Two hours later, they sat in the White Buffalo Bar in Marathon, Texas. It was early and, other than the bartender, they had the place to themselves.
They both ordered beers, and after the bartender delivered them, Hunter showed Lucas the image that Raymond took of the man who carried him off the mountain. “Does this guy ring any bells?”
Lucas studied it and said “No. Send me a copy and I’ll run it through our system. You couldn’t identify him?”
“No. Raymond thought that he might be one of the men who shot Miguel and burned up Sam Kinney’s place. I’ll catch up with them today and show the picture.”
“Are they up here?”
“No, down around the border, staying in Presidio, so I figure I can find them there.”
Lucas looked at the photo again, “If he was involved in the shootings, he’s working with some stone cold killers.”
“I know.”
“Could they be tied to the fire and murder in Terlingua?”
>
“Let me tell you what I know and we can decide if he is or not.” She told Lucas everything she remembered about the fire at Mona’s and about the murder of the man in the Brewster County Deputy’s custody. She took a sip and continued, “Mona told me why she thought someone targeted her. She scans the airwaves, listening to stuff, and she has some pretty good equipment.”
“Like a police scanner?”
“Way better.”
Lucas took a sip and said, “Huh. Does she work for someone in that business?”
“No. She used to. Now she writes novels.”
“But she overheard something.”
“Yes.” Hunter looked to make sure the bartender was busy and not listening. “She overheard people talking of a holy mission, an attack on infidels, and she heard two names.”
“What were they?”
“Holland, and Asadullah.” She saw Lucas’ face change. “What? Do those names mean something?”
“Asadullah means The Lion of Allah in Arabic. He’s been involved in major terrorist attacks for at least a decade; most recently he’s been linked to the Boston Marathon Bombing. There’s also a rumored sighting of him in Juarez.”
“Mona said he’s closer than that. He’s someplace just outside of Ojinaga. Him and this guy Holland. Do you have anything on Holland?”
“First time I’ve heard the name, but I’ll dig into it. Can Mona tell us exactly where the transmission came from?”
“No. Only that it was near Ojinaga. If she still had her equipment, she might have been able to, but not now.”
They sat there, thinking of this new information, and enjoying each other’s company. When they finished the drinks and left, Lucas said, “We need to do this again sometime, and not talk about work.”
“I could go for that,” Hunter said. When Lucas left, Hunter called Sam in Presidio.
Sam said, “We moved Mona’s animals and they’re settled in; we just got to town.”
“I’ve got a photo to show you and Miguel, so I’ll be on my way down in a half-hour or so.”
“We’ll be here.”
***
Holland walked to the barn, passing the small tank of chlorine as he went to the big tanker truck parked near the Cessna. Guereca stood beside it, watching Samir and Crystal opening the case with the corrosive liquid stored in the clear glass bottle.