No Country for Old Men(58)

Do you know who they were?





No. One of the men was Mexican and we're waitin for a registration on his car settin over yonder. Wasnt a one of em had any identification. On em or in the room either one.





What does this man say?





He says the Mexican started it. Says he drug the woman out of her room and the other man come out with a gun but when he seen the Mexican had a gun pointed at the woman's head he laid his own piece down. And whenever he done that the Mexican shoved the woman away and shot her and then turned and shot him. He was standin in front of 117, right yonder. Shot em with a goddamned machinegun. Accordin to this witness the old boy fell down the steps and then he picked up his gun again and shot the Mexican. Which I dont see how he done it. He was shot all to pieces. You can see the blood on the walkway yonder. We had a real good response time. About seven minutes, I think. The girl was just shot dead.





No ID.





No ID. The other old boy's truck is got dealer tags on it.





Bell nodded. He looked at the witness. The witness had asked for a cigarette and he lit it and sat smoking. He looked pretty comfortable. He looked as if he'd sat in the back of police cruisers before.





That woman, Bell said. Was she anglo?





Yeah. She was anglo. Had blonde hair. Sort of reddish, maybe.





Did you all find any dope?





Not yet. We're still lookin.





Any money?





We aint found nothin yet. The girl was checked into 121. Had a knapsack with some clothes in it and stuff was all.





Bell looked down the row of motel doors. People standing around in small groups talking. He looked at the black Barracuda.





Has that thing got anything to turn them tires with?





I'd say it would turn em pretty good. It's got a four-forty under the hood with a blower on it.





A blower?





Yep.





I dont see one.





It's one of them sidewinders. It's all under the hood.





Bell stood looking at the car. Then he turned and looked at the sheriff. Can you get away from here for a minute?





I can. What did you have in mind?





I just thought I might get you to ride over to the clinic with me.





All right. Just ride with me.





That'll be fine. Let me just park my cruiser a little better.





Hell, it's all right, Ed Tom.





Let me just pull it up here out of the way. You dont always know how quick you'll be back when you set off someplace.





At the desk the sheriff spoke to the night nurse by name. She looked at Bell.





He's up here to make a identification, the sheriff said.





She nodded and rose and put her pencil in the pages of the book she was reading. Two of em were DOA, she said. They flew that Mexican out of here in a helicopter about twenty minutes ago. Or maybe you already knew that.





Nobody tells me nothin, darlin, the sheriff said.





They followed her down the hallway. There was a thin trail of blood along the concrete floor. They wouldnt of been hard to find, would they? Bell said.





There was a red sign at the end of the hall that read Exit. Before they got there she turned and fitted a key to a steel door on the left and opened it and switched on the light. The room was raw concrete block, windowless and empty save for three steel machinist's tables on wheels. On two of them lay bodies covered with plastic sheets. She stood with her back to the open door while they filed past.





He aint a friend of yours is he Ed Tom?





No.





He took a couple of rounds in the face so I dont think he's goin to look too good. Not that I aint seen worse. That highway out there is a goddamn warzone, you tell the truth about it.





He pulled back the sheet. Bell walked around the end of the table. There was no chock under Moss's neck and his head was turned to the side. One eye partly opened. He looked like a badman on a slab. They'd sponged the blood off of him but there were holes in his face and his teeth were shot out.





Is that him?





Yeah, that's him.





You look like you wished it wasnt.





I get to tell his wife.





I'm sorry about that.





Bell nodded.





Well, the sheriff said. There aint nothin you could of done about it.





No, Bell said. But you always like to think there is.





The sheriff covered Moss's face and reached and lifted back the plastic at the other table and looked at Bell. Bell shook his head.





They'd rented two rooms. Or he did. Paid cash. You couldnt read the name on the register. Just a scrawl.





His name was Moss.





All right. We'll get your information down at the office. Kind of a skankylookin little old girl.





Yeah.





He covered her face again. I dont reckon his wife is goin to like that part of it neither, he said.