Rattlesnake Crossing

'Oh,' Frank Montoya said. 'I see. Care to tell me about it?'

'Later. Talk to Dick first.'

Frank did. Voland was back in his office at the justice complex when Frank finally reached him. After letting loose with a barrage of objections, Dick Voland finally gave up trying to talk Joanna out of her plan of action and began establishing contingency strategies. By the time things were settled, the Blazer had already turned off Pomerene Road onto the Triple C. When the Hosfields' tin-roofed Victorian came into view, nothing at all seemed amiss.

'It looks almost idyllic, doesn't it?' Joanna said.

'Right,' Frank Montoya said. 'And so did the farm-house in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.'

'I never read that,' Joanna said.

'You don't have to,' Frank told her. 'We're living it.'

As they drove into the yard, Joanna looked around anxiously, trying to catch sight of the faded blue panel truck Ryan Merritt had been driving three days earlier. There was no sign of it, or of the ATV, either. The door to the building where the truck had been parked stood wide open, and the space inside was clearly empty.

While Joanna was parking the Blazer outside the gate, the front door of the house opened and Sonja Hosfield, with a purse slung over one shoulder, came striding across the porch. Joanna was so relieved to see the woman alive that she had to restrain herself from running up to Sonja and giving her a hug.

'Good afternoon, Mrs. Hosfield,' Joanna said, rolling down her window. 'This is my chief deputy Frank Montoya.'

'I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Montoya,' Sonja said. Then she spoke directly to Joanna. 'I wish you had called to let me know you were coming. I would have told you not to bother. Alton had a meeting in town this afternoon, so it's the cook's night out tonight. We're meeting in Benson. Alton's supposed to take me to dinner. In fact, I was just on my way out the door when you drove up.'

'And your sons?' Joanna asked.

'They're gone, too. They left a couple of minutes ago, as a matter of fact. Ryan offered to take Jake up into the hills to do some target shooting.'

Target shooting! Joanna thought. With twelve-year-old Jake! As her heart filled with dread, some of it must have surfaced on her facial features. Sonja covered her mouth with her hand.

'What's the matter?' Joanna asked.

Sonja shook her head. 'I probably shouldn't have mentioned it.'

'Shouldn't have mentioned what?'

'Target practice. You see, Ryan's been in some trouble with the law. It happened before he came here to stay with us, but I remember Alton saying that he's not allowed to have access to guns. Still, since the boys were just going to be on our own property, I didn't think it would matter that much.'

Sonja stopped talking and stared questioningly into Joanna's face. 'I mean, Ryan hasn't done anything wrong, has he? They won't put him back in jail for that, will they?'

'They might.' Joanna opened her car door and stepped down onto the hard-packed ground. 'It might actually be far worse than you think.'

Behind her in the Blazer, she heard a series of cell-phone beeps as Frank Montoya redialed the department. 'Houston,' he said to Dick Voland. 'We have a problem.'

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Sonja Hosfield stood absolutely still. 'What is it, Sheriff Brady?' she asked. 'What's going on? What's Ryan done now?'

'You gave him a weapon?' Joanna asked.

'I… yes. I told him he could use his dad's deer rifle. He caught me so much by surprise when he asked that I just said yes without thinking.'

'What do you mean he caught you by surprise?'

'Ryan offered to take Jake along for the evening. All on his own, without my even suggesting it. I was pleased. The whole time he's been here, he's barely acknowledged his little brother's existence, while all Jake wants is to be included in what the big guys are doing. I was thrilled Ryan was willing to have Jake go along. Since they were just going to be right here on the ranch, I didn't think it would hurt anything. Sort of like Jake riding the ATV, even though he's too young to have a driver's license on a regular road. Not only that, having the two of them go off by themselves meant that Alton and I could have dinner alone for a change. Almost like a date. I may have graduated as a Home Ec major, but I don't have to prove it by cooking every meal every single day.'

Frank got out of the Blazer. 'Dick's gathering up everybody he can, including the Emergency Response Team. They're on their way.'

Sonja looked alarmed. 'Do you have any idea where the boys were going?' Joanna asked.

'I don't know,' Sonja said, shaking her head. 'They loaded Jake's ATV into the back of Ryan's truck. I told them to stay away from those areas where all those investigators have been working the past few days, but they could be anywhere else. It's a big ranch.' She paused and frowned. 'Sheriff Brady, I heard him say something about an Emergency Response Team. That means something's happened, something bad. You've got to tell me what it is.'

'Where does your stepson stay?' Joanna asked. 'Does Ryan have a room here in the house?'

'No, we have a little building out behind the barn, a combination house and toolshed. Back in the old days when Alton could still hire them, braceros used to stay there year-round. Now we usually hire people who live elsewhere. The place isn't much, but when Ryan came to live with us this summer, he wanted to stay there. He asked to stay there. So that's his home-when he's home, that is. He spends a lot of time in town with friends.'

'What friends?'

Sonja shrugged. 'I don't know, really. I've never met any of them. Remember, I'm only a stepmother. He doesn't tell me any more than he absolutely has to, but his dad probably knows.'

'Could we see his room, Mrs. Hosfield?' Joanna asked. 'If you'd be good enough to allow us access so we don't have to go tracking down a search warrant, it could save everybody a whole lot of time and trouble.'

'Why would you need a search warrant?' Sonja said. 'Of course you can see it. There's nothing there, nothing to hide. It's just a little apartment with a bed, a dresser, and a refrigerator.'

She led them across the yard to the far side of the building where the truck had been parked. Half of it was a garage / toolshed. The other half of the building served as living quarters. When Sonja tried the door, it was locked. 'That's funny,' she said, looking back at Joanna. 'There's nobody on the ranch except us. Why would Ryan need to lock his door?'

'Break it down, Frank,' Joanna ordered, drawing her Colt. 'That's all right with you, isn't it, Mrs. Hosfield?'

'Why, of course… if you think it's necessary.'

The door shuddered under the first two blows from Frank Montoya's shoulder, but it didn't give way until he slammed into it a third time. It splintered into pieces that fell out of the jamb.

'Wait here,' Joanna said, and then she stepped inside.

The room was hot. It was also dark and gloomy. The only light came from a single dingy window shrouded by dirt and cobwebs. Unfortunately, there was an odor in the air-a heavy, coppery smell that was all too familiar.

It took several seconds for Joanna's eyes to adjust to the dim light. When she could see, she noticed a terrible dark smudge on top of the narrow cot-a smudge and a small, still figure. Hoping that it wasn't what she thought and yet knowing it was, Joanna moved gingerly across the room to the bed.

'Don't let Mrs. Hosfield come in here, Frank,' she warned. 'There's a body in here. Keep her outside!'