Blanco County 04 - Guilt Trip by Ben Rehder Read Free Book Online Page A

and said, “So give me the details.”
    Marlin summarized the day’s events, concluding with the fact that there had been no sign whatsoever of Scofield. There had been no calls reporting any other missing persons, so Marlin was reasonably certain Scofield had been alone in the Ford Explorer.
    “You pretty sure he was in the vehicle?” Colby asked.
    “Man, I don’t know. If he managed to get out, you’d think he would’ve called us by now. Somebody would know where he is.”
    “You talk to any relatives?” Colby asked.
    “Deputies reached his father, but he wasn’t any help. Ex-wife in Austin, same thing.”
    “What about his hunting buddies? That club they’re all in.”
    “None of them had a clue.”
    “So what’s the plan?”
    “Get back out there in the morning and start over. The water’ll be lower and I can use the boat.”
    “How about a cadaver dog?”
    “Too early for that. Maybe the third or fourth day.”
    “Guess he could be hung up underwater. Caught on a tree stump or something.”
    Marlin nodded.
    “Or way downstream,” Colby added. “Didn’t one ol’ boy make it all the way to Lake Travis once?”
    “Yeah, a family in a boat found him four days later.”
    That victim’s body had traveled more than thirty miles on the Pedernales River, over dams and low-water crossings, to the large lake just northwest of Austin.
    Marlin studied the moon, just past full, hanging low in the sky like a tomato on the vine. The storm system was long gone, and no more rain was expected anytime soon.
    “What time’re you gonna get back out there?” Colby asked.
    “First light.”
    “Can you swing by and pick me up?”
    “Yeah, that’d be great.” Marlin knew from experience, there were usually fewer volunteers on the second day. It stood to reason. The sense of urgency was no longer there. No emergency services would be needed; the body would be found when it wanted to be found.
    Marlin took a swig of beer, and both men sat without talking for quite some time, listening to the chatter of crickets and the scrape of limbs against the rain gutters.
    “You haven’t told me much about Dallas,” Colby said.
    Marlin made a gesture with his hands. Not much to tell.
    “How was it?” Colby persisted.
    “You ever been to a wedding before?”
    “Well…yeah. Plenty.”
    “It was just like all of those.”
    The only difference, Marlin thought to himself, was that he should’ve been up there instead of the groom—some guy named Scott, who worked in the world of advertising of all things. Wrote copy or slogans or whatever you call it. Marlin had formed a mental image right from the start: a slick, schmoozy guy who dressed all in black and said things like “Let’s do lunch.” Christ.
    Colby chuckled to himself. “So you don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Nope.”
    Three months ago, Marlin had received a call from Becky Cameron, a woman who had spent a year by his side and later blew a hole in his heart by leaving. On the phone, she had told him she was getting married, and she would be honored if he could attend. She would also understand if he chose not to. The news filled him with a wistfulness so intense it dulled his senses for several days afterward. But yeah, he had gone, and Becky had looked so damn beautiful standing at the altar, all he could think during the ceremony was… What if ?
    What if I had moved to Dallas to be with her?
    “You got a bum deal with Becky, that’s all it was,” Colby said quietly.
    Marlin didn’t reply.
    “She was a big-city nurse, she needed a big-city hospital. Nothing you could do about that.”
    Marlin remained silent.
    “Lots of good women in Blanco County.”
    Marlin looked at him. “You think so?”
    “Hell, yeah.”
    “That girl you’ve been seeing lately—”
    “Melinda.”
    “Where’s she from?”
    “Austin.”
    Marlin nodded, making his point.
    “Yeah, but it’s worth the drive,” Colby said. “Every minute of it.”
    “If things