Desert Wind Read Online Free PDF Page B

disappointed when I ordered a hamburger instead of the tournedos of beef, and iced tea instead of the suggested burgundy, but she recovered enough to serve the burger with a smile. As I ate, I studied the other diners. Among them were an unusual number of May/December match-ups, the men averaging twice the age of the women. Sitting at the table not far from mine was a particularly interesting couple. The man, a prosperous-looking sixty-something, seemed entranced by his dining partner, a deeply tanned blonde wearing a diamond solitaire so massive that it was a wonder she could lift her manicured hand.
    When the waitress refilled my iced tea, I asked, “Do you get a lot of business from the resorts?”
    She smiled, revealing a mouth full of silver inlays. “All the resorts have their own restaurants, but the Angus beef we serve here is locally raised on our owner’s ranch. His son’s our chef. Eric graduated last year from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and was offered a job at one of the Vegas casinos, but he turned it down to work for his father.”
    I motioned toward the couple across the way. “Are they regulars?”
    Here voice held a reverential note when she answered. “Every Monday. That’s Mr. and Mrs. Tosches. He owns the Black Basin Mine and Mrs. Tosches adores our tournedos.”
    The article I’d read about Donohue’s murder had mentioned Mia Tosches as a witness to the dispute between Ted Olmstead and the murder victim. Risking another question, I asked, “Did Ike Donohue eat here? The man who, er, got killed?” The word “murder” seemed too rough for such a nice restaurant.
    “Mr. Donohue worked for Mr. Tosches.” With that, her chattiness ended and after asking me if I wanted dessert, either crème brûlée or strawberry crêpes, to which I answered no, she handed me my check and walked away.
    Once I returned to my room, I took a leisurely soak in the tub, then threw on an oversized tee shirt and started work. I plugged my laptop into the Internet jack and Googled Donohue+Tosches. After a few false hits due to my error-prone typing of last names, a couple of interesting items popped up. From an article in the Arizona Business Journal I learned that Roger Tosches not only owned the Black Basin Mine, but was the lone developer of Sunset Canyon Lakes Resort, too. The resort appeared to be his only solo business effort, though, because a man named Cole Laveen was named as partner in his current mine holdings. No mention was made of Tosches’ wife, Mia, but I did find an article about Ike Donohue’s widow. A photograph in Arizona Gamesman showed Nancy Donohue in full hunting regalia standing over a dead elk, her foot on its bloody side, triumph on her face.
    Call me a cynic, since I couldn’t help but wonder how much she inherited upon her husband’s death.
    Two more hours of surfing turned up little else. This was where Jimmy’s expertise would have come in handy. He knew how to hack into sites that mere mortals couldn’t access. Irritated by my limited computer skills, I snapped the laptop shut and went to bed.
    I’d brought along a Sue Grafton novel to get me through the lonely nights, but somewhere in the middle of the fourth chapter, I fell into a dream-plagued sleep.
    ***
    I stood at the entrance to a mine. A wooden barrier had been erected in front of the dark opening, with a sign saying, DANGER! NO ADMITTANCE! I started knocking back the slats with a large rock when Jimmy emerged from the moon’s shadows and pushed me away.
    “Don’t go in there, Lena.”
    “But there’s something I need to find out!”
    “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
    “That doesn’t make sense, Jimmy, so step aside.”
    He didn’t move, but the moment I raised my hands to push him out of my way, he vanished.
    I stepped over the remaining wooden slats and entered the mine.
    Deeper shadows now surrounded me, but for some reason, I could still see the moon above. As I stared in amazement, I