“How much we talking here, Andy?”
His mouth clamped shut and he sniffed. Ray selected which digit to break and Peck writhed and whined.
“Okay. Okay. It was two hundred thousand. A bank check. He asked for cash. We had to make him come back. I don’t keep that much on hand. So he came back, you know, the next day and the check was good. So I cashed it. And he walked right out of there with that money in a cardboard box. Just folded over the top flaps and tucked it under his arm.”
Two hundred thousand? No wonder Kenshaw Little Falcon thought Morgan and her girl needed protection.
“You cleared the check?” asked Ray.
Peck nodded. “Sure did, after the bank in Phoenix cleared the funds.”
How long had this twerp been watching Morgan, Ray wondered.
“Karl went away two months ago. Why now?” asked Ray.
“Because people are asking questions now. They’re after it, the money. So, I thought I’d better get moving. I’d asked Ms. Hooke personally on two separate occasions when she came into the bank if she needed help investing. She declined. Seemed kind of puzzled. I think she’s got it tucked in a mattress or something.” Peck coughed blood and sniffed. “Say, mind if I sit down?”
Ray ignored the request. “What people?”
“A detective from Darabee came back in February, the one that got shot.”
“Eli Casey?”
“Yes, so I figured he was out of the picture. But then a man came right to my church last Sunday morning and right during fellowship hour he asked me if I was the one who cashed the check for Karl in the amount of two hundred thousand dollars. I was so shocked I said, yes.” Peck moved his hand and sniffed. Blood continued to flow down his face and neck. “Can I get a paper towel or some ice?”
“No. Who was he, the one from church?”
“I never saw him before. He didn’t give me his name.”
“You tell him anything else?”
“I may have said that the daughter’s name was Morgan and she worked nights at the tribe’s casino.”
Last Sunday, Ray thought, the day before Kenshaw called him in to watch Morgan.
The sound of sirens reached him, still a ways off. He turned his head and then looked back at Peck, noting the moment he heard the approaching police.
“You called the cops?”
“You’re trespassing on sovereign land.”
“What about our deal?”
“Only deal I’ll make is that if I ever see you on tribal land again, I’ll break this.” He set Peck’s hand on his chest and gave it a little pat. “And, if I see you near Morgan or Lisa Hooke again, I’ll kill you.”
Peck trembled. Somehow the man sensed Ray wasn’t bluffing. He was surprised to recognize that he wasn’t making idle threats. He knew himself capable of killing this man for daring to touch Morgan. Why did this woman rouse every protective instinct in Ray’s body? That question troubled him more than this miserable excuse for a burglar.
And who was the man at the casino asking questions? Ray set his teeth as he realized the threat to Morgan may have only just begun.
Peck’s eyes widened. As Ray stood over him, the bank manager rose to his elbows.
“You want it for yourself. Did you find it already? Is it gone?”
“Yeah. Gone.” Ray made an exploding motion with both hands.
Ray left him to meet the police, passing Morgan and Lisa still sitting in the shabby white Honda with the windows rolled up and fogging. He noticed the gray duct tape securing the driver’s side mirror and shook his head. She needed someone to look after her.
Morgan looked up at him with big wide eyes and in that moment she didn’t look much older than her ten-year-old. He wondered two things simultaneously. How old had she been when she’d had Lisa and who was the bastard who left her all alone?
He gave Morgan a smile as he passed and belatedly noticed he had a bloody hoodie.
He knew the young officer who’d arrived first and directed him to the intruder. The next one he sent to speak to Morgan and Lisa.
“Tell her I’m her neighbor. I live right there.” He pointed at the house behind hers.
“I thought you lived in Pinyon Forks,” said Officer Cox.
“Looking after a friend’s place for a few days while he’s away.”
Ray waited a few minutes for Jack to arrive. It didn’t take long to tell him what he’d learned.
“He might press charges,” said Jack.
Ray shrugged and made a hissing sound of dismissal. “So?”
Jack left it at that. He spoke to Morgan and her girl and oversaw the removal of the crying mess that Andrew Peck had become as his dreams of riches turned to the real possibility of jail time.
Peck went into a police unit and Jack waved Ray over to make introductions. Morgan stood with an arm resting protectively on her daughter’s narrow shoulders. Lisa stayed close and very still, watching them.
“Ms. Hooke, this is an old friend of mine, Ray Strong. Ray and I served together in Iraq. I’m sure you have met him at some point. We were only a year ahead of you in school.”
Jack didn’t mention that Ray had dropped out and had to take his GED in order to join up with Carter, Dylan, Jack and Hatch.
The awkward pause coupled with Jack’s scowl made Ray realize that Jack wanted him to chime in.
“Oh, yeah,” said Ray. “Nice to see you again, Morgan. Long time.” He rubbed his neck and glanced to Jack who lifted his chin as if silently ordering him to continue. Ray hated small talk. “I’m staying in Felix’s place while he’s away.”
Morgan’s expression brightened and she glanced toward her neighbor’s house.
“Felix Potts? He told me he was going to Waco to visit his daughter and the new baby. It’s her third.”
Her voice was musical, like a flute, full of light air and sweet tones.
“Oh, yeah,” said Ray, his skin prickling now. “Isn’t that something?”
Ray’s customary position with women was that they either turned him on or they didn’t. If they did and they liked men with a bad reputation, and a surprising number did like that, then they were off to the races. Now he found himself in the awkward position of having to chat with a woman he had no intention of sleeping with.
He knew enough to stay clear of single mothers for a lot of valid reasons. And beyond that, it was a bad idea to mix work and play.
“He didn’t tell me you’d be watching the place,” said Morgan.
Because Kenshaw had called Potts after he’d left to ask if a fellow Turquoise Guardian could stay in his place. The answer, of course, was yes.
“Well, I’m watching it but he’s helping me out. I lost my place recently so...” He looked to Jack to take over. Because he was terrible at making stuff up. Not at lying, he was very good at lying, convincing to a fault.
Morgan held her smile and she now did look beautiful. The pause stretched and her smile faded.
“Ray is a hotshot,” said Jack. “One of our captains.”
Morgan looked impressed and well she