Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(77)

Otto raised his eyebrows in reply.

“The Conroys ship the cars for Wally. He gets the wrecked cars and packs the cash into the frames. The Conroys do the shipping.”

Martínez pointed at Josie in recognition. “The Conroys are the locals who follow Santa Muerte. That’s the necklace we found beside Christina’s desk.”

“Exactly.”

“After I talked with the Conroys about their involvement with the saint I checked Dillon’s records. They’re clients of his,” Otto said. He turned to Josie. “You get the search warrant for Wally’s phone records and get a tap on the phone line. Track down the judge for approval. Keep me posted. We need those phone records.”

Josie nodded.

“I’ll take Hec out to the trailer to pack up some things. We’ll get his dog out of there.” He rubbed his chin and looked at Josie. “Let’s try to meet back here around four. We’ll pay a second visit to the Conroys.”

*

Back at the office, Josie secured the warrant and was promised the phone records by the next morning. As she and Otto were getting ready to leave, Agent Omstead called and said he was driving to Artemis from Houston that night to debrief. He asked to meet with them at 7:00 P.M. at the police department but would offer nothing else in terms of what information he might have.

Josie and Otto drove out to the Conroys’ ranch at a little after five. The evening air felt charged with an electricity that left Josie on edge. A yellow cast saturated the sky and forecasters warned of a flash thunderstorm later that night. The monsoons in September had flooded West Texas, and now six months later they still hadn’t had a drop of water. Feast or famine, Josie thought, watching the ribbon of dust flowing behind her in the rearview mirror.

She pulled onto Flatt Road as Otto described the Conroys based on his visit the previous day.

“We won’t get a straight answer from Bea Conroy unless she thinks it will benefit her in some way.”

“What’s their cause? They second amenders, religious fanatics, or what?”

“The Conroys don’t have a cause. They’re just angry hilljacks,” he said. “You watch your back though. I met one of the boys and his wife or girlfriend. Dave said there’s two other brothers living there with their girlfriends and a passel of kids. And we’re the enemy.”

As they drove along the dirt lane to the Conroys’ house, Josie noticed a car hauler parked just to the right of it. A large red metal pole barn was located twenty feet on the other side of the car hauler, its doors wide open. As they pulled up, she saw the outside of the barn was piled high on all sides with what looked to be mostly junk. Josie stopped the jeep in front of the barn and saw three men and a woman standing just inside the barn in what appeared to be a very unorganized mechanic’s shop. Josie got out of the jeep and scanned the property for cars that might have been waiting for a haul, but she saw nothing. She wondered if the hauler was typically parked between the house and barn, or if they were getting it ready for a shipment.

They stepped into the barn and Otto introduced Josie to the woman in the group, Bea Conroy. She was wearing a pair of orange cotton shorts and a matching T-shirt that was at least two sizes too big even for her large frame. Josie offered a hand to Bea, but she just nodded and kept her arms crossed over her chest.

The men appeared to be in their thirties, all wearing oil-stained jeans and grimy Tshirts. They all scowled and made no move to greet Josie and Otto.

Otto stepped farther into the barn and extended a hand to a man standing on the left side of the group of men. He was the smallest of the three and appeared to be the youngest. “Good to see you again, Tim. This is Chief Josie Gray.”

Tim put his hand out and awkwardly shook Otto’s hand, glancing at the two men next to him as if for approval.

“Why don’t you introduce us,” Otto said.

He looked surprised to be put on the spot, but did as he was asked. He pointed to a bulky man in the middle with deep frown lines between his dark eyes and down the corners of his mouth.

“This is my brother Daryl.” Tim leaned forward and pointed down the line to a man on the end. “That’s my brother Rich.”

Rich had crazy eyes that put Josie on edge. He seemed like the kind of person who you feared might pull a gun out and start shooting just for the hell of it. His eyes darted around the room and he fidgeted from foot to foot. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat even though no one else in the barn appeared to be overheated. He had the telltale signs of a meth user: gaunt, pale, and anxious.

Bea spoke up first. “I done told you everything I know about the Santa Muerte. I don’t know nothing about your necklace. You may as well turn on back for town.” She sounded irritated at the intrusion.

Josie approached her but kept the three men on her left in her line of sight. “We’re here to ask you a few questions about Wally Follet.”

Mrs. Conroy glared at her and Josie noticed Daryl look directly at his mom. Tim’s attention turned toward the house and he furrowed his eyebrows as if dreading what might come next. Josie turned and saw a skinny woman with a baby on her hip stomping her way over to the barn, her eyebrows bunched up with her puckered lips. She was angry, but Josie noted her focus was on one of the three men, not the police.

The woman brushed past Josie and Otto, and she walked up to Tim, who was shooting worried looks at his brothers.