Smoked Out (David Wolf Book 6)

by Jeff Carson

  “He’s definitely a smart one.”

  “So he’ll uncover the truth? Or find us?”

  She took a sip of orange juice. “Find us. He’s one of those one track mind types. I’m not sure if he’d stop to figure out if it was right to be catching you … us … he’d probably get us in custody, then worry about that.”

  “What do you think they’re doing now?”

  “Let’s see. I’d say it’s clear enough that I’m involved in all of this, so he’d be checking my cell phone records. He’d see that the last phone call I made was with Margaret Hitchens. So he’d track her down and see that her sister was in town, and then talk to both of them. According to Margaret’s sister, she’s a terrible liar, so she’d give the whole thing away immediately. Then they’d have an APB out on our car.”

  She froze with her coffee against her lips. “And then the Gunnison police would spot Valerie Patterson’s truck park along Main Street, and two units with flashing lights would speed by the restaurant which we were sitting in.”

  Wolf caught the tail end of a third flashing cop car as it flew past the windows. The blur and revving engines drew gasps from the diners inside the restaurant.

  “Geez, something’s going on out there. Hi, my name’s Toby, I’ll be taking care of you two today. Where you guys from?”

  Luke peered around the waiter. “Listen, Toby, we need a few minutes.”

  “Sure. Let me know if you have any questions. Our special this morning is—”

  “Thanks, Toby. We’ll let you know if we have any questions.”

  Toby closed his mouth. “Sure.” He continued on to the next booth.

  “Let’s go out the back,” Wolf said.

  “If there is a back.”

  “There is. Behind you down the hallway to the right, past the kitchen window.”

  Luke shook her head. “Damn it. I’m hungry.”

  They got up and both walked toward the back hallway.

  Toby intercepted them halfway. “Hey, you guys taking off?”

  Wolf smiled. “Gotta go to the bathroom. We’ve been in the car for awhile.”

  “Me too.” Luke smiled.

  “Ah, I see. Straight back down the hall.”

  Wolf followed Luke around the corner and almost slammed into her.

  She was stopped, poking her head through the window to the kitchen where three plates of food steamed under the heat lamps.

  “Hello? Hello!”

  “What are you doing?” Wolf asked, swallowing at the sight of the glistening smothered breakfast burrito with cheese oozing over its sides.

  “Hi, there. Can I please get a to-go container?”

  There was a muffled response in accented English.

  “A to-go container?”

  An arm handed her a Styrofoam clamshell box.

  “Thank you so much,” she said with a winning smile.

  Without an instant of hesitation she set the to-go box down on the aluminum shelf, grabbed the plate and tilted it. The breakfast burrito slid.

  “Ah, shit.” She clenched her teeth and clanked the plate back down. “Hot.”

  Two arms came from the other side to the rescue, grabbing the plate with two rags.

  She caught the green chili dollops first, then the heavy tortilla wrap slapped into the box and she flashed her smile again, this time bashful and flirty. “Thank you so much.”

  “De nada.”

  “You have any silverware?”

  The arms handed her a silver fork and knife.

  Toby spotted them from the dining room and approached.

  “Are you sure? Thank you.” She winked, took the box and walked after Wolf. “All right, let’s go.”

  “I can’t take you anywhere,” Wolf said, stepping fast to the rear door.

  “You’ll be thanking me in twenty minutes when we’re loosening our belts.”

  Wolf pushed on the bar of the rear door and they were into the bright parking lot.

  “Hey!” Toby said as Luke slammed the door shut.

  Chapter 17

  Patterson rolled her eyes and gripped the phone tighter. “Just tell me, Doc. It’s me.” The County Medical Examiner had never been so stubborn to Patterson in his life.

  Dr. Lorber exhaled long into Patterson’s earpiece. “I’m sorry, Patterson. I’ve been sworn to secrecy by the … hold on one moment … federal agents,” a door squeaked and closed in the background, “and I’ve assured them that … I … will … not … okay, they’re not here but I don’t have much time they’ll come back any second. The time of death on Gail Olson’s body is no longer than 72 hours.”

