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“Your opinion and mine notwithstanding,” Joa
“If he’s somebody who can make or break a member of the board of supervisors, he could also make or break a sheriff-if he sets his mind to it, that is.”
Joa
Frank nodded. “It couldn’t hurt.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll think about it, but I’m not making any promises.”
After Frank left, Joa
What if what Frank had said was true? What if there was a far too cozy relationship between Karen Brainard and Mark Childers? She thought about what Dick Voland had said concerning the previous day’s board of supervisors meeting. She couldn’t help wondering if, besides chewing up a pristine desert landscape, Childers and his lady accomplice weren’t also destroying someone else’s life and career in the process.
“Kristin,” Joa
She put down the phone and then waited for it to ring again, which it did-a minute or so later.
“I talked to Linda, the secretary at Pla
I’ll just bet he is, Joa
CHAPTER NINE
After doing what she could about reaching Lewis Flores, Joa
“This is a first,” the columnist said, casting an appraising glance around the room. “I’ve never been admitted to the i
“Thanks,” Joa
“But not that adorable picture of Je
“No,” Joa
“My, my. No time for polite chitchat around here. Just wham-barn, thank you, ma’am.”
Joa
“I’m looking for a personal angle,” Marliss said. She sat down in one of the captain’s chairs, dug around in her purse, and pulled out a small spiral notebook. “Frank tells me this young man…”
“He isn’t young,” Joa
“Junior was left-well, abandoned, if you will-at the Holy Trinity Arts and Crafts Fair over in Saint David. That ended on Sunday. Why are we just now hearing about it for the first time?”
“Because my department wasn’t notified about the situation until late yesterday afternoon,” Joa
“And where is he… What’s his name again?”
“He calls himself Junior. No last name. If he knows what it is, so far he hasn’t mentioned it.”
“And where exactly is he staying? Deputy Montoya didn’t say, but I take it you have him in custody of some sort?”
“He’s not a criminal, Marliss,” Joa
“Of course not,” Marliss agreed. With a pen poised above her notebook, the columnist frowned in concentration. “But is it safe to have him loose in a neighborhood like that? Lowell School can’t be more than a few blocks away. What if he was left unsupervised and ended up doing harm to one of the children? Would you ever be able to forgive yourself?”
Joa
Pointing at her watch, Joa
“But wait,” Marliss objected in dismay. “You can’t just throw me out with nothing. I was led to believe that I’d have an exclusive from you on this. I’m sure that’s what Chief Deputy Montoya said.”
“Chief Deputy Montoya was mistaken, Marliss. The interview with me is over. Good morning.”
“But-”
“No buts. Good-bye, Marliss. But let me warn you, if you go anywhere near Butch Dixon’s house, you’ll have me to deal with.”
Marliss Shackleford’s dismay turned to anger. “Wait just a minute, Sheriff Brady. Are you threatening a member of the Fourth Estate? This is a free country, you know. We have a Constitution that guarantees freedom of the press. You can’t get away with telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“Maybe not,” Joa
“See there!” Marliss shrilled. “Another threat.”
“No, it’s not,” Joa
Slamming her notebook back into her purse, Marliss Shackleford rose from her chair and swept regally from Joa
“How are things?” she asked.
Butch sighed. “If I’d known how much trouble it was going to cause, I would never have given you back your badge last night. Junior wants it-and he wants it bad. He’s been searching all over the house for it, ever since he woke up.”
“I’ll find him another one,” Joa
“A storm? Are you kidding? I’m looking out the kitchen window right now. It’s clear as a bell outside.”
“Not that kind of storm,” Joa
“The Bisbee Bee’s intrepid columnist?”
“None other,” Joa
“What about her?”
“Frank Montoya suggested Marliss write a human-interest story about Junior in hopes that, if it was distributed widely enough, it might lead us to Junior’s family.”
“I suppose it could work,” Butch said.
“It could but it won’t,” Joa