Дэвид Балдаччи - Zero Day

“And then?” asked Puller.

“Little while later heard another car pull up.” He pointed at Cole. “You that time. That’s when I took off.”

“And that’s when I saw you out the window,” said Puller. He looked at Cole. “Story coincides with what we know.”

She nodded and then glared at Dickie. “Would’ve been nice to know this before. I should arrest you for withholding material evidence.”

“And for just being stupid,” added Puller. “So were you and Eric friends?”

“I knew him. He was in Xanadu.” He held up his arm. “I told you I got a tat sleeve like his.”

“When you went into the Halversons’ house that night did you know that Eric and Molly were across the street dead?”

“Of course I didn’t.”

Puller let this answer hang there.

“I was worried about him, though.”

“Why?” asked Puller.

“Stuff.”

“Stuff got a name?”

Dickie shrugged. “Not that I ever heard.”

“Any reason why Eric and Molly would have wanted a soil report done?” asked Cole.

“Soil report? Nope, no reason I know of.”

“How about a meth lab?’ asked Puller. “Got any ‘stuff’ on that?”

“Eric didn’t do meth.”

“Okay, but did he make it to sell? That’s the key question.”

Dickie didn’t answer right away. “I think I need to lawyer up.”

“Think or know?” asked Puller while Cole looked at him warily.

Puller pushed off from the wall and stood next to Dickie. “Let’s look at this intelligently, Dickie. See how it affects you. Will you take a couple minutes to do that with me?”

Cole said, “Puller, he said he wanted to lawyer up–”

Puller shot her a glance and she closed her mouth. He turned back to Dickie, put a hand on his shoulder. “Just hear me out, Dickie, what do you have to lose? The Army kicked your ass out. Didn’t let you serve when I know you wanted to. This is a second chance for you to do something for your country.”

Dickie mumbled, “I’ll listen.”

Puller snagged a chair with his right hand, swung it around, and set it directly in front of Dickie. When Puller sat down in it, his knees were almost touching the other man’s.

“I’ll let you in on some top-level stuff, Dickie, but in return, I need some things from you. You’re patriotic, right, want to help your country?”

“As much as the next guy. Like you said, I’d still be in the Army serving if they hadn’t pulled that crap on me.”

“I know. I hear you. I served with gays and straights. Didn’t matter to me so long as they could hit the target they were shooting at and had my back when I needed it.”

Dickie looked more comfortable. “So what’s going on?”

“Trouble’s coming to Drake, Dickie. In fact, it’s already here. All these people dead, some of them your friends.”

“I know that. I know, man.”

“But it’s not just those people. The Feds think something big is coming here. Really big.”

“To Drake?” Cole said, obviously stunned by this news.

Dickie said, “Big like what?”

“If I knew then it wouldn’t be such a problem. But I don’t know. And if that situation stays the same then we’re all screwed, you see that, don’t you?”

Dickie nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I knew you were smart. Mechanized guys all have to be smart. Lot of stuff to remember with all the equipment you guys had. I just had to worry about my gun and personal gear. You guys were wheeling around in thirty-ton armor.”

“Ain’t that the truth. I drove the Bradley. And even the damn Abrams. And I was good.”

“I bet you were. Army’s loss. Don’t ask was a bunch of crap anyway.”

“Damn sure was,” agreed Dickie.

“So something big is coming. People dead, pieces not adding up. Weird chatter coming out of Drake that federal ears caught. Now what I need from you is some HUMINT. You know what that is, right?”

“Sure. Human intelligence.”

“On the ground, here in Drake. You know stuff. You know people. You know folks who knew Eric and Molly. Your old man works for Trent.”

“You think Roger Trent is involved in this?” Dickie said sharply.

“I don’t know who’s involved and who isn’t. That’s why I need your help. You up for it?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Listen. Go to places. Sit with folks. Listen some more. Don’t make it obvious. Don’t play detective. I just want you to do what you normally do, but just do it differently. Listen, pay attention. Something seems weird, remember it, get in touch. Okay?”

Dickie was already nodding. “Okay. Sure.”

Puller handed him a card. “My contact info. I assume you know how to reach Sergeant Cole.”

Puller rose.

“That’s all?” said Dickie. “I can go?”

“You’re not doing me any good sitting in my motel room. I need you out there. Give you a chance to serve your country again, even if your country did screw you over.”

Dickie rose, looked at Cole, and then put out a hand to Puller.

“Ain’t been many folks willing to give me a shot like this.”

“I’m not most folks.”

“I had you pegged wrong, I guess.”

“I guess we did the same to you,” noted Cole.

“You need a ride?” Puller asked.

“No, I’m cool.”

After Dickie left, Cole said, “And you didn’t tell me something big was coming to Drake because why?”

“Because I was told not to. And then I decided to disobey orders.”

“What’s it based on?”

“Chatter NSA picked up. In Dari. Justice is coming. Whatever is going to happen will happen soon.”

“Dari? What the hell is that?”

“Dialect spoken in Afghanistan.”

“Afghanistan? You heard that in Drake?”

“Apparently so. At least in the vicinity of. Couldn’t get an exact location. And it was encrypted in old KGB code. And it was sent out shortly after the murders. Gotten DHS’s blood pressure up.”

“What else do you know?”

“Not enough, that’s for damn sure. You know one thing Dickie didn’t explain.”

“What’s that?”

“How did he get to the Halversons’ that night? Didn’t drive. No car out front. He ran into the woods. Escaped that way. Long way back to town.”

“That’s true.”

“Complicated guy. Who would’ve figured.”

“You think he knows more than he’s telling us?”

“I think he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. He’s involved in something that he doesn’t want us to know about. But I don’t think it’s connected to the chatter.”

“But I don’t know why you recruited him to help us. Especially if you think he’s involved in something criminal.”

“I’ve spent most of my adult life reading people. Especially soldiers and those formerly in the ranks. My instinct tells me that Dickie wants to help. I think he went to the Halversons’ that night because he suspected something. Or someone. What I think he wanted was just another chance to prove the Army screwed up in discharging him. So I gave it to him.”

“Well, if he gets killed that second chance will have come at a big cost.”

“Most second chances do. And most of the time they’re worth it.”

“When he went to the Halversons’ do you think he knew Treadwell and Bitner were sitting dead across the street?”

“I think he might have known. I think he probably tried to call and got no answer. I think he might have gone over to their house that night too, but couldn’t get in. The place was dark. He couldn’t have seen the bodies from the window. And there were no signs of forced entry.”

“So what’s his connection with Treadwell? Not just the Harley club. He’s scared.”