Dance of the Bones by J. A. Jance Read Free Book Online

adopted Indian child named Lani. The less said about Brandon’s own kids the better, but Davy was now a successful Tucson-­based attorney, and Lani was the first ever Tohono O’odham M.D. to practice on the reservation.
    As for Diana? In his eyes, although her blond hair had long since turned silver—­she preferred the word “platinum”—­she was still as beautiful as ever. And even if he had to spend a thousand nights like this, making small talk and enduring the rigors of being “Mr. Diana Ladd,” Brandon still counted himself as incredibly lucky to be there with her.
    When the after-­dinner speeches ended and they headed home toward Gates Pass, Diana nailed Brandon for suckering Ollie Glassman.
    â€œYou told the poor man you’re writing a book?” Diana asked. “Really?”
    â€œI couldn’t help myself,” Brandon said, grinning at the very thought of it. “The guy’s a jerk.”
    â€œThat’s true,” Diana agreed. “I saw him tracking you down during the reception. What did he want?”
    That surprised Brandon. He knew he had been keeping an eye on Diana from across the room, but he hadn’t realized that she’d also been keeping an eye on him.
    â€œHe wanted to talk to me about John Lassiter.”
    â€œBig Bad John? Whoa, that’s a name out of the dim, dark past.”
    â€œIndeed,” Brandon agreed.
    â€œSo why talk to you about it? I heard they were trying to work out a plea deal of some kind. Evidently two trials weren’t enough.”
    â€œWait,” Brandon said. “You knew about that—­about the plea offer?”
    â€œI read about it in the paper,” Diana said with a shrug. “I seem to remember Lassiter’s daughter was responsible for bringing in the ­people from Justice for All.”
    â€œJohn Lassiter has a daughter?” Brandon asked. “What daughter? I didn’t know Lassiter had a child.”
    â€œHe does.”
    Brandon thought about that. He and Diana read the same papers each day over their morning cups of coffee. Even so, they often came away with totally different sets of information.
    â€œSince you and Michael Farraday were the officers who arrested Lassiter back in the day,” Diana continued, “I figured it was just as well to let sleeping dogs lie.”
    â€œThis particular dog is no longer sleeping,” Brandon said.
    â€œWhat did Ollie Glassman want?”
    â€œHe says Lassiter asked to see me. He wants TLC to find Amos Warren’s real killer.”
    â€œSounds like O. J. Simpson,” Diana said.
    Brandon laughed aloud at that. “We’ve been married so long it’s no wonder that you and I are on the same wavelength. That’s exactly what I told Glassman—­just like O.J.”

 
    CHAPTER 3
    FOR A LONG TIME AFTER Tash returned, things went well. Because of the clouds, it wasn ’ t too hot. Rain, Juk, returned. The Tohono O ’ odham planted their fields and the crops grew, and every morning and evening, Sun ’ s niece and nephew kicked the dust balls. In a village near the Coyote Mountains lived a woman who braided the grass mats upon which the Desert ­People sleep. This Braiding Woman, Hihgtpag O ’ oks, was a fast worker. She could weave as many as four large mats in a single day.
    One day while Braiding Woman was working, Nephew-­of-­the-­Sun kicked his red ball so hard that it rolled onto the mat the woman was weaving. The woman quickly picked up the ball and hid it in her dress. When Nephew-­of-­the-­Sun came looking for it, the woman claimed she hadn ’ t seen it. He said that was very strange since he had seen it land on her mat, and some of the dust was still there.
    Hihgtpag O ’ oks —­ Braiding Woman —­ still claimed that she hadn ’ t seen it. After a while Nephew-­of-­the-­Sun grew very angry. “ If you