Devil’s Claw

CHAPTER 18

The service for Clayton Rhodes was a simple affair held at Higgins Funeral Home and Mortuary up in Old Bisbee and conducted by Clayton’s longtime pastor, the Reverend Lo

Because Molly Rhodes had been a behind-the-scenes linchpin in Bisbee’s YWCA, the post-service social hour was held there. Always with a keen eye for spotting readily available refreshments, Je

“I’m Carol,” she said, smiling cordially at Je

“I’m Je

Carol looked at Joa

Joa

“Clayton spoke very highly of you-and of you, too, Je

“Tigger,” Je

“How did you know Clayton?” Joa

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. Just friends. He and my first husband, Hank, met during the war,” Carol Hubbard replied. “World War Two, that is. They were in the U.S. Air Force- the Air Corps back then. Hank was stationed in India with the Four Hundred Ninety-first Bomber Squadron and worked intelligence for them. According to him, his major task assignment was sobering up pilots so they were straight enough to fly the Hump. He was a voice major in college, though-a talented soloist-and later on in the war he was pulled into entertaining the troops. He and a group of other performers went to bases all over India and Burma putting on variety shows. That’s where he met Clayton.”

“Mr. Rhodes could sing?” Je

Carol Hubbard laughed. “Actually, he couldn’t sing a note, and he couldn’t dance, either, but they had him in every show-moving his lips and acting like he was singing his heart out. You know how these days they have those traveling Broadway productions that go all over the country? I believe they call them bus-and-truck shows. Well, this was the same thing, only it was a plane-and-truck show. According to Hank, Clayton Rhodes was the best mechanic in India. They flew from show to show in planes that were so old and rickety that they were in danger of falling out of the sky every time they took off, but by hook or crook Clayton somehow managed to keep them ru

“So Clayton and your husband stayed in touch after the war?”

Carol nodded. “You may remember seeing my husband. He was a news anchor in Tucson for many years.”

Suddenly the name finally clicked in Joa

“He was a big deal up in Tucson, but even so, there was nothing Hank liked better than coming down here to Bisbee for a few days and staying with Clayton and Molly. The two of them-Clayton and Hank, that is-would go out hunting in Clayton’s old beat-up Ford. During the gas shortage back in the mid-seventies he added an extra gas tank so they could go as far as they wanted without having to worry about having to stop for gas.

“The two of them would come dragging home with whatever they’d caught-venison and javelina and dove, and Molly-bless her heart-and I would figure out a way to cook whatever it was on Molly’s old woodstove.” Carol Hubbard paused. “Have you ever cooked javelina?” she asked Joa

“Venison and dove, yes,” Joa

Carol gri

“Whenever we were with them it seemed as though we were a world away from the high-pressure life in Tucson. While we were there, we could afford to be ourselves-Hank and Carol. That’s important sometimes, especially when you’re in the public eye. It’s easy to get too full of yourself, to take yourself too seriously. If Hank ever started getting all puffed up, Clayton was the one person who could throw Hank Hubbard off his high horse.”

At that juncture Reba Singleton, accompanied by Marliss Shackleford, chose to make her grand entrance. She swept into the room and went straight to the head of the line, where she helped herself to a cup of coffee and declined an offer of cookies. Carol Hubbard regarded her behavior with a raised eyebrow. “Some things never change,” she murmured.

“I beg your pardon?” Joa

Carol shook her head. “Molly and Clayton both would be embarrassed beyond belief to see their daughter behaving like that-pushing her way to the head of the line-but then it’s not very surprising. Reba was always that way-pushy-from way back, from when she was tiny. She was the kind of child who wanted her way, and she wanted it now.”

Joa

“Yes, I’m afraid we did. One of the things Hank and I liked about coming down to see Molly and Clayton was that they didn’t even have a TV set. It wasn’t until Reba went away to college-to the university in Tucson-that she discovered that Hank, her father’s dear old friend, was on television up there. Then she raised all kinds of hell with her parents because she wanted her dad to have Hank help her get on television, too.”

“And did he?”

Carol nodded. “Of course he did. That’s the kind of guy Hank was. Once Reba managed to pick up a degree in broadcast journalism, he put in a good word for her here and there. Hank knew people who knew people. That’s how those things happen in broadcasting, through co

Je

Carol smiled. “She was, but not anymore. It’s sad but true that most male news anchors have a much longer shelf life than female anchors do. She’s been off the air for years now. According to Clayton, she’s been married and divorced several times since then, but she’s always managed to marry up. I think her current husband is some kind of bigwig in computers out in Silicon Valley.”