Wilson finally looked up at his Ranger, an expression on his face that sat at a crossroads of confusion, betrayal, and disappointment. “Mathews.”

“You want to tell your lieutenant why I have the pistol that killed Ronnie Malvo in my possession, same time as you was getting a confession from Bill King?” Vaughn said. “When ain’t nobody in my department can put Bill King anywhere near this weapon or anyone he might have hired to do the job?”

“You don’t know that,” Darren said. He couldn’t think of anything else.

“Don’t I, though?”

“Darren?” Wilson’s tone was hopeful, wanting some easy explanation.

“Where’d you get that?” Darren asked Vaughn.

He could feel his heart pound, a drumbeat at the base of his throat.

Vaughn started, “Not that I owe you any information—”

“It was an anonymous tip,” Wilson said, irritated by Vaughn clearly enjoying himself. “But their county ballistics says it’s the real deal. It’s the gun.”

Vaughn looked down at his tie, lifted it like he hoped to divine something in its paisley pattern, then let it fall against the small mound of his paunch. “So we got us a situation here,” he said, looking now at the Texas A&M class ring on his right hand. “Trying to—”

“Link that gun to Bill King?”

Wilson shot Darren a look of barely suppressed rage, then came to his rescue anyway. “We’d like to take the case from here, Frank, run the murder investigation out of the multiagency task force, get Bill King on conspiracy.”

“Bill King ain’t have nothing to do with Ronnie Malvo, and he knows it.” He was pointing at Darren. “Tip I got,” Vaughn continued, “suggests you’ve had knowledge of the murder of Ronnie Malvo that you have never disclosed to law enforcement or my office, that you might have known where this gun was since the killing. Hell, might have committed perjury in front of the grand jury for all I know.”

“That’s enough,” Wilson said. “Darren, is any of this true?”

He knew enough not to say a word.

Vaughn fiddled with his tie again and said, “We’re investigating you for charges of obstruction. Came down here to let your people know.” To Wilson: “You might want to think twice about having this one on the job right now.”

“I’ll decide what happens in my department, Mr. Vaughn.”

“You do what you have to down here, and I’ll take care of San Jacinto County, and that includes the investigation into the murder of Ronnie Malvo. My office will continue handling it and any other charges that might come out of it.”

He was looking right at Darren as he said the last bit.

“You finished?” Darren said.

“Not even close.”

“Am I under arrest?”