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The Salton Sea Police Department was headquartered in a small adobe-style building a short drive from Grizzly’s ranch. It was clean and neat on the inside, if a bit confining. Maddock carried a drawstring bag containing the items they’d taken from Reggie. They’d left Spenser behind at the ranch. Considering the physical and mental strain of the day, she was bearing up well, but had opted to soak in a bathtub rather than visiting the police station.
The front desk was being minded by an officer Franzen. She was of average height with long, dark hair which she wore in a bun. She greeted them with a weariness bordering on indifference, and her demeanor didn’t change when Maddock told her he’d like to report a crime.
“Grab a clipboard and pen and fill out the complaint form.” Her blue eyes never leaving her paperwork, she waved them in the direction of a table and chairs that stood in front of the picture window.
Bones took a step toward the desk, but Maddock shook his head. Depending on his mood, Bones would either flirt or argue with the officer, and Maddock could tell neither would go over well. No point in getting on the wrong side of local law enforcement if it could be avoided.
“There’s coffee in the break room,” Franzen said.
While Maddock began filling in the complaint form, Bones went for coffee. He returned a minute later with three cups.
“Looked like you needed a refill and I saw that you take it black,” he said.
“Thanks,” Franzen said, still not looking up.
Bones rolled his eyes, sat down at the table, and began to crack his knuckles—all of them at once, and then one at a time until Maddock told him to stop. Two seconds later, Franzen cracked her own knuckles. Bones and Maddock exchanged a puzzled glance. Franzen didn’t look up but Maddock thought he saw the hint of a smile.
When Maddock completed the form and handed it over, Franzen accepted it without looking at it, then set it to the side while she continued her paperwork. When she completed the form she was filling in, she signed with sharp jerks of her hand, the ball point pen digging into the paper.
“Bad day?” Maddock asked.
“No more than any other day,” she said, finally meeting his eye. “We’re a small department, so during business hours, the officers take turns playing receptionist.” She glanced at the time on her computer screen. “But it’s almost quitting time and my paperwork is finished. Except, of course, for processing your report. Let’s see what we have.” She picked up the clipboard and began to read. “I’m sorry to say we almost certainly won’t recover your property. The only pawn shops are...” She froze in mid-sentence.
“It’s not a property crime,” Maddock said.
Franzen slowly raised her head and glowered at them. “Is this a joke?”
“Absolutely not,” Bones said. “And we’ve got the proof.”
Maddock handed over the pistol, knife, magazines, and water bottle they’d taken off Reggie.
“You brought a concealed weapon in here?” Franzen sprang to her feet, upending her chair and knocking her coffee to the floor. Maddock was amused to see she was wearing a battered pair of red cowboy boots. “Dammit!”
Maddock was losing patience. “Officer, I get that you’re bored out of your skull sitting at that desk, but on the scale of bad days, I really think ours trumps yours. Respectfully,” he added.
Franzen clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and blinked twice. “Fair enough,” she said, relaxing a little. “But the first thing out of your mouth when you arrived should have been that you had a weapon in the bag.”
“Understood,” Maddock said.
“Let’s start over.” Franzen held out a hand and they shook. “I’m Janet Franzen but friends call me Turtle.”
“I’m Maddock, this is Uriah, but everyone calls him Bones.”
Franzen shook hands with Bones. “I definitely prefer Bones to Uriah. Fewer syllables.”
“Me too,” Bones said.
After the spilled coffee was cleaned up, they sat down around the front table and recounted the incident. Maddock and Bones described their journey through the caverns. Franzen’s brow furrowed deeply when they mentioned the booby trap. Once they’d finally answered all her questions, she went into a back room and returned with a topographical map and a mechanical pencil.
“Can you show me where this happened?”
Maddock made a small circle at the spot where they’d climbed out of the canyon and drew a small arrow to show the direction in which Reggie had run.
“Probably drug related,” Franzen said.
“A drug deal out in the desert?” Bones asked.
She shook her head. “Not an individual transaction. We’re probably talking about drugs being trafficked up from Mexico. We’re far enough from the border that they feel safe lying low here. And as you observed, this area is filled with canyons and caverns that make perfect hideouts. A lot of places can’t be spotted from the air. It’s a losing battle for us, I’m afraid.”
Maddock nodded. “We understand. Just wanted to turn in these items. Maybe they’ll be helpful.”
“Maybe,” Franzen said, doubtfully. “The gun’s probably stolen, but maybe we can get some prints off of it or the water bottle.” Her expression grew serious. “Even if we find and arrest this guy, the two of you would be asked to testify. If he’s affiliated with a major drug gang, that could be dangerous.”
“That doesn’t frighten us,” Bones said.
Franzen took a long look at each man in turn, as if truly seeing them for the first time. “No, I imagine it doesn’t.”
They thanked her for her time and stood to leave when Maddock remembered something.
“Oh! One more thing.” He reached into his pocket and took out a folded tissue. “When we were wandering through the caverns, we found this necklace. I know it’s a long shot, but we thought we should turn it in. The charm is finely crafted. Maybe someone’s missing it?” He unfolded the tissue to reveal the thin gold chain and unicorn charm.
Franzen snatched the tissue-wrapped necklace from Maddock’s hands and gaped at it. She recovered herself almost immediately.
“That was rude of me. Sorry, it’s just been quite a day. Thanks for turning this in. If we meet again, I promise I won’t be quite so... abrupt.”
“That was weird,” Bones said when they were back inside the car.
“No kidding. It was obvious that necklace meant something to her. Like she’d seen it before.”
“You think she’s hiding something?” Bones asked.
“Hiding something or looking for something.”