Desert Heat

“What are we going to do?” Angie asked.

“Once you’re under a doctor’s care, I’m going to go see Walter McFadden,” Joa

“The sheriff?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to tell him about me?”

“I’ve got to, Angie. It’s too dangerous otherwise. There’s no telling what they might do.”

“They?” Bobo asked attentively.

“At least two,” Joa

“‘Tony Vargas,” Angie supplied.

“And a DEA agent named Adam York.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Bobo muttered. “It’s nice to know who the hell’s on what side.”

Most of the police officers in the City of Bisbee were still congregated around the Copper Queen Hotel, trying to locate two missing female guests who had disappeared in the aftermath of a minor fire. As a consequence, Bobo Jenkins sped through town at sixty or so miles per hour with no one pulling him over or raising an eyebrow. They made the three-mile drive from Old Bisbee to the Warren district in record-breaking time while Joa

‘When they ask who you are,” Joa

Angie Kellogg nodded. “Okay,” she said.

Stopping the car directly in front of the entrance, Bobo again picked Angie up and bodily carried her inside. Joa

“Lend me your car, Bobo,” Joa

“So you can go see McFadden?”

Joa

“No, you stay here and keep an eye on her. If Tony somehow figures out she’s here, I’m still afraid he might try something.”

“In the middle of a hospital?” Bobo asked. “What is he, crazy or something?”

“Andy’s being in a hospital didn’t stop him before,” she replied.

“Jeez!” Bobo exclaimed, then he frowned. “He wouldn’t try to get to you through Je

Joa

“Where is she?”

“At home, out at the ranch, with my mother.”

“I’d get her out of there quick if I were you,” Bobo warned. “Have them go someplace else until this all gets straightened out.”

Joa

“Where in the world are you?” Eleanor demanded. “It’s late. I need to get home pretty soon.”

“Is Je

“Of course she is. Hours ago. And Ken Galloway is here waiting to see you. He came to pick up Andy’s uniform and take it up to the funeral home. I thought you were going to do that this afternoon. It should have been done before this.”

“Mother,” Joa

“You want me to wake Je

“Mother,” Joa

Eleanor greeted her daughter’s threat with a moment of shocked silence. “I don’t understand any of this at all,” she said at last. “What’s going on, anyway? Where are you going to be?”

“I’ve got to go talk to Walter McFadden right away. After you drop Je

“I should think so,” Eleanor returned sourly.

Joa

“I’m calling to ask a favor,” Joa

“Joa

“I will be eventually,” Joa

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go along?” Bobo asked when she put down the phone.

Joa

Decisively, Joa

“Keep this for me, Bobo,” she said, handing over Lefty O’Toole’s letter. “If anything happens to me, I want you to turn it over to the authorities. You need to know that Vargas is really after Angie because of a book she stole from him, one Vargas used to keep track of his business dealings. It’s in the safe up at the Copper Queen. If anything happens to her, the cops need to know about that, too.”

“You really do think they’re going to try coming after her, don’t you?”

Joa

She opened the note pad and stared down at the page containing Cora’s telephone number. Finally, she tore it out and handed that to him as well. “You’ve heard about the money I suppose?”

“I’ve heard rumors,” Bobo conceded, “but I’m not sure I believe any of ‘em.”

“This telephone number belongs to someone named Cora. She’s most likely the woman who showed up at the bank with Andy the day he deposited the extra money in our account. Again, if anything happens to me, I want you to call this number and find out where that money came from. I don’t care if she and Andy were having an affair or not. At this point, it doesn’t much matter. But I want Je

Bobo handed Joa

She shook her head. “It’s not so bad, Bobo,” she replied. “At least I’ve got friends to help me.”

Her purse had sat open on the floor. When she leaned down to pick it up, the.44 was clearly visible.

Bobo saw the gun without registering the least bit of surprise. “From what I’ve heard about these guys,” he said, “I think I’d keep that thing handy. But if you need it, you’ll be better off with it in a pocket rather than in a purse. In a pinch, it’ll be a hell of a lot easier to get to.”

With a nod, Joa

“And if the doc doesn’t want to keep Angie overnight, I’ll take her home with me,” Bobo continued. “That way you’ll know she’s safe, but you’ll also know where to come looking for her.”