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Authors: Bill Crider
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where he had an office he seldom used. He bought a Dr Pepper from the machine that no longer dispensed drinks in a glass bottle and went to his office to enjoy the burger.
He soothed the sharp tang of the onion, mustard, and pickles with swallows of Dr Pepper and thought about what he knew and didn’t know about Gary Baty’s demise.
He knew Baty was dead, but he didn’t know who killed him. Had it been hog hunters, the man who’d been in the car with him, or someone else that Rhodes didn’t know about?
Baty was a bank robber. That wasn’t a real surprise to Rhodes. The economy had been bad for four or five years, and there had been a surge in bank robberies all across the country. What made Baty different was that he had partners and men who’d bought plans from him. Had Baty been with one of those men? If he had, what were they doing in Blacklin County?
If they were planning a job, Rhodes thought, there were only a few possible targets, the two banks in Clearview, the one in Thurston, and the one in Obert. Somehow Rhodes didn’t think robbing a bank came into the picture. Otherwise, why kill Baty before the job was done?
Rapinski seemed to believe that the man in the car with Baty had been one of his partners, however, and Rapinski was planning to see if he could catch him. Or that’s what he claimed. Rhodes wondered what Rapinski wasn’t telling him. He knew he wasn’t getting the whole story. Ballinger was right. People like Rapinski never told the truth if they could avoid doing it.
Rhodes finished his hamburger and drank the last of the Dr Pepper. He wadded up the paper bag and tossed it in the trash can. The empty Dr Pepper bottle followed, the plastic making a hollow sound and reminding Rhodes once again how much he missed the glass bottles. There had been a couple of napkins in the bag with the burger, and Rhodes wiped his hands with them before tossing them, too. Then he picked up the phone and called Hack.
Hack answered and said, “Ruth’s here,” when Rhodes asked. “When you called me from Ballinger’s, I got her to come back and do a search on this Baty fella. He got caught on camera robbin’ a bank, and the cops caught up with him. He’s suspected in a bunch of other cases, but nothin’s been proved on those. Believed to’ve planned a bunch of robberies that he didn’t do himself.”
“What about the fingerprints?”
Rhodes had wanted Ruth to check on those just in case Rapinski hadn’t told the truth about the dead man’s identity.
“They’re a match,” Hack said. “Baty’s our victim, all right enough.”
“What about Rapinski?”
“He’s who he says he is. I’ve seen him on TV a couple of times myself. That license of his is real.”
“All right. Have Ruth call the police and the FBI office in Little Rock and let them know their fugitive bank robber is in Blacklin County and won’t be giving them any more trouble.”
“Might get complicated if the FBI’s involved.”
“I doubt it. They’ll be glad to mark him off their list.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Did Ruth find out anything about the hog hunters?”
“Yeah,” Hack said. “She wants to talk to you about that.”
“Have her check the motels, see if Baty stayed in any of them.”
“She’s already done that. He didn’t. You comin’ in?”
“I’m on the way,” Rhodes said.
* * *
“They wouldn’t talk to me,” Ruth said when Rhodes got to the jail.
Rhodes wondered if she’d been taking lessons from Hack and Lawton. “Who wouldn’t talk to you?”
“The Eccles cousins,” Ruth said. “I know they’re the ones who were out hunting hogs last night. I talked to a lot of people, and they all said the same.”
Rhodes had dealt with the Eccles cousins before. They lived outside of town on the road to Obert, and they looked more like brothers than cousins. They were gypsy truckers, doing long-haul jobs for whoever would hire them. In between jobs, their hobby seemed to
He soothed the sharp tang of the onion, mustard, and pickles with swallows of Dr Pepper and thought about what he knew and didn’t know about Gary Baty’s demise.
He knew Baty was dead, but he didn’t know who killed him. Had it been hog hunters, the man who’d been in the car with him, or someone else that Rhodes didn’t know about?
Baty was a bank robber. That wasn’t a real surprise to Rhodes. The economy had been bad for four or five years, and there had been a surge in bank robberies all across the country. What made Baty different was that he had partners and men who’d bought plans from him. Had Baty been with one of those men? If he had, what were they doing in Blacklin County?
If they were planning a job, Rhodes thought, there were only a few possible targets, the two banks in Clearview, the one in Thurston, and the one in Obert. Somehow Rhodes didn’t think robbing a bank came into the picture. Otherwise, why kill Baty before the job was done?
Rapinski seemed to believe that the man in the car with Baty had been one of his partners, however, and Rapinski was planning to see if he could catch him. Or that’s what he claimed. Rhodes wondered what Rapinski wasn’t telling him. He knew he wasn’t getting the whole story. Ballinger was right. People like Rapinski never told the truth if they could avoid doing it.
Rhodes finished his hamburger and drank the last of the Dr Pepper. He wadded up the paper bag and tossed it in the trash can. The empty Dr Pepper bottle followed, the plastic making a hollow sound and reminding Rhodes once again how much he missed the glass bottles. There had been a couple of napkins in the bag with the burger, and Rhodes wiped his hands with them before tossing them, too. Then he picked up the phone and called Hack.
Hack answered and said, “Ruth’s here,” when Rhodes asked. “When you called me from Ballinger’s, I got her to come back and do a search on this Baty fella. He got caught on camera robbin’ a bank, and the cops caught up with him. He’s suspected in a bunch of other cases, but nothin’s been proved on those. Believed to’ve planned a bunch of robberies that he didn’t do himself.”
“What about the fingerprints?”
Rhodes had wanted Ruth to check on those just in case Rapinski hadn’t told the truth about the dead man’s identity.
“They’re a match,” Hack said. “Baty’s our victim, all right enough.”
“What about Rapinski?”
“He’s who he says he is. I’ve seen him on TV a couple of times myself. That license of his is real.”
“All right. Have Ruth call the police and the FBI office in Little Rock and let them know their fugitive bank robber is in Blacklin County and won’t be giving them any more trouble.”
“Might get complicated if the FBI’s involved.”
“I doubt it. They’ll be glad to mark him off their list.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Did Ruth find out anything about the hog hunters?”
“Yeah,” Hack said. “She wants to talk to you about that.”
“Have her check the motels, see if Baty stayed in any of them.”
“She’s already done that. He didn’t. You comin’ in?”
“I’m on the way,” Rhodes said.
* * *
“They wouldn’t talk to me,” Ruth said when Rhodes got to the jail.
Rhodes wondered if she’d been taking lessons from Hack and Lawton. “Who wouldn’t talk to you?”
“The Eccles cousins,” Ruth said. “I know they’re the ones who were out hunting hogs last night. I talked to a lot of people, and they all said the same.”
Rhodes had dealt with the Eccles cousins before. They lived outside of town on the road to Obert, and they looked more like brothers than cousins. They were gypsy truckers, doing long-haul jobs for whoever would hire them. In between jobs, their hobby seemed to
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