Now they started passing sloughs, Cache and Steamboat, and he saw a few fishing boats out. No one liked a powerboat at dawn. They drew looks. He got sarcasm from Ruax.
“Not as quiet as you think,” she said.
But neither would anyone likely associate the Fountain speedboat with law enforcement. As the river narrowed and fog thickened, Marquez slowed more. He offered Ruax more coffee, poured himself some.
“What are you going to do with the time off?” he asked.
“Take a vacation while they figure it out.”
“Use your vacation time?”
“No, Baird says they’ll do something about all that.”
“How’d your crew take it?”
“They’re angry. Everyone wants more explanation, and we had a lot of things we were working on.”
“Our operation isn’t just in the delta. You could still work with us.”
“I’m supposed to stay away from anything associated with sturgeon poaching. That was the advice of the FBI for all of my crew.”
“Advice is the word they use when they can’t step in and control. Strongly advise is one of their favorites. They’re also the largest single buyer of black marker pens.”
That last bit went by her, but then, she hadn’t seen the transcripts. Passing Riera’s Marina not all the buildings were visible, still wrapped in fog. Marquez avoided a ship coming downriver and watched Ruax pour herself more coffee, her face changing even as she didn’t want it to, and he could tell she loved the river, loved being out here this morning. She turned to him.
“We were on the water when those concrete bridge pieces came downriver from Stockton. They were huge.”
“Pieces for the new Bay Bridge?”
“Yes.” She described the barge and the pieces for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge going past her DBEEP boat. “You turn in up ahead not too far,” she said. “These guys were taking sturgeon before you showed up. That’s why you haven’t heard about them before now.”
“You didn’t owe us anything. You were working your own things before we arrived, and you’ll have new ones when we leave.”
“We knew they were dealing with Raburn, and we knew he’d sold sturgeon in Rio Vista. His brother’s wife rode with him a couple of times, but we never tied him to the new owner at Beaudry’s like you did. I should have told you those things.”
Marquez nodded. He understood completely. The SOU had cases they worked and didn’t talk to anybody about until they needed to. Ruax had taken a wait-and-see attitude on the SOU operation and hadn’t risked cases that DBEEP was building. Anna’s disappearing would have only reinforced that, and Ruax didn’t have to apologize for any of it.
“How much do you know about Isaac’s wife?” she asked.
“Not a lot. Raburn told us she does some gutting and cleaning but doesn’t know anything about the illegal business. He says she doesn’t even know the laws. How did you get onto her?”
“Followed her.”
The boat punched slowly up the river. Up off to the left Marquez made out the water tower behind the Ryde Hotel, then the red lights of the TV tower marking the location of Walnut Grove. Without the light you’d see only gray fog.
“Okay, you followed her, and then what?”
“On three instances we saw her drop the kids at school and drive to Ludovna’s house. Never checked her rearview and she wasn’t delivering anything, but each time she was inside about an hour.”
“What’s your guess?”
“What’s yours?”
The answer was supposed to be sex, but if that was the answer he wasn’t there yet. He’d had a hard time seeing Isaac’s wife in that role. Didn’t think she’d interest the Ludovna he’d met, and she and her husband looked pretty tight. As near as he could tell she worked all the time with either the pear farm or taking care of the two kids.
“Maybe she cleans fish or processes roe at his house,” Marquez said.
“I should have told you weeks ago about her.” Bitterness showed again. “But I didn’t want to give up what we’d been working on, and besides, you’re the legend. I wanted to see what you’d come up with on your own.”
“You don’t really mean that last, do you?”
“No, I’m sorry, John. It’s not you. I guess I’m just generally pissed off.”
“That I can understand.”
She turned quiet again, and they entered the slough. When she next spoke it was to explain what was ahead.
“There’ll be someone glassing you as soon as you come around the bend up ahead.”
“How many of them?”
“Four, and they look like dorks but they’re smart. Usually, they like to sit off the Mothball Fleet, particularly when there’s a moon like this week, but they’ll move around also and camp up a slough like this. Two will fish and two will watch for us or the other wardens. Those two always have binos and usually one of them is on land.”
“Not like the good old days when the poachers would smoke dope, drink, and hang ten rods on the stern.”
“I don’t know much about the good old days. I’m only thirty-two.”
“Is that one of them up there along the bank on the right?”
“I don’t see anybody.”
“Third tree in. You see a little bit of a head poking around the trunk.”
“I can’t tell that’s a person.”
She lifted a small set of binoculars after settling back into her seat. Marquez continued to stand and steer, one hand on the windshield, the slough up ahead narrowing. Ruax was subtle as she swept the binos along the bank, hiding the shape of them with her hand.
“You’re right,” she said, “and he is looking at us. He’s hoping we break a shaft on a submerged log. Up ahead here is an old boat that’s been docked about fifteen years.”
“I know the boat.”
“The Army Corps tried to get it towed out of there years ago, but the owner fought them and won. These guys are using it to camp out in.”
“I came in here with Raburn.”
“That’s what I was saying, he buys from them. So he brought you here?”
“Yeah, and I guess you and I haven’t been communicating enough.” When she didn’t answer, Marquez said, “There’s a woman across the river up ahead on our left.”
“I see her.”
“You’ve kept your distance since we got here, and I guess we have too.”
“We don’t really need any help with the delta, and you’ve got enough problems with abalone, bear, and everything else.”
“What do you think of the Russian mob idea?”
“I’d like to see some proof. But there’s always been sturgeon poaching, and, sure the Russian community loves caviar, but the mob talk is a lot of noise so far even if the Feds show up after you start asking questions.” The abandoned boat was visible now. “We call this Camp Sturgeon. They’re here all the time.”
Marquez kicked it into neutral and eased into reverse. The bow swung around, and he could feel them watching as he made a show of struggling with getting the boat turned around like he didn’t really know how to manage the craft. Someone hooted from somewhere on the bank.
“Camp Sturgeon,” Marquez repeated, then added, “You’ve got a good crew.”
“‘Most everything is in my log, and I’ll copy it off for you.”
“I need your help with this operation, Jo. We only get a few more weeks ourselves, and either we’re going to make one or two busts or we’re going to crack this thing.”
“My orders are I’m off the river and away from sturgeon poaching.”
“I want to talk to Baird, see if he’ll let you work with us, unless you want a break from it all.”
“Well, you’ve got all the pull with Baird.”
“Yeah, I begged for an additional three weeks after Burdovsky disappeared. That’s the kind of pull I have.” He looked over at her again. “We need your help.”
“If I’m so good how come I haven’t noticed anyone watching me, and I don’t mean some bogus mob, but some dipshit Fed in a suit in a white sedan trying to figure out what’s going on.”