“She was still upset about the dogfights,” Millicent answered after a pause. “She traded shifts with Manny so she could go up to San Simon and keep an eye on the O’Dwyers. That’s what she said to me-that she was going to keep an eye on them.”
She must have done more than that, Joanna thought.
“Do you really think they’d hurt her?” Millicent asked.
Joanna heard the growing concern in the woman’s voice.
“We don’t know,” Joanna answered. “All we know for certain is that she’s missing.”
“Do you think she’s dead?”
Probably, Joanna thought.
“She may be,” Joanna said. “It’s possible.”
There was a long pause after that. Joanna heard Millicent draw a long breath. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in my coming there,” she said finally. “I’d probably just be in the way.”
“You’re right,” Joanna said. “There’ll be a whole crew of people on the scene, and you would be in the way. But I’ll call you the moment we learn anything.”
“All right then,” Millicent agreed. “I have animals that need to be attended to and appointments that are due in. But please call me. Please.”
“I will,” Joanna promised, ending the call.
When she came through the tunnel at the top of the Divide, she saw the great expanse of bright blue sky spread out in front of her. That spot on Highway 80 was a particular favorite of hers. It was a place where the slightly upward elevation of the road, combined with the abrupt drop of the Mule Mountains, gave Joanna the sensation of being able to fly off the edge of the earth. Today, though, with Jeannine’s possible fate weighing heavily on her heart, Joanna felt instead as though she were falling into an abyss.
A few miles later, she had another thought. Once again she radioed in and asked to be put through to Animal Control. Manny Ruiz took the call.
“You’ve heard?” she asked.
“Tica called me,” he said. “Any news?”
“Not yet.”
“What are we going to do about the workload?” Manny asked. “With Jeannine and me splitting the burden, it’s still not easy. Our part-time clerk is fine, but she can’t run the office and look after the animals, too. And if I’m taking care of the animals, who’s going to be out in the field? I can’t handle this place all by myself.”
“No, you can’t,” Joanna agreed. “Let me see what I can do to get you some temporary help until we know how things stand.”
Her next call was to her former in-laws. Jim Bob Brady answered the phone. “I need a favor,” Joanna said.
“Name it,” Jim Bob returned.
When she finished explaining the situation, Jim Bob was all business. “I’ll be glad to do what I can,” he said. “And Eva Lou will, too. She’s great with animals. We’ll go out to the pound right now and find out what’s needed.”
“How is Eva Lou with snakes?” Joanna asked.
“Did you say snakes?” Jim Bob asked.
“Yes, one of the impounded animals happens to be an abandoned python.”
“Well,” Jim Bob said thoughtfully, “I may have to take care of that one. But don’t worry about it. I’m sure Manny Ruiz will be able to tell us whatever it is he needs us to do.”
Joanna hung up the phone thankful that Jim Bob and Eva Lou Brady continued to be far more supportive and helpful than Margaret and Don Dixon would ever be.
When she finally got out of her car, the rest area was already teeming with activity. In fact, she was the last person from her department to arrive on the scene.
Stamping his feet against the frosty morning chill, Frank Montoya hurried over to meet her. “What have we got?” she asked.
Frank shook his head grimly. “Come take a look,” he said.
Jeannine’s Animal Control truck was parked at the far end of the parking area. Approaching it from the driver’s side, nothing seemed amiss. But the passenger-side window, out of view from passing vehicles, was completely missing. Joanna had to stand on tiptoe to peer inside. A bloodied rock the size of a basketball lay on the passenger seat. The police radio had been pulled from its console. It lay, its wire dangling loose, on the floorboard along with a clipboard, a single shoe, and other debris.
“What’s that?” Joanna asked, pointing. “A nightscope?”
“That’s right,” Frank said. “She must have been using that inside the vehicle when her attacker surprised her, probably by heaving that rock through the window. She never had time to call for help, but from the looks of things, she put up a hell of a fight.”
Everything around Joanna-Jeannine’s shoe in the footwell, the bloodied rock on the seat, the bare mesquite branches beyond the truck, and the looming, bubble-shaped rocks of Texas Canyon-stood out in a kind of stark relief that reminded Joanna of photos observed through her old View-Master. The idea that one of her officers had been attacked and perhaps murdered left Joanna sick at heart but furious and utterly focused.
“Did it happen here?” she asked.
“No,” Frank said. “Whoever did it drove the truck here after the attack.”
“Because they didn’t want us to identify a crime scene?” Joanna asked.
“That would be my guess,” Frank said. “They also took off and left the engine running. It’s out of gas.”
“So whoever abandoned it did so in a hell of a hurry,” Joanna said.
Frank nodded. “Being in a hurry breeds mistakes. With any luck, maybe we’ll find that they left a little something behind- something we can use to find them. Once Jaime finishes taking his photos, Casey will start dusting for prints.”
“Any witnesses?”
“It was called in at six forty-five a.m. by a maintenance guy who stops by early to service the rest rooms. He saw the truck and thought it was unusual for the vehicle to be here with no sign of an officer present. Ernie Carpenter is interviewing him right now. Some of the long-haul drivers may have been parked here overnight. Debbie is checking with them to see if any of them noticed something out of line.”
With nothing much else to do, Joanna stood on the sidelines while her people worked. It was only half an hour later when the first of the Tucson-based television news vans, its top bristling with antennas, arrived on the scene. Most of the time Frank handled the media types. Since he was conferring with the crime scene investigators, Joanna stepped forward to head off a swift-footed female news reporter who was followed by a cameraman.
“Sorry,” Joanna said. “No unauthorized personnel beyond this point.”
The woman stopped and then held up her ID. Isabel Duarte was with KGUN-9 News, but Joanna recognized her on sight without having to check her identification. She was young- barely out of college-and the newest member on the news team, but Joanna had seen her before out on the campaign trail as well as on the air.
“Sheriff Brady?” Isabel asked. “We heard that one of your deputies is missing. Is that true?”
The lens of the video cam was already focused on Joanna with its red light showing. “Not a deputy,” she corrected. “One of my ACOs.”
Isabel looked puzzled. “ACO?”
“Animal control officer,” Joanna explained. “Her vehicle was found abandoned here a little over an hour ago, and yes, she is missing. Chief Deputy Montoya, my media relations officer, won’t be making any further statements until later. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Joanna started back toward her team of investigators, but Isabel didn’t take the hint. Instead, she followed right on Joanna’s heels. “Did you say a female officer? How old is she? Anglo? Hispanic?”
Shaking her head and trying to keep her temper in check, Joanna turned back to the pushy reporter. She was gratified to see that the cameraman had stayed behind.
“Look, Ms. Duarte,” Joanna said. “I appreciate that you have a job to do, but so do we. As I just told you, my department won’t have any further comment until later in the day. We’re all very busy right now.”