Dad wasn’t in the house when she got to the kitchen, but she knew he came in last night, because he stuck his head in the door and asked what she was doing up so late.
“Homework.” She didn’t think he’d have an objection to what she was doing, but she wasn’t ready to show it to him yet. Even though she didn’t feel like explaining last night, she’d probably show it to him soon.
Alex never slept this late, and never stayed up as late as she had last night. The sun was too bright, and it would be great to go back to sleep after her bowl of cereal. It was a good thing Dad wasn’t here, or they’d probably get into it over something. His mysterious late-night outings lately, maybe. That struck her funny, envisioning herself grounding Dad for missing curfew. She’d have to try it.
Resigned to her fate and scoffing at herself for whining over an hour of duty on what should be a nice weekend, she left for the printing plant to pick up the newspapers. It was going to be a scorcher, the early storm preceding the monsoon already forgotten and the temperatures back in three digits. Better plan to head for home and a lazy afternoon in the cool of the house by noon. After picking up the papers, Alex stuck her head into the front office to see her dad since she’d missed him this morning.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said. He was in a good mood, then.
“Hi, thanks for letting me sleep in. I had a late night.” Dad grinned at her.
“At least you were at home. What kind of homework assignment was that?”
“I’ll show you later.” She was anxious to get her errands done before the hottest part of the day. “I’m going to deliver these papers to the newsstands, and then do the grocery shopping. Will you be home for lunch?”
“Probably. Don’t worry about fixing for me, though, I’ll grab a sandwich or something. Thinking about playing golf this afternoon.”
“Dad, it’s going to be over one hundred and ten. You should have played this morning,” The attempt to take care of her crazy father was futile. He waved her out.
“Don’t worry about me. See you later.” If only she could stop worrying. When Nana went to nurse Aunt Jess through her first MS flare-up, Alex became the woman of the house despite her youth. She’d been trying to get Dad to act sensibly ever since, with little to no luck. When he got too crazy, though, she could always call Nana and tattle. Sometimes Nana would come and straighten him out.
As soon as she got in the car, Alex did just that. They had a nice conversation, but short, as she got to the first gas station within a couple of minutes.
“I’ve got to go, Nana. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Baby Girl.” Alex rolled her eyes. Dad’s nickname had stuck for Nana. It did no good to remind her Alex was hardly a baby anymore. “Do you want me to come over and turn that Dad of yours over my knee?” she added.
“Would you?” Alex laughed. It would be great to see her. “Is Aunt Jess feeling up to a weekend outing? We’d love to see you both.”
“Let me talk to her. Don’t look for us ‘til you see the whites of our eyes.” Alex couldn’t count how many times she’d heard that. She doubted she would see them this weekend, but it wouldn’t hurt to fix something that would feed a crowd for dinner tonight. If they didn’t show, then Dad would have leftovers for her class nights.
When she’d dumped the papers on the newsstand at the grocery store, she grabbed a basket and proceeded to do her shopping. It wasn’t until the second or third time a conversation abruptly stopped as soon as she turned a corner that she realized her worst fear had come true. The gossip this morning was all about her. Too bad she didn’t do anything to deserve it. At least she’d have had the fun.
~~~
Alex managed to get her shopping done without losing it and yelling at someone, but she was in a foul mood again by the time she got home. As she slammed into the house with a couple of grocery bags dangling from each hand, Dad came into the kitchen to see what was going on. He looked at her, but didn’t say anything, which was a wise decision. Instead, he went out to the car to retrieve the rest of the groceries, and then retreated as she put them away. She had him trained to let her do it, because he didn’t put things where she wanted them, and then she couldn’t find them when she needed them. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, anyway, so it was just as well he took off.
Dad stayed away until Alex stopped slamming cabinet doors and started a quieter activity—making her sandwich. Then he came in and made one for himself, sitting down opposite her at the kitchen table when he was done, but staying silent. At last, she settled down enough to explain herself.
