Michelle said, “It’s a long story but Tyler is safer with us. So why are you sneaking around Sean’s house?”
McKinney sat down and slipped out a pack of Marlboros. “You mind if I smoke?”
“Yeah, I do. And I know that Sean sure as hell would.”
He put the smokes away and sat back. “Do you guys have any idea what you’re involved in?”
“We’re working on it,” said Michelle. “Any help you’d like to give us would be appreciated.”
“An international incident,” said McKinney, who didn’t seem to have heard her.
Michelle sat down across from him while Tyler remained standing and looked stunned.
“What kind of international incident?” asked Michelle calmly.
McKinney studied her. “I’m not sure I can answer that.”
“Then why the hell are you even here?” she said hotly. “To tell us you can’t cooperate with us? Trust me, we got that message loud and clear before.”
McKinney cracked his knuckles. “The dead guys were former military.”
“All of them?”
He nodded. “But they’d been out of uniform a long time and had gotten into stuff that men who wore the uniform of this country never should.”
“Like what?” asked Michelle.
“Drugs and gunrunning, for starters. And some militia activity with maybe some domestic terrorism thrown in. The list only gets longer after that.”
“Do you think that’s what this is about?”
“I don’t think so. But I can’t be sure.”
Michelle looked up at Tyler, who blurted out, “My dad wouldn’t be involved in anything like that.”
McKinney turned to him. “He seems to be right in the middle of it, whatever ‘it’ is.”
“What was the mission, McKinney? What was Sam Wingo doing? We know he was delivering something but it never got there.”
“Who the hell told you that?”
“Does it matter?” Michelle said.
“It might,” snapped McKinney.
“Look, we’re both trying to get to the truth.”
He looked at Tyler again. “Your old man contacted you, didn’t he? Slipped you a coded message?”
Tyler immediately looked at Michelle. She hesitated but then nodded.
Tyler said, “Yeah, he did. After he was supposed to be dead.”
“And what did the message say?”
Michelle answered. “That he was sorry and wanted Tyler to forgive him.”
“You’re sure that was all?”