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Hunter heard the engines long before she saw the dust curling into the air as the units left the main road and drove down the path to the Tortuga. Christ, she thought, They must have brought the whole town. Several four-wheel-drives, beige ones the color of the Sheriff’s department, came sliding to a stop, sending roiling clouds of pale dust over her. Other vehicles stopped further up the road out of her sight, the occupants slamming doors as they hurried to the scene.
Sheriff Wayne Rockman got out of the first vehicle and put on his western hat, pulling the brim low over his eyes. There must have been fifteen others coming up behind him. The new Deputies crowded close, eager to be in on the excitement.
Hunter knocked dust from her pants as she said, “No need for a big entrance Sheriff, they aren’t going anywhere.” She had to tilt her head back to look up at him: a wide-shouldered six-feet-four and wearing cowboy boots.
Wayne gave hand signals for his men to fan out and start to work. “It’s always Wayne to you, Hunter. You know, like old times.” He moved to put his hand on her shoulder and Hunter turned so his fingers only brushed her arm. Rockman smiled. He waited a few seconds and said, “No need for you to hang around this stuff
longer than you have to. I remember how upset you were after El Lobo.” The skin around Hunter’s eyes tightened. Rockman looked beyond Hunter’s shoulder toward the boulders and said, “How many?”
“Three.”
“You find anything?”
She pointed out the marked place, “There’s a whittled twig there. I think somebody used it for a toothpick.”
“A toothpick,” Rockman said.
Hunter said, “They brushed out the tracks, and did a good job of it. There were three of them, one real heavy, and they met a fourth, giving him a duffle bag they had. They brought those girls and a baby across on an inflatable raft. Then they did their business, brushed out the area and took the raft back across the river.
Rockman said, “You found enough to tell you all that?”
“Yep.”
“What about this fourth one. Anything you could tell on him?”
“Like I said, they did a good job of brushing out. All I could tell from partials was that he wore old military boots. The lugs were almost worn off. I never did find a complete print, never found anything larger than a postage stamp.”
“All right. We’ll take it from here. You need a ride back to your vehicle?”
Hunter wanted to say no, but man, it was a long way back. “I could use one.”
Wayne motioned for one of his deputies and told him to get his vehicle, take Agent Kincaid wherever she needed to go.
Hunter almost made it out of there before Rockman set her off. The Sheriff was talking to his men near the boulders when Hunter turned to leave. He said, “You boys open their legs up and double-check ‘em. We don’t want another wetback drag queen causing us embarrassment like last year.”
Hunter turned, “Don’t do that, Wayne.”
“Oh, it’s Wayne now, is it?” The deputies at the boulders stopped what they were doing. Rockman kept his eyes on Hunter and said to the men, “Do what I said, boys.”
“Don’t, they don’t deserve that.”
Rockman laughed at her, “Hunter, get a grip. They can’t feel anything. What the hell are you thinking?”
“You bastard,” Hunter said. “I already checked them.”
Wayne looked at her for a full beat before saying, “You touched them already? Contaminated the scene without gloves?”
“No, I didn’t touch them. But I looked them over.”
“So you didn’t open their legs.”
Hunter wanted to hit him. “No.”
Wayne nodded to himself, then said, “Boys, do what I said.”
“This is bullshit,” Hunter said. She walked toward the deputies. “Move out of there. I’ll check them.” She turned to Rockman, “That all right with you, Sheriff?
The deputies looked at Rockman, who grinned, waved them away, and said to Hunter, “Whatever lifts your skirt.”
