smacked his gavel against the wood with a sound like a gunshot.
“Very well then. No valid defense is presented. The sentence is life at hard labor.”
“This is not right…” Ruben began. Pain exploded in the back of his head, driving him to his knees. He dimly heard someone screaming. A boot caught him in the stomach and doubled him over. Then another sudden shock of pain in his head, and everything went black.
“WHEN WAS the last time you saw him?” Keller said.
Angela sat up, startled. She had been dozing in the backseat. It was the first time Keller had spoken more than a couple of words since they had pulled out of the hotel parking lot. They had been driving for hours in near silence, Angela staring at the back of Keller’s head, wondering what to say, or when he would speak. Finally weariness had overcome her and she had closed her eyes.
“What?” she said, trying to collect her thoughts.
“Oscar,” Keller said. “When was the last time you saw him?”
“Jack,” Lucas said from the passenger seat. “Maybe we should talk about—”
“Later,” Keller cut him off. “Right now I need to know just how cold the trail is.”
Angela looked out the window. It was dark outside. All she could see was the shoulder of the road and the blacktop as far as the headlights reached. She had no idea where they were. This was a mistake. The thing that had made Keller such a successful hunter had always been his relentless focus. Once the hunt was on, there would be nothing else. It had been what defined him. It was also the thing that had nearly destroyed him.
Finally she spoke. “Three weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“He was at home. But he was going to see somebody. Somebody who he thought might be able to help get his sons into the country.”
“Did he give a name?”
She shook her head. “He said it was better that I didn’t know.” Keller didn’t speak. “I tried to get it out of him.”
Keller was drumming his fingers impatiently on the wheel. He took no apparent notice of her defensive tone. “How did he get the name?”
“We went and talked to an immigration lawyer,” she said. “Some guy in Charlotte.”
“The guy couldn’t help him?”
“No. He told us that since Oscar was in the country illegally, and he had no relatives in the U.S., there was no way he could apply for visas for the boys. At least nothing that wouldn’t take years. Then, as we were leaving, he called Oscar back in. Alone. When he came out, he was holding a piece of paper. It looked like there was a name and number on it. He wouldn’t show it to me.”
“How long was this before Oscar left?”
“A week. Maybe a week and a half.”
“He didn’t talk to anyone else?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Okay then. That’s where we start. The lawyer. You got a name?”
“Yeah. Delgado. Perry Delgado.”
“You got a phone?” Keller asked.
“Yeah,” Lucas said. He reached into the glove box. “I don’t think he’ll be in this late, though.”
“I know. See if you can get us tickets to Charlotte. Closest airport to here is Phoenix.”
“You don’t want to go home first?” Lucas asked.
Keller’s voice was tight with impatience. “The trail’s three weeks old. It gets colder every second.” He glanced in the rearview. “I’ll need to pick some things up in Charlotte. Probably a car, too. Not a rental. You got the budget for that?”
“Sure,” Angela said. “But why do you need another car?”
“If I get any good information from this Delgado character, Charlotte’s where we part ways,” Keller said. “You guys can go home while I follow—”
“No.” Angela said. “I’m going with you.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Angela,” Keller said. “I work alone.”
“He’s my husband. I go with you or the deal’s off.”
“Okay.” Keller slowed the car down and began pulling to the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” Lucas asked.
“The deal’s off. You go on home. I’ll get out here and hitch. Maybe Jules’ll give me my old job back.”
“Damn you, Keller—” Angela said.
“You knew the way I worked when you dug me up, Angela.” Keller’s voice was hard. “We do this my way, or not at all.” After he pulled the car to the shoulder, he threw it in park, and sat there with the engine running. He looked in the rearview again. “What’s it going to be?” She didn’t answer, just glared at him, her eyes locked on the reflection of his. “Fine,” Keller said. He opened the door and got out.
He was reaching for his duffel in the back when Angela said in a low, furious voice, “Get back in the car, Jack.” He didn’t answer. He yanked the duffel out and turned away. Angela turned to Lucas. “Would you talk to him?”
“I think this is one you two are going to have to settle yourselves,” Lucas said.
“He’s not seriously going to get out here? In the middle of nowhere?”
Lucas looked out the back window. “Looks like that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
“And you don’t intend to do anything about it?”
“Nope.”
“What the hell good are you, then?”
“Angela,” Lucas said. “Whatever relationship you two are going to have, you’re going to have to work it out if it’s going to work at all.”
“Damn it,” she said. She snatched up her cane and slid over to the driver’s side. With some difficulty, she got out the car door. They were on a four-lane highway, divided by a deep median. The empty land stretched out to the edge of sight, where it met the sky that arched overhead like an overturned bowl. The stars were hard, bright, and cold in the utter blackness of the desert night. Keller was walking toward the median, his duffel slung on his shoulder. She called after him.
“Can we at least talk about this after we talk to the lawyer? When we know if there’s even anywhere to go?”
He stopped, turned
