The Zoo Crew (Zoo Crew series Book 1) Read online

  "Right," Wise said. Lowered his chin to his chest. Continued to ponder. "Remind me again why you can't take this to the Sheriff?"

  Drake opened his mouth, turned to look at Ava. Didn't have a good answer and knew it.

  "We don't know," he managed. "All we were told was they were involved."

  Wise's face went from pondering to troubled. "You also realize that this is an office full of elected and appointed officials?"

  "We do," Drake said.

  "And that there is an election in three months?"

  Drake forced himself to stare Wise in the eye. "We do."

  "And that if we go accusing the Sheriff of criminal activity, we're all going to be out of a job?"

  "Wouldn't he be the one out of a job in this scenario?" Ava asked.

  Wise raised his eyes. Looked at her.

  "I tell you both what," he said. "Why don't you start in civil court? Get yourself a case together. Find some real evidence. Something to substantiate all these claims. If that works, then you bring this back here."

  The air sucked out of the room.

  Drake felt his jaw drop open. Tilted his head so he could see Ava in his periphery.

  The look on her face was much the same.

  "And then what?" Drake managed.

  "Then you bring it back here, and I myself will handle the case," Wise said.

  Drake continued to look at Ava. Pushed himself to his feet using the arms on his chair.

  "Thank you," Drake said. "That’s a very gracious offer."

  He made no effort to mask the sarcasm in his voice.

  Beside him, Ava stood. They both shook Wise's hand and filed out past the receptionist, who looked smug and giggled.

  Neither one said a word until they got back into the truck. Once inside, Ava smacked the dash repeatedly with the palm of her hand.

  Drake squeezed the steering wheel until he saw little white lights dance before his eyes.

  After several long minutes, he turned the truck on and pulled away. Cut a path across the north end of town.

  "Where the hell we going now?" Ava spat. She pressed herself flat against the seat. Folded her arms over her chest and stared out the window.

  "Back to The Hawthorne," Drake said.

  "Why?"

  "We need to talk to Beth. We have a civil case to file."

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  On the east end of Missoula sits Hellgate Canyon.

  An imposing name if there ever was one.

  The origin of it traces back almost a century and a half, to when Native Americans were the only inhabitants of the region. During that time, the Salish Indians used the pass to get to their bison hunting grounds to the east.

  The narrow passages through the canyon made for an ideal ambush point from their rival Blackfeet tribe.

  Some time later when French traders first passed into the Missoula Valley, they noticed the sheer volume of Salish remains in the canyon. The name was given by them and has stuck ever since.

  On Monday morning, Sheriff Spore was sitting at the base of Hellgate Canyon when the call came in. Not a call over his radio, a call over his cell-phone.

  His special cell-phone.

  "Christ Almighty," he muttered. "The day just started."

  He flipped open the phone and grunted a hello.

  On the opposite end, Yelena read out the license plate number. Told him to run a trace and find it. Fast.

  "You telling me how to do my job?" Sheriff Spore asked.

  "Just find out who it belongs to. Then find him," Yelena spat.

  Sheriff Spore fumed. Exhaled through his nose. "And then what?"

  "And then call Notch."

  The phone went dead a moment later.

  Sheriff Spore flipped it shut. Tossed it onto the seat beside him. It landed with a dull thud and bounced into the hollow of his upturned hat.

  He got on the horn and put out a BOLO - Be On The Lookout - for the license plate number. Changed the channel on his radio and called dispatch. Asked her to trace the plate.

  Sheriff Spore sat and finished the last of his morning coffee. Screwed the cap back onto his thermos before firing up the engine and driving back into town.

  Waited for somebody to get back to him.

  Sharon Talbot, his dispatcher, struck first.

  "Sheriff Spore, this is Dispatch. Over."

  He snapped the radio up and held it to his lips. "Go ahead Sharon. What did you find out?"

  "Truck is registered to a Drake Bell. Nashville, Tennessee."

