Storm Prey

only a mile from Barakat’s and the crime scene, and Lucas ran through the logic. “Four guys rob the place. One of them is the doc, Barakat, who set it up, and we know he’s the right guy, because we find that load of drugs in his house. The other three are Chapman, Haines, and Joe Mack. Haines gets scratched, and Joe Mack and Barakat are seen. The Macks and the doc decide that Chapman and Haines have to go. Probably because they know that Haines was scratched, and that we were going to identify him when we ran the DNA. Maybe they figure that they have to take out Chapman, too, because he and Haines were old buddies.
    “So they do that. They bring in Garner to do the killing, because they know Garner’s a killer. He kills Chapman and Haines. He takes a shot at Weather, because Weather has seen Joe Mack and Barakat, close up. He misses. Then Joe Mack freaks out when we jump him, and he runs. He kidnaps Jill MacBride, takes her to the airport. Garner comes to pick him up, and probably kills MacBride.
    “Now they’ve got a bigger problem. Now we’ve got Joe Mack for a capital crime. Garner and Barakat start to worry about Joe dealing them, so they decide to cut the Macks out of the deal, and the idea is to kill them and keep the drugs. They get Lyle and Ike, but miss Joe.
    “But they still want to get Weather, because she also saw Barakat, in the elevator. They get close in, but then Virgil and I jump him in the hospital, and Virgil shoots him in the toe.”
    “Nice shot, Flowers,” Shrake said.
    “I was shooting to wound,” Virgil said.
    “Shut up,” Lucas said. “I’m talking here. So we track down Garner, and he’s killed. There’s no one left standing, now, except Joe Mack and Barakat. Joe Mack knows who killed his family, so he ambushes Barakat and breaks his neck.”
    “That’s the weakest point,” Weather said. “You don’t know that.”
    “In this whole episode, the only really tall guy was Joe Mack. He’s taller than me, and stronger. The ME says the guy who killed Barakat was probably taller than Barakat, and had to be exceptionally strong to snap his neck like that. Joe Mack is the obvious candidate,” Lucas said. “Killed him out of revenge. He knew that Barakat had killed Lyle and Ike.”
    “So Weather’s okay,” Virgil said.
    “I’m a little better than that,” Weather said. “I think I’m excellent.”
    Marcy: “You have the logic. If the DNA comes in on Garner, for killing MacBride, I’ll buy the whole enchilada.”
    “I’ll bet you a hundred dollars it does,” Lucas said.
    Virgil said, “I’m going home, soon as my shirts get out of the dryer.”

    HE STARTED packing up, Marcy headed for Minneapolis, Shrake and Jenkins were talking about an ice-fishing tournament on White Bear Lake.
     
     
    LUCAS AND WEATHER were sitting in the kitchen, alone, and Weather went through the whole sequence of the final operation.
    “So the kids are going to be okay,” Lucas said.
    “Well ... they’re going to have problems. With a good family, by the time they’re in first grade, they should be, you know, more or less okay. There’ll still be some issues.”
    “A happy ending,” Lucas said.
    “As for me, I’m going to get pregnant again,” Weather said.
    “You got the daddy picked out?”
    “Yup.”
    “You’re too old,” Lucas said.
    “No, I’m not.”
    “You’re too busy.”
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Well. Okay, then.”
     
     
    VIRGIL CAME down the hall with his bag and shotgun case, and said, “Thanks for your hospitality. Let’s not do it again.”
    “Drive carefully,” Weather said. “The roads are terrible.”
    Lucas’s phone rang, and he dug it out of his pocket. Caller unknown.
    He pushed the answer button: “Hello?”
    “Mr. Davenport?”
    He couldn’t quite place the voice, but it was familiar. State Farm? “Yes?”
    “This is Joe Mack.”
    Virgil was turning away, but Lucas held up a finger, and he stopped. “Joe Mack? Joe—how you doing?”
    Joe Mack laughed and said, “Well, not real fuckin’ good, you know? After crackin’ Al’s neck last night, I went out and got seriously in the bag. Where I still am.”
    “In the bag?”
    “In the bag. Anyway, I’m down at the bar, if you want to come get me.”
    “Give me fifteen minutes,” Lucas said.
     
     
    “HOW’D HE KNOW your phone number?” Virgil asked, as Lucas got his coat on.
    “I gave my card to Honey Bee, wrote my home number on it. He’s been talking to