Back of Beyond

“After that fire in my room in the hotel, I was even more sure it was Larry. It could have been the perfect death. Whoever did it knew me pretty well. Out of control, suspended, drunk alcoholic, disabled smoke alarm, smoking in bed. It would have been a slam-dunk accidental death. But for some reason I saw the fire and got out in time. No one saw who did it, and I never really thought it was Larry but maybe someone he sent.”

Cody noted the small beads of perspiration forming on Bodean’s upper lip. It wasn’t warm in the office.

“I realized in Bozeman someone was tracking my cell, so I smashed it. Of course, not just anybody can get the phone company to track a cell phone. Only law enforcement can do that, so again, it pointed to Larry-the only guy who knew where the hell I was or why I was going. I’ve since confirmed that the phone company had a request to track my cell phone and the request came from this office.”

Bodean’s voice cracked when he said, “That son of a bitch.”

Cody raised his eyebrows this time. “Yeah, that Larry,” he said with sarcasm. Then: “Later, in the park, I turned on my phone. There were five messages from Larry on it. I listened to them. They’re still on the phone, by the way. I could tell from what he was saying and his tone he was working on something big, that he’d found something huge. Now, if his intent was to steer me away from the pack trip, why would he keep investigating? Unless, of course, he was trying to completely mislead me. But that didn’t jibe with his tone. He was excited, and angry with me. He wanted to help me. Larry was my partner. I believed him.

“So I called back,” Cody said. “Someone picked up his cell phone from the briefcase sitting next to his desk. Larry said it wasn’t him because he was getting reamed out by the sheriff at the time right here in this chair. But you know what? He didn’t mention anyone else being in the room. And knowing Larry, he wouldn’t have left a detail like that out, because Larry didn’t leave out details.

“So someone heard my voice and knew I was alive and probably in the park. Any idea who that might have been?”

Bodean’s gaze was hard and steady. “It could have been anyone who picked up that phone. You’re on thin ice, Hoyt.”

Cody conceded that. “But it wasn’t just anyone, I don’t think, because what would just anyone have learned from my call? Only that I was calling Larry. Nothing else. Supposedly at that time no one knew about my trip south, or the fire.”

“I’m confused,” Bodean said.

“Sure you are,” Cody said. “So whoever picked up Larry’s phone knew that I was trying to reach him. And they knew if I was trying to reach him Larry would tell me what he’d discovered. That he’d spoken to the San Diego PD and so on. If someone was involved in the whole mess in Yellowstone, that wouldn’t be a good thing.

“I’m guessing Sheriff Tubman didn’t decide to suspend Larry on his own. I’m guessing maybe his undersheriff convinced him Larry was going rogue and withholding information about me, as well as what he was learning in his unauthorized investigation. It went right by me when Larry told me you became unhinged when you found out our investigation was pointing toward Yellowstone Park and Jed McCarthy’s outfit.”

Cody noticed Bodean’s hands were now two fists on the desk.

“When I gave my statement to the Park Service, I met Larry’s buddy Rick Doerring. Rick confirmed that Jed McCarthy had been around doing some kind of concession business when the interagency team assembled in Mammoth about that report of the disabled plane. Rick said the rumor mill was really cranking along, as usual. Then I remembered something Larry said to me in passing, and I’d almost completely forgotten about it.”

“What?” Bodean said.

“The sheriff sent two members of the department down to Yellowstone. Larry and you.”

Bodean swallowed hard but said nothing.

Cody said, “That’s where you met Jed McCarthy for the first time and learned about his pack trips. I’m sure Jed told you all about them because he was a yapper. I’m sure he told you all about his big Back of Beyond itinerary, since that was his pride and joy, not to mention his cash cow.

“But that isn’t the only task force Undersheriff Cliff Bodean belongs to, is it?” Cody asked. “You’re also our official liaison to the DEA. So later, after you got back from the park and everyone forgot about the airplane since no one reported it missing, you heard the rumors and read the reports about the Chavez cartel and the kidnapping. You put the dates of the kidnapping and the plane disappearance together and found they were days apart. There was a rumor the exchange was to have taken place in Jackson Hole, but it never did. So you got out a map and drew a line between Bozeman, where the plane was last seen, and Jackson, where the plane was supposed to land. I did it myself last night. That line goes straight through the Thorofare country of Yellowstone. Practically on top of Jed’s route.”