Deadly Sanctuary (20 page)

“Didn’t you think it rather odd that she would just show up out of the blue?”

“What exactly is your point, Miss O’Dell?” She looked a little perplexed.

“Oh, nothing. Just that it was certainly expedient she happened to arrive at the exact time you needed her to take over the operation.”

“I thought so too. She’s been such a godsend. So efficient. I can only think it was the answer to my prayers that brought her here.”

I was glad she couldn’t hear how fast my heart was beating. Her vague answers gave some credence to my midnight musings. A car horn sounded outside.

“Oh goodness,” she fretted. “I forgot Mary Lou was waiting for me. So nice to see you again, my dear.” Turning, she hurried out.

I could hardly contain my excitement. Could it be that poor Violet Mendoza’s death had not been accidental? This would bear looking into. I made a note to ask for her file when I checked the log at the sheriff’s office on my next visit. But that might tip off Roy. Ideas on how to get the file unnoticed ricocheted in my head. There were times when both the sheriff and Deputy Potts were out. Julie, their secretary, could probably help. Afterward, could she be convinced to keep my inquiry under her hat?

It was past noon. Hastily, I finished my research, thanked Clara Whitlow again, and headed for the fairgrounds to meet Ginger. The place was so swamped with people roaming among the various western art displays and food booths, I didn’t think I’d ever find her.

When I did, I was so preoccupied trying to make some sense out of the fragmented clues whirling in my head, it was hard to concentrate on her constant prattle and endless questions about my dates with Eric and Tally.

I told her just enough about my encounter with Eric to send her swooning with delight, but carefully hedged my answers about the visit with Tally.

Witnessing my first rodeo ever was a kick and I enjoyed Ginger’s screaming antics as much as the bucking broncos and charging bulls. She insisted I sample Indian fry bread, and between us, we managed to devour five pieces, each smothered in honey and powdered sugar.

I had an assignment to cover the melodrama at the Elk’s Lodge following the rodeo, so a thin thumbnail of silvery moon hung over my house when I finally pulled into the carport. It had been a long and exhausting day. A good night’s sleep was just the ticket.

The heady scent of roses greeted me as I walked into the dining room and my heart leaped when I saw the red light on my answering machine blinking. Five messages! Had my mystery lady called? I punched the button and held my breath as the tape rewound.

Eric Heisler’s husky voice filled the quiet room. “Hi, gorgeous, it’s Eric. I can’t stop thinking about what a wonderful time I had with you. I have to be out of town a few days, but I hope you’ll save Friday evening for me. We’ll do something really special.”

The machine beeped and I smiled ruefully. He really was quite charming.

The second call was a hang-up and the third was Tally. “Um…yes, Kendall, this is Tally…um…if you get in early, call me. I…I’d like to see you again…if you want to. Thanks. Bye.”

My stomach knotted. Common sense warned me again that I should not be dating these two men at the same time.

Another hang-up and a beep. At the sound of heavy breathing on the fifth call my heart rate doubled. I switched the volume higher and listened intently. As the silence stretched on and on I began to wonder if it was an obscene call. My finger was poised to hit the rewind button when I heard the message. It made my breath catch in my throat. “Stay away from him,” a voice whispered harshly. “Stay away or you will die!”

I played the tape back several more times, but couldn’t identify the raspy whisper. After the initial jolt of fear, anger set in. The ghostly shadow, coupled with the spider caper was enough to convince me that this was another rotten trick cooked up by Lucinda to discourage me from seeing Tally.

When I finally settled into bed, I decided after several hours of tossing and turning, that sleep was becoming as scarce as rain. A death threat was not a matter to take lightly, not when I considered the fate of Stephanie Talverson. Tally had quickly dismissed the possibility of Lucinda’s involvement, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

I thought of a half-dozen scenarios as to how I could confront Lucinda, then just as quickly I dismissed them. What good would it do? She would deny everything.

The next morning, I stopped by the Sierra Cleaners and returned the photo of John Dexter to Yolanda Reyes before heading into work. Immediate tears flooded her eyes when I told her I’d talked to the girl who’d apparently been in contact with him. Her distressed expression brought a lump to my throat.

