Shoot, Don't Shoot by J. A. Jance

Author:J. A. Jance [Jance, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving, classes ended at noon. Within minutes, the parking lot was virtually empty. Since the Hohokam Resort Hotel was only a half mile away from campus, Joanna had no reason to pack very much to take with her from dorm to hotel room. If she discovered something missing over the weekend, she could always come back for it later. In fact, the dorm and the hotel were close enough that she and Jenny could easily walk over if they felt like it.

Hauling one of her suitcases down from the shelf in the closet, Joanna tossed in two changes of clothing, her nightgown, and a selection of toiletries. She sighed at the size of the next reading assignment and dropped her copy of The Law Enforcement Handbook on top of the heap before she zipped the suitcase. On her way to the parking lot, Joanna stopped by the student lounge long enough to call home and ask Eva Lou to please bring along Jenny’s extra bathing suit just in case Ceci Grijalva wanted to try swimming in the hotel pool.

“She’s the little girl whose mother died, isn’t she?” Eva Lou asked.

“That’s the one.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Medium,” Joanna answered, thinking about the less than friendly Ernestina Duffy and her frail, oxygen-dependent husband. “Not as well as Jenny,” Joanna added. “Unfortunately for her, Ceci Grijalva doesn’t have the same kind of support system Jenny does.”

“Poor little thing,” Eva clucked. “I’ll go hunt down that bathing suit just as soon as I get off the phone.”

For a change there wasn’t anyone else waiting in line to use the phone. Dialing the Sheriff’s Department number, Joanna savored the privacy. Trying to handle both her personal and professional life from an overused pay phone in an audience-crowded room was aggravating at best.

Once again, Kristin was chilly on the telephone, but she was also relatively efficient. “Chief Deputy Voland is out to lunch, and Chief Montoya’s still over in the jail kitchen.”

“What’s he doing over there?” Joanna asked. “Micromanaging the cook?”

“He’s been there all morning,” Kristin answered. “The last I heard he was supervising the crew of inmates who are washing all the walls.”

“Washing walls? Maybe you’d better try connecting me to the jail kitchen,” Joanna said. A few moments later, Frank Montoya came on the line.

“What’s my chief of administration doing was washing walls?” Joanna asked without preamble.

“Putting out fires,” Frank answered, “but I think we’ve got this little crisis pretty well under control.”

“What crisis?” Joanna demanded.

“The cook crisis,” Frank Montoya answered. “I wrote you a memo explaining the whole thing. Didn’t you get it?”

“Not yet. My father-in-law picked up the packet a little while ago, but I won’t get it until later on tonight. What’s going on?”

“As soon as the cook figured out I was on his case, he took off, but before he left, he cleaned out the refrigerator.”

“Good deal,” Joanna said. “He cleaned the refrigerator, and now you’ve got a crew washing the walls. Sounds like the place is getting a thorough and much-needed housecleaning.

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