guess according to you maybe it wasn’t Walton what sent the note after all.”
“And why would you do something like that just because Walton told you to?”
“’Cause he also included five hundred dollars cash along with the note.”
“And did he say why he wanted you to do it?”
“Said it was a joke, sort of.”
“So you didn’t know that Walton had gone missing then?” asked Malloy.
“No. I mean, like I said, I just got back and saw the note. You say he’s missing? Where’d he get off to?”
“If we knew that he wouldn’t be missing!”
Reel walked in and joined them in the holding cell area. “Did you know Walton?” she asked Zeke.
Zeke shrugged. “I knew him. Couldn’t say I really knew him, you know. He kept things close to the vest.”
“Did you ever act as a fishing guide for him?” asked Robie.
Zeke shook his head. “Nah, he didn’t need that. He grew up here. Knew the area real well. But we’d see each other from time to time. He fished some of the same streams we do. Had some beers together at the Walleye. Stuff like that.”
“Did you know him back when he lived here?”
“No. He was quite a bit older’n me. Heck of an athlete.”
“Did you know his parents?” asked Reel.
Zeke shook his head. “I was just a little kid when they killed themselves.”
“We heard his mom was dying. You think that was the reason?”
Zeke thought about this, glanced over at Russell, whose gaze was still planted on the floor, and shook his head. “Hell, I don’t know. Like I said, I was just a little kid when they did it.” His face brightened. “Hey, maybe Walton really killed ’em and somebody knew it and they took him to make him pay for what he done. ”
Reel said in an exasperated tone, “Okay, I think we’re done here.” She turned to Malloy. “Robie and I were going to check out the house when these idiots opened fire. We’ll go there now.”
Malloy looked surprised by her comment. “But I thought you were here to find Walton?”
“I’ll take any lead I can get,” replied Reel. “Because right now we don’t have a single one.”
Robie said, “Sheriff, what’s your take on this Doctor King guy and his apostles?”
Before she could answer, Russell said, “My brother’s an apostle.”
They turned to look at him. Reel said, “And what does he think about it?”
Russell shrugged. “I don’t know. He don’t come home anymore.”
Robie eyed Malloy. “And your opinion?”
“They don’t break any laws and they don’t cause trouble, so that’s a good thing.”
“I heard that no one knows where the money comes from to fuel their operation. Feeding and clothing the apostles. I saw them come into town in an Army surplus truck. They’ve got guns. They live in a compound, you said. That all costs money.”
“I think they get donations from folks,” said Zeke.
“How much can that amount to?” scoffed Reel.
“Just saying.”
“They grow pot,” said Russell. “And they sell it to folks.”
“And you know this how?” asked Reel.
“Seen ’em doing it.”
Reel said to Malloy, “Let’s keep this pair on ice for a while.” She drew close to the bars. “You two ever take a shot at us again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do. Are we clear on that?”
Zeke eyed her with trepidation. “Are you the one what shot out the tires?”
“I am. And I could have done the same thing at twice the distance. Only next time I won’t be aiming at rubber.” She put her hand through the bars and stabbed her finger into his forehead. “It’ll hit right here.”
“Then I understand you loud and clear, ma’am.”
* * *
“It’s so flat out here it’s hard to believe the Rockies are right behind us,” said Reel as they drove to Blue Man’s childhood home.
“It’s hard to believe lots of things,” replied Robie. “Who would have gotten those two idiots to try to scare us off?”
“Half the people we’ve already met,” answered Reel. “Doctor King and his minions for one. Then the white supremacists that we haven’t met yet. Or the skinheads. Hell, Malloy and her deputy for all we know. The point is, Robie, we don’t understand this place or what went on before here. And we probably never will. Blue Man could have disappeared because of some shit that took place when he was growing up here.”
“Don’t tell me you’re buying that crap Donovan was spinning about Blue Man killing his parents and then somebody here coming after him for it?”
“Of course not!”
“Well then?”
“I just mean we don’t know this place. We’re flying blind. That’s never a good thing.”
“Still doesn’t excuse us from finding him,” said Robie.
“Never said it did. I just mean we need more intelligence.”
“We’re gathering intelligence every time we talk to someone.”
“But we have no way of knowing if they’re telling us the truth or not. When I’m prepping a shot I can do my wind call and my distance read and all the other factors that go into determining whether the shot will be successful or not. But my tools don’t lie to me. They give me the facts. This is different. Way different.”
“Still not an excuse. We have our mission. We have our orders. We just need to adapt and execute.”
Reel shot him a glance. “Okay, how do we adapt?”
“We’re both good observers, Jess. We listen and we hear everything, not just the bullshit. We can read body language, because our job requires us to be able to do that. So we employ all of that while we’re here.”
Reel turned her attention back to the road. “Okay, what’s your take on Malloy and Bender?”
He glanced at her. “Still distrusting the local constabulary? Didn’t your good ‘Doctor’ King give them a clean bill?”
“Like you said, we don’t know him.”
“Okay. Malloy hasn’t been here long enough to really be part of this place. Bender on the other hand has. And so have his sister and their mother. I’m not saying they had anything to do with Blue Man vanishing. But I’m also not saying that everything they told us was the truth. The guy that confronted me in the bar, Bruce? I take him as someone with no future who found one with this Doctor King. And what’s your take on him? You said he struck you more as a lawyer type.”
Reel didn’t answer right away. She gripped the steering wheel, her face lined in deliberation.
“He’s smooth but not psycho smooth. The guy appears to be leading some wacko cult, but he didn’t come across as that sort. Tough one to figure out. He said he had nothing to do with Blue Man disappearing. Same as what his ‘apostle’ told you. And I think I believe him. Just my gut.”
“Sure you’re not just falling under his spell?” asked Robie in a joking manner.
She shot him another glance. “Hook, line, and sinker of course,” she replied with an eye roll tacked on.
He looked away. “There’s something that somebody said that didn’t make sense.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But it’s like grit in your barrel. It’s throwing everything off.”
“Well, think hard and come up with it.”
He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
Reel looked at him once, and her features softened and a look of uncertainty came into her eyes. Then she glanced away and concentrated on her driving. As she eyed the twin holes in the windshield, she had no idea if another pair of rounds might be heading toward them. And this time they might not strike simply leather.
Chapter
16
IT WAS SMALL, squat, and devoid of any architectural detail of interest.
The inauspicious childhood home of Blue Man.
Robie and Reel stood next to their tr
uck and stared at the structure.
“Oh, how the lowly have risen,” said Robie.
“I just always assumed Blue Man was born into a family of academics on an Ivy League campus,” offered Reel.