  Patterson stood frozen to her spot on the shoulder of the highway, watching as two deputies peeked inside the windows of an old woman’s Buick sedan. “72 hours?”

  “Yes. And I’ve heard a bigger, juicier piece of information.”

  “Spit it out, doc.”

  “Gail Olson’s mother is missing as well. Has been for, wait for it, 72 hours.”

  Patterson instinctively turned to the forested slopes of Williams Pass to hide her exasperation. “Are you kidding me? In Las Vegas? Could she just be on vacation?”

  “I heard it looks like abduction. Forced entry, broken furniture. If I was placing bets there, I’d bet on her being dead, too.”

  Patterson never knew how to respond to the macabre statements that flew from Lorber’s mouth so freely. She turned and looked over at the roadblock. Lancaster was on his own phone call, studying her intently. “What do they think? Wolf got on a plane and flew to Vegas and offed her?”

  “And I’m thinking that … if you could get me a sandwich, you know the one. No mayonnaise, and no pickles. And for God’s sake, don’t be late this time.”

  The line went dead.

  Patterson looked at her phone screen, pocketed it, and walked to Lancaster.

  He kept his dead eyes glued to her and then ended his own call as she drew close.

  “What?”

  “They want you at the station,” he said, turning away and walking toward the SUV.

  She followed in silence.

  Taking in the new car smell, she took a deep breath and relaxed in the seat.

  “Who were you talking to?” He asked.

  “It was my mom. Always needing the latest 4-1-1 with my life.”

  Lancaster turned and stared out the windshield as if she’d just got out and closed the door.

  As they cruised down the valley into town, things were as silent as ever. It was as if she was wearing sound isolating headphones.

  No radio noise. No breathing or movement coming from Lancaster, and certainly no talk. There was never, ever, talk.

  As she often did, she looked over at Lancaster and wondered again: why the hell was she paired with this guy? He was always staring at her, always watching her every move as if he was reading her lips while she was on the phone or talking to others. He was a listener, she was convinced of it now. But as far as talking, her grandmother had had a cockatoo that spoke more words than Lancaster.

  He was not her partner. He was her babysitter.

  “You know, Wolf didn’t do this.”

  Lancaster moved a few centimeters up and down as the car bounced.

  “And I had nothing to do with this. And neither did Rachette. Or Baine, or Wilson, or Yates, or anyone else from our department.”

  Still no response.

  “Is that why MacLean has us paired up together? So you can all report back to him or something?”

  Lancaster swallowed and glanced in the rearview mirror.

  “Thanks. Nice talk.”

  When they pulled into the County Building parking lot, she got out and walked fast, not caring if she left Lancaster in the dust. Entering the rear Sheriff’s Department entrance, she let the door shut behind her without looking back.

  Only when she’d turned around to climb up the second flight of stairs did she see that Lancaster was following silently right behind her.

  Fre
ak!

  She reached the third floor and walked down the hall. Reaching MacLean’s glass cube of an office she stopped dead in her tracks.

  Lancaster walked past her and she lashed up and caught his tricep in a vise-like grip.

  “What’s my mother doing in MacLean’s office?”

  Lancaster looked down at her hand and shrugged.

  She kept her hand clamped and glared up at him. “Thanks for the heads up, partner.”

  He blinked.

  She let go and walked to MacLean’s office.

  To her surprise, Lancaster veered away from her and walked toward the squad room.

  “Deputy Patterson, please come inside,” Agent Frye said.

  She walked straight to the cloth upholstered chair where her mother slumped in a depressed state.

  “Mom? What are you doing here? Are you all right? What are they doing to you?”

  Her mother looked up with red eyes.

  “What did you do to her?”

  “We’ve done nothing, Deputy. Please take a seat and we’ll explain,” Frye said.