“I hate this town.” She didn’t look at him as she said it, afraid the tears would spill over.
“My guess is everyone’s gossiping about you going out with Dylan last night?” How? Never mind, she should have expected him to know it. Someone at the bar told him, probably.
“Why do they do that, Dad? Why can’t people just mind their own business?” She knew the answer; she just had to vent.
“There’s nothing else to do, hon, you know that. When people are dissatisfied with their own lives, they have to make drama out of someone else’s.” A glint in Dad’s eye told her he was about to do what he always did when she complained about the realities in a small town. Even though it had nothing to do with her gripe today, he went off on the major employer in town, a copper company that, to hear Dad tell it, cared about nothing but their own bottom line. He had a right to feel that way. Lack of adherence to safety standards took his father’s life when he was a little boy. They had that in common—being raised by a single parent. Not to mention half her DNA.
She didn’t want to hear the story again; she wanted to complain about her own lot in life. To interrupt his train of thought, she asked him, “Dad, why aren’t you yelling at me about seeing Dylan? I thought you told me he’s bad news.”
Her dad gave her a long look, during which she tried to read his expression without success. “I may have been wrong about that, Alex. Dylan’s got a lot on his plate, but he’s trying to do the right thing by his mom and his brothers. You could probably do worse.” Her jaw dropped.
Alex knew for a fact she could do worse. Joe Hendricks, for example. Jen’s new bartender. Any of the miners. There were plenty of unsuitable single guys in town, and very few suitable ones. Besides, she wasn’t in the market for a boyfriend. Her traitorous inner voice responded with a loud raspberry and a demand to know why she couldn’t just have a little fun, like any other girl. She was going to have to figure out how to shut that bitch up, or she’d get no peace.
Alex didn’t want to discuss her love life, even if it was non-existent, with Dad. She changed the subject again. “Oh, hey, Dad, I almost forgot. Nana and Jess may be over later, if Jess feels like it.”
“Aunt Jess,” Dad corrected automatically. Alex was raised to respect her elders, but Aunt Jess had told her repeatedly she preferred not to have the title, because it made her feel old. “Did they say when they’d be here?”
“No.” Alex told the lie smoothly. “Nana just said they may come over.” She considered it unnecessary to tell him she had initiated the plan.
“I guess I’d better not hit the golf course, then,” he sighed. “They might come while I’m out.”
“Good idea, Dad.” At least she’d kept him off a scorching golf course, even if Nana didn’t show up. “I’m going to work on my homework again for a while, but I think I’ll take a nap first.”
“Sounds good, Baby Girl. Do you want me to wake you later?”
“Nah, I’ll set an alarm on my phone. Wake me if Nana gets here before I get up, though.”
“You got it.”
Alex cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen, just in case Nana did come, before lying down for a short nap. It was even shorter than she intended though, since the phone rang barely fifteen minutes after her head hit the pillow.
“Alex, it’s Joe Hendricks,” the voice said. She moaned. Not only was her nap ruine
d, but Joe was the last person she wanted to talk to. She didn’t know if he’d heard the moan.
“What is it, Joe?”
“I know you’re interested in the dead guy,” he said. She perked up; this wasn’t what she thought it was.
“Yeah?”
“They may have an ID on him,” Joe said. “You want to come down to the station, and I’ll give you the scoop?” Alex rolled her eyes. That was her reporter slang, not his.
“Okay, be there in a few.” Not only did she hope the man had been identified, but she’d promised Dylan to let him know if she heard anything. She needed to decide if this was real. Alex struggled to wake up and be alert for her encounter with Joe. She was halfway to the station before she realized this could be the front page story for Wednesday. With her by-line on it.
~~~
Joe was waiting for her at the cop shop, smoking as usual. He dropped his butt and stepped on it when she got out of her car.
“Hey, Alex, thanks for coming down,” he said.
