Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(69)

“You’re right,” Jenny said. “I’ll delete them as soon as I’m off the phone.”

“And if I were you,” he added, “I wouldn’t mention to her that you’ve seen them. It would make Beth’s sense of humiliation that much worse.”

“Are you going to try to get some sleep?” Joanna asked.

“I don’t think so,” Jenny replied. “I don’t have any exams tomorrow, so I should probably wait up for her.”

“You’re a good girl, Jennifer Ann Brady,” Joanna told her, “a really good girl.”

Moments later the call ended, and Joanna returned her phone to the charger.

“Crisis averted?” Butch asked as he switched off his lamp.

“Hopefully,” Joanna replied.

Turning on her side, she tried to fall asleep, but it still didn’t work. Her daughter was out in the real world dealing with some pretty ugly stuff, and there was nothing at all Joanna could do to protect her.

It was almost four before she finally drifted off. As a consequence it was a weary, bleary-eyed Sheriff Brady who showed up at the Justice Center just in time for roll call the next morning. Once that ended, she held a conference-room powwow with her Investigations Unit, where she brought her detectives up to date on everything she’d learned the day before, including recounting her conversation with Eugene Autry. Deb, who was due in court to testify in another case later that day, would be stuck in the office. Meanwhile Ernie and Jaime, the reunited Double C’s, were tasked with going out to Sierra Vista to track down whatever they could find on Williams.

Back in her own office, Joanna stared at the phone, wanting to call Jenny while at the same time trying to resist temptation. She and Butch had discussed the matter earlier that morning before she left home. When she’d started to call, Butch advised against it.

“Look,” he said. “Our daughter took a punch in the face from the cold, cruel world yesterday. If she needs us, she knows we’re here and she can call on us, but Jenny’s a sensible kid, Joey. We need to leave her alone and let her navigate this her own way.”

Joanna could see that Butch’s approach to handling the situation made sense on any number of levels. Even so, sitting at her desk and not picking up the phone to call wasn’t easy. It also got in the way of her being able to concentrate on doing anything productive. Instead she stared at the ridge of limestone cliffs outside her window and thought about Beth Rankin and Leon Hogan. Both had been victimized. Beth’s future was compromised, but Leon’s had been outright canceled. Beth might recover, but there was no such possibility for Leon. In his case the best Joanna could hope for was to help his family pick up the pieces.

And then, in a moment of inspiration, Joanna realized that there was at least one piece that might indeed be recoverable. She reached for her phone after all, but instead of calling Jenny, she dialed Jeannine Phillips.

“Animal Control,” Jeannine answered.

Animal Control was part of Joanna’s department. There were several mobile Animal Control officers who patrolled the county and doubled as kennel workers when they weren’t out on the road. As far as the office itself was concerned, however, it was a one-woman operation.

“Sheriff Brady here,” Joanna said. “I need some help.”

“What kind of help?”

“Do you remember that bluetick hound you took in a couple of months ago, the one you refused to put down?”

“Coon, you mean?” Jeannine replied at once. “Sure I remember him. He’s a great dog. No way I was putting him down. Why?”

“The woman who brought him in, Madison Hogan, is involved in a homicide investigation,” Joanna said.

“Right,” Jeannine said. “I heard. She’s married to the guy who died in the officer-involved shooting. How’s Armando doing, by the way?”

It made sense that Jeannine remembered the dog’s name but not the name of the woman who’d brought him in.

“Armando’s doing better than anyone expected,” Joanna replied. “He may end up being released from the hospital sometime early next week, but my concern right now is with the dog.”

“How come?”

“I learned yesterday that Leon and Madison were estranged and headed for divorce. Coon was Leon’s dog, but when he moved out of the house, he left Coon behind because his young son, Peter, was so attached to the dog. The next week, when Leon came by to pick up the kids, the dog was gone. The kids told Leon their mother said he’d been hit by a car and died.”

“A lie,” Jeannine said. “That dog was in perfectly good shape.”

“But tell me about the guy who took the dog in, the one out in Double Adobe. If there was a chance Coon and that little boy could be reunited, do you think the new owner would be willing to give him up?”

“Are the kids still living with their mother?” Jeannine wanted to know.

“Yes.”

“In that case I won’t even ask,” Jeannine said. “That Hogan woman already tried to get rid of Coon once. If he goes back home, chances are, she’ll try it again, and this time she might make it work. I won’t be a part of putting that poor animal in jeopardy.”

Joanna couldn’t help smiling into the phone. In Jeannine’s world animals always came first.