He was talking fast, uncharacteristically nervous for such a laid-back guy.
“It’s beautiful,” Corrie said. “I’m glad you brought me here.” And it really was beautiful, even magical, with the whispering sounds of the river; the sun shining through the cottonwoods; the distant purple mountains.
She looked over at him, seeing his relief that she wasn’t bored. It would be easy to dismiss a man this young as a cliché, she knew, with the six-guns and holsters and expensive cowboy hat. But like an iceberg, Watts had a lot more to him than you could see at first glance.
She took another long sip of coffee and a bite of her burrito, listening to him talk.
“Bosque del Apache means Apache Grove. It’s called that because the Warm Springs Apache used to camp there in the old days. Some of the biggest cottonwood trees you’ll ever see can be found over there, trunks thirty feet in circumference. They go on for miles. And in those sand hills behind the forest is a lost Pueblo city called Senecú. The ruins were visible until the eighteenth century, when it was totally covered with windblown sand. Now its location is forgotten.”
Corrie couldn’t help but be impressed by his deep affection for the land and its history.
They continued their breakfast in silence for a while as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
“I guess we’d better talk shop,” said Watts. “Since that’s why you came down.”
“Right,” said Corrie, vaguely disappointed.
“I spoke to Buford about the case. It seems pretty straightforward. He thinks Bitan walked off the job and will eventually turn up. I tend to agree—especially considering those lights that were seen in the area where he disappeared. Buford speculated Bitan might have had some hidden agenda.”
Corrie hesitated. She wasn’t so sure about that, but she didn’t have evidence either way. And, as Morwood had drilled into her, FBI agents never voiced hunches.
But Watts sensed her doubt. “You don’t agree?”
Corrie shrugged. “I agree the evidence points to him taking off. But it seems a strange way to do it, in the middle of the desert, leaving Nora’s brother alone like that. Anyway, it’s not my case.”
“Speaking of your case, this digging up the Roswell site sounds batshit crazy to me.”
“It is.”
“What can you tell me about it?”
Corrie wondered if it was kosher to share the details with him; she decided it was. She quickly sketched out the background, from Nora Kelly’s involvement and the billionaire backing the project, to the double homicide they’d discovered—and, finally, to Morwood’s death in the fire. When she was done, a brief silence settled over the vehicle.
“I read about Morwood’s death in the Journal,” Watts said at last. “That must’ve been pretty tough.”
“It was.” Corrie, to her horror, heard her voice cracking just a little.
“Hey,” said Watts, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Wow, it really did hit you hard. I’m so sorry I didn’t call you.”
Corrie shook her head, mortified. “Why? We’re colleagues. You don’t owe me anything.”
“You reached out to me…as a friend, I hope, not just a colleague,” said Watts.
Corrie brushed away a tear. This was getting ridiculous. In another moment, she’d be bawling. “I suppose I did. That came out wrong just now.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“I’m sorry for falling apart like this.” She made a mighty effort to pull herself together. “I have to go over the autopsy results this afternoon, and that means having to view Morwood’s body. I’m dreading it.”
“Don’t go, then. You can get all the information you need from the report.”
“No,” she said, “I have to. I have to do this.”
His hand remained on her shoulder, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You know, I’m always here when you need me. As a colleague—and a friend.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it—I really do.”
She finally managed to get herself under control. “It’s more than Morwood’s death. The fire destroyed most of the crucial evidence in the case. I’d done a reconstruction of the victims’ faces, and those were burned up along with the remains. And…” She hesitated. “The pathology technician accused me of leaving a burner on.”
“What the— Like hell you did!”
“I didn’t. And I know the fire investigation will show that. But it’s been stressful.”