Deadline(103)

            They all thought about the story for a few minutes, then Frankie said, “I’m not a cop, but I’m probably the smartest person in the room, and I’ve got some ideas.”

            “Let’s hear them,” Shrake said.

            “If this killer man, if he knows he left blood behind, then he knows the jig’s up for him. I would expect that he’s either running, or he’s holed up somewhere with a lot of guns. Or maybe he makes a run at Virgil out of revenge, or something crazy, but you’ve got all of that covered. Everybody’s looking for him, and we’ve got guys out in the driveway with guns, and guns in here. Right?”

            Virgil nodded. “That’s right.”

            “So you can ignore all that—nothing more you can do there. The question is, what can you do?”

            Everybody looked at Virgil, and finally he said, “Bust the rest of them. Okay. I need to make a phone call.”

            He took his phone out, called directory assistance, got a number for Janice Anderson, the woman who’d given him the school budget, and punched it in. She answered on the third ring, sounding cranky. “Who is this?”

            “Virgil Flowers. Something terrible happened at the school tonight. I’ve got to ask, were you at the meeting?”

            “Just a minute, let me put the light on, I can’t talk in the dark,” she said. A few seconds later she said, “Yes, I was at the meeting. What happened?”

            “After the meeting, somebody killed Will Bacon, the janitor. I need to tell you, you’ve got to keep your head down. Don’t tell anyone you talked to me, don’t even hint that there’s a connection.”

            “I’ve kept my mouth shut,” she said.

            “Good. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to go on a shopping trip up to the Twin Cities, maybe stay over for a couple of nights.”

            “You really think that’s necessary?”

            “It would be helpful—I wouldn’t have to worry about you. I think Randall Kerns is the killer, and he’s crazy. We’re looking for him, but he’s out in the wind somewhere. I’d be a lot happier if you were out of sight.”

            “Okay. I haven’t been to the Cities for a while, I’ll go first thing in the morning.”

            “That would be smart,” Virgil said. “Now, was the auditor, Masilla . . . was he at the meeting?”

            “No. He’s hardly ever there.”

            “But Hetfield was.”

            “Oh, sure, he had to be, he’s the superintendent, he’s, you know . . . he runs things, and with the fire . . . they had their insurance agent there, and all that, figuring out what to do, and whether they’d have to delay the start of school and so on.”

            “Okay. I’m going after those two, just like we talked about in your backyard. If you will take care—”

            “I’ve got a gun in my nightstand, and I will leave for the Cities as soon as it gets light.”

            “Good night, Janice.”

            “Good night, Virgil. You take care, too.”

            Virgil hung up, and looked at the others: “Here’s the plan: Jenkins, Shrake, and I are going up to Winona tomorrow, and we’re going to scare the living shit out of a guy.”

            “I like that plan,” Jenkins said. He interlaced his fingers out in front of himself, and cracked all his knuckles.