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“Yes,” Joa
“‘That’ll be fine,” Katherine said. “We’ll be home.”
She left then. Joa
“What do you think about her?” Joa
“You mean about Katherine O’Brien?”
Joa
“Shock affects different people different ways,” George replied. “Some people collapse in hysterics. For others, it’s just the opposite.”
“Oh,” Joa
“Is that all?” George asked at last as if impatient to be rid of Joa
The question startled Joa
Winfield nodded. “That’s all part of the autopsy protocol-looking for semen, hairs, and other evidence of rape.” The coroner paused. “You think she might have been?” he asked. “Of course, given the fact she was naked, it’s certainly possible.”
Joa
“And if she was,” George added wearily, “I suppose her father won’t want to know about that any more than he would about the earring.”
“You’re right,” Joa
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Joa
She considered going to her mother’s place but quickly decided against it. She wasn’t yet ready to walk into Eleanor Lathrop’s house and encounter George Winfield’s shaving kit on the bathroom counter. And she wasn’t ready to discuss it, either. Instead, she drove to her in-laws’ duplex on Oliver Circle, where she could be relatively sure of her welcome.
Stopping the Eagle in front of the Bradys’ walkway, she stepped out into the cool, rain-freshened air and realized that the smell of deteriorating flesh was still with her-still clinging to her hair and clothing and to the car’s upholstery as well. Hoping time and open windows would help, she rolled them all down before going inside. When Sadie had gotten into a skunk once, Andy had used one of his mother’s time-honored remedies-he had washed the dog in tomato juice. Maybe Eva Lou will have to do the same thing to me, Joa
If Joa
“Hoping to bum a meal, a shower, and use of your washer,” Joa
“Why, of course,” Eva Lou agreed. “You come on inside and make yourself at home. I saved you some leftovers, and it won’t take any time at all to run those clothes of yours through the wash. You can wear my robe in the meantime.”
By the time Joa
“The gravy came out a little too thick today for some reason,” Eva Lou apologized, hovering as Joa
“The gravy,” Joa
Jim Bob poured himself a cup of decaf and wandered over to the table. “Did I hear you say you’ve spent all day on a crime scene?”
When Andy had signed on as a Cochise County deputy sheriff, his father had taken on the unofficial role of the department’s Monday morning quarterback. Retired from his job as a foreman in Bisbee’s copper mines, Jim Bob Brady had enjoyed backstopping his son’s handling of various cases, analyzing what had worked and what had gone wrong, making suggestions that were based on common sense rather than proper police procedures. Now that his widowed daughter-in-law had assumed the job of sheriff, Jim Bob was at it again.
Had Joa
“A possible crime scene,” Joa
“Anybody we know?” Jim Bob asked.
Katherine O’Brien had already positively identified her daughter’s body. There was no need to withhold information pending notification of next of kin. “You may know her,” Joa
Eva Lou paled visibly upon hearing the name. “Not that nice girl who was valedictorian of the senior class!” she exclaimed.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“What happened?” Jim Bob asked.
“Bria
“You mean to tell me that poor girl was out there all by herself, walking around in that awful storm’?” Jim Bob asked. “I have two-point-six inches showing in my rain gauge right here in the yard. No telling what it was like in the mountains. Some places around are reporting more than that-up to three inches in Sierra Vista. And it said on the news a little while ago that Tucson is a mess, too, with flooded streets and power outages all over town.”
Jim Bob’s unwelcome weather report went straight to the heart of Joa
“You stay right where you are,” Eva Lou ordered. “You can call after you finish eating.”
Obeying Eva Lou’s edict, Joa
While his daughter-in-law ate, Jim Bob sat quietly nearby thoughtfully sipping his coffee.
When the food was gone and with her now-clean clothes transferred to the dryer, Joa