Devil’s Claw

Panicked and sobbing, Lucy fled back into the desert. How did he find me? she wondered. How did he know I was here?

CHAPTER 9

Sheltered by a wall of Texas Canyon house-sized boulders and huddled in her sleeping bag, Lucy tried to sleep. It was far colder than she had thought it would be, but she didn’t dare start a fire. She was too close to the rest area. Someone might notice and come looking. The rocks in the ground beneath her-sharp-edged rocks that had seemed insignificant when she was choosing a place to put her bedroll-now cut into her back and legs.

Lucy was still shaken by what had happened earlier. She had gone down to the rest area to use the phone again, and her mother’s killer was still there-waiting. Stu

At last, as the sky gradually grew lighter in the east, Lucy slept. She was still sleeping hours later, when Big Red’s warning screech issued an alarm. He had made that peculiar noise other times when they had been together on their solitary Cochise Stronghold adventures. And always that particular sound meant the same thing-a warning that someone was coming.

Panicked into full wakefulness, Lucy scrambled out of the bedroll. Standing shaking in the full morning sun, she looked skyward. Outlined against the blue sky, Big Red flew in frantic circles, pinpointing the position of something or someone who was coming toward Lucy’s camping place from the south, from the direction of the rest area.

In a futile effort to keep warm overnight, Lucy had stayed dressed. Not only was she still wearing her jacket, she was also wearing her sneakers. Now she was glad she was. Grabbing only her backpack, she fled uphill and away from whoever it was who was coming-as if she didn’t know.

In Cochise Stronghold, she had often tried to teach herself the things her ancestor, the Apache chief, Eskiminzin, must always have known. With careful practice she had taught herself to run long distances over rough terrain, leaving behind little or no trail. She did this now. Leaping from rock to rock, she sprinted for nearly a mile, leaving no discernible footprints to mark her passage. At last, gasping for breath, she squirreled herself into a cleft between two huge boulders, and there she stayed-listening, waiting, and wondering how long it would be before he somehow tracked her there as well.

Joa

“He went home,” Joa

“How come?”

“How come what?”

“Why’d he go home?”

“Because that’s where he lives.”

Opening her eyes, Joa

Joa

“What was that all about?” Je

“I love you is all,” Joa

Butch showed up while Je

“We’re a team,” Butch said cheerfully when Joa

The phone rang just as they were slipping into their places in the breakfast nook. Je

“Who is it?” Joa

Je

“Hello?” Joa

“Joa

Burton Kimball was a Bisbee-area attorney. His practice included a good deal of criminal defense work, and Joa

“Sorry about that,” Joa

“It’s about Clayton Rhodes,” Burton Kimball said.

“Clayton Rhodes!” Joa

“Mr. Rhodes was my client,” Burton returned. “I did some estate pla

“Why would I need to be there?” Joa

“Not as a representative of the sheriff’s department,” Kimball responded. “You. Joa

That stopped Joa

“Yes. Clayton rewrote his will a year and a half ago. He left Rhodes Ranch to you-all three hundred and twenty acres of it. It’s free and clear, house and all.”

Joa

“Not entirely. He and Molly had tons of savings bonds, as well as a whole bunch of certificates of deposit. There will be plenty of cash to pay final expenses, including all applicable income and estate taxes. Whatever money is left after taxes goes to Reba, but you’re to have the property and whatever personal effects Reba doesn’t want. You’re to deal with those as you see fit. No strings attached.”

Stu

“Clayton left two letters-one for you and one for Reba,” Burton Kimball continued. “I gave Reba hers last night. I was wondering if I shouldn’t bring yours out to you this morning. I want you to be aware of everything that’s going on because of Reba, you see. I’m concerned about her reaction. She and her father had been estranged for years-ever since her mother’s death-but I’m afraid this still hit her pretty hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t try to make trouble, if she hasn’t already, that is.”