Confused, she stopped, intending to ask why he thanked her. However, he had the door open, and he swept her inside with his free hand. He followed her in and then took her elbow, ushering her to an interrogation room. The walls were just painted cinderblock, a dull green in this case. A table and three chairs, all of metal and none too comfortable, furnished the room. The place stank of old sweat, and it was colder than it should have been, despite the summer heat outside. Joe must have brought her here because he wanted some privacy, so she took out her pad and pencil, prepared to take notes. Instead of telling Alex something, Joe started with questions.
“How well do you know Dylan Chaves’ family?” he asked. What?
“Joe, what is this? I thought you brought me down here to tell me that guy’s been identified. What does my knowing Dylan’s family have to do with it?”
“Just answer the question, Alex. You’re not in any trouble.” Joe was in full cop mode, which Alex recognized from reruns of Dragnet. If he said she wasn’t in trouble, she probably was, but since she hadn’t done anything wrong, it was hard to say what kind.
“I don’t know them at all. Why should I?”
“You dated him,” he said. “You’ve been seen with him lately.” His statement sounded accusatory.
“Oh, for God’s sake! Really? You’re going to charge me with something on the strength of me running into him a couple of times? Do you have anything for me or not? Because, if not, I’d like to get back to my weekend.” Alex glared at him, her arms crossed and her head held high.
“That was an interesting statement, Alex. What did you mean by charge you with something? I’m just asking you a few questions.” Joe raised one eyebrow.
“Then I’d like to speak to my lawyer.” Everyone knew you didn’t talk to the cops without your lawyer, even if you haven’t done anything.
“Oh, good grief. You don’t need a lawyer. We’ve had a tip the dead guy may be Dylan’s stepdad, that’s all. I was wondering if you could identify him.”
Alex was speechless. What kind of fool did Joe think she was? In the first place, she never met Dylan’s stepdad, if you could call his mom’s boyfriend that. Come to think of it, Dylan did call him that. In the second place, if she could ID him, she’d have done it already. She’d seen the body in person, and she had the composite sketch. Joe didn’t know about the sketch, though, unless Lt. Wells informed him.
“No, I can’t ID him. Ask Dylan.” Alex wouldn’t give Joe any more than she had to, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him Dylan had already speculated about this. Even though she was more and more confused about how it could be true, and what role Dylan might have played in the death, if any. She was getting whiplash from seesawing back and forth between trusting Dylan and having her suspicions. The suspicions seemed to be winning any time she wasn’t with him.
“We can’t seem to find him,” Joe remarked, his eyes searching hers as he spoke. “Do you happen to know where he is?”
“Have you checked his workplace?” Joe’s attitude was getting old. “I haven’t seen him since I left him at the drive-in last night, after we suspiciously had an ice cream cone together.” Probably more than she should have said, but she was too mad right now to think about what she was saying or how she was saying it. She wanted out of this room and away from Joe before she decided she had to punch him in the mouth.
“We did. He was scheduled for the early morning shift. Never showed up.” Joe’s mouth was a grim line, and this wasn’t a game anymore. Alex jumped from her chair, alarmed.
“What? He’s…wait, maybe his mom is bad. You’ve checked the house?” Frantic questions fired through her consciousness. What’s happened to Dylan? Despite her misgivings, she didn’t really think he would have had anything to do with his stepdad’s death. Did she?
“She’s fine. In fact, she’s the one who reported her live-in boyfriend missing.”
She slumped in relief. This was a big misunderstanding, and she tried to explain it to Joe. “You can’t count on that being true, Joe. Dylan told me last night his mom’s illness has affected her mind. She doesn’t even know him half the time. Dylan’s stepdad left the family even before I dated him, years ago. I never even met him. This is a mistake.”
“Yeah?” he answered. “How long were you with him?”
“Just the one school year.”
“How do you know he never came back?” That stumped her. She didn’t know he hadn’t, of course. She didn’t keep up with Dylan’s family at all. Or Dylan, for that matter. But if he had, wouldn’t Dylan have said so? Wouldn’t she have heard it through the town grapevine?