  Sheriff Spore grunted. The name was familiar. Too familiar.

  "That wouldn't be the same...?" he asked.

  "Very same," Sharon said. She was every bit the Griz football fan he was.

  Great. By every account, Drake Bell had always been a model citizen in the community. Spoke at elementary schools. Took part in Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

  Was also a damn fine ball player.

  "What has he done?" Sharon asked.

  "Um, nothing," Sheriff Spore said. "He's just wanted for questioning as a witness in a matter. His truck was spotted near the scene."

  Sheriff Spore knew as he said it was thin. He hoped Sharon wouldn't press him on it.

  She didn't.

  "Okay," she said. "Anything else?"

  "No ma'am. Thank you."

  Sheriff Spore looped past campus and on through town.

  For two years the arrangement had been perfect. Nobody got hurt. Everybody made money.

  Those damn broads were getting greedy though. Early polls showed the mayor was faring only so well with voters. The odds of her receiving a second term were anything but certain.

  They were looking to make as much money as they could while they still exerted some modicum of power.

  Sheriff Spore snorted at the notion. In truth, the rest of the group combined could run them out of town based on pure power.

  The problems with such an approach were multiple though. For one, they had their hooks into everybody. Deep. Bennett and his alcoholism. Schievers and Harken and their tryst. Tanner and his campaign financing.

  Himself and his gambling.

  The second problem was the money. Everybody in the group had gotten quite used to it. Most of the time they did little to nothing to earn it.

  Now that they had to put forth a little effort, they couldn't very well just back out.

  And of course, there was the problem of Notch.

  On more than one occasion, Sheriff Spore had tried to use his resources to find out who the guy was. Where he came from. What his real name was.

  Nothing.

  In a technology based society, the man had achieved the impossible. He was truly off-the-grid.

  "Sheriff, I've got a visual of the license plate in question," squawked a familiar voice through the radio.

  Sheriff Spore had the mic back up in a flash. "Go ahead Anson."

  "Parked on the curb on West Pine outside the US District Attorney's Office," Anson replied.

  Sheriff Spore released the call button on the mic. Swore out loud.

  They were already going to the prosecutor's. Worse yet, they were going to the federal prosecutor's.

  "How would you like me to proceed?" Anson asked.

  "Fall back," Sheriff Spore said. "I'm a few blocks away and closing now. I'll take it from here."

  "Roger that," Anson said.

  Two minutes later, Sheriff Spore pulled onto West Pine and eased to a stop. He slid into a diagonal parking place and killed the engine.

  Watched the truck for several more minutes. Waited for Bell to walk outside and climb in, a young woman with him.

  Biting back the bile that rose in his throat, he reached over and fished the cell-phone out of his hat. Did the last thing in the world he wanted to.

  He called Notch.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Drake had tunnel vision.

  He hunkered in low behind the steering wheel. Fumed. Tried to put together a plan of action movin
g forward.

  Tried even harder to remember why he went to law school to begin with.

  Across from him, Ava appeared to do the same. Her jaw was set, arms folded across her stomach. She said nothing.

  It only took a few minutes to cross town to The Hawthorne. Traffic was light, most everybody in town at work or school. Drake pulled his truck in beside Rink's aging rig.

  They climbed out and walked inside together. Both had classes and work they were missing at the law school. Neither one cared.

  Together they entered the room to find Kade and Rink watching a movie on HBO. Beth reading a magazine in the armchair. Ella was nowhere to be seen, her bedroom door still shut.

  Sage had left with them the night before. Ajax must have left some time in the morning.

  "You're front tire is a little low," Rink said from the couch. Didn't take his eyes from the television.

  A not-so-subtle way of letting them know he was doing his job. Had seen them coming a long way off.

  "And you look damn good in a skirt," he added for Ava's benefit.

  "We need to talk," Drake said. Ignored the comment from Rink. Aimed his gaze at Beth.

  Beth lowered the magazine from in front of her. Revealed a pair of blue eyes that were twice their normal size. Her lower lip trembled.

