Hunter hung up and told Ike, then said to Paco, “Where are they taking her?”
“Away from the border.”
Ike shook him so hard that Paco saw red and blue spots in his vision. “Talk.”
“North,” Ike tightened his grip to shake him again and Paco said, “No, no, I’m thinking of it. Hard to remember right now.”
Hunter fumed, and her voice sounded it, “Think fast, Paco. If that child is hurt or killed, you will not have a happy life, I’ll make sure of it.”
Paco thought, do you think I have a happy life now? He said instead, “That one, they take special care of her, because of the beauty, and the eyes.”
Ike yelled, “Where!”
Paco jerked, “Depends on what roads you take. Maybe three, four hours from here. The place is a granero, a barn, on a ranch, with nothing around.”
“Where’s this ranch?”
“I don’t…I know how to get there, a few towns on the way, but I don’t know the town very close to it.”
“Does the ranch have a name?” Hunter asked.
“Not that I hear, it’s just a place.”
Hunter looked at Ike and said, “You have plenty of gas?” Ike nodded, and Hunter said, “Paco, get in.” She opened the big Ford’s door and pushed him into the back seat.
Ike went to his small canvas bag in the front seat and pulled out a long, plastic flex-cuff and put it on the older man’s wrists, cinching it tight. He looked at Paco, letting his anger show, and said, “Which direction.”
“We are going there?”
Hunter said, “Damn straight, Skippy.”
Paco thought he missed something and asked, “Who is Skippy?”
“Tell us which way and shut up.”
“Toward the Sonora town.”
Ike said to Hunter, “Every minute counts here, plus we’ve got an illegal in the truck with us, and he’s cuffed. I’m taking some back roads so we aren’t stopped.”
“Whatever we need to do. I’ll tell Norma what’s going on.”
“You sure you want to do that?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” He sounded doubtful.
Ike drove while Hunter called Norma and told her, and as always, Norma scolded her before saying she would see what she could do on her end to fix their situation so they weren’t considered in the same league of criminals as Dillinger and Baby Face.
Hunter smiled at that as she hung up, but she was worried.
Ike drove on highway 377 for only a short distance before seeing an open ranch gate and turning into it. Well maintained caliche roads that snaked through the ranch like bone-colored rivers ran in every direction, and all of them ending at large caliche pads for oil and gas well drilling.
Paco said, “I don’t know the way you are going. We must go to the Sonora town.”
Ike said, “We are, only a different way so no one sees us.”
Hunter said, “Paco, will they stop for anything while they’re driving? Food, gas?”