The City PI and the Country Cop (7 page)

Once he’d settled in, he called Keir. It took
the young man so long to answer Teague began to worry. Relieved
when Keir did, Teague said, “I hope you have your phone on
vibrate.”

“Well duh. And I didn’t answer until I was
sure there wasn’t anyone around.”

“Are you in the park?”

“Yep,” Keir replied. “Hunkered down by a
stand of bushes that served as my, you should excuse the
expression, bedroom. I gotta tell you, there wasn’t much going on
around here, but then, it was a Monday night.”

“Makes sense. I’m at the motel Hoyt
suggested, if you want to come by and catch some real sleep.” He
told Keir how to get to it from the park when the young man said
that sounded good to him.

After they hung up, Teague called Hoyt. The
detective answered on the first ring, asking right off the bat if
everything was all right.

“It is. I got a room at the Cut-Rate, in
back. Number 110.”

“Using your name?” Hoyt asked.

“A variation. Don Teagan.”

“That works. What do you look like?”

Teague chuckled. “I’m six-one, blond—”

“That is not what I meant and you know
it.”

“Yeah, I did. My hair is short now. No beard
or mustache. Dark framed glasses.”

“Glasses?”

“I have a pair in case something happens and
I lose a contact.”

“You wear…? Okay, obviously you do from what
you said. The glasses will do a lot to keep people who’ve seen you
from recognizing you now. Good ploy.”

“Bad eyes,” Teague countered with a laugh.
“But yeah, I’ve done this before and it does help. Right now I look
sort of like a studious professor heading home before classes start
up again.”

“That would be a good cover story,” Hoyt
commented. “Especially around here. There’s a small university
about forty miles to the west. We get profs coming in for winter
break to ski, so people are used to seeing older college types in
the area.”

“Maybe I should gray my hair and get one of
those jackets with the leather patches on the sleeves and smoke a
pipe.”

Hoyt snorted. “Let’s not get carried
away.”

“Don’t worry. Among other things, I don’t
smoke so I’d probably spend half my time coughing when I
inhaled.”

“Which wouldn’t work for the image,” Hoyt
agreed before changing the subject. “Have you been in contact with
Keir?”

“Yep. He said it was a slow night. I should
get more of report when he shows up to get some decent sleep.”

There was a long moment of silence on Hoyt’s
end before he replied coolly, “Let me know what he says.”

“Of course.” Teague frowned. “Is something
wrong?”

“No.”

“Hoyt…”

“I said no!”

“Wait a second. Okay, maybe I’m misreading
this, but just so you know, Keir’s like a son to me, and a damned
good employee. Nothing more.”

“Did I say differently?” Hoyt asked calmly.
But Teague thought he heard relief in his voice.

“No. I just wanted to make that clear.”

“Thanks for…All right. Yeah, I got a twinge
of…jealousy.” Hoyt huffed out a small laugh. “Not that I should
have.”

“I might have myself, if the situation was
reversed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” There was a soft tap on the
door just then. “Hang on. I think my employee—” Teague emphasized
the word, “—has arrived. Do you want to come by and hear what he
has to say?”

Hoyt chuckled softly. “No, that’s all right.
Among other things, I probably should stay clear of any even
semi-public contact with you, and him. All things considered.”

“Yeah. Okay, I’ll call to give you an
update.”

“Thanks. Go let him in before he wonders if
he’s got the wrong room. Talk to you later.”

Teague hung up and went to open the door,
making certain it was Keir, saying as he did, “You look beat, to
put it mildly.”

“I’m out of practice sleeping rough. I spent
half the night with one eye open. Used to be it was instinctive,
knowing if there was someone around I had to worry about.” Keir
yawned prodigiously, flopping down on one of the beds. “I’ll be
fine.”

“Before you pass out, did you see anyone who
tweaked your radar?”

Keir shrugged. “Like I said when you called,
it was slow. After midnight there were only three, four men at
best, one walking a dog. He stopped to talk to another guy, but as
far as I could tell they were just friends. I was sitting by the
edge of the river at one point and a dude walked by, giving me the
eye. I started to get up and he hurried away. Either he wasn’t
looking or he decided I wasn’t going to be his flavor of the night
after all. Oh. There was another kid hanging around. Looked worse
than I did. So at least I wasn’t the only one crashing there.”

