Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

It was the same as a million other places Puller had dined at in other country towns.The thick glass windows overlooked the street, and the main window had "Cowpen Restaurant" printed on it in letters that looked older than Pooler.Other smaller words promise "breakfast" throughout the day.A few high stools with cracked red plastic upholstery stood beside the long counter inside.Behind the counter are rows of coffee pots, still bustling with use in the still sweltering heat of the night—though Puller sees bottles and cups of cold beer pouring out to thirsty people as well. customers there.

Through the large glass windows facing the kitchen, Puller could see a row of old fryers.Wire baskets of fried food hang on racks, ready to be dropped into boiling oil.A roaring fire was burning at the bottom of the pot.Two chefs in white caps and grease-stained T-shirts were busy and tired.The whole restaurant smelled of old grease. At the end of the row of stools, there are four-seater booths arranged in an L-shape along the two walls, with table tops and seat tops covered in the same checkered plastic.Between the booth and the counter, there are some dining tables covered with checkered plastic sheets.Three quarters of the seats in the restaurant are already occupied, 60% are men and 40% are women.Many men are thin, even gaunt.Most of them were wearing jeans and work shirts, metal-toed leather boots, and hair slicked back, probably fresh from the shower.Probably miners just off work, Puller thought.Cole said that instead of digging coal in tunnels, they blasted open mountains and hauled coal out along rough mountain roads.It's still dangerous and hard work, and the looks of these men bear it out.

The women were divided into two groups, housewife women in wide knee-length skirts and loose blouses, and young and slim women in shorts or jeans.A couple of girls in their late twenties wore tight, boldly revealing dresses, showing panties and white buttocks, presumably to please their rugged boyfriends.There were two other men in jackets, slacks, button-down shirts, and winged shoes.They were presumably managers of mines, not having to live off the dirty, grueling daily labor, though they obviously needed to be fed in the same places as everyone else. The embodiment of democracy, Pooler thought.

Cole arrived first and sat in the inner booth.She beckoned to Pooler, and he walked over.She changed into a pair of denim culottes that revealed her muscular calves, a white tank top that showed off her dark, muscular arms, and sandals with unpainted toes.Beside her was a large satchel, which Puller supposed contained her revolver and badge.She had just showered, her hair was still wet, and Puller could smell the coconut fragrance of her shampoo through the greasy smell of the room.All eyes in the restaurant were on him, and Pooler was aware of it and took it for granted in this environment.He believed that Drake was not a place full of strangers.Colonel Reynolds was one of them, and he was dead.

He sat down.Cole hands him a packaged menu. "Fifty-eight minutes. You certainly did not disappoint." "I wash and change quickly. How's the coffee?" "Probably as good as your unit's." Puller, who was browsing the menu, twitched his lips at her comment and put the menu down. "Have you made up your mind what to order?" Cole asked. "yes." "I guess for someone like you, making quick decisions is a must-have quality." "As long as those decisions are correct. What's a bullpen restaurant?" "A word among the miners. The miners call the place where they eat and rest on the mining site a bullpen."

"Looks like business is thriving here." "Very good, this is the only one still open at this late hour." "The boss' cash cow." "Its owner is Roger Trent." "This store also belongs to him?" "Drake owns most of his business. It's cheap. The place is so polluted that a lot of people have sold their stores and moved elsewhere, and he's here to rule. Grocery stores, auto repair shops, The plumbing repair company, the power plant, this restaurant, the gas station across the way, the bakery, the dry cleaner, the list goes on and on. They should have changed the name of Drake to Trent Manor gone."

"So, he's creating a nightmare for the ecology here, and he's profiting more from it." "That's the way life is, it doesn't make sense. Isn't it?" "Where's Annie's Motel? Does it belong to him too?" "No, the owner of the hotel doesn't want to sell it. But it's barely afloat, and Roger probably has no real interest in buying the hotel." Cole looked around at the customers and added, "People here are curious." "Is there any specific object of their curiosity?" "About you. About the case that happened."

"Understandable. Rumors spread quickly, don't they?" "It's like typical virality. Word of mouth." "Has the media not responded yet?" "They figured it out anyway. I had a bunch of messages on my phone from them. A couple of papers, a radio station, and an email from a station in Parkersburg, not to mention the Charleston station. If something bad happens, within 15 minutes these guys are all here." "Do some red tape and hold them back first." "I will try my best to deal with them, but in the end it is not me who has the final say."

"Your boss?" "County Sheriff Pat Lindeman. Nice guy, but he's not very good with the press." "I can help." "You deal with the news media a lot, don't you?" "No, but there are people in the military who do it, and they're good at it." "I'll tell the sheriff." "I reckon everyone here already knows about the murder in the second house." "Your estimate is probably not bad." They have already identified the deceased in that house.The man was Eric Triwell, forty-three.The woman was Molly Pitra, thirty-nine.

