Page 21 of Shelter for Sharla

“You’re welcome, and thank you.” Sam took the final swig of his coffee and set his cup down. “I’ve gotta get back, but call Livingston and see what he can tell you. Can’t hurt.”

“I will. Thanks again.” Carter watched the detective turn and head out, thinking all the while how nice it was thatsomebodywanted to help him. They all treated the tiny county seat of Cadiz like it was nothing. But if he figured this out…

He had to, for his reputation, for the good of his department, and for Trooper Palmer. And for Sharla, Chelsea, and Lionel.

* * *

Two beers.He was sufficiently loosened up, he figured, so he pulled out the slip of paper and dialed the number. It only rang twice before a male voice barked, “Yes?”

“I’m trying to reach CruzLivingston.”

“You’ve found him.”

“This is CarterMelton. I’m the sheriff in TriggCounty, Kentucky, and?”

“Sam! Yeah, he called and said he’d given you my number. Good to hear from you.”

Wow, this guy isn’t stuck up or short with me, Carter thought. He’d never thought anyone from the FBI would be willing to help him with anything. “Thanks. And thanks for talking to me.”

“We should all cooperate with each other. So whaddya got?”

Carter launched into the information he’d been given, but when he said the wordstanner de lupo, Cruz yelled, “Whoa! Stop right there. Tanner delupo?”

“What?”

“Could it belatana dellupo?”

“I suppose. That’s just what the kids called it.”

“Can you send me a pic of this tattoo you’re telling me about?”

“Sure. I’ll send it in a text while we’re talking.” Carter pulled the picture over, snapped a shot of it on his phone, then listened to theswooshthat told him the text was on its way to Cruz. “It should hit you in just a few seconds.”

“Got it. Let me look.” There was another brief silence before Cruz said, “Do you have any idea what you’ve got there?”

“I guess not.”

“Carter, we’ve been looking for a link to these guys for a couple of years, but they’re just about as elusive as they come.La Tana del Lupo?Italian for “TheDen of theWolf.”Used to be part of LosLobos, but the leader decided he was too good to stay with the gang and formed his own, even though he insists the torch was passed to him by the old leader. Raunchy Italian from Hoboken, believe it or not, who managed to weasel his way into a Texas gang. Took a bunch of guys with him. Shot up a clubhouse in Dallas and killed a bunch of LosLobos members. They’ve been looking for him and his crew. We’ve been looking for them. Where they are, bloodshed is right around the corner. You, my friend, are sitting on a hotbed of illegal activity down there. We’ve gotten a few reports of this stuff going on, but never anything this organized with this many people involved.” There was silence for a few seconds before Carter heard Cruz mutter, “A college campus. College kids. Those bastards. We need to stop them. And now they’re directly responsible for the death of a Kentucky State Police trooper. Why am I not surprised?”

Carter was stunned. This was bigger than he’d ever dreamed. Sam was wrong?hehadto involve KSP and KDCI with this. It was too big for his office to handle alone, that was for sure. “What do you…”

“Let me talk to my superiors, but I’m betting they’ll want me to come there for a few days and work with you, get you up to speed, get all the other agencies on board. This is big, Carter. I can’t tell you everything over the phone. I’ll have to do it in person.”

“Okay. While you’re here, you’re welcome to stay with me. I mean, I know the department would put you up in a hotel, but if you’d rather…”

“You know what? I’d love to stay with you. It would be nice to be with a fellow officer in a home rather than a damn hotel room. Hate to stay in the things unless I’m on vacation. And for the record, I don’t snore, although there’s a woman here who’d argue otherwise.”

In the background, Carter heard a female voice say, “Don’t let him lie to you.TexasChainsaw Massacreall over again.” Carter started to laugh.

“That’s Mickie. Expect her to hate you if I’m coming to help you. Anything or anyone who takes me away from her even for a night is the enemy.”

“Gotcha. I’ll send bourbon back with you. Surely that’ll placate her,” Carter said, still laughing.

“Oh, I don’t know about her, but it’ll placate me! I’ll give you a call when the arrangements are made. In the meantime, that family? The family of the girl who was involved in the shooting?”

“Yeah?”

“You need to keep an eye on them. They could be in harm’s way.”

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