She did want to see Rawley before Saturday and wondered if he’d come to dinner Friday evening. Only one way to find out. She pressed the button on the steering wheel to send a text to him.
Would you like to come to dinner on Friday evening?
She sent the message then waited. With a sigh, she realized he was probably too busy right now, but she knew he’d answer.
“You damn well better, Rawley Jamison Bowman,” she muttered as she drove home.
****
Rawley entered the conference room with its fluorescent lights humming overhead, rolled out a gray cushioned chair, then sat down as Dave and Agent Saunders stood at the front of the polished table. The door swung open with a soft whoosh and Rawley watched as several agents entered.
They each pulled out a chair and sat down, the scent of coffee mingling in the air. Each man nodded at him with steely eyes that had seen too much, and he returned the gesture with a slight tilt of his chin. He trusted these men with his life, and he knew they trusted him with theirs. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be here.
“Men, this is Agent Laramie Saunders from Autumn Falls,” Dave said, his voice cutting through the tense silence. “He’s here to help out on a case he’s been working on. The entire Autumn Falls division has been burning midnight oil on it, but whoever these thieves are, they’re damn good at covering their tracks.”
Dave gestured toward the team. “Agent Saunders, these are some of my best agents; Beau McCallister, Killian Doyle, Hud Anderson, Creed McBride, Eli Hawkins, and you’ve already met Rawley.”
As each man was introduced, they stood and shook Saunders’s hand, then Dave and the agent took their seats at the head of the table.
Saunders had a stack of manila folders in front of him, each one bulging with papers and photographs, and slid one across the gleaming table to each man.
“This is all we have,” he said. “It’s not much of anything concrete. We found deep tire tracks in the mud too andidentified the exact model semi they were on, but the truck itself vanished like smoke.”
“Where did the tires come from?” Creed asked as he picked up a folder, his fingers flipping through the pages.
“Big Sky Tires and More,” Saunders replied. “It’s a dingy place in east Autumn Falls, sandwiched between a liquor store and an abandoned warehouse.”
“It states here that the tires were bought there but not installed, and no name as to who purchased them. I bet whoever it was, paid cash or the owner of the tire shop is in on it.” Killian frowned, his forehead creasing as he tapped a document with his finger.
“Those are some massive tires to be hauling around,” Hud mentioned, leaning forward in his chair. “If they didn’t have them installed on-site, just how did they get them on the truck? Not everyone has a garage in their backyard big enough for that kind of operation.”
“We thought the same thing,” Saunders said, rubbing his five o’clock shadow, “but surprisingly, there was no video evidence. The CCV was down that day, nothing but static on the recordings.”
“How convenient,” Beau muttered, his eyes narrowing to slits as he exchanged knowing glances with Rawley across the table.
“What do they do with the trucks? A damn Peterbilt isn’t cheap, so how do they keep doing this?” Eli said.
“A lot of money,” Saunders said. “We just can’t find from where. Do you have confidential informants you could talk with?” The men nodded. “If you could get with your CIs, we can take it from there.”
When Dave nodded, they all rose and made their way back to their desks. Rawley folded his arms and looked at Saunders.
“This isn’t going to be wrapped up overnight,” he said.
“You got that right. I was lucky enough to get a motel room and who knows how long I’ll have to stay. What’s with all the people, anyway?” Saunders asked as he gathered up his papers and put them into a stack.
Rawley grinned. “Clifton is a tourist destination. People love coming here to shop during the season.”
“Now is the season, I’m guessing.”
“Yes. It’s from May to mid-October. The Clifton Bed and Breakfast opens in May and closes in October. The Bur Oak Guest Ranch in Spring City opens in March and closes at the end of August. Both places bring a lot of people in.”
“I’m glad I was able to get a room then. Hey, anywhere I can head for a quick meal? I’m dead tired and haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“The Clifton Diner. When you go out of this building, go right. The diner is on the corner at the light. Best burgers you’ll ever eat.”
Saunders laughed. “We’ll see.” He put his hand out for Rawley and they shook. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes, sir. Get that burger to go, then head to your room and relax.”
