Page 156 of South of Nowhere

“That’s right. I remembered seeing well-drilling crews in Gabris’s development. And a farmer in Hinowah had just told me about the difficulty of finding groundwater around here. The drilling was going deeper and deeper and a lot of times coming up short. Gabris could hardly sell houses without inspectors reporting a good water supply. And the farmer? She told me you can pump surplus water into the aquifers to store it for dry seasons.”

Prescott Moore said, “Gabris hired Foley to blow the levee and divert the water to the pond. The tankers would suck it up and then pump it into the ground underneath the development.”

Shaw nodded.

Starr added, “Explains why the sand for the sandbagging got to Hinowah so fast. Gabris had it sitting in his construction site, ready to go.”

The sheriff asked, “Wouldn’t he know there wasn’t enough water on the land before he decided to put a development there?”

Debi Starr said, “Sure he would. That’s why he could buy the land so cheap. He built multimillion-dollar houses, and when they sold he’d take the profits and skip the country before the water dried up. His companies’ve built other developments in California and Arizona. All in arid locations.”

Barrett jotted. “I’ll have my counterparts down there look at the situation. Maybe he’s stealing water in other places too to fill up those aquifers.”

When the meeting concluded, hands were shaken and cards exchanged. Shaw, Starr and Tolifson left the sheriff’s office.

As Starr continued to the Public Safety pickup and Tolifson started for his private SUV, Shaw stopped him. “Can I talk to you for a minute.”

“Sure.”

Shaw asked, “You’re in the process of filling the police chief’s job, right?”

“Oh.” The non sequitur surprised him. “Well, correct. But I’ll tell you, I’ve decided to pin this old thing on permanently.” He tapped his chest, where the badge sat on the uniform blouse under his jacket. “I had some doubts at first. But, you know, sir. It feels good. And the six-gun isn’t bad either. After what happened at the command post, I learned my lesson. Won’t ever forget those bullets again. And no more fiddling. I know I have to bone up on the law some too, but I’m a whiz at Roberts Rules of Order and the Hinowah Muni Code. I’m sure it’s a pretty short jump from there to the California Penal Code.”

Shaw was looking at the low soupy bed of the Never Summer. And damn if he didn’t spot a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer half buried in the muck.

He turned to Tolifson. “Don’t.”

The man blinked.

“Don’t take the job.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“I’ve worked with law all over the country. Police chiefs, detectives, patrol. It’s not you, Mayor.”

He looked indignant. “I can learn.”

“The technical aspects, sure. But there’s instinct and intuition. Things I can’t really describe, but you know it when you see it.”

“I might disagree with that, sir.”

Shaw steamed ahead. “You’ve got somebody in the department right now’s perfect for the job.”

A knowing smile. “Debi. I get it. You’ve enjoyed working with her. She’s cute, she’s funny, she’s a whiz with the coffee. And a hard worker. You want to help her out.”

His words riled. The inappropriatecuteandcoffee, of course. But it was also the man’s utter misunderstanding that Debi Starr was not a woman who needed any helping out whatsoever.

“She’s a natural.”

“And you can tell.”

“That’s right.”

Tolifson muttered, “She’s a third-grade teacher who’s taking a joyride at wearing a badge.”

“She’s a cop who happened to spend a little time teaching grade school.”

No smiles now. “We could debate this forever.”

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