Page 110 of The Ranger Gets His Girl

Simon's eyes narrowed, and he sat forward, suddenly all business. "It is. Caroline DelVeco?"

Mason nodded, running his hand through his hair with a sigh. "I had a feeling you or Johnson might have a file already on her. When I mentioned it to the new boss, he said to come feel y'all out."

"Who'd you get assigned to?"

"Sarmiento."

"Oh good. I like him."

"Me too," Mason said. He'd been in the office barely a week, so it'd been an adjustment. But they'd helped him adjust and welcomed him with open arms. There'd even been a few good natured ribbings over his age, since the cutoff to join the Marshals was thirty-five. He'd just barely made it.

They discussed his new office and coworkers, the differences between how the Marshals work and how the Rangers and FBI work. Then they circled back to Henderson's Pub and DelVeco.

"So the drug ring that we've been busting up is like a hydra. We cut off the leg that was shipping through Hawaii, right?" Simon asked but didn't wait for an answer.

"While you were in training, we traced it back to the source in Colombia. Took it out, but another one with the same packaging and drug popped up on our radar about a month or so ago in Guatemala."

Mason nodded and crossed his ankles, leaning back in the chair. Simon opened his computer and typed while he talked.

"We think DelVeco is one of the cogs in the wheel. The drugs are coming into Dallas and funneling through her restaurant, or she's laundering money for the kingpin."

He spun the computer screen around and showed Mason some of the evidence they'd gathered so far.

Mason sat forward and frowned, "DelVelco reached out to the Marshals requesting protection if she gives information on a major crime organization. She hasn't given details yet. I'm supposed to make contact and see if it's a legitimate request or if she knows anything worth following up on, help with the application, and offer protection during the review process. Sounds legit, though."

Simon nodded. "She has a brother in prison. Not sure if that's connected or not."

Mason shrugged. "I guess we'll find out. What time do you want to go to Henderson's?"

They made plans for later that night, then Mason went to check in with Johnson. It was a good meeting with no hard feelings, which he'd been a little nervous about. He was heading downstairs to update Sarmiento on the plan when his phone rang.

He stopped on the landing of the staircase and answered.

"Hello."

"Hello son. Are you busy?" Ray asked.

Mason grinned and shook his head, leaning against the wall. "Not really. I have a few minutes."

"Wanted to see if you'd come fishing with me this weekend. We missed you at the Fourth of July party. Helen wants us to go fishing and have a fish fry with all our family and friends to celebrate your new job."

He frowned. "It's not that big a deal, Pops. She doesn't need to—"

"Oh I know. But she insists. So, are you free or are you working this weekend?"

Mason rubbed his head and thought. It was only Tuesday. "I'm not sure, Pops, but I can try. I have my first case," he shifted from foot to foot excitedly.

"I'm not sure what the hours will be or if I'll have the weekend off. Let me go feel out my boss and see how these things work. It's supposed to be a protection type thing."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, let me know when you find out. If you can't fish and could just show up for the party, that would be good enough for me."

He smiled and stretched his back. "I'll keep you updated, Pops. How's Lucy?"

He missed her like hell. She'd sent him a lot of the photos she'd taken in Hawaii, but he hadn't talked to her in months. The pictures helped. But every milestone in training, he'd wanted to call her up and tell her about it.

Instead, he'd call Ray and guide the conversation around to her.

Ray chuckled. "She's still miffed that you weren't here for the Fourth of July party, but she's been upset a lot lately. Helen's daughter and son came to the Fourth, and Lucy unleashed a verbal whipping the likes I'd never heard. Didn't think she had it in her, honestly."

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