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“Bobby called Dewey to come to the camp and fix Aaron’s boat,” Jace was saying. “Dewey asked me to help.”
“Dewey Talley,” André clarified. He pulled out his phone and swiped the screen to what looked like the same photo that Kaj had shown Val that morning. “Is this him?”
“Yessir. He’s...” Jace exhaled shakily. “He was the mechanic who took care of Aaron’s cars and all of Corey’s work trucks and equipment.”
“And he was kind to you,” Kaj said, clearly not believing it.
“Yessir,” Jace said sincerely. “My brothers... They think I’m dumb, and they’re right. I can’t read. Can barely write my own name. But Dewey taught me about engines. He said I was a natural. That I could come work for him someday.”
Val scowled at that. More likely that Dewey would have had Jace running drugs for him.
“Where is this camp?” André asked. “And the boat launch?”
“I could show you exactly where on a map. I’m good with maps.”
André looked at Kaj. “I don’t want to uncuff him just yet and I’ll need to if he uses the map on my phone. Do you have an old-school paper map?”
“I do.” Kaj retrieved a bound map from a shelf in the living room.
André flipped pages before sliding it over to Jace. “This is the area.”
Val’s burner buzzed with a new text. From Lucien.
What was the make/model/color/year of that truck you saw circling the block?
Dodge/no idea/white and dirty/ten years old? Looked beat-up. Why? Is it back?
Found it parked a block behind Cardozo’s. Look what’s on the floorboard.
A photo flashed up and Val barely controlled her gasp. It was an AR-15, just visible through the truck’s window. I’ll forward to Burke.
She forwarded Burke the photo. Seconds later, he muttered a curse to himself.
He didn’t bring it to Kaj’s house, she texted to both Burke and Lucien. See if he brings it up. But do it soon in case he really is the distraction.
Agreed, Burke replied. Once again, he passed his phone to André, who scowled. Kaj simply nodded. Hopefully that meant he’d agreed to let André draw the information out of Jace.
She wanted to believe the kid was good. She really did.
Jace looked up from the map. “I can’t point to where it is, but I think I’ve got it.”
Burke rose and put his finger on the map. “Right or left of here? Up or down?”
Jace directed him until Burke’s finger rested in the correct place. “That’s it.”
“That’s deeper in the bayou than my camp,” Burke said. “But I know the area. If you need a scout, I’ll do it.”
“I’m sending someone right now to check it out, but if they can’t find it, I’ll call you in.” André put his phone away. “So, Jace. When did Corey arrive at the camp?”
“Around noon. Maybe one? Sun was high in the sky.”
“Was that when he hurt Rick?”
“Yessir. He wanted to know who helped us. He knew I didn’t know much. So Corey kept Rick to ask him more questions and sent me back to Dewey’s workshop to help with Aaron’s boat. But I cut my hand and went to get Corey to stitch it up.”
“Corey’s a doctor?” Kaj asked, surprised.
“No. But he worked in a hospital.”
