“A murder victim?” She swiveled her head around, taking in the swirl of activity—the colors, the voices, the smells—and tilted to the side.
Sam grabbed her around the waist. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling faint? Did the bones upset you?”
“The crush of people is getting to me. I’m going to collect Gran and get out of here.” As she whirled away from Sam, Wade stormed up to her and pinched her upper arm between his thumb and forefinger. “What did you do?”
She yanked out of her cousin’s grasp and stumbled into Sam. “Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“You were out there. I heard you found the human skull.” He jabbed a finger into her chest. “Why do you have to go nosing into everything? I could’ve handled the guys. We could’ve...”
“What, Wade? Swept it under the rug? Kept it hidden?”
Sam had been on the phone during her exchange with Wade and when her cousin had gotten up close and personal, Sam swung around and smoothly stepped between them. “Whoa, Wade. You need to calm down. There was no hiding those bones. Do you think if Jolene hadn’t discovered the skull, Clay and I wouldn’t have seen it? The gruesome discovery shook up those workmen. They never would’ve kept quiet.”
Wade stretched his lips, his plastic smile melting into a sneer. “You have no idea the effect a few bucks can have on a man’s nerves.”
“I wouldn’t be spouting off about your bribery skills if I were you, Wade.” Sam held up his phone. “I called the Paradiso PD, and they’re sending a car back. They’re gonna put yellow crime scene tape up to replace your multicolored ribbons. Then the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is going to send their CSIs out here to collect those bones.”
Jolene swallowed. “What are they going to do with the bones?”
“Test them, measure them, analyze them. Maybe discover the identity of the person.” Sam smacked Wade on the back. “Don’t look so bummed, Wade. Once they clear out those bones and check the area for more, your project should be able to get back on track—in a year.”
“This isn’t going to deter us.” Wade smoothed a hand over his face, putting his calm, unruffled facade back in place. “You should take Gran home, Jolene.”
“That’s what I was just going to do.” A fat raindrop splashed on the back of her hand. “And not a minute too soon.”
“I’ll come with you.” Sam cupped her elbow and guided her through the thinning crowd. “Wade’s a piece of work.”
“He’s a piece of something.” She shook him off. “You don’t have to protect me against Wade—or anything else.”
She’d been getting too comfortable with Sam’s little gestures—the touches, the consideration, the fawning over Gran—scratch that last one. Gran adored Sam and reveled in the attentions he gave her.
When they got back to the chairs where they’d left Gran, two teens were sprawled across them, their noses buried in their phones.
Jolene recognized one of them. “Andrew, did you see my grandmother here?”
He lifted one eyebrow without raising his gaze from his phone. “Yeah, she left with my grandmother. They told me to stay here and let you know when you got back—and they took your car.”
“They took my car?” Jolene peered at the sky. “Why’d they do that?”
Andrew shrugged one shoulder. “Me and my friend wanted to stay, so Granny Viv told my grandma to take your keys and your car so they could leave. I can drive you.”
Jolene snagged her purse from under the chair. “That’s okay, Andrew. I’ll get a ride...”
“With me.” Sam looked down his nose at the boy. “You’re old enough to drive?”
“Got my license and everything.” He socked his friend in the arm. “Let’s go see if we can get a look at those bones.”
As the boys slouched off, Sam turned to Jolene. “Do you mind waiting until I talk to the Paradiso PD? They’ll probably want to talk to you, too.”
“Me?” Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “Why would they want to talk to me?”
“You found the skull.”
“I didn’t find it. The skull was lying on the ground.” She adjusted her purse over her shoulder and folded her arms. The less she was involved with this, the better.
“It wasn’t lying on the ground. Clay and I wouldn’t have missed it if it were.” He placed a hand on her back. “They’re here.”
Jolene glanced up at the officers talking to Wade and the two workmen. Wade had recovered his equilibrium and had the appearance of complete cooperation with the work stoppage. His wife, Cerisse, would get a whole different perspective at home tonight.
Sam greeted the cops and told them how he and Clay had gone out to look at the bones, just to see if they were human. He jerked his thumb toward her. “And the minute Jolene found the skull, we knew what we had.”
The officer didn’t have many questions for them and Jolene convinced Sam to leave before the sheriffs came on the scene.
“We left our names with the officer. If the sheriff’s deputies want to contact us, they can.” She tipped her head back to take in the darkening sky. “Besides, we’re going to be caught in the deluge in a few minutes.”
“At least we don’t have to wait for the shuttle.” He pointed out a Border Patrol vehicle parked behind the food trucks. “I got preferred parking.”
As he opened the door of the truck for her, the rain started coming down in earnest. She ducked in quickly, and he slammed the door.
By the time he slid behind the wheel, his shirt was already soaked.
“It’s going to be another monsoon like the other day.”
“It is the season for them. How was the summer? Any rain then?”
“Not much. Looks like the clouds are making up for the dry months.”
Sam followed one of the shuttle vans down the access road and swerved around it when they hit the highway.
He gestured toward the phone cupped in her hands. “Do you want to call Rosie and see if she
