Devil’s Claw

“Is that when he stopped drinking?”

“Yes,” Lucy said. “I liked him a lot better after he did. From then on Dad was different somehow. Nicer. Happier-until that morning at the bakery, the morning when he came to tell me about Mother. He cried the whole time he was telling me. Not really crying like a baby does, but there were tears in his eyes. He had to keep brushing them away. I pretended like I didn’t see them, but I did.”

“Your mother admitted that some of her injuries that day were self-inflicted,” Joa

Lucy seemed stu

“I don’t know,” Joa

“What more can I tell you?”

“After they drove away that night, what did you do?”

“I was scared,” Lucy said. “I knew I had what he wanted. I was afraid he might shoot me, too, or maybe even Grandma Yates, so I didn’t want to go home. That’s when I decided to run away for good. When I left Cochise Stronghold, I was going to ride my bike to Tucson. I forgot about the freeway and that I couldn’t ride my bike on it. On the way, I kept trying to figure out who I could ask for help. I finally made up a list-my ballet teacher, Mrs. Quick; my mother’s lawyer, Ms. Goodson; and Sister Celeste, my teacher from Santa Theresa’s. By the time Big Red and I made it as far as the rest area in Texas Canyon, I was too tired to ride any farther. And it seemed safe. There was a vending machine there with candy bars and drinks and a phone. That’s where I made phone calls to the people on my list.”

“You had money?”

“Enough. Mrs. Quick’s son told me she was dead, so that didn’t work. I called Ms. Goodson, but when her answering machine came on I didn’t know what to say so I left my name but I didn’t leave a message. There was no way for her to call me back. Finally, I reached Sister Celeste. We talked, but someone came up to use the phone. I told her I’d call her back later, but I never had a chance to call again until Sunday morning.

“I was asleep in my bedroll when Big Red woke me up and told me someone was coming. I don’t know for sure it was him, but I ran away and left everything behind. I didn’t dare go back for it.”

“I don’t know if it was your mother’s killer,” Joa

Lucy’s eyes were wide. “That means Big Red saved my life,” she said.

“I believe so,” Joa

“I hid for a while. Then, later, I started walking. I walked until I came to a ranch. I told the lady I had gotten lost while I was out hiking with my family. She let me use the phone. I called Sister Celeste, and she came to get me. She brought a hood for Big Red, otherwise he never would have gotten in her car. And we’ve been here ever since while she and Father Mulligan tried to decide what to do.”

“What about your gun?” Joa

Lucy shrugged. “Sister Celeste told me to give it to Father Mulligan, and I did,” she said. “But it was no big deal. It wasn’t loaded, and I forgot to bring along any ammunition.”

A relieved Joa

“Hello.”

“Joa

Quickly, Joa

“I’m in Saint David,” she answered. “I really shouldn’t be interrupted right now. I’m in the middle of an interview.”

“You’ve got to come home right now!”

The ferocity in Butch’s order took Joa

“I’m leaving the vet’s right now. Dr. Ross says whatever the poison is, both dogs got into it. She’s administering an emetic, and she’s hoping we got them here in time.”

“Poison?” Joa

“Yes. Both dogs, Tigger and Sadie. Je

“Butch, what the hell has happened?”

“Just come home, Joa

CHAPTER 24

Joa

Even in her own turmoil, Joa

Speeding toward home with her lights flashing and siren blaring, Joa

That meant that at the moment, Bill Forsythe was the only one working on the single real lead in the case. Tomorrow, Joa

Once past Tombstone, between there and the Mule Mountains, Joa

She tried to imagine what the crisis might be. Butch was all right, and he had said Je