Chattering Blue Jay

by Paty Jager

  “He’s the drunk on the end. I cut him off about an hour ago, but he hasn’t left.” The bartender moved off to pour another drink.

  Hawke led the way over to the man sitting at the end of the counter. There was an open stool on his left. Hawke motioned for Dani to take the seat. She did and immediately pulled out her phone.

  Moving to the man’s right, he set his beer on the counter. “Mr. Trask?”

  The man glanced up at him and squinted. The bar was dark, squinting in the bad lighting wouldn’t have helped his sight any more than all the alcohol he’d consumed. “Yeah. Who are you?”

  “I’m Hawke. I wanted to talk to you about Felix White.”

  The man started shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about that. Herman told me I’d never have to talk to anyone about that.”

  “Herman knew you’d falsified police reports about White, didn’t he?” Hawke decided he’d just ask questions. The man wasn’t in any shape to lie.

  “He told me to write up the reports and what to put on them. I’d borrowed money from him for gambling and owed him so much I couldn’t say no.” He dropped his face into his hands and mumbled, “If Teresa ever finds out she’ll have an attack and die.”

  “Who’s Teresa?” Hawke asked.

  “My sister. She’s married to Herman. She has a weak heart.” Trask noticed the beer. His gaze fixed on the glass. He licked his lips. “Who did you say you were?”

  “Hawke. I’m a State Trooper from Oregon.”

  Trask dragged his gaze from the beer to him. “Oregon? Why are you asking about White and Herman?”

  “Because I was tracking White when he was killed by Sean Sheridan.” Hawke watched the man closely. It didn’t appear the name meant anything to the drunk.

  “Never heard of him.”

  “What about Tonya Cox?” Hawke believed the man had left Idaho before Tonya started her investigation into the wrongful incarceration of White.

  “Tonya’s a sweet kid. She’s a newspaper reporter. Her parents were killed years ago. I was the policeman on her parents’ case. Never did figure out why they ran off the road. If they were fighting, if her dad fell asleep. Never could figure it out.” He licked his lips and his hand started to ease toward the beer on the bar. “I think that’s why she became a reporter. To investigate.”

  Hawke slid the beer toward the man’s hand. He didn’t like drunks, but he wanted the man to keep talking. Being his friend by giving him a drink would help.

  “Did she ever call and ask you about White?” She should have recognized his name on the police reports. Why hadn’t she mentioned knowing Officer Trask instead of going through the ploy of calling Mrs. Childress to get the phone number?

  “No. She wouldn’t know about White. Those records disappeared right after White went to jail for killing that family.” Trask drank half the glass of beer in one long gulped. Then he belched.

  “What if I told you, she is the one who brought the falsified documents to me?” Hawke watched bewilderment and then fear misshape his face.

  “She stole the records?” He focused on Hawke. “Who did you say you were?”

  “I’m with the Oregon State Police.”

  “Shit! Are you taking me back? I can’t go to jail. I’m a retired policeman.” The man was practically crying.

  “I’m going to call the Mesa Police and have them hold you for extradition back to Idaho. I’d like to have you tell the Idaho State Police everything you know about the records you falsified for your brother-in-law.”

  “He’ll kill me if he knows I’m ratting him out.” The man finished off the glass of beer. “I gotta go.”

  Hawke grabbed him by the arm and led him toward the entrance, glad to see Dani was right behind him.

  Outside, he handcuffed the man and set him on a stone bench in front of the building.

  “Keep an eye on him while I call the police,” he said to Dani.

  She nodded, and he looked up the city police on his phone.

  «»«»«»

  By the time Hawke talked the police into arresting Trask and then told them someone from Idaho State Police would be coming to get him, it was getting late. They walked out of the police station and both slid into the SUV Hawke had rented.

  “I’d planned on heading back tonight but it’s late.” He studied the woman in the passenger seat. She didn’t look tired, but she had to be. She’d told him she’d rose early that morning to help Tuck, her wrangler, build an addition to the corral.

