CHAPTER 6
The next morning the two PI's discussed their findings over breakfast at a local Waffle Hut. Matt watched as CJ practically declared war on her meal and smiled as she devoured half of the hash browns in a flash. Looking up she caught the expression on his face. "I know – you think I'm a pig."
"Nope." He reached across the booth and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I think you're absolutely irresistible – even more-so when you're pregnant. Now eat – my boys are hungry." He smiled again as she rolled her eyes.
The pair went back to the hotel and Matt logged in to the Harris County Sheriff's Department website and started running criminal background checks while CJ concentrated on trying to find out about some of Tri-P's and Wilhelm's business deals.
"So – did you find anything?" She looked up at Matt.
"Yes – and no. Dixon has had a couple of brushes with the law: a DUI back in '81, assault in '82 in a bar fight, there was a domestic assault on his wife in early '83 but the charges were dropped. And he was also a suspect in a murder in April of '83 but the case fell flat. It's in the cold case files."
"Who was murdered?"
"Marsha Danvers Dixon – his wife."
"Very interesting. What about Broward?"
"He isn't quite as exciting. There was an assault charge on him, too – from the same bar fight."
"Were they fighting each other?"
"Nope – they were going up against Joaquin Cordoba: Alejandro Cordoba's brother and his 21 year old son Kent."
"I wonder if…"
"Joaquin is dead but I've got the son's address."
"Not bad, Cowboy."
"What about your search?" He propped his feet on the desk.
"Tri-P doesn't appear to be concerned with being on anyone's Christmas card list. There have been a slew of complaints against them over the years from land owners and employees alike. They included threats when folks didn't want to sell and several employees have been injured over the years in what seems to be safety violations. They were also accused of not paying for overtime."
"Real sweet folks, huh? What about the land developing folks?"
"Wilhelm has managed to stay clean for the most part but there have been several lawsuits from homeowners due to foundation failures."
"How did those turn out?"
"They won some and lost some."
"Do you have any details on the cases that they lost?"
"I can get them. What are you looking for?"
"The cause of the failures."
"Alright." She watched as he went back to his computer and began looking for something else. He stopped punching keys and was studying the screen.
"CJ…" He turned the laptop so that she could see. "Bexar County has oil but not as much as some other counties in the state. Most of what's here is southeast and southwest of the city." Pulling up another map he pointed to the area. "The production has slowed down a lot. And…" Matt pulled up a map showing the property that had at one time belonged to Gus Geist and that of Alejandro Cordoba. "Look right here. This is the land that Danvers drilling was working when both Geist and Cordoba complained and talked to your dad."
"There isn't any oil there." She looked at her husband.
"And there never has been. This is the geological makeup of the area. Granted there wasn't much on the Geist or Cordoba properties…"
"But there was some – until Danvers… oh, my God!"
"Look at the timeline here." Matt opened Eddie Parsons' research file. "They made offers to Cordoba and Geist four months before they bought the site in between them."
"They wouldn't sell so…"
"So Danvers got the property in the middle and slant drilled. They took the oil right out from under them."
"Cordoba's corn crop and herd…"
"…were most likely poisoned by methane that leeched into the pond." He sat back and both were quiet for a minute. "CJ, your dad had figured it out. Let's look at the property of the others that were considering joining the class action suit." They plotted the properties on the map. "That's it, Babe."
Her voice shaking with emotion, the lawyer-turned-PI tapped on the screen. "He figured out their game and they killed him for it."
"I think so." He reached for her hand. "Your dad was smart, Babe. We have all this technology and the internet to lead us here pretty quickly and he had to search through map after map to come to this conclusion."
"But we've still got to connect them to his death." She was no longer shaking, but wore a determined look on her face.
"We need to get some reports." Matt grabbed a legal pad and made a list. "Your dad's accident report, the report on Cordoba's house fire, and Geist's accident."
"What happened to Geist anyway? I didn't see that."
"Something to do with a tractor." Matt sat back and thought. "We know that Dixon and Broward are still alive. I don't want to accuse the local law enforcement of anything; most of them have probably never heard any of this." He stood up and walked to the window and looked out for a minute. "The problem is that somebody on the inside – not necessarily law enforcement, though – had to have helped them." Turning, he walked back to CJ. "DPS worked your dad's wreck. I bet Cordell Walker could help us get the information without even raising any eyebrows."
"Do you think he would?"
"The worst he can do is say no." He thought for a minute. "As a matter of fact, let's go see him. The Rangers might be interested in this."
"Okay, let's get packed and I'll call Sheila to let her know what's going on."
Twenty minutes later they checked out of the hotel and were on I-35 headed north. Matt pulled out his phone and made a call to Ranger Headquarters in Ft. Worth. "This is Ranger Trivette, how can I help you?"
"Hey Jimmy – it's Houston. How ya doin'?"
"Hey, man – good. How about you?" The Ranger picked up his coffee cup and propped his feet on his desk.
"Good, but I could use a little help." He gave Trivette an overview of what they had found.
"Holy cow. That's some serious stuff. How is CJ taking it?"
"CJ is just fine." She laughed as she answered.
"Good. Ah ha – guess who just walked in fresh from a breakfast date with a certain ADA?" The Ranger laughed. "Hang on a minute and let me tell him – alright?"
"Sure." Matt looked at his wife and gave her a thumbs up.
After a minute another familiar voice came on the line. "Hey, Houston."
"Howdy."
"Jimmy told me what you've got. Both of us have to be in court this afternoon at 3:00. What time will you be here?"
"Should be able to get there by 12:30."
"Alright, let's meet at CD's and have some lunch and go from there. How does that sound?"
"Great. We sure appreciate it."
"No problem. See you later."
Matt disconnected the call and reached over for CJ's hand. "Now we're cookin'."