“Just a feeling. Not anything concrete.”
“Jesus Christ, Jay. The feds aren’t wrong; you’re too damn close to the players in all this. It’s not your fault, but it’s reality. A case this big is going to be complicated by nature of its size. If we’ve got an investigating officer with close ties totwoprimary suspects, it’s going to get a hell of a lot messier.”
“It’s only Wade that’s for sure involved,” he tried. “I’m just guessing about Nikki. I could be wrong.” And then, because he was a little tired of being on the defensive all the time, “What are the feds worried about with you? I know they found out about your illegal tracking, but that’s an overenthusiasm problem, not corruption. Right? And they already knew about that when they came back, and they were still letting you in. So what’s changed?”
“I have no fucking idea. Everything was fine—well, strained, but functioning—and then it just wasn’t. Feels like the trouble’s coming from the FBI more than the DEA, to me, but I could be wrong about that.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter all that much. Whatever the problem is, I’m out. We both are.”
“Maybe not. Like you said, the bikers want to use me. If the feds want that connection, they’ll have to let me in.”
“The bikers might not want anything to do with you, not after your little show of backbone yesterday afternoon.”
“Maybe they won’t,” he admitted. “But they didn’t pick me at random—they want mebecauseof all that shit the feds don’t like. So I wouldn’t be easy to replace. If the bikers stay in touch, the feds will need me.”
“Hell, maybe I should point out that I used to hang around with Wade too, and see what contacts I can make.”
“Nah.” He grinned at her. “You’re Kay the Incorruptible. Anyone who knows you knows that.”
“And you’re Jericho the . . .?”
“Jericho the Absent, I guess. The town knows who I used to be, and that means they think they know who I am. But I’ve been away a long time, and I’ve changed. That’s what they’re missing.”
“And Wade?” she asked softly. “Is he still seeing you as old Jericho, or does he see the changes?”
Jericho shrugged. There was nothing to say, no way to explain that when it came to Wade, old Jericho and new Jericho seemed to be on exactly the same self-destructive page. “We’ve got working theories,” he said instead, “but no proof. Nothing to impress the feds. We need to see the report on the firebombing so we can see if it matches Kelly’s. You know anyone at the fire marshal’s office? If the feds are being assholes, we might need to get the report ourselves.”
“I can make a call,” Kayla agreed. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I don’t know if there’s much else we can do on the border crossing,” Jericho said, “and, honestly, I don’t care. I mean, thatisa federal issue, and it’s not one that anyone in town—any of the people who pay our salaries—really cares about all that much.”
“You’re okay with your stepmother being a drug runner?”
He sighed. “I’m not saying it’s ideal.”
She seemed like she might have more to say on the topic, but his phone rang and he looked down at the screen, then back up at her. “Feds,” he said. She nodded, and he lifted the phone to his ear. “Crewe.”
“We’re bringing some members of the Mountaineers in to the station for questioning,” Hockley’s too-familiar voice told him. “We want you there to be good cop. Crooked cop. Whatever. We may not use you, but we want you on call. Be at the station in fifteen minutes.”
“Is that an order? Because I take orders from the sheriff, not from you. Why don’t you give her a ring and see if she’s interested in loaning me out?”
“I’m sure the sheriff will be happy to cooperate.”
“Great. So as soon as I hear from her, I’ll come in.” He ended the call without waiting for a reply.
Kay’s gaze was level. “Garron says you’re a pain in the ass, but you’reourpain in the ass.” When he shrugged she said, “I think I’m good with that.”
Her phone rang then, and she lifted it to her ear with a sweet smile. “Special Agent Hockley? What can I do for you this evening?”