  Patterson stood motionless for another second.

  “Deputy, please.”

  She sat.

  MacLean nodded at her, looking none too happy that his office was being used as an FBI command post for the second day in a row. His silver goatee seemed to have less luster, his impeccably groomed hair a dollop of grease too heavy.

  His eyes were creased with a hint of worry, without the cock-sure glow they normally possessed.

  “Deputy Patterson, do you know where David Wolf is?” Frye asked.

  “No. Now explain to me why my mother is sitting in this office. Did you bring her here from Aspen? Don’t you know that her husband and two sons are extremely accomplished lawyers?”

  “And she’s going to need them,” Frye answered without hesitation.

  Patterson looked at her mother. “What?”

  “I’m sorry honey.” A tear fell down her cheek. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”

  “Your mother had a busy day yesterday, colluding with your aunt Margaret to help Wolf escape from Rocky Points. Your aunt drove him out of Rocky Points on County 17 and met your mother, where Wolf swapped keys and got into your mother’s truck, with her consent of course, and escaped over the mountains to the west. We have your mother’s confession all on video.”

  Patterson looked her mother in the eye and squeezed her hand. “Good job, Mom.”

  Frye smiled and sat on the edge of MacLean’s desk in front of her. “Not a good job, Mom. Jail time, Mom.”

  Patterson lifted her chin and glared at Frye.

  “Have you spoken with David Wolf, Deputy?”

  “No.”

  “May I please look at your cell phone?”

  “Not without a warrant.”

  Frye flicked a finger. “Cumberland, can you bring Deputy Patterson down to a holding cell until we line up that warrant, please?”

  Patterson pulled out her phone and flung it at Frye.

  He caught it and poked the button with his index finger. “Thank you.” Keeping completely silent with his head down, he perused her phone.

  Patterson reached over and squeezed her mother’s arm.

  Her mother nodded and tried to smile.

  “As you can see, I have not spoken with David Wolf.”

  He turned the screen and thrust it toward her. “What did you two speak about on Tuesday morning?”

  “You’ve already asked me that and I told you.”

  Frye smiled. “I don’t believe you.”

  She shrugged. “Like I said, we spoke about how you guys were suddenly so interested in him. And now that all this is happening, I’ve gotta say, I’m finding the whole thing very interesting.”

  Frye raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Do tell.”

  “Gail Olson’s time of death was 72 hours ago.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “So why is it that she was killed 72 hours ago, supposedly by Wolf, and yet, you guys didn’t see him leave his house to do it?”

  Frye blinked rapidly and turned down the corners of his mouth. “Care to elaborate?”

  “Yes. You were watching his house with three surveillance teams, and the two guys in the unmarked on his road, and yet, he escaped and went to go kill Gail Olson?”

  Frye raised his hands. “You said it yourself. He escaped. He’s a very slippery man.”

  Patterson shook her head. “No. One of your teams would have seen him leave. He’s not in any condition to be walking out of there across the wilderness. Hell, Gail Olson was found twenty-five miles away over the other side of Williams Pass. Wolf couldn’t walk up the low hill we climbed and back without passing out after we were done. No. You guys are hiding something.”

  MacLean closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “He could have used the motorcycle in his barn and taken some trails to go kill Gail Olson.”

  “He hasn’t used that motorcycle in ages. The gas is probably bad in the tank. Otherwise he would have used it to slip away yesterday morning, and not risk floating by your two agents in a canoe.”

  She leaned forward. “And what about Gail Olson’s mother going missing in Las Vegas? Are you thinking he had something to do with that? Are you thinking I, or Deputy Rachette, or any of the other Sluice County Deputies had anything to do with that? No, of course you’re not.”

  She looked over at her mother.

  Her mother was glaring at Frye with the hint of a satisfied smile.

  “You’ve been working your own investigation, Deputy,” Frye said slowly.

