What She Saw

“I’m worried about Haley,” Buck said. “Among other things.”

“Why would you be worrying about somebody you hardly know?”

“Good question. I asked myself that same thing. It remains, I’m worried anyway. Old instincts die hard.”

“So explain,” Gage said.

Buck explained. He gave them his boss Bill’s name, he told them about the shipment problem, he pointed out that Haley had seen something unusual in the parking lot, that Ray shouldn’t be dead, and that he was seriously concerned that something was happening here that could endanger her if someone thought she knew too much.

“You could have just told us to keep an eye on her,” Micah pointed out.

“Sure. And then everyone would know the cops smelled something wrong and I might never find out what’s happening with those shipments.”

“Are you sure you’re not just dragging her in deeper?”

“Nobody knows I’m investigating except my bosses. Everyone would think I was just hanging around because of Haley. At least that was the plan. A lot of guys would hang around because of her.”

“So she’s your cover.”

“Yes. And I tried to reassure her about it, but that didn’t seem to work. Which I can understand. But I tried. I didn’t want her to think I was actually stalking her.”

“Backfire,” Micah remarked.

“Clearly,” Buck agreed.

Gage drummed his fingers on the desktop. “Apart from this being totally unconventional, was your master plan to follow Haley around until you figure something out?”

“Well, I need an excuse to hang around until the next irregularity occurs. Then I’ll follow the second truck to see where it’s going. If I can. At the very least, I have to confirm that shipments are being switched here. That’s my official task. What happens after that…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say I might want to know where the other truck is going.”

At that Gage leaned forward. “If you find out, you’re going to let us know. Right? You’re not going to take the law into your own hands. Not here.”

“I’m not allowed to anymore. I get it. But as everyone keeps pointing out to me, this is a small, tight-knit community. How many people around here don’t know every single one of your deputies by sight?”

Gage and Micah exchanged looks.

“He’s got a point,” Micah remarked.

“He damn well does.” Gage leaned back, grimacing faintly. “I’ll agree on one point, Mr. Devlin—”

“Buck.”

“Buck. Okay. I’m Gage. I agree with you on one thing. This seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to unless something illicit is being shipped in some of those containers. Illicit and worth considerable money. There’s no point in it otherwise. And maybe you’re right about Ray talking a little too much about coming into some money. Around here that would get attention.”

“So did his anonymously-paid-for funeral.”

Gage disagreed. “That doesn’t fit with the rest of the story.”

“Unless the Listons are in on this somehow.”

“It’s possible,” Gage said after brief reflection. “That family has been dirt poor forever. They might be willing to do almost anything to make ends meet.” Then he shook his head. “Only one problem. In all their lives, they’ve never done one thing wrong.”

“Except for that scrape Ray got in right after he graduated,” Micah said.

“Alcohol and tough words don’t mix well,” Gage remarked. “I’ve seen worse sins in my day. He paid for it.”

From Buck’s perspective, it was interesting to hear how well these lawmen knew the people of this area. He’d almost never had that advantage in the army. “So,” he asked slowly, “who might be up to something?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Gage regarded him thoughtfully. “All right. When can I call your boss?”

Buck looked at his watch. “Right now if you want. He’s on until midnight Pacific time. Ask for Bill Grayson.” He recited the phone number and Gage scribbled it down.

Gage called, waited a few minutes, then started speaking to Bill. From Buck’s perspective, it was interesting.

“Your employee didn’t have much choice, Mr. Grayson. Strangers around here get a lot of attention. We’re a small town. We wanted to know why a truck driver was hanging around. This isn’t exactly a vacation destination. He’s sitting in my office right now. Yes. No, we’re not getting directly involved in what he’s doing. It might create more problems. Yes. I’ll tell him.”

Gage hung up. “That’s one upset man.”

“He wants this quiet so the company doesn’t lose business. It hardly looks good for a trucking company to keep messing up its manifests.”

“Doesn’t look good at all.” Gage sighed. “Okay, you’re legit. I see two problems here. First, you stick out like a sore thumb. Second, you’re right, if we start doing anything different, half the county will be wondering what’s going on within a day or two. So I’m going to give you free rein. Within the law, that is. As for Haley…”

Buck waited while Gage frowned. “Why couldn’t you have picked someone else?”

“Like I said, it’s Haley I’m worried about. Micah knows she reported that something was going on in that parking lot that night. So two deputies and at least two other people know what she thought she saw—the guy everyone calls Hasty, and the other waitress. I gather folks around here talk about nearly everything.”

“The downside of a small town,” Gage remarked. “If you want to know what you’re doing, ask a neighbor.”

That surprised a laugh from Buck. “That bad?”

“Damn near. On the other hand, nosiness doesn’t keep people from hiding things they want to hide. It just makes them a damn sight more cautious.” He looked at Micah. “If Buck here is right, these folks are willing to kill.”

“We won’t know that until the reports are back.”

“No, but can we afford to take the chance? So I guess we’d better let Haley know Buck is okay. She can decide how much she wants to trust him or help him.” Then his gaze returned to Buck, as strong as laser beams. “You be careful of that girl, hear? She’s strong, but there’s a part of her that’s fragile. No hanky-panky with her. No leading her on. You’re here for a few days or weeks, and I don’t want to see any broken hearts.”

“That’s not on my agenda. At all.”

Gage continued to study him. “Why do I get the feeling you like to give people a hard time?”

“I’ve heard that before.” And damned if he was going to apologize for it.

“I bet you have.” A lopsided smile appeared on Gage’s scarred face. “You know you’re at a disadvantage. Being an outsider, nobody around here is going to tell you much.”

“I’m used to that.”

“I’ll bet,” said Micah. He looked at Gage. “If you think a stranger investigating around here is going to be tough, watch an MP looking into a unit of Rangers. You’d think they all became instantly deaf, dumb and blind.”

At that Gage cracked a laugh. “Okay. I’ll call Haley and tell her you check out. But that’s all I’m going to tell her. I want her to sleep easy. Other than that, it’s all her decision. If I hear you pushed her even a little, you’re on your way out.”