Missing and Endangered (Joanna Brady #19)(81)

“Yes, but I’ll sit out rather than in,” Joanna said, preferring to watch the proceedings from the far side of a two-way mirror rather than inside the room itself. “How do you plan to play this?”

“We know from several sources that there’s a lot of drug dealing going on inside the Nite Owl and that Floyd Barco is part of it. We’re going to lead him around to the scopolamine factor in Leon Hogan’s death and see what breaks loose. If he thinks we’re about to pin him on a conspiracy-to-commit charge, I’m guessing he’ll talk.”

“Have you discussed any of this with Arlee Jones?” Joanna asked.

Ernie nodded. “He says that if Barco plays ball and gives us the goods on Randy Williams and Madison Hogan, Arlee is willing to kick Barco’s drug-dealing charge back to simple possession and drop the DUI charge altogether. He’s going to have to get that taillight fixed, though,” Ernie added with a grin.

“Okay,” Joanna said. “Call me when he’s in the box.” She glanced around the room. “What else is happening?”

Deb raised her hand. “Later on today I’m planning on bringing Madison in for a little chat. With the Department of Public Safety off the case, she’s probably thinking she’s in the clear. I’ll put her initial worries to rest by letting her know we’re looking into drug activities at the Nite Owl. Later on I’ll segue into what happened to Leon. Once we have her on tape, we can bring Randy in to see what he has to say.”

Joanna nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Compare and contrast sounds like a good strategy. Stay on it and keep me apprised.”

On the way back to her office, Joanna stopped by Kristin’s desk. “Is Garth Raymond on duty today?”

A few clicks on Kristin’s computer brought up the duty roster. “He’s off,” she said a moment later.

“Thanks,” Joanna said. She started for her desk, but Kristin held up her hand.

“Sunny Sloan just called and would like to have a word at your convenience.”

“Tell her to come on in,” Joanna said. “I’m available.”

Sunny, the widow of Joanna’s fallen officer, Deputy Dan Sloan, had worked in the department’s front office for several years now. Joanna had offered Sunny a job as a way of helping a struggling single mom support her child but also as a way for Joanna to assuage some of her own guilt over Dan’s death. When Sunny had first shown up, she’d been a diffident and almost painfully shy young woman. Now in her late twenties, she was gradually growing more confident and appeared to be coming into her own.

“You wanted to see me?” Joanna asked when Sunny showed up a few minutes later.

Sunny nodded. “I do. You know about my dad, right?”

“That you lost him a few months ago?” Joanna asked. “Yes, I’m aware of that, and I’m so sorry. How are you doing?”

“He’d been so sick for so long that it was a blessing for both Anne and me when he was gone. It takes time, but things are getting better.”

Joanna knew that Anne Coyle was Sunny’s stepmother. She also knew that when Sunny had first started working, Fred and Anne had both stepped up to provide child care for their granddaughter, Danielle, who was now a six-year-old first-grader.

“Did you know that after Daddy died, Grammy Anne invited Danielle and me to move in with her?” Sunny asked.

“I had no idea.”

Sunny paused for a moment, as if reluctant to go on. Finally she found her voice. “I’ve loved my job,” she continued. “When you first offered it to me, I didn’t think I’d like it at all, but that’s changed.”

Uh-oh, Joanna thought, she loves her job, but she’s about to quit. Great! Just what I need, another job to fill!

Sunny drew a deep breath. “But what I’d really like to do now,” she said, “is become a deputy.”

That pronouncement left Joanna utterly floored. “Really?”

Sunny nodded. “When Dan was here, I didn’t really know any of the people he worked with, but I know them now. They’re my friends the same way they were his friends. I’ve seen how everyone around here pulls together to help others, and I’d like to play a bigger role in that.”

For a moment Joanna struggled to find a reasonable response, but the first words out of her mouth weren’t her best. “You know that being a deputy can be a dangerous job,” she cautioned.

“You think?” Sunny replied with a sad smile.

“It would mean your having to go through police academy-training,” Joanna added after a pause. “You’d have to spend at least six weeks away from home in Phoenix.”

Sunny nodded.

“And once you’re a deputy, you’d be doing shift work.”

Sunny nodded again. “I know that, too, and if it weren’t for Grammy Anne, I wouldn’t even be able to consider it, but she and Daddy started looking after Danielle while she was just a baby. Sometimes I think Grammy Anne is more of a mother to her than I am. But Anne knows this is what I want, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. And as far as supporting my family, she and I both know that I’ll make more money as a deputy than I do as a clerk. “Besides,” she added as an afterthought, “it would be my way of honoring Dan’s memory.”