“Was he hustling, too?”

“Hard to tell, since when I saw him we were
the only two people around. He gave me a nod and kept going. He
headed into the trees like he knew what he was doing so I’d bet
he’s sort of a regular. At least until he decides to move on.”

“All right. Get some rest. It’s noon now.
I’ll wake you around four.”

Keir nodded, toeing off his shoes, then
sliding under the comforter. Seconds later he was asleep.

With nothing else to do until late afternoon,
Teague decided to check out Faircrest as if he was a tourist. That
way he could test his new look in the process. His first stop was
the motel he’d been staying at previously. When he walked into the
lobby the desk clerk who had been there that morning glanced up
from her computer. She frowned momentarily, as if she thought she
recognized him, then with a shake of her head she asked, “Are you
looking for a room?”

“Perhaps,” Teague replied, coming closer.
“What are your rates?” When she told him, he smiled wryly. “Sorry,
that’s a bit too steep for my budget.” She suggested two other
motels in town that were more affordable. He thanked her and
left.

Other than that first second, she didn’t
connect the new me to the old one. Probably told herself I reminded
her of a dozen other guys who’ve stayed there in the past.

His next stop was the restaurant where he and
Hoyt had eaten dinner two nights earlier. Unfortunately neither the
hostess, Kelly, nor the waitress they’d had were on duty at the
moment. The bartender, who’d served them their drinks while they
waited for a table, was there however. Teague took a seat at the
end of the bar and ordered a beer.

“So, I’m at the tag end of a vacation,”
Teague said when the bartender came back with his drink. “Are there
any spots I should check out?”

“Depends on what you’re interested in,” the
man replied, leaning against the bar. “If you’re into sports you
can go white water rafting or mountain biking. There’s historic
spots like the old hotel on Main Street. It’s got rooms dedicated
to famous people who stayed there, like Will Rogers. There’s a
couple of museums and the usual compliment of art galleries if
that’s your thing. You can get a brochure at whatever motel you’re
staying at that can give you better info.”

“Good idea,” Teague said. “Thanks for the
ideas though. I hadn’t thought of rafting, but then this is my
first time visiting the mountains. I bet you really get hit during
ski season.”

Teague kept the man talking long enough to
know that the guy didn’t remember him. After paying for his drink,
leaving the half-empty bottle on the bar, Teague took off. Since he
was hungry, and he was certain Keir would be when he woke up,
Teague stopped by the restaurant where he’d eaten his first day in
town. Again, the people working there didn’t blink twice when they
saw him, even though he had to wait for his to-go order so they had
plenty of time to look at him.

Certain now that his cover was working,
Teague drove back to the motel. After setting out their meals,
Teague shook Keir’s shoulder to wake him, jumping back quickly when
Keir came out of what seemed to be a deep sleep with his knife in
one hand.

“Whoa, it’s just me,” Teague said
sharply.

Keir sheathed the knife with an abashed
smile. “Sorry. Old habits kicking in.”

“Not a problem. I’d rather that than someone
being able to take you by surprise and you not reacting. I’ve got
food if you’re hungry.”

“Lead me to it. Well, after I hit the john.”
Taking his backpack with him, Keir went into the bathroom. Teague
heard the shower running, but when Keir finally reappeared a few
minutes later Teague wouldn’t have thought he’d done more than wash
his hands and face—and none too well at that. When he asked, Keir
showed him a small, empty baggie that had obviously had dirt in it.
“Trick of the trade,” Keir said with a grin. “I hate feeling dirty,
but I know I have to look like I haven’t bathed in a while.”

“Works for me,” Teague said. “Let’s eat and
then we’ll figure out the plan for tonight.”

Twenty minutes later they were tossing the
detritus of their meals in the trash after rinsing out the
containers to avoid the possibility of insects invading.

Teague turned the desk chair around, sitting
with his arms across the back. “Now down to business.”

