Dead Wrong

“I doubt it,” Joa

“That doesn’t come close to explaining why he was taking pictures of Leslie,” Rory Markham put in.

“No,” Joa

Rory turned to his wife. “Well?” he asked.

The one-word question wasn’t asked in a polite way. His tone of voice underscored the decades of difference in their ages. Rory sounded less like a husband and more like an irate father who had caught his teenage daughter smoking forbidden cigarettes out in the backyard.

“Maybe he’s someone from before,” Rory suggested. “Maybe he’s someone you dated before I came along.”

Leslie looked stricken. “You know better than that,” she said, blushing furiously. “You’re the only man I’ve ever dated. And, as I already told her, I have no idea who this person is.”

Rory picked up one of the photos and examined it before tossing it back down on the table. “If he was close enough to take a picture like this, how can you claim you never saw him?”

“As you can see, I was busy,” Leslie said. “I was pushing the grocery cart. I was opening the car door. I was walking. He may have seen me, but I didn’t see him. Besides,” she added, turning to Joa

“Not this one,” Joa

“See there?” Rory demanded. “What did I just tell you?”

Without answering, Leslie rose and fled the conference room. She wasn’t in tears, but she was close to it. Rory stayed where he was for a moment longer after the door slammed shut, then he turned to Joa

“I guess not,” Joa

“Can you find your own way out?”

“No problem.” Joa

I wouldn’t buy a used car from that turkey, Joa

But as far as what Rory might see in Leslie, that was much clearer. Leslie Tazewell was bound to turn into an heiress the moment her mother died. That explained why, in addition to her youth and good looks, Rory might be interested in her, but nothing Joa

By the time Joa

Along the road the scrawny trunks and tangled bare branches of mesquite trees gleamed black in the late-afternoon sun. Ready to be home and warm, Joa

“Out having fun?” Joa

“Not exactly,” Je

“He didn’t,” Joa

“But that’s rude. I mean, shouldn’t they have waited for an invitation?”

“Yes,” Joa

“Why?”

“Because we have to. They’re excited about the baby, and they want to be part of it.”

“I want you to have this baby right now!” Je

“Believe me,” Joa

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, you do. I’m sure it’s almost time for di

“All right.”

When Joa

“What’s wrong?” Joa

“The same thing that’s been wrong around here for days,” he grumbled. “I’m glad I got to see Junior put my mother in her place at lunchtime, but she’s been on a tear ever since. I came within two seconds of asking them to leave.”

“You can’t do that, Butch,” Joa

“The baby,” Butch said ominously, “needs to get a move on.”

“Je

“Your back hurts?” Butch said. “Maybe you should go lie down for a while-at least until di

Joa

“Jaime Carbajal,” Butch said, handing Joa

“How’d you do?” Joa

“Not that well. We never located Antonio Zavala, but Tucson PD was able to give us the names of a couple of his associates. One is an eighteen-year-old girl named Lupe Melendez. She was cited two months ago for letting her pit bull loose in an off-leash area of a city park, where it mauled three other dogs. We couldn’t find her today, either, but Debbie and I will take another crack at that tomorrow.”

“Did you hear anything from Ernie?”

“I heard from Rose. He’s home and resting and seems to be doing all right, but Rose said the only way he’s coming to work tomorrow is over her dead body.”

“I’m glad to hear it went well,” Joa

She went on to tell Jaime about her trip to Sierra Vista. “Doesn’t sound as though talking to the Markhams helped much,” he said when she finished.

“It didn’t,” Joa

“You’d say Rory Markham is the jealous type?” Jaime asked.

“Enough that I think we should check him out,” Joa

“She’ll be fine once she gets a little experience under her belt. She’s still unsure of herself. And speaking of Jea