of what's happened to that family.'
'What do you think?' I asked.
'Me? Shit. I wouldn't be here right now if I held a grudge.
Fact is, city needs you on this story a whole lot more than it needs you digging up celebrity tampons to pad Hillerman's bottom line. Plus I like your stuff. Tired of reading news reports that read like they were written by fuckers who are stuck on typewriters and Geritol.'
'I appreciate that.'
'Appreciate it in private. I'm happy to give you dirt so it doesn't end up in Cole's witch cauldron. But after this, I gotta be a ghost, man.'
I waited for him to continue.
'So ballistics confirmed the same caliber shot was used to kill Athena Paradis and Joe Mauser.'
'No big shock there,' I said.
'No, we figured it was the same sick son of a bitch. But they were surprised to find out the caliber bullet our man used.'
'Unusual?'
'I'd say. 44-40 magnum rounds.' Curt waited a moment.
He expected my jaw to drop, but I must have slept through my NRA 101 course.
'Why's that surprise you?'
'Nobody uses. 44-40 ammunition these days. Just an impractical caliber to use, on both sides of the good guy/bad guy coin.'
'Why's that?'
'Magnum rounds are large, man. Heavy velocity, heavy impact. The recoil on those things will knock you on your ass.
Forget everything Dirty Harry said, any cop who wants to be able to get off a second round in the same zip code would be an idiot to carry around a magnum. Only people who use it are idiot cons who think it looks pretty, but any perp who knows anything about weapons would prefer something lighter.'
'Idiots don't kill women with a single shot from a hundred yards out,' I said.
'No. That takes a different kind of mental defect.'
'So what are magnum rounds used for?' I asked.
'Hunting, mostly,' Sheffield said. 'Got an uncle, lives out in Montana, goes big game hunting using magnum rounds.
Got a black bear head on his mantel used to scare the shit out of me and my sister growing up. It's a good caliber for up to a hundred and fifty yards, after that the bullet is too heavy to maintain its accuracy.'
'The killer shot both Athena and Joe Mauser from within two hundred yards.'
'Right.'
'Further reduces his idiocy quotient. Obviously the killer is smart enough to know his range.'
'Question is,' Sheffield said, 'why would anyone use magnum rounds for that kind of sniper shooting? Only an idiot would try to kill a person from far away using a magnum round. . 22s are lighter, faster and more accurate. Not to mention easier to get. I'm up there on the roof? I'm using. 22s.'
'Unless there's a reason for using magnum rounds,' I said.
'Whoever killed Mauser and Athena planned the murders out.
They knew Athena was going to be at the Kitten Club, and they knew the setup outside city hall well enough to position themselves for a shot. You don't go through that kind of trouble and then randomly pick a gun and bullet that might separate your shoulder with the recoil.'
'It is sexy ammo,' Curt said, rather offhandedly. 'Magnum.'
We continued walking, both processing the information.
Powerful, short range, heavy, high velocity. Sexy.
'Wait,' I said. 'What do you mean it's sexy?'
'Look, I'm not saying you'll find it at Victoria's Secret…'
'Come on. The killer chose this ammo for a reason. Why does someone choose magnum ammunition over something more practical? Especially when they have everything else planned to a T?'
'Well,' Curtis said. 'Dirty Harry made magnum ammo cool. Forget which one of the movies it was, but he used. 44 caliber special loads, which are lighter and don't have the same recoil. Funny thing is they didn't actually use a magnum while shooting the movie, they used-'
'Come on,' I said, impatiently. 'What else?'
'Well, magnum ammo is probably the one ammunition that's actually known in pop culture. Ever see that movie,
Winchester 73? ' I shook my head. 'Great flick. James
Stewart and Shelley Winters. Anyway, the Winchester is commonly referred to as 'The Gun that Won the West.' Most popular rifle, probably ever, kind of a folk legend. The Winchester uses. 44-40 magnum rounds.'
'No shit,' I said. 'Winchester, huh?'
'Winchester.'
'Think there's a chance our killer might have used a Winchester on Athena and Joe?'
'It's a possibility, man, but the Winchester plant shut down a few years ago. It's not even called Winchester these days, some conglomerate took it over. Probably called GunTex or something stupid. And trust me, nobody uses Winchester rifles anymore. They went out with the dodo and bellbottoms.'
'Some people think bell-bottoms are hip,' I said.
'Hey, what you and your girl do is between the two of y'all.'
'Yeah, but maybe there's someone out there who thinks
Winchesters are the new black. Or at least has a reason for using one.'
'Well, I can't imagine there are a whole lot of working ones left, so you got yourself a lead there, Maureen Dowd.'
'And the note,' I said. 'You told me another note was left at the scene again.'
'No, I didn't,' Curt said.
'You did, asshole, give it.'
Curt looked around, his eyes narrowing. 'This is some creepy stuff, man. Hard to get something like that out of your head.'
'Do you have a copy of it I could take?' I asked.
'Nah. I didn't need one. You don't forget something like that.'
'What did the note say?'
Curt stopped, seemed to think for a moment, then carefully spoke.
'It said, 'People thought me bad before, but if ever I should get free, I'll let them know what bad means.''
'I'll let them know what bad means,' I repeated. 'I didn't write that.'
'He used a line from one of your articles after shooting
Athena, right?'
'Yeah,' I said. 'Not exactly flattering. I was worried for a bit this guy had it out for me, but…guess he just liked my work.'
'That make you feel better or worse?'
'Not sure,' I said.
'Warm and fuzzy this guy is not.'
I clapped Curt on the shoulder. 'Listen, Curt, I really appreciate it.'
'Just do me a favor, wait until Carruthers makes his statement before you use that quote. Do all the research you want, just don't jump the gun,' Curt warned.
'You scratch my back, I scratch yours. So now it's back to protecting and serving and all that good stuff,' I said.
'You mean posing with tourists and keeping the kids away from my Glock. And you go back to being all fair and balanced and stuff,' Curt replied.
'All the news that's fit to print,' I said.
