chapter 79
THE COLUMBUS POLICE department had to release Moon Pie. They had exhausted every technicality that would justify keeping him longer. Although his lawyer looked like an idiot, he actually knew what he was doing.
The search of Moon Pie’s trailer didn’t turn up anything illegal, and there wasn’t any contraband or anything suspicious at the Gold Mine, other than the mounted lion. The police suspected that the mount had been stolen from a local doctor who had endured a bloody public divorce, but it was never reported as stolen, since the doctor had much more important things to worry about during that time.
The Mercedes key tied Moon Pie to Tam’s car, not to a specific person. It was circumstantial. The police knew Moon Pie’s lawyer could argue successfully that Moon Pie simply had a key to a vehicle that was parked in a public area for security purposes, in case a building caught fire and the car needed to be moved. The key did not prove that Moon Pie had ever met, much less worked with, Tam. They knew it was pure bullshit, but it gave him some wiggle room.
“We’ll just have to keep an eye on him,” the Columbus police captain explained. “I’ve got men that I can put on him.”
“That son of a bitch is slick, now,” John Wesley cautioned.
“These fellas are good. Real good.”
John Wesley’s phone vibrated, signaling receipt of a text. Everybody saw a relieved expression as he read it. “My son found his retainer. Those damn things are expensive,” he said with a smile.
Most people don’t consider that police officers have normal lives and sometimes kids and wives—lives trudging inexorably forward without regard to ongoing manhunts. The captain knew that an officer away from home needed those tidbits of familial information to keep him grounded and sane.
The captain chuckled as he stood. “Good. Been there, done that. As to Ethan ‘Moon Pie’ Daniels, I ain’t got a choice. I gotta cut him loose in an hour.”
“Okay, I get it. I understand. Well, then, I guess we’re gonna head back to Jackson and then probably to Biloxi. I’ll keep in touch,” John Wesley explained.
“Don’t ya worry; we got your back up here. We’ll keep a sharp eye on your boy. If we get a lead on that FJ Cruiser, you’ll be the first to know.”