Countdown

Not sure how to answer that, Annie kept her own counsel. After a moment, she offered, “He made quite an impression on me.” At least that was the truth.

“Joe’s special. He’s a tough sergeant and he’s a fighter from the word go. I don’t know how many times he squared off with Captain Jacobs. They had awful shouting matches behind Jacobs’s office door. I mean, you could hear their voices clear down the passageway sometimes. Jacobs tried to get Joe transferred, but he fought that, too, and won.” Rose wagged her finger at Annie. “I’m telling you, Joe Donnally single-handedly supported the brig personnel during those two years. He was more the officer than Jacobs. He got things done right and on time—and then Jacobs took all the credit. Jacobs got even by not allowing Joe to get his next sergeant’s stripe. He gave him bad ratings in his personnel record. But Joe didn’t care. He knew he stood between Jacobs and the welfare of his people.”

“So Joe should be an E-6 instead of an E-5?” Annie asked slowly, thinking of her stupid remark to him about passing her E-5 test to become a sergeant. Perhaps that’s why he had rounded on her so angrily—she’d struck an old wound.

“Yes, he should have made E-6 at least a year and a half ago. I’m sure Captain Ramsey will right the wrong as soon as he can, but the poor man’s snowed under with work. Jacobs left our office in a disaster, moralewise and every other way.”

No wonder Joe Donnally had been short with her, Annie ruminated, folding her hands and resting her chin against them. “Is Captain Ramsey working to create better conditions for the brig chasers?”

Chuckling, Rose wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “Better believe it. We were four people short, and the captain already has four new people coming in, you among them. Of course, he went after you big-time when he saw the layout of Reed—all the rugged terrain and such.”

“Have there been many brig breaks?”

“No, but when there have been, a tracker’s been needed. We’ve always had to fly someone in from another base.”

Annie nodded. “When I worked with Captain Ramsey at Camp Lejeune, he set up a drug program for the base. Is he doing that here?”

“Yes. Colonel Edwards was so impressed with what he did down at the Yuma Air Station in Arizona that he had him ordered up here to set up a similar program for Reed. Captain Ramsey’s a real doer, but then, so is Joe Donnally.” She laid her napkin aside and picked up her purse. “They’re a great team. I can already see the positive effects around our office. ’Course, Captain Ramsey’s still new and I’m trying to fill him in on all the stuff that concerns us here at Reed, but he’s a quick study.” She smiled happily. “Well, you ready to get to work? I know Captain Ramsey wanted to see you at 1300. He wasn’t able to come and meet you personally, but he wants to see you as soon as possible. Joe will take you in to meet him.”

Annie’s heart fell. She wished she could go alone instead of under the angry, watchful eyes of Donnally. Was he always like that, or just with her? Well, she’d find out soon enough.

* * *

Joe felt their entrance into the brig office long before he heard them. He was working at his desk over a stack of paperwork, and his heart raced momentarily, puzzling him. Annie’s voice had a soft, husky quality to it, surprisingly low and soothing, as she conversed with Rose. Trying to ignore her tone, Joe hastily signed his name to several pieces of paper as Rose approached with the tracker.

“She’s all yours, Joe.”

“Thanks, Rose.” He refused to look up even though Annie stood patiently in front of his desk. Getting up, he threw the papers into his Out basket and finally nailed her with a glance. He was struck by how serene Annie appeared in the midst of the office chaos. Did anything ruffle her composure? Probably not. He’d heard that Native Americans traditionally were stoic and expressionless.

“What would you like me to do?” Annie ventured.

Joe snapped a look at her. “That file over there. Read it.”

Trying not to be hurt by his gruffness, Annie reached for the file on her new desk.

“When you get done reading the report I typed up, we’ll talk.”

Annie quickly perused the file on the Libby Tyler investigation that Rose had mentioned at lunch. She found it interesting that Ms. Tyler had reported the horses were being ridden hard at night during the new moon—and that the stable manager, Stuart Garwood, refused to take the matter seriously. But when she saw the scribbled note recently added to the file, she turned in her chair and stared at Joe. “She was shot at today?”

