Page 94 of The Girl from Devil's Lake
“What’s that?”
“I saw that picture of you on the news. You still selling Girl Scout cookies? There’s nothing I’d like more right about now than a box of Thin Mints.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid I’m all out of Girl Scout cookies. That ship has sailed.”
But once Joanna was off the phone, she sat there at her desk acknowledging that Anna Rae Green had been one hundred percent correct. That nationally broadcast press conference really was doing the trick.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Joanna showed up at Higgins Funeral Home in upper Bisbee. Even though she was an hour early, the chapel where Marliss’s memorial service would be held was already full to the brim, and Norm Higgins’s daughter and son-in-law were busy setting out chairs and loudspeakers in the lobby.
“Looks like it’s going to be quite a shindig,” Norm said, when Joanna tracked him down in his office. “I didn’t think this many people would show up.”
“I didn’t, either,” Joanna said. “Is her mother around?”
“Are you kidding?” Norm asked. “She’s long gone. For all I know, she’s probably already back in California by now. She paid for the cremation, the urn, and use of the chapel. When she found out that the ladies from Tombstone Methodist wanted to have a reception afterward, she sprang for a room for that, too, but then she said she had to get home to her husband.”
“Without even staying for the service?” Joanna demanded.
“Seems like,” Norm said. “Couldn’t be bothered, but she left you a note.”
Thank you for being my daughter’s friend, and thank you for agreeing to speak at her service. I’ve asked Mr. Higgins to entrust her ashes to you. I’m afraid I’m far too old to go mountain climbing.
Dianne Borison
Joanna felt as though her head was about to explode. Dianne Borison hadn’t listened to Joanna any more than she’d listened to her daughter.
“What a piece of work,” Joanna muttered, wadding up the note and shoving it into her pocket.
“You can say that again,” Norm replied.
Much to Joanna’s surprise, Marliss Shackleford’s memorial service in Bisbee was one of the most well attended in recent memory. People who couldn’t get inside the building stood outside in the street, and Norm made sure there were outside loudspeakers as well. After the demise of theBisbee Bee, clearly Marliss’s ongoing web-based reporting on the Cochise County Courier website had filled a void in many people’s lives, and they came out in droves to pay their respects.
Joanna’s remarks were brief but to the point. “Thank you for coming to honor Marliss Shackleford,” Joanna began. “She and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but she was a reporter to the bone, and the reason she’s not here with us today is that she was on the trail of an evil man who, unfortunately, is known to many of us in this community.
“My understanding is that she could have gone almost anywhere to practice her craft, but she chose to come here where she lived in a home she had inherited from her auntie, Glenda Shackleford. We were honored to have Marliss here with us for as long as we did. I can tell from the number of people in attendance today that Marliss’s work touched many lives, and it is with profound regret that I come to say hail and farewell.”
Several other people spoke as well before Marianne Maculyea brought the curtain down on the service. Knowing she was likely to be grilled by everyone and his uncle about the Stephen Roper case, Joanna almost bypassed the reception, but as soon as she caught sight of Ernie Carpenter, she was thrilled she hadn’t.
Ernie saw her about the same time she spotted him. He hurried up and engulfed her in a hug. “Great job nailing that bastard,” he said.
Joanna stood back and looked at him. He was in far better shape than the last time she’d seen him. Back then, he’d just gotten a serious prostate cancer diagnosis, and he and his wife, Rose, were setting off in an RV, intent on getting as far as they could before the grim reaper caught up with him.
“What are you doing here?” Joanna demanded.
He grinned. “Turns out I wasn’t dying after all,” he said. “That new treatment wasn’t fun, but it worked. Finally, though, full-time RV-ing got to be old. Rose wanted to have a real kitchen again, and I wanted a shower I didn’t have to step out of in order to turn around. Besides, being close to the grandkids seemed like a good idea. We rented a place out in Huachuca Terraces.”
Suddenly, a light came on in Joanna Brady’s head. “You wouldn’t by any chance be wanting to go back to work, would you?”
“Me?” Ernie asked.
“Yes, you. Turns out I happen to have a cold case file with ninety or so unidentified victims. I don’t know how much I could pay you...”
“Pay me?” Ernie echoed. “Are you kidding? You won’t have to pay me a dime. I’ve been so bored, I’ll be glad to do it for free. When can I start?”
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
“You bet,” he answered. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
Chapter 55
