?Are you serious? That guy was in your diner. A guy with an orange beard was there, too. I think he was part of it.?
?The check?s at the mailbox in front of that shack y?all were living in?? Junior said.
?You know where we were living. Stop pretending.?
?The sheriff was here. So were some federal people. They thought maybe you were dead.?
?I?m not.?
?Did you shoot that guy who came here to buy milk??
?Are you going to help us or not??
?Isn?t this called aiding and abetting or something??
?You are really pissing me off, Junior.?
?Give me your address.?
She hesitated.
?Think I?m gonna turn you in?? he said.
She gave him the address of the motel, the name of the town, and the zip code. With each word she spoke, she felt like she was taking off a piece of armor.
After she hung up, she went to the bar and asked the bartender for a glass of water. The combination steak house and beer joint was a spacious place, cool and dark, with big electric floor fans humming away, the heads of stuffed animals mounted on the debarked and polished log walls. ?I put some ice and a lime slice in it,? the bartender said.
?Thank you,? she replied.
?You look kind of tuckered out. You visiting here?bouts??
She gulped from the iced drink and blew out her breath. ?No, I?m a Hollywood actress on location. You need a waitress??
PAM TIBBS WALKED from the dispatcher?s cage into Hackberry?s office, tapping with one knuckle on the doorjamb as she entered.
?What is it?? Hackberry said, looking up from some photos in a manila folder.
?There?s a disturbance at Junior?s diner.?
?Send Felix or R.C.?
?The disturbance is with that ICE agent, Clawson.?
Hackberry made a sucking sound with his teeth.
?I?ll take it,? Pam said.
?No, you won?t.?
?Are those the photos of the Thai women?? she said. When he didn?t answer, she said, ?Why are you looking at those, Hack? Say a prayer for those poor women and stop sticking pins in yourself.?
?Some of them are wearing dark clothes. Some of them are wearing what were probably the best clothes they owned. They weren?t dressed for hot country. They thought they were going somewhere else. Nothing at that crime scene makes sense.?
Pam Tibbs gazed at the street and at the shadows of clouds moving across the cinder-block and stucco buildings and broken sidewalks. She heard Hackberry getting up from his chair.
?Is Clawson still at the diner?? he asked.
?What do you think?? she replied.