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credit. The sheriff had done his homework in the few short hours since they’d parted company at the first crime scene.
    Before either Runyon or Books could respond, her phone rang. She answered and handed the phone to Sutter. “It’s for you.”
    â€œYeah. Oh, Christ, When? Where are they now? Stall them until I get there. I don’t know how long, maybe a half-hour or so.”
    He handed the receiver back to Runyon, a frown etched on his face. “That was my secretary. There’s a crew from KSL-TV in Salt Lake City camped in front of my office. How could they have gotten wind of this so fast?”
    It seemed like a rhetorical question, and neither Runyon nor Books responded.
    Runyon glanced at Books. “What’s your pleasure, J.D.?”
    Reluctantly, Books nodded his assent. If he was going to be involved, he might as well run the investigation instead of trying to provide advice from the outside.
    â€œAgainst my better judgment, Charley, I’m going to approve Ranger Books’ assistance in this investigation, subject to a couple of stipulations. First, the county reimburses my budget for J.D.’s salary during the investigation as well as any secretarial support he requires. Second, everybody understands that my decision could be reversed at any time by the regional office in Salt Lake City. Are we all clear?”
    Relieved, Sutter nodded. For better or for worse, Books now stood at the center of a volatile murder case in a bitterly divided community.

Chapter Five
    The local district court judge conducted a brief swearing-in ceremony in which Books became a Kane County deputy sheriff. The county commissioners offered him an office in a small conference room in the county courthouse, complete with a desk-top computer, a printer that looked about a hundred years old, a metal four-drawer file cabinet, and a telephone. For support staff, they offered Chief Deputy Call and a secretary who worked for the commissioners.
    With the exception of Call, Books turned the rest down. He’d decided to run the investigation from his office at the BLM using a secretary provided by Runyon. Information from the investigation would be difficult enough to control without working from a courthouse conference room he couldn’t secure, with a secretary who had a direct pipeline into the county commissioners’ office.
    Sutter held a brief press conference in which he read a short statement confirming that his office was investigating a suspicious death. He declined to answer any other questions, including who was running the investigation. Books hoped this might give him a little extra time to follow leads without having to dodge the media.
    Books contacted Call and arranged to meet him in the office as soon as he returned from the field. In part, Books wanted to get a sense of whether Call was competent and if he was someone Books could trust. He was worried about both.
    Over two cups of burnt coffee, the men talked. “I’m a Kanab native,” Books smiled. “What’s your excuse?”
    Call smiled back. “I’ve always been a hunter and an outdoor enthusiast. When I was a kid growing up in Las Vegas, my dad used to take us to Kane County on hunting trips—great trophy deer around these parts, but I guess you’d know that.”
    â€œSo you’re originally from Las Vegas?”
    â€œYup, born and raised. I moved to Kanab thirteen years ago and set up shop as a hunting guide and outfitter.”
    â€œMakes sense.”
    â€œMaybe so. Problem was I damn near starved to death. Outside the hunting season, there just wasn’t enough business to make much of a living.”
    â€œWhy did you get into law enforcement?”
    â€œProbably for the same reason you did. I needed a job. I’d worked a while in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Jail, so when a position opened up here, I jumped at the chance—good benefits, decent pay, and best of all,