Hackberry sat down on the steps and removed his hat. He straightened the felt in the crown. He lifted his face into the sunlight that was breaking over the hill. ?What?s your name??
?Bernabe Segura.?
?Pete might be in some trouble, Bernabe. What?s Miss Vikki?s last name??
?Gaddis.?
?Do you know where I could find her??
The little boy?s face was clouded, as though he were looking at an image buried behind his eyes.
?Are you listening, Bernabe??
?There were some men here last night. They had flashlights. They went inside the house.?
?So you came here to check on Pete??
?We were gonna hunt for arrowheads today.?
?You shouldn?t have come here by yourself. Where?s your father??
?I don?t have one.? Bernabe tapped on his handlebars. ?Pete give me this bike.?
?Where can I find Miss Vikki, Bernabe??
JUNIOR VOGEL LEANED on the counter. ?I knew it,? he said.
?Knew what?? Hackberry said.
Junior picked up a towel from the counter, wiped his hands with it, and threw it in the direction of a yellow plastic container filled with soiled towels and aprons. ?It?s that damn kid she?s been mixed up with. Pete Flores. What?d he do??
?Nothing I know of. We just need some information from him.?
?Who you kidding? When that boy isn?t drunk, he?s hungover. I knew she was in trouble when she left the diner. I should have done something about it.?
?I?m not sure I follow you.?
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?She came in for her check. But two or three things were going on at the same time. Like a bad omen or something. I don?t know how to put it. A guy wanted to buy milk for his baby. Then a couple of guys in a Trans Am started coming on to her. I didn?t sort it out at the time.?
Pam Tibbs looked at the side of Hackberry?s face, then at Junior and back at Hackberry. ?We don?t have any idea what you?re talking about, sir. Can you take the pralines out of your mouth?? she said.
?This guy said he was staying at the Super 8 and needed milk for his three-month-old baby girl. I asked him why he didn?t go to the convenience store. He said it was after eleven and the store was closed. So I got him a half-gallon out of my refrigerator and told him to give me two bucks for it. But he didn?t have the two bucks. How can a guy be out looking for milk and driving across Texas with his family when he doesn?t even have two bucks in his pocket?
?While I?m dealing with this guy, these two characters in a Trans Am are hassling Vikki. I don?t have trouble in my place, but suddenly, I got it all at one time, you follow me now? Drunks and hard cases don?t mess with my employees, Vikki in particular. Everybody knows that. ?Orchestrated,? that was the word I was looking for. It was like it was all orchestrated.?
?You get a license number on any of these guys?? Hackberry said.
?No.?
Hackberry placed his business card on the glass counter. ?Call us if you hear from Vikki or if you see any of these guys again,? he said.
?What?s happened to Vikki? You ain?t told me squat,? Junior said.
?We don?t know where she is. As far as we know, you?re the last person to have seen her,? Hackberry said.
Junior Vogel let out his breath, the heel of his hand pressed to his head. ?I looked out the window and the guy with the milk was ahead of her. The two creeps in the Trans Am got some gas and followed in the same direction. I watched it happen and didn?t do anything.?