"That liar used Trevel's name when he spoke to my men. He took a big enough risk. What if Lou asked him for his papers, or offered to come in? Or, if one of my men What if anyone knows Trivel? Drake isn't a big place." "You are right. He took a big risk, but he calculated it, and the development of the situation is in line with his wishes. A guy who dares to take such a risk to commit deceit and succeed should be regarded as not easy to deal with." enemy." What Puller was actually thinking when he said this was that the imposter must be a well-trained guy, maybe a soldier.This quickly complicates the whole thing.He wondered whether the army superiors knew a thing or two about the situation, and whether that was why he had been sent here alone.

A short, grumpy waitress came over to take their order.Her hair was gray, her eyes were darkened, and her voice was harsh. Puller decides to order a breakfast: three eggs fried on the side, bacon, oatmeal, hash browns, toast, and coffee.Cole ordered the Cobb salad with vinaigrette and iced tea.When Puller reached out to hand back the menu, the M11 pistol was exposed from under the jacket.The waitress' eyes flickered, she grabbed the menu and walked away.Puller noticed her reaction and thought this was probably the first time this woman had seen a gun. "Breakfast at this time?" Cole asked. "I haven't eaten anything since today. I expected to have a meal before going to bed." "Have you reported it to your boss?" "yes." "Is he happy with what's going on here?" "He didn't say it. And to be honest, there's not a whole lot going on here either, there's just a bunch of questions." The waitress brought iced tea and coffee. Cole took a sip. "Do you really think these people were interrogated before they were killed?" "It's a guess, and it's also a deductive inference." "What do you think of the drug lab in the basement?" "I hope this doesn't get out." "We'll do our best. My colleagues and I have sealed everything." She hesitated, looking away. Puller read her. "But this is a small town, and sometimes news spreads like wildfire?" She nodded. "What are the killers trying to get out of them?" "Let's say Triwell and Pittner and the guys who killed them were drug dealers, and one or more of the Reynolds family found them acting suspiciously. For one thing, they wanted to find out how much the Reynolds family knew and who they were telling." "Camera for others to see? Why? If they are locals." "Probably not local or not entirely local. Mexican drug gangs are all over the place. These guys are no joke, they do everything. And they have top-notch equipment, including the Internet Communications equipment. Maybe their cameras are live transmissions." "But you said it's just a very primitive drug lab that can't produce more high-end stuff." "It's also possible that it's just Trivel and Petna's sideline. Maybe they have other skills, working for a gang that transports and sells drugs. You have trouble with drugs here, too?" "Which small town will not?" "Is it more powerful than other places?" "I guess we have a bigger problem here," Cole admitted, "but most of the drugs here are prescription drugs. Come on, why kill Pitna and Trivel again?" "Maybe they didn't want to take part in the killing of the Reynolds family, so they had to be killed to keep them silent." "I can't say, I think your argument is reasonable." Cole said. "It's just based on what we know so far and our perceptions will change. Neither of them had wedding rings on their hands." "What I understand is that they are just cohabiting together." "how long?" "About three years." "Are you planning to get married?" "No. I understand they live together just to save money." Puller looked at her curiously. "what?" "If you only pay one mortgage or one rent, your income can be spent a little longer. It's a common practice in our area. People need to count." "Understood. What else do you know about the two dead?" "While you were playing Bionicle, I did some tricks to get a sense of the situation. I didn't know them before, but it's a small town. Man went to Virginia Tech. He started a business in Virginia and it failed. He went through a lot of jobs in the short time after that. He ended up working here as a mechanic for a few years and got laid off again, and it's been quite a while. Then he worked at a chemical store on the west side of town About a year." "Chemicals? So he's an expert on drug lab stuff, and if he's involved in the drug business, probably stocking and supplying things. Any rumors of him being involved in the drug trade?" "Nothing has been found. I mean basically he has never had a drug-related charge in the past. He has nothing in our records." "It could also mean he's shrewd and never shows himself, or that he's only recently gotten into the drug business. Like you said, it's not easy life, and wants to take the money for the long haul. What about Petrina? Sample?" "She's in an office at Trent Mining." Puller stared at her and said, "That means our mining tycoon has popped up again." "Yeah, I think so," Cole said slowly, avoiding Pooler's gaze. "Any questions?" Puller asked. Cole looked at Pooler calmly. "You must have paid close attention to Trent, that's why you mentioned him again." "This fellow Trent is evidently very influential and powerful in the neighbourhood." "I don't dispute that. Trust me, Puller." "Okay. What does this woman do in the company's office?" "As far as I know, she is a clerk, doing something related. We will investigate further." "So they