  “I’m a cop. It’s what I do. And my investigation is telling me that someone is setting up my old boss. Who happens to be the best man I’ve ever met.”

  Frye pointed at her and smiled. “M.E. Lorber. That’s your source.”

  She ignored him. “This investigation is B.S.”

  “We found the murder weapon in Wolf’s shed yesterday.”

  “Brought to you by the anonymous, garbled, untraceable voice on the telephone.”

  “That voice was right about Gail Olson, and right about the weapon’s location.”

  “It would have been a crappy frame-job if it had been wrong.”

  “Wolf was jealous of Carter Willis’s and Sarah Muller’s relationship and killed them both.”

  “Wolf loved Sarah Muller with every fiber of his being and would never have hurt her.”

  Frye stood up abruptly and paced in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back and then he stopped and looked down at her.

  The door to the office flew open and an agent leaned inside. “Sir.”

  Frye looked up, annoyed.

  “The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Department has found Wolf and Luke.”

  Patterson sat straight. “Luke? Agent Luke is with him?”

  Frye ignored her and stepped out of the office, Cumberland on his heels.

  MacLean, Patterson, and her mother watched silently as Frye’s head bounced up and down outside and the agents scattered at a full run.

  Frye walked back in the office with his eyes locked on Patterson and stalked to the edge of MacLean’s desk. Resuming his seated position, he breathed deeply through his nose, contemplating something.

  “You’re free to go Deputy. Please stay available.”

  “What are you going to do with my mother?”

  “Put her back in the holding cells downstairs with your aunt.”

  “What? Sir,” she looked at MacLean, “surely you gentlemen know my mother and aunt were just trying to do the right thing. They had no intention of breaking federal laws.”

  MacLean held up his hands and flicked a glance at Frye.

  Frye stood up and walked from the room. “Agent Cumberland,” he said, and Cumberland followed him out.

  Patterson sat with her mouth open for an instant and then glared at MacLean. “Mom, just stay strong. We’re going to prove that Wolf is innocent of any wrong-doing, and then they�
��re going to let you go.”

  “Okay, honey.” Her voice was barely audible.

  Patterson looked at her and gripped her arm. “I promise.”

  MacLean stood with an apologetic look. “Deputy, please.”

  Patterson left the office, and her mother to cower in a jail cell.

  Lancaster materialized next to her. “Let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  “To work.”

  Patterson followed silently behind Lancaster, giving a final glance back to her mother.

  MacLean was escorting her out of the office without the use of handcuffs or force of any kind. That was something.

  What was also something was the ridiculous vow she’d just made to her mother. Like she’d told her she’d win the lottery for her.

  Well if that’s what it took, then that’s what it took.

  Chapter 18

  Wolf jogged fast through the rear parking lot and veered to the right. When he reached the dirt two track alley Luke strode next to him.

  “I hope that’s the best breakfast burrito you’ve ever had in your life. When Toby figures out you stole food, there’s no telling what he’ll do. Maybe he’ll call the cops.”

  Striding fast, she ignored him.

  “I hate to tell you this, but holding that burrito is now a liability.”

  She looked down at the container she’d worked so hard for and slam dunked it in the next dumpster. “Damn it.”

  As they approached the first cross street Luke held out the key to him. “You take this, go across the street and inside the storage unit yard. I’ll be behind you in a few seconds.”

  “Good idea. They’re looking for two of us.” He glanced backwards. Still no pursuit from Toby or anyone else. “I’ll cross the street here and walk up the other side.”

  “I’ll wait a minute and follow you.” She leaned against the brick wall.

  Wolf fingered a small plastic puck dangling from the keychain. “What’s this?”

  “What? I don’t know. Just go.”

  Wolf ducked back into the alley next to her and then took the plastic puck off the key ring. “It’s a magnetic key fob. It must be to get into the exterior gate. They had a concrete wall around the whole place. I’ll leave this on the ground outside next to the gate so you can get inside.”