  “I wouldn’t argue with you about staying the night and going back tomorrow.”

  “Your plane going to be okay at the airport overnight?”

  “I just have to make a call.” She pulled out her phone.

  “I need to call my sergeant so he can get the Idaho State Police down here quickly.” He stepped out of the car and made his call to Spruel.

  “This better be good Hawke. It’s late.”

  “I have William Trask, the cop who falsified the records on White, being held at the Mesa, Arizona city police for the Idaho State Police to come get.”

  “How did you get to Mesa... Never mind, I don’t want to know. I’ll call Idaho and let them know. You better get this written up so I know what I’m talking about.”

  “I’ll head to a motel room and leave you a long message on your phone at work. I’ll be back in Oregon in the morning.”

  “How are you getting around so fast?” Spruel asked.

  Hawke glanced at the woman sitting in the rental car. “I have my own pilot.” Before the sergeant could ask any more questions, he dropped the connection and slid into the driver’s seat.

  “Did you happen to see any motels on the way to Trask’s?”

  “I’m sure if we drive back toward the airport, we’ll find something,” Dani said, putting on her seat belt.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The next morning, Hawke woke refreshed. He glanced at the woman in the bed beside him and while his brain told him he should have gone on to a motel that had two rooms available, his body was happy he hadn’t.

  She’d been at the counter with him when the clerk said there was only one room left. Dani had stared him in the eyes and said, one was fine. Just subtle as that and the next thing he knew, he was fulfilling a dream he’d had ever since meeting the woman.

  Now, the morning after, and he didn’t feel awkward.

  She rolled over and smiled at him. “Did you make coffee?”

  “Nope. Just woke up myself.”

  “I smell coffee.” She raised up on one arm and stared at the unplugged appliance setting on the counter by the sink.

  “It’s not coming from this room.” Hawke stood and dressed. “If you get dressed, we can go grab coffee and something to eat and get back to Pendleton. I left Dog with my mom.”

  “You dumped your dog on your mom?” she said, slipping out of bed and giving him a full view of her compact body.

  “Also a deputy and a woman we are protecting.” He didn’t bother to look away as she dressed.

  “I would say, he is protecting. You flew off for a quickie.” She grinned and swat him on the butt as she walked by.

  “That wasn’t my intention when I called you,” he said to the closing of the bathroom door.

  His phone rang. Spruel.

  “Did you get my message?” Hawke asked by way of a greeting.

  “Yes. As soon as you can get that recording to me, the better. And McCord radioed that she thinks she found the evidence. She and the other trooper will be in Boise later today.”

  Hawke knew the trooper would get the job done. She reminded him of a younger version of the woman in the bathroom. “I’ll have the recording sent to you as soon as I can. I should have done that last night but I forgot.” The woman who had the recording had made him forget a lot of things. Including that he hadn’t planned to get involved with her.

  “Let me know when you’re back in the state.” Spruel disconnected.

  Dani walk
ed out of the bathroom. “Ready when you are.”

  He picked up the car keys and his hat and strode to the door. “Let’s go. I’m extra hungry this morning.”

  Dani grinned and walked through the door ahead of him.

  «»«»«»

  She flew him to Pendleton as if they hadn’t slept together the night before. No awkward conversation, just the usual banter and him asking some questions about flying the plane. This was what he’d expected from the woman. No strings attached, each going about their lives as they had been before last night. But he saw a softness in her eyes when she looked at him that hadn’t been there before.

  “Mom wants me to bring Kitree over for a visit. You might let Tuck and Sage know I’ll be contacting them about a time that works.” He stood at the door of the plane, knowing he should walk away, but lingering, uncertain how to say he’d talk to her later.

  “I’ll let them know. Maybe you could come get her and stay the night.” The wistfulness in her voice, told him what he wanted to know.

  “Sounds like a plan.” He closed the door and waved as he backed away.

