“The other place is the Cobalt, and it isn’t the kind of spot you want to take your sweetie for dinner,” Moss said. “Kind of the epicenter for all the bad news in this town.” He took another drink. “See if you can guess where Ty Winslow did most of his drinking.”

Mason nodded. “I think I get the picture.”

“You want to know about Ty, you want to check out the Cobalt. Someone there will have answers for you, if you’re really interested.” Moss squinted at Mason. “Though I’m still not clear on why you’d care.”

Mason hesitated. Tried to choose his words. Looked past Henry Moss to the picture the motel owner had hung on the wall, a younger Moss in combat fatigues, somewhere in the desert.

“Jess Winslow’s husband was mixed up in something with the deputy,” Mason said. “That’s why the deputy came to bother her that one night, and that’s why he took the dog from her. He thinks she has something, and he’s using that dog as leverage to get it back.”

Moss laid his hands flat on the counter. Leaned forward. “And what’s your play here, son? Are you thinking you’ll just wade right into the middle of this whole thing and rescue that dog?”

“I was thinking about it,” Mason said.

“Must be a hell of a dog.”

“She’s more than a dog, sir. She’s a friend in a bad spot, and I can’t just sit idle while there’s still a shot at helping her.” Mason gestured past Moss at the picture on the wall. “That you?”

Moss turned, checked out the picture like he was seeing it for the first time. “That’s me,” he said. “Forty-First Infantry, Desert Storm. Seems like a long time ago now.”

“You see much combat?”

“Did we see combat?” Moss laughed. “Son, we were first across the Saudi border, the tip of the spear. We saw plenty of combat.”

“I guess I should have known that.”

Moss waved him off. Drained his coffee.

“Sounded like Jess saw her own share of action,” Mason said. “I must have been away a long time. I didn’t know they let women be marines now.”

“I guess you never heard of a female engagement team,” Moss said. He caught Mason’s blank look and shook his head. “Yes, sir. For a Marine Corps that didn’t want to send women to the front lines, they sure as hell gave Jess her share of the loud and scary stuff.” He looked off again, into the parking lot. Pursed his lips.

“Yes, sir,” he said again. “There’s a reason they gave her that dog when she came back, and it’s not because they figured the dog needed a friend.”