St Kilda Consulting 01 - Always Time to Die

warm.
    “Jim is the official Quintrell ranch predator control. He comes and goes from the place at will. He goes to town with the mail and brings back supplies. Sometimes Blaine does the errands. It depends on how straight Blaine is when he shows up wanting work.”
    “You’re saying it was Jim Snead.”
    “No,” Dan said, “I’m saying he has the skill and the opportunity. I just can’t find a reason, and without a motive the rest is just so much circumstantial blue smoke and mirrors.”
    “Besides, there are the Sandovals,” Carly said.
    “You lost me.”
    “Given the number of Sandovals dodging in and out of the Senator’s life, and Liza’s, it easily could have been a Sandoval who had knowledge of the incest and/or the substitute son, and therefore a reason to blackmail the Senator and/or the governor. God and the county sheriff know that some of the Sandovals have the means and mind-set required for crime.” Carly muttered unhappy words under her breath. “The list of possible circumstantial suspects has just exploded. No wonder that kind of evidence is viewed with suspicion.”
    Dan closed his eyes and tried to do what he’d been trained to do. Find patterns.
    Forget how close you are to the problem. Take your own advice.
    Pieces of the puzzle. That’s all. Not people. Just pieces.
    But he kept remembering how it had felt to have Carly go dead limp against him, kept remembering the endless time marching up and down that frozen road, kept realizing how close Carly had come to dying.

CHIMAYO
MONDAY EVENING
64
    “ IT ’ S RUBIN ,” ANNE SAID , HOLDING JOSH ’ S CELL PHONE OUT TO HER HUSBAND .
    “He won’t take no for an answer.”
    “I was expecting it,” Josh said, taking the cell phone. “Hello, Mark.”
    “You sound like a frog.”
    “I told you I needed downtime. Now I’ve got a cold.”
    “Flu,” Rubin corrected instantly. “Only plebes get colds.”
    “What couldn’t wait until Wednesday?” Josh asked, then covered the phone and sneezed. “Sorry, what was that again?”
    “Dykstra,” Rubin said. “She’s on the air every ten minutes pumping the blood test thing. The networks have picked it up. Even the New York Times is looking interested.”
    “Slow news week.” He sneezed again.
    “Yeah. So let’s put our spin on this. I want you to do a sit-down with Jansen Worthy.”
    Josh looked surprised. “Going right to the top, aren’t you? He’s been anchoring a major news show longer than most people have been alive.”
    “It’s called clout and credibility. He has enough of both to bury Dykstra. So go on his show and tell the voters about your personal and recent losses, that sort of thing.”
    “You want me to play the sympathy card.”
    “Hell, yes. You’ve lost a father, a mother, and a beloved aunt—”
    Josh’s sneeze sounded more like a laugh of disbelief.
    “—and now this wannabe news bitch is doing the vulture thing with your life. Not satisfied with intruding on your grief, she’s demanding that you prove what everybody already knows, and she’s only doing it to hype up her flat ratings. She hasn’t even waited for the test results to begin baying after you. Why? Because there won’t be a story afterward. Now you know that elected officials are legitimate targets of interest to the media yada yada yada, but this is too much. If you can’t make the interview good for a huge sympathy vote, you’re no politician, and we both know you’re a hell of a pol.”
    “How soon?”
    “Tomorrow. Jansen is in Arizona on his ranch. He’s agreed to fly with you to the ranch for an interview. The satellite relay stuff will be in place by noon.”
    “The ranch? Why not the governor’s mansion?”
    “Because this is personal,” Rubin said patiently. “You’re a grieving son, yada yada yada. Wear a dark sport jacket, plain cowboy boots, and jeans. Pale blue shirt, not western, just a shirt. When you’re asked questions about your parents and aunt, pause a little, keep a stiff upper lip, and face the camera with manly emotional restraint. You know the drill. Any questions?”
    “Just one.”
    “What?”
    “I could have the blood results as soon as tomorrow. Is this charade really necessary?”
    “I get you a freebie on the evening news with a powerful, sympathetic national institution, and you ask me if it’s necessary ?”
    The governor sighed. “Sorry. Must be the fever.”
    “Take something for it. This is too important to blow. If you