Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 12 - Murder Among Friends by Kent Conwell

expectantly, and yes, while I
wasn’t convinced, I was curious as to the results.
    Mrs. Edwards whispered, “Did you see him?”
    Winkler’s eyes fluttered. “I saw rocks and trees and
something red”
    Debbie exclaimed, “Dad’s car. His Impala. It’s red” She
looked at her mother hopefully.
    Her mother ignored her. “Is-Is he alive?” Her voice was
merely a croak.
    The slight woman rolled her head to the side so she
could see Mrs. Edwards. “I don’t know.”
    I spoke up. “Any hint of where the red object is?”
    She furrowed her brow in concentration. “The rocks
were white, and the red object was a great distance away,
below me. Perhaps at the bottom of a canyon or hill. And,”
she added, “I saw water and floating on the water was a gold
and silver wristwatch. There are no numbers on the face, no
slashes, only dots” She paused, and then added, “Green
dots”
    Mrs. Edwards gasped and pressed her hands to her lips.
Tears filled her eyes. “I gave Carl a watch like that for his
birthday. It’s in May, and emerald is his birthstone. Those
are the green dots”
    I glanced at the coffee table, but there was no watch. I
stared at Dorothy Winkler in disbelief. How could she know
that? Maybe Mrs. Edwards had mentioned a watch. On the other hand, I told myself, probably fifty percent of
men’s wristwatches are silver and gold. But how many of
them use emeralds instead of numbers or slashes?

    While Winkler regained her strength, Debbie walked out
to the pickup with me. I still had a couple of questions on my
mind, but I decided to wait until I was alone with Debbie
and her mother.
    I asked her if her mother had mentioned the watch to Winkler. “No. I was with Mother when Dorothy arrived. I never
left the room” She paused, her forehead crumpled in a
frown. “What do you think we should do now, Tony?”
    “I haven’t made any headway yet. Best thing to do is to
tell the cops”
    Her frown deepened. “What do we tell them?”
    “I’ll do it. I’ll tell them we talked to a psychic, and we’re
looking for a red Impala at the bottom of a canyon that has
a creek running through it” I couldn’t believe it was me
talking, but then, I reminded myself, it was the only lead
we had.
    I had expected Chief Ramon Pachuca to throw me out
of his office when I told him about our session with the
psychic, but to my surprise, he nodded. “Dorothy Winkler? Sure, I know the woman. We’ve used her a few times.
Some of the stuff she sees, or however she does it, is downright uncanny” He paused and chuckled. “Some isn’t, but
it’s worth a shot” He picked up the phone. “Wilson. I’m
sending Boudreaux out there. Take his information and put
it out to all cruisers. Oh, and send it to the Sheriff’s office
too. His constables can help us search. Get them off their
fat keisters”

    By the time I climbed into my pickup, it was almost
5:00. I headed back to the credit union. I wanted to visit
with Judith Perry, but away from her work environment.
Just how to approach her, I wasn’t quite sure.
    I almost missed her. As I pulled into the credit union
parking lot, I spotted her climb into a new Mustang, slam
the door, and leave two black stripes of rubber on the
parking lot as she shot into the traffic. I did my best not to
lose sight of her, but weaving from one lane to another,
she quickly vanished. I followed, uncertain as to my next
step.
    To my delight, she made up my mind for me when a few
minutes later, she pulled into the Bo Peep Lounge perched
on the limestone bluffs overlooking the Colorado River a
hundred feet below.
    I spotted the Mustang as I passed. Quickly, I made a
U-turn and headed back. Just as I signaled to turn across the
oncoming traffic, a tan Honda pulled up next to the Mustang, and a bright and sunny blond bounced out. Judith
climbed out to meet her, gesticulating wildly. The blond
tried to pacify her. By the time I found a parking spot,