Rattlesnake Crossing

"What friends?"

Sonja shrugged. "I don't know, really. I've never met any of them. Remember, I'm only a stepmother. He doesn't tell me any more than he absolutely has to, but his dad probably knows."

"Could we see his room, Mrs. Hosfield?" Joa

"Why would you need a search warrant?" Sonja said. "Of course you can see it. There's nothing there, nothing to hide. It's just a little apartment with a bed, a dresser, and a refrigerator."

She led them across the yard to the far side of the building where the truck had been parked. Half of it was a garage / toolshed. The other half of the building served as living quarters. When Sonja tried the door, it was locked. "That's fu

"Break it down, Frank," Joa

"Why, of course… if you think it's necessary."

The door shuddered under the first two blows from Frank Montoya's shoulder, but it didn't give way until he slammed into it a third time. It splintered into pieces that fell out of the jamb.

"Wait here," Joa

The room was hot. It was also dark and gloomy. The only light came from a single dingy window shrouded by dirt and cobwebs. Unfortunately, there was an odor in the air-a heavy, coppery smell that was all too familiar.

It took several seconds for Joa

"Don't let Mrs. Hosfield come in here, Frank," she warned. "There's a body in here. Keep her outside!"

"What is it?" Sonja called from outside the broken door. "For God's sake, someone tell me what's going on!"

Sickened, barely able to breathe, Joa

Joa

Squeezing her eyes shut to squelch the tears of rage that were forming and then holstering her weapon, Joa

"Not Jake," Sonja sobbed. "It can't be. Please, not my Jake."

Joa

"Frank!" Joa

Removing it from his jacket pocket, Frank tossed the phone to her. She caught it in midair and was dialing almost before it ever settled into her hand.

"Mrs. Hosfield, how long ago did Ryan leave?" she asked as her fingers raced across the keypad.

"I don't know. Ten minutes? Not much more than that."

"And did you see which way he turned when he reached the road?"

"No."

Frank said, "We didn't meet him along the road between here and Pomerene, so he must have gone the other way." Joa

"Cochise County nine-one-one. What are you reporting?"

"This is Sheriff Brady. Put me through to Pima County nine-one-one. We've got a mutual-aid situation here. I've got to have help. Stay on the line so you'll know exactly what's going on. That way I won't have to repeat it."

"Yes, ma'am."

The co

"I'm out at Cascabel," she said. "I'm on the Triple C with a homicide that's happened within the last half hour. We've got a multiple-homicide suspect fleeing north on, Pomerene Road heading for Redington. Once there, he may turn west and shoot through the pass between the Rincons and the Catalinas. Or he might go straight on north toward Oracle. The third option is that he may hole up someplace to fight it out. I'm sure he thought he had several hours' head start on us. I'm betting he's making a run for it."

"What's his name?"

"Ryan Merritt."

"Age?"

"Twenty-two. But you can get all the specifics off his rap sheet. He's listed."

"You want us to post an APB on this guy?" Captain White asked.

"Yes, but when you do, remember, the suspect is armed and extremely dangerous. He may be in possession of one or more fifty-caliber sniper rifles with a kill range of a mile or more. But what I really need from you is a helicopter. Does your department have one?"

"No, we don't, but the City of Tucson does. When we need it, they charge us an hourly rate. I forget how much."

"It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, we'll pay it. We've got to have one."

"All right," Leland White said. "But we'll have to move fast. It won't be long before we lose the light. What kind of vehicle is he driving?"

"Blue Ford panel truck. Nineteen-sixties vintage with an ATV loaded into the back. Can't tell you the exact model." Joa

"Captain White? Okay, the truck is licensed to Alton Hosfield of the Triple C Ranch in Cascabel. You should be able to find the details from the DMV. I have one officer with me. We're going to leave the Triple C and head north as far as Redington. If we don't catch up to the suspect before then, we'll wait at the junction there in hopes the helicopter will be able to point us in the right direction. And that's all I want from the chopper-directions. Tell the pilot he is not to make contact. If possible, I don't want Merritt to know we're after him. We'll be better off if he keeps moving. If he stops, he'll have time to deploy those rifles and tripods. If he does that, we could have wholesale slaughter on our hands." As if we don't already.

"But going after him with only one officer…" White began.

"One is all I have right now," Joa

"What about roadblocks?"

"I've got reinforcements coming from Bisbee, but it'll take time to put them in place. They'll establish a roadblock on Cascabel Road between here and Pomerene, but if you could set some up on your end, that would be great."