The Last Mile (Amos Decker, #2)(111)

Mars fell silent and looked down at his plate. He hadn’t touched any of his food.

Decker rubbed his chin while Jamison watched him.

“Well, you guys look cheery.”

They watched as Mary Oliver walked toward them pulling a rolling suitcase. She sat down in the fourth chair and wearily rubbed her face.

“Left before the crack of dawn. Three connections later, here I am…Obviously, haven’t even checked into my room yet.” She looked around. “Where’s Agent Bogart?”

“He and his team have been recalled to Washington,” replied Jamison.

“Not again. Are you joking?”

Jamison shook her head. “I wish I were.”

“Any news on Davenport?” asked Oliver.

Decker answered. “No ransom demand, no nothing.”

Oliver grabbed a piece of toast from the stack on a plate in the middle of the table and started buttering it. “Sorry, they didn’t even have peanuts on any of the flights. And all the planes were like the size of my car, by the way.” She bit into the toast and sighed.

Mars said nervously, “How’s it going on the legal end?”

She looked at him sympathetically. “I don’t think you have to worry about that, Melvin. From what I can tell the prosecutors in Texas have decided that you are a pit of vipers that they don’t want to go near. At least right now. If they were going to try anything I would have had to have been notified.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s something good at least.”

Oliver studied him. “Melvin, what’s wrong?”

He glanced up at her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been around you long enough to know your moods. Something’s bothering you.”

Jamison said, “He got a visit last night from his father.”

“Only he’s not my father.”

Oliver choked on her toast. “What?”

Mars took a few minutes to explain.

Oliver looked stricken. “My God. I never would have thought…I mean.” She touched Mars’s hand. “That’s awful.”

Decker said, “And it also means Roy has no incentive to help us.”

“But wait a minute. I need to get filled in. What have you discovered so far?”

Mars and Jamison looked at Decker. He cleared his throat. “We have some persons of interest. We have no proof against them.”

“Who are they?”

“The police chief of this town, for starters,” said Jamison. “Roger McClellan.”

“The police chief! Wait a minute. What crimes exactly are we talking about?”

“Bombings in the 1960s,” answered Jamison.

Oliver looked bewildered. “You have totally lost me. Bombings?”

Decker said, “We followed some leads. We learned some things. But we still need proof.”

The waitress came over and asked Oliver if she wanted some coffee. She said, “Yes, and make it extra strong.”

The waitress smiled and picked up the cup in front of Oliver. “Let me just swap this out, hon, it’s dirty.”

“Thanks.”

Decker flinched like he’d been slapped. He mouthed one word: Swap.

Oliver turned back to Decker, who instantly refocused. “Do you think you can get the proof?”

“We have some avenues to get there. But it won’t be easy.”

The waitress came back and poured out fresh coffee for Oliver and everyone else. After she left Oliver said, “What can I do to help? If it’s legal issues, I can definitely provide assistance.”

Decker nodded. “Thanks. It may very well come to that.”

Jamison added, “The key will be to find what was in Roy Mars’s safe deposit box. We think that will be more than enough proof.”

Oliver said, “And since he met with Melvin, we know he’s nearby.”

“He was nearby,” corrected Decker. “He could be a long way away by now. Particularly if he got on a plane.”

Mars looked at the others. “I’m not sure we should pursue this.”

They all looked at him.

Oliver said, “Melvin, we have to.”

“Why? To correct the wrongs of the past? By my count a mother has been killed and her son left as an orphan because of our investigation. The guy I thought was my father is a stone-cold killer. My mother was dying of brain cancer before he blew her head off. Decker, Milligan, and me almost died in a fire set by these assholes. And these crimes from the sixties? I’m not saying I don’t want to nail the bastards responsible, but at what price? Are you going to get killed next, Mary? Or Alex? Or Decker?”

Decker said, “We all signed on for this.”

“Well, I didn’t. I think maybe I need to get on with whatever life I have left.” Before they could say anything else, Mars rose and left.

“He’s upset and frustrated,” said Oliver. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Let him be for now,” said Decker. “He’s had to deal with one body blow after another. Those punches add up. I’m surprised he’s still standing.”

“He’s tough,” pointed out Oliver.

“He’s going to have to be,” replied Decker. “We all are.”