Off the Grid by C. J. Box

know that country?”
    “Well enough,” Joe said. He’d assisted the game warden down there on a poaching case. Joe thought the high-altitude valley with mountains on three sides was one of the most beautiful parts of thestate. He’d always thought that if the Saratoga District warden retired, he might apply for it.
    “Do you know who was living on Bucholz’s ranch the last few months?”
    “No.”
    “Seriously, you don’t?”
    “I don’t.”
    “Your old pal Nate Romanowski and that hot little number of his.”
    Joe stepped back, startled. “Nate?”
    “The good doctor was hiding him from the feds. I didn’t know it either until he told me. Apparently, Romanowski didn’t let you know because of that stupid federal agreement he was forced to sign.”
    Joe rubbed his jaw, and while he did, he noticed Marybeth looking hard at him from across the room. At first he thought she was trying to figure out what Rulon was telling him. Then he realized she’d likely lip-read him saying
Nate Romanowski
.
    “So where is Nate now?” Joe asked.
    “That’s what I want you to find out.”
    Joe shook his head, confused. Why did the governor care about Nate Romanowski? As far as Joe knew, Nate had abided by his agreement not to commit any more crimes in Wyoming.
    Rulon leaned in even closer so no one could overhear him. Joe noticed in his peripheral vision that Allen and his small entourage were getting closer. The candidate was working his way to the back of the room one handshake at a time. He’d already mastered the politician’s skill of seeming to devote his entire attention to whomever he was meeting and then using the grasped hand to push away to the next person. His entourage consisted of a man and a womanin business clothes holding clipboards and with benevolent expressions on their faces.
    “It’s not just about your buddy,” Rulon said. “Bucholz told me he was visited by four mysterious federal agents who gave him false names and business cards. They were there for Romanowski. The agents sent the doctor away and spent a couple of hours with your guy. They sent the doctor out of the room
in his own home
. Think about the arrogance of that. The next day, Romanowski was gone. All he left was a thank-you note to Kurt for helping him and saying he hoped someday to return and repay the favor. The doctor said Romanowski had cleared out of his cabin and taken his falcons with him.”
    “What about Olivia Brannan?” Joe asked.
    Rulon shrugged. “He didn’t say anything about anyone else, so I assume she wasn’t there.”
    “But the feds didn’t arrest him?” Joe asked, surprised.
    “No. The doctor was taken by that, too. Lord knows they want Romanowski back in custody after what he pulled. We get inquiries from the FBI and the DOJ all the time asking if we know his whereabouts. No, the doctor thinks these guys recruited him to do something.”
    “Any idea what or where?” Joe asked.
    “Again, that’s what I want you to find out. You know how I am against the goddamned feds coming into my state and acting like they own the place. I’ve told them time and time again I want to be notified of what those spooks are up to. When I heard a team of them harassed a local rancher and called out one of my constituents it made my blood boil.”
    As Rulon spoke, his neck and cheeks reddened. Joe had heard versions of this rant before.
    “I had some of my people check with Chuck Coon at the FBI,” he said, mentioning the name of the special agent in charge, whom Joe had come to like and trust, “and Coon honestly knew nothing about this. So that means an agency outside the FBI is strutting around my state, throwing its weight around. It’s just common courtesy and professional protocol to advise the local authorities when you come to town—you know that. And I’ve warned them time and time again not to bigfoot within our borders.”
    Joe agreed. Rulon had once threatened loudly to have federal employees