St Kilda Consulting 01 - Always Time to Die

the mute button again, restoring sound.
    A serious Dykstra looked straight into the camera and leaned forward to give out the physical cues that translated as: Listen up out there, this is hot! The fact that she did the same thing for a story about two celebrities wearing the same outfit to a party was all part of selling the news.
    “Exclusively from Behind the Scenes, Governor Josh Quintrell’s aunt Winifred Simmons y Castillo demands that her nephew have a blood test to prove that he is descended from Sylvia Castillo Quintrell. More as the story develops.”
    The camera cut away to another talking head selling another ten-second news promo.
    Josh didn’t listen.
    “Did I hear your name?” Anne asked as she set a turkey sandwich in front of Josh.
    Josh nodded. “Before Winifred died, she went crazy.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She wants me to prove I’m a Quintrell.”
    Anne stopped in the act of reaching inside the refrigerator for a beer. “Excuse me?”
    “Like I said. She went nuts.”
    “Well, she’s dead now, so it doesn’t matter.”
    Josh thought of Dykstra’s eager ferret eyes and wondered if it would be that easy.
    His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw the New York accountant’s caller ID. He punched in and said, “Make it fast. I’m in a meeting and can’t talk.”
    Anne looked at her husband. He gave her the kind of smile he always did when he was distracted.
    “Okay,” Josh said. “Thanks. Send me the bill.”
    “Who was that?”
    “Nobody important.” He yawned. “Forget the beer and make it a coffee. I have to go to the ranch.”
    “Right now? I thought Melissa had already arranged for Winifred’s ashes to be scattered with Sylvia’s.”
    “She did.” Josh yawned again. “Still, I don’t want that bitch Dykstra to think I didn’t love my dear old auntie. At the same time, I’ll give everyone their severance pay in person. And I should press some flesh in the hispano community.”
    “I won’t wait up for you, then.”
    “Good idea.” He rubbed his eyes. “If it gets too late, I’ll stay in Taos. More snow is expected up there.”
    “Why not stay at the ranch?”
    “Pete and Melissa usually go to town for dinner and a show on Saturdays and stay overnight for church on Sunday morning. There won’t be anyone at the ranch to cook or see that a bed is ready for me.”
    “You shouldn’t have told them the ranch was as good as sold. They don’t care anymore.”
    “I couldn’t just toss them out without warning. They’ve worked there for years.”
    Anne shrugged. “The Senator spoiled them. It’s a job, not a sinecure. But he would never listen when I told him.”
    “Don’t feel bad. The Senator never listened to anyone, including God.”

TAOS
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
55
    CARLY WATCHED WITH GROWING EXCITEMENT AS ARCHIVED DATA FROM THE NEWSPAPER’S computer flowed into hers. All but bouncing in place, she opened file after file and saw those glorious words. Searchable documents. It would save weeks of painstaking discovery and cross-referencing. “Yes!” she said, slapping the table triumphantly.
    Dan grinned and typed in some more commands. More files leaped from computer to computer.
    “You doubted me?” he asked.
    She rolled her eyes without looking away from the miraculously growing list of articles. “This time? Of course not. The first six tries that crashed, now that’s different. I was afraid getting shot must have addled something.”
    “You expect perfection the first time?”
    “Hey, you gave it to me the first time,” she said absently, staring at her computer screen. “And the other times, too.”
    He grinned. “Are we talking about horizontal dancing?”
    She replayed the conversation in her mind, fought a blush, then just gave up and swiped at him, taking care to stay well away from the bandage on his forehead. “You know better than to talk to me when I’m distracted.”
    “I’ll keep it in mind.”
    She groaned, knowing him well enough to realize that she’d just given him another way to slide past her defenses. Like he needed any. All he had to do was get a certain look in his eye when he watched her and she was ready to jump in his lap and go treasure hunting.
    “Knock knock,” said Gus from the top of the stairway.
    “Is that the opening line of a lame joke?” Dan asked.
    “Nope, just a warning that you aren’t alone.”
    Carly fought another blush. Gus had come in earlier today. She and Dan