'I love you, too.'
***
Joe went downstairs into an area marked wildlife biology section. He walked past a desk already vacated by a secretary, then into a maze of small cubicles and tables littered with lab equipment. It smelled of wet fur and feathers and strong disinfectant, and without any windows, it was dark down there. His boot steps seemed amplified in the empty room as he walked though the middle corridor looking for anyone who might still be working.
When he saw the woman emerge from her cubicle with a jacket folded over her arm and a handbag, he knew immediately who she was. She had that harried look about her that said she had children at day care and she was on her way to pick them up.
'Working late on Friday?' Joe asked, smiling.
'Later than I wanted to be,' she said, looking him over and clearly wondering why he was down there. 'Can I help you find something? I'm kind of in a hurry.'
He recognized her voice. 'I'm Joe Pickett,' he said. 'I believe we spoke on the telephone last week.'
The look on her face confirmed it. Her expression was pained.
'I'm sorry to bother you when you're in a hurry and all, so I'll get right to it,' Joe said. 'I appreciate what you did. It took guts and I know you could get in trouble for it. As far as I'm concerned, we're not even talking right now. I don't know your name, and I'm not going to ask.'
She continued to watch him suspiciously. He could tell that she was trying to decide whether or not to simply walk away.
'Yes?' she prompted.
'Would you please show me where I can look up some information on an endangered species? Actually, it's an animal that is thought to be extinct.'
Her face was a mask. 'Is the species indigenous to Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains?'
'Yup.'
She made up her mind and shrugged.
'Oh, come on,' she said. 'It'll only take a minute, and then you're on your own.'
She walked quickly down the length of the room into a library cluttered with reference books and journals. Joe followed. There was a computer and fax machine on one stand and a microfiche reader on another. She put her coat and handbag on a shelf while she booted up the computer, double-clicked through a series of menu screens, and pulled up a document database.
'Do you know how to operate this?' she asked.
'I do,' Joe said. He thought he did, anyway.
'Key in what you're looking for. If the search turns up something, you'll get an index number and a title for the publication. The reference books are on the shelves behind you and next door in the resource room.' She stood up and quickly gathered her belongings.
'I'm out of here.'
He called after her. 'One more thing ...'
She wheeled, obviously out of patience.
'Did anyone locate the package I sent here?'
She sighed. 'Try the incinerator.'
'Thank you again.'
'Forget it.' She sang over her shoulder as she walked away. 'I really mean that.
Make sure you shut off the computer and the lights when you leave, and if anyone comes down here, just leave and don't say anything.'
'It's a deal,' Joe said, chuckling. He liked her. He sat and turned to the computer monitor. After taking a few moments to figure out how to move around within the document, he pulled up the find command and typed in the words 'Miller's weasel.'
When Joe Was through reading, he drove into downtown Cheyenne and bought a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum revolver at a pawn shop for $275. Farther down on the same block, he bought a box of cartridges for it.
***
'Hey, little school girl,' the man called out as his vehicle slowed to a stop and his power window whirred down.
'Do you need a ride?'
Sheridan squinted against the roll of dust that followed from the road. It was the same man who had been hiding in the horse stall. He had been traveling on the other side of the road but had crossed over the middle of the county road and stopped in front of her. Because the passenger seat was empty and the vehicle was high, Sheridan could only see his face and his hand that rested on the steering wheel. He wore sunglasses, and she couldn't see his eyes. He was smiling.
'I'm not supposed to get in a stranger's car,' Sheridan said.
The man chuckled. He could seem so friendly. 'I'm not a stranger, though, darling'. I know your dad, remember? And you, too!'
