“Not in words. But I know he felt bad.”

“Do you think that he kept you in the dark to protect you?”

“Possibly.”

“And Ruby Ranger’s name never came up?”

“Nah. I think he would have rather died than to rat on the bitch.”

Neither one said the obvious: maybe that was exactly what had happened.

17

As he drove back to the crime scene, Decker spoke over the tactical lines. The reception was much poorer from the squawk box than it was through the digital cell phones, but supposedly, the conversations were restricted. Not that there was any real privacy nowadays: the Luddites had a point. “Are the bodies still there?”

“The wagon left about twenty minutes ago,” Martinez answered. “Police photographer is still here. Do you want me to tell her to wait for you?”

“No, I’ll work from the photographs. Did you search the bodies for personal effects?”

“We didn’t find anything on them. We’re rooting through their belongings now. Anything specific you’re looking for?”

“Letters to Ernesto from Ruby R.”

“How many?”

“Maybe three or four.”

“I’ll ask Tom about it. So far, Ernesto’s possessions are pretty minimal—a bedroll, a canteen, a metal dish, and the basic cutlery. Standard issue according to Tarpin.”

“We’ll get back to him later. How many boys have we interviewed?”

“There are only two boys here who have reached their majority. Tom talked to both of them. You can ask him about it.”

“Anything promising?”

“Not so far.”

“And how about the others? The minors?”

“I know that Wanda and Tarpin have been busy notifying the parents. It hasn’t been a cakewalk. I’d say about seventy percent of them are out of town. They took advantage of the time without junior to hightail it off to the Caribbean. Seven of the nine kids volunteered to have their belongings searched. Predictably, they were all clean. Wanda has been questioning them with a light touch. I think they’re disappointed. I think they keep expecting us to read them their rights.”

Decker smiled. “You said seven out of nine boys.”

“Yeah, I did. The two remaining lads are more hard-liners. Could be they’re hiding something. Or, they just don’t want to cooperate because they’re wary of cops.”

“Priors?”

“I wouldn’t know. They’re juveniles. Wanda knows the ins and outs of Juvy. If they’re hot, she’ll know about it.”

“I’ll deal with them when I come up. Who are they?”

“Brandon Chesapeake and Riley Barns. Not that they’re dancing on anyone’s grave. All of a sudden, the lure of crime isn’t so glamorous. And it doesn’t smell very good, either.”

“Did you talk to Tarpin at length?”

“I was about to do that…unless you want him. We’ve got parents to deal with. I’m certainly not lacking for something to do.”