“Meaning you hitting up the park, looking to
hook up with someone,” Keir replied, leaning casually back against
the wall behind the head of the bed.

“I think tonight, being new in town, I’ll
just stroll through like your average tourist. Maybe check out some
of the guys, if there are any around, but only in a casual, ‘he’s
interesting’ way. I want to establish my presence but not make it
look like the only reason I’m in town is to find
companionship.”

“Going to check out The Red Calf, too?”

“Definitely, since we don’t know where the
killer actually made contact with Grimes. Obviously it wasn’t
inside the club, but he could have seen the kid hanging around
outside, if the witness the police interviewed was correct about it
being Grimes that he saw at one point.”

Keir nodded, rapping a finger on the
nightstand. “Maybe I’ll take a pass by there. Hang across the
street like I’m checking out possibilities, or waiting for someone
to pick me up. In fact, I’ll even clean up a bit more than I am.”
He grinned. “Don’t want to scare away any potential clients, so to
speak.”

“Look, but don’t take anyone up on it if they
do approach you,” Teague told him.

“Yeah, I know. I haven’t done that since I
got off the streets.”

That Keir said that was no surprise to
Teague. The young man had been completely candid with Teague when
he’d first applied for a job working for the agency. “No sense in
not telling you the truth,” Keir had said at the time. “You’ll find
out sooner or later and I think you probably don’t like liars.”
Teague had agreed with him—and hired him based not only on his
schooling but his willingness to be open about his past life.

“We’ll start with the club,” Teague said.

* * * *

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” the
bartender at The Red Calf said, setting the beer Teague had ordered
down in front of him.

“I’m heading home after a short vacation,”
Teague replied with a smile. “Figured I lengthen it by a day or two
since this seems like a nice part of the country. It’s the first
time I’ve been in real mountains other than a layover at DIA on my
way from Chicago to San Francisco one time.”

The bartender snorted. “Denver’s hardly
considered in the mountains. The closest it gets to the Rockies is
the foothills.”

“All right. I stand corrected, but for a
flatlander it
felt
close since I could see them in the
distance.”

“See what?”

Teague turned to find out who had asked. It
was a man, maybe in his late twenties to early thirties. He said,
“My usual,” to the bartender then smiled at Teague. “Yeah, I’m
being nosy. It’s my middle name according to some people. I haven’t
seen you around here before.”

Teague chuckled, saying to the bartender, “I
think there’s an echo in here.”

“Happens a lot when there’s a new face in the
place,” the bartender replied as he mixed a martini for the
man.

“I’m Will, and you are?” Will asked, looking
at Teague.

“Don.”

“Nice to meet you.” Will sipped his drink and
pronounced it perfect. “So, are you just passing through?”

“Yep,” Teague replied. “Spending the last of
my vacation here. Like I was telling him—” he nodded toward the
bartender who had moved away to deal with other customers, “—I’ve
never been in the mountains per se, just flown over them. So, since
I’m driving this time, I figured what the hell.”

“I did that, and ended up moving here.”

They continued chatting for a while. As they
did, Teague watched the other customers in the bar. The majority of
them were straight couples, obviously out together for a drink
after work before heading elsewhere. There were a few men that
Teague pegged as probably gay, like Will, he presumed. None of them
tweaked his radar.
But then if the killer is in here, which is
probably ninety-to-one he’s not, he’s not going to make a show of
himself.

Will finished his drink and slid off the
barstool. “Hate to leave,” he said, resting his hand on Teague’s
shoulder, “but I should get home. I do have a job and they like it
if I’m awake while I’m there, which means getting some sleep.
Maybe, if you’re still in town tomorrow evening, we can hook up
here?”

Teague smiled and nodded. “Sure, why not. See
you then.” He doubted Will actually would show up the next night.
But then I probably won’t either.
He finished his beer and
left five minutes after Will. When he stepped out of the club he
looked across the street. Sure enough, Keir was there, leaning
against a building next to a cut-through. Their gazes met
momentarily. Teague gave a miniscule nod in the direction of the
park and then took off walking toward it, stopping occasionally to
look at something in a shop window to give Keir a chance to get
there before him.