Page 60 of Hudson
Luther shook his head. “Not for a good while. He came through here about a year ago wanting money. Man owns a truck dealership and he’s asking me for money.” He said it like it still irritated him. “Said he was drowning in debt. I didn’t buy it. I knew he was into something.”
“He didn’t say what?”
“No. What was he doing?”
“Livestock theft. Cattle, primarily, across multiple counties.”
Luther exhaled. “Doesn’t surprise me. Harold burns through money faster than he makes it. Always has. No matter how much he’s got it’s never enough.”
“He got his son killed,” Hud said quietly.
Luther looked at him for a long moment, then satdown like the air had gone out of him. “I didn’t know that.” He shook his head. “Damn him.”
“What about your sons? Any chance they were involved?”
Luther looked up sharply. “No. Absolutely not. Both of them straightened out about two years ago. Married, working, taking care of their families. I’ll give you their addresses and you can talk to them yourself. I’ve got nothing to hide and neither do they.”
“We’d appreciate that.”
Luther wrote out the addresses and handed them over.
“We were told White had cousins here. Plural.”
“No. That’s not right, unless you’re counting my boys, but they’re not close to Harold.”
Hud thanked him and they left.
A little while later the three of them sat in Hud’s motel room, each with a sheet of paper, the case spread across the small table between them.
“After talking with them I don’t think Conroy’s boys were involved,” Creed said.
“Neither do I.” Hud tossed his copy onto the table. “Which puts us right back where we were. White and Fitch are still out there and if they make it across that border we’re going to have a hell of a time getting them back.”
“The tire shop angle keeps bothering me,” Luke said. “Big Sky Tires closes up right in the middle of all this, along with the warehouse next door being cleared out. That’s not a coincidence. The way I see it they were pulling the tires off the stolen rigs, storing them in the warehouse until they could be disposed of, then putting new ones on with a different tread pattern. Three times over. And if White was losing money despite owning a Peterbilt dealership and twoother properties, maybe he stopped at Conroy’s to feel him out. See if he’d come in on it. White’s been at this a while, so it’s no stretch he was running the same operation last year.”
“That’s my read too,” Hud said. “And whoever was working that tire shop had to be in on it. Nobody pulls perfectly good tires off a rig without asking questions unless they already know the answers. Rawley was looking into him when he got shot.”
Creed nodded. “We need to find him.”
“Which means a trip to Autumn Falls.” Hud pulled out his phone. “I need to call Dave first. It’s nearly four hours from here and I want his sign off before we change course.”
****
Blair stood in the exam room with her file open, asking questions and jotting down answers. She set it on the counter and lifted her stethoscope.
“I need to take your blood pressure, Ms. Barnes.”
“Then do it. I don’t have all day.”
Blair kept her expression neutral. Ms. Barnes was a character, rough edged and completely unbothered by what came out of her mouth. The first time Blair had met her she’d been caught off guard. Now she just appreciated the woman’s consistency.
“Yes, ma’am.” She wrapped the cuff around the woman’s arm and positioned the stethoscope. “Please don’t talk while I do this.”
“Are you telling me to shut up?”
Blair lowered the cuff and looked at her. “I’m telling you that talking during a blood pressure reading can affect the result. So please, Ms. Barnes. Just for a moment.”
The woman stared at her, then gave a short nod.