  "Something else has happened?"

  "Yes, but not what you think," Ava said.

  Kade muted the television. All three people stared back.

  "District Attorney shot us down," Drake said. "Too afraid of election backlash. Didn’t even hear us out."

  "Do you think..." Beth asked.

  "No," Drake said. "I don't think there was any foul play. Just a spineless bastard."

  "Real chicken shit," Ava added.

  "So what are you going doing to do?" Kade asked.

  Drake and Ava exchanged a look. Sighed. They were still operating fast and loose here, fueled more by anger and disgust than sound logic.

  Drake knew it. Could tell Ava knew it too.

  "Civil court," Drake said. "It's not much, but it's a start."

  "What's the difference?" Beth asked.

  "In short? Nobody goes to jail, but you get paid," Ava said.

  Beth's eyes somehow managed to get a little larger. "But I'm not looking to get paid. At least not beyond what I need to clear my debts. That's not what this was about."

  "Again, it's a foot in the door," Drake said. "If we can uncover some damning evidence and find you a sympathetic jury..."

  "Big money," Kade injected.

  "Well, yeah," Drake said. "But more important, it will force the DA to take on the case."

  "You really think that will work?" Beth asked.

  "It will have to," Ava said.

  Drake looked around the room. There was a bevy of empty food cartons. The bed in the second bedroom was unmade. Either the cleaning lady hadn't been by, or they had turned her away.

  "Let's step into the bedroom," Drake said. "We need to talk."

  "Don't mind us," Kade said. "I could use getting up and walking around for a few minutes."

  "And this window offers the best view of the parking lot," Rink said. "Talk all you want. Just make sure she stays nearby."

  Although he was tasked with looking after Beth, the comment was aimed at the other female in the room.

  Drake pulled out chairs from the dinette set. Thrust one towards Ava, sank into one himself.

  "Alright," Ava started. "The rules of civil court are a little different. Murder, kidnapping, etc. are all criminal offenses. Those have to be brought by the state. What we need is everything you can give us lower than that we can throw at them."

  Drake held up a hand. Twisted it from side to side. "Before that even, why can't we go to the police with this?"

  Beth's face fell blank.

  "Everybody we talk to keeps starting there," he said. "It's a valid question."

  "I already told you, they're involved," Beth said.

  "How do you know?" Ava pressed. "Did you see them? Talk to them? What are they doing?"

  "I don't know," Beth said. She raised her hands as if to exaggerate the point. "All I know is one day while I was working the kitchen, I heard the lady in charge talk about getting that 'damn lazy Sheriff' out to take care of something."

  Drake and Ava exchanged glances.

  "But you never saw him or anything?" Drake asked.

  "Didn't have to," Beth said. "They weren't the kind to ever call the law. If they wanted him to take care of something, it meant he was on their side."

  Drake muttered under his breath. Ava shook her head in disgust. Mumbled something derogatory about Montana.

  For a moment Drake considered retorting about the corruption in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina. Decided to let it go. Not the venue for a back and forth.

  "So what about the contract?" Drake asked. "Do you have a copy of it?"

  "No," Beth said. Shook his head. "The lawyer kept the only one."

  "Who's the lawyer?" Ava asked.

  "Something Bennett," Beth said. "The other girls said he did theirs as well."

  "The guy from the hearing," Drake said.

  Ava nodded.

  That much made sense. It bore to reason that the Children's Services worker they'd seen was also involved.

  A cannonball dropped down until it settled in Drake's stomach. Remained lodged there for several long seconds.

  "You ever hear anything about a judge being involved?" he asked.

  Three heads turned to stare at him. Rink kept his focus leveled on the parking lot outside.

  "A judge?" Ava asked.

  "I mean, the lawyer and the CS worker there were both involved. What if Judge Tanner was too?"

  Ava's eyes slid closed. "Which would make filing a civil case completely moot."

  "Yup," Drake agreed. Made a grim expression. Bobbed his head.

