“Can’t say I’ve heard of it. But what are you doing all wrapped up with them?”
“I’d rather not tell you why just now, Tom. I’m just doing a favor for a friend.”
“That’s becoming kind of a second career with you, isn’t it?” It was a friend of his who was killed that had started him on the Gstaad Group case. “I hope you understand what’s at stake here, Ty. There’s a lot of big things in the works. Not just here, but internationally. You share in all that, if you remember, Ty. I brought you in as a partner quicker than anybody.”
“I know that, Tom. And you know I appreciate it. I just need a bit more time.”
“I thought that’s exactly what we’ve given you these past two plus months … Time.”
“You know I put my salary on hold, Tom. I’m not taking a nickel. Just bear with me a little longer.”
“You have to make a choice, son. I know the money thing isn’t what gets you, but there’s an awful lot of it at play here. And I know you don’t relish the role of being in the limelight either. But whatever it is you’re doing out there, it can’t be worth what’s on the table here. Get on a plane and come on back. Hell, I’ll send one out for you. Say tomorrow …”
“Just tell me whatever you can on Alpha, Tom. And thanks for hanging in there with me. I appreciate it.”
“I don’t want you to appreciate it, Ty … I want you to earn it. When this is over, and I hope it’s quick, I’m looking forward to seeing you back here.”
“Soon, Tom.” Hauck climbed out of bed. “I promise. Soon.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Hauck knocked on Dani’s door and she answered through the crack. She was in a T-shirt and panties and her hair was messed.
He said, “You want to come along so bad, come on.”
“Come on where …?”
“I got an address for Jen Keeler. I’m going to have a little breakfast and then head over.”
“So we’re staying …?”
“One more day.”
“Give me fifteen minutes to shower and get ready and I’ll be there,” she replied, excited.
“Ten,” Hauck said, backing down the hallway toward the lobby. “I eat quick.”
Half an hour later, Hauck having finished a cereal with some syrup and a banana, and Dani taking a yogurt and granola in the car, they headed into Greeley.
The Weld County Open Range Initiative wasn’t situated in some fancy office complex like RMM and Alpha. It was a storefront in a strip mall, between a pawnshop and a package store. And despite the big-sounding name, the office was tiny. There were a couple of desks. Posters and newspaper clippings on the walls. A young gal with red-and-green-dyed hair, big glasses, and tattoos running down her arm was manning the front desk, sorting papers from the copy machine. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see Jen Keeler?” Hauck said.
“Is she expecting you?”
“No, she’s not.”
The girl looked at them warily. “You’re not with the CSRC, are you?”
“The CSRC?”
“The state regulatory council. They come around here twice a year, get taken out to a steak dinner by the oil companies, and basically rubber-stamp their safety forms. There’s a group in the area now.”
“Do I look like I’m with the CSRC? We’re actually here about Charles Watkins.”
“Oh …” The girl put down her stack of papers. “We were so sorry to hear about that. And sorry for the third degree, as well. We get a lot of cranks and rabble-rousers in here who want to close us down. Or upset the townsfolk about us.”
“No worries. His daughter Kelli told us to stop in. Tell her my name’s Hauck.”
Jen Keeler was tall, thin, boyish in shape, her shoulder-length blond hair in a ponytail, a red shirt worn out of her jeans. There was kind of a look in her eye, a glint of determination that said that while her office and staff might be small, her energy and commitment were high, and she was not a person to be trifled with.
“You from the press, Mr. Hauck?” she asked, as they sat in front of her brief-filled desk. “Monica said this was concerning Charles Watkins.”
“Friends.” He shook his head. “Actually friends of his son, Trey. Or Dani was. He died in a rafting accident last Thursday in Aspen.”
“I know about it.” Jen nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“I saw you at the funeral Wednesday,” Dani said.
“I was there.” Jen shrugged. “I didn’t know Chuck’s son. I’ve only known him for just a few months. But it’s clearly had an effect. It’s kind of derailed everything.”
“Derailed …?” Hauck asked.
Jen put down a paper. “What’s your interest here, Mr. Hauck? As I said, I didn’t know Chuck’s son. It’s a terrible thing to happen on any level, but it was damn poor timing for us here. It’s hard enough just to take small steps forward, and then something tragic happens like that, and sets it all back. It’s kind of how things work here.”
“Watkins’s daughter Kelli suggested we talk with you.”
“Kelli did?”
“She thought you could explain some things to us. Like why a lot of the town had turned against her father. What sort of business did you have with Mr. Watkins, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She looked back at him. “I’m actually thinking that’s more like the question I ought to pose back to you, Mr. Hauck.”
“Dani here is from Carbondale, Ms. Keeler. She was a rafting friend of Trey’s. She was actually the person who found him. He was killed at a spot that should have been a cakewalk for a person of his ability level. So we were kind of thinking, and there’s a growing stack of evidence to back this up, that maybe what happened to Trey up there wasn’t much of an accident at all.”
“I see.” The lawyer stared back at them, sizing them up. Hauck noticed a gleam in her eye, that she understood precisely what he meant. “Monica, hold any calls,” she called out to the front room. “Mr. Hauck, Dani, why don’t we step into the conference room?”