“He’s said more. Enough to make us think our first assumption was inaccurate.”
“Not Wade, then.”
“You don’t seem relieved.” Hockley squinted at Jericho. “You don’t seem surprised, either.”
“I’m just very stoic.”
Another suspicious look, then Hockley gave in. “He’s hinting that it was Eli’s wife. Your stepmother. Nikki Crewe.”
“Nikki Crewe. Isn’t that a perfect eighties hair-metal name? I can see her now, with the makeup, the spandex, beating the shit out of a drum set—”
“Would you care to focus on the immediate issues? We’re about to close the deal to make DeMonte go state’s witness, and one of the many pieces of information he’s offering us is the identity of your father’s killer. Or, more accurately, evidence that will help us prove the identity of your father’s killer. And it really seems as if that killer is Nikki Crewe.”
“I hear you. But I also heard you a few days ago when you told me it was looking like Wade was the killer, so I’m trying not to go off half-cocked on any of this.”
“The intel’s a lot less ambiguous this time. And it definitely fits in with the previous hint.”
“What kind of proof could he have, though? I mean, you’ve found nothing else to tie her to the scene, have you? And this long after the fact you’re not likely to find any physical evidence, especially not with her house burnt down. So—is this a real case, or just something that will distract me from more important stuff?”
“Finding out who killed your father isn’t important? The possibility that your stepmother, who is currently raising two small children you share blood with, may be a cold-blooded murderer isn’t of concern to you?” Hockley squinted again, then leaned closer as if trying to read the truth on Jericho’s face. “You already knew, didn’t you?”
Jericho shook his head, maybe a little too vigorously. “I didn’t and don’t know anything.” And it would have been smart to leave it there. Instead he added, “But, yeah, I had my suspicions.”
“And you said nothing about them? You’d better not be planning some vigilante revenge shit, Jericho! That’s exactly the kind of cowboy crap Garron was— No. That’s not what you’re thinking. Not your style, especially considering your relationship with your father. So what the hell’s going on?”
“I can’t say,” Jericho replied. “I don’t like it—I’d like to talk it over with you. I truly would. But I don’t want to—” Well, he didn’t want to put Hockley on the right track was what he didn’t want to do. He didn’t want to mention domestic abuse as a possible motive for the killing, not when he’d just stumbled across the evidence of that himself. But also “—I don’t want to be involved in the investigation. I mean, that’s what you and Montgomery were pushing for when I first came back, wasn’t it? I was supposed to stay the hell out of your important fed business. So, it took me a while, but I’ve come ’round to your way of thinking on all that. This will be a lot tidier if I’m not involved.”
“We said all that when you were a private citizen!”
“No, I was a law enforcement officer then too. But I wasn’t part of the current investigation, and I’m still not. This is your show, Hockley.”
Another squint. “You’re not holding a grudge for that,” Hockley said slowly, clearly thinking as he spoke. “Not on something this big. You’ve been cooperative in the past when it’s really mattered. So this isn’t about you being an asshole. This is— You’re protecting her. The woman who killed your father. You don’t want to be part of the investigation because—because you don’t want her to be punished.”
Jericho sighed. “I can neither confirm nor deny your wild suppositions. And how much does the DEA care who killed Eli? If it was a drug smuggler, great; you could bust them for murder if you can’t catch them smuggling, which you apparently can’t. But if it’s not a drug-related crime, do you care anymore?”
“Are we pretending Nikki isn’t smuggling shit across the border? So if I can’t catch her for that, maybe I’ll catch her for murder instead.”
“If she did it. All you’ve got so far is Mike DeMonte’s games. And he’ll say anything to get out of the mess he’s in, so his credibility is pretty damn low.”
“Why wouldn’t you want her punished?” Hockley mused.
“I think one of your early theories was that she and I were sleeping together—remember that? So maybe, in your imaginary world, I’m protecting my quasi-incestuous lover.”
“Or maybe there’s another reason,” Hockley said. “Jericho, you’re walking a fine line, here. You can’t protect her—can’t turn yourself into an accessory after the fact. You know that, right?”
“I don’t remember you giving me this little speech when you thought Wade was the killer.”
Hockley frowned this time rather than squinting. “You know, I think maybe—I think maybe I genuinely trusted him to look out for you. To keep you from doing something stupid. Do you believe that? I thought he’d take the fall before letting you get dragged into anything.” He seemed less reflective when he added, “But I don’t believe that about Nikki. She’ll let you hang for her if it comes down to it. I know that.”
“I know it too; hell, she’d let me hang just for the fun of watching me swing. I’m not trying to actively protect anyone, I promise. I’m neutral. For once in my life, I’m trying to keep my nose out of something that isn’t my business and could get me in trouble.”
Hockley didn’t look persuaded, but he let it go. “Are you going to follow the same policy with the FBI and the militia?”
“Well, I’m not convinced they’re not my business. The role of the sheriff’s department is to serve and protect the citizens of Mosely County. Some of those militia members qualify, and so do their neighbors and a hell of a lot of other people who could get caught up in things if this goes ballistic again. It was just luck that some innocent local didn’t blunder into that mess yesterday.” And if someone had stumbled in because Jericho had pushed Kay to be aggressive instead of going around to block off the road as they’d been directed, he probably would have had to deal with that guilt until the day he died. But he tried not to think about things like that more than he had to. “So that one’s not as clear-cut.”
Hockley didn’t seem surprised by Jericho’s conclusions. “So, do you have a plan? Something to do?”
“Standard operating procedure is to wander around and poke at people until somebody gets pissed off and tells me something. But I’m open to suggestions if you’ve got a different method in mind.”
