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When Marlin woke the next morning, he had a text from Tracy Lavelle.
Three escapees returned last night! Down to just one!
He replied: Excellent news. Who’s the lone holdout?
She said: A greater kudu named Kevin.
Kevin the kudu. Marlin had to laugh.
When he got out of the shower at 7:15, he had a voicemail waiting from Darren Meyer, plus a text from Bobby Garza sent eleven minutes earlier, with Lauren Gilchrist included.
Still no ID on the deceased. No hits on AFIS. Autopsy today.
Marlin replied: Thx. Plz keep me posted. Just one animal missing from the zoo now.
Then he listened to the voicemail.
It’s Darren Meyer returning your call. I’m out of the country—in Australia, to be exact, so we’ve got a bit of a time difference. I believe I’m fifteen hours ahead of you. Also, I’ve been out in the bush, where cell coverage is spotty. Anyway, feel free to give me a call back if we still need to talk.
So it was late in the day there—10:15 p.m.
Marlin dialed him back immediately and Meyer answered. Marlin quickly summarized the situation—the loose animals, the body at the zoo, the man who shot the axis deer on Meyer’s ranch—but he held back several important details. He didn’t tell Meyer that the man had pointed a rifle at him, nor did he mention the shot through the trees or the person fleeing in the truck.
When he was done, Meyer said, “I hadn’t heard about any of this. You think the man on my property had anything to do with the events at the zoo?”
“Right now, we don’t have any reason to think they’re connected,” Marlin said. “My guess is that the man shot the axis, then panicked and ran when he saw me—but I need to talk to him and get his side of it.”
In Marlin’s experience, when a hunter panicked, there was generally a reason. Perhaps he didn’t have a hunting license, or he had an active arrest warrant for some other offense, or he was carrying drugs. But there was no reason to get into those possibilities with Meyer. Marlin wanted to downplay the potential charges the man might be facing, so that Meyer might be more inclined to share information, if he knew who the man was.
The connection wasn’t good, but Marlin could hear Meyer let out a sigh.
“Here’s the situation,” Meyer said. “I’ve been gone for two weeks and I’ll be gone for two more. Taking a vacation. I told my nephew he could spend some time on the ranch while I was gone—kind of keep an eye on everything for me. I guess there’s a chance it might’ve been him.”
“What’s your nephew’s name?”
“Bryce Cauley.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty-four, I think.”
“Is he a hunter?”
“I don’t think so. He’s never mentioned it. I know he likes to shoot guns, though. I told him I didn’t want him shooting on my place. He knows that.”
“What does he look like?”
“He’s probably five foot nine and a little on the heavy side. And he has blond hair, kind of shaggy.”
That didn’t match the man Marlin had encountered, but he opted to keep that to himself for now. Bryce might know who the bearded man was. Maybe it was a friend of his.
“Can you text me Bryce’s phone number when we’re done talking?” Marlin asked.
“Will do.”
“What does he drive?” Marlin asked.
“A blue Ford Ranger.”
“You know the year model?”
“Just a year or two old.”
“Where does he live?”
“That apartment complex in Blanco,” Meyer said. “Chandler something.”
“Chandler Place,” Marlin said.
“Right. He’s been there about a year.”
“Where does he work?”
“Dairy Queen in Blanco. I have to say, if he shot that deer, I hope he didn’t break any laws. I thought he was back on the right track and this would be a setback.”
“So he’s had some trouble in the past?” Marlin asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. Some drug-related issues.”
“Using or selling?”
“Just using, I think. I don’t know all the details.”
“What kind of drugs?”
“It used to be pot, but then he got caught with some meth early last year. He went through a court-ordered program and I thought he was doing okay. Otherwise, I wouldn’t allow him on my place. I don’t need that kind of trouble.”
Marlin would check to see if Bryce had been convicted of a felony. If he had, possession of a firearm was a major infraction. He didn’t mention that to Meyer, either.
“Do you know what kind of firearms he owns?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, I don’t. I’m not much of a gun person.”
“Do you know if he owns handguns or rifles or both?”
“I know he owns at least one rifle. I saw it once, but I don’t know what kind it was.”
“Can you describe it for me?”
“Well, it’s black. Other than that, don’t most rifles pretty much look the same?”
