Mercy Kill_ A Mystery - Lori Armstrong [124]
The man was too goddamn spooky reading me.
“When Saro spread rumors they’d killed Major Hawley, we knew she’d be gunning for Victor and Saro, and we knew Cherelle encouraged Anna to believe Victor was responsible.”
I stared at him. “The FBI condones murder?”
“No.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “There are certain things we know, Mercy. Things we have to stand by and watch happen. We know Saro and Victor run the drugs in Eagle River and other reservations. We know they’ve killed and buried the bodies on the rez or fed them to the wild dogs. They’ve done all sorts of bad things they should be locked up for. But because of the laws and lines we can’t cross, we can’t do a damn thing but watch it happen over and over.
“I’m not bothered in the slightest that Anna took out Victor. Saro is off the rails with grief and anger. It’s put Saro’s organization into pure chaos. They’ll make mistakes, and when they do, we’ll finally have our chance to bust them.”
“And if Anna would’ve killed Saro, too?”
“I would’ve thrown her a freakin’ parade.”
“Contradictory much?”
Turnbull smiled. “Make no mistake, I woulda tossed her ass in jail right after the confetti fell.”
“What about Cherelle?”
“We’re pretty sure in those extra meetings, she figured out a way to cut Saro out of the drug deal and Hawley told her where he stashed the rest of the OxyContin. After he died she took it. And being Saro’s screen, she’d know exactly who to contact to get rid of it fast.”
“So she’s just vanished?”
“With that face? She’s not exactly inconspicuous. We’ll find her. Eventually.”
“If you knew Anna killed Victor, did you also know those two punks killed J-Hawk?”
“No. Dawson suspected a robbery from the start. But after we took over the case, we forced him to drop that line of investigation so it wouldn’t interfere with our objective.”
Still made me feel like a douche bag for assuming Dawson was an idiot, who didn’t know the first thing about investigating, who only cared about his own agenda, when he’d had no choice but to drop the case.
“I hear you and the sheriff have mended your fences.”
My relationship with Dawson wasn’t up for discussion with Agent Turnbull. Ever.
“He’s a good man.”
I didn’t need Turnbull to tell me that. “Okay, you’ve filled in the blanks for me. But I’ve gotta ask . . . why?”
Shay Turnbull studied me. “Because we want you to come to work for us.”
Talk about blindsided. “Excuse me? You mean the FBI?”
“ICSCU could use you, Mercy.”
“No. Way.”
“Hear me out. Five minutes.”
“Nope. Have a nice trip back to wherever you’re from.” I cocked my head. “What corner of hell are you from, anyway?”
“Hilarious. I live in Rapid.”
“No, I mean originally. What reservation?” I sensed his irritation, but he’d answer if he wanted to keep me talking.
“Flandreau.”
“So you’re a member of the . . .”
“Santee tribe.”
“I knew you didn’t look Lakota Sioux.”
Turnbull wasn’t sure if that was a compliment. “So back to business at hand. You interested?”
“For the third time, no.”
“You’re making the decision without giving us a chance to state our case?”
“Yep.”
“Typical. Don’t know why they freakin’ bothered when I tried to tell them it was pointless.”
“Why’d they send you?”
“As a test of my neutrality. To see if I could convince you to meet with ADA Shenker, despite my reservations about you.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Your personal reservations about me? Oh, Agent Turnbull, now you’ve piqued my interest. Do tell.”
“You’ve had an exemplary military career, which means you can follow orders. You’ve had covert-ops training, which means you can blend. You’re extremely proficient with firearms. Since you ran for sheriff, it shows you have a sense of community and a desire for a broader sense of justice. You’ve recently enrolled in the tribe, so you’re finally embracing part of your heritage.”
“But?” I prompted.
“But, you don’t take help when you need it. You slide into drinking binges. You lie. You like to intimidate people who cross you with your firearms. You have an unnatural attachment to said