“So I’ve heard. I remember Billings, however. Smokes like a furnace. I would have asked him not to, but a lot of high buildings overlook my living room window,” he added with a chuckle.

“He does have a bit of an attitude problem. Expert marksman, however.”

“Indeed. What about the Martins?”

“I asked the local US Marshal’s office for help. The Martins are potential witnesses in a murder case. Morris Duffy was, apparently, the last person to see Dalton Reed alive. The man had an antique Colt .45 in an equally antique holster, worth a lot of money for its history alone. The gun went missing along with its owner. I think the Martins may be able to help us pinpoint some connections. They’ve known Clancey and Tad for years. I don’t want them to go missing.”

“Neither do I. Are they going to be staying at their own house?”

“They’ll have to. Mr. Martin’s in no condition to travel. Marshals are sending an agent to stay with them.”

“Give me the address,” Marquez said, reaching for the notes app on his cell phone. “I’ll put on extra patrols, as well.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“Oh, it will help me, too. Darrell Tarley wants Morris really badly, after the death threats he made. Since Darrell is running for DA in the next election, he’s going to use the case as a platform.” He pursed his lips and smiled. “Not a bad idea. It might help us.”

“Indeed it might.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got to report to my boss and tell him what’s going on. I had Clancey and Tad stay at the ranch today, so I’ll have to handle the office by myself.”

“Just put a big sign on your door that reads Out to Lunch, and don’t go back.”

“Wasn’t it you who came up with that idea about traffic improvement?” Colter asked suspiciously.

“It was,” Marquez agreed. “I suggested that we make all the roads and streets one way only, leading out of town.” He smiled.

Colter just shook his head and laughed.

FOURTEEN

“There was one other thing, before I go,” Colter told Marquez.

“Shoot.”

“A man named ‘Tank’ Kirk who lives up in Wyoming is married to a woman who has, well you might call them visions,” he began. “My cousin is sheriff up near Catelow, where the Kirks live, but he’s out of the state on a case and I can’t call him about her.”

“That would be Merissa,” Marquez replied at once. “We all know about her. She helped us solve the case of another assistant DA who was murdered. We solved it with a designer watch and a couture shirt, both stolen from the victim. She put it all together and told us how to find him.”

“Amazing ability,” Colter said. “Do you think she’d talk to me?”