Divided Sky

by Jeff Carson

  He looked directly at Patterson after that comment.

  She must have looked utterly unamused, because that’s what she was trying to do.

  “Right.” MacLean stopped and looked down at the floor.

  When he spoke next, it was blunt. To the point. The words hit Patterson with the force of a Mack truck.

  Yates spilled his coffee as he set it on the floor and leaned onto his knees.

  It was clear everyone but Patterson and Yates already knew. Her aunt burst into tears, which instantly added to the pools already gathering in Patterson’s eyes. The more MacLean spoke, the more the group slumped in their chairs, the more they sniffed and wiped their eyes.

  When the sheriff was done, he looked at Patterson. “So how about you? Are you ready to do your duty?”

  She spoke but no sound came out.

  “What was that, Heather?”

  She cleared her throat. “Yes. Of course I am.”

  Chapter 32

  “You know who lives up in that house?” Wolf asked.

  Milo was lining up the evidence bags outside the CBI vehicle. He stopped and looked where Wolf was pointing. “Yep. Deputy Sobeck.”

  They stared at one another for a beat, until Milo went back to straightening the line of bags.

  Rushing, Jackson, and Roll came out of the house carrying bags of their own and brought them over.

  Milo stepped aside and stood next to Wolf. “Why?”

  “I think it’s interesting.”

  “Why’s that interesting?”

  “I would have to know more about the history between Sobeck and Jesse Burton first. Right now, it’s just a general interest in the fact that two people involved in the action Friday night live right next to one another.”

  Milo hitched up his pants.

  “We’ll meet back at the Marshal’s office in thirty minutes,” Roll said, walking past. “I don’t care what you do, but I’m grabbing some food in the meantime.”

  Wolf stepped in front of Milo. “We’ll drive you back.”

  Milo considered the offer as Roll got into his FJ and fired it up.

  “I don’t like where your thoughts are going.”

  “Who said anything about the direction of my thoughts?”

  Milo eyed him. “You heard Jesse say what he said this morning, and now you’re starting to consider Sobeck a suspect.”

  “And you’ve seen all this evidence turning up. Two sets of prints. A partial that doesn’t match Kyle or Jesse on that headlamp.” Wolf shrugged. “You have Sobeck’s prints on file from when he applied to the sheriff’s department.”

  Milo rolled his neck. “Yeah. We do.”

  “Well?”

  Milo shook his head. “And they don’t match, or else they would have come up in the IAFIS search.”

  “But you didn’t check the partial specifically, manually, with Sobeck’s prints.”

  Milo let out a breath. “Just a second.” He walked over to Roll’s driver’s side window and spoke to the sheriff. They spoke for a while, then Roll drove forward, and flipped a U-turn around Milo, leaving Milo standing in the dirt road.

  “All right,” Milo said. “Let’s go. We have twenty-five minutes, and the Burger King drive-thru down the street is slow as shit.”

  Wolf walked to the car. Rachette took the back seat. Milo sat down in front, saying, “And you guys are buying.”

  Wolf fired up the engine and followed Roll’s dust trail back toward the highway.

  “So,” Wolf said.

  “So what? What do you want to hear? We’ll check the partial against Sobeck’s prints.”

  “How about the history between Sobeck and Jesse Burton.”

  Milo stared out his window. “Let’s see … history. Jesse grew up here. We all did, including Sobeck. Jesse used to live in town but moved in over here like a year ago. That was after Sobeck and his family already lived here.”

  “Is there any bad blood between the two of them?”

  “Like, was Jesse telling the truth back there in the interrogation room?”

  Wolf nodded.

  “They deserved what they got that night, as far as I can tell. Jesse, Kyle, and Hettie were joyriding on the back roads, hauling ass around a corner and almost went head-on with Sobeck. Jesse was driving. Sobeck and Triplett were in Sobeck’s cruiser. They pulled them over, found open containers, a gun, that Kimber 1911 nine-millimeter you took off him down in Canyon of the Ancients, marijuana, a pipe.”

  “When did that happen?” Wolf asked.

  “A couple months ago.”

  “And do you think that was enough to make them hate each other from that point on?”

