The Zoo Crew (Zoo Crew series Book 1)

by Dustin Stevens

  Sage smiled. "Rink sure is a talker isn't he?"

  "When he started talking about how much he loves Mexican food, I almost lost it," Drake said.

  Drake, Ava, and Sage had all gone their separate ways sometime around nine the night before. At that point, Kade and Rink were already most of the way through a case of Coldsmoke Ale.

  Ajax wasn’t far behind them.

  They had all offered to make it out in time for fishing, but Drake waved them off. Lied and said he was going straight to the office this morning.

  "How'd you know I'd be here?" Drake asked. Pulled on his waders. Closed the tailgate and grabbed up his gear.

  Sage opened the backseat of her car, grabbed her stuff as well. Carried her waders under one arm. "For as light-hearted as you're playing this thing at the hotel, I can tell it's weighing on you."

  "Meaning?"

  "Meaning there's no way you wouldn't be here."

  Drake considered trying to challenge her. Trying to tell her he is wildly unpredictable and she just got lucky.

  Truth was, she was right. He let it go.

  "It's...it's just. I don't know," Drake mumbled. "I've spent so damn much time the last two years pouring over case law. Sitting through lectures. Responding to inane questions.

  "And I'm fast discovering it is all bullshit. Starting this summer, and continuing now, I find out that the gap between what I've been taught and what I need to know is enormous."

  He fell silent. They walked together along the gravel path for the river bank. Suzy Q cut a zigzag path in front of them.

  "Probably not making any sense."

  Sage kicked at a rock with the toe of her shoe. "No, you are. It's kind of like reading about being a nurse in a book. Until you've been in an OR and seen the blood, you have no idea what you're really getting into."

  "Right," Drake said. "This girl came to me with a problem. A huge problem. And I have no idea what to do."

  "Well..."

  "Check that," he said. "I've had two ideas. Go to the police and go to my supervising attorney. Neither one were right."

  "That's not true," Sage said. "They were both right. The fact that they weren't just speaks to how messed up this whole situation is."

  Drake exhaled. "Yeah it is. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. Have no idea what I'm going to do next. And the worst part is, I somehow keep dragging more and more of my friends into the mix."

  The sound of the water got louder as they emerged on the gravel bar. Sat their supplies on the same felled tree.

  "You'd do it for us," Sage offered.

  "That's not going to help me any if something happens to one of you though."

  Sage decided to change directions. “Can I ask you something?”

  Drake made a waving motion with his hand. Said nothing.

  “Why do you feel so compelled on this? It’s more than just wanting to help or doing your job. It’s almost like…”

  “I owe her,” Drake finished. “And I do. She helped me, someone she barely knew, at a time when she had no reason to and nobody else would.”

  “She brought you notes,” Sage pointed out.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Drake said. “She went out on a limb to help me. I owe her the same.”

  Sage started to reply. Thought better of it.

  "Why don't you take point today," Drake said. "My mind's even further away than it was Friday. Not sure how much actual fishing I'll get done."

  He didn't wait for a response. Just took off for a nearby eddy, Q on his heels.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Monday mornings.

  If there was a greater hell on earth that didn't involve wearing a tie, Drake wasn't sure what it was.

  After dropping Suzy Q off at the apartment and grabbing a quick shower, he went straight to the law school. It was only eight-thirty, but that didn't faze him any.

  Was a good thing even.

  With luck he could avoid Lauer. Both from their interaction the day before and for what he was planning to do later on.

  While the law school had started the week before, Monday marked the first day of class for the rest of campus. What just days before was a quiet and sleepy parking lot was an absolute nightmare.

  Drake found one of the last remaining spots in the corner of the lot and pulled in. Grumbled to himself as he gathered his things.

  Damn overeager undergrads. They were almost as bad as first year law students.

  Much like the Saturday before, the interior of the law school was subdued compared to everything going on outside. Drake avoided the main lobby and cut a path down the back stairwell and into the clinic office.

  To his relief, it was empty.

  To his chagrin, the solace didn't last long.

  Just before nine a pair of familiar voices rolled into the office with all the grace of an elephant. Both wore flip-flops on their feet, carried a mess of papers and books in their hands.

  "Do you see what I see?" Wyatt asked. Drake didn't bother to turn around and look. He knew they were pointing at him.

  "That...that can't be who I think it is, is it?" Greg asked.

  Drake felt a finger poke into his shoulder blade.

  "No, I think it might be," Wyatt said.

  Drake grimaced and rotated to face his friends. "What's the good word boys?"

  Both of them fell into their chairs. Left their tangle of books and papers balanced on their desks behind them.

  "No good words," Greg said. Tone serious.

  Drake leaned forward. "Okay?"

  "Rumor mill has it you're already on the Shit List," Wyatt said.

  "You and her both," Greg said. Motioned towards Ava's desk with his chin.

  The news didn't come as a great surprise to Drake. The fact that it was already out did.

  "Where'd you hear that from?" Drake asked.

  Wyatt shook his head. "It's all over. Rumor is somebody saw you guys have a shouting match with Lauer in his front yard yesterday."

