Dead Wrong

“No, you can’t,” Joa

Her next call was to her former in-laws. Jim Bob Brady answered the phone. “I need a favor,” Joa

“Name it,” Jim Bob returned.

When she finished explaining the situation, Jim Bob was all business. “I’ll be glad to do what I can,” he said. “And Eva Lou will, too. She’s great with animals. We’ll go out to the pound right now and find out what’s needed.”

“How is Eva Lou with snakes?” Joa

“Did you say snakes?” Jim Bob asked.

“Yes, one of the impounded animals happens to be an abandoned python.”

“Well,” Jim Bob said thoughtfully, “I may have to take care of that one. But don’t worry about it. I’m sure Ma

Joa

When she finally got out of her car, the rest area was already teeming with activity. In fact, she was the last person from her department to arrive on the scene.

Stamping his feet against the frosty morning chill, Frank Montoya hurried over to meet her. “What have we got?” she asked.

Frank shook his head grimly. “Come take a look,” he said.

Jea

“What’s that?” Joa

“That’s right,” Frank said. “She must have been using that inside the vehicle when her attacker surprised her, probably by heaving that rock through the window. She never had time to call for help, but from the looks of things, she put up a hell of a fight.”

Everything around Joa

“Did it happen here?” she asked.

“No,” Frank said. “Whoever did it drove the truck here after the attack.”

“Because they didn’t want us to identify a crime scene?” Joa

“That would be my guess,” Frank said. “They also took off and left the engine ru

“So whoever abandoned it did so in a hell of a hurry,” Joa

Frank nodded. “Being in a hurry breeds mistakes. With any luck, maybe we’ll find that they left a little something behind- something we can use to find them. Once Jaime finishes taking his photos, Casey will start dusting for prints.”

“Any witnesses?”

“It was called in at six forty-five a.m. by a maintenance guy who stops by early to service the rest rooms. He saw the truck and thought it was unusual for the vehicle to be here with no sign of an officer present. Ernie Carpenter is interviewing him right now. Some of the long-haul drivers may have been parked here overnight. Debbie is checking with them to see if any of them noticed something out of line.”

With nothing much else to do, Joa

“Sorry,” Joa

The woman stopped and then held up her ID. Isabel Duarte was with KGUN-9 News, but Joa

“Sheriff Brady?” Isabel asked. “We heard that one of your deputies is missing. Is that true?”

The lens of the video cam was already focused on Joa

Isabel looked puzzled. “ACO?”

“Animal control officer,” Joa

Joa

Shaking her head and trying to keep her temper in check, Joa

“Look, Ms. Duarte,” Joa

“Please, Sheriff Brady,” Isabel insisted. “Tell me how old she is.”

“How old? Early thirties.”

“Anglo?”

“Yes, but I’m not releasing the name, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I just came from University Medical Center,” Isabel Duarte replied. “About three o’clock this morning, an unconscious Anglo female-badly beaten-was dropped off at the entrance to the Trauma Unit. Two men in a pickup truck went ru

Was it possible that the unidentified woman was actually Jea

Isabel nodded. “Stocky build. She was in surgery when I left. The hospital was giving out information in hopes of identifying her.”

“Do you have the phone number?” Joa

In answer, Isabel simply opened her cell phone, punched it a couple of times, and then handed it over. Moments later, Joa

In the course of the next minute and a half, with Isabel Duarte looking on, Joa

“I’m given to understand you may be acquainted with our unidentified patient?” he asked.

“That’s right,” Joa

“The woman who was brought here early this morning has come through surgery,” Dr. Waller replied. “She’s currently in grave but stable condition.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Joa

The doctor’s tone shifted and became more distant. “Due to privacy constraints,” he said, “I’m unable to tell you any more about the severity of the patient’s injuries, but I will say that if she had arrived at our emergency room even twenty minutes later than she did, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation.”