“What’s he doing now?” Rae asked.
“Don’t know,” Lucas said. “No law enforcement contacts for the last three years, except for a speeding ticket. The cop who stopped him ran him, and based on his record, asked to search his car. Arnold agreed, nothing was found. Doesn’t look like he’s ever spent much time in straight jobs, though. If we jack him up and find something—anything—we can use that as a hammer. Texas has a three-strikes law.”
“I know a lot of people in the Dallas area,” Bob said. “They could help if we need it.”
“Good. Let’s check him ourselves, before we do that,” Lucas said. “I don’t want to misfire on something and have Poole warned off.”
“What about Cake?” Rae asked. “I know New Orleans.”
“We’ll check him for sure, if we don’t get a hit with Arnold,” Lucas said.
Bob: “What you’ve got is one name in Dallas?”
Lucas said, “No—I also know that before he disappeared, Poole was converting everything he had to gold coins. He supposedly was going to run to Central America or somewhere.”
“Where does that get us?” Rae asked.
“If he didn’t leave the country and if he hasn’t been working, he’s probably been cashing those coins to support himself. When we get to Dallas, first thing we do is check every gold-buying store in the area, see if they know his face.”
“There’re seven million people in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex,” Rae said. “He’ll be a needle in a haystack.”
“But if he’s there, at least we’ll have the right haystack,” Lucas said. “That’s when we go after Arnold.”
Lucas called Washington and talked to Forte, told him about the Dallas connection, and got tickets on a flight into Dallas that afternoon, with rental cars and reservations at another suites hotel.
They were still sitting in the restaurant and when he got off the phone, Bob asked, “How do you do that, man? We never stay in suites.”
“Bowden connection,” Lucas said. “Everybody’s feeling their way along, trying to figure out how tight we are. In the meantime... I get perks. If they ever find out we’re not that tight, it’s back to the Holiday Inn.”
“What time are we leaving?” Rae asked.
“Four.”
“Probably ought to head out to the airport after we finish eating,” Bob said. “Takes us a little extra time to get on the planes. We’re flying with all that ordnance.”
—
THEY PACKED UPand headed for the airport, Lucas with one bag, Bob and Rae with one bag each, plus a large wire-reinforced duffel full of guns and armor. They reconvened on the flight side of security at three o’clock. Rae said, “Our tickets are business class.”
“Yeah?” Lucas shrugged.
Bob looked at Rae, then said to Lucas, “Boy, oh boy, you’re my new hero, Davenport. Anytime you need help, call us. And if you only need one of us, call me—fuck Rae.”
“Goddamn short people,” Rae said.
13
LATE AFTERNOON,after a brief flight from Nashville: Dallas was hot, bright-sunny, vibrating with stress, cars in a hurry. Not a Southern city as much as a southwestern one. Lucas resisted the inclination to kiss the earth when he got off the plane, got another Jeep, but a bigger one this time; the truck seemed okay, though he got lost getting out of DFW.
When he finally got to the hotel, he found he’d arrived before the other two and checked in for all three of them, took his bag up to his room, and went down to the lobby to wait. Rae arrived ten minutes later, in a Camry, explained that Bob had gotten lost getting out of DFW and would be a few minutes behind her.
Rae hauled her bags up to her room and then Bob showed up in another Camry, shaking his head. “Tell me you didn’t get lost at the airport.”
“Can’t tell you that,” Lucas said, handing over the key card. “I’m in 505, let’s meet there. I’ll call Rae.”
—
WHEN THEYwere together again, in Lucas’s room, Lucas showed them the list of gold buyers he’d downloaded from the ’net. They split the list three ways, and ten minutes later, were on their way out.
