Crimson Lake Road (Desert Plains) by Victor Methos

Author:Victor Methos [Methos, Victor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

Yardley was sitting at home on the couch watching television when Baldwin called.

“Is it true?” he said.

“It is.”

“So what are they gonna do?”

“Either the state attorney general’s office or the county district attorney will prosecute him. This case is too big to ignore. It’s already a PR nightmare for the US Attorney’s Office, but if they can get convictions when the federal government couldn’t, they’d definitely see that as a nice perk.”

He exhaled. “How the hell did this happen?”

“They were sloppy and Zachary’s attorney wasn’t.”

Her line beeped, indicating another call. She didn’t recognize the number.

“Give me a minute.” She switched lines. “This is Jessica.”

“Jessica, this is Brie Johnson.”

It took a moment for Yardley to place the name. But then she remembered her as a prosecutor for Clark County she’d worked with on a couple of cases.

“I hope it’s okay that I got your number from Roy Lieu. He said you wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t. What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened with the Crimson Lake Executioner case by now.”

“I have.”

“So Nathan is pissed. I guess the US AG called yelling at Roy, who called the state AG and yelled at him, who called the county and yelled at Nathan . . . I don’t know. There was yelling and finger-pointing all day. I guess the failure to indict was on all the cable news shows.”

“I imagine it was.”

“Well, apparently they’re going to dismiss the federal case in its entirety and have us file it down here, and yours truly got the short straw. Anyway, I was wondering if me and Nathan could swing by your house right now? It won’t take long.”

“What for?”

“Best we talk in person.”

She could have asked Yardley to come down to the office, but instead she’d asked to come to her home. A comfortable place. Somewhere Yardley would be more likely to agree to a favor.

Yardley gave her the address and said she would see her soon.

When she hung up, she turned the television off and lay down on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The temperature, last time she checked, was 107. A light sheen of sweat tickled her neck.

She dressed in yoga pants and a tank top and made a fruit smoothie, which she sipped slowly in the kitchen until she heard a knock at the door. When she answered, Brie Johnson and Nathan Salls, the DA for Clark County, stood there. Yardley let them in, and they sat on her couch while she took a spot on the love seat.

Salls had won the district attorney seat only a couple of years ago, when the then DA running for reelection had been indicted on several campaign finance felonies.

A registered independent who spoke plainly and allowed livestock to roam his backyard, Salls had always struck Yardley as someone who should have been working a farm rather than wearing suits and appearing on television talking about justice.

“Love your house,” Brie said.

“Thank you. We’re moving soon, though. Down to Santa Bonita.”

“Roy mentioned that.

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