The Investigator (Letty Davenport, #1) (46)

“My concern is that they’ll go for the oil thieves, which I’m not sure will deal with the whole threat,” Letty said. “If these guys are using the money to do something dangerous . . . they might already be under way with it. We should probably try to figure that out before we jump them. Try to figure out everybody involved, not just the truck drivers.”

“I’ll tell the boss. If you do need some FBI backup right away, call me, twenty-four/seven.”

“I will,” Letty said. She hung up and pulled the visor down to shade her eyes from the harsh, low-angle sunlight. “Another day, another two hundred and seventy-four dollars and forty-three cents.”

“Really? I think I make more than that. Three-thirty something. I should be the boss of you,” Kaiser said. He asked, “So . . . boss. Are we going back out tonight?”

Letty said, “I believe we should. I’d like to know where that truck is getting the oil and something about the people driving it. If the FBI drops a net on them, it’ll be ‘Gimme a lawyer.’ By the time that gets sorted out, the militia will be gone.”

“If there is a militia,” Kaiser said. “If they’re not buying houses in Panama for their retirements.”

“What’s your thing about Panama? You thought the Blackburns might be there.”

Kaiser shrugged. “It’s nice down there. I might retire there.”

“Okay. Listen, I’m not sleepy, let’s go see Tanner. Then we can go back to the hotel, take naps, think things over.”



* * *





Tanner was pallid, melancholy, but tried to smile when Letty and Kaiser showed up. He pointed a finger at Kaiser and said, “You probably saved my life, bro. Gracias.”

“No problemo,” Kaiser said. “How are you doing?”

“I’ll be on my back for a while. They don’t want any stress on the muscles around the artery. The doc had to cut out a piece of it where the dog bite wrecked it, and pull together the ends.”

Kaiser shook his head and said, “In that case, I wouldn’t be in any rush to get out of here. You’re gonna need some physical therapy when you do. You’re lucky that mutt didn’t hit about six inches further toward the middle.”

“I thought about that, about the time he was chewing on my leg,” Tanner said. He looked at Letty. “You guys getting anyplace with the investigation?”

“We’re generating names—Max Sawyer may or may not be kept in jail for a while, depending on what the Monahans cops want to do,” Letty said. “None of us were wearing uniforms and his dog got shot, so . . . an assault charge might be tough. He didn’t actually point his gun at anyone. Dog is dead . . .”

“Fuckin’ dog,” Tanner said. “Goddamn leg, hurts. Not only the surgery, I got the bruise from hell.”

“Get some drugs, man. We’ll try to keep you up on what we’re doing,” Kaiser said.

“Yeah, do that.”

After a little more talk, Letty and Kaiser left the hospital and Kaiser said, “We’re not that far from Monahans. Want to run down there and see what Sawyer has to say for himself?”

“No. We made a mistake there,” Letty said, as she settled into the Explorer. “Tanner wanted to talk to him about the Blackburn murders, but the only way we get to him for that is if he’s involved in the oil thefts. He’ll figure that out. Probably has, by now. Victor Crain did—he’s already running. So we’ve probably told the whole goddamn group that we’re sniffing after them. Maybe if we let sleeping dogs lie . . .”

“If I were them, I’d call everything off and dig a hole and pull it in after myself,” Kaiser said.

“So would I,” Letty said. “But they did the oil thing anyway, last night. After Crain would have talked to them. They didn’t stop . . .”

“You think they can’t? That they need the money?”

“Or they’re trying to squeeze the last bit of blood out of the rock, before they go crazy.”



* * *





As they were driving back toward Midland, Letty got Pugh at the station in Monahans. Pugh said that they had charged Sawyer with assault on a police officer, though the charge wouldn’t hold.

“He can legally own a gun, and a dog, and Tanner walked through a warning sign, and none of us were in uniform, we didn’t have a warrant,” Pugh said. “Sawyer’s never been convicted of a felony. We were hoping that he’d talk to us, but he didn’t and he’s got a lawyer now. We’re SOL. We’re gonna have to cut him loose.”

“All right,” Letty said. “Listen, we’d really appreciate it if you wouldn’t ask him about any oil thefts. I’m sure they’re already spooked, but if we could take it easy . . .”

“I’ll let that slide. I’ll push him on his gun, push his lawyer on the gun, make it seem like a gun thing, that Tanner had a rumor on the murder investigation.”

“Great. Make it seem like it wasn’t even a big deal, us going to his house. It was a routine check, until the dog attacked Tanner.”

“I can do that, although I’m gonna feel a little stupid,” Pugh said.

“Only for a while,” Letty said.