In Desperation

47

Phoenix, Arizona

U pon returning to the FBI’s Phoenix Division, Special Agents Hackett and Larson were summoned to the ASAC’s office.

Two men in suits stood to greet them.

“Our friends here are with San Francisco P.D., Homicide Detail.” Seth Bruller flashed his diplomatic smile.

“Paul Pruitt,” the first man said.

“Russ Moseley,” said the second.

Hackett and Larson introduced themselves, shook hands.

“How is it looking for the polygraph?” Bruller asked.

“Good to go once she consults a lawyer,” Hackett said. “Oren’s ready.”

“Good.” Bruller nodded to the California detectives. “We need to move on this. Especially after we dropped the ball with the bus takedown.”

“That was DPS, Seth. We weren’t there.”

“Regardless. The ball was dropped, but this new twist gets us back on track. As I told you on the phone, our colleagues are here to share some important pieces of the case. In fact, they flew to Phoenix once they’d learned of the development in their cold case and its impact on ours. Let’s go to the small conference room. Kelly’s put out fresh coffee.”

“Coffee would be good.” Pruitt reached for his briefcase.

In the brightly lit meeting room, the investigators helped themselves to the ceramic FBI mugs and coffee on the credenza, then took seats at the polished table.

“If this is going to have a bearing on the polygraph, I think Oren should be involved now to expedite things. Oren Krendler is our division’s polygraph examiner. I’ll get him.”

“Paul, Russ, any objections?” Bruller asked.

“None.”

Once Krendler joined them, Pruitt began by summarizing the homicide of Eduardo Zartosa. He distributed old reports, maps, crime scene photos, explaining how the case had dead-ended.

“It went into a deep freeze for nearly twenty years, until now,” Pruitt said. “Things just started happening, cracking it wide-open, to the point where we think we can finally clear it.”

Pruitt said Donald Montradori, a drug dealer known as “Donnie Cargo,” was in San Francisco at the time of Zartosa’s murder. Montradori, a Canadian national, returned to Canada after Zartosa’s homicide and lived a quiet life until he recently passed away. Before he died he gave Canadian police a sworn statement on the crime.

“Let’s view that now,” Pruitt held up a flash drive.

Larson installed the drive in the meeting room’s laptop and the group viewed Montradori’s twenty-three minute deathbed statement.

“To me, the question is,” Hackett said, “whether he’s telling the truth.”

“That’s the reason we’re here,” Moseley said. “We need to be certain, just as you do.”

“Montradori indicated that the high-profile coverage of your kidnapping had weighed on him,” Pruitt said, “because of its connection to the old case and the fact that his conscience had never been at ease since the murder. Our receipt of the statement from Canada came at the same time your fingerprint lab and ViCAP got a hit on latents from your case, matching those on the murder weapon in our cold case.”

“This is wild, Earl,” Larson said, “just wild.”

Hackett nodded, concentrating on the files in the San Francisco case, the photos of the murder weapon, a Smith amp; Wesson. 38 Special, a set of clear latents obtained from it. There were pictures of other items in the file-a wallet, a ring, a crucifix and a lighter. Hackett was unsure of the importance of each to the case.

“Then,” Pruitt added, “the El Paso Intelligence Center kicked out a little family history on Eduardo Zartosa. Admittedly, this aspect was lost on our people back then. But we’ve certainly grasped the significance of his family ties to your case now. We think we can help each other.”

“What do you propose?” Hackett said.

“We don’t want to get in your way,” Pruitt said. “Your case is more pressing. If you’re going to polygraph Cora Martin, consider weaving some of the questions we have into it. We’d need to do this delicately but we think it would also help your case.”

“Sure,” Hackett said.

“Then let us interview her afterward. We’ve spoken to our D.A. on charges and the way to proceed, depending on what we determine.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Hackett said. “Do you, Seth?”

Bruller stuck out his bottom lip. “It should be fine. I’ll call the Assistant U.S. Attorney and brief the office. Start working with Oren here on your approach. We need to keep moving on this.”

As the investigators worked with Oren Krendler on developing a line of questioning, Hackett grew confident that this was the break they needed.

He knew that Krendler-calm, cool, nonthreatening-was a master at obtaining admissions.

Yes, Hackett thought, something’s going to pop.

But will it come in time?