by J. A. Jance
68
B. and Ali left for the Brought Back girls’ housewarming party early on Saturday afternoon. It was the Fourth of July, and the handwritten invitation, done in someone’s recently learned and somewhat awkward cursive, had said: “Plese come to our Indeppendence Day celibration. 2:00 PM. Satarday July 4.”
“I believe that’s the most touching invitation I’ve ever received,” Ali had said, brushing away a tear as she passed the small envelope over to B. “It took real courage to write that.”
“Yes, it did,” B. agreed.
“Sister Anselm has been in on the planning. It’s Fourth of July all the way—hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon, potato chips, potato salad, coleslaw, and a batch of red-white-and-blue-frosted cupcakes. This is their first ever Fourth of July celebration, and the girls are very excited.”
“What are we bringing?”
“S’mores. You should have seen how thrilled they were when they tried potato chips for the first time. I can hardly wait to see how s’mores will go over.”
Late on Friday afternoon Dave had called. “Are you ready for some good news?”
“What?”
“They ran Jessica Denton’s DNA through CODIS and got a hit to a twenty-year-old unsolved homicide in L.A. Guy comes out, finds someone stealing his car, and the car thief shoots him dead. DNA from a hair from a scrunchie found near the car leads straight to Jessica. Still doesn’t tell us who she is or where she’s from, but we’re getting closer. And once she’s been tried and hopefully convicted on our charges, LAPD will be ready to charge her with theirs.”
“I’m glad she’s off the streets,” Ali said.
“I’m glad they’re both off the streets,” Dave said. “Without Jason’s confession and plea arrangement, we might not be able to nail her, but now it looks like a done deal. With any luck they’ll both end up serving life without.”
That was Ali’s hope, too.
“You’re very quiet,” B. said as they turned northbound on I-17. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“I was just thinking about Jessica Denton,” Ali said. “She’s linked to at least five homicides now, and Cami took her down.”
“Cami is one tough cookie,” B. agreed. “And are we ever lucky to have her.”
They arrived at the house in Flag and stepped out into a perfect summer day—seventy-five degrees and sunny, with a hint of promising rain clouds peeking over the distant horizon. Maybe the monsoons would arrive shortly. It was time.
The house Sister Anselm had snagged and rehabbed looked like it had stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting from the fifties. What appeared to be a brand-new American flag hung on one of the newly painted porch posts. A picnic table with a Fourth of July–themed paper tablecloth had been set up in the front yard, along with an oddball collection of outside furniture that said “yard sale” all the way.
A smiling Enid Tower, carrying Baby Ann in one arm, hurried to greet them. “I’m so glad you could come. Sister Anselm’s already here.”
“I’ll trade you the baby for this,” Ali said, handing over a brown paper bag holding the s’more makings. “Something for dessert,” she added.
“But we already have a dessert.”
“Believe me, you’re going to want to give these a try.”
In this house of many women, Baby Ann had quickly become accustomed to being passed from one hand to another, and she made no protest at being left in Ali’s care. B. gravitated over to the grill, where a guy named David Upton was keeping a close watch on a newly lit fire.
Months earlier, David’s car had clipped a runaway Enid Tower as she ran across a darkened highway directly in front of him in a desperate attempt to escape a pursuer determined to return her to The Family’s clutches. Horrified to have hit a pedestrian and wanting to help, David had climbed out of his car only to discover that not only was sixteen-year-old Enid Tower injured, she was also going into labor.
David Upton was not Baby Ann’s father, but you couldn’t tell that by looking. He was a fixture in Enid’s and Baby Ann’s lives, and in the lives of the other Brought Back girls as well. He was their go-to guy, their handyman, and their plumber, as well as their interpreter and comforter when the complexities of the Outside became too much for them.
“How’s it going?” B. asked.
“I think I’ve got it now, Mr. Simpson,” David said. “What can I get you to drink? We’re strictly sodas and iced tea here.”
“Iced tea sounds great. That’s what I’ll have and Ali, too.”
As David went to fetch drinks, Sister Anselm appeared on the front porch and then came down to join them in the yard. Just then a small commotion occurred out on the street. When Ali saw the roof of a silver Sprinter pull over and stop outside the fence, she turned back to Sister Anselm.
