Sheldon half laughed. “Places? He liked to play pool for money, but he wouldn’t be doing that now, would he? The only people he knew besides me were his brothers.”

“Why’d you visit him when he was locked up?”

She considered the question for a moment before answering. “Don’t get me wrong, Ernie’s a first-class jackass, but he still got a raw deal. The DUI thing? His court-martial?”

“What about it?”

“That dumb broad walked right in front of his car. I know, ’cause I was there, sitting next to him when it happened. It wasn’t his fault. We weren’t even speeding and he wasn’t really drunk. He got railroaded ’cause she was some sort of big-shot lawyer from a rich beaner family.”

Nathan leaned forward. “I find the word beaner offensive. Don’t use it with me again.”

“Okay, whatever. No need to get pissed off. Anyway, her dad was some kind of government fat cat. She was the one hammered that night, not Ernie.”

“That may be true, but the law only recognizes the legal limit and Ernie was beyond it. He had a long history of insubordination and alcoholism.”

“He still got screwed. He was real bitter about the whole thing. It’s all he ever talked about. He swore to get revenge someday. I told him he should just forget about it and move on. After he hooked up with his older brother, I never heard from him again until his call the other night.”

“Did you believe him, about getting revenge?”

“Yeah, I did. Still do. One thing about Ernie, he don’t forget about shit like that. At the time, I felt sorry for him. I don’t now, but I did back then.”

“So what changed?”

“I did. I decided I wasn’t going to put up with his shit anymore. After he got out, he was worse than ever. He was always yelling and screaming. I could never do anything right. Nothing was ever good enough for that man.”

Nathan didn’t want to pursue this line, he already knew about Ernie Bridgestone’s pathology. “Is there anything else you can think of that might help us find him?”

“Not really.”

“Do you mind if we put a trace on your phone, in case he calls again?”

“Knock yourself out.”

Nathan grabbed a pen from his shirt pocket and wrote his name and cell number on a napkin. “If Ernie calls you again for any reason, tell him Nathan McBride is looking for him. Remember it. Nathan McBride.”

“I’ll remember, but I pray I never hear from that piece of shit again.”

“I need your help.”

“Forget about it, I’m not doing nothing to put me or Janey in danger.”

“There’s a million-dollar reward.” That got her attention. Then he took a few minutes to lay out his plan and her part in it.