could come with gringos snooping around asking about business and drugs. Joey sensed the reluctance from the man, and he proceeded to do what he did best.
Seven watched as Joey spent the first forty-five minutes of his time with Diego talking about gardening, drinking, replacing the roof on his home, and almost anything other than the acts of Gilbert Andrews and El Toro Negro. Joey slowly deconstructed the barriers and obstacles that Diego had built in the conversation. After nearly an hour, they seemed as if they had known each other for years. Now comfortable with his new friend, Joey began to elicit information from the man. It was so cleverly disguised as a casual conversation that Seven failed to realize it initially.
Over the course of two and a half hours Joey was able to extract that Diego did recognize the photo of Gilbert Andrews. He really wasn’t able to elaborate on any type of specific information about what Gilbert brought in and took out of the warehouse. He remembered seeing him frequently at the business over a several-year period in the early days of his employment. Diego didn’t provide anything useful concerning Gilbert, but he felt comfortable enough with his new friend to detail the drug trade that took place at the warehouse.
It didn’t surprise Joey to learn that the drug trade had infiltrated the distribution business in Matamoros. Almost any border town with regular shipments into the US was ripe for the drug trade. Diego made it clear to the inquiring gringo that he was in no way, shape, or form personally involved in the trafficking of drugs, but during his tenure as a warehouse worker he was aware that El Toro Negro shipped more than groceries to the US. According to Diego, the contraband came in the form of marijuana and cocaine. Weekly shipments were brought into the warehouse via midnight truck deliveries. He said that he didn’t know the source of the drugs. Joey expected that response. The drugs were boxed and packaged in the same manner as the other cargo, but they were housed in a special locked area of the main shipping dock. Diego said that the warehouse manager ensured that the