02

Matt arrived at the courthouse at 9:30 the next morning and was cleared through security. He met up with MacLemore and Holt in the hallway outside of the courtroom. "Boy, somebody's looking snazzy today. Kind of makes me feel underdressed." Rich laughed as Matt pretended to straighten his tie and the sleeves of his suit jacket.

"Wasn't sure this monkey suit would still fit. Madre Rosa and CJ are some darn good cooks." He laughed along with the others before they filed into the courtroom and had a seat. The assistant DA that was prosecuting the case approached and was introduced to Matt.

"Thanks to your hard work with Lynch we've got a really good shot at putting Lockwood away for a long time." Jennifer Garnett shook his hand.

"It was a long time coming."

The arraignment got underway shortly and as the DA presented her views on why Lockwood should be denied bail, the audience in the room remained quiet. There were several TV crews and reporters present and although Matt hadn't seen her, he sincerely hoped that Tamara Placer wasn't among them.

After Garnett stated her case Lockwood's defense attorney stood. "Your Honor, my client is a well-known businessman in the community. He owns many properties and is in no way a flight risk. We ask that a reasonable bail be granted."

Judge Marsha Wynwood removed her glasses and looked at both attorneys. "Mr. York, your client stands accused of several crimes in this case, one of which is accessory to murder during the course of another felony."

"Yes, your Honor, but we feel-"

"Bail is denied. Mr. Lockwood will remain in custody until trial. Court adjourned." The gavel smacked down and there was a flurry of conversation from Lockwood's table between himself and the lawyer as the guards assigned to him began putting him in cuffs for the return to the jail. He turned to his left and saw Houston, Holt, and MacLemore as they stood to exit the courtroom and the look that he gave them was pure hatred. The guards removed him and led him out the side door. York approached Garnett and the three investigators.

"Mr. Lockwood would like to have a meeting with you to discuss a possible deal." It was apparent that he had been operating under the impression that his client would be set free on bail. To say the least, he looked unnerved.

Garnett looked to the three men and Don MacLemore nodded his assent. "I think that can be arranged."

"My client would like to talk today."

Once again Garnett looked to the Fire Marshal and he shrugged and nodded. "How about two o'clock this afternoon?"

"I'll be sure to let him know." York turned and quickly made his way out of the courtroom, refusing to answer any questions from the press, which Matt now saw to his displeasure included Tamara Placer.

"Son of a…" He spoke under his breath.

"Oh, great." MacLemore rolled his eyes. "I think no comment should be a great answer. How about you two?"

"Works for me." Holt led the way up the aisle as the other two followed.

Leaning over where only MacLemore could hear him Matt spoke, "I'll meet y'all at the jail about 1:30." The answer was a nod and the PI made quick work of exiting the building. He climbed behind the wheel of his truck and went to the offices of Houston Investigations. As he rode up in the elevator he thought about how much time had passed since he was last there. He stepped into the lobby and went up to the stained glass doors, punched in the security code, and unlocked them. He immediately locked them back once inside and reset the alarm.

After going behind the bar and starting a pot of coffee, he descended the stairs to the gym and went back to change out of the suit and tie, preferring to put on a pair of blue jeans and a red and white striped oxford cloth shirt along with duty boots.

Back upstairs he poured himself a cup of coffee and strolled out onto the patio looking out over the city. He pulled out his phone and dialed the Texas ranch.

"Houston residence." Madre Rosa had been the one to pick up.

"Hey, how's it going this morning?"

"The morning was good. Now it's afternoon." She gave a laugh.

"Is CJ resting?"

"I believe she's in the den. Hang on."

There was a moment's pause and then his heart leapt as his wife's voice came across the line. "Hey, Cowboy! How did it go?"

"Great. The judge denied bail and now Lockwood wants to talk this afternoon." He took a sip and changed the subject. "So how are you feeling?"

"Itchy." She knew he would laugh and wasn't disappointed.

"Tell you what: I'll get you a whole barrel of that lotion you like so much - the one that smells like Tahiti."

"How about we just get the cast off and go to Tahiti?" Both were thinking back to their honeymoon at the resort that Matt had given her for a wedding present.

"Won't hear me complain. I think we could use a vacation."

"What's the matter? Getting allergic to work?"

