Skeleton Canyon

“Experience,” she said, without pausing to explain. “Come on. Let’s check out that trailer.”

“Wait a minute,” Voland warned. “Don’t forget a gunman inside that trailer can shoot through those aluminum walls as easily as shooting through pop bottles.”

‘`Right,” Joa

“Split up and stay low.”

Joa

“Mr. Hacker,” Joa

Joa

They arrived at the trailer almost simultaneously, with her approaching one of the front windows just as Voland’s face appeared in one at the back. “Looks like nobody’s home,” Voland called.

Still taking care to dodge the footprints, Joa

Sickened, sure that she had once again arrived at the scene of a crime too late to do any good, Joa

While Voland hurried around the trailer to peer in through the door, Joa

“I’ll go back to the Blazer and radio for a crime scene technician…”

Joa

“Come on,” she called urgently to Dick. “Go get the Blazer. They’re headed south.”

“Together?” Dick asked, jogging up behind her.

“That’s my guess.”

Voland started toward the Blazer. Then, to Joa

“Angie?” Joa

“She got us here,” Voland said. “I’ll give her that much, but if we’re heading into an armed confrontation…”

Without bothering to listen to the rest of the sentence, Joa

“With pleasure,” Voland replied. He hurried away.

Thinking that settled the issue once and for all, Joa

A

Angie stopped in her tracks. Behind her came the Blazer with a smiling Dick Voland at the wheel. A single glimpse of the man’s face was enough to let Joa

Except this time there was no choice to make. As sheriff and as a sworn police officer, Joa

“Why should I?” Angie objected. “I’m wearing a bullet-proof vest.”

“You may have a vest,” Joa

“But…”

“No buts,” Joa

Angie’s shoulders sagged. Her face crumpled. “All right,” she agreed. “I’ll go back. I’ll wait in the cemetery, just like you said.” Dejectedly, she turned back while Joa

“Good work,” Dick Voland said as she climbed inside. Aware he had intentionally set her up, Joa

Sitting alert and on edge, Joa

“I’m sorry,” Voland said a mile or so south of the Cottonwood Creek Cemetery when Joa

“Sorry about what?” she asked.

“About not giving your friend more credit. The whole way out from Bisbee, I kept thinking this was nothing but some harebrained wild-goose chase. Until I saw the trailer, that is. The whole thing sounded so goofy. Including the idea that anybody camping out here would have a working cell phone…”

The radio came to life once more with Larry Kendrick making an addition to the Aaron Meadows APB. Now Meadows was wanted for questioning in regard to the murder of Roxa

“Larry, this is Sheriff Brady. What’s going on?”

“Glad you called in,” Larry replied. “You’re the next person I was going to contact. Ernie wants me to let you know that while they were searching Aaron Meadows’s house, they found-”

“The missing journal?” Joa

Kendrick paused. “How did you know?”

Before Joa

“There they are!” Joa

“There who is?” Kendrick was asking. “What’s happening?”

“Hang on,” Dick Voland shouted as he sent the Blazer speeding toward the water. “This could be rough.”

The Blazer plunged forward and dropped, bucking and shying, into the rocky streambed while Joa