Outlaw Mountain

After Mark Childers gave up the podium, several of his critics had stepped forward to voice their dismay and outrage over the fact that, with very little advance warning and with only negligible public notice, Mark Childers’ company was being allowed to tear up one of the last untouched tracts of Cochise County grassland. Childers’ critics were far more vociferous and adamant than the developer had been. As the tenor of their comments became more and more negative, so did the mood of the board. But rather than turning their wrath on Childers, the board members instead focused their ire on poor Lewis Flores. He was the one who had signed off on the Environmental Impact Statement. His was the signature on Mark Childers’ building permits.

Joa

Reading through the comments made in the meeting, including an especially vituperative one from none other than Karen Brainard, was upsetting. In his discussion of the meeting, Dick Voland hadn’t gone into much detail about the verbal confrontation between the board and Lewis. Joa

Carmen answered almost immediately. “Hello.”

“Hi, Carmen,” Joa

“He’s not home from work yet,” Carmen said. “Have you tried his office?”

For a second or two, Joa

“I haven’t but I will,” Joa

“This sounds urgent,” Carmen said. “Is anything wrong?”

Joa

Carmen laughed. “Lewis is good at that. I’ll have him give you a call.”

Joa

She drove into town and stopped at Butch’s house. While Je

“I need to talk to her,” Joa

“Are you going to tell her?”

“If I don’t, you-know-who will, and Mother will put her own particular spin on the story when she does. I’d like to give Je

“We’re fine. Je

Je

“No,” Butch said. “We have to stay here.”

“Go with Je

He was so heartbroken and forlorn that Joa

“No. Won’t.”

“Come on. I have something to show you.”

Junior stood rooted to the ground, balefully shaking his head. “No! No! No!”

“Do you like videos?” Butch asked. Junior continued to shake his head.

“Movies, then?”

The head-shaking stopped. “Movies?” Junior asked.

“Yes. I have movies. Lots of them. Have you ever seen The Lion King?”

Junior brightened a little. “Lions,” he said. “Grrrrr.”

“That’s right,” Butch said. “That’s how lions sound when they growl. Come on. Let me show you.”

Taking a now uncomplaining Junior by the hand, Butch led him into the house while Joa

“Yes, he is,” Joa

“Did you already know that when you brought Junior here?”

“No,” Joa

And it almost worked. They ordered root beers and ate salad while they waited for the pizza to cook. Je

Je

“You go get the pizza,” Joa

“Joa

The undisguised anxiety in Carmen’s voice put Joa

“I just found out Lewis never went to work today. And he still isn’t home.”

Joa

“He didn’t?” Joa

“No. I just drove down to Melody Lane to check.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

“No. Not really. But when I came home from his office, I checked the gun cabinet. His guns are both missing, Sheriff Brady. One’s a hunting rifle-a Remington thirty-ought-six. The other’s a shotgun, a twelve-gauge Browning pump action.”

Je