Caruso 01 - Boom Town Read Free Page A

given him the night before. There was the pass card to the gate at the Humphrey sub-division, copies of identifi-cation cards, credit cards, social security cards, and photos of Dan Humphrey and his wife, Barb. They had the looks of the college football quarterback and the star volleyball player. An inside hitter.
    Now he was almost ready to hit the road. But before he left, he checked his e-mail. He had a web page posted to links all over the place where he offered discreet investigations nationwide, with 14
    TREVOR SCOTT
    Oregon his home base. He mentioned his Navy ordnance training and the work he had done as a consultant with the police, but gave little specific information. Strangely enough, he also had a link to a photo gallery—maybe some would see he had a softer side, and had not just worked with bombs most of his life.
    He had a couple of messages. The first one was from Melanie Chadwick, a woman he had dated a couple of times since coming to Bend. They had met his first day in town at a local gym where Tony was working out. Since then they had spent a lot of free time searching for bodily imperfections. He was no doctor, but he had found nothing physically wrong with her.
    The other message was from his Uncle Bruno in Duluth, Minnesota, wanting to know when he was coming home again.
    He left Melanie hanging for now and shot off a quick reply to his uncle, saying he had no intention of ever going back to Minnesota in the winter. Although he had grown up in Duluth’s west end, a place where Italian names were as common as hock-ey rinks, he had forced himself to return only infrequently during the summer. Since leaving Duluth after high school to serve in the Navy, traveling the Earth for more than 20 years, he hadn’t found much time to return to Minnesota. He had a feeling his Uncle Bruno wanted him to take over the family business, and Tony had only an inkling of what he had in mind for him. Bruno could have asked Tony’s brother, Johnny, but last he heard his younger brother was in China teaching English to the newly affluent. Or was he in Africa with the Peace Corps?
    “Let’s go, boy,” Tony said, snapping his fingers at his dog, who scurried toward the door after him. “Let’s put that nose to work.”
    He left and found his ten-year-old Ford F250 in the one-car garage that came with the condo. The 4x4 was his office. His cell phone hitched up to his laptop, and he had a bed in the back that he could use in emergencies. Next to his bed was a pad for Panzer.
    Leaving the resort, he headed south toward Cascade Peaks Estates.

    BOOM TOWN 15
    Since it was Saturday, there wasn’t much traffic at that time of day. The skiers were probably already on the slopes, and the diehard golfers were eating brunch, lying about their handicaps while they waited for the greens to warm.
    Most detectives would head directly to the local cops and ask to see the evidence. Have them explain their reasoning for calling it quits on a case that wasn’t a total slam dunk. But Tony figured that was a good way to piss people off. Sort of like asking an older man if he could still get it up.
    Besides, he wanted to take a look at what was left of Dan and Barb Humphrey’s house. He had heard that Dan had somehow rigged the gas fireplace in the living room to explode. Details on the local T.V. news and in the newspaper were sketchy at best.
    Cryptic at most. The Bend area being such a tourist Mecca, it was best to keep any negative news to a minimum, Tony guessed.
    He made it through the gate with Cliff’s card without the resort Gestapo jacking him up against his truck. The stern man in the gatehouse did burn his eyes right through him, though. He realized his dented and beat-up pickup didn’t fit in with the Beemers, Mercedes and Audis strolling around that gated community.
    Screw ‘em. Tony actually used his four-wheel-drive for something more than status.
    Finding the house was not a difficult task. It was the only place on