Page 64 of Ultimate Justice

“I’m working a missing children’s case.” He pocketed his creds. “There may be a Wyoming connection. I’d like to pick your brain on a few things.”

Browning waved Evan through. He followed the sergeant down a gray hallway and into a small office. The radio on the credenza behind the desk crackled with routine patrol calls. Browning indicated a folding metal chair next to the desk. “Pick away.”

He wasn’t sure how much to reveal. Even in a landlocked state, loose lips had sunk many a ship. He dug out Manello’s BOLO printout. “Have you seen this guy around?”

Browning took the printout and shook his head. “No, but I have seen this BOLO. It came over the wire about a week ago.” He handed the sheet back to Evan.

“Have any children gone missing from your jurisdiction in the last few years? Including runaways?”

Browning scratched his chin. “We do have a few runaways here and there, but they always come home. Had a kidnapping last year, but the father turned out to be the culprit. Grabbed his daughter, took her to Mexico. We got the kid back.”

Interesting. Could be the camp ringleaders were smart enough not to arouse local suspicion by poaching in their own backyard. “Do you know the owners of the gated farm at the end of Painted Sky Road?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Never met ’em. Not sure anyone in this department actually has.”

“How long have they owned that property?”

“About twenty-five years now.”

“You looked it up?”

“Yep.” He nodded. “At least twenty years ago. I remember because it was one of my first cases. A couple of guys in a bar were bragging about working on a pot farm out there, so we looked into it.”

Evan leaned in. “And?”

“And nothing. We couldn’t get on the property and couldn’t prove a thing.”

“Did you do any flyovers?”

“Nah.” He shrugged. “With everything else going on in the city, it wasn’t worth our time or the money it takes to put a bird in the air.”

“What about the two guys in the bar, did you interview them?”

“Tried to. They up and disappeared before we could talk to them. They didn’t have any family in town, so we let it go and closed out the case. No witnesses, no case.”

“Have you heard of anyone named Evelyn or Adama associated with that farm?” Browning shook his head. “John and Margaret?”

“Nope.”

The probable cause he’d been hoping to squeeze from the sergeant was slipping from slim to none. “Are there a lot of llama farms in the area?”

“Sure are. In the last ten years, three new ones opened up just outside Cheyenne. Tourists love ’em, and they love buying a genuine”—Browning hooked his fingers into quotation marks—“Wyoming llama sweater. My wife got me one for Christmas. Darned thing itched so much I nearly scratched the skin off my bones.”

Evan understood why the PD hadn’t pursued the case. They had an entire city to protect. But he wasn’t about to leave any stone unturned. “Do you still have pedigree information on those two guys who disappeared?”

“You bet.” He tapped on his keyboard for a few minutes, then flipped the screen around for Evan to see. “Once they disappeared, so did the rumors. Something I should know about?”

How convenient. Too convenient, in Evan’s book. “Not yet.”

Pedro Cordova and Harrison Grimes. He snapped a shot of the screen, making sure to include both men’s DOBs and social security numbers. Workers were the best source of information about their place of work. If anyone could find them, it would be Sammy.

“Thanks for your help.” In reality, Browning hadn’t added much to Evan’s case.

After shaking hands, he followed the sergeant back to the lobby.

Browning handed him a business card. “Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else or if there’s something I should be aware of.”

“Will do.” He pocketed the card and reciprocated with one of his own. He was about to leave, when something else occurred to him. “Do you know anyone who currently works at the farm on Painted Sky Road?”