won’t eat him,” Jenny declared. “He’ll be fine, I know he will be. Should I let him in now, so we can introduce them?”
“I don’t think so,” Butch said. “Not right now.”
“Why not?”
Taking a deep breath, Butch looked from Jenny back to Joanna. “Because,” he said finally, “I think your mother has something important to tell you.”
Joanna was already in her office and at her computer when Chief Deputy Frank Montoya came in for the morning briefing.
“What’s up?” he asked, placing a sheaf of papers on Joanna’s polished wood desk and taking a seat in one of the captain’s chairs.
“What do you mean, ‘What’s up’?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Sheriff Brady. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.”
Joanna got up, walked over to the door that led to the interior lobby and Kristin’s desk, and pulled it shut.
“I guess I did, in a manner of speaking,” she said. “Swallow the canary, that is.”
Frank seemed mystified. Joanna sat back down and looked at him across her desk. “I’m pregnant, Frank.”
“Whoa! Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I took a pregnancy test last night, and I’m definitely pregnant.”
Frank’s face broke into a grin. “Well, congratulations, then. That’s big news!”
“I’ll say.” Joanna grinned back at him.
“So who knows?”
“Well, Butch, Jenny, and now you.”
“What are you going to do?” Frank asked.
“What do you think? I’m going to have the baby.”
“What about the election? Are you going to drop out?”
Joanna was adamant. “And give Ken Junior a free ride? No way.”
“So are you going to keep it…well, under wraps until after election day?”
“We probably should delay making an announcement, just in case of a miscarriage, but Butch and I already talked it over. I’m going to go public with it. ASAP. I may even give our old friend, Marliss Shackleford, an exclusive on this.”
Marliss, a columnist for the local paper, The Bisbee Bee, had long been a thorn in Joanna’s side.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Frank asked. “She’s done everything but post ‘Galloway for Sheriff’ signs at the top and bottom of her column.”
“That’s exactly why I want Marliss to be one of the first to know,” Joanna responded. “It’ll be one of her biggest scoops ever in ‘Bisbee Buzzings.’ Knowing Marliss is solidly in Ken Junior’s corner, people are bound to read the column and talk about it for days afterward. I figure, if the voters know about the baby in advance and elect me anyway, then no one will be able to complain about it later on. And if I lose? Then I lose. I’ll go back to selling insurance—although that wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“I take it you and Butch have talked this through?”
“Absolutely.”
“All right, then,” Frank said. “If you two are okay with it, then I’ve got no complaints.” He picked up his stack of papers. “Sorry I wasn’t there to help out last night,” he added.
“Don’t apologize, Frank,” Joanna told him with a smile. “You get to have some time off, and so do I. Now, what more do you have for me this morning?”
For the next twenty minutes or so they went over routine departmental business, including the previous day’s incidents reports. They ended with a discussion of the Mossman homicide.
“Ernie Carpenter will be at the autopsy later this morning,” Frank said. “Jaime Carbajal will start canvassing the neighborhood around Carol Mossman’s place and talking to her supervisor and co-workers. He’ll also be organizing an inch-by-inch search of the property. Dave Hollicker believes that since the shots were fired through a locked door, there’s a good chance the killer never made it inside Carol Mossman’s place. That means any physical evidence left behind by the killer would most likely be outside the trailer rather than inside it.”
Joanna nodded. “This whole thing offends me,” she said,
“I don’t think so,” Butch said. “Not right now.”
“Why not?”
Taking a deep breath, Butch looked from Jenny back to Joanna. “Because,” he said finally, “I think your mother has something important to tell you.”
Joanna was already in her office and at her computer when Chief Deputy Frank Montoya came in for the morning briefing.
“What’s up?” he asked, placing a sheaf of papers on Joanna’s polished wood desk and taking a seat in one of the captain’s chairs.
“What do you mean, ‘What’s up’?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, Sheriff Brady. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.”
Joanna got up, walked over to the door that led to the interior lobby and Kristin’s desk, and pulled it shut.
“I guess I did, in a manner of speaking,” she said. “Swallow the canary, that is.”
Frank seemed mystified. Joanna sat back down and looked at him across her desk. “I’m pregnant, Frank.”
“Whoa! Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I took a pregnancy test last night, and I’m definitely pregnant.”
Frank’s face broke into a grin. “Well, congratulations, then. That’s big news!”
“I’ll say.” Joanna grinned back at him.
“So who knows?”
“Well, Butch, Jenny, and now you.”
“What are you going to do?” Frank asked.
“What do you think? I’m going to have the baby.”
“What about the election? Are you going to drop out?”
Joanna was adamant. “And give Ken Junior a free ride? No way.”
“So are you going to keep it…well, under wraps until after election day?”
“We probably should delay making an announcement, just in case of a miscarriage, but Butch and I already talked it over. I’m going to go public with it. ASAP. I may even give our old friend, Marliss Shackleford, an exclusive on this.”
Marliss, a columnist for the local paper, The Bisbee Bee, had long been a thorn in Joanna’s side.
“Do you think that’s wise?” Frank asked. “She’s done everything but post ‘Galloway for Sheriff’ signs at the top and bottom of her column.”
“That’s exactly why I want Marliss to be one of the first to know,” Joanna responded. “It’ll be one of her biggest scoops ever in ‘Bisbee Buzzings.’ Knowing Marliss is solidly in Ken Junior’s corner, people are bound to read the column and talk about it for days afterward. I figure, if the voters know about the baby in advance and elect me anyway, then no one will be able to complain about it later on. And if I lose? Then I lose. I’ll go back to selling insurance—although that wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“I take it you and Butch have talked this through?”
“Absolutely.”
“All right, then,” Frank said. “If you two are okay with it, then I’ve got no complaints.” He picked up his stack of papers. “Sorry I wasn’t there to help out last night,” he added.
“Don’t apologize, Frank,” Joanna told him with a smile. “You get to have some time off, and so do I. Now, what more do you have for me this morning?”
For the next twenty minutes or so they went over routine departmental business, including the previous day’s incidents reports. They ended with a discussion of the Mossman homicide.
“Ernie Carpenter will be at the autopsy later this morning,” Frank said. “Jaime Carbajal will start canvassing the neighborhood around Carol Mossman’s place and talking to her supervisor and co-workers. He’ll also be organizing an inch-by-inch search of the property. Dave Hollicker believes that since the shots were fired through a locked door, there’s a good chance the killer never made it inside Carol Mossman’s place. That means any physical evidence left behind by the killer would most likely be outside the trailer rather than inside it.”
Joanna nodded. “This whole thing offends me,” she said,
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