Off the Grid by C. J. Box Page A

arrested, but he’d never followed through with it.
    Rulon said, “We think we have a general idea where Romanowski went. It’s based on an uptick of unrelated crimes over the last few months along I-80. Missing eighteen-wheelers taken from truck stops, big-equipment thefts from the energy companies, things like that. The feds won’t say what they’re looking for and they’ve kept my guys frozen out of the investigation. When they act like that, I can’t help but think it’s terrorism-related.”
    “Really?” Joe asked. “Where on I-80?”
    Interstate 80 ran across southern Wyoming from border to border. It started in San Francisco and ended in Teaneck, New Jersey. Cities on the interstate included Sacramento, Oakland, Reno, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Omaha, Des Moines, Chicago, and Toledo. The Wyoming stretch included the highest elevation and the most brutal terrain, and it was often closed by blizzards in the winter. In the state, it connected Cheyenne with Laramie, Rawlins, and Rock Springs. Between those towns were thousands of miles ofhigh-country desert and rough country. Joe always did his best to avoid it, but there were times it couldn’t be helped.
    Rulon said, “My DCI agents have heard through some of their CIs that there is unusual activity going on in the Red Desert.”
    “Really?”
    “I know—there’s not much there but sand and wind. But it’s right on the Colorado border, Joe. My first thought was that they were using the desert as a staging area for reselling legal weed from Colorado. But whatever it is seems to be more than that. I think that’s where you should start looking for Romanowski.
    “So, in my last days in office, I’m using my authority to order you to find Romanowski and figure out what those feds are up to. Go down there and start poking around. Play game warden. If I send my Division of Criminal Investigation suits, the feds will hear about it and know what I’m up to. I don’t want them to know I’m onto the bastards. Keep my chief of staff informed of what you learn, and if it’s something big, I want you to call me direct. You can run your expenses through my discretionary fund, but don’t go crazy buying new vehicles or anything like that. When you find Romanowski and figure out what those feds put him up to, get in touch with me for your report. Then I’m going after them like a rabid wolverine.”
    It was a lot to grasp, and Joe had a hundred questions. But Colter Allen was getting closer. He was working his way toward them and would be there any minute. There were only about a dozen more hands to shake.
    Joe said, “But what if I can’t find Nate by the time you’re out of office?”
    “You too, eh?” Rulon said, acting hurt. Then he grinned andpunched Joe playfully in the shoulder. “I’ve already got a desk in a powerhouse law firm waiting for me. The partners understand I’m going to devote my first few years to suing all the bastards who gave me a hard time while I was in office, and that mainly consists of people in Washington, D.C., and certain federal agencies. I was going to start with the EPA, the IRS, and the Department of Health and Human Services, but these new clowns who harassed the doctor and recruited your friend are going to the top of the list.”
    “Will the new governor keep me on this special assignment?” Joe asked.
    “I’ll have to ask him,” Rulon said with a tone that brushed aside the question. “But there’s something you should know. I know what kind of shit you’re in over those hospital bills. I know that the problem comes in because the federal government kept changing the rules for health care right at the time your daughter was injured, so nobody quite knows what the law is or what your state health insurance covers. She—and you—shouldn’t suffer because our government is incompetent and running scared.
    “This sounds like a groundbreaking case to me, and I want to break some ground. If you do this last