Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(7)

“I talked to Helen too. She says they have meals ready on standby to cover three days, and bedding for three hundred. I sure hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Josie sat down beside Otto at the conference table and opened a photocopy of the local map they had drawn up several years ago. It was split into three regions encompassing the town of Artemis and the ranches closest to the town. Circling the top part of the map with her finger, she said, “I’ll take the region up north by the mudflats. That’ll be the area hit first.”

Next, she pointed to the middle of the map. “Obviously this is the most populated because it includes downtown. You’ll take this area. You’ve got your list of volunteers?”

Otto nodded. “I’ll start calling as soon as we’re done here. I have six people designated, all business owners who offered to make their own phone calls.”

“Good. Marta’s in charge of the most remote areas on the east and west sides of Artemis. She’ll have the hardest time reaching people.”

“She’ll also have the largest number of people who refuse to evacuate.”

Josie ignored the comment. It was a frustration, but one they had little control over. “Let’s get our volunteers called now and put them on alert. I want them ready to make their calls immediately when we get orders from Doug.”

“You got it,” he said.

“I’m going to run home and check in with Dell. Then I’ll start making calls.”

*

The fifteen-minute drive from downtown Artemis took Josie along one of the few paved roads outside of the city limits: Farm Road 170, a rolling, curving road that washed out each year when the monsoon rains started, but now allowed for clear and easy driving. Josie passed by the Spanish daggers with their six-foot-high stalks topped with creamy white blooms just now drying, and she tried to imagine the landscape as nothing but scorched earth. She turned off onto Schenck Road and crested a hill that provided the perfect view of her small adobe home at the base of the Chinati Mountain range. At sunset, the house seemed to absorb the colors of the sky, often appearing pink. That evening, with the setting sun blocked by clouds, the house took on the gray cast of the mountains behind it. The house had a deep front porch held aloft by hand-hewn pecan timbers that her neighbor and closest friend, Dell Seapus, had helped her install. The front of the house faced the Chihuahuan Desert, which stretched beyond the Rio and deep into Mexico. The lane ran back behind her house and a quarter mile farther up to Dell’s ranch.

Josie pulled onto the lane and drove on past her house to check in with Dell. He had been worried about his cattle and the possible evacuation if the fire came their way. She got out of her jeep and he opened the front door of the cabin so her bloodhound, Chester, could bound outside to greet her. While Josie was away at work, Chester spent his days following Dell around the ranch, lying in the shade and watching him tend to chores.

Dell was a seventy-something-year-old bachelor who claimed to like animals more than people. He’d never been married, having sworn off women as a pain in the ass many years ago. Josie was his one exception. She had gotten to know Dell during a monthlong investigation involving the theft of his prized Appaloosas. When Josie brought the horses back unharmed, he had deeded her ten acres in front of his property and helped her build her home.

Dell skipped the small talk. “What’s the latest on the Harrison Ridge fire?”

“It’s not good news. It’s headed directly toward the mudflats. Another fire jumped the Rio and it’s burning along the riverbank just south of us.”

Dell frowned. “Fire coming at Artemis from both directions?”

“That’s the fear. We’re facing mandatory evacuations tonight.”

“Damn it. How about us?”

“Unless the wind direction changes, I hope we’re far enough to the west that we’ll be okay. Marta is in charge of the evacuation on this side of town.”

“I got the cattle moved over to the Saddle Market this afternoon. At least they’re safe.”

“You’ll keep Chester with you tonight?”

“You bet,” he said. Dell rubbed his hand over the stubble on his cheeks. His silvery hair was matted around his head from the band on his cowboy hat. He was shirtless. His bare chest was the color of tanned leather, and his blue jeans looked as if they might disintegrate through one more trip in the washer.

“What does that mean for you?” he asked. “For the department?”

“I came home to call the volunteers and put them on alert.”

“What can I do?”

“I’d like you to ride with me if we evacuate the mudflats. I need to keep Marta and Otto open to cover other areas of the county in case Doug needs them.”

“You’re talking about the homes out where the Blessings live?”

“That’s it. There’s less than a dozen houses in the direct line of fire, but we’ll go door-to-door if it comes to that. My guess is the order will come tonight.”

Dell nodded. “I’ll be ready. Who gives the order?”

“Doug Free will call me.”

“You need supper?”

She raised a hand to brush the question off. “I’m not hungry. I need to start calling volunteers.”

“I’ll bring some brisket down.”