Rain Gods (Hackberry Holland 2)

It took them only ten minutes to get to the diner, the flasher bar rippling, the siren off. Isaac Clawson?s motor pool vehicle was parked between the diner and the nightclub next door, both rear doors open. Junior was handcuffed in the backseat, wrists behind him, while Clawson stood outside the vehicle, talking into a cell phone.

?Hack?? she said.

?Would you give it a rest??

She pulled up behind Clawson?s vehicle and turned off the engine. But she didn?t open the door. ?That guy called you a sonofabitch. He?ll never do that in my presence again,? she said.

Hackberry put his hat back on and got out on the gravel and walked toward Isaac Clawson. To the south, he could see heat waves rippling off the hardpan, dust devils spinning in the wind, the distant ridge of mountains etched against an immaculate blue sky. He wore a long-sleeve cotton shirt snap-buttoned at the wrists, which was his custom at the office, regardless of the season, and he felt loops of moisture already forming under his armpits.

?What?s the problem?? he said to the ICE agent.

?There is no problem,? Clawson replied.

?How about it, Junior?? Hackberry said.

Junior wore white trousers and a white T-shirt and still had a kitchen apron on. The sideburns trimmed in a flare on his cheeks were sparkling with sweat. ?He thinks I know where Vikki Gaddis is.?

?Do you?? Hackberry asked.

?I run a diner. I don?t monitor the lives of kids who cain?t stay out of trouble.?

?Everybody tells me you had more than an employer?s interest in Vikki,? Clawson said. ?She?s broke and on the run and has no family. I think you?re the first person she would come to for help. You want to see her dead? The best way to accomplish that is to keep stonewalling us.?

?I don?t like your sexual suggestions. I?m a family man. You watch your mouth,? Junior said.

?Could I speak to you a moment, Agent Clawson?? Hackberry said.

?What you can do is butt out,? Clawson replied.

?How about a little professional courtesy?? Pam Tibbs said.

Clawson looked at her as though noticing her for the first time. ?Excuse me??

?Our department is working in cooperation with yours, right?? she said.

?And?? Clawson said.

Pam looked away and hooked her thumbs in her gun belt, her mouth a tight seam, her eyes neutral. Hackberry walked into the shade, removing his hat, blotting his forehead on his sleeve. Clawson brushed at his nose, then followed. ?All right, say it,? he said.

?You taking Junior in?? Hackberry said.

?I think he?s lying. What would you do??

?I?d give him the benefit of the doubt, at least for the time being.?

?Benefit of the doubt? You found nine dead women and girls in your county, and you?re giving a man who may be an accomplice to fugitive flight the benefit of the doubt? It?s going to take me a minute or two to process that.?

?Humiliating a man like Junior Vogel in front of his customers and employees is not going to get you what you want. Back off a little bit. I?ll come back and talk to him later. Or you can come back and we?ll talk to him together. He?s not a bad guy.?

?You seem to have a long history in the art of compromise, Sheriff Holland. I accessed your file at the Department of Veterans Affairs.?

?Really? Why would you do that, sir??

?You were a POW in North Korea. You gave information to the enemy. You were put in one of the progressive camps for POWs who cooperated with the enemy.?

?That?s a lie.?

?It is? I had a different impression.?