“Two people were involved in the murder that took place in the pasture beside my home. Your husband was there, and I believe Josh Mooney was with him. One of them killed a woman that night and tried to track down another woman but lost her.”
Caroline broke down and cried openly. Josie spotted a box of tissues across the room and handed them to her. She sat quietly for several minutes as Caroline cried herself out. “I’ll get you a drink of water,” Josie said.
She walked into the kitchen, found drinking glasses in the cabinet, and filled one from the refrigerator water dispenser. When she handed the glass to Caroline she sipped the water until she had calmed somewhat. Josie sat down and decided to remain quiet for a while to see where Caroline wanted to go with the information she’d just heard. She finally set the glass on the table beside her and leaned back into the chair.
“I’ve spent the last year watching my life transform from a life to be proud of to a hideous mockery. I sit here looking at you now, and I have no idea how to move forward. I would like to say that I have no idea how I got to this point, but I do. I tell you now, I wanted to help. I wanted to come up with a way to help women in terrible situations. But it’s all so twisted and turned so horrible.”
“But you accepted money from women, and then got them a job that’s little better than modern-day slavery. How was that ever good?” Josie asked. She knew she was allowing her personal feelings to interfere, and she took a mental step back to refocus.
“I had to take money! Especially in the beginning. It was an expensive venture, helping those women move across the country, across an international border. And I did my best to connect with reputable employers.”
Josie couldn’t imagine how Big Ben would ever be considered reputable, but she let it slide.
“I understand,” Josie said, nodding, trying to redirect the conversation. “Was the mayor involved with this from the beginning?”
She shook her head no, her expression forceful. “No. I wanted to do this on my own. It was my project.”
“When did he get involved?”
“When things fell apart. The other deliveries went fine. The girls experienced a smooth trip, they had jobs waiting for them when they arrived. Then my lead driver moved to the East Coast unexpectedly, and I was stuck trying to find a new driver. And that put Josh as the lead. Obviously that was a disaster.”
“When did you ask the mayor for help?” Josie asked.
“When Josh called from Piedra Labrada to tell me two of the women had escaped. I had no choice but to ask Steve for help.”
Josie noted her use of the word escaped. How could Caroline use that word if she’d viewed what she was doing as humane?
“And how did he help?”
Caroline’s expression changed. She considered Josie again, as if realizing who she was talking to. She took a moment to respond. “I don’t think I should continue this conversation,” she said. Her voice had grown quiet and Josie knew her welcome had just ended.
She stood and placed her business card on the table beside her chair. “My cell phone number is on the card. If you’d like to talk, give me a call.”
TWENTY-TWO
After a morning and afternoon spent coordinating with Sheriff Roy Martinez and two Texas state troopers who served the Arroyo County area, Josie finally received the phone call she’d been waiting for.
“The search warrant is approved,” Holder said. “I just called the mayor’s office and he’s still there. You get your team out to the house. I’m going to tell the mayor in person. That’ll give you a few minutes to get out there and set up with Caroline before the mayor comes in ready to blow. I’ll warn him that we will arrest him for interfering with a lawful investigation if he gives us the slightest provocation. But I’d plan on him giving you grief.”
*
Josie and Otto rode in her jeep, two sheriff’s cars followed, and two state DPS cars followed them. They filled the mayor’s driveway. Josie and the sheriff approached the front door together and presented Caroline with the documentation and explained that they were there to search for the weapon used in Renata Carrillo’s murder. Caroline looked stunned.
“The mayor isn’t here,” she said, grabbing the doorframe as if she needed help standing. “I’m calling my attorney.”
“Prosecutor Holder is talking with the mayor now,” Josie said. “For now, we’ll ask you to have a seat in the kitchen while we go about our business. You’re welcome to call your attorney from the kitchen.”
They wasted no time. Six officers carried out the search while a sheriff’s deputy remained stationed in the kitchen to keep an eye on Caroline and to watch for the mayor.
Josie and Otto were both in the home office when the mayor arrived. They ignored the raised voices and continued the search, knowing the sheriff’s deputy would take care of the mayor if need be.