Free Firebreak: A Mystery by Tricia Fields

pulled a key out of his front pocket, unlocked the door, and flipped on the light switch. The office was decorated in classic cowboy style, with ropes and spurs and rodeo posters hanging on the wood-paneled walls. Hank’s rolltop desk was a mess of papers that he didn’t glance at. He motioned toward a small table and a pair of chairs next to the desk and they sat down.
    Josie had known Hank for many years, but she still didn’t have a good sense of the person he was outside of the Hell-Bent. He wasn’t married and appeared to be devoted to his business and his customers, a nice guy who cared about the people and the town that he catered to. He was in his mid to late fifties, with thinning hair and a slight paunch that hung over his large cowboy belt buckle. Rumor had it that Hank had a fling with each new waitress he hired, but Josie doubted there was much truth to the stories. Rumors were all part of the high-profile job of running a honky-tonk.
    “What can I do for you?”
    “I have some questions I’d like to ask you, but I’d like to keep our conversation confidential. Is that okay with you?”
    “Sure.”
    “Have you talked to Billy or Brenda since the evacuation?”
    He thought for a moment. “They stopped by on their way out of town yesterday.”
    “Here?”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    “What time did they come by?”
    His eyebrows drew together and he pursed his lips as if thinking. “Jeez, I don’t know. Maybe six o’clock? It’s hard to say. It was such a madhouse in here yesterday. People used it like an evacuation center. I had a few people bring sleeping bags and an air mattress and they slept on the dance floor last night.”
    “Can you think back and try and give me your best estimate on the time? It’s important.”
    “What’s this about?” he said.
    “Let’s just think through the timing first.”
    He looked worried now, obviously caught off guard by her response.
    “Okay.” Hank sat forward and placed his forearms on the table, crossed his hands in front of him, and concentrated his stare on the table. “Well. They came in to get Billy’s guitar. Both of them came in together. We were serving food. It was in the middle of the dinner hour, but we’d been serving meals all day. People ordered just to sit down at the tables and talk to their neighbors and families. Trying to figure out where to stay through the evacuation. I had people crying, others calling the bar, trying to find out where people were.”
    Josie listened quietly, allowing him to process everything.
    “I was behind the bar.” He looked up at Josie, his eyes lost in thought for some time. Finally he shook his head slowly and said, “I just can’t say. I wasn’t paying any attention to the time. I talked to so many people, trying to connect family and friends. And, honestly, trying to keep up with orders. I called in all staff members who could make it.” His expression changed and he pointed a finger at Josie. “I’ll tell you who might know. Angela, one of our bartenders, had to get the keys from me to let Billy into the dressing room.”
    “Is she here?”
    “No, she worked about a fourteen-hour shift yesterday. She’s off today.”
    “Doesn’t she live in the little brown adobe, along FM-170?”
    “That’s it.”
    “Do you know if Billy and Brenda stayed long?”
    “I don’t think so. Seems like after Angela let Billy in, he came walking out not long after with his guitar. I think Brenda was sitting down at one of the tables talking to somebody. I don’t remember who though.”
    “I was at their house this morning. I didn’t see any cars, just a pickup truck. Any guess where they might have spent the night?”
    He gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Josie, I just don’t know. Hopefully Angela can give you better information.”
    “We’ve tried to reach them via their cell phones, but they haven’t returned our calls. Any ideas on how we could track them down?”
    “I’d check with one