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“What twig?”
“I found one out there, looked like somebody whittled a toothpick. I told Rockman about it.”
“Well, it’s not in their report.”
“I see that. Rockman told me the tests on it came back negative.”
“Maybe you need to talk to him.”
“I think I will. Thanks David.”
“Anytime, Hunter.”
***
Hunter stopped at the Sheriff’s office and noticed Wayne’s vehicle wasn’t there. She asked inside and the secretary said he was at the cafe, so Hunter drove to it and walked inside. She spotted Raymond at a side table and Wayne sitting in the back corner. Hunter gave Raymond a just a minute hand sign and walked to the Sheriff’s table.
Rockman was stirring his coffee, looking at the cup, “You just missed your new best friend in here, that
smartass thief, Mata.”
“What?”
“I hear tell you’ve been hanging out with him down in OJ, all hours of the day and night. You need to be careful, hanging out with lowlifes like that.”
Hunter held the smartass remark and instead said, “You told me the tests on that sharpened twig came back negative.”
“That’s right.”
“It’s not mentioned anywhere in your report.”
“There were enough negative things to report as it was, so I left it out.” Wayne took a sip of coffee and said, “You want a copy of the tests on it, I’ll make one and send it over to you, fair enough?”
“Fair enough.” She turned to walk away.
“Some advice, Hunter,” Wayne said, and she stopped. “Hanging around Bobby Mata can be bad for your health, bad for your reputation. Stay away from him. He’s nothing but trouble.”
“I’ll be looking for that copy of the tests. Thank you, Sheriff.” Hunter walked across the dining area and sat in Raymond’s booth.
Raymond said, “You ever think of taking that Dale Carnegie course?”
She gave him a look, “You order yet?”
“I ordered for both of us, chorizo and eggs, with a side of cheese enchiladas covered with chopped onions. It’ll make your breath fresh for your next conversation with the Sheriff.”
The waitress put a cup of coffee down for her. Hunter said, “Dale Carnegie?”
“I’m not saying your people skills are uh, how we say…abrasive, but with a few decades of intense training we might soften you up to the level of Attila the Hun. Be a vast improvement, don’t you think?”
The food arrived and she said, “Quit talking and eat.”
***
They were in position on the Rio Grande by ten PM. Hunter hid near the junction of the river and the mouth of Madrid Canyon. Raymond and the others were higher up the canyon. It wasn’t a hard place to work, with the Rio Grande only a quarter mile off the paved River Road, but that meant you had to be there when it went down, because things would happen fast and the stuff would be long gone. If you knew how to find it there was a seldom used caliche road that turned off the pavement and meandered to the river’s edge, fifty yards south of Hunter’s present position. The river was deep here, maybe twenty feet in the middle. They would have to cross by boat, if Rockman’s information was accurate.
Hunter pulled out a roll of Tums and chewed two tablets. Indigestion. Her stomach was always screwed up when working midnights. Raymond said he should buy stock in Tums and Mylanta every time Hunter worked that shift. She placed the roll back in her pocket and scanned the far bank with the fist-sized starlight scope.
She saw movement and concentrated on the spot, seeing everything in shades of green. Several men pulled a crude looking boat down the bank to the water. Even from this distance, she could tell the boat was made of two car hoods welded together. A poor operation going on here, she thought. The men put the boat half in the water, half on land, then walked up the sandy bank and out of sight. She used her walkie and told the others what was happening.
