Joe stared out the window at the governor’s plane and the tumbleweeds rolling down the runway. He said, “They called me a government man. Now I know why they went after me.”
Coon said, “We’re all government men, Joe.”
“Not me,” Nate said proudly.
“SO,” JOE SAID to the governor, “where do we stand?”
Rulon didn’t hesitate. “Go up there and rescue that woman and bring those brothers out dead or alive.”
Carson turned white. “Sir, you can’t give an order like that.”
“I just did.”
Joe stood and clamped his hat on. Nate stood with him.
“Do you need more people?” Rulon asked Joe. “I could have a dozen DCI agents here by nightfall. I can send them back in Rulon One.”
Joe shook his head, said, “I think the smaller the footprint the better. Those brothers own those mountains, and they know when a big contingent is after them, I think. A big group makes lots of noise and raises dust and quiets the wildlife. That’s why I stumbled on Caleb on my own while Sheriff Baird and his men couldn’t find them at all. I think the leaner the better.”
“Meaning you and Mr. Romanowski here,” Rulon said.
Joe nodded. “Plus, I have a pretty good idea where they hang out.”
“Go get those bastards, then,” Rulon said, narrowing his eyes. “Get them the hell out of my state. Send ’em back to Michigan, either vertical or horizontal—I don’t have strong feelings either way.”
Nate was out of the room before Joe could speak.
Rulon said, “Is he still with you?”
Joe shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Would you go alone?”
“Probably not.”
Rulon blew out a long breath and looked to Carson for solace. Carson looked away.
“Two questions,” Joe said to Rulon. “One, what was the name of the developer in Michigan?”
Rulon shrugged and turned to Coon. “Do you know?”
Coon smiled wearily. “Brent Shober,” he said.
Joe said, “Thought so. Second question. How will the state cope with the loss of money from the feds if Senator McKinty finds out you sent me up there?”
Rulon said, “That’s a good question, Joe. Very politically astute. You’re learning, aren’t you?”
“Not that I’m proud of it,” Joe said.
Rulon put his beefy hands on Joe’s shoulders and leaned his face close. Joe could feel the heat from the governor’s forehead. “If you bring those brothers down the mountain, we have a news story on our hands,” Rulon said. “The story can be spun however we want it to be spun. Meaning McKinty might just find himself in the news again for the wrong reason. It’ll be up to him how he plays it.”
“But if we don’t find the Cline Brothers and Diane Shober?” Joe asked.
Rulon said, “I’m screwed. You’re screwed. We’re all screwed.”
THE STOPOVER IN RAWLINS WITH THE GOVERNOR HAD COST Joe two hours and a big chunk of his sense of purpose, he thought. Still, he was worried about getting to the trailhead in the Sierra Madre before dark. As he and Nate traveled west via I-80, Joe called Marybeth on his cell phone and filled her in on the meeting that had taken place with the governor. He was keenly aware of Nate’s presence in the passenger seat. Nate sat sullen and still, his eyes fixed on something in the middle distance out the side window. He was no doubt thinking whether or not he even wanted to be on this adventure anymore.
“So do you think the Shobers were withholding information from you?” Marybeth asked.
Joe said, “I’m not sure yet. Each of them might be withholding different things. If they don’t know it was the Cline Brothers up there in the first place, there wasn’t anything for them to come clean about. It’s possible Mr. Shober knows something, but I’m not sure. I think he’s focused solely on finding Diane.”
“But still,” Marybeth said, “the Michigan connection is just too . . . convenient. There has to be something there.”
“I agree, but what?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not sure at all. But I could do a little research.”
Joe grinned. “I was hoping you would say that.”
Marybeth had assisted in a number of cases over the years. Joe found her a clear-eyed and determined researcher, a bulldog with a laptop. And she wasn’t shy about making calls, either, and at times posing as someone else so she could get answers to questions. Joe was equally proud and a little frightened of her ruthlessness. She got information no one else seemed to be able to find, and she got it quickly. He hoped he never gave her a reason for her to turn her guns on
“Will you be able to stay in range?” she asked. “I’ll call you back as soon as I have something.”
“I’ll try,” he said. “There are dead spots ahead, as you know.”