  It was the first time in a long time that he was looking forward to seeing a woman again. He strode off the tarmac, through the building, and out to the rental car. The first thing he wanted to do was question Tonya about knowing Officer Trask.

  He drove back to his mom’s and noted Mathews’ Mustang was missing. Had he and Tonya gone somewhere? He shouldn’t have left the woman alone. Not when she had so much contradictory information about her.

  Hawke jogged to the front door and entered the house. It smelled of pancake syrup and cookies. “Mom!” he called, heading to the kitchen.

  Dog bounded out of the kitchen and planted his front paws on Hawke’s stomach. “Hey boy.” He ruffled the dog’s ears and moved on by.

  Mimi sat at the table with Annie and a little boy. The two children were sprinkling colored candies on cookies his mom was frosting.

  “Why are you yelling? You stayed out all night. You said you would be back.” The accusing tone in her voice had the two children leaning back in their chairs.

  “I should have called. Things went later than I thought they would. I spent the night and came home this morning.”

  “You better not have been with Linda.” She stood and sniffed him. Her eyes narrowed. “Children go outside.”

  The two headed to the door, though Annie moved much slower than the little boy.

  “You were with a woman,” his mom hissed. “I told you to stay away from Linda.”

  “It wasn’t Linda. You would approve of this woman. Where are Mathews and Tonya?” He wasn’t going to get into a long conversation with his mom about Dani. Not when he wasn’t sure where they were headed himself.

  “He got a phone call, and they said to tell you they were going back to Boise.” She studied him.

  Shit! “When did they leave?”

  “About two hours ago.” She sat back down. “I was happy to get my house back.”

  “Sorry I dropped them in your living room. But I need to call Mathews and see what is going on.” He kissed the top of her head and picked up a cookie. She always appreciated when people enjoyed her cooking.

  He paced the living room waiting for Mathews to pick up the call. His voice mail said to leave a message. “Where are you? Why are you going to Boise? This is Hawke. Call me. Tonya knows more than she’s told us.”

  Frustration pounded in his temples. He didn’t want to be driving all over trying to figure out what was happening. But his pickup was in Boise, he needed to return the rental car, and McCord had found White’s evidence.

  He strode back into the kitchen. “Mom, I’m going to get out of your hair, too. Thank you for putting up with us—me. I’ll make sure to bring Kitree over for a stay soon.”

  “You make promises to your mother you better keep them,” she called as he hurried to the bedroom and grabbed his duffel bag and Dog’s bag of food and treats. “Come on, boy, we’re going to Boise.”

  Once everything was stashed in the car, including Dog, Hawke dialed Spruel to update him on what he’d found when he returned.

  “What do you mean you lost Ms. Cox!” Spruel boomed through the phone.

  “I don’t know who called Mathews from Boise that made him take her back there, but I’m headed there now.” He pulled onto the interstate and pushed the accelerator down. “If you could make some calls and see who called him back, I’d appreciate it. Right now, he’s not answering his phone. He should be between Baker City and Ontario if my mom was correct about the time he left.”

  “What is he driving?” Spruel asked.

  Hawke gave him all the information he remembered about the vehicle.

  “I’ll put a request out for patrol cars in that area to look out for him and pull him over until you get there.” The connection went dead.

  “Thank you, Sergeant Spruel,” Hawke said and scratched Dog’s head. “Let’s go as fast as the speed limit allows,” he said, and then put the cruise five miles an hour faster. He was two hours behind Mathews and needed to make up time.

  «»«»«»

  Spruel called Hawke as he topped the hill and caught a glimpse of Baker City.

  “A trooper has Mathews and the woman pulled over at the Huntington exit. Mathews tried to use his deputy status to get away, but I’d given orders for them to be held until you get there.”

  “Thanks. I just passed Baker City. I’ll be going faster than the speed limit in a rental twenty-nineteen Mustang. You might let anyone else patrolling the area know.” He ended the call and pushed the car up to ninety. The vehicle had the engine for the speed and the mobility. But he didn’t like driving this fast without a siren to tell the other drivers he was a trooper not a sportscar nut disobeying the rules.