  "Yelling and screaming. Quite the public spectacle," Greg added.

  Drake's face hardened. "That's not at all what happened. We went to him with a case. He shot it down. Got a little pissy, but nothing like that."

  Greg shook his head. "Just telling you what was said. But it's all over. I got two texts about it last night."

  Drake shifted his eyes out into the hallway. Muttered under his breath.

  He and Ava had sat in the truck for a long time before and after meeting Lauer. There was nobody around.

  Nobody had seen anything. If the story was out, it had to have come from Lauer.

  In a quick movement he rotated back to his desk, grabbed his bag. Left everything else where it lay.

  "I'm not going to make it to Local Government today," he said.

  "Listen man, we didn't mean to get you riled up," Wyatt said.

  "We're just letting you know what was said," Greg added.

  Drake paused by the door. "No, I know. Let's just say a bad situation is now a little worse."

  Two blank faces stared back at him.

  "Can we help?" Wyatt asked.

  "Thanks, but it's better you don't. At least not now."

  Both faces shifted from blank to confused.

  "I'll see you guys later," Drake said. Gave a small wave and went back up the rear stairwell.

  He fished his cell-phone from his pocket and had it pressed to his face by the time he made it to the parking lot.

  Ava picked up after the second ring.

  "Hey, I was just about to head over. What's going on?" she asked. No formal greeting. Straight to business.

  "You at home now?" Drake asked. His tone was even more serious than hers.

  "Yeah?"

  "Stay there, I'm on my way."

  Ava started to reply but cut herself short. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

  "Everyone is fine," Drake said. "We're the ones knee deep in shit."

  Drake could hear her breathing on the line. She said nothing.r />
  "I'll explain on the way," Drake said.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It was by nothing but pure dumb luck that Notch spotted Drake coming out of the law school.

  Two days of searching had turned up nothing of Beth. Or the girl he'd beaten the hell out of.

  Nobody at all had been to their house. No activity to Beth's cell-phone.

  Even a trip through the bunkhouse and scaring the hell out of every girl in sight had turned up nothing. Nobody knew anything.

  It was like the both of them had just vanished.

  That left Notch with one option. Try and determine who it was Beth met with on Thursday. It was slow and clumsy as hell, but it was all he had.

  Worse for him, it meant he had to emerge from the shadows.

  That morning, he'd gotten up with the sun and did his best to look presentable. Put on clean jeans. A fresh canvas shirt. Pulled his long, thin brown hair back into a ponytail. Hid his grey eyes behind mirrored sunglasses.

  Even attempted to brush away some of the grime from his teeth.

  He would damned sure never pass for a college student. At least this way he might not draw enough lingering stares to get him tossed off campus before he found what he was looking for.

  Every thought in his head told him to take his binoculars with him. At the very least his camera with the zoom on it.

  Staring at himself in the mirror though, he reasoned that showing up with either to a college campus might not be the image he was going for.

  Instead, he opted for an old dog-eared Louis L'Amour. Chose a bench in the corner of the quad. Posted himself up at eight o'clock and kept a sharp lookout.

  With the book open on his lap and his head tilted down, his eyes worked in constant sweeps across the grassy expanse. A couple of times he thought he saw his target, but both turned out to be false alarms.

  If you've seen one inflated college student, you've seen them all.

  It didn't take long for the hardback bench and the awkward position to start working on his lower back. Pretty soon thereafter his neck started to ache.

  At the age of forty-two he could still put somebody in a world of pain. At the same time, all that exertion was starting to do the same to him.

  Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.

  Just after nine, the man he was looking for burst out of a building to his left. Made a direct line for the parking lot, walking fast and jabbering into a cell-phone.

  Almost indistinguishable from a hundred other males on the quad at that time.

  If not for the fervor with which he burst through the building doors, Notch would have missed him. Instead, he was on his feet and moving fast in the same direction.

  His own truck was parked nearby, but he didn't have time to go for it. Had to hope to corner the guy somewhere out of sight. At the very least, get a look at what he's driving.

  Notch left the book on the bench beside him. Bounded across the quad in long, stiff-legged strides.

  A dozen heads turned to stare at him. Any hope of staying incognito was long gone.

  Like he gave a shit.

  Ahead of him the young man finished his phone call and walked to the rear of the parking lot. Climbed into a faded pickup truck and fired it up.

  Notch made it halfway across the lot before the truck eased by. The driver never even glanced in his direction.

  Notch spotted the license plate as the truck rumbled away. Repeated it to himself as he walked on through the lot and into the intramural fields across the street.

  Yelena answered on the second ring. Just the sound of her voice set his nerves on end. "You've found her?"

  "No," Notch said. "But I found him. Write this down."

  He rattled off the license plate number. Told her it was from the state of Tennessee.

  "I told you to find me a girl. You found me a license plate," Yelena said. Voice thick with disgust.

  Notch matched the tone. "No, I found who she met with. Now you get on the phone with that fat ass Sheriff and get me a name and address."

  Yelena remained silent.

