by Lakota Grace
CHAPTER 32
Several weeks later, I sat on my front porch, watching the moon rise. I’d grown attached to that view, even though the man who introduced me to it was long gone. Reckless lay on my foot and I nudged him to move his weight. I scratched one of his ears as I did so, a placating gesture for making him move.
Things seemed to be finally resolving themselves.
Buzz Marks had officially confessed to killing Jill Rustaine. He blabbed out his statement into Cooper’s recorder, which actually worked this time. Cooper’s infamous get-the-confession-whatever-the-cost technique actually worked for once.
So Cooper Davis got credit for solving the murder case which was fine by me. Since the conclusion of the investigation, he’d been offered a promotion to Phoenix, which he declined. He said his cat, Sarge, was getting used to catching forest mice. I heard through the grapevine that his wife Geneva had decided to make another go of it and was moving to Flag. I was glad for him.
Ben Yazzie returned to school, finishing his exams for the semester before joining a Navajo Shaman to learn a new round of Sings. He seemed to straddle both of his worlds better than I ever could have. And he was saving for a new motorcycle, but a Honda this time. He said the Ducati was too unsteady on slippery turns.
Thorn’s notice of the skunk’s white stripe helped nail Buzz Marks for the death of Jill Rustaine. She’d changed her hair color to pink and moved back home to be with her mother which meant Shepherd was off the hook for daughter care for a while. Thorn decided to change her college major to ornithology, the study of birds. That should please both Silas and Jill’s ghost.
Thorn had gone a long way toward becoming a woman in that mountain hogan. She never told me what happened up there, but she’d changed. I was glad for her, too.
In the meantime, Shepherd hired Harriet Weaver to be his new office assistant. With her attention to detail, she’d have him organized in rapid fashion. Would she have him drinking real coffee instead of that awful green tea that he favored? No, probably not that organized.
That left me still wavering between my part-time family liaison officer position with the sheriff’s department, and a new job that Shepherd had offered me, now that he was fully licensed as a Private Investigator.
That meant, for some anyway, Jill's unfortunate death had given us a second chance at life.
I hadn’t made a decision yet, which is why I welcomed the distraction of Rory’s Hummer swinging into the drive. He walked up to the cabin with a big pizza box in one hand and a six-pack of Oak Creek Amber Ale in the other. The man did know how to keep me happy on a Saturday night.
If he was lucky, I’d even let him cook me breakfast in the morning.
THE END
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Where to Find Me
I hope that you have had as much fun reading this novel as I have had sharing it with you. Both West Fork and the Navajo Reservation are every bit as beautiful as I have described. If you are ever in Arizona, please take the time to visit both--you won't be sorry.
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I'd love to hear your feedback on the Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series. You can do that at: [email protected]. I read each and every email. I'd like your thoughts about where I should go next with this series.
About the Author
The American Southwest has been home for most of my adult life.
I know its rocks, and skies, and critters. Quail and red-tail hawks visit my feeders; bobcats and coyotes wander by. I maintain a cautious co-existence with the scorpions and javelinas who visit my backyard.
Most of all, I enjoy getting up before dawn, watching the sun hit the red rocks, and sharpening my computer for another writing session!
Other Pegasus Quincy Mysteries
If you liked Fire in Broken Water, you might enjoy the beginning book in the series, Death in Copper Town, about Pegasus Quincy's first introduction to policework in the small town of Mingus, Arizona.
Pegasus Quincy, brand-new police academy graduate, is the sole law enforcement officer in Mingus when a dead body appears in an old mining pit. Peg’s boss rules the death an accidental fall.
But the investigation takes an ominous turn when the sheriff’s office is ransacked and a computer stolen. Then it becomes personal when a brick crashes through Peg’s window with a note warning her to “back off.”
Will she catch the murderer before he strikes again?
NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON!
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Book 2 in the Pegasus Quincy mystery series, Blood in Tavasci Marsh, follows Pegasus Quincy's investigation of a new murder near Mingus, Arizona, where she deals with a family with too many secrets, and a partner who can't stand to have her around. Peg has her work cut out for her!
ORDER IT NOW ON AMAZON!
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Book 3 in the Pegasus Quincy mystery series, Fire in Broken Water has Peg on the far west side of the Verde Valley, investigating a suspicious death in a structure fire at a Fresian horse ranch. When her partner deserts her to follow his own personal vendetta, Peg takes the law into her own hands with disastrous results!
ORDER IT HERE!
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In Book 4 of the Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series, Peril in Silver Nightshade, Peg takes on a part-time job as a security officer at Red Rock State Park. She expects a quiet time of directing lost tourists. That is, until the dead body shows up!
Pegasus may have met her match when she encounters con artist Silver Delaney. Silver moves in and appropriates both Peg's couch and her boyfriend. Even Reckless is enthralled with the new visitor. But that is before the lady is charged with one murder--or possibly two.
Peg must unravel the mystery, vanquish the con artist, and reclaim her dog. Is she up to the challenge?
NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON!