Sherrill was lanky and dark-eyed, with short black hair andSloans wordsthe good headlights. Her estrangedhusband had been killed by a crazy outlaw, who was himself killed by Lucas in a close-quarters firefight in the middle of a freak blizzard. It all happened just minutes before the cold-eyed Iowa boy had blown up both Dick LaChaise and Lucass marriage prospects. Last winter had been a bad one.
There you are, Sherrill said. Want to come detect?
Detect what?
An anonymous caller phoned the Garfield sheriffs office and said that a US West lineman saw the killer, or might have seen him. The lineman was working on an exchange box near Kresges place. Said that he was talking about it in a bar, thought about calling the cops but didnt because he didnt want to get involved. So the sheriff tracked him down, and guess what?
He confessed and threw himself on the mercy of the court.
Nope. Hes down here. They sent him to an NSP warehouse to pick up a bunch of splicer things… The sheriff talked to him and called me. Hes the only eyewitness we have so far. Im going over.
How far?
Ten minutes?
Lets go, Lucas said.
SHERRILL HAD A CITY CAR PARKED AT THE CURB. THEY took I-394 west, falling into routine cop chitchat that covered a vaguely uncomfortable tension between them. Sherrill was at least somewhat available, and, rumor had it, would not be averse to exploring possibilities with Lucas. At the same time, word was around that Lucas hadnt quite recovered from the loss of Weather, and nobody wanted to be the first woman afterwards.
Lucas, on the other hand, with a small reputation as a womanizer, had been expected to make a run at Sherrill ever since her marriage began going bad. Hed never done that. There lingered about them the sense that somebodyought to make a move, almost as a matter of common politeness.
Did you get anything good out of Kresges office? Lucas asked after a while.
Naw. But there are some newly humble secretaries and assistants around the place, Ill tell you, Sherrill said cheerfully. Especially around Bone and ODell and McDonald. Everybody thinks one of them will get the job.
What about the merger?
Thats apparently on hold.
Hmph. So if somebody shot Kresge to stop the merger, it worked.
Yup. For the time being, anyway.
And this telephone guy…
Harold Hanks.
… saw the killer.
Maybe. But theres something odd about the whole thing. Whoever called the sheriffs office said she heard him talking in a bar. Harold Hanks is a hard-shell Baptist. He told the sheriff he hadnt been in a bar for fifteen years, since he was born again. But he did see somebody, just like the caller said. But he never connected whoever he saw with the killing.
The caller was a woman?
Yeah.
They knew where the call came from?
A pay phone off I-35. I wrote it down, its up north somewhere.
Nothing there, then.
Nope.
Both letters to Rose Marie were probably written by womenone of them for sure, and the one pointing at McDonald has a female feeling to it…
Yeah, it does, Sherrill agreed. So weve got somebody out there who knows a lot more than we do, and shes leading us in.
Which makes you wonder… He looked out the window.
What?
McDonalds wife, Lucas suggested.
Hmm.
He beats her up, Lucas said.
Yeah? Old story.
Something to look into, he said.
They rode in the slightly tense silence for another few minutes, then Sherrill blurted, Seeing Weather at all?
No. The shrink thinks we ought to spend some time apart. Everybody in the department knew about the shrink.
But eventually get back? Sherrill asked.
Maybe, Lucas said moodily. Three teenagers in reflective vests were peering through a surveying total station just off the interstate. All three wore their caps backward.
You know, Sherrill said, plowing ahead, youve really got your head up your ass in a lot of ways. You walk around with this cloud over you, mooning over her. Why dont you do something to get her back?
Im afraid its more complicated than that, Lucas started, a distinct chill in his voice.
Oh, bullshit, Lucas. If you love her, get her back. Dont wait for her to work it outplot something. Suck her in. The thing is, if she gets a little freaky when she sees you, then youve got to hang around more. Screw the shrink: the thing is, life goes on, and if youre around all the time, and life keeps going on… the freakiness will go away. Itll get boring. Tiresome. And if she basically loves you, and you love her…
Can we knock this off? Youre bumming me out.
Jesus, what a crock, Sherrill said, angry now.
Lucas was just as angry: Its a crock, all right. I should trick her back? How would I do that? Huh? Get somebody to set up a blind date, and its me? Hide in her closet, and pop out when she goes to iron a blouse?
Sherrill rolled her eyes and nearly took the car into the oncoming lane; Lucas flinched and she jerked it back to the right. Lucas, this is Marcy Sherrill youre talking to. I was there when you suckered John Mail, remember? I helped you track the LaChaise women. I heard you order up a traffic stop that you knew would never be made, so when we wasted them, our asses would be covered with the press. I was there, for Christs sake. I heard you work it out. So dont tell me you couldnt work out some little scheme to get close to her. When it came time to finish off John Mail, you didnt get moody
Shut the fuck up, Lucas said.
Fuck you.
Theres US West, Lucas said, pointing to the right.
Maybe you dont want her back, Sherrill said. She missed the turn.
You missed the goddamned turn, Lucas fumed.
Ill make the goddamn turn, Sherrill said, and she braked, looked quickly left, then did an illegal U, bouncing across a median strip.
Jesus Christ, Lucas said, startled, bracing himself, as the muffler dragged over the curb.
You want the fuckin turn, Ill make the fuckin turn, Sherrill snarled and, ignoring a red light, turned left across two lanes of traffic into the US West parking area. They lurched to a stop in a visitors space.
Satisfied? she asked.
Yeah, Lucas said. Really.
SHERRILL WAS OUT OF THE CAR, STEAMING TOWARD the warehouse entrance. Lucas trailed behind, deflected the door as it slammed on his face, and finally caught her at the service counter, where she flashed her ID at a guard and said, Were here to see Harold Hanks.
Oh, yeah, the guard said. Hes waiting up in the canteen on two.
Second floor?
Take those elevators.
She steamed on back to the elevators. Like youre Miss Social Life, Lucas said at her back.
Then she was suddenly calm: Lucas, I have an activesocial life. You just dont see it. A blatant lie, and they both knew it. The elevator went ding and they got inside.
Maybe Weather and I dont recover quite as quickly as you do, Lucas said, as the doors slid shut.
Thats a horseshit thing to say, Sherrill shouted, really angry now. You take that back.
I take it back, Lucas said meekly.
Id already signed off on Mike when he got killed, she shouted.
Now he just wanted to quiet her down. I know, I know…
Jesus, what a jerk.
THE ELEVATOR DOORS OPENED, AND A SHORT, ROTUND man in a brown suit was staring at them owlishly; hed obviously heard the shouting. Is there a problem?
Yeah, him, Sherrill said, tossing her thumb at Lucas, who hovered, embarrassed, in the doorway.
There are some police officers coming up, the man ventured.
We are the police officers, Sherrill said. Were looking for a man named Harold Hanks.
The canteen… that way, left around the corner.
They went left around the corner and Lucas said, That was really cute.