Mack's call to the forensic lab didn't give him great news. There were a few long dark hairs found in the truck that didn't match the driver, but without a suspect it was pretty useless evidence. By the description Mack knew they didn't belong to Cal or Cheryl West. Mack supposed Hope West was a possibly, but if the precocious sixteen year old had been involved it was unlikely she would have been sloppy enough to leave DNA evidence behind. In addition there was the obstacle of getting a judge to issue a DNA warrant for a teenager with no priors.

Mack's next call was to Charlie, Wolf's former partner in crime, and Mack's newest criminal informant. Mack had been avoiding tapping Charlie for information since Wolf's trial. He didn't want anyone knowing about their connection in case someone noticed how a key piece of evidence had appeared on the scene after the cops arrived. If it came to light Mack knew he'd be the prime suspect, but the facts didn't matter, only what could be proven. Mack figured a few inquiries couldn't hurt as long as they were discreet. The phone rang twice before Charlie answered it.

"Hello?"

"Charlie. Do you know who this is?"

There was a few second pause on the other end of the line. Mack could tell Charlie was trying to decide if he should answer truthfully, fake ignorance, or just hang up.

"Yeah. Yeah…give me a second."

Mack could hear the background noise through the phone as Charlie made his way to what Mack could only assume was a more private location. By the sounds of it Charlie was in a bar of some kind in the middle of the day. Ah the life of a petty criminal.

"Charlie, still there?"

A sound came from the other end of the line that sounded like the flushing of a toilet. Great, so Charlie had moved their conversation into the bathroom. Mack made a silent prayer that Charlie wasn't planning on multi-tasking will he was in there.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. Geez, I thought, you know we were done talking and everything."

Mack could tell from the stress in his voice Charlie was more concerned about being caught on the phone with Mack, than Mack was about being caught on the phone with Charlie. He supposed that made sense. Mack might get demoted or even lose his job if someone discovered the tainted evidence, but Charlie stood to lose a lot more. The West code may not condone violence as a form of revenue, but Mack doubted it would save Charlie if Wolf found out who helped set him up.

"Not quite. I thought you might have some information for me."

Mack kept his statement deliberately vague. It was an old ploy with nervous suspects, let them sweat while trying to figure out what the police did and did not know.

"Information? About who? Wolf's in jail, and Cheryl's you know found religion or whatever. She's real serious about everyone toeing the line."

Charlie sounded sincere, and since the man was a terrible liar, Mack assumed he was. Still, it wouldn't hurt to press him, just in case.

"That's not what I hear. I have reason to believe Cheryl was in on the Big Foods truck heist."

"Well, whatever you're hearing must be wrong. Cheryl's over here at the Desert Dive offering a $1500 reward for anyone with information about the robbery. Why would she be paying good money for information about herself?"

Cheryl West was trying to catch a criminal? Now Mack could die with the knowledge that he'd seen everything. Though where she got the $1500 from was something of a question.

"$1500? Where'd she get the money from? I wasn't aware Big Foods gave her a severance package."

"The money's, uh, from me. You know, helping out a neighbor in financial distress."

This time when Charlie spoke Mack didn't believe a word he said. The money must have come from Wolf. Even from the inside Wolf was trying to draw his family back into the criminal fold. Mack wasn't even a little surprised.

"Well, that's all I need for now Charlie. You have a nice day now."

Mack hung up without waiting for Charlie's response. He had other things to think about.

Cheryl was out offering rewards for information on the truck heist, and using dirty money no less. Mack briefly wondered how Wolf would feel about that. More importantly, why was she doing it? The West household was undoubtedly under serious financial strain, what with their primary breadwinner doing five in the can and Cheryl losing her minimum wage job. It seemed to Mack that Cheryl might have put the money toward something more urgent like food or utilities. There had to be something going on here Mack wasn't seeing.

Whatever he was missing, there was a bottom line here that had to be faced. Mack had been wrong about Cheryl West, not once, but twice in the past two days. It was an uncomfortable realization, putting a few extra knots in his stomach where he really didn't need them. He had been so sure, though. Could anyone blame him for his assumptions, two reported crimes in two days, both tied to a West? Any other policeman would have thought the same. The odds that Cheryl was completely innocent were astronomical, yet she had defied them. The aftermath was that Mack knew where his training dictated his next stop should be. He really was not looking forward to it.