“I may play a little blackjack,” Cairo said.
“If you lose your money, don’t lose him.”
“I’m lucky at the tables, Lieutenant.”
“Talk to you in a couple of hours.”
Kendall and Hawse ordered hamburgers, onion rings, beer, Hawse making the remark it wasn’t going to do much for his diet.
Marquez picked at the night’s special, turkey meatloaf with mashed potatoes, a mistake that brought a little humor to Kendall’s eyes.
“I need to understand why Petroni called you,” Kendall said.
“The very first time we interviewed him after Vandemere’s remains were found, Petroni said I should be talking to you and your team, not him. He was disparaging when I asked who you were, said they’d drummed you out of the DEA after you were the only survivor on an undercover operation and the DEA was no longer sure which side you were on. Then through connections you got a job at Fish and Game.”
“The first part of that is true, but not the second, and either way, Petroni got that story from me.”
“How many died on this DEA operation?”
“Eight, but five of those were Mexican nationals and at the time the DEA wasn’t counting Mexicans.”
“You’re bitter.”
“I lost some good friends.”
“So why did he confide in you? Why did he bring you to his Sunday confession?”
“I volunteered he might want me there. He said no at first.”
Kendall took a pull of beer, his face serious as he closed his eyes with the bottle tipped. When he put the bottle down he said, “Petroni’s name has come up too much.”
“And you think I know more about that.”
“You knew about Wright’s Lake, but I don’t know why he told you. Petroni is the type of guy who’s always up against the whole world. Everyone is always backstabbing and screwing him. He’s always getting fucked by a superior. Right now, it’s your Chief Bell. He’s the type of guy it happens to all life long and from the way he talked, you did it to him also. So why come to you unless it fits into a bigger plan, a way to get even, for instance.”
“I don’t have the answer.”
“You’ve asked yourself?”
“Sure.”
“He’s turning to you in his time of need when everything is on the line.”
“Let’s hear your theory.”
“All right. He’s taking bribes and learns your team is in the area and starts worrying you’re going to find out. And by the way, I’ve got testimony from more than Brandt.”
“If the other is Bobby Broussard, you can throw it out.”
That surprised Kendall. He put his beer down.
“What’s the matter with Bobby Broussard?”
“I’ve seen him perjure himself.”
“I still think it all fits. Sophie is tied in with Nyland, Nyland is tied in with poaching, and Petroni suddenly has new financial demands. He knows the bear population is relatively stable, and he can let these guys take a few. I’m saying he’s got a financial need, there’s a conduit through Sophie to make an offer, and he crosses the line.”
“As long as I’ve known him he’s been proud to be a game warden.”
“Right, and he was an Eagle Scout too, so were some of those Enron guys, weren’t they? But let me finish. You’re up here with your team and he doesn’t want anything to do with you, but in order to keep track of your whereabouts he’s got to weave you in.
So lately, he’s started to make contact and feed you information.”
“He didn’t make contact all summer. We barely spoke.”
“This theory has a few gaps, but hear me out. Stella figures out that he’s got more money than he should have. She lived with him a long time and she knows the money. She senses something is wrong, confronts him, and maybe even tells her lawyer to start threatening him and he panics.”
“How much money are you talking about?”
“You tell me.”
“It’s not going to be big money unless some guide is passing it on to a client. Maybe a grand a month otherwise.”
“That could be the margin of difference.”
“It’s a big step for a warden.”
“Big step for any cop.”
“I can’t see Petroni doing that.”
“Right, and deep down he’s actually a really good guy who talks shit about everybody because he has an insecure streak we should all forgive him for. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck.
We’ve got people talking bribes and Petroni evasive about who he’s talked to and when. I don’t like the way it feels, and I’ll throw another one at you-Jed Vandemere figured it out, saw Petroni involved in something.”
“Then he wouldn’t be the guy I knew.”
“Marquez,” and Kendall’s frustration surfaced, “Petroni doesn’t have anything good to say about you.”
Marquez pushed back from the table. They left it that they’d talk tomorrow or as soon as either knew anything. Then as Marquez walked out he saw Troy Broussard’s truck parked near Kendall’s sedan. A cigarette glowed in the darkness behind the windshield, and Bobby, sitting in the passenger seat, called “Hey, you,” as Marquez walked past. Though he knew he shouldn’t, he veered toward them.
“They’re going to put him down like a dog when they find him,” Bobby said. “We’re calling everyone to help hunt him down.
Detective has asked our help finding him.”
Troy turned to face Marquez more directly. “Don’t you think we know you, you sonofabitch?”
“Who is it you think I am?”
Troy started his engine and touched his forehead. “A man kills his wife like that deserves a bullet right here.”
Marquez watched their lights disappear down the road and found his hands were shaking as he got in his truck. He sat for several minutes before picking up the phone, checking with Cairo again, then Shauf. Cairo reported Sweeney was downstairs at the casino and happily gambling. Shauf had watched Nyland load restaurant waste and scraps at the back door of a Chinese restaurant.
“Looks like egg rolls at the bait piles tonight.”
“Is he alone?”
“He is and he’s worked hard to lose anyone tailing him, but it’s hard outrunning a satellite.”
“Give him plenty of room tonight.”
“We will.”
Near midnight he called Katherine, and Maria answered, saying Mom was asleep and she was on Highway 395, it was beautiful and she wasn’t tired at all.
“The clouds are really white in the moonlight and I can see these tall mountains off to my right. I guess I got driving from you, because I feel fine.”
“Those mountains off to your right are the ones John Muir called the Range of Light. We’ll hike up there together someday. You okay taking it in from there?”
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“I’m sorry about this, Maria, sorry we’re doing this to you. I know it’s hard on you.”
“I already have a C in chemistry and I’m going to miss an English test.”
“At least you’ll get to see your grandmother.”
“Grandma isn’t going to take the SATs for me.”
“How’s your cell phone working?”
“I’m talking to you on it.”
“Call me when you get there, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
He heard her quiet “I love you too,” and then hung up.
29
The next morning he heard from the Stockton vice cop, Delano. The bust had gone splendidly, yielded four pounds of crystal meth and six suspects. They’d also found more bear paws.
“We’re starting to wonder if we’re going to run into a live bear.” Delano laughed and said, “I can fax info on the guys we busted. I should also tell you the local warden here, Ann Knight, is on her way in. She says she knows you.”
Marquez gave him the fax number at the TreeSearch office. He knew and liked Ann Knight and was glad to hear it was her. “How many paws?” he asked.
“Sixteen in two coolers in a refrigerator in a garage, but they’re in bad shape. We also recovered two rifles from the garage and a vehicle there has an address up your direction.”