Full Tilt. Rick Mofina

Pollard witnessed the deaths of most of his squad members.

      He came home to Toledo, suffering post-traumatic stress and became addicted to alcohol and other drugs. He lost his job as a truck driver, his wife left him. He fell into debt, then drifted across the country, ending up on the streets and finally in this homeless shelter.

      Brennan was grateful to Buffalo PD, which had made initial inquiries with local shelters. It cleared the way for him to get up at four this morning and make the four-hour drive to Buffalo with Dickson to continue their investigation. They hadn’t released Pollard’s name yet. They were working with the military to locate his family.

      “Doesn’t it make you sick that vets end up homeless when they should be treated like heroes?”

      “It’s a disgrace.” Brennan sipped his coffee and over the rim saw Tim Scott, the shelter’s director, wiping his hands with a towel as he approached them.

      “Thanks for waiting.” Scott joined them at the table, then waved to staff members behind the counter. “Sure we can’t get you fellas something to eat after your long drive?”

      “We’re good with the coffee. Thanks,” Brennan said. “What can you tell us about John Charles Pollard?”

      “I can’t believe he’s dead. In a fire...maybe he took shelter in the barn?”

      “Maybe.”

      “It always hurts when we lose a client.” Scott shook his head. “People come to us broken. We give them a meal, a bed and hope in the way of counseling and services. J.C. had been with us for five months and was showing promise. He’d gotten clean and sober. He’d gotten his license again and was ready to apply for driving jobs.”

      “So things were looking up?”

      “Yes, despite all he’d faced, he was slowly getting back on his feet. But some guys have their setbacks and they disappear. That’s what I thought might’ve happened.”

      “That he’d had a setback?”

      “That’s what I was thinking. The other guys who knew him best had been asking about him because he hadn’t been around for a week or so. Reggie and Delmar. They bunked with him for a time and were probably the closest he had to friends. They’re right here.”

      The first man was in his thirties. His clothes hung loose on his skinny frame. His face bore fresh scrapes, as if he’d collided with the sidewalk.

      “Is it true? J.C.’s dead?” The man called Reggie sniffed and sat down.

      “I’m afraid so. My condolences.”

      Reggie nodded sadly.

      “May I ask what happened?” Brennan indicated the man’s cuts.

      “Was drunk, fell on the street.”

      “Reggie, may I get your last name, date of birth and could you show me your Social Security card? It’s routine.”

      Brennan cleared a page in his notebook, took down Reggie’s information then did the same for Delmar, the taller of the two. Delmar had a full, scraggly Moses beard dotted with crumbs.

      Brennan thanked them and said, “We ask that you keep our inquiries confidential. It’s critical to our investigation.”

      “So he got killed in a fire in Rampart?” Delmar looked around the table.

      “Something like that. Guys, can you recall if John—”

      “Oh, we call him J.C., nobody called him John,” Reggie said.

      “Sorry. Can you recall if J.C. had any connection to Rampart?”

      The three men shook their heads.

      “Ohio, mostly, that’s where he came from,” Reggie said.

      “Do the names Carl Nelson or Bethany Ann Wynn mean anything to you in relation to J.C.?”

      “Don’t think so.” Delmar looked to the others, who agreed.

      “What about Canada? Did he ever talk about it?”

      More shaking of heads.

      Dickson cued up photos on his tablet.

      “Do you recognize anything in these pictures, any connection at all?”

      The first were several photos of Bethany Ann Wynn.

      None of the photos registered with the men.

      Next were photos of Tara Dawn Mae, from her missing persons file from Alberta.

      Again, nothing.

      Then they showed them enlarged photos of the necklace with the guardian angel charm.

      Nothing.

      “What’s this really about?” Scott was clearly troubled. “I get the feeling there’s something more serious going on. Do you think J.C. had something to do with these people?”

      “At this point, we’re not sure what to think,” Brennan admitted.

      Then came photos of Carl Nelson.

      “That guy.” Delmar tapped his finger on Nelson’s face.

      “He used to come around, talk to J.C.,” Reggie said, nodding.

      “When did he start coming around?” Brennan stared hard at the men.

      “It started a month or so back, maybe two months,” Reggie said. “We were in the park, passing a bottle of Thunderbird. J.C. wouldn’t take none, he was on the program doin’ fine without preachin’ to us. That’s when this guy—” Reggie pointed at Nelson “—came up and just gave us money. Fifty bucks each. Said he remembered when his family had hard times. We get that sometimes.”

      “Did he give you his name?”

      “Jones, Adam Jones, I think,” Reggie said.

      “Then the guy came around more,” Delmar said. “Bought us lunches and took an interest in J.C., his military time, telling J.C. how thankful and honored he was.” Delmar jabbed his forefinger into the table. “I tell you, sir, that meant the goddamn world to J.C. because he was still carrying the ghosts of the men he lost.”

      Reggie nodded.

      “J.C. was a true-blue soldier. You know, he still had his dog tags. Put them in his boot so no one would yank them from his neck if he got jumped. I think we were the only ones he told.”

      “Can you recall any other details about the man’s interest in J.C.?”

      “He started bringing him clothes, pants, boots, jackets, stuff he said he no longer needed, or never wore,” Delmar said.

      “Yeah,” Reggie said. “Good stuff, because they were practically the same height, build, age, the same everything. The guy told J.C. the clothes were his and he didn’t need them anymore.”

      Brennan and Dickson exchanged a glance.

      “Do you recall anything else?”

      “They were getting chummy,” Delmar said. “I remember, about two weeks before we last saw J.C., he was saying that he might have a lead on a good job but it was across the state.”

      “In Rampart?” Brennan asked.

      Delmar shook his head. “Didn’t say, but he sure was feeling good about things, you just saw it on his face and stuff.”

      “Then that was it,” Reggie said. “We never saw J.C. after that.”

      * * *

      Brennan and Dickson shared their theories on the case on the long drive back to Rampart.

      “What do you think, Ed? Nelson was making bondage, porn movies at the barn, maybe invited Pollard to take part?”

      “Maybe, but look again at what