  Nearing the exit for Huntington, he spotted the patrol car behind the older Mustang. Hawke pulled in behind the patrol car, rolled the windows down, and stepped out.

  The patrolman had Mathews and Tonya standing with their backs to his car, facing the side of the road.

  They both glanced his direction as he approached. Tonya’s eyes narrowed. Mathews glared at him.

  “What’s the big idea having us pulled over like this?” Mathews asked, stepping toward him.

  The patrolman, put a hand on Mathews’ chest, holding him in place. The deputy swat at the trooper’s hand.

  “Because you didn’t answer when I called, and,” Hawke stopped in front of Tonya. “Ms. Cox hasn’t been telling us the truth.”

  She glared back at him, her lips pinched together.

  Hawke faced Mathews. “Who called you?”

  “Idaho State Police. They said we needed to come back to Boise.” Mathews crossed his arms.

  “No one at the Idaho State Police knew you were helping me. They shouldn’t even have known you were with Tonya.” Hawke moved his gaze to the woman. She stared at the name tag on the state trooper who pulled them over. “Who did you contact about where you were and who you were with?” Hawke wondered if the woman was really in danger or if she, indeed, was the killer of two men. One to keep him quiet about the information he’d found and the other to keep him quiet about her killing the first man.

  When the woman continued to ignore him, he shifted his attention to Mathews. “Why didn’t you answer my call?” Hawke pointed to the phone in the deputy’s pocket.

  “It didn’t ring.” He pulled it out. “It’s turned off...” The deputy faced Tonya. “Why did you turn my phone off? To keep Hawke from contacting me?” Mathews took a step toward Tonya.

  Hawke grabbed her by the wrist. “Ms. Cox you can ride with me to Boise. The evidence you say White had hidden in his family’s cabin is now in Idaho State Police custody.” Hawke nodded to Mathews. “You can lead the way or follow.” Then he turned to the trooper he’d seen at a couple of trainings. “Johnson, thank you for detaining these two. I’ll see that Ms. Cox meets up with whoever called Mathews from the Idaho State Police.”


  His comment caused the woman to flinch. It was obvious it hadn’t been the police who called Mathews and she knew it.

  “Not a problem, Hawke.” The trooper headed for his vehicle.

  Hawke led Tonya to the rental car and opened the passenger door. “In the back,” he told Dog, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. The animal hopped into the back seat, but had his eyes on the woman as she sat in the passenger seat.

  “I’d not try anything stupid. Dog doesn’t care for you and if you try to hurt me, he’s going to intervene.” Hawke closed the passenger door and walked around to the driver’s side.

  Once he was in the driver’s seat, Hawke started the car and pulled into the fast-moving traffic. Mathews fell in behind him.

  “Want to tell me why you neglected to tell us that you knew Officer Trask?” Hawke asked.

  She stared out the side window.

  “I guess I’ll discover all of it when we get to the State Police headquarters. They must have information since they wanted you to come back there.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Hawke pulled into the parking lot at the Idaho State Police building in Meridian. Mathews parked beside him.

  Rolling the windows down, Hawke told Dog to stay.

  Mathews opened the passenger door and helped Tonya out of the car. “I can’t believe I fell for your act of not wanting to come back to Idaho when you had staged the whole thing for me to bring you here.”

  Hawke studied the deputy. It seemed he’d thought about a lot on the rest of the drive to Boise without the woman in his car, twisting his thoughts. He stepped up and took hold of the woman by the upper arm and led her up to the doors of the building. They couldn’t arrest her, with so little evidence. Only the knowledge she was with White when he was killed, though she said Sheridan killed him and she was at the cabin at the same time Sheridan was killed. And she had been lying about many things while also giving them information that was helping. He didn’t know how to treat her anymore.

  He was surprised to see Trooper McCord standing inside the door as if waiting for them. The small lobby had locked doors on either side.