Blind Descent

"You think Frieda was killed on purpose? You think one of the core group killed Frieda?" Zeddie asked. There was belligerence as well as incredulity in her voice. "One of us?"

A

"Maybe it was Brent," Peter said, trying to make peace. "He was up near the head of the Pigtail. Maybe he got to feeling bad about it and shot himself."

A

Peter glanced over her head at Zeddie and shrugged as if to say, "I tried."

"Well," Zeddie ended a silence grown too long. "I'm hitting the hay. Murdering people in cold blood really wears me out." She left without bidding anyone good night. Peter followed, leaving A

"You don't really think that, do you?" Curt asked.

"I don't know what to think," A

Curt levered himself up from his position near the sofa. "I'll sleep on the floor," he said. "Don't want to accidentally kick your bad ankle."

Calcite jumped off A

Just after seven, the sun not yet up, they were awakened by the phone. Stumbling off the couch, A

"Dillard residence," she said into the receiver. The call was for her: Oscar Iverson. George Laymon would see her in his office at eight o'clock. That was what she wanted, yet she hung up feeling dissatisfied.

Curt shambled by clad in boxer shorts and a hand-crocheted afghan in lime green and pink squares. "Who was it?" he croaked as he fumbled with Zeddie's coffeemaker.

"Oscar," A

Padding after Curt in a tee-shirt, underpants, and ragg wool socks, she asked, "Did Peter ever get a hold of his wife?" Two days underground and the campout feel of group sleepovers had made them informal.

"Not that I know of. Why? Do you want to pin your pet theories on Sondra?" Curt loaded the pot expertly and poked the "on" button. A

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" A

"Pi

"She's such a twit."

Curt laughed, and A

A

"You're going to make me do something, aren't you? Something sleuthy and embarrassing. Something that will probably get my face slapped. If I just confess to shooting you in the foot and murdering whoever you think was murdered, can I be excused?"

A

Curt groaned.

A

"Between medium and friendly acquaintances," he said warily.

"Could you call her?"

"You could call her."

"Do you know people she knows? Family, friends, whatever?"

Curt sipped his coffee. A

"Since you're in the Mi

"Why don't you ask Peter to do it? He knows more about where his wife might be than I would."

"Peter's part of the bad feeling."

"Jeez. I guess I should be honored you don't suspect me."

"Not yet." A

"Sure. I'll do it," Curt said at last. "After all, it's not like I have a life or anything."

George Laymon was if not pleased then anxious to talk with A

"Oscar called last night, and I talked with Holden Tillman at the BLM this morning," he said. "The sheriff's department is taking care of returning the government vehicle." Laymon didn't change the tone of his voice, yet much was conveyed in that simple sentence: the knowledge that A

"I think Brent's murder and Frieda's are co

Moving as if a weight had settled on his shoulders, Laymon put his desk between them. "You said Frieda changed her story, didn't remember anybody trying to kill her." A

"He's changed his mind," A

He looked out the window for a minute, the cloudless sky bluing his eyes. His fingers drummed softly on the desk blotter. "I'm not surprised," he said. "Losing a patient is hard on anybody and harder on Holden than most." His focus returned to the room, the chair, A

"In using a government vehicle in an unauthorized ma

"Attempted murder, assault on a federal officer, illegal discharge of a firearm," A

George Laymon's eyes strayed again out the window. "You had a bad scare," he said carefully.

"You think I'm making this up?" Anger boiled so hot the image of steam pouring from her ears didn't seem so much ludicrous as inevitable. What saved her from an unladylike outburst that would have gotten her tossed out of Laymon's office was the sheer profusion of hostile remarks that clogged her brain and tied her tongue.

"I didn't say that, A

"My boot heel-"

"Could have been broken off on a rock. That's rough country out there. Or it could have been shot off like you say," he said placatingly.