Dean reached past her, grabbed her purse and dumped the contents on the table. He picked out a motel room key. She looked dumbfounded but made no move to stop him. He pushed back his chair, stood and glanced down at her, but no appropriate words came to mind.
He turned instead to Fred. "Take her to your room and wait there. I don't know how long I'll be but I'll run you down later and explain everything. This is important. Trust me. If Jonathan Winston is still around, tell him where I went."
"Be careful," Fred cautioned as he slipped into the vacated chair as Dean turned and left.
The key fob was the old fashioned type with the name of the motel listed on it. The lodge was in the next block and once again mirrored the others he'd visited since this business began. He located the room, which was dark when he entered, but he didn't turn on the light. Instead, he pulled up a chair behind the door and waited. While he wasn't sure what would happen, nor when, he felt certain his wait wouldn't be long. The absence of his gun was even more significant than his last vigil.
Suddenly the room was flooded with light and Dean shaded his eyes as turned to see him standing there. Dean had guessed correctly. One hand was on the light switch while the other held a gun pointed directly at Dean.
"Where is she?" asked Chip Burgess, surprised to see Dean. Dean didn't answer.
Burgess flipped off the light switch, returning the room to darkness, and sat on the edge of the bed. Dean could no longer see the gun but he knew it remained in place, pointed at him. "We'll just wait until she shows up," Burgess said. "Then all three of us will take a little ride up the mountain."
"Where you'll kill us?"
"Naw. Just drop you off to give me enough time to get out of here."
Dean didn't believe him for a minute. "You didn't have any trouble finding where Cynthia was staying. I figured it would take you half the evening to track her down."
"Just lucky and it's a small town. I recognized her from the picture in Byrne's wallet and saw her leave the room and go to the restaurant. She should be back here before long."
"Why didn't you just hustle out of town when I told you she was here?"
"I couldn't take the chance-with either of you. There was no reason for her to be in Colorado except thinking her hubby was still alive and here. Did you tell her I'm not her husband?"