The Racketeer

went to the bar, got in a fight, went to jail, bonded out the next morning, went back to your motel room at the Safe Lodge, back to the room you paid cash for, got some more cash and bought yourself a Hummer.”
    “Where’s the crime in paying cash for a vehicle?”
    “None whatsoever,” Pankovits said. “But you weren’t supposed to have that much cash at that point.”
    “Maybe I was wrong with some of the dates and some of the cash payments. I can’t remember everything.”
    “Do you remember where you bought the guns?” Delocke asked.
    “What guns?”
    “The Smith & Wesson .38 we found in your trailer and the Glock 9-millimeter we found in your storage unit, about two hours ago.”
    “Stolen guns,” Pankovits added helpfully. “More federal offenses.”
    Quinn slowly locked his hands behind his head and stared at his knees. A minute passed, then another. Without blinking and without moving a muscle, the two agents stared at Quinn. The room was silent, still, tense. Finally, Pankovits shuffled some papers and raised one. He said, “The preliminary inventory shows a wallet with $512 cash, a fake driver’s license from North Carolina, two prepaid Visa cards, a prepaid cell phone, the aforementioned Smith & Wesson .38, a bill of sale and a title for the Hummer, a lease agreement for the mini–storage unit, an insurancecertificate for the vehicle, a box of bullets for the .38, and a few other items, all taken from the mobile home you were renting for $400 a month. From the mini–storage unit, we have inventoried some clothing, the Glock 9-millimeter, a pair of combat boots, some other items, and, most important, a metal box with $41,000 in it, cash, all in $100 bills.”
    Quinn slowly folded his arms across his chest and stared at Delocke, who said, “We have all night, Quinn. How about an explanation?”
    “I guess the mule was busier than I remember. There were a lot of trips to Miami and back.”
    “Why didn’t you tell us about all the trips?”
    “Like I said, I can’t remember everything. When you’re on the run like that, you tend to forget things.”
    “Do you remember using either of the guns for anything, Quinn?” Delocke asked.
    “No.”
    “Did you use the guns, or do you just not remember using the guns?”
    “I did not use the guns.”
    Pankovits found another sheet of paper and studied it gravely. “You sure about that, Quinn? This is a preliminary ballistics report.”
    Quinn slowly pushed his chair back and got to his feet. He stretched and walked a few steps to a corner. “Maybe I need a lawyer.”

CHAPTER 14
    T here was no ballistics report. The Smith & Wesson .38 was at the FBI crime laboratory at Quantico and would be analyzed as soon as the technicians arrived for work in about five hours. The sheet of paper Pankovits held like a weapon was a copy of some useless memo.
    He and Delocke had an entire repertoire of dirty tricks, all approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Using them would depend on how far Quinn allowed things to go. The immediate problem was the “lawyer” comment. If Quinn had said, clearly and unequivocally, “I want a lawyer!” or “I’m not answering any more questions until I have a lawyer!” or something along those lines, the interrogation would have ended immediately. But he hedged and used the word “maybe.”
    Timing was crucial here. To divert attention away from the issue of a lawyer, the agents quickly changed the scenery. Delocke stood and said, “I need to take a leak.”
    Pankovits said, “And I need more coffee. How about you, Quinn?”
    “No.”
    Delocke slammed the door as he left. Pankovits stood and stretched his back. It was almost 3:00 a.m.

    Quinn had two brothers and two sisters, ages twenty-seven to forty-two, all at one point or another involved in the family’s drug-trafficking syndicate. One sister had eased out of the actual smuggling and selling but was still involved in various laundering operations. The other had left the business, moved away, and tried to avoid the family altogether. The youngest of the siblings was Dee Ray Rucker, a quiet young man who studied finance at Georgetown and knew how to move money around. He had one gun charge but nothing significant. Dee Ray really didn’t have the stomach for the fear and violence of the street life and tried to stay away from it. He lived with his girlfriend in a modest condo near Union Station, and it was there that the FBI found him shortly after midnight: