Page 16 of Wild Oblivion

His brow wrinkled. “Hell no! My customers deserve privacy.”

There was no doubt that a lot of not-so-reformed gangsters had lunch at his place and discussed illegal activities.

“Look, somebody walked into your restaurant, ordered a pizza, sat in that back booth, and planted a bomb. You remember seeing anything unusual?”

Tony frowned and shook his head. “You know how many people come in every day? It could have been anyone.”

I gave a disappointed nod.

“I’ll talk to the staff.” Then he added, “When do you think we can reopen?”

“The forensic team will dust for prints. I’m sure the ATF and the FBI will look around. You’re probably done for the day.”

He wasn’t thrilled.

JD and I rejoined the sheriff, and there were handshakes, high-fives, and pats on the back all around.

The mood soured slightly when Special Agent Thompson approached the sheriff. He was a tall, narrow guy with a slick head, a bushy mustache, and tufts of rust-colored hair above his ears. In his late 40s, he wore a light gray suit and black tie.

We all knew what was coming.

Daniels briefed him on everything.

"Due to the nature of this case and the uniqueness of the device, we're going to take the lead on this,” Thompson said. “We’ll keep you in the loop, of course.”

"That's great," Daniels said, feigning enthusiasm. "You can have it. But you’ve got one problem. It seems the bomber has an affinity for Deputy Wild,” he said, aiming a finger at me. “That's his point of contact.”

I smiled big.

"Looks like you're part of the task force,” Thompson said without missing a beat. “I want a full debrief from you right now. You will report directly to me on this. I want to know the minute the perp makes contact again. I want you to run this by the book. Do you copy?”

I didn't particularly like the idea of reporting to anyone, especially the FBI, after our recent run-ins. But at least they couldn’t squeeze us out of this one.

“Affirmative,” I said.

“I think it was reckless of you to attempt to disarm the device without waiting for consultation or approval from the FBI. It may have worked out this time, but this could have gone so many ways of wrong. You two got lucky.”

Jack smiled. “I’ll take luck any day.”

“I made a judgment call, and my boys risked their lives,” Daniels said, sticking up for us. “The outcome was positive, and I think athank youis in order.”

Thompson gave the sheriff a look, and his lip quivered with disdain. We weren’t going to get any compliments from him.

Thompson asked me, “What’s the perp’s connection to you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You got a name for this scumbag?”

“He wasn’t terribly forthcoming.”

“I want a tap on your phone,” Thompson said.

I laughed. "Not without a Title III wiretap order from a federal judge."

Thompson didn't try to hide his scowl. "Are we going to have a problem, Deputy Wild?"

"We've already got a problem, and I'm the least of your worries. After everything I've been through with you guys, I'm not letting you crawl up my ass.”