Dead Wrong

She turned and went straight back to the desk. “Who monitors the security tapes?” Joa

“The campus cops do that,” the clerk said. “We have nothing to do with it.”

Frank called her while she was driving from UMC to the University of Arizona campus proper. “Any luck finding the next of kin?” he asked. “The natives are restless. If I don’t give the reporters some info pretty soon, they’re going to go berserk.”

Joa

Ten minutes later she was on the U of A campus in the cubbyhole office of Captain George Winters, the man in charge of the University Police Department. “We usually have an officer stationed at the ER entrance,” he said. “Last night Dick went home sick around midnight, and we weren’t able to locate a sub on such short notice. The best I can do for you is to let you view the security tapes.”

Seated at a console, Joa

Once the patient disappeared into the building, the three men from the pickup conferred briefly, then they all piled back into the pickup and drove away. Try as she might, Joa

Captain Winters came into the room as she finished rewinding the second tape. “Did you find what you needed?” he asked.

“Some, but not all,” she answered. “Is it possible to make copies of these?”

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “It’ll take a few minutes. Maybe you’d like to come back for them later.”

“That’s all right,” she said. “I’ll wait.”

While waiting, she redialed Frank Montoya. “I’ve got a security video of the vehicle that dropped Jea

“No way,” Frank said. “Those guys are a bunch of amateurs. Go to Pima Community College, the one out on Anklam Road. One of my cousins, Alberto Amado, teaches computer science there. He does photo imaging on the side. I’ll call and see if he’s in.”

“Please do that,” Joa

By one o’clock that afternoon, with Alberto’s help, Joa

Regardless of any adverse consequences for Mr. Trujillo, Joa

Joa

Chapter 10

Joa

What she really craved for lunch was a hot dog from one of the vendors parked along the side of the road, but those didn’t come equipped with readily available rest rooms, and at that point in her pregnancy, rest rooms were a moment-by-moment necessity. She stopped instead at Las Cazuelitas, a Mexican food joint on South Sixth near the freeway. It was one of the mysteries of the universe that even a hint of creme brulee could give her indigestion while she could down tacos and refritos with complete impunity.

Frank called while she was stowing away the last of her lunch.

“We’re getting ready to haul Jea

“Any word on the APB?” Joa

“Not so far.”

“What’s everyone doing?”

“Until we can get some kind of break on Jea

“I thought that was scheduled for Friday,” Joa

“There was some kind of change in plans, and they moved it up. I think Ernie is anxious to get it over with,” Frank continued. “But we’ve got two major cases hanging fire. Having him out right now is going to put us in a hell of a bind.”

“We’ll get through it,” Joa

She had paid for her food and was making one last trip to the rest room when her phone rang again. “A patrol officer from Tucson PD just spotted that LUV,” Frank reported. “It’s parked near a construction project on the far north side of town, on the northeast corner of the intersection at Campbell and Sunrise. Tucson Dispatch wants to know what you want them to do about it.”

“Have them keep the vehicle under observation until I get there,” Joa

“I’ll remind them,” Frank said.

“And since we’re dealing with people whose ability to speak English is limited, how soon can you meet me there?” Joa

“Fortunately I was just getting ready to head back to Bisbee from Texas Canyon,” Frank said. “I’ll be there ASAP.”

After being patched through to Tucson PD, Joa

As she pulled in next to the patrol car, a uniformed officer stepped out of the waiting vehicle and hurried toward her. “I just got another call,” he said. “Do you need me to stay here or…?”