Chapter Six
As they rode back toward the motel, Hud’s stomach announced itself loud enough that Creed heard it from the passenger seat.
“Hungry?” Creed grinned.
“Aren’t you?”
“Starving, actually.” Creed stretched his arms overhead and settled back. “Once we get to the rooms, I’ll find something that delivers. Has to be more than pizza around here.”
“I could go for a burger. Won’t be anything like Connie’s, but a good greasy one sounds about right after a day like this.”
“That it does.” Creed glanced at his phone. “I want to call Abbie first, then we’ll sort it out.”
“Take your time. Tell her I said hello.”
The truck hummed along the road.
“You going to call Blair?” Creed asked, not looking up.
Hud glanced over, then back to the road. “No. Ball’s in her court.”
“Uh huh.” Creed’s tone said everything his words didn’t.
“I’m aware whose fault it is.”
“You pushed too hard, too fast, then walked off like she was the problem.” Creed shook his head. “Just call her. Tell her you were out of line.”
“She knows I was out of line. That’s why she’s not calling.” Hud’s jaw tightened. “I told her to reach out when she was ready. I’m standing by that.”
“That’s not principle, Hud. That’s pride.”
Hud didn’t answer.
Creed laughed softly and let it go, which was the thing Hud both appreciated and found mildly irritating about him. Knew when to push, knew when to quit.
Hud stared at the road. He’d handled it wrong, he knew that.
One date with a woman like Blair and he’d gotten ahead of himself, and when she’d made her feelings plain he hadn’t responded with much grace.
Just told her to call when she was ready and walked away with his pride intact and nothing else to show for it.
He wanted to see her again. That part was simple. The rest he was still working out.
Back at the motel he hung his hat on the chair back and headed straight for the shower, cranking it hot.
He stood under it until the road weariness began to loosen from his shoulders, then toweled off and pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt.
He ran a hand through his damp hair and called it good enough.
He was at the desk pulling up Rawley’s files when Creed knocked twice and Hud let him in.
“Firehouse Bar and Grill delivers,” Creed said, dropping into the chair across from him. “Burgers, wings, the works. What do you want?”
“Double patty, cheddar, no onions. Fries.”
“Done.” Creed tapped at his phone, placed the order and set it on the table. He leaned back with the easy expression of a man who had already said his piece and was in no hurry to repeat it. “Abbie says hi, by the way.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Good.” A quieter smile, the kind that carried something underneath it. “She had her checkup today. Everything looks good.”
Hud nodded. He knew what that meant to Creed, even if neither of them would say it out loud. “That’s real good news.”
“Yeah.” Creed cleared his throat. “Did you decide to call Blair tonight?”
“No.”
Creed looked at him a moment, then let it go. “Let’s go over what Rawley had on White while we wait.”
He pulled his chair around and reached for his copy of the notes.
They worked through everything Rawley had compiled on White while they waited for the food. It wasn’t much. A few known associates, an address outside Sunburst that was likely outdated, and a note in Rawley’s handwriting that said simply: slippery.
A knock at the door brought the delivery. They ate at the table, going back through the notes between bites.
“That about covers it,” Creed said, wadding up his napkin.
“Rawley wasn’t wrong.” Hud reached for his fries. “He’s managed to stay just far enough back from all of it to keep his hands clean on paper.”
“Just means we can’t prove it yet.”
“Yet.” Hud nodded.
The drive back to Clifton was a little over two hours on a good day. Today, the roads were wet from overnight rain, and they settled into an easy highway pace, no reason to push it.
“What are you going to tell Dave?” Creed asked after a while.
“The truth. We talked to White’s ex, confirmed he’s running, and we’ve got reason to believe he’s heading for the border.” Hud watched a hawk lift off a fence post as they passed. “What we don’t have is anything solid enough to act on yet. Just Roby’s word and I don’t trust that son of a bitch.”
“Dave’s not going to love that.”
“No. But he’ll appreciate that we’re not spinning our wheels when the trail’s pointing north.” Hud took a pull of his coffee. “I want to get up to Sunburst. Sooner rather than later.”
“You think White’s already across?”
Hud considered it. “If he was going to cross clean and quiet he’d have done it already.
Something’s holding him up.” He drummed his fingers on the wheel.
“Could be he’s waiting on his brother. I don’t think he’s moving cattle anymore.
