should go back to the arya they came from.” He gave a slight smile. “Bad joke.”
“But not a bad idea.” Rob smiled, too. He turned back to Madeline. “I’m obliged to you, Chief Thomas. Did you report Meek to the Fish Commission for pothunting?”
“Yes. His name came up three different times with questionable stuff, mostly arrowheads. She, the investigator, said they checked him out, but they could never catch him with the goods on him. She’s been keeping an eye out for him.”
Rob said, “His name is in the system, then. If he took part in a skinhead demonstration there may be fingerprints. I’ll get onto it.”
Leon blew his nose on a blue spotted handkerchief. “Will I… Where have they got my boy?”
Rob explained as tactfully as he could about the autopsy and the morgue. “If the dentist’s records match, sir, you won’t have to make the trip to Vancouver.”
Leon looked shocked. “We want to see him, Lila and me. When she gets here, she’ll want to see Eddy.”
Rob looked at Todd, who swallowed hard and shook his head, no. “Okay,” Rob said, “let us know when you want to go and a deputy will escort you.”
There wasn’t much else to say. Leon seemed even more shocked that the body wouldn’t be released at once and retreated into silent misery. Rob showed Maddie a photo of the broken petro-glyph. When she identified it as part of The Dancers, she sounded almost indifferent.
As Madeline walked them to the outer door, Rob said, “We’ll have to talk to the young people.”
“They’re scattered all over the place.”
“The ones who are here,” Rob insisted. “Can you assemble them tomorrow evening? I want Todd and his partner to question them. You gave me one name. We need all the names, and we need their impressions of Meek and the other dealers, everything they can remember.”
Maddie was silent. She pulled the door open and stood for a moment looking out into the rainy darkness. The sun was setting far down the Gorge, turning the river to steel. The hills nearby loomed black. “Yes, okay. Todd and Jake. I know Jake. And I can give them the list of names we sent to the Fish Commission.”
Rob said, “Or to me. Now.”
He could see from the set of her jaw that he was pushing her, so he didn’t insist.
Rob drove the car back along the winding road to Klalo with Todd beside him taking notes on the laptop. Time for a crash course in techniques of interrogation.
“What if I goof it up tomorrow?” Todd wailed at one point.
Rob squirted detergent on the streaming windshield and peered at the wet road. “You won’t. You took a class at Clark. Besides, you know the kids. They’ll talk to you.”
“I’m related to most of them.” Todd didn’t sound as if the thought made him happy. “Look, sir, I know I should have told you or somebody what the chief was doing, except her investigation started way before I joined the department. Jeez, it started when I was in high school. I stopped taking it seriously years ago.”
Rob was silent. He hit a long puddle and the tires hydroplaned. He gripped the wheel and steered with extreme delicacy until the treads bit into the asphalt again.
By rights he ought to tear another strip off Todd’s hide, but he didn’t feel up to it.
“Chief Thomas doesn’t trust me.” He swerved around a dead possum. “She and I have clashed in the past, and we probably will in the future.” And next time you’d better have your loyalties sorted. He didn’t say that. He felt another spasm of anger at Mad-die for putting Todd in a vise.
When Todd didn’t say anything, Rob added, “You’ll have to watch yourself tomorrow. I’ll give you exactly what you can tell your cousins and their friends about the investigation—or the sheriff will. Not much, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Rob said, “That business with the cigarettes was smart, Todd, and kind. I was glad you were there.” He glanced sideways but couldn’t read the
“But not a bad idea.” Rob smiled, too. He turned back to Madeline. “I’m obliged to you, Chief Thomas. Did you report Meek to the Fish Commission for pothunting?”
“Yes. His name came up three different times with questionable stuff, mostly arrowheads. She, the investigator, said they checked him out, but they could never catch him with the goods on him. She’s been keeping an eye out for him.”
Rob said, “His name is in the system, then. If he took part in a skinhead demonstration there may be fingerprints. I’ll get onto it.”
Leon blew his nose on a blue spotted handkerchief. “Will I… Where have they got my boy?”
Rob explained as tactfully as he could about the autopsy and the morgue. “If the dentist’s records match, sir, you won’t have to make the trip to Vancouver.”
Leon looked shocked. “We want to see him, Lila and me. When she gets here, she’ll want to see Eddy.”
Rob looked at Todd, who swallowed hard and shook his head, no. “Okay,” Rob said, “let us know when you want to go and a deputy will escort you.”
There wasn’t much else to say. Leon seemed even more shocked that the body wouldn’t be released at once and retreated into silent misery. Rob showed Maddie a photo of the broken petro-glyph. When she identified it as part of The Dancers, she sounded almost indifferent.
As Madeline walked them to the outer door, Rob said, “We’ll have to talk to the young people.”
“They’re scattered all over the place.”
“The ones who are here,” Rob insisted. “Can you assemble them tomorrow evening? I want Todd and his partner to question them. You gave me one name. We need all the names, and we need their impressions of Meek and the other dealers, everything they can remember.”
Maddie was silent. She pulled the door open and stood for a moment looking out into the rainy darkness. The sun was setting far down the Gorge, turning the river to steel. The hills nearby loomed black. “Yes, okay. Todd and Jake. I know Jake. And I can give them the list of names we sent to the Fish Commission.”
Rob said, “Or to me. Now.”
He could see from the set of her jaw that he was pushing her, so he didn’t insist.
Rob drove the car back along the winding road to Klalo with Todd beside him taking notes on the laptop. Time for a crash course in techniques of interrogation.
“What if I goof it up tomorrow?” Todd wailed at one point.
Rob squirted detergent on the streaming windshield and peered at the wet road. “You won’t. You took a class at Clark. Besides, you know the kids. They’ll talk to you.”
“I’m related to most of them.” Todd didn’t sound as if the thought made him happy. “Look, sir, I know I should have told you or somebody what the chief was doing, except her investigation started way before I joined the department. Jeez, it started when I was in high school. I stopped taking it seriously years ago.”
Rob was silent. He hit a long puddle and the tires hydroplaned. He gripped the wheel and steered with extreme delicacy until the treads bit into the asphalt again.
By rights he ought to tear another strip off Todd’s hide, but he didn’t feel up to it.
“Chief Thomas doesn’t trust me.” He swerved around a dead possum. “She and I have clashed in the past, and we probably will in the future.” And next time you’d better have your loyalties sorted. He didn’t say that. He felt another spasm of anger at Mad-die for putting Todd in a vise.
When Todd didn’t say anything, Rob added, “You’ll have to watch yourself tomorrow. I’ll give you exactly what you can tell your cousins and their friends about the investigation—or the sheriff will. Not much, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Rob said, “That business with the cigarettes was smart, Todd, and kind. I was glad you were there.” He glanced sideways but couldn’t read the
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