فصل 25 - بخش 11

25

Holly drove to the Boltons’ sitting upright, hands on the wheel at ten and two, listening as Yune made the calls. Bill Samuels was horrified to learn that Howie Gold and Alec Pelley were dead, but Yune cut off his questions. There would be time for questions and answers later, but that time was not now. Samuels was to re-interview all the witnesses who had been previously questioned, beginning with Willow Rainwater. He was to tell her straight out that serious questions had been raised about the identity of the man she had taken from the strip club to the train station in Dubrow. Was she still sure that person had been Terry Maitland?

‘Try to question her in a way that plants doubts,’ Yune said. ‘Can you do that?’

‘Sure,’ Samuels said. ‘I’ve been doing it in front of juries for the last five years. And based on her statement, Ms Rainwater already has a few. So do the other witnesses, especially since that tape of Terry at the convention in Cap City went public. It’s got half a million hits just on YouTube. Now tell me about Howie and Alec.’

‘Later. Time is tight, Mr Samuels. Talk to the wits, starting with Rainwater. And something else: the meeting we had two nights ago. This is muy importante, so listen up.’

Samuels listened, Samuels agreed, and Yune moved on to Jeannie Anderson. That call was longer, because she both needed and deserved a fuller explanation. When he finished, there were tears, but perhaps mostly of relief. It was awful that men had died, that Yune himself had been injured, but her man – and her son’s father – was okay. Yune told her what she needed to do, and Jeannie agreed to do it immediately.

He was preparing to make the third call, to FC Chief of Police Rodney Geller, when they heard more sirens, this time approaching. Two Texas Highway Patrol cars blasted by them, headed for the Marysville Hole.

‘If we’re lucky,’ Yune said, ‘maybe one of those troops is the guy who talked to the Boltons. Stape, I think his name was.’

‘Sipe,’ Holly corrected. ‘Owen Sipe. How’s your arm?’

‘Still hurts like blue fuck. I’m gonna take those other two Motrin.’

‘No. Too much all at once can damage your liver. Make the other calls. But first go to Recents and delete the ones you made to Mr Samuels and Mrs Anderson.’

‘You would have made a hell of a crook, se?orita.’

‘Just being careful. Prudente.’ She didn’t look away from the road. It was empty, but she was that kind of driver. ‘Do it, then make the rest of your calls.’