Outlaw Mountain

On her way through the lobby, Joa

Let ‘em talk, she told herself firmly. All I’ve got to do is show them it’s business as usual. Everything will be fine.

But everything wasn’t fine. In the reception area outside Joa

A glance into Dick’s office showed that the place had been stripped bare of every personal item. Relieved, Joa

“Yes, he left them,” Kristin snapped back. “Those are on your desk, too. Why don’t you go look for once instead of asking me!”

That outburst brought Joa

“Let’s get something straight, Kristin,” she said in a voice just barely above a whisper. “Chief Deputy Voland left of his own volition. I did not ask him to leave, but I didn’t ask him to stay, either. There are certain basic requirements for working around here, and mutual respect is one of them. If you’re not happy with my perso

“It’s your choice, Kristin,” Joa

Ashen-faced, Kristin nodded bleakly and said nothing.

“All right then,” Joa

“He’s in his office.”

“Good. Ask him to come see me when he has a minute.”

With that, Joa

Dick Voland’s keys sat on top of the stack of messages in the middle of her desk. Putting the keys to one side, Joa

Sorting through them was a bit like dealing out a hand of solitaire. There were sixteen in all. Three of them were from Butch. The first one from him contained an invitation to di

Deciding to return the congratulatory calls later, Joa

“Oh, it’s you,” George said, when he recognized her voice. “When I didn’t hear from you, I called Ernie Carpenter. He sent Jaime Carbajal up here to pick up the preliminary report on Mark Childers.”

That was Joa

“Heart attack,” Dr. Winfield answered wearily. “His heart was already badly diseased to begin with. And I’m sure the drugs didn’t help.”

“Drugs?” Joa

“You bet. I’ll bet Mark Childers was a long-time recreational drug user-cocaine and/or heroin. He was a heart attack waiting to happen. And sitting locked in the dark in a crapper with somebody outside taking pot shots at the door was enough to do him in. I did that one first thing this morning, and just finished up with Flores a little while ago. I’ll be sending that paperwork along as well, but since you were right there when it happened, I suppose that one is pretty self-explanatory.”

“Right,” Joa

An awkward pause followed. “I’m sorry as hell about the way things worked out,” George Winfield said finally. “That bit in the newspaper was ridiculous. I told your mother-well, never mind. Suffice it to say, we’ve had words about this. She had no right to do that to you, Joa

He sounded so genuinely upset that Joa

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Have you talked to your mother then?”

“Not yet.” Joa

“I understand,” George Winfield said with obvious relief. “But do call her as soon as you can. For all our sakes.”

“All right,” Joa

As soon as she ended that call, Joa

She stood up and started into the lobby to tell Kristin she was leaving. Frank Montoya met her at the lobby door. “For someone who didn’t come to work today, you’ve had yourself quite a day,” he observed.

“Is everything under control?” she asked.

“As much as it can be.”

“Good. I may not look sick, but I’m having a sick day nonetheless. Since you’ve done a great job of handling things so far, keep right on doing it. We’ll talk about all this tomorrow morning. What do you say?”

“You’re the boss,” Frank replied. “Tomorrow it is.”