damaged Lexus, I want you to follow them. But first, give me your notebook with the names and numbers you wrote down. I’m going to check out Dr. Bernard’s alibi.”
It took several minutes for Joanna to get through to Dr. Daniel Howard. Since it was Wednesday afternoon, she ended up reaching him at home.
“Who’s this again?” he asked, after Joanna had explained what she wanted.
“I’m Sheriff Joanna Brady,” she said. “From Cochise County.”
“Maybe I should check with Dick before I answer,” Dr. Howard hedged.
“It would really be better if you answered my question without checking with anybody,” she told him.
“Well, it’s true then,” he said after a pause. “We were up at the cabin—Andy Kingsley’s cabin. There were six of us—my son, Rick, and me; Dick Bernard and his son, Chris; and Andy Kingsley and his son, Lonnie. We got there up about noon on Sunday. Barbecued some hamburgers, played some cards, drank a few beers. The kids played games and watched videos. We all came back early Monday afternoon. How come? What’s this all about?”
“Never mind,” Joanna told him. “It’s nothing. Thanks for your help.”
Next she tried the number for Andrew Kingsley. A young male voice answered. “Dad’s not home,” he said. “Wanna leave a message?”
“Is this Lonnie, by any chance?” Joanna asked.
“Yeah. That’s me.” “My name’s Joanna Brady. I was just wondering did you go camping with Christopher Bernard last weekend?”
“That weirdo? Yeah, why?”
“And he was with you all Sunday night?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone,” Lonnie said. “It was my dad’s bright idea. It’s not something I’m proud of.”
“Right,” Joanna said. “I know just what you mean.”
She ended the call. As soon as she did, the phone rang again. “Hello, Frank. That was quick.”
“You were right. Ernie’s request had gone nowhere, but I know the right person to call,” he said. “Her name’s Denise, and she’s a jewel. She told me there’s a collect call from a pay phone in Sierra Vista at four twenty-seven in the afternoon. It’s a pay phone located in a Walgreens store. The call lasted for more than ten minutes. What does it mean?”
“It means probable cause,” Joanna said.
“So Chris Bernard did kill her then?”
“No, surprisingly enough, I believe Chris Bernard is a stand-up guy. He was out of the house when that call came in from the Walgreens pay phone. So was Dr. Bernard. It sounds to me as though both the father and the son could be in the clear on this. I’m beginning to believe that the mother did this job all by her little lonesome. Somehow Amy must have convinced Dora that she was on the kids’ side and that she was coming to help her. I want a search warrant for the Bernards’ house and for all their vehicles as well.”
“You’re saying the kid’s mother is our killer?”
‘‘Oops, Sheriff Brady,” Jaime Carbajal said. “Trouble. That Lexus is just now coming through the gate. It looks like the mother’s alone in the vehicle. Want me to pull her over?”
“No,” Joanna said. “Let her go, Jaime. Just follow her. Let’s see where she’s going. Gotta hang up, Frank. We’re on the move here. Get cracking on that search warrant, will you? We may need it sooner than you think.”
