As Fred drank the liberally spiked coffee, he surveyed the line of patrol cars parked along the edge of the road. Dozens of uniformed officers from various agencies were milling around nearby, some talking on cell phones, others studying maps, most looking befuddled and intimidated by the job at hand.
“What a mess,” Doral said under his breath.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“As city manager, I came out to offer any help that I or the City of Tambour can provide.”
“As lead investigator on the case, I appreciate the city’s support,” Fred said drolly. “Now that the official bullshit is out of the way, tell me where you think he ran to.”
“You’re the cop, not me.”
“But you’re the best tracker for miles around.”
“Since Eddie was killed, maybe.”
“Well, Eddie ain’t here, so you’re it. You’re part bloodhound, too. You could find a flea on a pissant.”
“Yeah, but fleas ain’t as slippery as this guy.”
Doral had arrived dressed not as a city official, but as a hunter, fully expecting that his twin would recruit him to join the manhunt. He took off his dozer cap and fanned his face with it as he gazed toward the edge of the woods where those involved in the search were gathering.
“That slipperiness of his has got me worried.” Fred would admit that only to his brother. “We gotta catch this son of a bitch, Doral.”
“Like right effing now.”
Fred chugged the rest of his bourbon-laced coffee and tossed the empty cup onto the driver’s seat of his car. “You ready?”
“If you’re waiting on me, you’re backing up.”
The two joined the rest of the search party. As its appointed organizer, Fred gave the command. Officers fanned out and began picking their way through the tall grass toward the tree line that demarcated the dense forest. Trainers unleashed their search dogs.
They were commencing the search here because a motorist who’d been changing a flat on the side of the road late last night had seen a man running into the woods. He hadn’t thought anything about it until the mass slaying at the Royale Trucking Company warehouse was reported on the local news this morning. The estimated time of the shooting had roughly corresponded with the time he’d seen an individual—whom he couldn’t describe because he’d been too far away—disappearing into the woods on foot and in a hurry. He’d called the Tambour Police Department.
It wasn’t much for Fred and the others to go on, but since they didn’t have any other leads, here they were, trying to pick up a trail that would lead them to the alleged mass murderer, one Lee Coburn.
Doral kept his head down, studying the ground. “Is Coburn familiar with this territory?”
“Don’t know. Could know it as good as he knows the back of his hand, or could be he’s never even seen a swamp.”
“Let’s hope.”
“His employee application said his residence before Tambour was Orange, Texas. But I checked the address and it’s bogus.”
“So nobody knows for sure where he came from.”
“Nobody to ask,” Fred said dryly. “His coworkers on the loading dock are dead.”
“But he’s been in Tambour for thirteen months. He had to know somebody.”
“Nobody’s come forward.”
“Nobody would, though, would they?”
“Guess not. After last night, who’d want to claim him as a friend?”
“Bartender? Waitress? Somebody he traded with?”
“Officers are canvassing. A checker at Rouse’s who’d rung up his groceries a few times said he was pleasant enough, but definitely not a friendly sort. Said he always paid in cash. We ran his Social Security number through. No credit cards came up, no debts. No account in any town bank. He cashed his paychecks at one of those places that do that for a percentage.”