“No.”
“Anyone else?”
“No one I see.”
“And what about Bodhi?”
“I didn’t know who she was until my friend brought the paper, then I remembered her. So I went there.”
“What were you going to do?”
Juan looked at us, “For a hundred thousand dollars? Hombre, I wass bringing her with me if I had to drag her. But I didn’t get the chance. I parked on the road and walked up to see where she was, and saw her run from two of the girls. She ran away, an’ I saw her goin’ through the brush. The silver car chased her, but couldn’t follow when she went into the brush. So the car, she circled on the roads. I followed the car and parked behind the hill where you see me. I went to the top and saw them catch her and put her in the silver car and drive away.”
“You didn’t chase her again?”
“I saw you two coming, so thought I would wait, maybe see what you would do. You two look like cops, then when you got closer, not exactly like cops, but a leetle different. You look more…vaquero, more cowboy, like the Border Patrols, so I theenk you are immigration. ”
Hondo said, “So we were close to Bodhi?”
Juan held his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Four, maybe five minutes. They saw you and left pronto. One of them said to the others, ‘Cops!’, I’m pretty sure.”
Hondo motioned for me to come to the high-centered pickup, and we both rocked it until the vehicle slid off and was on all four wheels again. Hondo said, “Come with us, you can show us where the family’s camp is. Maybe they’re taking her back there.”
He didn’t argue and we retraced our tracks through the draw and by the cave to Shamu.
Juan looked at it and said, “That truck, she looks like the beeg fish at Sea World.”
I said, “It’s not a fish, it’s a mammal.”
He looked puzzled, “A mahmahl? Like some different kind of fish?”
Hondo ushered him into the truck, “You two can talk about it while we drive.”
Juan pointed us to the turns and which side road to take. When we got there we saw the Rolls canted at an angle in a ditch. Yellow flames poured out of the windows and black smoke boiled into the air. Hondo slid out of the truck and trotted to it. He yelled back at us, “There’s a body inside.”
Chapter 3
We waited by the burning car for the Sheriff’s Office and fire department to show. There was no one else around. Hondo made a quick pass through the house and the area before rejoining us, “Nobody. And it’s been sprayed down with bleach, so forensics isn’t going to get anything. Looks like several vehicles left out of here.”
I asked Juan, “Do you know where they would go?”
“No. I only saw theem here.” He looked at us and said, “I don’ want to be here when the policia come.”
I gave him our card, with both Hondo’s and my cell numbers and said, “Call us if you turn up anything else on Bodhi. We’ll help you get the reward. Okay?”
“Seguro, sure. I keep my eyes open.” He cut across the cleared area and into the brush to walk the mile to his pickup as we heard the sirens coming.
Our friend, Sergeant Vick Best, led the convoy. He slid his sedan to a dusty stop in front of us and killed his blue lights. He glowered at us as he stepped out of the vehicle.
I said, “Greetings Sergeant Best. Always a pleasure to see your smiling face.”
“You two are like bad pennies that just keep popping up to cause me misery.”
I said, “I thought you’d stay at the desk, doing important things like planning the annual Bobbing for French Fries contest.”
“I’m here because of you two, and you know why, Ronny. As soon as the call mentioned the Rolls, The Sheriff yelled at me to get my butt out here because he said you were working for Sylvia Artell, and this had top priority.” He softened a moment, “I don’t blame you, Hondo, I know who the real troublemaker is.”
“Hey,” I said. “My feelings are hurt.”