“I appreciate that, but I can buy my own drinks. Did you get the email?”
“What email?”
“Stick’s last email. He sent it to my sister, but she didn’t open it until I called her. I forwarded it to Ames and Radcliff. I figured they’d send it on to you.”
“Not yet, they didn’t. I doubt they’ll be communicating with me much. I’m a small-town sheriff and they’re big city detectives. Hell, I’m not even the sheriff, I’m just a deputy. The only reason I’m here is because the sheriff figures this is all just a waste of time.”
“He’s good with people leaving a bloody mess in the local motel?”
“No, he’s just been around long enough to know some things you don’t ever get an answer to. We’re in the desert, after all. If someone decides to bury a body, it won’t be easy to find. It’s why we’re all hoping the blood is Stick’s. Otherwise, it’s probably a mystery no one is going to solve. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.”
“Too young to be cynical?”
“I guess so. Does the email solve this thing?”
“Hardly,” Margot said as she retrieved her phone. She pulled up the email and let Brantley read it.
“Locals? I’m a local.”
“Yes, you are,” Margot said as she eyed the deputy with some suspicion. She knew as well as anybody that being in law enforcement didn’t mean one wasn’t a criminal.
“Well, I didn’t do it.”
“If you say so. Does that number mean anything to you?”
“Huh?” Brantley said as he read the number.
“That sounds like it does mean something to you.”
“Not really. Nothing that would make sense anyway.”
“Tell me anyway. No one else has come up with anything.”
“You ever heard of Geocaching?”
“No, I don’t think so. What is it?”
“It’s like a game people play. I’m not sure of all the details but basically, someone hides something and then gives out the GPS coordinates and people use those to find what they hid.”
“What do they hide?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s anything special. Finding it is the fun part. I don’t think what they find is important.”
“So, it’s a journey not the destination kind of thing?”
“Yeah, I guess. I never played. I just know because the desert is one of the places they like to play, so I’ve run into them a few times out in some remote spot. I pull up thinking it’s teenagers getting their drink on or smoking some pot and find a bunch of middle-aged people checking the longitude and latitude.”
“You think these numbers are longitude and latitude?”
“I don’t know what they are, but they could be. The X doesn’t fit, but the numbers look right. Could be some sort of code too.”
“Why would Stick send a code to my sister and I?”
“I have no idea. Maybe you weren’t the only ones he sent it too.”
“He only sent it to my sister. I was on the email, but he messed up my address and I didn’t get it.”
“That doesn’t mean he didn’t send it to someone else separately.”