Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(17)

“Which would suggest some kind of physical altercation,” Joanna concluded.

“Yes,” Garth agreed, “an altercation followed by gunfire. Kendall said that when she started hearing gunshots, she made Peter hide under a bed to keep him safe.”

Hearing that made Joanna’s heart hurt. Seven-year-olds should never have to protect their younger siblings from gunfire. And considering the relative strength of the thin metal siding on the exteriors of mobile homes, hiding under the bed wouldn’t have done much good.

“Go on,” she said.

“Once the gunfire ended, the kids reported hearing someone screaming. After that they heard some sirens. Kendall said they tried to get out of the room then, but the door was locked from the outside. At that point she climbed up on a dresser and started pounding on the window until . . .” Garth paused and consulted a pocket-size notebook. “. . . until Officer Larry Dunn from Huachuca City unlocked the door and delivered them to the neighbor.”

“If she was able to pound on the window, are you sure the kids didn’t see what happened?”

“I asked Kendall about that flat out, and she said no. I’m guessing that even when she was up on the dresser, her father's body was out of sight.”

“That’s a relief,” Joanna breathed.

It would be awful if the two kids turned out to be the only eyewitnesses. Being forced to go to court and talk about seeing their father gunned down and their naked, blood-spattered mother outside howling at the sky were the kinds of things that could fuel a lifetime’s worth of nightmares.

“Did you tell them their father was dead?” Joanna asked.

Looking at his feet, Garth shook his head. “No, ma’am,” he said somberly. “I didn’t think it was my place.”

Joanna gave her young deputy an encouraging pat on his upper arm. “You’re right about that, Deputy Raymond,” she told him. “But sounds like it took Officer Dunn a while before he could get to the kids.”

Garth nodded. “That’s right. He had to contain the woman first. He heard Kendall pounding on the window. The mother was determined to race back into the house. He finally had to lock her up in the backseat of his patrol car.”

In the background Joanna heard the distant wail of a siren. No doubt guys from DPS were about to stage a dramatic arrival. Shutting the sound out, Joanna turned back to Garth.

“I wonder if being locked inside the bedroom was a usual occurrence or an unusual one,” she mused.

Garth shrugged. “No idea,” he said. “I didn’t ask.”

“If you have a chance to talk to Casey, ask her to be sure to dust both that table knife and the padlock hasp for prints,” Joanna told him. “I’d like to know exactly who locked those kids inside the bedroom and why.”

Garth looked puzzled. “You want me to ask her?” he asked. “Why don’t you?”

Joanna gazed down the road, studying the progress of an approaching vehicle leaving behind a rooster tail of dust.

“Because I’m not supposed to be here, and I won’t be,” she answered. “For that matter, neither are you. This is an officer-involved shooting, and the DPS cavalry is about to arrive on the scene to take charge of the investigation. Once they’re here, I’m pretty sure I’ll be given my walking papers. In the meantime what’s become of Madison Hogan? Is she still here?”

Garth shook his head. “No, Ms. Hogan was hysterical and hyperventilating. Once the EMTs got Armando loaded onto the helicopter, they determined that she should be transported as well, by ambulance rather than by helicopter. They took her to the ER at Sierra Vista Memorial for observation.”

“Thanks for the briefing, Garth. I appreciate it.”

Joanna turned back to the road just in time to see an unmarked SUV roll to a stop and park next to her Interceptor, effectively blocking her in. Knowing that her presence at the scene would be a bone of contention, Joanna had been careful not to venture any farther into the yard than the far edge of the cattle guard.

Doors on the SUV were flung open, and two suit-clad men, an older one and a younger, stepped out onto the dirt road. They stood there for a moment, glancing around the scene as if getting their bearings. Joanna happened to be close enough to the new arrivals to be able to make out their features. The younger one was a complete stranger to her. Unfortunately, the older one was not. Dave Newton was someone with whom she had crossed paths and swords on a previous occasion. Joanna didn’t like him one bit. From the look of displeasure on his face when he caught sight of her, the feeling was mutual.

“Sheriff Brady,” he said dismissively, sauntering up to her. “What are you doing here? I understand a member of your trigger-happy department has been up to your old tricks.”

Joanna did a slow burn at the words “trigger-happy.” That suggested from the outset that Newton had arrived on the scene already predisposed to find some kind of wrongdoing on Deputy Ruiz’s part. Not only that, but for him to speak to her in such a derogatory fashion in front of one of her own officers was utterly beyond the pale. With some effort she managed to keep a tight rein on her temper and reply in a reasonably civil tone.

“Good afternoon to you, too, Detective Newton,” she said, addressing him with icy politeness. Turning to Newton’s partner, she extended her hand in greeting—a courtesy she hadn’t bestowed on Newton. “And you are?” she asked.