Ketch looked straight ahead as if on surveillance. “Me either. I might not have been born here, but this place is as near to home as I’ve ever felt.”

Hank knew Kincaid was a top student, but he’d turned from a student to a soldier in a blink when called.

“How long have you been out of the service?” Hank pulled away from the campus.

“I was in for four years. I served two tours in places where sweeping for bombs was a daily duty. I’ve been out for almost three years. Thanks to summer classes and a few online courses, I’ll graduate this May.”

Hank thought Ketch seemed nervous, or maybe just excited. He also seemed young, but he was older than most students. “I looked you up, Kincaid. Glad you agreed to help. Fine record in the army and here.”

Hank drove out of town, heading for the first known drop of a pipe bomb. “We’re going to circle all the known sites. Try to find a pattern. Somewhere there’s one location or person who links them all together. But first, the number one rule. Follow everything I tell you to do. No questions. No discussion. Got it?”

“Got it.” Ketch looked more interested now than worried. “I can follow orders. I looked you up too. Impressive. I guess bull riding got too boring and you had to switch to bombs.”

“Something like that.” Hank relaxed a bit. Between Ketch and the young deputy he had a team, and Hank would do his best to see they stayed out of harm’s way.

After a few minutes, Hank tried conversation. “Got a girlfriend, Kincaid?”

Ketch raised an eyebrow but played along with small talk. “I do, but she don’t know it yet.”

Hank grinned. “I got one of those too. I’m not sure, but I think she’s afraid of me.”

“You’re one scary guy, Captain. Pecos told me the Texas Rangers call you sir. He also said the sheriff in Honey Creek claims you hit a hundred on Main when you were a kid riding a Harley.”

“When did you talk to the deputy from Honey Creek? And it was only eighty, not a hundred.” Hank always stuck to the facts.

“We had a class together this morning. He may still look like a kid playing cop, but he’s a hero around here. He usually shows up to class in uniform so he can step into his job the minute he’s finished.”

Ketch added, “He’s also got the best-looking wife in the valley, and for some reason she’s crazy about him. I heard that a few years ago he saved McBride and the mayor of Honey Creek from a fire. Pecos will probably be sheriff the next time you drive through this community.”