The Test

No warnings….can you believe it?

Chapter Thirty Five

Ranger surveyed the conference room and called the meeting to order.

"As you know, we are responsible for the apprehension of Miguel Sequero and our lack of success in this area is unacceptable."

His steely gaze swept the room and filled his men with dread as he continued.

"The two recent murders show Miguel's willingness to use civilians to achieve his objectives and this willingness has attracted the attention of the TPD as well as the local media."

"The Fed has arranged for us to retain control of the investigation and insured the TPD's cooperation but we need to deliver results so here is what we are going to do."

"Tank, Stephanie and I met with Morelli this morning and copies of all investigative reports will be delivered within the hour. Please review the documents and see what was missed."

"Lester, I need you to hit the forensics lab at the TPD and get samples of every piece of evidence collected from the crime scene. We're going to run them again."

"Uh…Ric…do you think the TPD will just hand this stuff off to me?"

"They will with this." Ranger smugly handed him an official piece of paper signed by the Secretary of Defense "They'll have no choice. Santos, be sure the evidence is properly stored and controlled for transport. We can't afford to lose or compromise anything."

Lester nodded somberly "I'm on it, Boss."

"Ram, you and Vince need to take a team to both murder sites and pull any remaining trace evidence. We don't have clearance from the families and we don't have time to get it so you need to do this covertly."

Vince cleared his throat and spoke tremulously "Boss, if you don't mind my asking…why are we getting more samples if the TPD already has them?"

Ranger's look made Vince wish he'd kept his mouth shut but he met Ranger's eyes steadily as he heard him respond

"Partly because the TPD is good but we're better but mostly because I'm looking for a connection."

Vince and Ram still looked confused so Ranger went to the white board at the head of the room to clarify.

He drew two columns and listed everything he knew about Irene Sota and the prostitute, Crystal Carlyle. Then he turned to his men and asked "What do they have in common?"

Ranger watched the wheels turning as his men processed the details.

A few moments passed and Hal spoke "I don't see that they have anything in common, Sir."

"Exactly." Ranger said.

"Sir?"

"These two women have nothing in common. Our preliminary data shows that they don't work in the same place, shop in the same stores, eat in the same restaurants or frequent the same social gatherings and yet they have something in common."

"They share a physical appearance that caused both of them to be targeted by Miguel. This search isn't really about the victims, it's about Miguel."

"We haven't been able to locate him which would indicate that he remains hidden except for trips to kill, retrieve Intel or secure provisions but I believe those trips to be rare and I doubt he ever visits the same place more than once in a row."

"This means the majority of fibers, chemicals, fluids, hair, dirt etc. that Miguel is carrying will have come from wherever it is that Miguel is living. We need to isolate every particle of trace evidence and find the similarities between the two murder sites. Once we've determined the type of hole he's living in it will be that much easier to find our rat."

Every head in the room was nodding as Ranger asked "Does everyone understand this objective?"

"Hal and Binkie, re-run through every piece of evidence from the warehouse and then check all preliminary data after Tank is done with it. I want a fresh pairs of eyes on this."

"Manny and Zero, hit the street. Triple the price on relevant information leading to Miguel. Tap every source, harass every snitch."

"Report every hour for those at Haywood, every thirty minutes for those in the field. Dismissed except for Lester, Tank, Hector, Cal and Stephanie."

Ranger watched everyone else shuffle out, his dark eyes alert and cautious as he looked at Stephanie. He knew this next step was necessary but he wondered how she'd react as he stated…

"As I mentioned, Stephanie and I met with Morelli this morning and we agree that he is plotting something. As the TPD's designated liaison for this investigation Morelli can do a lot of damage and we can't afford that. Counter measures need to be implemented."

His men understood but Stephanie still looked perplexed as Ranger continued "Hector, you and Cal need to bug all Morelli's phones and I want a tracker on his vehicles…personal and department issued. I need this done immediately. Babe, any questions here?"

Stephanie smiled slightly and responded firmly "None, Ric."

Ranger turned his attention toward Lester and asked bluntly "You still seeing the Chief's admin…what's her name…Cindy?"

Lester flashed his lady killer grin and answered "From time to time…she can't get enough of…"

"Santos, we don't need to know what she can't get enough of. See if you can get Morelli's schedule out of her so Hector and Cal won't be…interrupted in theirundertakings."

His incorrigible cousin winked and said "It'll be my pleasure…"

"Work now, Santos. Pleasure later."

Ranger stood and ordered "Code Morelli's transmissions for secure viewing only through one of the core team terminals. Operation Morelli is covert and classified. Let's move out."

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