don’t give a damn about any of that,” said Nick. “All I care about is helping Melissa find her daughter.”
Leon fidgeted in his chair.
“You saw something the night Eddie was killed, didn’t you, Leon? You saw something, and it scared the hell out of you.”
“I keep to myself, hoss. Mind my own business.”
“Back at the house, you thought I was someone else.”
“You snuck up on me! I panicked, that’s all. Thought you mighta been one of Sheriff Mackey’s men.”
“You’re lying.”
“Nope.”
“I’m asking for your help, Leon. You’d tell me the truth, if you were half the ’Maker fan you claim to be.”
“Dude! That ain’t playin’ fair!”
Nick couldn’t resist: “I always did hit below the belt.”
“Okay!” Leon sank in his chair. “I seen ’em! I seen ’em, but I didn’t say nothin’ ’cause I was scared I’d end up like Eddie!”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I was out in the pasture, lookin’ for ’shrooms. Fella I know told me that could be a lucrative gig, diggin’ through cowshit, sellin’ what you find. This musta been ’round one-thirty in the mornin’. All of a sudden, I heard tires squealin’. Car doors slammin’. Buncha cussin’ and shoutin’. I snuck through the woods to see what was goin’ on...and that’s when I heard the shotgun blast.”
“Go on.”
“Four of ’em came out of the house. Two big bastards—like, your size, almost—and two smaller ones. They had Melissa’s kid.”
“And then?”
“They threw her in the back of their car, took off.”
“She was struggling, trying to get away?”
“Oh, she put up a hell of a fight. She got one of the big dudes good, clawed him in the face.”
“Would you recognize these guys if you saw them again?”
“It was dark. They was wearin’ suits and ties, I think. But no, I couldn’t make out their faces.”
“What kind of car was it?”
“Somethin’ fancy-lookin’. Black. Or maybe blue.”
“That narrows it down.”
Leon snickered, but his laugh turned into a choking sound in the back of his throat when he realized his hero wasn’t trying to be funny.
“The cops think Sophie killed him,” Nick said.
“I heard about that.”
“But you never told them what you witnessed.”
Leon started scratching furiously at his left nipple. “Like I said, I was scared they’d come after me if I started blabbin’ about what I’d seen. Them guys looked like mobsters or somethin’, kinda dudes who’d just as soon put you in a pair of concrete boots and dump you in the Snake River as look at ya. On top of that, me and the fuzz ain’t exactly the best of friends.”
“That’s a shock.”
“I reckon I shoulda called somebody, but—”
“You’re damn right, you should have. I can’t believe it’s been three weeks and you’ve kept this to yourself the whole time?”
“I’m sorry,” Leon whined. He murmured something to himself that the big man couldn’t hear. A prayer, perhaps.
Nick took a deep breath, let it out slowly.
“I’ll do anything I can to make it up to you, man, I sw—”
“Shut up a minute. Lemme think.”
“I’ll help you find her.”
“I said shut up.”
Leon mimed zipping his lips shut.
Finally, Nick calmed himself. He took another deep breath. “Say you’ll do anything?”
“S-Sure, man. Whatever you need!”
“Give me a number where I can reach you over the next few days.”
“Uhh...that might be a problem, hoss. I don’t have a phone. I used to. But I was tweakin’ one night, took it apart. Afterwards I couldn’t figure out how to put it back together.”
Nick rubbed at his temples. “Jesus Christ.”
When his hero finally stood, Leon looked relieved, as if he could barely believe he had survived this exchange.
“You takin’ off?”
“Gonna head back to my motel room, touch base with Melissa. Probably need to have a chat with the local law as well.”
“You gonna tell them what I told you? About what I seen that
Leon fidgeted in his chair.
“You saw something the night Eddie was killed, didn’t you, Leon? You saw something, and it scared the hell out of you.”
“I keep to myself, hoss. Mind my own business.”
“Back at the house, you thought I was someone else.”
“You snuck up on me! I panicked, that’s all. Thought you mighta been one of Sheriff Mackey’s men.”
“You’re lying.”
“Nope.”
“I’m asking for your help, Leon. You’d tell me the truth, if you were half the ’Maker fan you claim to be.”
“Dude! That ain’t playin’ fair!”
Nick couldn’t resist: “I always did hit below the belt.”
“Okay!” Leon sank in his chair. “I seen ’em! I seen ’em, but I didn’t say nothin’ ’cause I was scared I’d end up like Eddie!”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I was out in the pasture, lookin’ for ’shrooms. Fella I know told me that could be a lucrative gig, diggin’ through cowshit, sellin’ what you find. This musta been ’round one-thirty in the mornin’. All of a sudden, I heard tires squealin’. Car doors slammin’. Buncha cussin’ and shoutin’. I snuck through the woods to see what was goin’ on...and that’s when I heard the shotgun blast.”
“Go on.”
“Four of ’em came out of the house. Two big bastards—like, your size, almost—and two smaller ones. They had Melissa’s kid.”
“And then?”
“They threw her in the back of their car, took off.”
“She was struggling, trying to get away?”
“Oh, she put up a hell of a fight. She got one of the big dudes good, clawed him in the face.”
“Would you recognize these guys if you saw them again?”
“It was dark. They was wearin’ suits and ties, I think. But no, I couldn’t make out their faces.”
“What kind of car was it?”
“Somethin’ fancy-lookin’. Black. Or maybe blue.”
“That narrows it down.”
Leon snickered, but his laugh turned into a choking sound in the back of his throat when he realized his hero wasn’t trying to be funny.
“The cops think Sophie killed him,” Nick said.
“I heard about that.”
“But you never told them what you witnessed.”
Leon started scratching furiously at his left nipple. “Like I said, I was scared they’d come after me if I started blabbin’ about what I’d seen. Them guys looked like mobsters or somethin’, kinda dudes who’d just as soon put you in a pair of concrete boots and dump you in the Snake River as look at ya. On top of that, me and the fuzz ain’t exactly the best of friends.”
“That’s a shock.”
“I reckon I shoulda called somebody, but—”
“You’re damn right, you should have. I can’t believe it’s been three weeks and you’ve kept this to yourself the whole time?”
“I’m sorry,” Leon whined. He murmured something to himself that the big man couldn’t hear. A prayer, perhaps.
Nick took a deep breath, let it out slowly.
“I’ll do anything I can to make it up to you, man, I sw—”
“Shut up a minute. Lemme think.”
“I’ll help you find her.”
“I said shut up.”
Leon mimed zipping his lips shut.
Finally, Nick calmed himself. He took another deep breath. “Say you’ll do anything?”
“S-Sure, man. Whatever you need!”
“Give me a number where I can reach you over the next few days.”
“Uhh...that might be a problem, hoss. I don’t have a phone. I used to. But I was tweakin’ one night, took it apart. Afterwards I couldn’t figure out how to put it back together.”
Nick rubbed at his temples. “Jesus Christ.”
When his hero finally stood, Leon looked relieved, as if he could barely believe he had survived this exchange.
“You takin’ off?”
“Gonna head back to my motel room, touch base with Melissa. Probably need to have a chat with the local law as well.”
“You gonna tell them what I told you? About what I seen that
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