“It’s a service dog. I’m training him to be a bomb sniffer.”

“A fire cracker would blow him away. Toss the pup. I’ve got something I want to show you.”

Hank wasn’t stationed under the sheriff so he ignored the command. “You’ll have me back in an hour?”

“I promise.”

“And you’ll buy me a cup of coffee? I had to make my own this morning and it was terrible. I think Millie must wash the pot.”

LeRoy sneered. “My first wife used to do that. Drove me to start drinking hot Dr Peppers for breakfast. I swear it was better than her coffee.”

“You’ve had a hard life, Sheriff.”

As LeRoy started the cruiser, he tossed Hank a stack of reports on the pipes sent to the lab, and the talking was over.

Hank had seen enough of these reports to skip the rambling and get down to the facts. Not one fingerprint found. Most were not bombs. Not all the parts were there. Whoever was making them was sloppy. The pipe was ordinary. Parts could have been bought from any hardware store.

“Nothing new,” Hank said as he glanced at the last page.

LeRoy pulled through the Sonic and ordered two large coffees by screaming at the speaker.

“You remember that guy you had with you? Ketch was his name.” LeRoy paused as if he’d delivered a complete thought.

“What about Ketch? He’s a student of Dr. Monroe’s and he’s a former Army Ranger. Two tours in action.”

LeRoy seemed to wake up. He spent a good ten seconds nodding his head, as if all was starting to fit together. “Well, Ketch called me this morning and wants to meet with all of us at Primrose Hill for supper. Says his girlfriend will cook while we’ll plan. He claims that her house is the only place where we can disappear in the county without someone noticing.”

“You have any idea where Primrose Hill is?” Hank asked.

“I’ve heard of it, but never had any need to go out there. Besides, you’re a captain. You should be bright enough to find it. I’ll give you a hint, it’s probably on a hill.

When Hank just frowned at the sheriff, LeRoy added, “Ketch says to bring a plus-one. Whatever in hell that means. Ketch says he wants this to look like just a dinner party on the off chance someone sees us. Except for one thing: Come armed. We may do some reconnaissance after dark.”

Hank nodded. “Since when are we not armed? You probably sleep armed.”

“I did until I married. Just passing along what Ketch said.”