Free Home Goes The Warrior by Jeff Noonan Page B

anytime, especially if you run into trouble.” Then they said their goodnights.
    Lee and Maggie rode the elevator down without speaking. Both were lost in thought. By mutual agreement, they walked across the casino floor and entered a bar where a tall lady was singing Diana Ross songs. Conversation was difficult, but Lee leaned over and tried anyway. “Tomorrow after we leave and get some miles behind us, I’m going to call Tom Wright. He needs to know about all of this.”
    “Why not call tonight from the room, Lee?”
    “Because I’m not sure how private the conversation would be. You can bet that Tony’s friends, and his competitors, are watching our every move right now. I’d much rather make the call from some little desert pay phone.”
    “You’re right. I hadn’t thought that out yet.” With that, they sat back and enjoyed the music for an hour or so.
    The night brought more of that wonderfully tender, incredible lovemaking. But Maggie found that she had a hard time letting go tonight. She spent the night with her arms wrapped tightly around Lee, as if she never wanted him to leave. He didn’t mind.
    Lee lay awake for a long time, thinking about Tony’s revelations. He had mixed feelings about what he’d heard. He was genuinely happy that he wasn’t going to have to fight Bruno when he got to Philadelphia, but he was also apprehensive. The conversation had revealed that he was in for a battle. Big Tony had said that his adversaries were dangerous and that they might already be murderers. Lee had been prepared to encounter bad people, but somehow, in the back of his mind, he had been assuming that they would be a known variety of thugs. Now he was facing a big unknown: a group of thieves, and possibly murderers, who were faceless. A gang that even the FBI hadn’t been able to unearth. This was not good news.
    It was almost noon before Lee and Maggie left Las Vegas. They worked out in the hotel gym, then had a leisurely breakfast and took one last walk around town before leaving. Today they intended to get to the Grand Canyon or thereabouts, so it would be a relatively short day. The next day they planned to visit the Casa Grande cliff dwellings.
    When they stopped for the night, Lee immediately went to a telephone booth outside a neighborhood drug store and put in a collect call to Agent Wright’s home phone number. Mrs. Wright answered, but she accepted the charges and put Tom on the line as soon as Lee told her who was calling.
    Tom didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “What is going on, Lee? Is everything all right?
    “Yeah, Tom. But last night we had dinner with Big Tony Bruno, and I thought that you would like to hear about it.”
    Tom’s reaction was explosive. “God Dammit, Lee! What did you say? That’s not funny! Are you drunk? If you’re calling to bust my chops, it’s not appreciated!”
    Lee had to laugh at the reaction. “I’m not drunk and I’m not pulling your leg. We had dinner with him last night and we did a lot of talking about the Navy Yard. Do you want to hear it or would you rather wait until we aren’t on the telephone?”
    “Shit, Lee, give me a minute.” Lee could hear Tom asking his wife for a pencil and paper. Then he came back on the phone.
    “Okay Lee, let me ask some questions, and then we’ll make a decision on your last question. First, did you talk about any of the things that we’re mutually interested in?”
    “Yes, but not directly.”
    “Is he involved?”
    “I don’t think so, but he does know things.”
    “Okay, can you give me an example?”
    “Yeah, first, Tony agrees that there is theft going on in the shipyard. Says he hears rumors about it. Second, we need to take a look at three recent murders that Tony thinks are tied to our case. Three shipyard workers, probably from either the shipyard’s planning and estimating department or its supply department.”
    “Can you give me more on them?”
    “One fell in a drydock, one looks