fall, he is likely to retreat more than he has already, and be even harder to take down. I considered releasing the information, just so his drug dealing friends would find out about it, but then one of the other cartels would step in and take over the operation, so we would still have the same problems. We can always hold onto the information and release it later to our advantage. The problem with that is there will simply be another Luis to fill his shoes.
“However, it seems that already we have someone in the DA’s office who has shown their hand. I want to know who he or she is and I want a phone tap and a tail authorised by court order by lunchtime.
“Next, I want the remains to be put in a casket and I will arrange for one of my undercover special agents to pose as a close friend, and she will collect the body in a couple of days. But first, I want whoever Luis is sending to arrive and start making him or herself known. You will all take up positions ready to render assistance to the undercover agent.”
“Sir, who is going undercover?” one agent asked.
“I have a specialist on this one. An extra-special agent,” he said, meeting Ryan’s eye.
Half an hour later, at 08:00, Michelle arrived in her clapped out Chevrolet at a small farm fifteen miles north of Miami.
It seemed deserted, so she walked up to the house and rang the bell. She heard it ring, but there was no movement from within.
She was walking round the side of the house when she came face to face with a very large black man wearing dark overalls, a webbing belt around his waist with a holstered sidearm and combat boots.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was looking for someone,” she said, slightly startled.
“Are you Miss Hoyte?”
“Hoyte? I suppose so,” she said with a frown.
“Come with me please, Ma’am.”
He gave an impression of power and authority, which the holstered pistol reinforced.
She followed him to what appeared a rather dilapidated barn, but on closer examination she saw it was only designed to look like that, in fact it was in excellent repair, yet it wasn’t a barn.
They entered and suddenly Michelle realised she was in a top secret Federal training facility. She was shown into an elevator and they went down.
Her guide left her and she found herself in a modern reception area.
She stood there, feeling very vulnerable and self-conscious. She was wearing jeans and a clean tee shirt, with boots and a sun hat.
A pretty girl in a smart skirt and pale blouse came over to her. She had a plastic ID card attached to her blouse.
“Hi, you must be Michelle. I’m Carol, Agent Ellis told us you were coming. If you’ll come with me, I’ll get you measured for your equipment. Sean should be here soon.”
“Equipment?”
“Yes, as I understand it, you are assisting with an undercover operation, so we need to get you fitted with your equipment.”
Michelle’s expression must have shown her confusion.
“Agent Ellis stated that you were on loan to us and you had agreed to take part in a little subterfuge. Is that not accurate?”
“No, I mean, yes. It is just that I’ve not done anything like this before.”
“Oh, I understand. Well if you just follow me, we’ll just take some measurements.”
Michelle was taken to a side room, where she was very efficiently measured, weighed and left feeling even more confused.
When Sean and Ryan arrived some twenty minutes later, she was stripped down to her underwear and looking more uneasy than ever.
Ryan was staggered to see that her figure was as near perfect as he’d ever seen on a woman, even in the centre-fold of Playboy magazine. Her tight panties gave no hint of what really lurked between her legs.
“Just what the hell are you doing to me?” she said, as soon as Sean entered.
He looked at Carol and she innocently looked back at him.
“You did want her fitted out?”
“Yeah. I suppose so. But I’d rather you had waited for me to explain what was happening to Michelle.”
“You mean she doesn’t know?” Carol asked, shocked.
“No, not yet.”
“Oh Shit. I’m so sorry. I thought she’d been briefed.”
“Not yet.”
Carol handed Michelle a robe.
“Here, honey, put this on. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
She then left.
“Okay. I’m sorry. We were delayed at the Sheriff’s office. Now here is what we want you to do,” Sean said, outlining the plan for her.
* * *
Three days later, at four thirty in the afternoon, Maria arrived in the small town and headed over to the Sheriff’s office. She went in. A female deputy was behind the counter.
“Yes Ma’am, can I help you?”
“Yes, I hope so. I am enquiring about the fatal car wreck. I hear that a girl was killed and as my friend has not contacted me, I was wondering if it could have been her.”
“You friend’s name, please ma’am?”
“Nadia Heber. She is a German national.”
The deputy looked at her for a moment.
“Wait there please, I will check for you,” she said, and left her at the counter.
The deputy reappeared with a sheaf of papers.
“Okay, if I could just ask you a few questions. Can you describe your friend and give me an idea as to what you thought she was wearing?”
“Certainly, Nadia is about twenty-five, about five foot seven or eight, and she has long light brown hair. I don’t know exactly what she was wearing, but it would be expensive,” Maria said, flashing a smile.
“Do you know if she has any marks and or scars?”
“I don’t, I’m sorry. I don’t think she had any visible. Oh, wait she had a tattoo of a ring of thorns in black around her upper left arm.”
The deputy took some notes.
“Just what is your relationship with the deceased?”
“I am a friend. That’s all. I don’t think she had any family over here. So, I was wondering whether it was her and whether I could help in any way.”
“Okay, I am afraid that the deceased is confirmed as being Nadia Heber. Actually, some family has been located. Her cousin has formally identified the body. The release papers for her transportation to Germany are being worked on as we speak.
“Her cousin?” Maria asked, surprise and shock quite evident.
“Yes Ma’am. She is staying over at the hotel. There are one or two administrative matters to sort out, so she’ll be in town until tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll go speak with her. Is it possible to view the body?”
“The body was pretty badly disfigured, Ma’am. In fact her head was about the only part that was not reduced to a pulp. She hit the tree at over 120mph.”
“Oh.”
Maria was in a quandary. Luis wanted his beloved Nadia back, but if the family were actually collecting her, then she didn’t want to risk exposure.