[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.”“Our neighbors love him!”“I can just look at a guy—”“And tell if he’s up to no good!”“Like this guy here,” Rob said, tapping the camera.“He was so sweet,” said Fiona.“But I saw right through it.”“Rob says he’s on the run.”Rob nodded solemnly.“No doubt about it.”“Kind of sad, really.”“Unless he’s, like, a murderer.”“Or a rapist!” Fiona shuddered.“You should contact Texas.”“See if they’ve got—”“Okay! Okay!” Sergeant Watley said loudly “We’ll look into it.” Just to shut both of you up.“You just shot my stove,” Colby said.“That was an antique.It was my great-grandmother’s.”The man had hardly even flinched, and Buford had to give him credit for that.This was the second bullet he’d sent sailing past Colby’s skull, and Colby hadn’t even broken a sweat.“Next one goes in your head,” Buford said, but he knew he was losing credibility.That was the problem—he kept saying he was going to shoot Colby, but he couldn’t actually do it.Not if he wanted to find the negatives.There were other things he could do, though.Plenty of them.“Mister,” he said, “you want my advice, you’ll just give me the negatives and be done with it.”Colby remained silent.“Ain’t worth the trouble,” Buford said.Nothing.“You think this high-fence shit is worth dying for?”Buford must’ve said the right thing, because the look on Colby’s face changed.Now he was shaking his head, like he’d figured something out.“You know something? You’re absolutely right.This whole thing has gotten out of hand.”Now we’re getting somewhere, Buford thought.“So I’ll do it,” Colby continued.“I’ll give you the negatives.But we got one small problem.”“Yeah, what?”“They’re in a safe-deposit box down at the bank.It closes early on Fridays.We can’t get in it till Monday.”It was bad news, meaning this was going to take a lot longer than he had hoped.But Buford was prepared for it.He had a backup plan.He pulled the roll of duct tape out from his jacket pocket.“On your stomach.Arms behind your back.We’re going for a little ride.”Marlin had just sent a fax when Darrell put a call through.“Uh, John Marlin?” a woman’s voice asked.“Yes, ma’am.”“Yeah, I think you called me earlier this week.My name’s Jenny Geiger.”For a moment the name didn’t register.Then it clicked.“Oh, right, thanks for calling me back.I left half a message on your machine.Sorry about that.”“That’s okay, I tracked you down.I was out of town.Just walked in the door.”“Miss Geiger, you’re a friend of Vance Scofield’s, right?”A pause.“Well, sort of.I haven’t seen him in a while.”“How long has it been?”“Probably two months or so.”“From what I understand, you and Vance dated?”“Uh, yeah.Briefly.”Jenny Geiger did not sound comfortable.“Have you seen the news lately?”“Yeah, about Vance.I already heard.I figured that’s why you were calling.”“Are you aware that it was a homicide?” Marlin knew Bobby Garza’s news conference had ended thirty minutes ago.“Yeah, I heard it on the radio coming home from the airport.Some of my friends called me earlier this week when it first happened, but they were saying he drowned.What happened?”“That’s what we’re working on,” Marlin said.“Let me ask you something, Miss Geiger.Do you know of any reason somebody would want to harm Vance? Anyone angry with him—that sort of thing?”“Not that I know of.Like I said, we only went out a few times.”Marlin tried the same questions, but in different words.Sometimes that technique elicited different responses.“Did he ever mention any arguments with anybody, or talk about anybody that didn’t like him?”“Not really, no.”“Not really?”“No, he didn’t.”“Did you ever meet any of his friends?”“He was in the Rotary Club.I met a couple of those guys when I was selling tickets for the raffle.”“That’s how you met Vance? Selling the tickets?”“Right.”“Did he ever mention anyplace else where he might’ve parked the Corvette?”“He kept it in his barn.That’s all I know.”Marlin switched gears.“Where did you and Vance usually go when you went out?”“Just clubs in Austin.”“The Warehouse District?”“Sometimes.”“Did y’all ever meet up with anybody down there?”“Nope.”“He ever get into any trouble at any of the clubs?”“What kind of trouble?”“Maybe exchange words with somebody.Get into a confrontation.”“Not that I ever saw.”“Did he seem to know many people at the clubs?”“Well, maybe a couple, but he’d just say hi and that was it.”“You catch any names?”“None that I remember.”“How about phone calls? Did you ever hear him get angry with anybody?”“No, I—” The line clicked.“Can you hold on just a second?”Before Marlin could answer, she switched to the incoming call.Just as well.So far, she wasn’t offering much.In fact, she seemed reluctant to speak, and Marlin thought he knew why.After a good minute and a half, she finally came back on the line.“I’m sorry about that.It was my mother, long distance.Checking up on me.”“No problem.I won’t keep you much longer.The thing is, Miss Geiger, we’re having a really tough time finding out much about Vance—his friends, who he hung out with, that sort of thing.But one thing we do know is that he was into drugs, at least to some degree.I just want to make it clear that whatever you tell me as far as the drugs are concerned, it won’t get you into trouble.We’re working a homicide, and that’s our main focus right now.”When she spoke again, there was genuine irritation in her voice.“You think I use drugs?”It had certainly occurred to him.Birds of a feather.“No, ma’am, I didn’t say that.But some people are hesitant to mention that kind of thing when they’re talking about their friends.What I’m asking is that you be straight up with me and tell me anything you think might be useful.It would be a big help.”Marlin could feel the tension over the phone line, and he wondered if she would answer.Then she said, “I am not a drug user.I want to make that clear.”“I understand.”“The truth is, it was the drugs that made me quit seeing Vance.I mean, he was an okay guy and everything.He liked to have a lot of fun, and we always went to nice places [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]