No. The boys in the car was. Not him.
Will he talk to me?
One way to find out.
I'll be there in the mornin.
I look forward to seein you.
Catron had called the boy and talked to him and when the boy walked into the cafe he didnt seem particularly worried about anything. He slid into the booth and propped up one foot and sucked at his teeth and looked at Bell.
You want some coffee?
Yeah. I'll take some coffee.
Bell raised a finger and the waitress came over and took his order. He looked at the boy.
What I wanted to talk to you about was the man that walked away from that wreck. I wonder if there's anything that comes to mind about him. Anything you might remember.
The boy shook his head. Naw, he said. He looked around the room.
How bad was he hurt?
I dont know. It looked like his arm was broke.
What else.
Had a cut on his head. I couldnt say how bad he was hurt. He could walk.
Bell watched him. How old a man would you say he was?
Hell, Sheriff. I dont know. He was pretty bloody and all.
On the report you said he was maybe in his late thirties.
Yeah. Somethin like that.
Who were you with.
What?
Who were you with.
Wasnt with nobody.
The neighbor there who called in the report, he said there was two of you.
Well, he's full of it.
Yeah? I talked to him this mornin and he seemed to me to be about as unfull of it as they come.
The waitress brought the coffee. DeMarco poured about a quarter cup of sugar into his and sat stirring it.
You know this man had just got done killin a woman two blocks away when he got in that wreck.
Yeah. I didnt know it at the time.
You know how many people he's killed?
I dont know nothin about him.
How tall was he would you say?
Not real tall. Sort of medium.
Was he wearin boots.
Yeah. I think he was wearin boots.
What kind of boots.
I think they might of been ostrich.
Expensive boots.
Yeah.
How badly was he bleedin?
I dont know. He was bleedin. He had a cut on his head.
What did he say?
He didnt say nothin.
What did you say to him?
Nothin. I asked him was he all right.
You think he might of died?
I got no idea.
Bell leaned back. He turned the saltcellar a half turn on the tabletop. Then he turned it back again.
Tell me who you were with.
Wasnt with nobody.
Bell studied him. The boy sucked his teeth. He picked up the coffee mug and sipped the coffee and set it down again.
You aint goin to help me, are you?
I done told you all I know to tell. You seen the report. That's all I know to tell you.
Bell sat watching him. Then he got up and put on his hat and left.
In the morning he went to the high school and got some names from DeMarco's teacher. The first one he talked to wanted to know how he'd found him. He was a big kid and he sat with his hands folded and looked down at his tennis shoes. They were about a size fourteen and had Left and Right written on the toecaps in purple ink.
There's somethin you all aint tellin me.
The boy shook his head.
Did he threaten you?
Naw.
What did he look like? Was he Mexican?
I dont think so. He was kindly dark complected is all.
Were you afraid of him?
I wasnt till you showed up. Hell, Sheriff, I knew we shouldnt of took the damn thing. It was a dumb-ass thing to do. I aint goin to set here and say it was David's idea even if it was. I'm big enough to say no.
Yes you are.
It was all just weird. Them boys in the car was dead. Am I in trouble over this?
What else did he say to you.
The boy looked around the lunchroom. He looked almost in tears. If I had it to do over again I'd do it different. I know that.
What did he say.
He said that we didnt know what he looked like. He give David a hundred dollar bill.
A hundred dollars.
Yeah. David give him his shirt. To make a sling for his arm.
Bell nodded. All right. What did he look like.
He was medium height. Medium build. Looked like he was in shape. In his mid thirties maybe. Dark hair. Dark brown, I think. I dont know, Sheriff. He looked like anybody.
Like anybody.
The kid looked at his shoes. He looked up at Bell. He didnt look like anybody. I mean there wasnt nothin unusual lookin about him. But he didnt look like anybody you'd want to mess with. When he said somethin you damn sure listened. There was a bone stickin out under the skin on his arm and he didnt pay no more attention to it than nothin.
All right.
Am I in trouble over this?
No.
I appreciate it.
You dont know where things will take you, do you?
No sir, you dont. I think I learned somethin from it. If that's any use to you.
It is. Do you think DeMarco learned anything?
The boy shook his head. I dont know, he said. I cant speak for David.
