Dead Wrong

At the gate, Ernie Carpenter bailed from the Yukon in order to drive Joa

“Why?” she asked finally. “Why would Mr. Markham shoot my husband?”

“It’s a very long story Mrs. Mattias,” Joa

Chapter 21

Once they arrived within sight of the ranch house, for what seemed an interminable length of time no one came or went. The house remained dead still. The only visible movement was the occasional switch of the tethered horse’s tail. As Joa

“Tica,” she said. “See if you can find a listed phone number for Aileen Houlihan.”

“I have an A. Houlihan,” Tica replied. “On Triple H Ranch Road.”

“That’s the one,” Joa

“This is Sheriff Brady,” Joa

“Yes, he is.”

“Who else is there?”

“Just the three of us-Rory, my mother, and me. Fortunately, I sent the daytime nurse home. The nighttime one hasn’t come on duty yet.”

“Are you all right?” Joa

“I’m fine,” Leslie returned with amazing coolness. “Rory has a gun, though, and he’s threatening to use it. I told him to go ahead. As far as I’m concerned, dying of a bullet wound is infinitely preferable to dying of HD.”

But you aren’t going to die of Huntington‘s, Joa

“Put him on the phone,” she said.

“He won’t touch it,” Leslie said half a minute or so later. “He doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“But I want to talk to him. Does your phone have a speaker option? If so, turn it on.”

“It’s on,” Leslie said. “He can hear you now.”

“Put down your weapon and come out of the house, Rory,” Joa

That was all a calculated lie. Joaquin Mattias was dead. He hadn’t come close to telling them everything. But D. H. Lathrop had taught his daughter the fine art of bluffing at the same time he was teaching her how to play poker. Joa

At first the only thing coming through the phone was silence. Finally Leslie Markham spoke. “What baby?” she asked.

Joa

The discussion of Aileen Houlihan’s murdered baby would have to wait until Leslie’s life was no longer in danger.

“Let your wife go,” Joa

Another period of tense silence followed. Again, Leslie was the one who spoke.

“I’m going then,” she a

“You can’t,” Rory said. “Don’t do it.”

“Why not? Because you’re going to shoot me? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t hurt me any worse than you already have.”

A moment later the screen door opened. As Joa

“All right, Mr. Markham,” Joa

Rory Markham’s wordless reply consisted of a single small click as he disco

Joa

Ernie nodded. “All right,” he said. “I’ll see what we can do.”

As he walked away, Joa

“Is everyone all right?” Tica was saying. “Do you need an ambulance?”

“No,” Joa

“I thought the two gunshot victims were both dead,” Tica responded.

“They are dead,” Joa

“Ambulance is on its way, Sheriff Brady,” Tica reported back a moment later. “Do you want me to call your husband and have him meet you at the hospital?”

“No,” Joa

While De

The orderly came in bringing her breakfast-ghastly oatmeal, cold toast, and something that was supposed to pass for coffee. It made Joa

Joa

“And now,” Diane Sawyer was saying, “from the southeastern corner of Arizona we have the heartwarming story of how, when faced with the potentially tragic aftermath of a triple homicide at a puppy mill, Cochise County Sheriff Joa

Joa

“Yes,” Joa

As she put down the phone, Joa