“So…he did not go away with her?” A slight spark of hope illuminated her face.

“Apparently not. The man at the bus station said he remembered selling John only one ticket to Nogales.”

She swallowed hard and her lips quivered when she spoke. “So…what does it mean?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. She sounded very upset and claimed he promised her money. I’m still hoping she’ll call back and I can get some more information. In the meantime, if you remember anything, anything at all about those phone calls, or whatever else John might have said about this girl, will you please call me?”

She nodded and tucked the photo into her blouse next to her heart. Back in the car once more, I felt depressed for having raised her hopes only to dash them to pieces again.

When I got to work, I was happy to find a message from Dr. Crane, the medical examiner. He was out when I called, and I was out when he returned the call after lunch. We finally connected about five o’clock.

“What can I do for you…ah…Miss…O’Neal?”

“It’s O’Dell, and I’m working on a series concerning runaway teens. You’ve had two recent cases which particularly interest me.”

“Which ones would those be?”

I lowered my voice, hoping Jim, who was busy writing copy, wouldn’t overhear me. “One is Charity Perkins and the other is a Jane Doe found in the desert near here in June of last year.”

For a minute, he said nothing and then replied, “Oh yes. Those two. Hmmmm. I’m sure I can find the files, but if you don’t mind my saying so, wouldn’t it be easier for you to get them from Sheriff Hollingsworth?”

“No. I mean…he’s been awfully busy lately and I really hate to bother him again. Apparently, his secretary misfiled the toxicology reports you issued.”

“Really? Well, I’ll see if my assistant can find them for you. Do you want to hold, or shall I call you back?”

I didn’t feel like playing another round of phone tag and I was bursting to get the information today. “If you don’t mind, I’ll hold.”

“Well…it might take some time.”

“Fine.” Behind me, I heard Jim shut off his computer. He grabbed up some papers and shouted good-bye to me on his way out the door. Good. As the minutes ticked past, my stomach churned and a nervous sweat dampened my forehead. Drumming my fingers against the edge of the desk, I thought about John Dexter again and wondered for the zillionth time what sensitive information could be in the missing reports.

“Miss O’Dell?” Dr. Crane’s rough voice jabbed into my thoughts. Hastily, I scooped up a pen. “I found the files. You know, of course, we were unable to identify the first girl.”

“Yes. Do you think there’s still a chance?”

He sighed. “At this point, it’s unlikely.”

“Why?”

“Other cases take priority, and unfortunately situations like this get shoved to the bottom of the barrel, if you know what I mean.” I could hear him shuffling papers in the background and his next words surprised me. “Hmmmmm. These toxicology reports are still red tagged.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I can’t give this information to you while the cases are pending. It’s confidential and to release it might hinder the ongoing investigations.”

“Confidential? But, I was told the reports had just been misfiled, not that they were unavailable to the public.”

“Well, according to my records, this information was ordered sealed until further notice.”

I let a note of pleading slip into my voice. “Oh, Dr. Crane, I’m certain that must be in error. Are you sure I can’t get a copy of those reports?”

Irritation tinged his voice. “No can do. I guess your paper could try and get a court order, but I think the simplest thing for me to do is call Roy and see if this information can be released.”

Jesus! The last thing I needed was to have Hollingsworth know I was going around him. “Dr. Crane, I’d rather you didn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Why not, indeed? I couldn’t tell him what I suspected; that it appeared the sheriff was hiding something.

“Perhaps I was mistaken. I certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to hinder Roy’s investigation. I have more than enough information for my story, so for the time being, let’s just forget this, okay?”

“Well…I’d like to get it cleared up.”

“Not a problem. I’m on my way over to Roy’s office right now, so there’s absolutely no need for you to trouble yourself. But before you hang up, maybe you could tell me just one thing. The toxicology report would indicate if particular substances were found in the bodies such as chemical compounds or drugs?”

“Yes. We had a wet tissue sample on the Perkins case and we were fortunate enough to find ah…a small section of the Jane Doe that the coyotes had missed.”

