The words top secret and confidential were written in huge black letters across the cover sheet. Inside was what appeared to be a routine incident report, but as Joanna read it, she felt a sudden chill. One of the illegal crossers, a young unidentified male of Middle Eastern origin, had been apprehended by Border Patrol agents. While searching the surrounding area, the officers had discovered a backpack stuffed with fifteen thousand dollars in American currency, a collection of fake IDs and phony passports, a laptop computer, and three working cell phones.
“Yikes!” Joanna exclaimed.
Frank nodded. “That’s what I say.”
“If they picked him up the night before last, how come we’re only just now hearing about it?” she asked.
“The way the feds operate, I’m surprised we’re hearing about it at all,” Frank returned. “And I don’t think we would be, if they didn’t need our help. Border Patrol is asking us to beef up patrols all along the southern sector.”
Over the months since 9/11, there had been rumors of the Border Patrol apprehending illegal crossers who didn’t fit the usual profile of UDAs simply looking for work. It was thought that some of the arrests had included possible terrorist operatives, but all the rumors in the world hadn’t been enough for the federal government to bring to bear the kind of focused attention border issues clearly merited. Evidently this latest bust was one that might finally succeed in attracting Washington’s attention, but until that happened, it would be up to the severely understaffed Border Patrol and outmanned local law enforcement agencies to fill in the gap.
“And we will give them help,” Joanna declared. “As much as we can spare and maybe even some we can’t. Is any of this being made public?”
Frank shook his head. “Homeland Security wants to see how much information they can glean from the cell phones and the computer before anyone knows the bad guy has been picked up. So, yes, they want our help, but they also want us to keep it quiet.”
“Okay,” Joanna said with a nod. “It makes sense. That way we do the work and they get the credit.”
Frank nodded. “You’ve got that right,” he said.
When the briefing was over, Frank started toward the door. He paused in the doorway. “I assume this means Billy and Clarence O’Dwyer are still off our surveillance list for the time being?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Joanna said.
“Jeannine Phillips isn’t going to like it,” Frank cautioned.
“Don’t worry,” Joanna said. “I told her yesterday that we wouldn’t be able to divert any more patrol officers to San Simon.”
“How’d she take it?” Frank asked.
“Medium,” Joanna said. “Which is to say she wasn’t thrilled.”
Frank looked relieved. “I’m glad you told her,” he said. “I don’t think Jeannine likes me very much.”
“She likes you well enough,” Joanna observed. “You’re just not her type.”
Returning to her office, Joanna had barely picked up the first piece of mail when a shaken Ted Chapman appeared in her doorway.
“I ran into Jaime Carbajal and Ernie Carpenter out in the parking lot,” Ted said. “The very idea of Brad stalking someone is utterly ridiculous. I can’t believe it!”
“Ernie showed you the photos?”
“Yes, but this makes no sense at all.”
“The photos were taken from a disposable camera that had Mr. Evans’s fingerprints all over it,” Joanna pointed out. “According to Casey Ledford, his were the
Ted shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Even so,” he said wearily, “Brad simply wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“Did you recognize the young woman?” Joanna asked. “Do you have any idea who she might be?”
“None whatsoever!”
“Someone he might have dated in the past?” Joanna suggested.
“No,” Ted answered. “If Brad had been dating someone, I’m sure he would have mentioned it to me. Besides, the young woman in the picture looks to be in her twenties. She would have been far too young for him.”
“Older men and younger women do happen,” Joanna said.
“In the movies, maybe,” Ted said. “Or if the old guy has bundles of money, but that’s not the case with Brad. He may have had a job and a paycheck, but I can tell you from personal experience that the pay scale for members of jail ministries is only one click above flipping burgers. If I didn’t have my military retirement, Ginny and I wouldn’t be able to make it. Someone who looks like that girl did wouldn’t throw herself at an ex-con who’s just barely getting by.”
“Maybe she corresponded with him while he was in prison,” Joanna offered. “Suppose once Brad was released from prison, he found out his pen pal had moved on. Maybe she was dating someone else or had even gotten married. What if he wasn’t ready to accept that?”
“No,” Ted said. “You’ve got to believe me. Brad wasn’t like that, but that’s not why I came to talk to you just now.”
“Why did you?”
“I understand Dr. Winfield is ready to release Brad’s body, but so far no one has come forward to claim it.”
Joanna thought back to Anna Marie Crystal’s profoundly negative reaction upon learning that Bradley Evans, her former son-in-law, had listed her as his sole next of kin. It didn’t seem likely that she’d be rushing to the morgue to take charge of his body.
“That’s not too surprising,” Joanna said.
“No,” Ted agreed. “I suppose not. But since no one else is going to claim the body, I’d like to. I’ve talked to people at the prison down in Douglas. The warden there is willing to let me officiate at a memorial service inside the Papago Unit. That way some of the inmates Brad was working with will be able to attend. Of course, if there’s any need or interest, I suppose I could do a second service outside the prison as well, although, since the unit is a minimum security facility, the warden might allow a few members of the public to attend the prison service as well.”
“You’d do that?” Joanna asked.
“He was a friend of mine,” Ted said. “Yes, I would. That’s what friends are for.”
“All right,” Joanna said. “I’ll call the ME and see what he says.”
Moments later Joanna was on the phone explaining the situation to her stepfather. “Since we haven’t been able to locate any other relatives,” George Winfield said, “I suppose that would be fine. What mortuary?”
“Cochise Mortuary and Funeral Home,” Ted replied in answer to George’s relayed question. “They’re in Douglas. On G Avenue.”
“I know where they are,” George said. “Have Mr. Chapman stop by. Once he signs the necessary paperwork, I’ll call the funeral home and get things under way.”
“Thank you,” Ted said to Joanna once she was off the phone. “This means a lot to me. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” she returned. “But are you all right?”
Ted sighed. “I’m disappointed,” he admitted. “If this stalking thing turns out to be true, I can’t help feeling that Brad betrayed the trust I put in him. I pride myself on being a good judge of character. Maybe I’m losing my touch.”
“I doubt that,” Joanna said. “Maybe Brad Evans was really good at pulling the wool over people’s eyes.”
But Ted Chapman was in no mood to give himself a break. “Even so,” he said, getting up to leave, “I should have seen through it.”
Joanna’s phone was ringing again before Ted Chapman was all the way out the door. “I forgot,” George Winfield said. “I meant to apologize for dumping all that stuff on you the other day without so much as a by-your- leave, but with Don and Margaret there, I didn’t want to go into it.”
“It’s all right, George,” she said. “Better late than never. Don’t worry about it.”
“You know how your mother is,” George continued. “Once she gets the bit in her teeth, there’s no stopping her. We’ve been talking about cleaning out the garage ever since we got married. This weekend we finally went to work
