‘Was that why you fought with Joel Tobias, because of your work with Veterans for Peace?’

Jandreau looked away. ‘No, it wasn’t. He tried to buy me a beer to quiet me down, but I didn’t want to drink on his dime.’

‘Again: why?’

But Jandreau skirted the question. As he himself had said, he was a man of contradictions. He wanted to talk, but only about what interested him. He appeared polite, but there was ferocity beneath the veneer. I knew now what Ronald Straydeer meant when he said that Jandreau was a man who looked like he was on the way down. If he didn’t use that gun on someone else, there was a chance that he might use it on himself, just like his buddies.

‘What’s your interest in Joel Tobias anyway?’ he asked.

‘I was hired to find out why Damien Patchett killed himself. I heard about the altercation at the funeral. I wanted to know if there was any connection.’

‘Between a bar fight and a suicide? You’re full of shit.’

‘That, or a really bad detective.’

There was a pause and then, for the first time, Jandreau laughed.

‘At least you’re honest.’ The laughter ceased, and the smile that followed was sad. ‘Damien shouldn’t have killed himself. I don’t mean that in a religious way, or a moral way, or because it was a waste of a life. I mean that he wasn’t the kind. He left his grief in Iraq, or most of it. He wasn’t traumatized, or suffering.’

‘I spoke to a shrink in Togus who said the same thing.’

‘Yeah? Who was that?’

‘Carrie Saunders.’

‘Saunders? Give me a break. She’s got more questions than Alex Trebek, but none of the answers.’

‘You’ve met her?’

‘She interviewed me as part of her study. Didn’t impress me at all. As for Damien, I served with him. I loved him. He was a good kid. I always thought of him like that, as a kid. He was intelligent, but he had no smarts. I tried to look out for him, but he ended up taking care of me in the end. Saved my life.’ His fist tightened on the arm of his chair. ‘Fuckin’ Joel Tobias,’ he whispered, and it sounded like a shout.

‘Tell me,’ I said.

‘I’m angry with Tobias. Doesn’t mean I’m going to rat him out, him or anyone else.’

‘I know that he’s running an operation. He’s smuggling, and I think he might have promised some of the proceeds to you. You, and men and women like you.’

Jandreau turned away and wheeled himself to the window.

‘Who are the guys outside?’ he asked.

‘Friends.’

‘Your friends don’t look like the friendly type.’

‘I felt like I needed some protection. If they looked too inviting, it would defeat the purpose.’

‘Protection? Who from?’

‘Maybe from the same people who’ve given you cause to carry that gun: your old buddies, led by Joel Tobias.’ He still hadn’t turned back to me, but I could see his reflection in the glass.

‘Why would I be frightened of Joel Tobias?’

Frightened: it was an interesting choice of words. Its very use was an admission of sorts.

‘Because you’re worried that they think you’re a weak link.’

‘Me? I’m a regular stand-up guy.’ He laughed again, and it was a terrible sound.

‘I think you were worried about Damien Patchett. You owed him, and you didn’t want anything to happen to him. Maybe he was in too deep, or he didn’t listen, but when he died, you decided to take action. Or perhaps you had to wait for what happened with Brett Harlan and his wife before you began to discern a pattern.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I think you spoke to your cousin. You called Foster Jandreau, because he was a cop, but a cop that you could trust, because he was family. You probably fed him a little, and hoped that he’d find out the rest for himself. When he started making inquiries, they killed him, and now you believe that’s it’s just a matter of time before they come for you. Does that sound about right?’

He spun the chair quickly, and the gun was back in his hand.

‘You don’t know that. You don’t know anything.’

‘This has to be stopped, Bobby. Whatever’s happening, people have begun to die, and no amount of money can be worth that, unless your conscience is up for bids.’

‘Get out of my house!’ he shouted. ‘Get out!’

Behind him, I could see Angel and Louis starting to run as they heard the noise from the house. If I didn’t defuse the situation, Bobby Jandreau’s door would be lying in his hallway, and he might have cause to use that gun, if he was fast enough.

I made my way to the door, opened it, and let Angel and Louis see that I was okay, but Bobby Jandreau chose that moment to wheel himself, one-handed, into the hallway. For a moment, I was trapped between three guns.

‘Take it easy! Everyone! Easy!’ Slowly, I dipped two fingers into my jacket pocket and removed one of my cards. I placed it on the table next to the door.

‘You owed Damien Patchett, Bobby,’ I said. ‘He’s gone, but your debt’s still in play. Now his father’s holding it. You think about that.’

‘Get lost,’ he said, but the anger was already disappearing, and he just managed to sound tired. His voice quavered on the word ‘lost,’ a recognition that he was the one who was drifting on dark, unknown seas.

‘And one more thing,’ I said, following up my advantage on a crippled veteran. ‘Go make up with your girlfriend. I think you forced her away because you’re scared of what’s coming, and you didn’t want her to be hurt if they did come after you. She still loves you, and you need someone like her in your life. You know it, and she knows it. You have my card, you need any more counseling.’

I walked away, Angel and Louis still watching my back. I heard the door close, and then they were beside me.

‘Let me get this straight,’ said Louis as we reached the cars. ‘Man pulls a gun on you, and you give him relationship advice?’

‘Somebody had to.’

‘Yeah, but you? Dodo eggs got laid more recently than you.’

I ignored him. As I got in my car, I saw Bobby Jandreau at his window, watching me.

‘You think he’ll come around?’ asked Angel.

‘About his girlfriend, or Tobias?’

‘Both.’

‘He has to, on both. If he doesn’t, he’s dead. Without her, he’s dying already. He just hasn’t admitted it yet. Tobias and the others will just finish what he’s started himself.’

‘Wow,’ said Angel. ‘You think there’s a Hallmark card for that: “Shape Up or Die”?’

We drove away, Angel and Louis behind me, but only as far as the next street. They looked puzzled when I pulled over and then walked back to them.

‘I want you to stay here,’ I said.

‘Why?’ asked Angel.

‘Because they’re going to come for Bobby Jandreau.’

‘You seem pretty sure of that.’

I walked to the Mustang, and pointed out the GPS tracker on the rear fender.

‘This will bring them. That’s why it’s staying here with you while I take your car.’

‘Your car stays here,’ said Louis, ‘and they’ll think Jandreau is giving you chapter and verse, so they’ll try to take you both out.’

‘Except they won’t,’ I said, ‘because you’re going to kill them when they move on Jandreau.’

‘And then Jandreau will talk.’

‘That’s the plan.’

‘And where are you going to be?’ asked Angel.

‘Over by Rangeley.’

‘What’s in Rangeley?’

‘A motel.’

‘So we skulk in the bushes while you stay in a motel?’

‘Something like that.’

‘Yeah, good deal.’

We switched cars, but not before Louis and Angel emptied the rest of their toys from the compartment in the trunk. As it turned out, they’d traveled light, for them: two Glocks, a couple of knives, a pair of semiautomatic machine pistols, and some spare clips. Louis found a position in the woods with a clear view of Jandreau’s house, and they settled in to wait.

‘You got any questions you want us to ask before we kill them?’ asked Louis. ‘Assuming we got to kill them.’

I thought of the barrel of water in the Blue Moon, and the feel of the sack pressed hard against my nose and mouth. ‘If you don’t have to, then don’t, but I don’t much care either way. As for questions, you can ask them what you want.’