Breaking Point

now, but I want you to really think hard about it. Believe me, there are people in Cheyenne at headquarters who think I’m crazy. You are not the most popular guy with some of them. They point to your record with state-issued vehicles, for example. But as far as the game wardens go—I haven’t heard a bad word. They would listen to what you have to say.”
    Joe didn’t respond.
    She continued, “Your salary would increase by eighteen thousand dollars, and you’d move up two grades.”
    “Where is the job based?”
    “Cheyenne, of course. I even have an office picked out next to mine, and we can share the same administrative staff.”
    “Cheyenne?”
    “That’s where our office is.”
    Joe had done his best over the years to avoid trips to headquarters. He knew several old game wardens who prided themselves on
never
darkening the halls of the agency building for their entire careers.
    “I’m flattered you asked me,” Joe said, “but I really have to think this through and talk to my wife. She’s got a business deal going here right now.”
    “Of course you should talk with her,” LGD said. “I wouldn’t expect anything different.”
    “I need to hear a lot more about the changes you’re proposing,” Joe said. “I would be a lousy advocate if I didn’t agree with them.”
    “Of course,” she said, sitting back. “We’ll have time for that later. But one thing I’m adamant about is reducing the number of wardens in the field and replacing them with people more attuned to new thinking.”
    He looked at her. “Are you saying my job might go away?”
    “Nothing is set in stone.”
    She leaned forward across the table, and her eyes got even bigger. “Joe, this is the twenty-first century, and it’s time for a new paradigm. It isn’t the Wild West anymore, and hasn’t been for quite some time. I realize that it used to be that game wardens out in the field were given almost complete autonomy, and that probably worked back when Game and Fish meant Guts and Feathers. But we all need to realize we’re not just here to check hunting licenses anymore. We’re here to save and protect a precious resource.”
    Joe said, “You think all we do is check hunting licenses?”
    “No, of course not, but we can get into all that later,” Greene-Dempsey said. “Along with your plans to recover another department vehicle that I understand is still stuck somewhere in the mountains?”
    “In a snowfield,” Joe said. “I need to get it out.”
    “Yes, you do,” she said, her face turning hard for a split second before recovering. “But first you need to know that I pledged Mr. Batista and Mr. Underwood our full cooperation in their investigative efforts. By extension, that means you.”
    Joe whistled.
    “Is there a problem?” she asked.
    MayVonne arrived with his breakfast, and he started on it while Greene-Dempsey sent her plate back and asked the waitress to bring one with only the freshest fruit. MayVonne took another deep breath and stomped off toward the kitchen.
    —
    “T HEY’RE TOO HEAVY-HANDED,” Joe said when LGD asked about the status of the investigation. “I realize a terrible crime has taken place and we need to find the bad guy. But the way this Batista is going about it . . .”
    “They’re doing what they think they need to do,” she said. “And we’ve pledged our cooperation and assistance. The governor is fully on board with this.”
    “He is?” Joe said, knowing Governor Rulon’s legendary battles with the federal government over a range of contentious issues. He had once challenged the secretary of interior to an arm-wrestling match to determine a state versus federal policy on wolves, for example.
    “We really don’t need to get into the political weeds on this,” she said. “It’s not something you need to get involved in. But can you assure me you’ll provide your full assistance and expertise to Mr. Batista and Mr. Underwood?”
    Joe took a sip of coffee. “Yes,” he said, “as long as they calm down a little. They’ve been offering rewards to nail Butch Roberson. That’s not the way to do this.”
    “No caveats,” she said, again instant steel. “Do I have your assurance?”
    Joe took a deep breath and said, “Sure. They haven’t called me yet to meet with them, but I expect that will happen later today. I might be able to help them and make sure it’s not some kind of execution at the same time. I don’t trust this Underwood guy. He seems