Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(77)

“I mean,” Jenny continued, “Agent Norris was asking about things that had to be really upsetting to Beth, and I expected the interview to turn into a disaster. Instead the process somehow made Beth better. It was fascinating.”

“It’s what cops do, Jen,” Joanna said. “They’re trained to establish a connection with the people they encounter, whether they happen to be suspects, victims, survivors, or family members. It takes rapport and trust to elicit information. So did it work?”

“I’m not sure how much useful information was added to the mix, but once we finished, Beth was ready to go to the food court for lunch. Before the interview I didn’t think I’d be able to get her to leave our room. It was as if Agent Norris superglued Beth back together. We did learn one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“The photo Ron used to set up his dating profile was from the obituary for a guy from Tucson who died in a car wreck two years ago.”

Jenny heard her mother’s sharp intake of breath. “That suggests that whoever Ron is, he has some kind of Arizona connection. And if he decides to change from strictly cyberwarfare into something physical—”

“I know,” Jenny interrupted. “Agent Norris already told us that Beth and I both need to be careful. One thing that came out in the interview was that Ron was really pissed about Beth and me being friends.”

Beth emerged from the bathroom just then. Not wanting to say any more within her earshot, Jenny ended the call. “Okay, Mom,” she said hurriedly. “Talk to you tomorrow. Good night.”

“Your mom?” Beth asked as she settled onto her bed.

Jenny nodded. “I was telling her about the interview.”

Jenny was starting to undress when an arriving text dinged on her phone. The phone number wasn’t one she recognized, but the message made her heart sink.

Maggie is down in her stall. What do you want me to do?



Maggie was sick? How could that be? The horse had been perfectly fine the day before—with no sign of lameness or fever, but if she was down, it was possible that she’d suffered a career-ending injury.

“Oh, no,” she said aloud.

“What’s wrong?” Beth asked.

“It’s Maggie,” Jenny said as she texted a reply.

Okay. On my way.



She reversed course as far as getting ready for bed was concerned. Instead of continuing to remove clothing, she started putting it back on.

“Where are you going?” Beth asked.

“Where do you think? To the Lazy 8 to check on Maggie.”

“But it’s the middle of the night,” Beth objected.

“When a horse is down like that, waiting until morning to call a vet could be fatal,” Jenny returned.

Beth made as if to climb out of bed. “Wait,” she said. “I’ll come with you.”

“You don’t need to,” Jenny said. “I’ll be okay.”

“What about the buddy system?” Beth asked.

Jenny was already pulling on her jacket. She was tempted to ask exactly how much Beth knew about sick horses, but she thought better of it. It seemed likely that if Ron were after anyone, it was Beth, but hadn’t Agent Norris warned both of them to be careful? And if Jenny expected Beth to take her advice, shouldn’t she do the same?

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Jenny said. “I’ll call Nick and ask him to meet me at the ranch if you’ll call the RA to come stay with you while I’m gone.”

“Call the resident assistant?” Beth demanded. “I don’t need a babysitter!”

“And neither do I,” Jenny said, “but Nick’s dad was a large-animal vet. He might be able to help me figure out what’s going on with Maggie. I doubt you can.”

Beth thought about it for a time before nodding in grudging agreement. While she dialed the resident assistant’s number, Jenny called Nick, who answered after only one ring. When she told him what was up, his response was immediate.

“Sure thing,” he said. “I’m on my way.”

With her mind focused on whatever might have happened to Maggie, Jenny drove to the Lazy 8 faster than she should have. On the way she chatted with Nick on her cell phone’s speaker, bringing him up to date with everything that had happened since they’d last seen each other.

Approaching the lighted entrance to the Lazy 8, she knew he was only half a mile or so behind her. As she slowed for the turn, she noticed that a vehicle of some sort—a small sedan—stopped on the shoulder of the road just ahead of her. It wasn’t until she was almost even with the parked car that she realized someone was standing next to it. At that moment a lifesaving glimpse of the man’s backlit silhouette revealed that he was holding a weapon in his hand, one pointed directly at her.

“Oh, my God!” she screamed into her phone as she jammed her foot on the gas pedal. The truck lurched forward as a bullet that had been intended for her pinged harmlessly off the bed of her truck.

“What’s happened?” Nick yelled frantically into her ear. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a guy parked on the road!” she shouted back. “He just took a shot at me!”

“The hell he did!” Nick roared back. “Call 911!”