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Her phone rang and she picked it up as she merged with the interstate traffic. “Thalberg.”
“You’re a Bartholomew,” the caller corrected.
“What is it, Maria?”
“Deputy Wallace just made a hasty exit.”
“Thanks for the head’s up.” Even though it was a minute too late.
“It must be a call, he wouldn’t be a part of this mess with Tim,” she said.
The worry in the woman’s voice tugged at Hannah’s heart. “I’m sure you’re right. Bart must have called him for help.”
“Of course he did. I should have thought of that.”
“We’ll be back soon.” Hannah disconnected the call and urged the Camaro faster down the road. She didn’t want to miss any part of this.
Gonzales would pay for murdering Krystal. Whether he did it himself or hired out the messy work, he would pay for Tim and Mary Lou.
She was doing eighty and the engine seemed eager for more, when she saw the mobile meth lab cut across traffic to take the next exit. With the lack of space and the vehicles between her and the exit ramp, she couldn’t follow.
It was hard to tell if the mobile lab driver realized he was being followed or if bad driving was just his preferred way to get fromstop to stop on the route. Regardless, the second vehicle was still on the interstate. There was nothing for it but to brave it out.
Hannah fell back another car length, torn between following the second car or going after the lab. At the last minute, she took the next exit and doubled back. It was purely instinct and entirely possible she’d lose them completely if she was wrong.
Divide and conquer was a solid tactic in interrogation, surely it could be effective in breaking open the players in this supply chain.
Nothing else had worked, though she had her suspicions about that too.
She shifted to neutral and coasted around the gentle curve of the off-ramp to the county road. It was a couple of miles more than she’d anticipated, but she soon found the road that led back toward the intersection where the meth lab truck had exited.
At a four-way stop, she checked the clock on the phone first, then entered the address she’d found in Tim’s notebook. It had been marked as a farmer’s market, but based on the rest of his code, she suspected it was a primary link in the supply chain.
She drove on, a trickle of unease prickling across her skin. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt guilt since deciphering Tim’s notes, but it was too late to change anything.
Apologizing to Bart would be at the top of her list as soon as they had this mobile meth lab system off the road permanently.
She kept the Camaro at the forty-five mile per hour limit on the two-lane road and drove right by the address Tim had specified. At first glance it appeared to be an abandoned gas station with a ragged-looking framed pavilion off to the side.
But she caught the flash of vehicles behind the building in her rearview mirror. According to Deputy Wallace, Tim’s car had been found further down this road, closer to Bart’s truck stop.
She wished now they’d made time to visit that crime scene. Bart knew the area well, but it would have given her a bettergrasp on the sparse network of paved and gravel roads available for a situation like this.
Driving on without sighting the mobile lab, Bart, or even a sheriff’s patrol car, she worried her instincts were as off as the rest of her had been these past couple of weeks.
Rounding the next curve, her worries were put to rest as a truck taking its half out of the middle of the two-lane road forced her to the rough shoulder.
She caught a glimpse of the driver and couldn’t believe her good fortune. Gonzales himself was behind the wheel. Cleaning up his own mess, or assuring his valuable product arrived on time, it didn’t matter to her. She wouldn’t let the top dog slip through her grasp.
Bart was mere seconds behind the truck and too absorbed in the chase to spot the Camaro.
Deputy Wallace blew past her next. She waited a beat for Ross to come blazing by, but the road was empty.
Gonzales must be leading them into a trap or at least closer to help. There was no way she could get ahead of them. No easy way she knew to circle around and head them off.
She pulled a U-turn, gaining a deeper appreciation for power steering. Bart had made driving this tank of a muscle car look easy, but she thought the car might prove her inferiority before the day was out.
When she had the car pointed in the right direction, she didn’t rush to catch up. Hanging back would be her only chance to catch the Gonzales crew unaware.
