The call from Wyoming came at nine o’clock in the morning eastern time. Jesse took it in his office.
“I got Paradise, Massachusetts?” Charlie Buck said.
“Yes,” Jesse said.
“You the chief of police?”
“Yes. Jesse Stone.”
“My name’s Charlie Buck. I’m an investigator for the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department in Gillette, Wyoming.”
“Well, you’re an early riser,” Jesse said. “What is it there, about seven?”
“Seven oh three,” Buck said. “I’m interested in a man might have lived in Paradise at one time, man named Thomas Carson.”
“He was the chief before me,” Jesse said.
Buck grunted.
“Well, he was driving a Dodge truck up along Route 59 north of Bill a while back, when it blew up and him with it. Took us this long to trace what was left.”
“In Wyoming?”
“Yeah, north of Bill, heading toward Gillette.”
“You establish why it blew up?” Jesse said.
“Bomb.”
“So it’s a homicide.”
“You might say so.”
“You have any leads?”
“We was hoping you’d be the lead. If the bomb hadn’t tossed the truck’s serial number a couple hundred feet away we wouldn’t even know who he was.”
“Considerable bomb,” Jesse said.
“Considerable,” Buck said. “Figure it was supposed to pulverize everything so we couldn’t I.D. the victim. How long you had the job?”
“Got hired in May,” Jesse said. “Didn’t actually start until June.”
“You know when Carson left?”
“Before May,” Jesse said. “Sometime in the spring, I think. Until I took over, guy named Lou Burke was acting chief.”
“Where were you before you took this job?” Buck said.
“L.A. Homicide.”
Buck grunted again.
“Might be useful,” he said.
“I’ll try,” Jesse said.
“Carson got any next of kin out there?”
“Not that I know of, but I’ll find out, let you know.”
“Wish you would,” Buck said. “Friends, close associates?”
“Let me look into it,” Jesse said. I’ll get back to you.”
“Sure,” Buck said.
“You know what detonated the bomb?” Jesse said.
“No. Best guess, someone trailed him and beeped it from a distance. Pretty empty stretch of road along where it went off.”
“Makes sense,” Jesse said. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like it if you talked only to me about this.”
Buck grunted.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Jesse said.
“Hell no,” Buck said. “Your town, your department.” Who’d you say you worked for in L.A.?”
“Homicide, Captain Cronjager.”
“Un huh. Well, I’ll go ahead and see what I can do at this end. Maybe you can give me a ring in a couple days, tell me what you know.”
“Glad to,” Jesse said.
“If I don’t hear,” Buck said, “I’ll give you a ring.”
“You’ll hear,” Jesse said.