Page 49 of The Hard Way

I sighed. “At least it’s not a fracking-sand mine. That whole ridge would be shaved off if Hank Vernon would’ve gotten it. Leveled. No trees. He’s an asshole.”

A few of the hard-up farmers had sold their land for sand mining. People often thought of the environmental damage from fracking, but most of the sand used in fracking came from our part of Wisconsin—mining it damaged a lot land. Sadly, I dragged a fry through a blob of ketchup. “I’d give anything to be able to walk that land. I would give anything to see my sisters again.”

“Ice—”

“I know,” I said.

Odin’s face had begun flashing across the table, which meant the computer screen was flashing. He looked up, as if he felt my gaze. “I’m in.”

I smiled.

He was hitting the keyboard furiously now. “She made two phone calls in the minutes after we left.”

Zeus had a napkin and a pen in his hands, and two seconds later Odin was rattling off phone numbers and times, which Zeus wrote down. Thor grabbed his own phone and punched them in, doing a reverse search.

My guys. They were fast and efficient as an Indy 500 pit crew, except way hotter and definitely more destructive.

“Look at this,” Odin said. “She received a call from one of those same numbers sixty-four minutes before we arrived. That was who alerted her that we were coming.”

“Which led to the donning of the bra,” I said.

Odin read the number, and Zeus scribbled the time on the napkin.

“It’s a private number,” Thor said. “Yeah, that would’ve been too easy, I guess. To get a name.”

Zeus sat back. “What do you think?”

“Why not?” Thor said.

“What?” I asked. “Call it? Just call up the number?”

“Worth a try,” Zeus said. “My number will come up Unknown. He or she will probably let it go to voicemail, but maybe that gives us something.”

“Do it!” I said.

He put it on speaker and dialed. Sure enough it went to voicemail. “I’m not here. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”Ding.

I stiffened. The voice…So familiar…

“Damn,” Zeus said. “Always so much easier when they say who they are.”

“Oh my god,” I breathed.

Three handsome bank robber faces turned to me. “What?”

My heart pounded faster and faster. “I know that voice. I think it’s Hank.”

Thor’s mouth dropped open. “Hank Vernon? Bank owner Hank Vernon? No fucking way.”

I put my fingers to my lips as the enormity of it all unfolded in front of me. “I’m ninety-five percent sure.”

“Could you see Hank Vernon having an affair with Nancy Zietlow?” Thor asked.

“Have an affair with a woman whose husband is dying of cancer? And just when that man is getting better, to kill him or help kill him?” I said. “Hell yes. He’s devious. Without conscience.”

“So he takes out Tim Zietlow,” Zeus said.

“Possibly with Nancy’s help,” Thor added.

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