Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(36)

“Don’t worry, Amy,” Joanna said reassuringly. “From what I’ve been told, the physical evidence isn’t going to support that kind of assumption. Armando might have shot Leon Hogan, but he didn’t do anything wrong. It was clearly in self-defense. That makes it justifiable homicide.”

“You’re sure?” Amy asked nervously. Clearly Dave Newton’s presence and attitude had troubled her.

“I’m sure,” Joanna replied.

Just then a nurse came in to check Armando’s vitals.

“It’s very kind of you to come all this way to visit,” Amy said. “You and Chief Deputy Hadlock, too.”

“Armando is my deputy,” Joanna said simply, as if that were explanation enough. “When we leave here, we’ll be squeezing in some shopping. It turns out Christmas is coming at warp speed.”

“I know,” Amy said faintly. “I’m not ready for that either, and I don’t think I’m going to be.”

Once the nurse left, Joanna spent a few minutes visiting with Armando. She could see he was done, so she didn’t stay long. Out in the hallway, however, she paused long enough to send Tom Hadlock a text:

At the hospital. Armando seems to be doing better. Amy? Not so much. She’s in way over her head. The department has to make sure Christmas comes to their house. If we don’t do something, Santa’s going to miss them this year. Talk to me about this on Monday.



Down in the lobby, she found Butch seated on a sofa with his face in his phone while Sage lay sacked out on a blanket next to him.

“That was quick,” he said, looking up at her.

Joanna nodded. “It was a full house up there. The last thing they needed was another visitor.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Better than expected,” Joanna replied, “but Amy’s running on empty. She’s worried sick about Armando, of course, but she’s also got three little kids and has no clue about how she’ll manage to make Christmas happen for them. I just sent Tom a text. Armando is one of ours. We have to make sure we handle his family’s Christmas.”

“Sounds doable,” Butch said. “As of now, I’m apparently unemployed for the time being. No wait, maybe not. My agent says I have another book to write, but I already told her I’m not starting on it until after Christmas.”

They gathered Sage, carried her back to the car, and loaded her inside without waking her.

“Why can’t grown-ups sleep like that?” Joanna wondered as she fastened her own seat belt.

“Grown-ups know too much,” Butch told her. “Babies don’t. So where are we going to shop?”

They hit Tucson Mall, Costco, Target, and the Apple Store in short order. Butch needed a new computer in the worst way. Even though it wouldn’t be wrapped up and under a tree, it was exactly what he wanted. They worked their way through the list—Lego sets for Denny, Jeffy, and Ruth, an Amazon gift card for Jeff and Marianne, an immense teddy bear for Sage, a new purse for Carol, and clothes for her boys (Carol had provided the required sizes!). Jenny had put in a request for a particular pair of Tony Lama boots.

“What do we do about Beth Rankin?” Butch asked as they walked past shelves stocked with purses in Dillard’s.

“No idea,” Joanna said. “Once we meet her, maybe we’ll be able to figure that out.”

Three hours later Butch was loading the last of their many purchases into the Enclave’s cargo area. “It was a close fit,” he said, climbing into the driver’s seat once he finished. “If we’d bought anything else, you’d have to hold it on your lap.” He fastened his seat belt, started the engine, and put the car in gear. “By the way, you may have noticed you weren’t on the list,” he added with a sly glance in Joanna’s direction.

“As a matter of fact, I did notice that,” she admitted. “It made me feel a little left out.”

“Don’t worry. It turns out your shopping is already done,” Butch told her. “Signed, sealed, delivered, and wrapped, even.”

“Care to give me a hint?” she asked.

“No way,” he said. “Not gonna happen. Now, guess where we’re going for dinner?”

“I have no idea.”

Butch glanced at his watch. “We’ve got a dinner reservation at Rob Roy,” he said. “It’s a little out of our way, but Myron’s holding a table for us. He says he’s got my name on his best rib eye.”

“When did you talk to Myron?” Joanna asked.

“While you were upstairs at the hospital. By the way, he and I are double-teaming you. We’ll have a great dinner, yes, but you’ll also be able to get a head start on organizing the menu for Ernie’s party.”

Joanna nodded. “That’s probably a good idea,” she said. “If it was left up to me, I probably wouldn’t get around to party planning until the last minute.”

“No,” Butch told her, “you wouldn’t get around to it until after the last minute.”

Joanna said nothing more. She knew he was right, and there was no point in belaboring the issue.

During most of the drive from Tucson to Palominas, Sage was wide awake and raising hell in her car seat. It was nerve-racking, but by the time they got to the restaurant, she had worn herself out enough that she fell asleep again and stayed that way. Butch and Joanna ate their dinner in peace. Afterward Myron stopped by their table and laid out the menu options for Ernie’s party. It wouldn’t be a sit-down kind of affair. They would be serving what Myron referred to as “heavy hors d’oeuvres—less expensive than a full deal meal,” he said, “but I promise, no one will go away hungry.”