Chapter 76 Section VI

"Don't bother taking me home," Esperanza said.Decker put the Cherokee in gear and sped away from Miller's house. "So, where do you want me to take you?" Decker jerked the steering wheel around a dark corner. "Only if I'm a hitchhiker." "You think this will help me?" "Maybe I'll save you from trouble," Esperanza said. "Where's your friend?" "Friends?" Decker's mouth seemed to swallow ashes at the thought of Hal and Ben. "From your tone, it seems that you don't have many friends."

"I have many acquaintances." "I mean the two men who were at your house this afternoon." "I know who you're referring to. They left the city." A pain came with the smell of soot—a pain in his chest and eyes. "So fast?" Esperanza asked, "after they've worked so hard to get here?" "My previous bosses thought that what was happening here had nothing to do with their jobs." The darkened streets were almost deserted.Decker turned on the headlights and put his foot on the accelerator. "Do you think speeding with a police officer in the car is a good idea?"

"I think speeding is safest with you in the car. If a police patrol car pulls us over, you can show your badge—and explain that we're in a hurry." "I lied to you," Esperanza said, "but I called the State Police and the Albuquerque Police Department and they wanted you." Decker felt a chill run down his spine. "I gave them the license plate number of your friend's Taurus and described what the car looked like. The car was found near a crime scene on Chama Avenue in Albuquerque around 11 tonight. Neighbors complained , they heard what appeared to be gunshots and explosions or something. The investigation proved that what the neighbors had said was true. The police found an ID showing that a man named Ben Eisley had been killed lying in the neighborhood on the kitchen floor of the house we were complaining about. We don't know where Hal is."

At this point, Decker could no longer contain his grief.The frightened expression on Ben's face when he was shot, and the blood gushing from his forehead, all came to mind in Decker's mind.Suddenly, it was as if he had never been to Santa Fe, had never left the old life.He recalled how Hal, after being shot in the chest, kicked the man who was about to shoot him to the ground with all his might.This is not a fight they should be in!Decker thought, I should really insist that they go back.However, I asked them for help, they died because of me, and it was all my fault! "They must have been on another mission since they left here," Decker said as calmly as possible.

"You seem unmoved by Ben's death." "I have my own way of expressing my emotions." "I've never met a man like you," said Esperanza. "Don't you want to find out what he's doing there and where his companions are?" "Let me ask you a question," Decker said angrily, "why did you wait so long to tell me that you've called the police for me?" "I'm trying to find the right moment. I'm trying to prove the following point, you need me," Esperanza said. "Albuquerque airport security already has your name on it, and the security people are watching for someone like you." People with this look, you will be detained as soon as you show up to buy a ticket. If you want to fly to New York, I will have to withdraw the arrest notice. There is one condition for me to do this, you must let me go with you go."

"Flying to New York? How did you come up with the idea that I—" "Decker, just this once, for God's sake, stop playing mind games with me, okay?" "Why do you want to go to New York?" "Let me put it this way, tomorrow is my day off, and my wife and I can use this day to put a little distance between each other." Esperanza gestured despondently. "Or I could learn a lot from being with you, and I'm not going to finish the course now. Maybe I can say this - and it's a bit unusual - I'm a policeman, and I like helping people to the point of obsession It's a stupid idea, isn't it? Right now, I can't think of anyone who needs help more than Beth Dwyer. I want to help you get her. I have a feeling you're the only one Someone who really knows how to act."