Six Bad Things_ A Novel - Charlie Huston [93]
Rolf nudges me.
—Cool ’stache, by the way.
I nod and look at the TV. My folks were moved back home from the motel last night. The reporters are staked out there now. The lawn is trampled and there’s a lot of empty paper coffee cups and McDonalds bags in the gutter. The reporters are milling around while a group of twenty or thirty gawkers stands behind a barrier on the sidewalk and snaps pictures. A sheriff’s car is in the driveway and a deputy is standing on the porch in front of the door. The camera zooms in suddenly as a curtain is pulled away from one of the upstairs windows, but the curtain drops back into place without anyone being revealed. That you, Mom? Dad? I’m sorry. I’m so.
I shake my head. Rolf continues.
—Anyways, when you guys came out with nothin’, we followed you over to that strip club. And, dude, what was that about?
—We needed to talk to someone.
—You took your time. We waited awhile, then I was like, let’s just blow back to the trailer and search it. I figured if the money wasn’t here we could wait for you and Elvis and jump you. And, dude? Was I relieved when he didn’t come in with that big fucking dog. Hey, here it is again.
He points at the TV. It’s the footage of the SWATs again.
The bus is isolated on the roof of the garage, centered in the jiggling helicopter spot. The team edges up, assault weapons ready, and cracks the sliding door.
Rolf talks over the footage.
—At first, we were hidden and waiting for you guys. Then it just took forever, so we turned on the set and watched this happen live around one AM. Dude, was that freaky.
One AM, when I was in a casino, the last place on earth you’ll ever get news of what’s going on outside.
The morning briefing from Sheriff Reyes comes on and Rolf unmutes the TV.
—The van, the bus, was seen in the vicinity of the collision and shooting on Nicastro Road in the twenty-four hours before, before that, those, incidents. Also, tracks we believe are from this vehicle were recovered and matched. That is, they match tracks found at the scene of the shooting of Deputy Fischer. So, and all this makes us believe that the suspect Henry Thompson and his, his, accomplices may have fled in this vehicle. We put out, with the help of the FBI, we put out a BOLO alert, a “Be On the Look Out” yesterday afternoon. Last night we received word that the vehicle had been found by officers of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. And the focus, the focus of the investigation is, we don’t really have much to do with it anymore, and this will be, I’ll only be briefing on the case as it pertains to the crimes committed in our jurisdiction. The hunt for Henry Thompson and his suspected accomplices will be, is being . . . this is Special Agent Willis Tate and he’ll be briefing, answering questions about the, the hunt.
Sheriff Reyes steps aside and a man in his forties steps up to the mikes. He has a slight potbelly and a shiny bald bullet head and wears steel-rimmed glasses and a government suit. He opens his mouth to talk and Rolf mutes the sound.
—This guy. He started showing up last night. Up. Tight. Reyes is cool, like he’s your favorite shop teacher or a mellow uncle. He makes me feel safe. But, dude, this guy makes me feel oppressed, you know? Like, knowing he’s running around with his cronies makes me feel like I’m not even a citizen in this country.
Special Agent Tate speaks into the microphones. He makes a gesture toward Reyes, nods his head, and then turns back to the reporters and starts to read