His statement brought forth the horrifying spectacle of the poor girl’s body torn and shredded by the desert’s wild creatures. I swallowed hard. “Can you tell me what you found?”

“You know I can’t.”

It was agonizing to be so close and be stonewalled. “Just one more thing, Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“I know you can’t tell me the name of the substance, but don’t you think it’s suspicious that both girls had traces of the same drug?”

“Considering the type...” His words halted and when he spoke again, there was an icy edge to his voice. “This conversation is over.” Click.

“Ah-ha!” Barely able to contain my elation, I added the incriminating data to my notebook. Mentally, I crossed my fingers in the hope that Dr. Crane’s slip would assure me he’d not call Roy, since he could now be guilty of illegally divulging confidential police information to a reporter. At the same time, he’d have to be hoping that I’d keep my mouth shut.

So now what? I nervously paced the room. Maybe my theories about Roy and Claudia running a white slavery ring weren’t so crazy after all. Had the same drug been administered to subdue the girls until they’d been transported somewhere else? If true, what had happened to interrupt this process?

I needed to talk to Tugg as soon as possible and had gotten only a few feet from my desk when the phone rang again. I grabbed it. “This is Kendall O’Dell.”

There was a slight pause, then the silky voice of Claudia Phillips oozed over the line. “I’ve consulted with my employer and since we spoke a few weeks ago, I’ve had a change of heart.”

“Good. What did you decide?” When she spoke again her words were stilted. I had the impression she was speaking through clenched teeth and that each word uttered caused her intense pain. “If you’d like…I can arrange for you to…interview a couple of the girls here…tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“Eleven o’clock.”

“I’ll be there.” I hung up and clapped my hands in triumph. Things were finally going my way and I had Eric Heisler to thank for it. I owed him one now and I’d have to think of a suitable way to repay him on Friday night.

Anxious to talk to Tugg, I couldn’t repress my disappointment when I found his office empty. Concerned, I headed for the reception desk. Ginger pulled a gigantic wad of purple bubble gum from her mouth and responded to my question. “Mary called in for him. She said his ulcer was acting up again something awful.”

“I didn’t know he had an ulcer.”

In the know, as always, Ginger said, “Oh yeah. He’s got one of them septic ones…or is it peptic? Well any hoot, it’s one of them bleedin’ type ulcers, and I heard he pert near up and died one time some years ago when it went and ruptured on him.”

That news depressed me. Tugg was my only ally in this thing. What if something happened to him?

The phone rang and Ginger answered. A second later, a sunny smile lit her face. Excitedly, she cupped her hand over the mouthpiece, her eyebrows arched expressively. “It’s your lover boy, Eric.”

I made a face at her and hurried to my desk. Eric’s deep voice boomed, “Hey, beautiful.”

“Well, hello. This is a nice surprise.”

“Why are you surprised? I promised I’d call. You did get my message, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. And by the way, I want to thank you for arranging my visit to the shelter. Claudia Phillips just called a few minutes ago. It was very kind of you to act so quickly.”

“It was no trouble at all. But, on to more important things. Do you have time in your busy schedule to see me on Friday?”

“I’m in your debt, so yes.”

He chuckled. “I hope that’s not the only reason. If you’re in the mood for some adventure I’ll pick you up at the airport around five and we’ll take my plane to Phoenix for dinner. It’s only a half-hour trip by air.”

“That sounds great to me.” It also sounded terribly romantic.

“Wonderful. Now listen, it usually takes an act of God to get reservations at this particular place, but I’ve managed it. So, please don’t cancel out on me.”

“I don’t have any other plans. What should I wear?”

His voice grew husky. “Wear something dressy. Sexy. Like that dynamite green number you wore the night we first met.”

He certainly knew the right things to say. “Okay, see you Friday.”

“I’ll be counting the hours.”

We said good-bye and cradling the phone, I let out a deep sigh, remembering his searing kiss. He really was very sweet. All at once I felt a prickling at the back of my neck; the kind of sensation one gets when someone is staring daggers at you. Turning, I saw Tally standing in the doorway with his jaw clenched, his dark eyes glowing with fury.