Billy stepped into Ike’s office, now Frank’s temporary one, and dropped into a chair. He did not look happy. Frank peered over his reading glasses and waited.
“So, I got bad news and some maybe-okay news,” Billy said and dusted the brim of his Stetson against his knee.
“Bad and okay. That doesn’t sound like a very promising start for the day. So, the bad news is?”
“They pulled Karl off the case. Something about him being too personally involved and ‘not objective enough.’ Lot of bullshit, if you ask me.”
“Yeah, maybe, but you’re right. Maybe he was getting too close to something, but it wasn’t Ike. Hell, I don’t know. I mean he’s an FBI agent. That’s all, and an agent who knows Ike, but he doesn’t work here or anything. Somebody must have a special interest in this case and is someplace up high. Jesus, listen to me. I am beginning to sound like some conspiracy theory addict. You’re right, that’s definitely not good news. What’s the okay news?”
“Well, you wanted us to check out all the places where the assassin might have installed the arming device or the bomb in the car. Remember we figured it must have been rigged to go off when a certain mileage point was reached? That way it had to be put in place or set to working pretty close to where it went off. We were thinking Ike must have stopped for gas, or coffee, or something before that. So, anyway, we picked up surveillance footage from every donut shop, filling station, and convenience store within a twenty-mile radius of Picketsville.”
“I’m guessing your okay news is that you found a piece of tape that needs another look.”
“Yeah, you could say that. We found one where he makes a stop that night about fifteen miles up the road. So, if the bomb was planted there, we’d have it on this tape. I don’t know if he made any stops further up, you know, so this might be the one and it might not. I wish Sam was here and not off to wherever Garland the Spook sent her. What’s with that guy, anyway? I mean he’s CIA. He can’t tell us what to do.”
“No, he can’t but since he’s at least four steps ahead of us, and since he has the resources to do stuff that we can’t, he’s taken point and I’m good with that. If he thinks Sam needs to be somewhere else, so be it. What’s on the tape that you think is important?”
“I ain’t that sure. It’s only that Ike stopped long enough for a device to be put on his car. It’s the last place he stops before the last place and we know the thing wasn’t put on there. That makes this one the best bet. The trouble is, I can’t think it’s where it happened because there’s a county cop there at the same time.”
“There’s a cop in the picture? What does he do?”
“That’s it. He don’t do nothing. Ike drives in, gets out, and goes into this, like, 7-Eleven store. Another car pulls in and parks next to him. Right behind that guy, a Rockbridge County Sheriff’s car pulls in and parks crosswise in front of Ike’s car. So, now Ike is, like, blocked in. The deputy gets out of his car and follows Ike into the store. Okay, so far, so good. So then we fast-forward. He and Ike come out together and chat. The cop seems like he’s apologizing for blocking Ike. They talk and then the cop leaves. Ike leaves.”
What do you mean, ‘fast-forward’?”
“We hit the fast-forward button. You know, nothing was happening so we sort of zipped through the middle part.”
“Nothing? You’re sure there was nothing? I want to see that tape, especially the middle part you skipped.”
***
Nothing is ever simple. You order a hit. You pay good money. You have people in place and then the milk goes sour. The hit man needs a cover and so we give him a one of ours and not just anybody. This guy is a policeman who is to provide it for him. So what happens? The bomber gets picked up by the Feds at the airport. What doesn’t a trained killer know about explosive residue and there’re dogs at airports trained to detect it? Idiot. We have to send people to take care of him. Then, the cop whose only job was to stall the Jew sheriff connects the dots and starts acting goosey. He says, “I didn’t sign up for killings.” You provide cover for a guy to plant a bomb and you don’t think somebody is going to be killed? What doesn’t he understand about collateral damage and the greater good? Another idiot. Where do these people come from? Martin Pangborn picked up the phone and punched in a Philadelphia area code and number.
“Bratton, just listen. Don’t talk. You know the public servant we employed to monitor the fireworks display we scheduled last week? Well, he’s not feeling well. You might want to drop in on him to see if he can’t be given some attention. Am I clear?”
The other end went dead. Pangborn relaxed. Problem solved.
***
Frank had the surveillance booted up and running. Four deputies sat in a semicircle watching snowy black-and-white footage roll across the monitor. Someone had left the coffee on too long and the aroma added to the nervous tension in the room.
