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they’d all be dead if they talked.”
    He heard Tex talking to someone else, probably their boss. A moment later, he was back on the line. “McNiel wants you and Sydney back here at once. If this is Brooks’s operation, he’s bound to find out even before you get to Quindlen.”
    “My understanding is he lives nearby. We should at least—­”
    “Sorry, Griff. The boss says back here for debriefing. If there’s any chance we can get Brooks, last thing we need to do is spook him by going after Quindlen. You’ll get him later.”
    He disconnected, walked up to Sydney, saying, “We’re heading back. Today.”
    If she was bothered, she didn’t show it. Or maybe it was more that her attention was focused on Max as he stopped suddenly, refusing to move forward, when Calvin was walking past the officers on the wall. The dog eyed Parks, lowered his head, then growled.
    Parks inched back. “Should’ve shot it when I had the chance.”
    Calvin grabbed Parks by his arm, pulled him to his feet, his free hand clenched, shaking.
    “What’re you going to do, boy? Hit me? While I’m cuffed?”
    “I should.”
    “You always were a coward. And you smell like piss.”
    Griffin reached out, grasped Calvin by his shoulder. “Not worth it.”
    Calvin hesitated, then lowered his fist. He walked Parks to the patrol car, pushed him into the backseat, then slammed the door shut.
    Unfortunately the window was rolled down and Parks leaned out, apparently not knowing when to shut up. “Pissed your pants like a coward! I should’ve killed you and your dog. You stink, boy!”
    Sydney slung the AR–15 onto her back, then picked up the remote and the bomb Griffin had made. “Calvin? Get Trish and the dog and leave out the gate. Now .” And then she walked over to the patrol car where Parks sat. She set the bomb on the front dash with the timer facing toward him. When she was certain he saw it, she held up the remote so he had no choice but to look. “What was that you said about cowards?”
    His eyes widened, but then the bluster returned to his face. “If that thing were real, you wouldn’t be standing here.”
    “Guess you’ll find out at the last second,” she said, then looked toward the officers sitting on the wall. “You might want to hit the ground.”
    “Sydney . . . ?” Griffin called out, as he backed up with the others. “ Don’t .”
    “He deserves it, Griff.” She shoved the remote right up to Parks’s face, pressed the button, then ran toward Griffin. The timer flashed red, counting down the seconds.
    Parks went wild, throwing himself against the car door. It held fast. The three officers looked on in disbelief, then dove to the ground.
    Crack!
    The tire blew.
    The ensuing silence was almost as deafening as the gunshot from Sydney’s AR–15. Parks stilled in his seat, looking shocked that he was alive.
    Sydney walked up, leaned toward the window. “Huh. Guess you were right. Detonator wasn’t connected.” And then she gave a pointed look at the growing wet stain on his khaki pants. “But who smells like piss now?”
    T he Border Patrol arrived to take custody of the officers, and were soon joined by the various alphabet agencies, all interested in the gunrunning that Parks was involved in. Griffin and Sydney gave a brief statement of their involvement. And contrary to Chief Parks’s accusation, no one was trying to kill him. The discharge of the weapon that took out the patrol car tire? Purely accidental.
    Finally they were allowed to leave. As Griffin and Sydney walked toward the car still parked out by the gulch, she reached out, gave him a quick hug. “That was actually fun.”
    “Not bad for a day’s work.”
    “Too bad we have to fly back for debriefing. I was looking forward to a nice quiet weekend. Just you and me . . .”
    “Same here,” he said, though he wasn’t being entirely truthful. He looked over at her, wishing he could just come right out and say what he had to say. Some