I stood there and watched him back out of the drive. He gave a quick wave as he drove past the house and I watched him turn at the corner, his taillights disappearing.
I stood there, once again staring at the grass where Elizabeth had been taken from. I felt like I had more information than I’d ever had but I was no closer to knowing the truth. Every single person I spoke with confused me further and I couldn’t find it within myself to trust anyone I came in contact with. It seemed like I could make anyone a suspect if I worked hard enough at it.
I didn’t want to be that guy, the one who couldn’t leave the past behind, who was cynical about everyone and everything. I’d already been him, to some degree. I’d done my time. I just wanted it to go away so I could be a dad and maybe a husband.
I felt like there was one person who could really give me the answer I needed, only he was keeping his mouth shut. A cold, hard knot formed in the center of my gut as I thought about it. Maybe I’d been too nice. Maybe I’d lost my edge. I’d been relentless looking for Elizabeth and others I’d been hired to find. But maybe getting Elizabeth back had softened me.
Maybe I was taking no as an answer too easily.
Maybe it was time to find that edge again.
THIRTY EIGHT
“I was starting to think I wasn’t going to hear from you,” Chuck Winslow said.
“Just takes me some time to take people up on their offers,” I said.
Darkness hovered over the eastern edge of the California desert and I could see the lights in Brawley off in the distance as we crested the highway and descended down into the desert valley.
“You gonna tell me what we’re doing?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “Do I need to?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Just tell me what you need from me.”
I’d sat in the darkened living room for awhile, thinking about my options. I hadn’t called Lasko because I didn’t want him to talk me out of going. And I also didn’t want to get him into any more trouble than I’d already managed. But I didn’t want to go to Brawley alone, either. I was trying to be smart. At least as smart as I could be.
So I’d finally taken Chuck up on his offer to help.
I called him, asked if I could come pick him up, then jumped in the car and headed out before I could talk myself out of anything. True to his word, Chuck was ready and got in the car, ready to help however I needed him. I wasn’t sure yet how I was going to need him, but if anything, it was nice to have the company.
“It won’t be much,” I said. “And I’ll keep the ugly stuff away.”
“You don’t have to keep anything away, Joe.”
“I know. Thanks. But the less you know the better.”
He started to say something, then stopped. Then he shrugged his big shoulders. “You’re the leader.”
I nodded, my thoughts already shifting to the reason for our drive. Mosaic Farvar was the one guy I felt actually had contact with Elizabeth and he hadn’t told me and Lasko anything. He was a bad, bad guy and I’d let him off easily, even when I knew he had an answer to give me.
I wasn’t going to leave without an answer this time.
I retraced the path Lasko and I had taken before. The cul-de-sac was still empty and Farvar’s house was unlit, all of the windows dark. I passed the cul-de-sac and as soon it was out of view in my rearview mirror, I pulled to the curb and parked. I checked my phone and tucked it into the pocket of my jeans. I reached across Chuck, opened the glove box and pulled out my gun. It felt heavy in my hand. I checked the safety, then leaned forward and slid into the waistband at the back of my jeans.
“This is where I ask again what we’re doing,” Chuck said, eyeing the gun.
“We aren’t doing anything,” I said. “I’m going to go visit with a guy. You are going to stay here.”
“That’s it?” Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows. “I’m supposed to sit here?”
I pointed over my shoulder. “There’s a house back there in the cul-de-sac. Only one that’s got someone living in it. I’m going there. Give me 30 minutes inside. If I don’t come out, you drive back to Coronado and call a San Diego cop named Paul Lasko.”
“Joe,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not much for this Mission Impossible shit, alright? What’s going on?”
“Keep an eye on the street,” I said. “You see anyone turn into the cul-de-sac or whatever, get the hell out of here.”
“I’m not gonna leave you,” he said. “We’re in the fucking desert.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He stared out the window for a minute, then shook his head. “Look. I meant what I said. I’m here to help you, Joe. Whatever that means. I’m not stupid. You don’t pick me up, drive to Brawley and pull a gun out of the glove compartment because we’re gonna go grocery shopping.” He paused. “If there’s some piece of shit out there that was involved with Elizabeth, go do what you need to do. I’m with you. Whatever happens here stays here.” He paused again. “But there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here.”
It struck me that maybe if I hadn’t been so hardheaded and stubborn and withdrawn for so long, a friend like Chuck might’ve been able to help me find Elizabeth sooner. I hadn’t trusted anyone and that had been a mistake.
“Okay,” I said. “Just watch where I go. Thirty minutes. If I don’t come out, then come check it out. Anyone shows up, don’t let ‘em into the house.”
Chuck nodded. “Got it.”
“If you need me, you’re gonna have to come get me.” I paused. “You’re sure you’re cool with that? Because you’re right. I’m not going grocery shopping.”
“Do what you need to do,” he said. “I’m cool with it all.”
THIRTY NINE
I opened the car door and stepped out. The air was colder than I expected, dry. I shut the door and listened. It was eerily quiet. The desert was different than the city, the roar of cars and muted, the sounds of crickets and other night creatures noticeably absent. I looked in the window at Chuck and pointed in the direction I was going. He nodded and twisted in his seat to watch me.
I walked quickly on the sidewalk back to the cul-de-sac, crossed the street and came up on the side of Farvar’s house. I moved along the side, then opened a wooden gate to the back of the property, staying close to the house. The back yard was a small rectangle of dead grass and neglect. I found a window on the backside of the house and there was a small glow on the other side. I put my ear near the exterior of the house and barely made out a couple of voices and then laughter.
A television.
Someone was home.
I went back to the front, thought for a moment, then knocked on the front door. Farvar already knew me. He had no reason to keep me out. I hadn’t threatened him or done anything that would make him fear me when Lasko and I had come the first time.
I heard footsteps behind the door.
Farvar opened the door and squinted at me. He wore a pair of corduroy shorts and that was it. A tattoo of a panther stared at me from his left shoulder and he held a half empty bottle of Bud Light in his right hand.
“The fuck you doing back here, Mr. Ex-Cop?” he asked with a sneer. “I thought we did all of our talking.”
“I had one more question,” I said.
He snickered, then held the bottle to his lips. “Well, fucking ask me because I’m busy.”
I planted my back foot and drove my fist right into his gut. A fine mist of beer erupted from his mouth and he dropped the bottle, the glass shattering into large, jagged pieces. He staggered back, his hands clutching at his stomach and I shoved him with both hands. He toppled over backwards and I shut the door behind me.
I patted him down while he writhed on the floor. I pulled out a wad of cash from one of his pockets and tossed it on the floor next to him. There was nothing else on him. I glanced at the television, the only light in the otherwise darkened room. Some reality show where a guy with a beard was talking to the camera, then chuckling at his own joke.