“There, you see that? The County Sheriff’s Department cruiser is not only blocking Ike’s car, it also blocks the line of sight to it. That’s important. Watch closely down in the corner of the screen. Remember, Ike and the county cop are still inside. Okay, now, we don’t fast-forward this time. So, pay attention to what else is happening with the cars parked side by side. There, you can just make out that the door on the car next to Ike’s opens. See, someone, all hunched over, slips to the driver’s side of Ike’s car, uses a slim Jim to open the door. Wait a second and there, the hood pops. I figure now he goes to work under the dash and then the front seat. He’s pretty quick, like he’s done this before. Now look at the front door of the store. What’s going on?”
“Ike comes out with the cop. They have a chat. Probably apologizing for blocking Ike in.”
“You think that is what the deputy is doing?”
“What else?”
“Come on. What just happened to the car? Don’t you see? He’s stalling Ike. Okay, now the hood on Ike’s car comes down. The guy who’s doing the job on his car slides back in his own car…click, his door closes. He scrunches down in the front seat. Meanwhile, Ike is trying to get to his car but like you said, the county car is in his way. The cop apologizes, blah, blah, blah. The cop gets in his car and drives off. Next, Ike gets in his car and drives off and right after that, the third car drives off, probably following Ike. There you go. Too bad we don’t get a good look at the bomb-planter’s face.”
“Wouldn’t help. It’s pretty sure to be the guy the FBI had and lost.”
“Better them than us.”
“We need to have a chat with the county cop. Do you have an ID?”
“We have a time stamp, a location, and a car number. Someone will know who was driving that thing.”
***
“Where to now?” Ruth had the backseat of the car all to herself and was busy scanning the digital images on her camera she’d taken earlier. “Please, no more bison burgers. Isn’t there somewhere we can get a salad?”
“We will head to that little town we passed yesterday. There has to be a restaurant, even a franchise fast food would do. What I want is a chance to look at an aerial view of this general area.”
“I brought my laptop,” Sam said. “We’ll do Google Earth or something. If that doesn’t work we’ll try Zillow or one of the more sophisticated programs I can access. What are you looking for?”
“I can’t get that New Star Ranch out of my head. Something there is not kosher. I want to see what lurks behind the gate they are so careful to protect.”
“Look at this,” Ruth said and passed the camera up to Sam. “Does that look like a normal cow bell to you?”
“Cowbell? On a steer? They don’t bell steers. That’s a dairy farm thing.”
“Tell me, Sheriff, just how would you know that?”
“My father has a farm, remember?”
“But he doesn’t work it. He rents it out. So, how?”
“I get around. I read, I—”
“You mean you watch old movies. That’s how you know, or think you know. Ma and Pa Kettle Down on the Farm, or something with Marjorie Main, anyway,” Ruth said.
“What do you know about Marjorie Main?”
“I peeked at your Classic DVD collection, that’s what. Among other titles she played Ma Kettle.”
“She did. Sequel to The Egg and I, if memory serves.”
“You’re kidding. The egg and…what?”
“Whatever,” Sam said. “Moving on, this thing on the cow’s, sorry, steer’s neck looks vaguely like a bell, but I’d bet my next-born that it is a surveillance device of some sort.”
“A surveillance device in a bell?”
“Like my coat hooks or your Poe letter. Who’d suspect? It will record a day’s grazing or whatever time is built into it. The owner stops and downloads the video, checks the batteries, and sends Bossie off on her or his way. They’d have a record of anything or anybody who happened to come by or who trespassed. More important, they could track frequent visitors.”
“Sheesh, we are living in George Orwell’s world.”
“Have been for years,” Ike said. “The question is, what the hell is going on at the New Star Ranch that requires that level of security, and why do I think I should know something about it?”
“I need a salad and you two can visit Google Earth and maybe we’ll find out,” Ruth said and flopped back in her seat.
***
From the Richmond Times Dispatch:
Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Deputy Thomas J. (Tommy) Frieze, a Marine Corps veteran with three tours in Iraq, a Bronze Star, and two Sheriff’s Commendation Citations, was killed in a roadside shooting this afternoon. State Police Commander Colonel Jason Scarlett, speaking for the Governor, stated that Deputy Frieze was in the process of making a routine stop for a minor traffic violation when he was senselessly shot. The assailant fired his pistol for no apparent reason and fled the scene. As yet, State Police have no leads and no suspects. Deputy Frieze is survived by his wife, Jannetta, two children, ages 10 and 13, and his parents, all of Lexington.
County police have yet to determine a motive and an investigation is ongoing.