both have careers, plus they own a drug lab. They live together for the money, and they still live in the crappy house. I don't think the cost of living here is going to be very high. " "That's right, well, the income here is not too high." The food they ordered was served.The two gobbled it up.Puller drank two more cups of coffee in one go. "Are you still going to sleep?" Cole asked as he lifted his third cup of coffee to his lips. "My physiology has atrophied a bit, and the more caffeine I take, the more soundly I sleep." "You're kidding." "Actually, the Army has taught me to sleep when I need it. I need it tonight, so I'm sure to sleep well." "Oh, I know I should be able to, too. I only got two hours of sleep last night." She looked at him with a mocked look on her face. "Thank you, Romeo." "I won't do that again." "I'm joking." "Has the body been sent away?" "It's been moved." "You say Officer Wellman is married?" She nods. "County Sheriff Lindemann has already visited Larry's wife. I'll be there tomorrow. Angie and I don't know each other very well, but she must be in desperate need of reassurance. I reckon it's going to make her miserable, and it would be the same for me. .” "Is her natal family here?" "Larry's home is here. Angie's home is in Southwest Virginia." "How did she come here?" She frowned. "I know that in your opinion people should move out of here, not the other way around." "I don't mean anything, and you told me that a lot of people here want to move. I'm just trying to make things clear." "Larry went to a community college in Virginia, which is not far from here in a straight line. They met at the college, and he graduated and returned to his hometown, and Angie followed." "What about you?" Cole put down his iced tea. "What about me?" "I already know you have a younger brother, and your father is dead. Are there any other relatives here?" He looked at her hand, there was no wedding ring, but it may have been taken off at work, and the current situation probably still regarded it as work by her. "I'm not married." She caught his gaze. "My parents are dead. I have a sister who lives here. What about you?" "I have no relatives here." "You know that's not what I'm asking, you parrot." "My father is still there, and there is an older brother." "Are they all soldiers?" "They were soldiers." "Are you all retired now?" "You could say the same thing." Puller put the money on the table. "When do you want to start work tomorrow?" She looked at the cash on the table. "Or zero seven zero zero Juliet." "I'll be there at six zero. Can I get Reynolds' computer and briefcase tonight?" "They are all exhibits in a strict legal sense." "Legally. But I can point out that there are quite a few people in Washington, and not just in uniform, who are anxiously waiting to get these things back in their hands." "Is this a threat?" "No, as I once hinted, I don't want you to be unwittingly involved in something that will get you in trouble later. I can assure you that anything that is not a state secret and is needed in solving the case Everything will be returned to you." "Who is going to decide?" "Appropriate agency." "I like to decide for myself." "Sounds good, but do you have access to top-secret documents and sensitive information?" Cole pushed a lock of hair from his face, glared at him angrily, and said, "I don't even know what you mean." "Sensitive and strictly controlled intelligence information. It is not easy to obtain the qualification to access this category of intelligence information. The most important thing is to have a special access license for intelligence granted by the Ministry of Defense. Because of Reynolds' department and the field of access to intelligence, His work is completely protected by the above-mentioned confidentiality regulations. So if you open that laptop or check the colonel's briefcase without special approval, you may be charged with endangering national security. I don't want this to happen, and I'm sure you wouldn't either. I know these secrecy rules sound stupid, but those in government agencies take them very seriously. Violating and violating them, even if it's just a Careless accidents have extremely serious consequences. You don't need to get into such a big trouble, Cole." "You live in an unreasonable world." "I take it for granted." The Drakes around kept casting curious glances at the two of them.Especially the two well-dressed guys showed great interest in them.At another table sat four sturdy men.They all wore corduroy trousers and T-shirts, showing muscular arms.One of them wore a cap emblazoned with the Hawley motor oil logo.Another wears a dusty cowboy hat with a crumpled right side.A third drank his beer in silence, staring blankly at the air in front of him.The fourth one is one size smaller than the first three, but still weighs no less than ninety-five kilograms. He is observing Puller and Cole through the large mirror on the wall. Cole looked at the cash on the table and said, "The police station only—" "It's only three minutes away, like anywhere else here." "About eight minutes away, to be exact." "Can I take those things?" "Can I trust you?" "I can't decide for you." "Maybe I can trust you." She put down a few bills to pay for her share of the meal. "I think I have enough money for two people's meals and tips," Puller said. "I don't want to owe anyone anything." She stood up, "Let's go." Puller took some money back from the table and followed Cole out of the restaurant.Drake's men continued to watch them.