“As you can see, I was busy,” Leslie said. “I was pushing the grocery cart. I was opening the car door. I was walking. He may have seen me, but I didn’t see him. Besides,” she added, turning to Joanna, “don’t these guys have telephoto lenses?”
“Not this one,” Joanna answered. “He used a throwaway.”
“See there?” Rory demanded. “What did I just tell you?”
Without answering, Leslie rose and fled the conference room. She wasn’t in tears, but she was close to it. Rory stayed where he was for a moment longer after the door slammed shut, then he turned to Joanna and shrugged. “I guess we can’t help you,” he said.
“I guess not,” Joanna agreed. “Thank you anyway.”
“Can you find your own way out?”
“No problem.” Joanna gathered up the photos and put them back into the envelope and then returned to her Crown Victoria. No wonder Rory Markham Real Estate Group boasted such a humble physical presence. Rory had started out by making a bad impression, and it had been all downhill from there. In a service industry based on interpersonal relationships, it was a miracle he was able to stay in business at all.
I wouldn’t buy a used car from that turkey, Joanna thought to herself as she headed back to Bisbee. What in the world does Leslie see in him?
But as far as what Rory might see in Leslie, that was much clearer. Leslie Tazewell was bound to turn into an heiress the moment her mother died. That explained why, in addition to her youth and good looks, Rory might be interested in her, but nothing Joanna had learned came close to explaining Bradley Evans’s interest in the woman. That was still very much a mystery.
By the time Joanna made it back to the Justice Center, it was already after five. She was tired. If something urgent happens, she told herself, they can call me at home. And home she went.
Along the road the scrawny trunks and tangled bare branches of mesquite trees gleamed black in the late-afternoon sun. Ready to be home and warm, Joanna was surprised to find Jenny out on High Lonesome Road riding Kiddo at a full gallop, with all three dogs trailing along behind. When Joanna pulled up beside her and rolled down her window, Jenny reined in the horse.
“Out having fun?” Joanna asked.
“Not exactly,” Jenny said with a scowl. “I had to get away. Butch’s mother follows me everywhere I go, even into my room, asking me all kinds of stupid questions-things that are none of her business. When are they ever going to leave, Mom? It feels like they’ve been here forever. Why did Butch let them come?”
“He didn’t,” Joanna said. “Having them show up was as much a surprise to him as it was to us.”
“But that’s rude. I mean, shouldn’t they have waited for an invitation?”
“Yes,” Joanna agreed. “It is rude, but Margaret and Don are Butch’s parents. We have to put up with them.”
“Why?”
“Because we have to. They’re excited about the baby, and they want to be part of it.”
“I want you to have this baby right now!” Jenny urged.
“Believe me,” Joanna said, “that makes two of us. If there were something I could do to speed things along, I would. Come on now. It’s cold. Let’s go home.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, you do. I’m sure it’s almost time for dinner.”
“All right.”
When Joanna drove into the yard, she could see the glow of the Dixons’ flat-screen TV inside their motor home, which meant they were probably there watching the news. Hoping for a few moments of privacy, she hurried into the house looking for Butch. She found him in the kitchen fixing dinner, but he was in no better spirits than Jenny had been.
“What’s wrong?” Joanna asked.
“The same thing that’s been wrong around here for days,” he grumbled. “I’m glad I got to see Junior put my mother in her place at lunchtime, but she’s been on a tear ever since. I came within two seconds of asking them to leave.”
“You can’t do that, Butch,” Joanna said. “I know they’re annoying as hell, but they are your parents. They’re here because of the baby.”
“The baby,” Butch said ominously, “needs to get a move on.”
“Jenny said pretty much the same thing,” Joanna said with a smile. “And if the way my back hurts is any indication…”
“Your back hurts?” Butch said. “Maybe you should go lie down for a while-at least until dinner is ready.”
Joanna did as she was told, and dinner turned out to be surprisingly uneventful. At first Joanna thought Margaret was merely subdued. About the time they finished their salads, Joanna realized that her mother-in-law wasn’t speaking to anyone, which turned out to be a blessing. Jenny and Joanna were in the kitchen putting away leftovers and loading the dishwasher when the phone rang.
“Jaime Carbajal,” Butch said, handing Joanna the phone.
“How’d you do?” Joanna asked.
“Not that well. We never located Antonio Zavala, but Tucson PD was able to give us the names of a couple of his associates. One is an eighteen-year-old girl named Lupe Melendez. She was cited two months ago for letting her pit bull loose in an off-leash area of a city park, where it mauled three other dogs. We couldn’t find her today, either, but Debbie and I will take another crack at that tomorrow.”
“Did you hear anything from Ernie?”
“I heard from Rose. He’s home and resting and seems to be doing all right, but Rose said the only way he’s coming to work tomorrow is over her dead body.”
“I’m glad to hear it went well,” Joanna said.
She went on to tell Jaime about her trip to Sierra Vista. “Doesn’t sound as though talking to the Markhams helped much,” he said when she finished.
“It didn’t,” Joanna agreed. “But I’d like to know more about Rory Markham. He pretty much accused his wife of having had a previous relationship with Bradley Evans and then lying about it.”
“You’d say Rory Markham is the jealous type?” Jaime asked.
“Enough that I think we should check him out,” Joanna said. “But Frank and I can work on some of that background information. And tomorrow I’ll attend Bradley Evans’s funeral. In the meantime, though, I want you and Debbie to keep working on Jeannine’s case. How’s Debbie working out, by the way?”
“She’ll be fine once she gets a little experience under her belt. She’s still unsure of herself. And speaking of Jeannine, Debbie and I stopped by UMC to check on her before we left Tucson,” Jaime added. “Jeannine’s still in the ICU, but her condition has been upgraded to serious. We didn’t see her, of course, but we talked to Dr. Ross. By the way, thanks for warning me in advance about the deal between her and Jeannine. Otherwise I might have said something stupid. How long has this been going on?”
“Beats me,” Joanna said. “I only just now found out about it myself.”
When she got off the phone with Jaime, Joanna dialed Ernie Carpenter’s number. Rose answered.
“How’s he doing?” Joanna asked.
“Okay,” Rose answered. “But he’s lying down right now. Want me to get him?”
“No,” Joanna said. “Just give him a message. Tell him Sheriff Brady says if he gets past you tomorrow and tries to come to work, he’ll have to deal with me.”
Rose Carpenter laughed. “I’ll tell him, all right,” she said.
With Margaret still not speaking to anyone, she and Don retreated to their motor home early. The rest of the house, emotionally drained from dealing with their disruptive guests, went to bed shortly thereafter. Butch was still watching the Nine O’Clock News on Fox when Joanna rolled over on her side and went to sleep. But going to sleep that early had its disadvantages. By three o’clock in the morning she and her lead-footed baby were both wide awake.