"No, but I am getting irritated with a certain reporter showing up everywhere I go."

"Wonder how she found out you were there?"

"I have no idea. Wish like hell she hadn't."

"Just try to ignore her, hon."

"I'm doing better than that: I'm at the office with the door locked and the alarm on." There was a roar of laughter on the other end of the line.

"Surely she won't break that restraining order again."

"Better not." He looked at the phone as it beeped. "Lee's on the other line. I'll holler at you later, Babe. Love you."

"You, too. Be good."

He switched over and answered the young detective's call. "Hey, bud."

"The LT told me you got back yesterday."

"Yeah, had to go to Lockwood's arraignment this morning. He wants to have a sit-down this afternoon. The judge said no way on the bail."

"There's some good news. Anyway, we haven't gotten diddly on Barkowski."

"Yeah, that's what Hoyt said."

"So Lynch wouldn't say anything about him but he did about Lockwood?"

"Uh huh. Think he's scared of him."

"He's a creepy one alright." Changing the subject he grinned. "Bridget still wants you to tell us if we're having a boy or a girl."

"Ah hah. Well, maybe y'all could come over for some supper tonight. Think she can handle a steak?"

"I'm sure she can - maybe five or six." Both men laughed and Matt thought back to CJ and her big appetite when she was pregnant with the twins .

The two continued to talk for a few minutes and then Lee had to go out on a call. The PI started to take a seat and then silently chided himself for not being cautious enough as he went back into the office. He could have easily been a target for one of Barkowski's hired goons while on the penthouse office's patio.

Sitting down on the couch, he pulled up BABY, the computer that he used in his work while in the office. The message on the screen popped up as always: HIYA, BOSS!

"Howdy to you, too, BABY." He pulled out a flash drive containing the family tree information that CJ had dug up for him and began reading. He hadn't read completely through the details while in Texas.

Jaime Leonardo Mendoza had been Matt's grandfather, a dairy farmer in Chihuahua whose humble beginnings and hard work had led to financial success. Unfortunately, only one of his sons - Arturo - took after him. He had gone missing when in his twenties at the same time as Jaime, with no sign of either since. The other son was Fernando Rodrigo Mendoza, the founder of Las Serpientes gang. Matt took another sip of coffee and considered the information. Probably killed both of them to take over the family business.

Returning to the file, he looked for information on Jaime's wife - Matt's grandmother Topsana. According to CJ's research she had been born just outside of Lubbock, Texas and had moved to El Paso when she was eighteen for work. That's where she and Jaime had met. They were soon married in Mexico and settled down to start a family. There was no further information on her either. Sadly, he shook his head. Had Fernando killed everyone?

He read on to find that Fernando had married Ines Claudia Palomo from Sinaloa. Ines had borne three sons but only Diego had survived: the other two boys had died from the flu when four and six years old. She had died in 2010 from a heart attack.

Reading further he saw that Diego had never been married but had fathered a child when he himself was seventeen. His jaw dropped when he saw the name on the page: Jose Mariano Safronio. That was it. When Matt had helped Homeland Security Agent Chris Oakley out in Laredo he had shot the kid in the leg. He closed his eyes and thought back to the encounter, the whole scene playing out in his memory like a movie.

Taking a quick peek around the back bumper the PI got off a shot at one of the men, hitting him squarely between the eyes. A shout went up from the SUV and as another shooter tried to help their friend, Matt took aim and shot him in the right shoulder,

spinning him around and causing him to hit his head on the open door of the vehicle.

The driver was trying to advance on Matt who fired three more shots in his direction. As the driver made another attempt, Houston shot him in the left thigh, causing the shooter to go down in a heap screaming. Oakley popped up and took out the remaining shooter with a shot to the belly.

While Oakley checked the two on the passenger side Houston checked the other two. The one that had been shot in the leg was crying. "Hold pressure on that." Not sure that he had understood, the PI repeated the phrase in Spanish. "Mantenga la presión en eso." The man nodded and held it as Matt pulled a knife out of his pocket and cut off the man's t-shirt, making a tourniquet out of it. "Who's the sniper?" Matt looked at the puddle of blood that was getting bigger around him as their backup arrived along with an ambulance.

"El Tigre."

The kid had bled out before getting to the hospital. Safronio was only seventeen.