“Dylan told me he was looking for his brothers’ dad.” Not realizing what harm could come of that statement, Alex continued. “Something about terminating his parental rights. He’d have known if the guy had been around lately.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” Joe said. “But someone’s terminated his parental rights, all right. Or, more accurately, terminated him.”
Cold fear washed through her as she realized Joe considered Dylan a suspect. And why shouldn’t he? Even Alex had doubted him. She stepped over to the door and put her hand on the knob. “Am I free to go?” Joe nodded slowly. “Just let us know if you hear from Chaves,” he said. Menace was in his voice, and a little shiver ran through her. Was Joe going to shoot first and ask questions later if he found Dylan? This was all too heavy for her. She needed to talk to her Dad, like right now.
Chapter Nineteen
Morning, Saturday, July 19
Dylan was half-way to work when the call came in on his cell phone, making him jump out of his skin when it buzzed against his hip. The cell coverage out there was so spotty that he didn’t understand what the buzzing was at first, until the ring came, half a second later. Dylan slowed down and pulled over to answer, needing to regulate his pulse and because cell phone usage at fifty-five miles an hour on a two-lane road wasn’t a good idea.
“Dylan Chavez.”
“Dylan, Lt. Wells. We’ve received the DNA report. Can you come to Tucson this morning? I think it’s best for your brothers to have you there when we tell them.” Dylan looked at his watch. Saturday, and barely seven a.m. What was Wells doing in the office right now? But he jumped to the conclusion what his brothers were going to hear was their father was dead. Too bad he hadn’t had a chance to look at Alex’s blog, or maybe he’d have known already.
“It was a match then?” Just to confirm.
“Yes, it was. I’m sorry.” How could Dylan tell him he wasn’t? Or that the boys didn’t even remember their father, and would probably be fine without him. He couldn’t, so instead, Dylan told him he was on the way. He did an illegal U-turn right there and headed back to the intersection at the village some wag had named Why, where he could head toward Tucson.
Belatedly, Dylan realized he’d need to call in to work, but by then he had no signal. He decided to check it now and then and try to call on the way. If necessary he’d ca
ll from Sells or Tucson. He’d probably get written up for not calling until well after his shift started, but it couldn’t be helped. If someone was going to tell his brothers their father was dead, he needed to be there to explain things to them. They were going to be confused.
It was a matter of minutes to get to Why, and he checked his signal there, but still no luck. Dylan never understood why there was sometimes a signal in some places and other times in the same place, nothing. Why was one of those places. Everyone thought the little crossroads was named that because why would anyone want to live there? Now he had a new theory. Why no signal today, when he needed one? He’d have been willing to bet if he passed through an hour earlier or later, there would have been one.
Frustrated, Dylan put the phone down in the passenger seat and turned onto highway 86, driving past the casino that already had a few cars in the parking lot, or maybe the operative word should have been still. From there it was almost two hours to Tucson, across some of the most apparently uninhabited country anywhere. Dylan knew it was alive with inhabitants, though. Everything from birds and insects to deer, javelina and coyotes, not to mention snakes, lizards, cougars and people—his mother’s people, the Tohono O’odam. This was their land. In the early morning, it was relatively cool, the vistas grey and purple. He’d always loved this drive, could do it with his eyes closed, almost. But the beauty was enough to keep them open.
Before the roadway began to climb in the Quinlans, Dylan checked for a signal one more time. If there wasn’t one here, he wouldn’t get one until he was on the other side of the pass. As Dylan reached for his phone, not finding it, he took his eyes off the road for a second. In his peripheral vision he caught a flash of silver metal, and then the impact tossed his pickup sideways. One minute he was driving on a nearly-deserted road, and the next he was trying to stay oriented as the pickup rolled around him, once, off the roadway, twice into a ravine, and then he must have hit his head on something.
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