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“Don’t you want to try these things on?” Eleanor suggested.
Joa
“I’m sure that will be just fine, won’t it, Ellie,” George Winfield said before his wife could answer. “Besides, the food is here and getting cold. Time to eat.”
“I suppose,” Eleanor agreed, although Joa
Maria
“I have.”
“What’s wrong?”
“After Ruth and I got home from the ranch, I put her down for a nap. I was just starting to pick up the house when the doorbell rang. There was a strange woman standing on the front porch, someone I had never seen before. She gave me this.”
Maria
“What is it?” Joa
“Read it.”
Joa
Maria
“Read it,” Maria
Joa
Dear Maria
This letter will introduce you to Julie Erickson. She is a na
Love,
Mom
Joa
“The na
“Yes,” Joa
CHAPTER 29
At nine o’clock Friday morning, Frank was in Joa
“Right,” he said. “You stumble into a hornet’s nest that’s going to create jurisdictional wrangling from here to next Tuesday, and you bail out on me.”
“I can’t help that.” Joa
“Catherine Yates is still under observation at Copper Queen Hospital. Deputy Galloway is out and fine. We’re lucky they were found when they were. If you hadn’t put down the spike strips and if your phony Agent Reed had managed to make it off departmental grounds, they might well have suffocated before someone found them and hauled them out of his trunk. I think he pla
“Who the hell is Ed Masters anyway?” Joa
“Melanie Goodson’s silent real estate partner for one, but before he retired from the army, Major General Edward P. Masters was director of military intelligence at Fort Huachuca.”
“Bingo,” Joa
“You’d better believe it. The FBI is working behind the scenes to re-create Sandra Ridder’s work record. I’m pretty sure they’re going to find that she worked for Masters or for someone co
“So she did cop a plea in order to protect her daughter?”
“That’s how it looks. In addition to that, Special Investigator Warren Borden, the guy who really made the witness-protection deal with Sandra Ridder, is due in town from D.C. this afternoon. I’ve been directed by his boss-Madame Attorney General herself-to turn the encrypted diskette over to him. He tells me that yes, the monies due to Sandra Ridder for delivery of said diskette will be paid directly into her estate.”
“Maybe Lucy Ridder will be able to get a second chance at taking ballet lessons after all,” Joa
“As far as I know, she’s still over at the hospital. Later on this afternoon, she and Big Red will be heading back to Saint David and Holy Trinity. They’ll stay there at least until after Catherine Yates is released from the hospital.”
“How did this all happen?” Joa
“Special Investigator Borden thinks Sandra must have mentioned her deal to Melanie Goodson, thinking, of course, that Melanie was her dear friend. Except it turns out that Melanie was far better friends with Ed Masters than she ever was with Sandra Ridder. As soon as Masters got wind of what was happening, he was prepared to go to any length and do whatever was necessary to put the genie back in the bottle.”
For the next little while, Joa
When the briefing was over and Frank left the office, Joa
Her intercom buzzed. “Sheriff Brady?” Kristin said. “There’s a long-distance call for you from someone named Joyce Roberts. She says she’s an attorney. Do you want to talk to her, or should I have her talk to Chief Deputy Montoya?”
“No,” Joa
“I’ve just spoken to De