Desert Heat

Joa

“Did you try any of the lemon chiffon pie that Mrs. Davis sent over? It’s my favorite.”

“Maybe I’ll have some later.”

Eventually Je

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Milo returned. “It’s just that sometimes the best man for a job is a woman, at least that’s what my mother always used to say. I think she was a little before her time.”

“Milo,” Joa

“Who else is going to do it?” he asked. “Look what you did the other night.”

“What I did that night was personal, Milo. Je

Milo Davis shook his head. “What you did for this county was a lot more than settle a personal score. That drug business and the corruption in the sheriff’s department must have been going on for years, and it would have kept right on if you hadn’t taken a stand and done something about it. And who else knows more about the sheriff’s department than you? One way or the other, you’ve been around it all your life. Maybe there are people who work there who’ve been around longer, but none of them can run, not right now because of the scandal. It’s a wide-open race, Joa

“ Milo, I don’t want to do this.”

“Neither did your daddy when he took it on, Joa

This kind of thing never would have happened on old D.H.’s, watch, now would it?”

Joa

“Back then, in your dad’s time, Kiwanis was the thing to do if you wanted to go someplace,” Milo continued. “When he got elected, he joined up and never missed a single meeting until the day he died. We didn’t have women in the club back then, and there was a whole lot more high jinks than goes on today. W e all had a nickname for your dad, a secret nickname. Did he ever tell you about that?”

“No. Not that I remember.”

“The whole time I knew him, he only went by his initials. We were always teasing him and telling him he needed to have a real name. Finally we gave him one. We told them that his real name was Desert Heat on account of him being a cop. It was kind of hokey, I guess, an in crowd joke, but he seemed to get a bang out of it.”

Milo studied his listener’s face, waiting to if D. H. Lathrop’s daughter would smile at the joke. She didn’t. Joa

“It seemed fu

By the time Joa

“I thought I’d stay, if you don’t mind.”

“Do whatever you want, but I have to go to bed. I can’t hold my head up any longer.”

In the past, that kind of a

“I’m sure you’re tired,” Eleanor said. “I don’t think people will mind if you disappear.”

Joa

“Can I talk to you a minute?”

Expecting another lecture, Joa

“Your father.”

“Everybody seems to be thinking about him tonight.”

Eleanor smiled. “He used to call you Little Hank just to drive me crazy. It did, too, I think. And then, when he taught you how to shoot a gun, my word, I wondered what the world was coming to.”

Joa

“It’s hard to let go of a daughter,” she said awkwardly. “Even when she’s all grown up. Just wait until it happens to Je

“Mother,” Joa

“It didn’t seem fair to me that when he had such a beautiful little girl your father still always wanted a boy. That’s one of the things we fought about. He made you act like a boy, and I was always mad at him over it. But last night, Joa

Joa

“I’ve heard people talking around town today, at Helene’s, when I went to have my hair done and in the grocery store. They’re all saying you should run for sheriff.”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I already told Milo I wouldn’t do it.”

“But that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Eleanor said. “I think you should. I used to believe that when your daddy died, it was all his fault. After all, since he was sheriff, he deliberately put himself in danger. I thought that he had wanted it somehow and that when it happened, it was sort of divine retribution. Over the years, I guess I’ve finally figured out that wasn’t right.

“When it came time to bury him, I went ahead and let them dress him in his uniform even though I hated that uniform with an abiding passion. I did it that way because I knew it’s what he would have wanted. I kept one part of his uniform back though, just one thing

Eleanor Lathrop reached into her pocket and pulled out a tarnished silver star. “It’s your daddy’s badge, Joa

With that, after pressing the badge into Joa

Stu

Joa

The town mortician’s newest son-in-law and newest employee was the one stuck with night duty. He was also the one who answered the phone.

“This is Joa

“Sure thing, Mrs. Brady. No problem.”

“And put my daughter’s name on the out-aide. Je