“You okay?” he asked, flicking his gaze in my direction.
“Yeah, just rattled. They—”
“Hold that for now. You said Cody was nearby. Was he coming from Baker?”
“From around there. He should have been here by now.”
“I heard a car go by a second ago. He might have seen she wasn’t alone and driven past.”
Hank transferred the gun to his left hand and with his right, reached behind him and began patting. I twisted a little to see what he was up to. There was a very narrow seat behind us, wide enough for a dog but in this case cluttered with car parts, a stack of Missing flyers with Shannon’s photos on them—and a length of rope.
My breath froze.He’s going to tie me up.
But after a brief fumble, he grabbed an object I couldn’t make out and lifted it into the front seat.
Bless his heart; it was a bullhorn.
“Sit tight,” he commanded, and stepped cautiously from the vehicle again. Two seconds later, his booming voice cut through the night.
“Step out and away from the vehicle,” he commanded. “Keep your weapon lowered and lay it on the ground.” A bird, apparently roused from a nearby tree by the noise, responded with a startled shriek and flap of wings.
I peered through the windshield. No sign of movement from Riley’s Audi. I lowered the window a crack so I could hear.
“I said step out and away—” Hank barked, trying once more. Before he could finish this time, the driver’s door eased open. Riley slowly emerged with both arms by her side and the gun drooping from her right hand.
“All right, all right,” she shouted. Her voice was high-pitched and frantic by now. She set the gun on the ground, and I could see that she was shaking.
“Is that your only weapon?”
“Yes... I’m not responsible for what happened to Shannon. You have to know that.”
“Mrs. Hickok, law enforcement will be here shortly. I advise you to say nothing. Now toss your phone and car key on the ground along with your weapon and get back into your vehicle.”
Again, she did as instructed. Her phone and key hit the ground, one right after the other, and she stumbled back into the car.
Hank reentered the cab, tossed the bullhorn into the back, and made a phone call. I heard him request help, lots of it.
Once he was done, I quickly recounted what had happened to me at Baker and in the car with Riley.
“Good God,” Coulter said, his anger palpable.
“How in the world did you end up here?” I asked. It all seemed so improbable.
“It was because of your call last night. Asking about drugs.”
“Yeah?”
“I heard something weird this past winter. A rumor about Baker Beverage and drug trafficking. Cody’s always been a little slick for my liking, but I was glad Stan had found someone to entrust the business to and I didn’t want to believe it. Still, I made a few discreet inquiries...”
“And?”
“Nothing about drugs turned up, but I did hear that Baker might be struggling. Another distributor had beenpoaching their business and they hadn’t figured out how to rebound. Plus Cody is reportedly a big spender. When Shannon disappeared, I decided to stay close, keep an eye on Cody. Once the other bodies were found, it seemed like he was off the hook, but your question made me wonder again if something dirty was going on.”
“Did you follow me to Baker?”
“No, but I parked near there this morning and watched the trucks roll out with a pair of binoculars, not even sure what I was looking for. I went back again tonight, and saw your Jeep arrive, and then all of a sudden I saw you tear out of there and hop into that car. And a minute later Blaine comes barreling out and jumps inhis, heads off in a different direction. It took me a minute to catch up to you guys, but I finally saw the Audi turn off the road. I knew you must be in some kind of trouble.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Chief. If you hadn’t come, I might be dead by now.”
