CHAPTER
59
IT TOOK PULLER about an hour, but he brought Cole up to speed on most of what he’d learned while he was in D.C. He did tell her about DHS’s interest, but he did not tell her that Drake was being used, essentially, as bait for a possible terrorist cell operating in the area. He didn’t tell her because Cole would be duty-bound to raise the alarm in her locality. Then it would all be over for Mason and his trying to nail the guys communicating in coded Dari.
Still, Puller had been tempted to do just that.
“Would have been nice to know this stuff a long time ago,” complained Cole. “They always play these sorts of games up there?”
“It’s not a game to them. It’s a fence straddle and they’re not sure who to trust.”
“I’d last five seconds up there. I don’t play well with others.”
“You might surprise yourself.”
“No, I might shoot somebody. So where to?”
“Crime scene. Got an idea I thought of on the plane ride back.”
Lan Monroe was just coming out of the Halversons’ residence as they pulled up. An evidence kit was banging against his short leg. He threw up his free hand and smiled as they climbed out of the car.
“Welcome back, Puller,” he said. “Glad to see D.C. didn’t eat you alive.”
Puller looked at Cole and said in a low voice, “You always this discreet with info?”
She looked uncomfortable and said to Monroe, “You finished up in there?”
“Yeah. It’s all ready to be released.”
She nodded and watched him load his gear in his vehicle.
Puller observed the police car parked out in front. He recognized the deputy named Dwayne. As he continued to watch, Dwayne flicked a cigarette butt through the open car window.
“They’re not supposed to smoke on duty but Dwayne is trying hard to quit and he’s a real bastard without his nicotine pop. I know that better than most—”
She stopped talking because Puller had abruptly walked off.
“Hey,” she called out and followed him.
Puller passed between the Halversons’ home and the house next to it. He stopped and eyed the deck built onto the back of the neighbor’s house. It was made of pressure-treated lumber long since grayed from the sun and elements. He looked from the deck to the nearby woods facing it.
Cole caught up to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Having an epiphany.”
“Is this the idea you had on the plane?”
“No, this is the idea I had five seconds ago.”
He eyed the thick glass ashtray that rested on one railing of the deck. It was filled with butts. He wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before.
“Who lives in that house?”
“Old couple by the name of Dougett. George and Rhonda, if I remember correctly. I talked to them before when we were canvassing the neighborhood.”
“Who’s the smoker?”
“He is. When I interviewed them I found out his wife won’t let him do it in the house, hence that ashtray on the deck. So what’s the big deal about the guy being a smoker? You on a one-person bandwagon to reclaim the souls of all us poor dumb cigarette addicts?”
“No. It’s that the ashtray is on a deck that overlooks the woods.” He pointed between the two spots.
Cole looked at where he was pointing. “What are you getting at?”
“How old is Dougett? The guy, I mean.”
“Late seventies. Bad shape. Overweight, pasty, got some kidney problems, or so he told me when I talked to them. He was TMI on his health issues in general. I guess it’s an old person thing. Not enough to fill up their lives otherwise.”
“So that means he’s up at night trying to pee and nothing is coming out. He gets frustrated, can’t sleep, comes out here for a smoke because it’s too hot during the day to do it.”
“Probably. But he also told me he sits in his car during the day with the engine running and the AC on so he can light up. But so what?”
“Are they home now?”
“Car’s in the driveway. They only have the one.”
“Then let’s put my idea to the test.”