Dance of the Bones

Lani whispered a small prayer of gratitude. As long as she had her phone—-as long as he didn’t realize she had one and took it away—-there was a chance someone could figure out where she was.

“Organ Pipe won’t work,” Henry said a long minute or so later. “Something’s come up. We’ll have to meet up somewhere else.” There was a pause. “How should I know? I’m inside the Tucson sector right now. Just crossed the checkpoint at Three Points. The fewer checkpoints I have to go through, the better.” Another pause was followed by “No, not Nogales. Too many -people know me there. What about Agua Prieta or even somewhere in New Mexico? There’s a lot of empty terrain down by the Peloncillos.” Lani heard another voice in the background, speaking loudly enough that his voice carried even without being on speaker.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Henry said. “Changes in plan mean you raise the price. I’m good with that. Call me back when you have the arrangements in place. The number you have for me works.”

Henry ended the call and the car slowed. Lani wondered where they were, but she didn’t dare open her eyes. She needed him to continue believing she was still out of it.

AFTER A BUSY AND PURPOSEFUL day, Brandon Walker was surprised to find himself at loose ends. Ava Richland had seemingly gone to ground. With her husband hauled off to TMC, there was no point in hanging around in town. A glance at his watch told him Diana was most likely still caught up in her dinner, so he headed home.

On the way, he tried calling Lani to see if any progress had been made on finding Gabe Ortiz and Tim José, but Lani didn’t answer. When he dialed Amanda Wasser’s number, she did answer, telling him that she had arrived safely at the hospital in Mesa, but that her father was still in surgery. She promised to call him with news when there was some.

Brandon had just ended that call when a new one came in. “How are you getting on with my friend J.P.?” Ralph Ames asked.

“Surprisingly well,” Brandon answered. “He put me in touch with a pal of his, a guy named Todd Hatcher. In a matter of minutes he was able to track down an address that I needed here in Tucson. That was a huge help.”

Ralph laughed. “Todd may be a forensic economist, but he comes with a lot of hidden talents. He’s also a great guy. If it weren’t for him, Beau’s wife, Mel, might very well be a goner now.”

“How come?”

“Beau and Mel Soames used to work together on the Special Homicide squad,” Ralph explained. “That’s where they met.”

“Mel Soames,” Brandon mused. “Why is that name so familiar? Oh wait, now I remember. She had something to do with putting the Kenneth Myers homicide together with the Mangum missing persons report.”

“Sounds like Mel, all right,” Ralph said with a chuckle.

“How exactly did Todd Hatcher save Mel’s life?”

“When Mel was appointed chief of police in Bellingham, her second--in--command got his nose seriously out of joint. The guy took Mel against her will and was about to toss her off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean when Todd managed to locate her phone so Beau could ride to the rescue.”

“So this Todd character is what you might call a forensic economist superhero?”

“You could say that,” Ralph agreed, “but don’t tell him I said so. He might get a swelled head. In the meantime, I’m glad you and Beau are able to work together. Getting back in the game will be good for him.”

“We’ll see,” Brandon said. “Talk to you later.”