  Milo shrugged. “I do get the sense Sobeck might have roughed them up a bit that night. I don’t know. Apparently Jesse mouthed off and Sobeck put him on the ground. I heard about it from Triplett.”

  “He put Jesse on the ground in front of his girl,” Wolf said. “In front of Hettie.”

  Milo said nothing.

  “And what about Hettie?” Wolf asked.

  “What about her?”

  “What’s her story? She seemed angry. Does she get along with everyone in town?”

  Milo shrugged. “She’s a good girl. Kind of an idiot for hanging out with these two, but overall she’s a good cookie. As far as seeming angry—it’s a shame what happened to her dad. I don’t blame her.”

  They sat in silence while Wolf turned onto Highway 550 toward town.

  “What else?” Wolf asked.

  “Well, you saw that setup Jesse has in the backyard.”

  “What setup?” Rachette asked.

  “A shooting berm,” Milo said.

  “Ah. Pretty standard around here, isn’t it?” Rachette asked.

  “Yeah, but I guess Jesse was shooting at all hours when he moved in,” Milo said. “All around a disrespectful move to begin with, especially if you’re new in the neighborhood. So Sobeck went over and told him to back it down. Sobeck had his kid up there at his house trying to sleep. And it’s just a little creepy having a neighbor blasting off so many shots.”

  “Looks like he’s still doing plenty of shooting to me,” Wolf said.

  “Yeah, but not like he was. Believe me. Full-auto blast-offs at ten at night. That type of stuff.”

  “Okay,” Wolf said.

  “Anyway, Jesse and Kyle moved their parties up to Kyle’s most of the time after that.”

  “And how did that scene play out?” Wolf asked. “I mean, was Jesse respectful? Did they have an argument? Or did he just stop?”

  Milo shrugged. “Knowing Sobeck he was probably forceful.”

  “Forceful,” Wolf echoed. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning…ever since Sobeck came back from the war he’s had a bit of a short fuse.”

  They rode in silence for another beat, and Wolf caught Rachette’s eye in the rearview.

  “What about Sobeck’s wife and Triplett?” Wolf asked.

  Milo turned toward him with a sour look. “What of it?”

  “We saw Sobeck’s wife coming out of Triplett’s vehicle this morning, behind the diner,” Rachette said from the back seat. “They were hugging. Looking pretty friendly.”

  Milo waved a dismissive hand. “You guys are barking up the wrong tree there. Jill Sobeck isn’t screwing around with Rod Triplett. You’ve seen her and you’ve seen him, right? She’s a looker, he’s a chimpanzee with a voice box. I mean, they’re good friends, but he’s always been in the friend zone with her. You know how it is living in a small town. You know things. And Jill and Triplett? Not happening. Take a right.”

  Wolf turned and they eased back up the hill into town, toward Lucille’s Diner on the right, the motel, and from this distance they could see the back of the Soaring Eagle Bar shining in the midday sun.

  “Drive-thru all right with you guys?”

  “Does a bear claw you to death if you punch it in the nads?” Rachette laughed to himself. “Yeah. It sounds good to me.”

  Wolf
drove through and put the meal on his Visa. To Milo’s credit, he fought to pay his own portion by handing over a ten, but Wolf waved it off—a move that made him think about the state of his job.

  The clock read 12:15. The County Council meeting was probably already over. His fate was already determined.

  They drove back to the Ridgway Marshal’s office.

  “Just park here.” Milo pointed to a spot in the shade of an oak across the street.

  “You mind if we eat here?” Wolf asked, eyeing the clock which told him they had fifteen minutes to go before Roll’s rendezvous time. “I’d rather not stare at dead body pictures while I eat my hamburgers.”

  “Amen to that,” Milo said, digging into the bag and divvying up the meals.

  With the windows open to let in a fresh breeze, they ate in silence like they were in a contest.

  Wolf won, with Rachette in a close second.

  “Why’s Sobeck not home lately?” Wolf asked.

  Milo exhaled and rubbed his forehead, like he was fighting the urge to go to sleep. “He’s been fighting with his wife, or something. He’s not exactly an open book.”

