“You sure they headed to that fishing cabin?”

“Got it straight from the girl’s daddy,” Stagg said. “How many other places does that highway lead?”

“You mean south?”

Stagg didn’t answer such a dumb goddamn question. He took a long beat to let that Nix boy figure it the hell out.

“Only one.”

Stagg plugged his right ear with his finger, the drilling and hammering commencing again now that the official tour was over. He turned his back to the new kiddie wonderland and started to walk through the semis back toward the Rebel. He could finally hear that peckerwood Dusty Nix as he got between two tractor trailers.

“Y’all did good getting out of New Orleans,” Stagg said. “Goddamn marshal service raided that house this morning. Ain’t nothing in there but a bunch of dopeheads. Those boys are fucked good.”

“The law know where the girl’s gone?”

“If they knew, them kids would already been caught,” Stagg said. “Now listen, son. The whole goddamn point of this here exercise is to get that Bloodgood girl safe, lily white, and clean and back to her daddy before ending up in handcuffs. Do y’all understand?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I said, do y’all understand?” Stagg said. “I ain’t got any more time for niceties and pecker pulls.”

A long silence followed, so long that Stagg thought they’d been cut off before that Nix boy started to breathe heavy on the line. “Me and Daddy waiting for the right time,” Nix said. “Just hope that little bitch don’t give us no trouble. ’Cause Daddy sure ain’t in the mood.”

*   *   *

“Aw,” Lillie said. “Isn’t that sweet? You brought me and Charlie coffee. Who are the other two for?”

“I’m about a quart low this morning.”

“Should’ve figured,” Lillie said. “That’s a long ride on that hurt back. You okay?”

Quinn nodded and fired up a new cigar with his lighter, spewing smoke behind him. His back and legs ached like hell. He’d only stopped once for a pit stop and some gas, rolling steady from north Mississippi on a big thermos full of coffee that gave out around Kentwood.

“Sorry you came all this way for an empty house,” Lillie said.

“Any idea where they’ve gone?”

“Maybe,” Lillie said. “The Bloodgood girl’s boyfriend is a real prize. Shooting up with his best pals with TJ Byrd and her little brother around. Talked to him right before he nodded out again. Sounds like TJ got tired of the shitshow and moved on. Says they’ve gone down to another family property on Grand Isle.”

“You believe him?”

“I believe him as much as any junkie willing to sell me some bullshit for some time off.”

“Do we know if her father has property down that way?”