While curious motorists crawled by in the opposing lane, Deputy James clicked pics, and the other deputies combed the area. Hank wasn’t optimistic, but he took a second look at a set of skid marks.
“There we go,” Hank said. “I think I’ve got something here. Skid marks.”
“How can you tell?” Agatha asked.
“See the continuous line of rubber left on the road?” Hank pointed.
“Sure,” Agatha said.
“Now see where the line stops for about a foot and then starts up again?”
“Oh,” Agatha said, understanding the space was where the body had gotten stuck.
“Good thing he was dead first,” Hazel said. “Otherwise that would’ve hurt real bad.”
“Okay,” Coil said. “We’ve got a point of origin. Hazel, can you show us the locations of the men and the hearse from here?”
“I’ll try,” she said.
On Hazel’s instructions, Springer laid down markers so everyone could get a clearer picture.
The heat was brutal, and Hank wished he’d thought to bring a bottle of water with him. The pavement was steaming and the scent of asphalt was nauseating. Little spots were dancing in front of his eyes, and he leaned against the truck when his knees started getting weak.
“You okay?” Agatha asked.
“Yeah,” Hank said. “Just hot.”
“Summer hasn’t even started yet,” Agatha said. “That Yankee skin will eventually toughen up.”
“Thanks,” Hank said. “Very helpful.”
“It’s been a long morning,” she said. “You’ll feel better once we get something to eat.”
“Got it,” Lieutenant Rodriguez said. “Hearse skid marks.”
Hank stood upright, and he and Agatha walked to Rodriguez.
“Yikes,” Rodriguez said, “You don’t look so good. I didn’t realize a person could get that pale. Give it another ten years or so, and you’ll get used to the heat.”
“Everyone’s a comedian today,” Hank said. He looked down to give his eyes a break from the bouncing glare of the sun, and something glinted in his periphery. He walked over and saw the brass half buried in the roadside dirt. It was a bullet casing. From the size of it, possibly a 9mm semiautomatic.
“Hank?” Coil called out.
“Yeah?” Hank asked.
“You’ve been staring at the ground a long time. You about to fall over, or did you find buried treasure?”
“Both,” Hank said. “Grab an evidence bag.”
Coil handed him a bottle of water and bent down to look where Hank was pointing.
“Is that a bullet casing?” Coil asked.
“Dollars to donuts,” Hank said. “What are the odds?”
“Maybe our luck is changing,” Coil said. He placed his ink pen inside the brass casing so he wouldn’t contaminate potential fingerprints before dropping it into an evidence bag.
“I got blood, I got blood,” Patsy called out, bouncing in her thick-soled shoes.
“You sure, Pats?” Hank asked.
Patsy put her hands on her hips and glared at Hank. “I know blood when I see it. I took an online class.”
Hank looked down at the spot on the road where Patsy was pointing, and he was pleasantly surprised to see Patsy’s online class had paid off. How it had survived the traffic was a miracle, but so was the fact that his sisters had survived a gunfight with body-snatching outlaws.
“Nice work,” Agatha told Patsy, but Patsy ignored her.
Hank saw Agatha deflate, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. He’d been through this before, but Agatha was innocent to his sisters’ jealousy and pettiness. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way, and it made him angry that Agatha was the one getting hurt in all this. Hank had learned a long time ago that his sisters were what they were. They didn’t want to change. They didn’t want a real family that included all the spouses. They’d even treated their own spouses like outlaws instead of in-laws, and he’d vowed back then not to put up with it.
“Springer,” Coil said. “Let’s get samples of the blood and get it sent over to the lab. And have this casing tested for prints.” He passed over the evidence bag.
“I’m not sure what else we could hope to find,” Hank said to Coil. “Maybe we could wrap this up and take it back to the office.”
“You’re looking pretty piqued,” Coil said. “Must be some wedding jitters.”
“What?” Agatha asked, looking between Hank and Coil.
“He’s kidding,” Hank said. “I need food and drink or things are going to get ugly.”
“10-4, buddy,” Agatha said.
Hazel joined her sisters in Rodriguez’s SUV for the ride back to Rusty Gun, and Agatha hopped in the back of Hank’s truck and let him take the front seat for the ride back to the sheriff’s office.
“So this is a weird case,” Agatha said, broaching the topic. “Any ideas what in the world is going on?”
“Definitely weird,” Hank said. “Could be former military. Could be mercenaries. I’ll have to check the FBI and see if they’ve got any foreigners they’re keeping an eye on.
“I can agree that they were unfamiliar with the area, but how do you get military?” Agatha asked. “They just got schooled by a seventy-year-old woman.”
“Their similar dress suggests teamwork and anonymity,” Hank explained. “And they all were geared into aggressively approaching the target, or what they perceived as a threat. They probably underestimated Hazel whipping out a cannon, but it doesn’t discount the way they responded. I mean the guy got hit with a .44 and it didn’t drop him.”
“Maybe he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Coil suggested.
“Possibly,” Hank said. “Good idea.”
“Who could mercenaries be working for in Bell County?” Agatha asked.
“It could be anyone from the government or a drug cartel,” Hank said.
“Maybe they were speaking Spanish and Hazel didn’t recognize it,” Agatha said.
“Possibly,” Hank agreed. “They’re definitely not locals, whoever they are.”
“You’re thinking cartels?” Coil asked.
“Not sure. It’s going to depend on who the corpse is and what’s inside of him.”
“Inside?” Agatha asked. “Why in the world would there be anything inside of him?”
“Why else would they steal the body?” Coil asked. “It’s not uncommon for the cartels to use bodies to transport drugs or cash. I sent James to the coroner’s office so he could observe the autopsy.”
“Maybe we should go there too,” Hank said. “I’ve got a feeling.”
“I thought you had hunger?” Agatha asked.
“I could eat a taco or two,” Hank said. “But the hair is standing up on the back of my neck.”
“Never a good sign,” Coil said, blowing out a breath. “To the coroner’s office we go.”
“Wait a sec,” Hank said. “Let’s think this backward. We’ve got a hearse and a dead body. Where are our bad guys going to find both of those things?”