  Rachette put a dip in his lip, sending a blast of Copenhagen swirling through the cabin.

  “You’re the detective,” Wolf said to Milo. “What do you think? Is it that short fuse you’re talking about?”

  Milo looked around.

  Roll’s FJ was parked across the street from the building, but Sobeck and Triplett’s vehicle was missing.

  “Okay. The story going around is that Sobeck punched his kid.”

  “Whoa,” Rachette said. “What the hell?”

  “Not, like, out of anger. Not the short fuse I was talking about. And, you know what? I misspoke. He doesn’t have a short fuse at all. He’s just having issues separating the past from the present…or something.”

  The news made Wolf sit back hard. He thought back on the happy-looking kid running around Sobeck’s house a few minutes ago. “What happened?”

  “Supposedly his boy came into his room and woke him up. He freaked out and punched him. You know, was having one of the dreams. Thinking he was back in the war.”

  Wolf did know. “What other problems is Sobeck having? Anything at work?”

  Milo looked like he was holding his tongue.

  “You think he might have gone overboard that night with putting Jesse on the ground?” Wolf asked.

  Milo shook his head. “No. It’s not that. I mean, he might have roughed him up a little, I don’t know. I wasn’t there and haven’t looked at the dash footage. And I’m not about to. I’m just saying that he acts strange sometimes. It’s hard to explain. He gets this far-away look. Like a deer in headlights. And then he kind of…just gets confused. Like, one time I was gassing up the cruiser and asked him to get me a coffee inside the store. He heard me, nodded with that look I’m talking about, and he came out with a flippin’ cheese Danish for me. I was like ‘What’s this? I asked for a coffee.’ And he freaked out, saying I asked for a cheese Danish. He was pissed. Like I was messing with him or had insulted his mother or something.” Milo shrugged. “Just little stuff like that.”

  Wolf and Rachette eyed each other in the rearview.

  “Check me if I’m wrong,” Rachette leaned up between them, “but all this sounds like a pretty big motive for Sobeck killing Alexander Guild. I mean, I only know what I’ve read in a couple news articles, but the guy sold ammunition to the US military, right? The big stuff. Bombs. Bunker busters and the like, right? The guy was the god of war. He profited on killing people. He sits in his big mansions, I’m assuming he has multiple, and he cuts off the locals who want to walk past his property to get to the local hunting grounds. He shoots them dead. Meanwhile, Sobeck is out in the field, killing people for his country, getting screwed up in the head, coming back and punching his kid.”

  Rachette sat back.

  Milo rubbed his forehead again, his eyes clamped shut.

  “You’ve been thinking the same,” Wolf said. “That’s why you’re sitting here right now.”

  Milo sat forward and looked out the windshield with vacant eyes. “It’s not something I’ve been wanting to think about. But yeah. He’s not looking too good in my mind. He was at the bar. I can’t verify his whereabouts after he left.”

  “Where’s he staying if he’s not home?” Wolf asked.

  “The Timber Ridge down in Ouray. Just on the north edge of town.”

  “And have you talked to them to see when he showed up Friday night?”

  “No. Not yet. Been kind of busy. And I’m telling you, it’s been little stuff with Sobeck. Not major character changes or anything, and he’s always been a good guy who’s looking out for his fellow man. It’s a big leap from cheese Danish to double murder.”

  Was it? Wolf wondered. “And how about Roll? Is he suspicious of Sobeck, too?”

  “We haven’t talked about it. I asked what he thought and he didn’t answer. He went dead silent on the way down from Montrose. But, yeah. He’s suspicious of him, too.”

  “And what about that PTSD group that Jesse was talking about?” Rachette asked. “Was he really in there with Hettie Winkle’s dad?”

  Milo nodded.

  “Which adds to that giant motive I was just talking about. Guild shoots Hettie’s father, which pisses off Sobeck to no end. He probably became good friends with her dad after sharing all those war stories and such, I mean, I wouldn’t know. I didn’t serve.” Rachette spat out the rear window.

  Milo was staring at his phone. “This isn’t good.”

  “What’s wrong?” Wolf asked.

