Dead to Rights

“They can do that?” Terry asked.

“They do do that,” Joa

“But I don’t want to wait,” Terry said. “The next qualifying school starts in a matter of weeks. If they let me in, I don’t want to miss the opportunity. Peter’s worked so hard on getting me this chance to prove myself. I can’t blow it now.”

“What chance are you talking about?” Joa

“Remember Peter Wilkes, my golf pro? You met him the other day. He has an old friend, a grade school buddy, who owns golf courses and golf equipment stores all over the country. According to Peter, he also has enough pull so that, if I’m good enough, he can maybe get me a spot in the next Q-school strictly on his say-so. If I do well there, I’ll be able to get a provisional card. It’s the chance of a lifetime, Joa

“What would have happened if Bucky hadn’t died?” Joa

“I would have gone anyway,” Terry said determinedly.

“Did Bucky have any idea all this was going on? That you were making these kinds of arrangements?”

Terry looked at Joa

Terry Buckwalter was describing a kind of empty marriage that was totally outside the realm of Joa

“Would you have divorced him?” Joa

“I don’t know,” Terry said. “I was building up to it. Thanks to Peter, I was finally coning to a point where I had enough confidence to think I could make it on my own.”

“Without having to kill him?”

Terry looked sharply at Joa

Joa

For the better part of half an hour, the two women had been speaking together in a totally candid fashion. Terry’s answer was delivered with such blunt, unblinking ope

“You didn’t mention any of this the other afternoon when Detective Carpenter and I were here.”

“Believe it or not,” Terry said, “I have some pride. With Bucky gone, I didn’t see any reason to dig up all this crap. That was before I knew about Bebe’s being pregnant. That’s going to be tough to keep under the rug.”

“I remember your telling us that Bucky was home the whole evening the night before he died. Is that true?”

“No.”

“Where was he?”

“You guess,” Terry said.

“With Bebe?”

“Probably,” Terry replied. “Obviously I don’t know for sure. It isn’t the kind of thing someone would tell his wife, not even a worm like Bucky. ‘Hey, I think I’ll dash out to Double Adobe and knock off a piece of tail.’“

Joa

“That’s where Bebe Noonan lives?” Joa

Terry nodded. “On her folks’ place. It’s three or four miles east of Double Adobe.”

“Someone will have to talk to her.”

“I know. Do you think-?” Terry stopped abruptly.

“Do I think what?”

“No,” Terry said, shaking her head. “Never mind. She wouldn’t have.”

“Wouldn’t have what?”

“Bebe was there at the time Bucky died, wasn’t she?” Terry asked. “Maybe he told her the same thing he told me-the same thing I told Bebe just a little while ago. To get rid of it. Maybe he gave her a choice of the baby or him and she was smart enough to choose the baby.”

“Was she here the day before, when Hal Morgan first showed up?” Joa

“Yes.”

“So she would have known about the whole thing-would have known that Hal Morgan had plenty of reason to see Bucky dead?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anyone else?” Joa

“I can’t think of anybody,” Terry said with a rueful smile. “But isn’t that enough? They say three’s a charm.”

“Yes,” Joa

Terry followed her. “I’m still under suspicion, awn’ she asked.

Joa

“But what about the golf game with Peter’s friend?”

“When and where is that scheduled?”

“Sunday,” Terry answered. “In Tucson. He wanted to it tomorrow, but I told him I couldn’t on account of the funeral. That would look bad even for me.”

“Where in Tucson?”

“Peter and I are supposed to meet him out at the Westin La Paloma at noon. You’re not pla

“I don’t know,” Joa

“I won’t be hard to find,” Terry said resignedly. “I’ll be around.”

Joa

“Eleven thirty. Peter and I had a twelve-seven tee-time was almost late.”

“I talked to Hal Morgan yesterday,” Joa

Without a word, Terry slipped into Bucky Buckwalter’s private office. Joa

Terry picked up a desktop calendar, opened it, and handed it over to Joa

While Joa

Still holding the calendars, Terry Buckwalter followed Joa

Joa

“Think about it,” Terry said. “It’s almost like one of those old romantic stories of the knights of the Round Table. Hal Morgan really loved his wife. He loved her enough that he was prepared to kill for her. Bucky never felt that way about anybody, except maybe for that damned horse of his. Which reminds me. You don’t happen to know of anyone who’d be interested in buying Kiddo, do you?”

Joa

“Two hundred bucks,” Terry replied. “He’s worth more than that, but he was Bucky’s horse, not mine. I don’t even like him much, and I’ve got no way to ride him. All the saddles and bridles and currying equipment got burned up in the barn. The feed, too. The sooner I unload him, the better.”