Partner In Crime

It was only when Joa

Once Beaumont handed over the keys to the Blazer and they were headed into town, Joa

“He’s at the hospital,” Tica Romero replied. “At least Deputy Gregovich is. I don’t know about Spike. Kristin’s about to have her baby.”

“Oh,” a relieved Joa

Minutes later, while requesting a tow truck to come to retrieve Beau’s damaged Kia, she turned to him and asked, “Where should they take it?”

“I have no idea.” He shrugged. “The rental agreement’s in the glove box. Have the tow-truck driver call Saguaro Discount Rental in Tucson and ask them where they want it. Unless you need it for evidence, that is. If so, you can take it back to your department and have someone dig the bullet out of the passenger seat.”

Joa

“Makes sense to me,” Beaumont agreed.

Sensing that he wasn’t any happier about the situation than she was, Joa

“I’m sorry we didn’t catch him,” she said at last. “If your boss thought we were incompetent before-”

“Ross Co

“Thanks,” Joa

“Probably,” he answered. “With Brampton dead, there’s not much reason to hang around any longer. Although, since Frank went to the trouble of getting those phone logs, I should finish going over them before I leave. I’ll catch a plane back to Seattle tomorrow sometime.”

Riding Princess back to the Lozier place had given Joa

“It’s after one now,” she said. “I’ll probably have to spend the afternoon on my knees, begging the governor of Arizona to work with the governor of Sonora to get Jack Brampton’s body shipped back to the States. To do that, I’ll need patience, strength, and food. How about grabbing some lunch?”

“Fine,” Beaumont said. “As long as you let the state of Washington buy.”

Feeling a little underhanded, Joa

“Tell me about your wife,” Joa

When he raised his eyes to look at her, J.P. Beaumont’s gaze was suddenly wary. “Which one?” he asked, but it was only a defense mechanism. They both knew Joa

“The second one,” Joa

“What do you want to know?”

“I’ve read the Denver Post article,” she told him. “Frank downloaded it from the Internet.”

“Damn his computer anyway!” Beau muttered. “Why the hell couldn’t he mind his own business? You, too, for that matter?”

“It is my business,” Joa

His expression softened a little. “Well, yes. I suppose I did. I just haven’t had time…”

“As I was reading through the article,” Joa

“What’s that?” She heard the tightly controlled anger beneath his question.

“How many cases were there?” she asked. “Besides the two mentioned in the article and the three victims in Seattle, the article hinted there were others. Were there?”

Beau paused before he answered. Finally he nodded. “Several,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter how many. Ralph Ames and I worked with the various jurisdictions and cleared the ones we knew about – the ones A

“The article implied that you did it quietly because you were worried about a flurry of wrongful-death suits.”

“That’s not true,” Beau replied shortly. “A

“A

Beaumont’s face fell. Finally, he nodded bleakly. “That, too,” he admitted.

“My father used to be sheriff here,” Joa

“I saw the picture and the name in the display case out in the lobby. I assumed the two of you might be related.”

“Dad always maintained that A

“No,” Beau said quietly after a moment. “You’re wrong there. That’s not where justice miscarried. What A

“How did she get out then?” Joa

“Because she co

“The article hinted she might have had something to do with her husband’s death as well.”

“Yes,” Beau said softly. “I’m sure she did. Milton Corley was dying of cancer, but she helped him along. She told me so herself that last day, the day she tried to kill me, too.”

The man’s anguish was so visible, Joa

“No,” he replied. “Don’t be. It’s okay. If I hadn’t wanted to talk to someone about it, I wouldn’t have mentioned her to you that first day. It’s just that sometimes I feel as though A

Joa

WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE JUSTICE CENTER, I went straight to the conference room. I was glad no one else was there. I needed some time alone. I sat down in front of the stack of phone logs and put on my reading glasses, but I made no effort to read. The conversation about A

Finally, because I had to do something to keep from losing it, I picked up the first of the telephone logs.

In terms of excitement, examining telephone logs is right up there with watching paint dry. Or maybe playing with Tinkertoys.