“He got in with a bad crowd. My cousin, Aggie, was worried sick, same with her husband. There was a robbery in Helena and the gun used in the crime was found in Gabe’s backpack.”
“How?” Alvarez asked, not following. “How did the police find it?”
“They didn’t. David, Aggie’s husband and Gabe’s father, he found it and called the cops after he talked to his son. No one got all that excited until the cops realized that the gun was used in a robbery. No one was hurt, but a shot was fired and lodged in the door frame. Turns out it was from the gun that Gabe had. Not registered. Probably bought on the street. Gabe had told his father he was keeping it for a friend.”
Pescoli snorted.
“Yeah, that was bull, and after the cops left, Gabe snuck out and has been on the run ever since.”
“Cops are looking for him?” Pescoli asked.
“Yeah.”
“But you took it on yourself to chase him down.”
“I wanted to talk to him first.”
“He’s not only an ex-cop and a PI, but he’s got a law degree,” Alvarez supplied.
“So whose side are you on?” Pescoli demanded.
“I want Gabe to turn himself in. With a lawyer.”
“Meaning you?”
“Right. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to shake some sense into him.”
“So,” Pescoli said, “you’re not a cop?”
“Working with someone in Helena.”
“Who?” Pescoli’s eyes narrowed.
“Detective Trey Williams.”
“I can call him and confirm?” she asked.
“Yeah. Do that.”
“I will,” she said. “You haven’t been deputized?”
“Officially? By the sheriff? No.”
Apparently she didn’t like his response. “A little loosey-goosey, isn’t it?”
“I said I was working with the city.”
“Strange how they do things over there, but we’ll see. Now,” she said, changing the subject again, “so what’s the deal with Gabriel Reeve. You’re his uncle ... no wait. Your cousin’s boy, right?”
“Yeah,” O’Keefe said. “He’s a pistol. The kid’s always been trouble. Ever since they adopted him.”
“He’s not your cousin’s?”
“Of course he is. That’s not what I meant. All three of Aggie and Dave’s kids are adopted. And, yeah, they are all definitely theirs. It’s not a matter of blood. It’s just that from the time they brought Gabe home, he was difficult. Harder than the other two. More strong-willed.”
“Yeah, I know about that,” Pescoli said, obviously thinking about her own two kids. Pescoli’s son, Jeremy, had already had several run-ins with the law.
“So you’re involved because your cousin asked you to be and, oh, yeah, you wanted to help the boy out of a jam or something. Be his advocate or attorney or whatever, but—” Pescoli said, wagging a finger back and forth between Alvarez and O’Keefe. “You two know each other?”