C. Box - Force of Nature

Reed didn’t blink, and continued to deadeye Joe. “So you’re all but admitting Romanowski offed the Kellys and Ron Connelly.”

Joe said, “I don’t want to go there. But this Nemecek might be the key to everything.”

“How long have you suspected this?”

“From the start. But I’ve got no proof at all. I’ve never seen the guy, and I don’t know anything more about him than what Nate told me before he flew the coop. I’m not about to take my suspicions to McLanahan or Dulcie until I’ve got some kind of solid proof.”

“Still, you should have said something before now,” Reed said. “We might have found this guy sooner.”

Joe shook his head. “I don’t have any evidence, Mike. I’ve only got a suspicion. And I don’t want McLanahan to botch it by overplaying his hand.”

Reed put his coffee down and looked away, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I understand,” he said. “I could see the sheriff announcing this guy’s name in the press as our suspect so it looks like we’ve made some progress in the investigation, and drive this Nemecek underground. And if we didn’t find him right away, McLanahan would hang you out to dry and say you’ve been withholding evidence. He desperately needs a scapegoat.”

“I’ve played that role before,” Joe said.

“I know.”

Joe turned, walked past Marybeth in the kitchen, and found a six-pack of Coors in the refrigerator. He twisted the cap off a bottle.

“Want one?” he asked Reed when he returned.

“I want one so bad I could die,” Reed said. “But I’ll have to pass.”

“Sorry,” Joe said, recalling Reed’s problems with alcohol a few years before. “I forgot.”

“So what’s next?” Reed asked, gesturing with both hands to include the whole of it all.

“I might go over their heads,” Joe said.

“You mean McLanahan and Dulcie Schalk?”

“Yup.”

“To who? The governor?”

Joe shook his head. “He can’t help me. But there’s a guy named Chuck Coon in the FBI in Cheyenne. I’ve worked with him a few times. He’s by the book all the way, but he might be interested in this, and he’ll have better resources to find out something about Nemecek-or rule him out.”

“McLanahan’s not going to like that,” Reed said, obviously savoring the prospect.

“Too bad,” Joe said. “When this guy-whether he’s Nemecek or Bob White or both-approached my wife, he made it personal. I’m going after him with both barrels.”

“And you think the Feds might know about him?”

Joe took a long drink and lowered the bottle. “Feds can find out about other Feds easier than we can.”

Reed sat back. “‘Other Feds’? Nemecek is a government guy?”

“Used to be,” Joe said. “I don’t know his status right now. He used to be in Special Forces with Nate.”

“And you think the FBI can find something on him? You might be giving them too much credit,” Reed said.

“Maybe.”

Reed nodded toward the kitchen and lowered his voice. “You’re married to a tough lady, you know. My wife would have fallen apart if that guy showed up at her office.”

“She’s tough, all right,” Joe said. “Do you know what she’s doing in there right now?”

“I gather she’s calling airlines and hotels,” Reed said. “I think you’re all going on a little vacation. And I think it’s a damned good plan, myself.”

“Vacation?” Joe said. “How are we going to afford that?”

After refilling Reed’s cup and asking him to stay around a little longer, Joe ducked into his office and booted up the computer. Marybeth was still occupied, although when he heard her read her credit card number to the agent on the other end of the line, he assumed she was about done.

He was pleased to find out the phone company had restored service and he could both use the house phone and access the Internet. He sat down and opened the browser and scrolled through the bookmarks and clicked on the falconry website. His scalp crawled when he saw there was a single new entry:

NOTHING I TRY WILL WORK, AND I’M GETTING FRUSTRATED AND CONCERNED. IT’S A DISASTER ON EVERY FRONT. I JUST WANT TO SAY TO THAT BIRD, “FLY AWAY NOW AND DON’T LOOK BACK.”

Joe pushed his chair away from the monitor and rubbed his eyes. Nate was often obscure when he spoke, and there were times after they talked when Joe wondered what his friend was trying to say. But this seemed extremely clear.

In the other room, he heard Marybeth close her phone. She was in his office within fifteen seconds. She eased the door shut behind her and leaned back against it.

“Thank God you’re home,” she said. “I hate it when I can’t reach you.”

“Likewise,” he said, then told her what they’d found at the line shack.

“You got my message, though?” she asked.

He stood up and closed the gap and wrapped his arms around her. She was stiff at first, but then welcomed the embrace and burrowed her face into his shoulder. Her hair smelled good. She said, “He scared me, Joe. And what bothered me the most was how confident he was. He didn’t really threaten me, or say anything that we could use against him. There was no mistaking his intent, and who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten that call.”

“Any idea who called him?”

“No. But it made him change his plans.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be reached,” Joe said, stroking her back. “I wish I could have been there. But I’m very glad Mike came here.”

“Me, too. He’s a good man.”

Then: “Joe, he knew us. And he seemed to know you wouldn’t show up even when I told him you were on the way.”

Joe stopped stroking her and asked, “Really? He knew my location?”

“I don’t know about that for sure, but he knew you were in the field and wouldn’t show up to interrupt him.”

“That’s no good,” he said. “He must be keeping close tabs on the sheriff’s office.” His mind leapt. And he couldn’t help but suspect Mike Reed in the other room, even though Reed had never given Joe a reason not to trust him. But he instantly wished he hadn’t told Reed so much.

Marybeth stepped back and looked up at Joe. “This man, Bob White or John Nemecek, whoever he is, just oozed creepiness. I honestly had no doubt he would have hurt me if he didn’t get that call. I don’t have any doubt he will go after our girls if it would help him get what he wants.”

“Which is Nate,” Joe said.

Her eyes flashed as she said, “Which is why we’re leaving this place for a while. I can’t put my girls at risk any more than they are now. Or you, Joe. I refuse to let a member of our family get hurt.”

She said it with such vehemence that there was no point in arguing, Joe knew.

“Nate agrees with you,” he said, handing her the printout.

She read it and handed it back.

“You didn’t tell me you were in touch with him,” she said, hurt.

“I haven’t been,” Joe said. “This is the first communication he’s sent since he left.”

“I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other,” she said.

“We don’t, and I’m sorry. But I didn’t want you to get any more involved than necessary.”

She glared at him, and he eventually looked away.

“We can talk about this later,” she said. “Right now, Nate and I are on the same page. I booked us on the first flight out tomorrow morning.”

“To where?” Joe asked with no enthusiasm.

“Saddlestring to Denver to Los Angeles,” she said.

“Los Angeles?” Joe said incredulously. He’d never been there and didn’t have any desire to see it. But Marybeth had lived there for a few years while growing up, and she was somewhat familiar with the city.