Page 62 of Solid as Steele
“The cop still there,” Leach asked.
“Leach. Good. Glad I caught you. I need you to come back today.”
Mackenzie liked the way he ignored Leach’s question.
“You setting me up for the cop to question me?” Leach asked.
Hatch’s gaze frantically searched the area, and he didn’t answer right away. “Cindy quit. Walked off the job. Got a new receptionist hired, but she can’t start until next week. I need help running the office.”
“The other guides are hanging out waiting to be called back to work. Ask one of them.”
“You know the business better.”
“They all know it better than Cindy did, so they can do the job.”
“This is an order, Leach.”
Mackenzie didn’t like the demand. Could suggest to Leach that Owen was here waiting to talk to him.
“I’m staying put.” Leach’s tone brooked no argument. “Scouting is going well, and it’s gonna pay off big time in happy customers when they bag their bear. That’s far more valuable to you than me answering the stupid phone.”
“But…”
“Look, I said no. Fire me if you don’t like it.” The call ended.
Hatch slammed the phone onto the desk. “Sorry, man. I tried. You heard me. Leach knows he’s too valuable to me to fire him. He’s one of the best guides in the area, and my repeat customers ask for him the most ’cause they almost always bag their game with him.”
“Then we’ll have to go to him,” Owen said.
“You experienced hikers? Just asking because the terrain in the area he’s doing recon in is pretty rugged.”
“We have our own guide,” Mackenzie said. “Far more capable than any of your guides.”
Hatch scowled. “Not from this area, then.”
“No,” she said.
“You’ll give me Leach’s coordinates and directions?” Owen asked.
“Yes.”
“And you won’t warn him I’m coming after him.”
“I won’t.”
“One last question.” Owen locked gazes with Hatch. “Does Leach wear glasses?”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does.”
14
In downtown John Day, Owen stood back and let an elderly woman pass, as Mackenzie chatted on her phone with Ryan. The old lady didn’t recognize Cassie’s picture. No one had. Not one! He and Mackenzie had shown the photo to hundreds of people on the street, and Owen couldn’t take many more rejections. Time to stop. Especially with the sun dropping behind the horizon, leaving the place illuminated only by streetlights. The pedestrians were thinning to a trickle, leaving the number of people to canvass at nearly zero as dinnertime approached.
Mackenzie ended her call and shoved her phone into her purse. “Ryan’s on his way. Said he’d bring all the gear we need again. He’ll drive the company truck and bring a four-seat UTV so we can better access the more rugged area where Leach is scouting now.”
Owen nodded. “I’m going to owe this guy big time.”
“No worries,” she said. “At least that’s what he’ll tell you. He and his brothers live their faith big time by providing services for others, and they’re always willing to help.”
