Skeleton Canyon

“Things are hopping. We’ve got fender benders and road washouts as well as spotty phone and power outages all over the county.”

“I’m sure. Who’s working Dispatch?”

“Kendall Evans and Larry Kendrick are both on tonight. Want me to put you through to them?”

“This is Sheriff Brady,” Joanna said to Kendall a moment later. “I’ve been out of radio contact most of the day. What’s going on?^”

“Where are you?” Kendall asked. “Ernie Carpenter has called in several times looking for you.”

“I’m at my in-laws’ place here in Warren bumming a meal. I’m sure you have the number displayed on your screen. Where’s Ernie?”

“He and Detective Carbajal got stuck on the wrong side of a dip east of Douglas. They had to wait until the water went down. They’re in Douglas now, talking to someone. Will you be at the same place for a little while?”

“It looks that way,” Joanna answered. “I’m having my own version of the same problem. I can’t go home until the creek goes down. I’ll probably be here for another hour at least. When you catch up with Ernie, remind him that his radio currently has big ears. He shouldn’t say anything about the Peloncillo situation that he doesn’t want broadcast nation-wide.”

“Right,” Kendall said.

“Next, what’s happening with Search and Rescue?”

“‘They all went home. They may not be there yet, but they’re on their way.”

“What did they do?” Joanna asked. “Call off the search on account of weather?^”

“You mean the search for Angie Kellogg? Oh, no. She’s fine.”

“They found her, then?”

“Search and Rescue didn’t find her but somebody else did. Here it is. Marianne Maculyea, the report says.”

Joanna breathed a sigh of relief as Kendall Evans continued. “She was found walking along Highway 80. Reverend Maculyea loaded her in the car and hightailed it back to Douglas hoping to beat the worst of the storm. She called from the first available phone booth to let us know Ms. Kellogg was safe.”

“That’s great,” Joanna breathed.

“The problem is, Sheriff Brady,” Kendall continued, “we’re real busy right now. There are two other calls coming in. I’ve got to go.”

“Sure. I’ll be here if you need me.”

Emptying the dregs of his coffee into the sink, Jim Bob announced he was going into the living room to watch America’s Funniest Home Videos. Even though the dishes were done and put away, Eva Lou, looking troubled, seemed reluctant to leave the kitchen.

“So young,” she said sadly after her husband disappeared into the living room. “So terribly young. Brianna O’Brien was a smart girl who should have had a whole wonderful future ahead of her. Here she is gone.” When Eva Lou paused, Joanna could see the older woman was struggling to control herself.

“Not only that,” she added, “I know exactly what her parents are going through right now. I’ll never forget how it was when that first call came in about Andy. I just couldn’t believe it. Hearing about that poor girl and her family brings it all back to me as clearly as if it happened yesterday.”

Joanna nodded. It was the same for her. Each time she witnessed some new family descending into the hellish pit of losing a loved one, she, too, was sucked along, back into the awful abyss of Andy’s death. Other people’s pain mingled with her own, and neither seemed to lessen that much with time. Joanna didn’t bother explaining any of that to her mother-in-law. She didn’t have to. Eva Lou Brady was dealing with exactly the same thing.

“Do you know the O’Briens?” Joanna asked, more to make conversation than anything else.

Eva Lou shook her head. “Not personally. I know of’ them, though. Babe Sheridan goes to St. Dominick’s, you know. She ways they’re nice people. Mr. O’Brien is all crippled up, but Babe said something about Katherine going off on missions for two weeks at a time. Medical missions, I believe she said, where a team of doctors and nurses go into out-of-the-way places and provide medical services for the poor. They do corrective surgeries-the kinds of procedures that wouldn’t be available otherwise. I believe Katherine O’Brien is a trained nurse. It takes a real giving person to do that-and a whole lot of gumption, too.”

“It certainly does,” Joanna agreed.

For a few minutes, Joanna and Eva Lou sat together in silence. “How’s your mother doing?” Eva Lou asked finally. “I’ve barely seen her these past few weeks. She must be awfully busy.”

“She’s been busy all right,” Joanna returned dryly. “She’s married.^”

Eva Lou put down her coffee cup. “She’s what?”

“Married,” Joanna repeated. “She and George Winfield eloped when they went to Vegas.”

“Why forevermore!” Eva Lou Brady said wonderingly. “Good for her. Good for both of them. What wonderful news!”

In the face of her mother-in-law’s evident enthusiasm, Joanna had the good sense and grace to stifle any further negative comments of her own. Besides, just then Jim Bob called to his wife from the living room.

“Hey, Eva Lou, the last commercial just ended. Come on now or you’ll miss it.”

Eva Lou excused herself and went to join her husband in front of the blaring television set. Left on her own in the kitchen, Joanna dialed Frank Montoya’s number, alerting him to the Brianna O’Brien situation and bringing him up to speed as much as possible. Then she tried dialing her own number, hoping to use her answering machine’s remote feature to retrieve her own messages. Nothing happened. The phone rang and rang, but the answering machine wouldn’t pick up.

Frustrated and unwilling to go into the living room to watch TV, Joanna picked up the yellow pad Jim Bob and Eva Lou kept on the kitchen table next to the phone. Since she was just passing time, why not write today’s letter?

Dear Jenny,

For a long, long time, “Dear Jenny” were the only words that appeared on the paper. Where should I start? Joanna wondered. How should I begin?

This afternoon’s storm was a real corker. The washes are running at home, so I’m writing this from Grandma and Grandpa Brady’s house. I tried calling for messages a little while ago, but the answering machine isn’t working, so maybe our phone is out of order as well. I hope the storm didn’t catch you out somewhere on a hike. If it did, you probably got soaked.

You’ve only been gone for a day and a half; but it feels much longer. And it turns out that there’s all kinds of news. The most important of which has to do with Grandma Lathrop.

As you know, she’s been going out with that Dr. Winfield. Well, you’ll never guess what happened! It turns out that they’ve been doing a little more than just “going out.” Dr. Winfield and I were working on a case together today and he told me that they^’re married. He said they eloped last month when they took that trip up to Las Vegas. They’re planning on a honeymoon cruise sometime in August. So, not only do you have a new grandfather, I have a new stepfather as well.

Joanna paused long enough to reread what she had written, hoping that it sounded breezy enough-breezy and nonjudgmental. After all, she didn’t know how George Winfield would measure up in the stepfather department, but he might be perfectly fine as a grandfather. Joanna didn’t want to write anything that would prejudice Jenny against him.

The animals are all fine. At least, they were fine when 1 left the house this morning, and I’m sure they still are. I’ve been off investigating a crime scene most of the day. The storm that blew through late this afternoon didn’t make things any easier.

Oh, I almost forgot. Search and Rescue had to be called out today to look for Angie Kellogg. She and a friend went bird-watching up in Skeleton Canyon. They got separated, somehow, and Angie was lost for several hours. She found her way out, however. Dispatch just told me that Marianne found her and brought her home safe and sound.