Dead to Rights

By the time Joa

The door between Joa

“Until I saw your line light up, I didn’t know you’d come in,” she said. “There are some people outside waiting to see you.

“Who?” Joa

“One’s a priest. He said his name is Father Michael McCrady. The other is a really scary-looking guy in leathers. He says his name is Frederick Dixon. He claims he’s a friend of yours. I checked your calendar and didn’t see any appointments, so…”

“Frederick Dixon…” Joa

“Thirties or forties maybe,” Kristin answered. “I can’t really tell. But he’s bald. Not a hair on his head.”

“Butch Dixon!” Joa

“Who’s Butch Dixon?”

“He is a friend of mine. From up in Peoria. He runs cafe that’s close to the Arizona Police Officers’ Academy. I met him in November and again this month when I was u there. What’s he doing here?”

“I have no idea,” Kristin said sourly. “He showed up over an hour ago. I told him you were out and I didn’t know when you’d be back. He said it was all right, that he’d wait.”

“And who’s the other one again?”

“Father McCrady. Father Michael McCrady.”

Joa

“By the way,” Kristin added, almost as an afterthought, “we had a call from the Highway Patrol a little while ago. There’s been a bad accident off Highway 80, east of Tomstone. A speeding van full of U.D.A.s lost control and flipped. It sounds like a real mess. We’ve got cars en route, but nobody from our department is on the scene yet.”

The fact that people were waiting for her in the front office faded into insignificance. Traffic incidents involving van packed to the gills with undocumented aliens, most of whom were never properly belted in, often resulted in terrible carnage.

“If the Department of Public Safety is investigating, how come they’re calling us?” Joa

“II was a pursuit. The officer tried to pull the van over for faulty equipment. Instead of stopping, the driver turner off onto a county road. That’s where the accident happened.

“Who all’s going?” Joa

“All three deputies from that sector, and Ernie Carpenter tip well.”

“It’s a fatality?”

Kristin nodded. “I guess,” she said. “At least one. There could be more.”

“What about Dick Voland?”

“He’s going, too. He’s still in his office right now, but he’ll be leaving in a minute.”

It would have been easy for Joa

“What should I tell the two guys out front, then?” Kristin asked.

“Nothing,” Joa

Pulling herself together, she walked out into the reception area. Up in Phoenix, Joa

The moment Joa

At only five feet seven or so, Butch Dixon was relatively short, but powerfully built. As Kristin had noted, Butch’s shaved head was absolutely bald, but the pencil-thin mustache he had sported several months earlier was gone. Its absence made him look younger.

“What are you doing here?” Joa

“Decided to take a few days R and R,” he said. “A couple of years ago a guy showed up at the Roundhouse claiming that he could get drunk in any mining town in Arizona and wake up in any other mining town and never know the difference. I decided to put that to the test.”

“You came here to get drunk?”

Butch gri

Joa

Disappointment washed briefly across Butch’s face, but that was followed by a good-natured grin. “Maybe tomorrow, then,” he said cheerfully. “I’m staying at the Grand Hotel from now through Monday. Give me a call and let me know.”

Joa

She smiled. “It sounds good,” she said. “I’m sorry about tonight, but…”

“I know,” Butch said. “Don’t worry about it. When duty calls, you’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

With that, Butch grabbed his helmet and book and left, leaving Joa

“I’m Sheriff Brady,” she said, offering her hand. “What can I do for you, Father McCrady?”

“I’m a friend of Hal Morgan’s.”

Joa

“Yes,” he said, “I understand. But what I have to say won’t take long. I just wanted to thank you for putting Hal Morgan in touch with Burton Kimball. Hopefully it won’t be necessary for Hal to utilize Mr. Kimball’s services. Still, it was very kind of you to make that co

“I’ll say it was,” Dick Voland growled. The chief deputy, hat in hand, had entered the reception area just in time to hear what Father McCrady had to say. “Sheriff Brady seems to be celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week a little early this year,” he said.

Joa

“I’m on my way to Tombstone, Kristin,” he said with a glower. “I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He headed for the door.

Joa

“But I was leaving right now,” Voland objected. “So am I,” Joa

Voland sighed. “Which car?” he asked. “Mine or yours?” Joa