I think he already sold them. We just have to find him, arrest him and work backwards from there. ”
They rode in silence for a stretch, the highway unspooling through wide open rangeland, grass still winter pale and flat under the gray sky. Scattered herds dotted the hillsides, black cattle standing motionless against the brown earth.
“Rawley’s going to hate sitting this out,” Creed said.
Hud smiled despite himself. “Already does. You should’ve seen his face when I told him we were taking over.”
“Grateful and miserable at the same time.”
“That’s about right.” Hud shook his head. “He’ll be back in the field before the doctor clears him if we’re not careful.”
“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
The clouds were beginning to break up by the time the Clifton water tower appeared on the horizon, pale sky showing through in patches. Hud finished the last of his cold coffee and thought about what he was going to tell Dave.
Not enough. That was the honest answer. They had direction but no destination, suspicion but no proof, and a man who’d already shown he was willing to do whatever it took to stay ahead of them.
But they were closer than they’d been yesterday. That counted for something.
The courthouse sat on the square, solid brick, older than anyone working inside it. Hud found a spot in the lot, and they walked up the steps and through the front doors.
They pulled open the glass door to the livestock department and entered. A couple of agents were at their desks, heads down, phones going, the usual morning hum. A few looked up and nodded as Hud and Creed came through. Someone had made a fresh pot of coffee and the smell of it filled the room.
Dave’s office was visible from the door, glass on three sides, the man himself behind his desk with a phone pressed to his ear and the expression of someone receiving news he hadn’t asked for. He saw them come in, held up a finger and kept talking.
Hud poured himself a coffee, topped off Creed’s, and they waited near Dave’s door until he set the phone down and waved them in.
Dave had the unhurried manner of a man who had learned long ago that impatience was a luxury he couldn’t afford. He’d been running this office for years, and not much rattled him, which was either reassuring or unnerving depending on what you were walking in to tell him.
He leaned back and looked at them both. “Tell me something good.”
“We confirmed White’s running,” Hud said. “His ex-wife didn’t say it outright, but she didn’t have to. She went quiet in the right places.”
“She held something back too,” Creed added.
“Any idea what?”
“Not yet. Could be she knows who else is involved and she’s protecting herself.” Hud settled into the chair across from Dave. “Could be she’s just scared. Either way I don’t think we’ve gotten everything she knows.”
Dave nodded slowly. “The border?”
“Rawley’s notes had White connected to a relative ranching near Sunburst. That’s where he’s heading.” Hud leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “We need to get up there, Dave. Talk to the locals, check the ports of entry, see if anyone’s spotted him.”
“I spoke with Saunders. He told me White’s businesses are all empty.”
Hud shook his head. “He’s already sold the cattle and cut loose.
No trucks to track, no livestock to follow.
We know he destroyed three of his Peterbilt trucks after the transport, but we have no idea where they went.
Right now, he’s just a man in a vehicle trying to reach the border before we catch up. ”
“Which means he had time to plan this,” Dave said.
“Yes, sir. This wasn’t a panic run. He knew things were closing in and got his affairs in order before he left.” Hud set his coffee down and slid a slip of paper across the desk. “Last name of the woman he was seeing in Autumn Falls. It’s all Mrs. Whittingham could remember.”
Dave took it, leaned back and looked at them both. “I’ll get you rooms in Sunburst. Once I track down this woman I’ll be in touch.”
They walked back through the office, Creed stopping at his desk to check messages while Hud poured a fresh coffee and stood at the window looking out over the square.
A couple of old men were on the bench near the veterans monument the way they always were, hats pulled low, probably solving problems nobody had asked them to solve.
He thought about Rawley sitting at home, grounded, working through the same files they were working through and probably driving Skylar half-crazy with it.
He pulled out his phone and dialed.
Rawley picked up on the second ring. “Tell me you’ve got something.”
“We talked to White’s ex-wife. She confirmed he’s running without actually saying it.” Hud leaned against the window frame. “How did you connect Fitch?”
“Claims records going back three years. Once I started pulling the ones that didn’t add up, his name kept showing up on the adjustments. Too consistent to be coincidence.” A pause. “Is he gone too?”
“Cleaned out.”
Rawley was quiet for a moment. “I should’ve moved faster on him.”
“You got shot, Rawley.”
“Before that.”