Marlin tried not to laugh. “Maybe a little. Do you know if it has a scope on it?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Do you know what a bolt-action rifle is?”
“I think so.”
“How about a lever action?”
“Like the kind they used in the Old West?”
“You could call it that. Do you know which kind Bryce owns?”
“I think it’s the lever-action kind. He might own more than one, though.”
“Does he have a key to your Chevy truck?”
“He does not—but that question makes me nervous. Was somebody driving my truck?”
Meyer didn’t seem to be protecting his nephew or ducking the questions, so Marlin opted to share a little more information.
“The man pointed his rifle at me, and then he disappeared before I could talk to him. A few minutes later, somebody—maybe the same man, but I can’t be sure—took off in your truck and plowed it through the front gate. Deputies found it later with some front-end damage. We towed it in for processing, but you’ll get it back, and then you can work with your insurance company.”
“Jesus. This is not what I needed to hear today.”
“If it makes you feel any better, the man who pointed the rifle doesn’t match the description you gave of your nephew.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“Do you know any of Bryce’s friends?”
“I’ve never met any of them. Truth is, I’m not particularly close to Bryce, but I’ve tried to change that recently and help him straighten his life out. Last year I offered to pay the tuition if he went to community college or a trade school, but he wasn’t interested.”
“Can you think of anyone else who might’ve been out there other than Bryce or his friends?”
“Absolutely not, and I told him not to take anyone out there.”
“Does he have a key to your house?”
“Yes, I left one for him. Maybe that was a huge mistake.”
“Is there a key to your truck inside your house?”
Meyer let out another exasperated sigh. “Yep. Sure is. A spare. I forgot about that.”
“Can I assume that nobody, including your nephew, had permission to drive your truck?”
“You certainly can.”
“So we can treat it as a stolen vehicle?”
“Absolutely.”
“Even if it was Bryce?”
“Yes. He needs to be held accountable if he did something that stupid.”
“Do you know any of your neighbors?”
“Not very well.”
“Have you ever had a problem with any of them trespassing, or anybody else trespassing, for that matter?”
“Not that I know of. I’ve never caught anybody.”
“Do you have any game cameras on your land?”
“What’s a game camera?”
“Well, they also call it a trail camera or a scouting camera—the kind that takes pictures when a deer or other animal walks in front of it.”
“Oh, right. I don’t have any of those.”
“Any security cameras?”
“I’ve thought about getting some, but I haven’t done it yet.”
“I’d like to go back over there and have a look inside your home. You okay with that?”
There was a long silence.
“Mr. Meyer?”
“I’m still here. I’m thinking. I have no problem with it, really, but it’s a little unsettling to have your house searched while you’re eight thousand miles away.”
Marlin waited.
“Let’s say you go inside and find drugs,” Meyer said. “If Bryce or his friends left some in there, what would happen to me?”
“If they aren’t yours, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about—at least in theory,” Marlin said. “Besides, I wouldn’t be looking for drugs, I’d be trying to contact Bryce or anyone else who might be inside. I wouldn’t be looking in drawers or cabinets or anything like that.”
“Okay, but what if you see drugs or something else illegal and you can’t tell who it belongs to?” Meyer said. “What happens then?”
“We couldn’t ignore that, obviously,” Marlin said.
“So it’s possible I could be creating some legal headaches for myself?”
Marlin had to be honest. “Yes, it’s possible. I don’t see it as likely, though. Your candor with me would go a long way.”
“Let me be clear—I don’t do drugs, and I wouldn’t allow them in my house, but I have no way of knowing what Bryce might’ve been doing there. I was foolish to ever allow him on the place while I was gone. I see that now.”
“So you won’t allow me to enter the home?” Marlin said.
“Right now, no. I’m sorry, I know that doesn’t look good, but that’s the way it’ll have to be, at least until I get home.”
Marlin had interviewed hundreds of people over the years, and he was confident Meyer had answered his questions truthfully—but Marlin couldn’t blame him for refusing the search.
Marlin said, “I appreciate your help. I’m going to make one other request.”
“I’ll help if I can.”
“If you talk to your nephew, please don’t tell him what we talked about. Just ask him to call me or the sheriff’s office, please. And let me know if you hear from him.”
“I’ll do that. I promise.”