  What little bit of color there was drained from Beth's face. "So what does that mean?"

  Drake opened his mouth to try and reply. Never got the chance.

  Rink sprung to his feet. Drew back the curtain to cover the few exposed inches of window. "Never mind that. Right now we have to move."

  Four mouths dropped open at once.

  "What's happened?" Drake asked.

  "The Sheriff just pulled into the parking lot. They know we're here."

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Rink took control. In a span of one minute he transitioned from a North Woods hillbilly to a drill sergeant barking orders.

  Nobody made the slightest effort to contest him. He'd grown up fast as a single-parent Army brat. Knew what he was doing.

  "Alright, here's how it's going to go," he said. "This is the first we've seen of them, so I'm guessing they followed you back here. If they know we're here, they know Beth is with us. Maybe Ella too.

  "We're going to split into three groups. Ava, you're with Drake. You two go first, walk as natural as you can into the parking lot. Get in your truck, go on about your day. Play it as cool as possible.

  "Kade, stay with Ella. Right now she's still asleep. Leave her that way. Maybe they don't know she's here. Maybe they don't care. We'll wait them out to see.

  "Beth, you're with me. We'll wait a few minutes after they leave to see if the Sheriff follows. Then we'll bounce. Find a new place to hole up. Get everything you have together, but leave it all here with Kade. If somebody else is watching, we'll want it to look like we're just stepping out for a minute."

  Every head in the room nodded. For a fleeting moment, Ava looked almost impressed.

  It passed quickly.

  "Wait," Drake said, weighed Rink's instructions. "Kade, you go with Beth."

  Rink held up a hand in objection. "I thought you wanted me to watch her."

  "I do," Drake said. "But right now nobody knows you're here. I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, if Kade takes her up to the rez..."

  "Sheriff has no jurisdiction," Ava finished. Looked impressed for the second time i
n as many minutes.

  Rink nodded. Checked the window again. Saw that the Sheriff had settled into the back of the parking lot. Remained seated in his cruiser.

  Either he was watching them, or he was calling in reinforcements.

  "Go now," Rink said. "Before he has backup here. Force him to make a choice. Keep a sharp eye out, call me if you see anything."

  Drake nodded. Opened the door for Ava to leave.

  Side by side they walked out into the bright midday light. Drake did his best to look natural. Ava was rigid.

  "What's your favorite part of Montana so far?" Drake asked.

  Ava's face twisted into a sour look. "What?"

  "What's your favorite part of Montana so far?" Drake repeated.

  "What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Ava snapped.

  "Rink said to look natural. Right now you're uptight as hell, even for you."

  Lightning quick, Ava reached out and smacked his shoulder. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

  Drake made a show of recoiling. Forced a laugh. "See, that's better. Much more you."

  Ava's face went from incredulous to a half smile. Her shoulders slumped. She feigned another slap, but pulled back. "Damn it. You're right. And who says I like anything about Montana?"

  Drake climbed into the truck, forced himself not to stare into the rearview mirror. Started it up and pulled away. "Oh come on, this has to be more exciting than anything going on in NOLA."

  Ava gave him a surprised look. Said nothing.

  "What?" Drake asked. Pulled back onto Broadway. Allowed himself a first glance into the mirror.

  The Sheriff stayed parked in the rear of the lot.

  "Just surprised to hear you refer to New Orleans as NOLA, though LSU is in Baton Rouge."

  "I know that. We had a discussion about Death Valley on Saturday nights, remember?"

  "We did," Ava said. Looked into her own rearview mirror. "Anything?"

  "No, which is a bad thing."

  "It is?" Ava asked. Eyes never left the mirror.

  "I'd rather have them follow us than Beth, wouldn't you?"

  Again Ava muttered under her breath. "Good point. Let's hope Rink is as good as you seem to think he is."

  "He seemed pretty put together back there, wouldn't you say?"

  Ava gave a begrudging shake of her head. "Yea, he did."