“You had them invite the governor?”
“Yes, I did,” Sister Anselm beamed. “And here she is. I’d better go get the girls.”
Governor Virginia Dunham waved off her security detail and came into the yard wearing jeans, a cowboy shirt, boots, and a white Stetson. She looked nothing like a governor. Grinning from ear to ear, she walked over to Ali, holding out her arms. “My turn with the baby,” she said.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Ali said.
“My scheduler couldn’t believe it, either,” Governor Dunham said with a laugh. “She had a fit when I told her I wasn’t doing any public appearances for the Fourth of July. This is way more fun. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
One by one the Brought Back girls came down the steps to greet their guests. They had met Governor Dunham before, but that was in the very beginning, before they had enough exposure to the world to understand that she was someone important. Now they did, and they approached her shyly. One by one, she pulled them into a one-armed embrace.
“Now who’s going to show me the house?” Governor Dunham asked Enid. “That’s what I really came to see.”
As the governor allowed herself to be led inside, B. turned to David. “Are you ever going to get around to asking that girl to marry you?”
David nodded. “She turns seventeen at the end of the month. I thought I’d ask her then.”
“Well done,” Sister Anselm exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. “It’s about time.”
It turned out to be a terrific party. As expected, the s’mores were a huge hit. Ali was tired and happy as they headed back down to Sedona. High Noon had chalked up some big wins in the last few months. With the amount of money in the OFM escrow account, there was a good chance that many of the smaller investors would actually be made whole. The long-term financial outlook for the refugees from The Family was also looking up.
Then, as if B. could read her mind, he asked, “Has anyone ever mentioned that you and Sister Anselm do good work?”
Ali reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” she said. “So do you.”
About the Author
© MARY ANN HALPIN STUDIOS
J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series, and the Joanna Brady series, as well as four interrelated southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
www.JAJance.com
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ALSO BY J.A. JANCE
ALI REYNOLDS MYSTERIES
Edge of Evil
Web of Evil
Hand of Evil
Cruel Intent
Trial by Fire
Fatal Error
Left for Dead
Deadly Stakes
Moving Target
A Last Goodbye (A Novella)
Cold Betrayal
No Honor Among Thieves (A Novella)
JOANNA BRADY MYSTERIES
Desert Heat
Tombstone Courage
Shoot/Don’t Shoot
Dead to Rights
Skeleton Canyon
Rattlesnake Crossing
Outlaw Mountain
Devil’s Claw
Paradise Lost
Partner in Crime
Exit Wounds
Dead Wrong
Damage Control
Fire and Ice
Judgment Call
The Old Blue Line (A Novella)
Remains of Innocence
No Honor Among Thieves (A Novella)
J.P. BEAUMONT MYSTERIES
Until Proven Guilty
Injustice for All
Trial by Fury
Taking the Fifth
Improbable Cause
A More Perfect Union
Dismissed with Prejudice
Minor in Possession
Payment in Kind
Without Due Process
Failure to Appear
Lying in Wait
Name Withheld
Breach of Duty
Birds of Prey
Partner in Crime
Long Time Gone
Justice Denied
Fire and Ice
Betrayal of Trust
Ring in the Dead (A Novella)
Second Watch
Stand Down (A Novella)
Dance of the Bones
WALKER FAMILY MYSTERIES
Hour of the Hunter
Kiss of the Bees
Day of the Dead
Queen of the Night
Dance of the Bones
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by J.A. Jance
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Touchstone hardcover edition March 2016
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Jacket Design by Ervin Serrano
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jance, Judith A., author.
Title: Clawback: an Ali Reynolds novel / J.A. Jance.
Description: First Touchstone hardcover edition. | New York: Touchstone, 2016. |
Series: Ali Reynolds mysteries
Subjects: LCSH: Reynolds, Ali (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Women private
investigators—Arizona—Fiction. | Murder—Investigation—Fiction. | Ponzi schemes—
Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Thrillers. | FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General. |
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths. | GSAFD: Mystery fiction. |
Suspense fiction
Classification: LCC PS3560.A44 C58 2016 | DDC 813/.54—dc23 LC record available
at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015045889
ISBN 978-1-5011-1072-6
ISBN 978-1-5011-1076-4 (ebook)