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this case until he was absolutely sure they were not involved.
    Dix nodded and caught himself biting his nails, “I’d like to say they’re off the list, but something about Romero has me wondering. Did you notice how hard he was trying to get the confidential source file from Kovach? Almost like he was preoccupied and didn’t care about the case.”
    Petersen was a skeptic at heart and had noticed Romero’s odd behavior, but he had originally passed it off as him living up to the federal agent stigmatism of being extremely dry. “Your hunches tend to be right, so I’ll follow your lead. Everyone’s a suspect until further notice.”
    They spent several more hours eating Chinese take-out while examining the case files. They spent a lot of time reading Romero’s case notes from Pedro’s no-dope meets, money flashes, and controlled purchases. Many of the shorthand notes were missing information, correct times, or accurate details. They noticed the notes looked like chicken scratch and had no meaning. Dix chuckled because the notes pretty much summed up working narcotics- messy, dirty, and missing information.
    After establishing a good foundation for the essence of the case, they turned their attention to the planning stages. They needed to figure out how to discreetly ferret out an educated, likely highly decorated agent working the wrong side of the law.
    Petersen offered, “The guy we want has to be closely tied to Pedro. I think we could eliminate most of the people in these files because we both know only the CS handler knows, or should know, exactly where the CS lives, what his phone number is, where he hangs out, what he drives, and all the other details someone would need to find and kill him.”
    Dix considered one person would or should know all of this for sure, agent Romero. He nodded, “We need to focus on the case from the point Pedro was stopped at the Tijuana border in the car loaded with cocaine. The cartel got to someone wearing a badge at that point, or maybe even before. The other thing we have to do is ensure Pedro is adequately protected at the hospital and that his whereabouts are closely guarded.” After finishing his statement, Dix started to wonder if the Sheriff’s Office was capable of putting an armed Deputy at Pedro’s location twenty-four hours a day. He estimated it may take two or more deputies to protect him and he was curious why HSI hadn’t assigned anyone to watch their CS.
    “Ok, so let’s work a few more details out over a scotch,” Petersen said as he retrieved a bottle of Oban and poured two equally filled glasses, no ice.
    They worked throughout the night. Out of the forty to fifty law enforcement candidates who may be involved with the case, they were able to narrow the list down to seven. The others weren’t off the hook and were still considered to be involved; however, they’d work back to them if needed. Right now they had to quietly figure out how to eliminate each name from the list and hope Pedro stayed alive long enough for them to do it.
     

 
    Chapter 10
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    Jose Calderon graduated college, spent two years in graduate school, and used substantial cash advances from the cartel to become a prominent business man in the Gas Lamp District of San Diego. His restaurant, El Diablo , was quite successful. It also served as a front for large scale narcotics trafficking. Once the narcotics were across the border, they were distributed to the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. He often hosted fundraisers at El Diablo for local foundations/organizations. His most frequent customers at the restaurant tended to be local law enforcement. On occasion he volunteered at the local soccer clubs where his nieces and nephews played. He hid his underworld dealings solidly behind the façade of being a supportive local business owner and dedicated family man. He smiled to himself as he reflected on how much he enjoyed operating right under their noses. He sipped