Devil's Pass Read Online Free PDF Page B

to Webb. Time to get out.
    â€œI get to make a phone call?” Webb said.
    â€œMy advice? Call George to pick you up.”
    â€œRight,” Webb said. “The guy who had my back at the airport.”
    â€œHe did,” the cop said. “Call him and let him explain.”
    Webb walked out of the cell and saw Brent in the open area beyond the desk.
    Brent was a head taller than the cop, and the extra height allowed Webb a clear view of his face. Or, more accurately, of the white gauze and the purple bruises.
    Broken nose, for sure. But Webb didn’t need a view of Brent’s wrecked face to tell him that. He’d felt Brent’s nose crack against his skull.
    â€œI don’t want to press charges,” Brent said to Webb. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you at the airport. This misunderstanding is entirely my fault.”
    Brent spoke as if he’d memorized his little speech.
    â€œSee?” Webb said to the cop. “Someone should have believed me a lot earlier.”
    â€œYeah,” the cop said in a flat voice. He turned to Brent. “You’re full of crap, and we both know it.”
    â€œI fell and hit my nose on the baggage carousel,” Brent said. “All a misunderstanding.”
    â€œNothing like a good believable story to keep everyone happy,” the cop said.
    â€œYup,” Brent said. “Need me to sign a paper or am I good to go?”
    â€œStay away from this kid,” the cop said. “Understand?”
    â€œDon’t know what you’re talking about,” Brent said. “All a misunderstanding.”
    The station phone rang. When no one answered, the cell phone on the cop’s belt rang. Like the call to the station had been forwarded.
    The cop waved his hand, and Brent walked out of the station as the cop answered his phone.
    The cop listened, then said, “Thanks for calling me back, George. You should get here right away. I can’t hold the kid any longer.”
    When he hung up, he walked to the other side of the office, where Webb’s guitar case was leaning against the wall.
    He picked it up and handed it to Webb.
    â€œWe’re almost done here,” the cop said. “I’ll get the rest of your stuff.”
    â€œI’m not waiting for George,” Webb said. “Fact is, I’m going to look for another guide.”
    â€œNobody better than George. He tells me you want to hike the Canol. He’s the guy for you.”
    â€œThe guy who pretended he didn’t see a thing at the airport? What’s he going to do if a grizzly shows up?”
    The cop shook his head. “Brent—the guy whose nose you busted—has already spent four years in prison for aggravated assault. That’s not the worst of it. At a work camp last summer, two guys disappeared. Got lost, nobody could find them. That’s the official story. Unofficially? Brent had a grudge against both of them.”
    â€œYou’re telling me Brent killed two people?”
    â€œNope. That would be slander. I am telling you if there was the slightest bit of proof that he was involved in how they disappeared, he’d be behind bars. He’s psycho in the worst way possible—a way impossible to prove. George knows that just as much as anybody else in this town. We all breathe easier when Brent is gone.”
    â€œHow about what happened at the airport? That’s not enough reason to put him in here?”
    The cop let out a long breath. “Let’s say, in theory, that Brent took the first swing at you. And let’s say, in theory, that I put him in a cell instead of you. I’d have to let him make a phone call, because if I didn’t, his lawyer would be all over me. And his lawyer’s a real pain.”
    â€œHow do you know mine isn’t?”
    â€œLet me finish. I throw Brent in here and he’d be out in five hours. And there would only be one thing on his mind. Finding you.