Stopping briefly by the front desk, she picked up the keys to her “new” police car then continued down the hall. Justine was coming out of the lab, newspaper in hand, as she walked by. “Anything new?” Ella asked, handing Justine’s car keys back to her. “Big Ed is now doing the press release...
She pinched it hard, trying to stop the flow. “Thand’s a lot!” “I didn’t break it,” Ella said, then added, “I didn’t, did I?” “No, but id hurths and ids a meth.” She looked back at her trailer. Flames were visible in every window now and all the contents, papers and everything, were lost. “My tho...
“Both of you need to hear this,” he said. “Senator James Yellowhair was just kidnapped, apparently on the way to work. I want you two on this case as of right now. Everything else takes second place. Is that clear?” It took a moment for Ella to process what he said. She couldn’t remember th...
Hearing her daughter’s excited hello, Ella smiled and the hard edges around her heart disappeared. “I just wanted to wish you luck, pumpkin,” Ella said as she raced to the station. “You can’t come, can you?” Dawn said in a mournful voice. “No, I’m s...
She then attached an old barrel bolt on the inside to serve as a temporary lock until it could be repaired or replaced. It wasn’t until that task was done that she felt safe enough to go to bed. Yet, even though she was exhausted, sleep eluded her. Ella continued to think about the break-in...
There was no hatred there, just a look of satisfaction that sent a chill up Ella’s spine. Despite a big, colorful bruise on her cheek, Gladys looked like a cat who’d just eaten a six-pack of canaries. Working hard to keep her expression neutral, Ella sat down as Carolyn began to question and exam...
“I’d like that,” she said, glad for the coolness provided by the house’s thick adobe walls. Her mouth felt parched, partly from the fear that had threatened to overwhelm her back in the cavern and partly because of the three-digit temperatures outside. “Let me give you a hand.” As he brought out ...