  Notch was not about to back down this time. They'd come to him. They needed his help a hell of a lot more than he needed theirs this time.

  "Call me when you have it," he said. Hung up.

  Walked back to his truck to wait for more information.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Ava's bottom just touched the front seat before the truck lurched forward. She let out a small yelp and slammed the door shut as they shot ahead to a stop light.

  "What the hell's going on?" Ava asked.

  Drake was still stewing. Both hands gripped the wheel. He was doing his best to swallow his anger.

  He couldn't take it out on Ava. It wasn't her fault.

  He damned sure couldn't let it out on who they were going to see. That would only make things worse.

  "I was over in the clinic office this morning. Had a little chat," Drake said.

  "Oh God. What did Lauer say?"

  Drake shook his head. "Greg and Wyatt. Said the word on the street is we're both already up to our necks in it."

  Ava made a face. Mulled the information.

  "But that doesn't make any sense. How could..." She let her voice trail off. "Lauer."

  "Lauer," Drake echoed. Bobbed his head. "Son of a bitch threw us under the bus."

  Ava rested an elbow on the window sill. Pressed her hand to her forehead. "But that still doesn't add up. I mean, why would he do that?"

  "You remember that list of people Beth rattled off to us the other day? This thing is big."

  Ava rotated her head at the neck. Stared at him. "You really think he's involved?"

  "She did say there was a lawyer involved to handle all the paperwork."

  "Yeah, but he isn't the guy who was at the adoption hearing the other day," Ava said.

  "No, but he's the guy that took us there," Drake countered.

  Silence fell between them. There was just enough coincidence and circumstance to argue both sides.

  Neither one liked it.

  "Where are we going now?" Ava asked.

  "DA's office," Drake said.

  Ava grunted. They had discussed the option last night. Both agreed they wouldn't take it there unless something happened to force their hand.

  Something had happened.

  Drake maneuvered the truck through downtown. Came to a stop on the north end in front of an aging brick building. The title United States Attorney's Office - District of Montana was embossed on the side.

  "We have an appointment?" Ava asked.

  "Nope," Drake said. Exited the truck.

  Ava did the same. "Do we care?"

  "Not even a little bit," Drake said. Went for the front door. Held it open and motioned her inside.

  "Careful," Ava whispered. "I might end up liking someone from Montana."

  Drake continued to glower. "I am not from Montana."

  Together they entered and unloaded their pockets for the bevy of Marshalls working the door. Passed through the metal detectors and on inside.

  They paused just long enough to check the directory on the wall before going to the second floor.

  The building was old by most city standards. Par for the course in Missoula. Lots of red brick and hardwood floors. Bright overhead lights.

  Drake took the stairs two at a time. Had to wait at the top for Ava, who has having a much more difficult time in her skirt and blouse.

  Still far overdressed.

  They entered the DA's office at the same time to find things subdued, even for a Monday morning. A very tired looking secretary looked them both up and down as they approached. Pursed her lips.

  "Can you help you kids?"

  The word choice and tone was noted by both. Neither commented.

  "Is the District Attorney in?" Drake asked.

  "Do you have an appointment?" She could not have looked more bored. Even used a pencil to twirl her hair. Hair that should have been silver bu
t was now an off-shade of orange.

  "No ma'am."

  "I'm sorry, he's in court all day."

  Drake made a face, looked at the ground.

  "How about one of the Assistant DA's?" Ava asked.

  "We don't have Assistants here," the receptionist said. "We have Deputies."

  Now both of them were making a face.

  "Can we speak to one of them?" Drake asked.

  "I don't know. Can you?"

  Both of them exchanged a glance. Drake's said he would never hit a woman, but he wasn't above sending Ava over after her.

  Ava's said she would let him.

  Before either one of them could make good on their unspoken idea, a man stepped out from a back office. Tall, with short strawberry blonde hair pushed to the side. Moustache clipped tight. Cup of coffee in hand.

  "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

  Drake pushed out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, we were hoping to talk to a Deputy DA for a few minutes."

  "What's this about?" the man asked.

  "We would like to enlist the office's help," Ava said.

  "And you are?"

  The two exchanged another glance.

  "For the time being, citizens," Drake said.

  The man nodded. Checked his watch. "I have twelve minutes. That work?"

  "We'll take it," Drake said.

  The receptionist buzzed them past the front desk. They followed the man into his office, took up chairs across a cluttered desk from him.

  The office was tiny. Just large enough to hold all three of them. Bookcases lined two walls. An L-shaped desk took the other two.

  A handful of family photos and children's artwork filled in any free space.

  The man introduced himself as Timothy Wise, Deputy District Attorney. He shook each of their hands in turn.

  "So what brings you in today?" he asked.

  Just as they had the day before, they rehashed the story. Unlike the day before, they went a little slower. Finished in five minutes flat.

  When they were done, Wise sat and stared at his desk. Said nothing. Laced his fingers in front of him and frowned.

  "You both say you're in law school, so I assume you know how this works?" he asked.

  "Yes," Drake said. "Normally, not always, but normally, cases come to you from law enforcement."