The Last Witness (Badge of Honor 11)

“Splash,” O’Hara said, shaking his head.

“Splash,” Byrth confirmed.

“And then it sank?” Payne said.

“After a few minutes. Meantime the inflatable

s moved in, the mule climbed out of the truck window, bloodied but okay, and they loaded him aboard. Then, as the pickup sank, the bundles started floating, and they grabbed them and motored back to grand ol’ Meh-hee-ko.”

“To wait and try again,” Payne said.

“And again and again. We have to hire a giant wrecker to come and recover all the vehicles. There’s no end to it.”

“Remarkable,” O’Hara said, then after a moment added, “Which just inspired me.”

He reached down to his feet and brought up his briefcase. He pulled out a small laptop and put it on the bar. After opening it, his fingers flew across the keyboard.

A couple of minutes later, he held out the computer to Washington.

“I am honoring our agreement that it’s off the record, Jason,” Mickey said. “But when you say that changes, this might help.”

Jason’s eyes went to the screen:

HOT HOT HOT – Proofread for typos only then IMMEDIATELY POST to website!!! –O’Hara

Breaking News . . . Posted [[ insert time stamp ]]

Dog Stops Mule

Bust by Airport Police Nets a Million Dollars in Cocaine Hidden in Drug-Runner’s Luggage

A Philadelphia man returning today from a business trip in the Caribbean was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport after two kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in his luggage. The flight originated in Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Calling the bust unsurprising, a police spokesman explained that baggage is constantly monitored at multiple levels for various types of contraband, from explosives to illegal drugs.

In this instance, the detection device was the nose of Molly, a two-year-old chocolate brown Labrador retriever. On a routine check of bags, Molly alerted on the suitcase containing the bricks of 100 percent pure cocaine powder estimated to have a street value of around one million dollars.

“In the last year Molly has sniffed out more than a thousand keys of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. She has never had a false-positive,” the police spokesman said, referring to when a dog mistakenly indicates a suitcase as carrying illegal drugs or other contraband.

“The mule trying to smuggle the cocaine didn’t have a chance with this dog on the job,” the police spokesman added.

Police have not released the name of the man arrested. He now faces felony charges for possession with intent to distribute, which carries a mandatory four-year sentence.

More details to come.

—Michael J. O’Hara

Washington looked back at O’Hara.

“Good idea, Mickey. Do it, please.”

“What?” Payne said.

O’Hara turned the computer so Payne and Byrth could read it.

“It’s worth the chance,” Byrth then said. “Getting it in the news could help get Garvey off the hook with the bad guys. Whoever they are.”

“Then he’s back to dealing with going to jail,” Payne said. “I wonder how many innocent mules wind up serving time.”