“This is gold,” Nathan said. “She’s our connection to Raven. Good work, Estefan.”
“I think she’ll stop at the general store and call the guy.”
“Let’s hope she does. We want Raven to know you’re in town asking questions. Harv?”
“Yeah, I agree. It’s possible he’ll try to neutralize Estefan using men from the lumber mill without coming up here himself.”
“Not a nice thought,” Estefan added.
“Then we’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Nathan said.
“Maybe I should drive into town and check into the hotel using my real name.”
“That’s a good idea. We might be able to set a trap.”
“I’ll camp with you guys up there tonight. We’ll take turns keeping watch. Three sets of eyes are better than two.”
“Okay, she turned right at the church, she’s heading toward the general store. Do you think she suspects you were playing her?”
“It’s hard to say, but my gut says no. She was too busy playing me.” Estefan took a minute to update them on most of the stuff he and Antonia talked about, especially the part about the helicopter and Raven keeping some of his men at the lumber mill. “I’m a pretty good judge of BS, and I was just hip deep in it. She even faked some tears.”
“Then you think she’ll call Raven?”
“Absolutely.”
“She just passed the store. It looks like she’s heading home without stopping at the pay phone.”
“I trust my instincts — she’ll call him.”
CHAPTER 21
“Let’s drink more water,” Harv suggested.
He and Nathan downed a pint each. Neither of them felt dehydrated, but given the heat, they should be sweating more than they were.
Nathan kept his eye to the scope, scanning the area surrounding Mateo’s house.
“Well, at least this confirms what Estefan believed all along. Raven’s definitely our shooter,” Harv said.
“It pisses me off he’s sold his skills to someone like Macanas. I never saw this coming.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Nate. People change, but I’d like to know how he got hooked up with Macanas.”
“Yeah, that’s a good question.” Nathan couldn’t conceal the bitterness in his voice. “He sure as hell didn’t respond to a help-wanted ad in the paper. Sniper needed, past experience preferred.”
Harv didn’t respond.
“I’m just venting. We held people’s lives in our hands, and it took a heavy toll. We’ve never killed anyone for monetary reasons or for personal gain. We literally had licenses to kill, even domestically, but we held ourselves to the highest possible standard. We never killed an innocent to make our jobs easier. You remember the damned chain-smoker who kept us from entering that warehouse in Romania?”
“How could I forget? We froze our asses off. Look, I know you feel we’re partially responsible because we trained him, but Cantrell’s right. Raven has free will. As far as we know, no one’s forcing him to murder anyone. Like Cantrell said, you can’t blame the academy’s instructors if a cop goes bad. Life doesn’t work that way. I mean, how far do you take it? Do you blame the makers of Jack Daniels for drunk drivers? If a guy kills someone with a baseball bat, do you blame the tree it came from?”
“I get that, Harv. I guess I’m… I don’t know… feeling betrayed.”
“You have been betrayed, both of us have.”
“He seemed okay at the time. Yeah, he liked his job a little too much, but I never doubted his loyalty. He was an extremely dedicated combat soldier who never complained or made excuses. When he made a mistake, he didn’t deflect the blame. I meant what I said to Cantrell. I liked the guy.”
“Maybe you saw some of yourself in him.”
Nathan went silent and knew Harv would give him a moment to collect his thoughts. He liked that about his friend. “Without knowing anything about Raven’s activities after the kilo units broke up, there’s no way we’ll ever know how he got connected with Macanas. Hell, for all we know, they met at the local racquetball club or strip joint.”
“We could take Raven alive and wring it out of him.”
“It’s going to be hard enough just killing him. And I guess it really doesn’t matter how he went bad. I’d just—”
“I’ll be at my truck in thirty seconds.”
Estefan’s voice brought Nathan abruptly back to the mission at hand.
“Wait there for Harv. I’m sending him down to collect the rest of our gear. We don’t want to leave anything in your truck.”
“Since I’m already down here and you guys can keep an eye on my six, I should head over to the lumber mill and have a look around. I’ll do it after I check into the motel. We also need to scout the area where the helicopter lands.”
“Make it quick. If Antonia calls Raven from her house, you might have unexpected company down there. Raven might use his men from the lumber mill to go after you.”
“Do you guys have eyes on the place from there?”
“Yes, but it’s a lot farther away. From our current position, it’s got to be over thirteen hundred yards. That’s beyond the limit of my NV weapon scope. We’ll need to relocate to cover you. Your diesel’s loud, and Mateo’s house is about fifty yards from the main road. Even if she doesn’t see it, Antonia will hear your truck for sure. Let’s keep playing her. Leave your headlights off. She’ll think you’re trying to sneak in there. Like I said, we have to consider the possibility she’ll use the phone inside her house to call Raven, but I’m pretty sure Raven wouldn’t want her to do that. The call would show up on her father’s phone bill.”
“What if she makes the call when you guys are on the move?”
“I see what you mean. After you check into the motel, find a spot to keep an eye on the pay phone while we’re relocating. You should be able to see it from the post office or the tavern across the street. We don’t need to be super stealthy up here, so it shouldn’t take us that long to reposition. We’ll give you a laser when we reach our new shooting position.”
“Sounds good. When I get to my truck, I’ll check my cell, but I’ve never gotten a signal in this valley.”
“We don’t have a signal up here either.”
“It might be possible to get a connection at the top of the mountain.”
“I know you’re worried about your wife. I promise we’ll try to get a signal later. Sit tight until Harv gets there. He’ll grab your rifle and all the ammo. We shouldn’t leave any of the cash in your truck. If there’s anything else you want Harv to take with him, have it ready to go.”
“There’s nothing. My wife makes me keep the truck immaculate… Shit.”
“Estefan?”
“It’s just… my wife, she hates clutter. She’s always getting after me about it.”
“She’ll be okay. Harv’s on his way down.”
Proud of herself, Antonia stopped at the work bus and lit a cigarette. If she’d had any doubt, it was now dispelled. The techniques Franco had taught her worked perfectly. The excitement she’d felt sneaking up on Tobias’s son had been intoxicating. She’d never felt so powerful. Her mom got high on opium, her father on alcohol, but Antonia had discovered a much more addictive drug — adrenaline.
The day after Tobias was murdered, Franco had asked her to watch for anyone new showing up in town, especially anyone asking questions. During their call earlier this evening, he’d reminded her to stay alert. Well, Pastor Tobias’s son definitely qualified as someone asking questions. He wasn’t new to town. She’d seen him before, but he’d never been dressed like a soldier. She wanted to call Franco right away and give him the news, but she didn’t know where Delgado was. She didn’t want him to see her use the pay phone — that would look suspicious. The call to Franco would have to wait for the right moment.