Will tore his eyes from Veer to glance at me. “Yeah.”
“And you know this how?” I folded my arms over my chest. The university students had stalled out as well to listen.
“Not because I sold some stupid hockey goose cup to him,” Will snapped, bristling like a peccary.
“No one ever said you did. I only asked where you knew this mysterious fence from.” I took a step closer, our sight locked.
“He was in juvie with me,” Will said with a casual roll of a shoulder. “When we got out we kept in touch.”
The wheels in my head were spinning. “Can you get us a meeting with this buddy of yours?”
Will glanced from Veer to me then to Bishop. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I gave you a job. Also because it’s the right thing to do,” I replied without raising my voice. Will pulled out his vape cigarette and gave me a look of utter disinterest.
“Let me think on it.” He meandered off to find a place to vape when Craig chastised him for blowing mist in his face.
“You know, I’m usually pretty chill but that guy makes me want to shove a longboard up his ass,” Bishop snapped then took off his sunglasses to rub at his eyes.
“Headache?” I asked, dropping down into a crouch in front of him.
“Yeah, it’s getting pretty bad.”
I eased the tablet out of his hand, passed it to Veer, and stood. “Too much screen time. Time for you to go home and rest.” He mumbled a bit, just a bit, but got to his sandals.
“Veer, you finish cataloging. Bring the final tally to my place this evening. The night shift should be here before you leave. If they’re not then use the long-range walkie talkies to contact the main house who will call me. No one is to be out here after dusk.” I gave all four of the undergrads my stone cold “I mean business” look then escorted Bishop to my truck.
His face was tight and drawn when he slid into the cab. “Are you sure you shouldn’t have gone to the ER? I’ll be happy to take you.”
He gave me a reedy smile. “You’re such a worry wort. It’ll go away. I just need some darkness and a few Advil. Maybe a handsome cowpoke sucking my dick?”
I snorted in amusement at the outlandish face he made. “I never knew blowjobs could cure headaches.”
“Baby, a blowjob cures anything. Ask any man.”
I patted his arm then shut the passenger door, turning, and almost colliding with Will Abbott. He walked off a few yards before jerking his head at me to join him.
“Tootch,” Will mumbled.
“Excuse me?”
“My friend. His name is Tootch.”
“Tootch?”
“Lance Gaylord.” His blue eyes darted about as if he thought someone would hear him revealing the name of this crooked buddy of his. I was pretty sure the prairie dogs over on the next rise didn’t give two shits about this Lance Gaylord.
“Thank you.” I offered him my hand.
He eyed it as if it were a scorpion. “I can show you where he does business, but I’m not taking that cop. He’ll haul me in for something like aiding and abetting or something, and I need to stay clean for parole. It’s me and you, that’s it.”
I paused for a moment, hand still in the air, to think that over. “What about a tribal officer?”
“No. Cops. Just you and me. And Perry.”
“Perry? Why him?”
“Because I said so! Fuck, man, you want to get your boyfriend’s bones back or not?”