  “We gotta get inside.” Milo got out, slammed the door, and ran across the road.

  “What was that?” Rachette asked, climbing outside.

  Wolf shut his door and watched Milo disappear into the Marshal’s office. “Let’s go.”

  Wolf and Rachette jogged after him. Inside, Cassandra stood with the phone pressed to her bosom. “He’s already out!” she yelled over her shoulder.

  Roll came out of the murder room with an incredulous look. “What did you say?”

  “They released him a few minutes ago.”

  “Give me that.” Roll took the phone from her hands. “Why the hell wasn’t I told about this?” Roll’s face seemed to melt as he handed the phone back to Cassandra.

  She put the phone to her ear, then lowered it and dropped it to the cradle.

  “They let Jesse out?” Milo asked.

  Roll nodded. “Thirty minutes ago. His lawyer’s driving him down now.”

  “What are you going to do?” Milo asked.

  “It’s not that big a deal, is it?” Wolf said. “You could put somebody on surveillance to make sure he doesn’t flee again.”

  When nobody answered him, Wolf looked at the phone still clutched in Milo’s hand. “Wait. What’s that message you just got?”

  “It was from me,” Roll said. “They have Hettie.”

  “Who?” Wolf realized and he answered himself. “The Farmers.”

  Chapter 33

  “Damn it!” Roll paced in front of the gruesome photos at the front of the room.

  “What did they say?” Milo asked. “How long did they give? Where?”

  “Two hours. He didn’t say where. He said he’d be back in touch, and I’d better have Jesse when he called back.”

  “Does he know that Jesse’s been released?” Wolf asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t see how he would.”

  “Maybe Jed Farmer has friends up in Montrose,” Wolf said.

  Roll walked to the window and looked through the blinds.

  “Sir,” Milo said.

  “What?”

  “We have to put him under arrest,” Milo said. “We have to question Sobeck.”

  Roll turned and stared into nothing. “You really think he’s got anything to do with this? It’s Jesse. It’s Hettie lying and covering for his ass.”

  “We can’t skip over the signs,�
�� Milo said. “He has motive to kill Guild. We don’t know where he was after the bar Friday night. He was there, and Jesse’s right—he could have taken Jesse’s bracelet during that fight. There are two sets of boot prints. There’s the headlamp with a partial that doesn’t match Jesse or Hettie. There’s—”

  Roll waved his hand like a bee was attacking him. “I know, I know. And Kyle? Why kill Kyle?”

  Milo spoke in a low, calm voice. “I don’t know why, sir. Maybe to make it look like it was Jesse.”

  “That’s psychotic,” Roll said. “That’s not Sobeck. He may have had a rough time returning to civilian life, but…” Roll’s voice faded away.

  Milo said nothing.

  “Rachette and I could go down there and take a look at the place he’s staying,” Wolf said. “What’s it called?”

  “The Timber Ridge Lodge,” Milo said.

  Roll scowled. “And search his room?”

  Wolf nodded.

  “So, an illegal search of his property. That’s what you want to do.”

  “We have probable cause,” Wolf said.

  “Oh, really.”

  “Seems like we’re erring on the side of probable cause, sir,” Milo said. “A woman’s life is at stake.”

  “Shhh,” Cassandra held up a finger and looked toward the entrance. “Never mind. Sorry. It’s not them.”

  “How about you just call Sobeck and Triplett and see where they’re at,” Wolf said.

  Roll nodded and pulled out his phone.

  Roll paced. “Hey, where are you guys? … okay,” he turned toward the rest of them and spoke for their benefit, “you’re still at Hettie’s house, talking to her mother. Okay, I need you to step outside to talk. Okay, listen, I just got a call from the Farmers. They have Hettie and they’re demanding we release Jesse and bring him to them or else she dies. I need you two to head back here ASAP… Bring her down to the station here and tell her the truth… Cassandra can keep her company…okay, then just leave her. Just come back!”

  He hung up. His chest heaved.

  “Hettie’s mother is falling over drunk. It’s one in the afternoon on a Tuesday, for Chrissakes.” Roll pocketed his phone and folded his arms. His eyes bore through the commercial carpet.