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sound, but if this is a crime scene, we’ll need to take a much closer look in daylight hours.”
    â€œThank you,” Joanna said.
    â€œGive me your number,” Maxwell said. “Depending on what shows up in the autopsy, my chief homicide detective, Dave Holman, will be in touch.” Then, after a pause, he added. “So sorry for your loss.”
    â€œThank you,” Joanna said. She had heard those words so many times today that her response was almost mechanical. “But for right now let’s concentrate on catching the SOB who did it.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” Maxwell said. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
    Joanna ended the call and then looked anxiously around the lobby, searching for a restroom.
    â€œRight over there,” Butch said, reading her mind and pointing. “I’ll be right here when you finish. Then we’re going to go have breakfast and talk.”
    By the time they left the hospital, Joanna’s phone had registered fourteen voice mails, including two separate messages from Marliss Shackleford of the Bisbee Bee . Joanna didn’t bother playing any of them right then. She wasn’t ready.
    â€œWhat did Bob say?”
    â€œThat he’ll hold off on coming for now, but that both he and Marcie will be here for the funerals.”
    â€œThat makes sense.”
    â€œJim Bob and Eva Lou were already at the house when I called Jenny, so they got the news at the same time she did. It’s a good thing they were on hand. Jenny has been a brick, but she fell all to pieces when I told her. I’m glad Eva Lou was there to take charge.”
    â€œSo am I,” Joanna said.
    They had stopped at a Denny’s on Indian School and had chosen a booth as close to the back of the restaurant as possible. “I took the liberty of calling Burton Kimball,” Butch said, once the waitress had delivered Butch’s coffee and taken their order. “I hope you don’t mind. I remembered George mentioning that Burton had drawn up their new wills a while back, and I thought he should be in the know.”
    â€œGood call,” Joanna said. “No telling how long it would have taken for me to get around to that.”
    â€œAccording to Burton, he has letters regarding their wishes for final arrangements, and naturally, Higgins and Sons is the mortuary of choice.”
    Joanna nodded. “No big rush on that score,” she said. “The bodies can’t be released for burial until after the autopsies, and Mom’s body is still here in Phoenix.”
    â€œWhat should we do then?” Butch asked. “Go back home? Stay here in Phoenix? What?”
    â€œI want to go to Prescott,” Joanna said. “When the autopsy report comes through, I want to be on hand to see what it says. And then I want to go to the crime scene up by Camp Verde. I want to see for myself where it happened.”
    â€œAren’t you too close to this?” Butch asked. “In addition to which, you’re outside your jurisdiction and have zero official standing.”
    â€œThe fact that I have no official standing in the investigation is the only reason I can go there,” Joanna countered. “I’m already off work. Right now we’re two hours away from Camp Verde. If we go back to Bisbee, we’ll be six hours from there. I want to go now and get the lay of the land firsthand. We’ll be home tomorrow. That’ll be plenty of time to start dealing with final arrangements.”
    â€œTell me about the red dot,” Butch said quietly.
    Joanna bit her lip. “Dr. Collins told me about it on our way up to the room. He said Mother was frantic to be sure I was told about it. At first none of it made sense to me. And then, when I was there in the room, standing next to the bed, it suddenly became clear. She must have seen a laser dot on George just before it happened.”
    Unbidden tears started again.