“I don’t. Someone’s trying to set me up.”
Judd heads back toward his chair. “I’m sure that’s true,” says Judd. “Happens all the time. Just the other day, I looked into the back of my Tahoe and found a whole mess of unmounted diamonds. Someone must have just put ’em in there. Figure I’ll make myself a crown.”
Wags gets up off his bunk and walks to the bars of his cell. “I know you’re not going to believe me,” he says, “but I swear. I don’t know where those catalytic converters came from. Clay was asking me about catalytic converters the other day. Said he heard I’d been stealing them. I told him it wasn’t true. Then Clay went up to Robert’s scrapyard and asked if they buy catalytic converters. Now I have a bunch of them in the trunk of my car, so maybe you should talk to Clay because that’s where this whole thing started.”
“You know I don’t really give a shit about those converters,” says Judd.
“No,” says Wags. “I didn’t know that. If you don’t care about the converters, what in the hell are we talking about?”
“I want to know if Teddy tried to sell you any.”
“No,” says Wags. “He didn’t.”
“Because, let’s say, you told Teddy you’d pay him X amount for each catalytic converter. And let’s say, you may have told him where he could get some, then maybe he did just that. And then maybe Teddy put those converters in your trunk so you could drive them to wherever you’re going to drive them. Maybe all the way up to the cities. No sense taking the risk of keeping ’em in your shop.”
“Listen,” says Wags. “I’m sorry Teddy is missing. I really am. Personally, I like the guy. I like him a whole hell of a lot better than I like you. If I’d seen him, I’d tell you. If I had any idea where he might be, I’d tell you. If I had even a clue of what he’s been up to, I’d tell you that, too. But I don’t know anything about Teddy. Other than he’s a nice guy, he has that cool earring that Joe Strummer supposedly gave him, and he had his ups and downs. All stuff you already know.”
Judd thinks on this for a good minute before he says, “Mike, do what you have to with him. And Wags, if I find out you’re lying about seeing Teddy or knowing what he’s been up to, I am going to make your life even worse than it already is.”
“How are you going to do that, Judd? You’re not police anymore.”
“Oh, I know,” says Judd. “Being a private citizen makes my options considerably more interesting.”
The station’s front door opens. Zoey Jensen walks in, sees Judd and Mike outside of the jail cell and Wags in it and says, “I thought something fun might be going on in here. How come no one called me?”
CHAPTER 37
At 7:30 the next morning, Clay is making coffee in his kitchen when he hears a knock on the front door. He makes his way through the living room and into the foyer where he opens the door to see Judd and Zoey standing on his front porch holding a bag of something that smells sweet.
“Figured you’d be awake,” says Judd. “It’s time for a catch-up and strategy session.”
“Yeah, sure,” says Clay. “Come on in. Just made coffee.”
Zoey follows Judd into Clay’s home and says, “Good morning, sir.” She’s wearing her uniform, tips her cap, and says, “Hey, nice place you got here.”
They gather around the kitchen table with coffee, fritters, bear claws, and croissants.
“Mike sent the catalytic converters up to the lab in Rochester to see if they can find any prints or hair or DNA on the damnthings,” says Judd. “But the forensics lab is all backed up with a murder case. I don’t expect results anytime soon.”
“Is Wags still in custody?”
“Yep. My guess is he doesn’t have the money for a lawyer. He’ll meet with a public defender today, but with his record, they’ll probably cop a plea for the drunk driving and deal with the theft charges when they come. Mike’s talking to the DA later this morning. We’ll know more after that.”
“You should have seen the old man in action,” says Zoey. “Hasn’t lost a step.”
“The old man?” says Judd. “I’m sitting right here. Still young enough to hear what you’re saying. Maybe you should call me something else.”
Judd doesn’t have a smile on his face but Clay can hear a playfulness in his voice. That’s not something Judd ever fakes. He likes Zoey. Probably always has. It’s just been hard to tell when he’s armored up in bitterness and resentment. Maybe Clay and Judd have not one woman trying to bridge their relationship but two. Mei and Zoey.
“Old pro,” says Zoey. “How about that, Judd?”
“I’ll take it,” says Judd. “Thank you. Now. I think we need to go back over everyone we’ve talked to. Everyone. The Lindelof boy at Kwik-Trip who sold Teddy the gloves. The three boys who took Teddy’s earring and tried to extort forty-five grand from me. Wags, who we have in custody. Deb because maybe she hasn’t told us something she thinks is too trivial. Ash because Teddy owes him money and that sawzall came from his pole barn. The guys who play pool at Knut’s. Because myold prosense is that someone knows something they’re not telling us. Or they’ve been lying to us.”
“My money is on those three boys,” says Zoey. “And/or Wags. Something’s off there.”
“I bet everyone lied.” This from Braedon as he walks into the kitchen with one eye still half closed from sleep. He wears joggers and a Dorset-Cornwall T-shirt. He helps himself to a bear claw and says, “Because people are liars. All of ’em.” He takes a bite of pastry and turns toward Clay. “Even the people who aren’t supposed to lie. They’re just liars and don’t care about other people’s feelings. Or the truth. ’Cause they’re lying liars.” Braedon opens the refrigerator, grabs a carton of milk, exits the kitchen, and heads down the hall that leads to his bedroom.
“What the hell was that about?” says Judd.
