Feast Day of Fools - James Lee Burke [73]
“They all wore camouflage masks. Only one man spoke.”
“What was Jack Collins doing here?”
“The man in the suit?”
“Yes, what did he say to you?”
“He wanted to know who the men were. He said he and I were on the same side. He touched my face with his hand. Cody told him not to do that, and for a minute I was afraid for Cody’s life.”
“Cody?”
“If it weren’t for him, I’d be dead.”
Hackberry looked over his shoulder at Cody Daniels and said, “Where’s the guy from the power company, the one named Marvin?”
“The guy in the suit threw his keys on the roof and told him to hoof it. So that’s what he did,” Cody Daniels replied.
“The ambulance will be here in a few minutes, Miss Anton,” Hackberry said. “I need to talk with the reverend, but I’ll be right outside.”
“I think I heard someone speak in Russian,” she said. “But I can’t be sure.”
“You’re pretty sure of that?” Hackberry said.
“Yes, I’d almost swear it was Russian, or at least East European.”
As Hackberry got to his feet, tentacles of pain wrapped around his lower back and his buttocks, sinking into his viscera and then disappearing. He walked Cody Daniels toward the kitchen. “What were you doing out here?” he said.
“I wanted to see if she was all right. Then I left. That’s when I saw this gray truck with an extended cab come down from the hills behind her fence line. It had a smokestack on it, one sticking up by the cab. The only guy I talked to had a mouth full of chewing tobacco and smelled like it, too.”
“What time did you arrive on her property?”
“It was dark. I didn’t note the time.”
“You were looking in her windows?”
“I don’t do things like that.”
“You just drive out to other people’s property in the middle of the night?”
“Yeah, in this case, that’s what I did. I got a better question for you. When’s that dadburn ambulance coming?”
“Why were you suspicious of the truck?” Hackberry said.
“’Cause I thought they might be working for Temple Dowling.”
“You know Dowling?”
“Dowling was at my house. He said he wanted me to spy on Miss Anton.”
“Why would he select you for such a noble enterprise, Reverend?”
“Ask him.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“You got the right to think anything you want of me, Sheriff. But I told you the truth. If you don’t like it, that’s—”
“Who were those guys?” Hackberry said.
“It wasn’t Dowling or his people.”
“If they wore masks, how can you be sure?”
“Dowling and his thugs invaded my house and threatened me on my deck. They would have recognized me. These guys didn’t know who I was. What’s so hard to understand about that?”
“Did Dowling offer you money?”
“He mentioned it.”
“What else did he mention?”
“Sir?”
“I know the Dowling family. I know how they work. Is Temple Dowling blackmailing you?”
Cody Daniels’s hand was resting on the kitchen drainboard. His fingers twitched slightly, then became motionless. “I guess you could call it that. No, it’s not up for debate, that’s exactly what he was doing.” His gaze drifted from the side window to the yard. “There’re your deputies and the ambulance coming. Can I talk to your chief deputy a minute?”
“No, you can’t. Did you have a gun or a weapon of any kind when you came back to help Ms. Ling?”
“No, sir.”
“You just did it?”
“Not exactly. My teeth were rattling like Chiclets.”
“What does Dowling have on you, partner?”
“You’ve pulled my sheet. Take your choice.”
“You went down for forgery, but that’s not it, is it?”
“I got no more to say on the subject.”
“It’s the bombing at the abortion clinic, isn’t it?”
“I need to talk to your deputy. It’s important. At least it is to me.”
“Go sit on the gallery and let your mind think cool thoughts. You know who said that? Satchel Paige. He said the key to longevity was to have cool thoughts and not to eat fried food. Why don’t you try that?”
“Why you got it in for me, Sheriff?”
“Because I think you helped blind and mutilate a defenseless woman. Because I think anyone who plants a bomb among unsuspecting people should be stuffed feetfirst into a tree shredder.”
The skin of Cody