Страница 29 из 73
Joa
Joa
Butch Dixon-a city slicker from Chicago-had come to visit the High Lonesome and had marveled at how empty it was.
It isn’t empty at all, Joa
Coming back from the gate, with the folded newspaper safely stowed under her shirt, Joa
No wonder Je
CHAPTER TWELVE
Angie and De
As promised, the hummingbirds appeared half an hour later. There they were, hundreds of them, hovering in vivid color against an overcast sky. “The dark green ones with the black bills are Magnificent Hummingbirds or Eugenes fulgens,” De
Enchanted but also self-conscious that he knew so much more than she did, Angie held the binoculars glued to her eyes. “And the ones with the purple throats?” she asked.
“Male Lucifers-Calothorax Lucifer. I spotted some Black-chi
Angie watched until her arms grew tired of holding the binoculars. When she took them down, she was surprised to find De
“That may be true for birds,” De
Embarrassed, Angie looked back at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He gri
Not knowing how to reply, Angie put the binoculars back to her eyes and said nothing.
“I’m serious, you know,” Hacker continued. “I told my parents once that I was going to marry the first woman I ever found who was as interested in birds as I am.”
In the few hours they had spent together, Angie had found De
“Look,” she said, “this is silly. You don’t know anything about me.”
“But I do. You’re a hard worker. You’re kind to old drunks. You’re a woman of your word. All day long yesterday, I was afraid you’d stand me up.”
Angie smiled. “I almost did,” she said.
“But the point is, you didn’t. You’re here. Maybe you don’t believe in love at first sight, but I do.”
That was it. “Look,” she said forcibly, “you think I’m a woman of my word, but I already lied to you. When you asked where I went to school, I know you meant where did I go to college. I’ve never even been to A
Not knowing what kind of reaction to expect, she stopped and waited. It wasn’t long in coming. A grin creased De
“I’m not.”
Angie Kellogg couldn’t possibly have anticipated what happened next. De
But Angie didn’t think it was fu
“Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Come on, Angie. Let me explain.”
Angie Kellogg wasn’t interested in explanations. Without a glance over her shoulder, she bolted away from him, heading back down the mountain the way they had come. De
Hefting the pack onto his back, he started after her. On the way up, he had followed a meandering path that had kept the rise in elevation from being quite so steep. For going back down, though, and because he wanted to reach the Hummer about the same time Angie did, he set off straight down the mountain.
Which was how, half an hour later, De
After rubbing Kiddo down, feeding him, and returning him to the corral, Joa
“Sheriff Brady?” Tica Romero, one of the departmental dispatchers, was on the phone. “We’ve got a problem.” “What’s that?”
“A one-car fatality rollover has just been reported in the Peloncillos. Off the road up in Skeleton Canyon. A hiker reported the incident. Called it in on his cell phone. At least one person is dead, but it’s pretty rough country. There could be more bodies and they just haven’t found them yet. The guy who found it gave me a description and a license number.”
“And?”
“I thought you’d want to know right away. It’s a red Toyota Tacoma,” Tica replied. “Registered under the name of David O’Brien. Isn’t that the missing person case-”
“Yes, it is,” Joa
“Not so far. The body must have been thrown free in the accident. The vehicle fell on top of it. There won’t be any way to tell exactly what’s underneath until we get a tow truck in there to move the vehicle.”
Joa