not stupid. Tank’s connected to crucial information the army needs. With any luck, General Holloway will step in and get Bran released.”
With any luck, she silently repeated, praying she could convince him.
“All right, then we’d better get going,” Ty said.
She leaned up and kissed his unshaven cheek. “Thanks for this, Ty. Thanks for everything you’ve done.”
He just shrugged. “Didn’t really do much, and the kids enjoyed your visit.”
Her car started right up. She stopped at the kiosk near the gate to pay the exorbitant fee for parking for so many days. She didn’t like using her credit card for fear they might be able to track her, but she didn’t have that much cash. It was comforting to know Ty was right behind her.
Fort Carson was almost due south out of Denver down I-25. Without much traffic this early, they made good time. She waved goodbye out the window as she pulled up to the front gate of the army base.
While Ty turned around and headed back the way he’d come, the uniformed soldier in the security guardhouse phoned General Holloway’s office. As director of Chemical Materials Activity, Holloway was the man who most wanted the stolen weapons found. And he had the kind of authority it would take to arrange for Bran’s release.
“The office won’t be open yet,” the guard said, “but I can always reach someone if necessary.”
“I’d appreciate it.” She took a deep breath, praying the general was in Colorado and not Kentucky. If not, she’d find someone else. She wouldn’t give up till Bran was out of jail.
* * *
Bran sat on the bunk in the holding cell he’d occupied since sheriff’s deputies had arrested him. It smelled like stale beer and bad breath. Galen had questioned him, but he’d only repeated what he’d said before. Check Coffman’s pistol. A match would implicate the man in Petrov’s murder.
After that he’d stayed silent. During his phone call to Chase, his brother had warned him to keep his mouth shut until he had an attorney. Since he respected his oldest brother’s opinion, which was usually right, he clammed up. Let them interrogate Tank and see what they came up with.
In the meantime, they’d be running ballistics on Coffman’s .45 and checking the guy’s alibi for the night of Petrov’s murder. With any luck, something would click. The sheriff would find enough evidence to arrest Coffman on murder charges, and once army brass got involved, he could be pressured to roll on Weaver.
The long game for Bran.
And he would be out of jail.
He stood up as one of the deputies arrived and his cell door slid open with a noisy clang. The deputy, heavyset, with a slight paunch, motioned for him to follow. He wound up down the hall in the stark white interrogation room he’d been in before.
It felt like an hour passed, but it was only a few minutes before Detective Mace Galen walked in. Galen slapped a manila file folder down on the metal-framed table, ran two fingers over the blond mustache beneath his nose, and gave Bran a hard stare.
“You want the good news first or the bad news?”
He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. “I could use a little good news for a change.”
“Ballistics matched the bullet that killed Petrov to the gun we got when we picked you up at the county line.”
Bran felt a sweep of relief. “I figured.” But he hadn’t been sure. “What’s the bad news?”
“Bad news is Coffman claims the gun belongs to you. You planted the pistol, set him up to take the fall. He’s just an innocent victim.”
Bran snorted a laugh and sat up straighter in the chair. “Don’t tell me you’re buying it. The guy probably has a rap sheet as long as your arm.”
Galen ignored him and tapped the file. “You admitted to having a beef with Petrov before he died. You assaulted him. Now we have the murder weapon and your fingerprints are all over it.”
“The assault on Petrov was self-defense. I told you that at the time. He was hired to murder my client. You have the murder weapon now because I brought in Petrov’s killer. I took the gun off him at the roadhouse. Coffman’s prints are bound to be on it, too.”
“Anything you want to say before we officially bring charges?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a lawyer on the way. Be easier for all of us if you just arrested Coffman. You and I both