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“I was so worried,” she heard Angie saying. “There was blood all over the place in there and broken glass and the telephone smashed to bits. I was scared to death you were hurt. And you are, too,” she added breathlessly, catching sight of the bandage on De
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “It’s nothing. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d probably be dead by now. Right, Sheriff Brady?”
Angie, her face awash in tears, turned from De
“We were lucky,” Joa
Glancing in the door, she stopped cold. “What happened in here?” she demanded, turning back to Angie.
“The place was such a mess that I couldn’t stand it,” Angie said with a shrug. “I know De
“But it was a crime scene, Angie,” Joa
Angie was immediately contrite. “I’m sorry,” she said tear-fully. “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I got scared, sitting in the cemetery all by myself. I kept hearing things. Finally, I decided to come here and wait inside. But the place was so dirty. I thought I’d be helping by cleaning it up. Besides, I couldn’t stand just sitting here doing nothing.”
Shaking her head in exasperation, Joa
It was midnight by the time Joa
Mother always told me I was terribly hard on clothes, she re-minded her reflection with a wry grin. Fortunately, I didn’t have time to go shopping on Saturday. Otherwise, I’d have been out there crawling around in a brand-new outfit.
Joa
Looking at the smashed hulk, the chief deputy for administration shook his head. “I can already hear what the insurance guy is going to say,” Frank grumbled mournfully as Joa
“No, I don’t suppose it will be,” she agreed. “Speaking about insurance. What’s happening on my Blazer?”
“I already told you. It’s totaled,” Frank said. “Once we knew what it was going to cost to replace that damaged head liner and all the upholstery, he said it wasn’t worth fixing. We’re lucky we have all those Crown Victorias.”
“I don’t want a Crown Victoria,” Joa
“But we can’t afford to fix-”
“Don’t fix it then,” Joa
“Not so hot,” he answered. “I sent Jaime Carbajal down to Montgomery Ranch to pick up the body.”
“Body?” Joa
“The one that washed up on the banks of Sycamore Creek overnight,” Ernie answered. “Old man Montgomery himself came all the way up here to tell us about it. Found the guy in one of his cow pastures earlier this morning.”
“Montgomery?” Joa
Ernie nodded. “Marshall Montgomery from Montgomery Ranch, a few miles north and west of here. Jaime just now radioed me to say that ID on the body identifies the dead man as one Alf Hastings.”
“Did he drown?” Joa
“Sure did,” Ernie replied glumly. “But not before somebody poked him full of holes. Jaime says he’s got at least half a dozen stab wounds to the heart and lower chest. I’ll bet money that his blood will match up with the mess we found on the rider’s seat of Meadows’s Suburban.”
“You think Aaron Meadows did it, then?” Joa
Ernie nodded. “Most likely,” he said. Joa
Reaching into the glove box of his van, he pulled out a glassine bag and handed it over to Joa
“It’s a good thing you weren’t wearing this at the time,” Ernie said with a grin.
Joa
“I’d say it worked like a charm,” Ernie told her. “Maybe Dick will buy you a replacement.”
The last thing Joa
“How much money have they recovered so far?” she asked.
“Two hundred thou, give or take,” Ernie answered.
“And where does somebody like Aaron Meadows-somebody with no job, no bank account, and no visible means of support-come up with that kind of cash?”
“Nothing legal,” Ernie told her. “You can count on that. My best guess is that Meadows was opting out of the smuggling business and making a run for it. Whatever the case, I expect Adam York will get to the bottom of it. Have you heard from him, by the way?”
“From Adam?” Joa
“Great,” Ernie said. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
Frank Montoya had joined them just in time to hear the last few exchanges. “If they’re keeping Meadows under guard, I hope no one is expecting us to pay.”
Joa
He rubbed his balding head. “Somebody’s got to do it, you know.”
“Right,” Joa
Joa