“Me either. Maybe he got involved in the chlorine attack and found out he was way over his head?”
“That could be.” She looked in the direction of the river. “I wonder what he’s doing now?”
Danny said, “Who knows? But we’ve got every officer within two hundred miles with a photo of him. We’ll get him before long.”
They left the apartment and checked with the other agencies on any activity, but other than Guereca’s murder in Ojinaga, and the State’s HazMat crews still cleaning up at the packing shed, things were quiet.
As Danny drove back to Marfa, Hunter asked, “You ready to win tomorrow?”
“I’m hoping.”
“The two people campaigning as write-ins are not gonna beat you, I guarantee it. Relax, Sheriff.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Well, if it matters any, you have my vote.”
“It does matter.” He rolled his head, “My neck’s so tight, I don’t think you could drive a nail into it with a sledgehammer. Man.”
“You can celebrate tomorrow when
it’s over. Maybe get back to a normal life.”
Danny said, “There’s no normal life, Wyatt. There’s just life.”
Hunter grinned, “You did not just say that. One of my favorite movies, ever. Well played, Sheriff Montoya, well played.”
As soon as they entered Marfa, people waved like they hadn’t seen the Sheriff in months. Danny turned up Plateau Street and, even in the residential areas, people waved. He pulled into Hunter’s driveway and let her out. She said, “Take those waves as a good sign.”
Danny said, “I will,” and drove away.
Hunter went into her house and walked to the fridge for some apple juice. Her phone rang and she read the name. “Hey, Lucas.”
“I heard you were in Presidio today.”
“I was. Went down there with the Sheriff to check out some information.”
“When are you gonna start doing Border Patrol work?”
“I know, right? I’m assigned to RATS tomorrow evening and will be down near Presidio again.” She felt a little flutter in her stomach as she asked, “You gonna be around?”
“I should be. Give me a call if you get a break.”
“I will.” She asked, “Anything else going on in OJ, besides Guereca getting shot?”
“I think two of the suspects are still around, so I’m looking into that angle. The others, Samir and Crystal, are like ghosts right now.”
Hunter asked, “What was the deal with Guereca? The news said it was a cartel hit, but that doesn’t sound right for some reason. Too convenient.”
She’s too smart, Lucas thought. He said, “It’s a police matter, so I’m not involved in the investigation, but the weapon used to kill him is favored by the Sinaloa and Zeta Cartel’s assassins, and this part of the border almost all the way to Juarez is disputed territory between the two.”
“Maybe it was a cartel hit after all, and we just got lucky. Guereca worked for those groups often enough.”
Lucas said, “He’s out of the picture, that’s the main thing.”
“Yeah,” They were both silent for a moment, and Hunter continued, “Hey, I’ll call you tomorrow when I get a chance.”
“See you tomorrow.” He hung up, then read through several intelligence reports on his desk and still wasn’t any closer to finding Holland. Riffey was a minor player, and Lucas would take him down if their paths crossed, but the one he really wanted was Holland, Asadullah. And right now, he thought, I’d probably have better luck finding a unicorn.