Exit Wounds - J. A. Jance [101]
“Maybe he didn’t want Carol to go public with her story,” Joanna suggested.
“Why would he object to that?” Edith asked. “Eddie’s proud of the way he lives. He doesn’t think he has anything to be ashamed of. As far as he’s concerned, he’s right and everybody else is wrong. And since the people he hangs around with all hold the same beliefs, why would he care?”
“Maybe some of them care,” Joanna said. “There are other Brethren, aren’t there? Maybe some of the ones who live in this country aren’t interested in being quite so blatant about it. Maybe one of them wanted to keep the interview from taking place.”
“I suppose that’s possible,” Edith said, pushing her plate away.
“Wasn’t the enchilada any good?” Daisy asked when she came to pick up their dirty dishes. “I’d be glad to get you something else.”
Edith shook her head. “The food was fine,” she said. “For some reason, I seem to have lost my appetite.”
Daisy looked at Joanna’s plate. “You, too?” she asked.
“Me, too,” Joanna said.
She paid for their virtually uneaten lunches and was helping Edith Mossman into the Civvie when her cell phone rang. Joanna answered the call while stowing Edith’s walker in the backseat. “Just a minute, Jaime,” she told Detective Carbajal. “Let me start the engine. As hot as it is, I can’t leave Edith Mossman sitting there with no air-conditioning.”
“Okay, boss,” Jaime said when she returned to the phone.
“Here’s the deal. We’ve turned Mr. Mossman over to Deputy Howell. She’ll keep an eye on him. He wasn’t thrilled about having a bodyguard hanging around, but when we told him his life had been threatened, he warmed up to the idea. Just exactly how serious is this threat?”
Joanna glanced at Edith Mossman sitting quietly in the front seat of the idling Civvie. She probably wasn’t particularly dangerous at that point.
“Let’s just say I consider it serious,” she said. “And credible. Tell Debbie not to let him out of her sight.”
“Good enough.”
“Did you learn anything useful?” Joanna asked.
“Other than Eddie Mossman’s a total creep? He came up from Mexico because his daughter’s about to become engaged to some guy from up near Kingman.”
“But I thought Kelly Mossman was already married,” Joanna objected.
“Kelly?” Jaime said. “I don’t know anything about Kelly. I’m sure Mossman said his daughter’s name was Cecilia.”
Joanna’s stomach tightened. Knowing that Eddie Mossman had yet another at-risk daughter made what little roast beef Joanna had managed to swallow threaten to stage a rebellion.
“Did you find out how he learned about Carol’s death?” she asked.
“Sure did. He said that another daughter, Stella, called to let him know.”
“Called how?”
“On his cell phone,” Jaime answered.
“Did you get the number?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Tell Frank I want incoming and outgoing call records for that phone.”
“But the phone is from Mexico.”
“That’s all right. All that means is that Frank Montoya will have to work a little harder than he usually does to retrieve the information. He may have to pay a little mordida to get it. What are you doing next?”
“Heading into the office to get organized and to see what Frank may have for us.”
“Good enough. Tell him I’m taking Mrs. Mossman back to Sierra Vista. We’ll have to have our morning briefing when I get back.”
Joanna stowed her phone and clambered into the driver’s seat, grateful to be out of the heat and the rising humidity.
“Anything important?” Edith asked.
“No,” Joanna said. “Just touching base with some of my people.”
They drove through town