Grimly, Joe nodded. “While you were at lunch, the captain called me. Ms. Tyler was out riding about three miles northeast of the stables when someone fired two rounds near her.”

“Near or at?”

He scowled. “I don’t know.” With a sigh, he tossed the pen aside. “Captain Ramsey wants us to go check out the general area where it happened.”

Annie’s heart rose with hope. “Both of us?”

“Yes,” Donnally said irritably, rising. “The captain seems to think you walk on water, so let’s see if you do. Come on.”

Annie could think of nothing she could say to defuse his anger. She pointed to her uniform. “Could I change into my brig uniform before we go out?”

“This isn’t going to take long.”

She held his stare. “If we’re going to be out in the boonies of Reed, I’ll change. It will only take me a minute.”

Holding onto his patience, Joe knew he’d overstepped his bounds. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll meet you at the HumVee parked out front. It’s the vehicle we use for base investigations.”

She offered him a slight smile of thanks. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

* * *

Joe was surprised when Annie emerged from the main brig building much sooner than he’d expected. Sourly, he admitted he was being hard on her. He was wrestling with so many stored feelings, and he had to stop being so nasty. She had changed into typical marine utilities, with the standard webbed, olive green belt around her waist. Ordinarily, a brig marine wore a pistol when on duty, but she hadn’t been issued one yet.

Annie opened the door to the HumVee and climbed in. She felt lighter and happier than she had since her arrival—at least she was getting to work on a case right away. Maybe it would help keep her mind off Donnally’s angry attitude. “I’m ready,” she said a little breathlessly as she shut the door.

With a grunt, Joe pulled the HumVee out of the parking spot. “Just to catch you up to speed, Libby Tyler is one of the base riding instructors, as you probably noticed in the file. According to Captain Ramsey, who had gone down to meet her for lunch, she was out riding roughly three miles northeast of the brig area when two shots were fired. Her horse reared up and she fell off, hitting her head on a rock. The captain is with her now—she’s still at the hospital getting fixed up.”

“Will she be okay?”

“I think so. The captain said he was going to be taking her to his apartment, because she can’t stand staying in hospitals and she’s in no shape to take care of herself.”

“I don’t blame her,” Annie said wryly.

Joe gave her a questioning look.

“My mother is a medicine woman for our people. I never saw the inside of a hospital until I entered the Marine Corps.” Her voice lowered and she looked away from the eaglelike intensity of his blue gaze. “I had a bad experience with a hospital recently. I can’t say I like them, either.”

“You were injured?”

“Uh, no….” Annie prayed that Donnally wouldn’t ask any more questions. Her heart couldn’t stand to open up the very painful past before his glowering dislike.

Joe turned onto a dirt road that meandered into the desert. “I’m not a great fan of hospitals, myself,” he growled, and left it at that, his attention temporarily focused on driving the big, clumsy vehicle across the rolling landscape of sagebrush, sand and cactus.

The silence was a familiar friend to Annie as they bumped their way along the road’s uneven surface. Donnally seemed to know every inch of Camp Reed. He followed increasingly narrow and more rugged roads deeper and deeper into the inhospitable terrain. Off to the left, Annie could see the brig growing smaller. Finally, Joe pulled the vehicle to a halt and shut off the engine.

“Well, this is roughly three miles northeast of the brig.”

“What are we looking for?”

“Where the horse reared and threw Ms. Tyler. That,” Joe said as he climbed out of the HumVee, “and maybe the rocks where the bullets hit.”

“So we’re searching for the scene of the accident?”

“Yes.”

Annie climbed out and began to look around. She could feel Donnally watching her as she moved slowly around to the front of the vehicle. He had his hands on his hips, surveying the terrain with a scowl. He was handsome in a rugged kind of way, Annie thought—if only he didn’t frown all the time.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.