mindset was to find the bastards who had left poor Amada to die. That would make her feel better.
Then she could take a day off and beat up on dummies.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Joe said as he drove.
“Nothing. Just tired.”
“You’re frowning.”
“Resting bitch face.”
He laughed. “That’s the last thing I would say.”
“I actually needed today off, so thanks for that. I think I slept too much, though, and that has made me more tired.”
“Are you okay? After yesterday? Finding a dead body wasn’t my idea of how to end our date.”
“It was...weird.” What could she say? What would Kara the bartender say? She didn’t break down yesterday; she wasn’t going to break down now.
“You say the word, I’ll take you home.”
“No Uber out here?”
He laughed. “I don’t think there’s much demand, but I’m sure there’s a couple people around here who might drive for one of those services.” He paused, grew serious. “You’re not serious, are you? Because I am very happy to take you home whenever you want.”
“I’m fine. Nothing a cold beer and good food won’t fix.”
“That, I can do. My dad is barbecuing and Uncle Barry brought over the leftover chili from the picnic yesterday. They almost canceled tonight because of what happened to David... My dad is heartbroken. David’s worked for him since high school.”
“Yeah, it sucks. Like I said, weird. Do the police know yet what happened?”
“I called Wyatt this morning, but so far, they have no leads or suspects. Maybe they do and aren’t telling me, but Wyatt is a good cop. I’m sure he’s doing what he can.”
Hmm...this might be a more productive night than she’d expected. Originally she planned to go to the dinner and meet his parents—which was uncomfortable, because she wasn’t in a relationship with Joe, even though it was clear that he was pushing in that direction. But she needed to keep an eye on him. Now? She could pick John Molina’s brain about David Hargrove, plus she could assess Shelley Brown. Michael was suspicious of her. That was good enough for Kara.
Maybe there was more going on with David Hargrove and A-Line Waste Disposal and Trucking than even Matt suspected.
“Don’t worry, Kara. You’re not scared, are you? I’m pretty sure David was killed in an accident. Or maybe he was robbed and fought back. I don’t know. Do you realize that we’ve only had one murder in Patagonia in ten years?”
“The college girl who was hiking?”
“What? Oh—no. That wasn’t here—that was east of town, in the county.”
“Sorry—I heard someone talking about it in the bar.”
“It was still awful—I don’t think they’ve solved it yet either. But I was talking about a bar fight, nine years ago. The fight was there, not the murder. That night one of the two involved went to the other guy’s house, shot and killed him.”
“Did you know either of them?”
“No—well, one I went to high school with, but he was older than me by a couple of years. My point is that this area isn’t prone to crime. We get more thefts and whatnot in the tourist season, but when you only have a thousand year-round residents, everyone pretty much behaves.”
Joe pointed out a house set far back from a road off the main highway. “That’s my place,” he said. “My parents own it. They lived there when they were first married. When they built a bigger house up the mountain, they decided to keep this one too. It’s not really my idea of independence to be living off my parents.”
“You came home to help your mom, right?”
“Yeah, and I’m glad I could, but I’m ready to go back to Phoenix now.”
“I hear a but.”
“No but. My dad understands, I think... I don’t know. He’s starting to think about retiring and how, now that I am here, maybe he can pass it off to me.”
“But it’s not what you want to do with your life.”
“Not even close.”
“Have you asked him if that’s his plan?”
“Not exactly.”
“A little unsolicited advice. Not that I’m the best person to be giving anyone advice, but generally when you want to know what someone is thinking, you need to ask them. Your dad might surprise you.”
“I don’t want to disappoint him.”
“I doubt that’s even on the table. From everything you’ve said about your dad, he’s a good guy. He must know you don’t want to run the refinery. He’s not going to guilt you into staying.”
“Maybe.”
“You know what my grandmother Em used to tell me? Don’t borrow trouble.”
A wave of