No, that’s nonsense, I thought. It was those two sorry bastards who had done this—they and they alone. And by God, I was going to see that they paid a dear price for their act of arson and the attempted murder of these two gentle beings. Yes, a dear price indeed.

“Danny Ray,” I asked my friend. “Do you know Leon Wren? Have you ever seen him before?”

Danny’s face screwed up, his eyes twitched, and his mouth worked. “W-w-w-once. L-l-l-long time ago.”

“Was it him? Was he the one who did this?”

Danny Ray bobbed his head up and down. “Y-y-yeah. Was him.”

“Let’s talk to Detective Latham. She’ll want to hear this.”

I led us to where Patricia was talking to a uniformed sergeant. Patricia talked to Parker and Danny Ray, and then stayed until almost everyone had cleared out. Then she turned to me.

“If they knew where your truck was, they also know the car you’re driving. You said you got it in Rincon, didn’t you?” she posited.

“Yeah, I’ve had that thought, too,” I replied.

“I won’t tell an old dog how to suck eggs,” she responded. “But if it were me, I believe I’d change vehicles.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I said.

“I’ll ride back to headquarters with the sergeant,” she said as we turned and walked toward the patrol car sitting just down the street.

“Call me tomorrow, when you get the chance. And I’ll call if anything worthwhile pops up. Maybe Sheriff Zimmer can get his hands on those two. More than likely they’re back in Effingham already. Mutts like those two seldom stray far from their own territory.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied. “But I’ll call, no matter what.”

“Okay, Tanner,” she said as she held the open door of the cruiser. “Once again, you sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

She must have seen the look on my face, because she quickly added, “Hey, that’s a joke.”

“I know,” I said. “I was just thinking of what a cauldron of crap this is. Seems like when I stuck a stick in it and began to stir, some of it spilled over the sides and splattered on some innocent people.”

“How very poetic,” she retorted with arched eyebrows and a sardonic smile.

“Yeah, well, I do my best,” I said as I squeezed her hand. “Good night, Patricia.”

“Good night, Kennesaw.”

She got in the car and pulled away, leaving Parker, Danny Ray, and me the sole inhabitants of the street.

“Guys,” I said as I rejoined my friends on the sidewalk. Let’s get some take-away Chinese and go back to the boat. Danny Ray, you stay with me and Parker for the time being. Once we get you two cleaned up and fed, we have some work to do before it gets daylight.”