Joanna had finished loading the books into the box and was taping the cover shut when the landline phone on Butch’s desk jangled awake. Plucking the handset off the charger, she picked it up and answered. “Hello.”
“Joanna?” It was a woman’s voice, one Joanna was sure she had heard before, although she didn’t recognize it right off.
“It’s Carole Anne Wilson,” the voice continued. “How are you, and how’s the baby?”
Of course. Carole Anne Wilson was Butch’s editor in New York.
“We’re both fine,” Joanna said. “How are you?”
“I’m great. Is Butch home?”
“Sure, but he’s in the other room,” Joanna said. “Let me take the phone to him.”
Out in the kitchen, Dennis was squatting in front of the oven, watching to see if his pumpkin seeds had started to burn yet, while Butch put the finishing touches on crimping a pair of piecrusts.
“It’s Carole Anne,” Joanna said, offering him the phone.
He dusted off his hands on his apron before taking the phone. “Hi, Carole,” he said. “Yeah, I’m baking pumpkin pies. What’s up with you?”
For the next several very long seconds—the better part of a minute—he listened, while a huge smile spread across his face. “You’ve got to be kidding!” he said at last. “That’s great. Thank you so much for letting me know.”
“Letting you know what?” Joanna demanded as he handed the phone back to her.
“I made the list!” he said.
“What list?”
“The New York Times Best Sellers list. I didn’t make it the first week, but I did on week two. Just the Facts clocks in at number twelve on the combined hardback/e-book list.”
Joanna was dumbfounded. “You made the New York Times list? Really? That’s amazing!”
“Not really, because Gayle Dixon is the name on the list instead of Butch Dixon, but yes, we made the list. Just the Facts made the list!”
“What does that mean, Daddy?” Denny asked without taking his eyes off the pumpkin seeds.
“It means that maybe someday I’ll be able to make enough money by writing books that your mom will be able to stay home for a change. She might even start running the household,” Butch added with a wink in Joanna’s direction.
“Are you sure?” Denny asked. “You’re a better cook.”
Joanna and Butch both burst out laughing at that. “Out of the mouths of babes,” Butch said.
“That’s all right,” Joanna said. “Check with me four years from now. If you’re making handfuls of money by the time the next election rolls around, maybe it’ll be time for me to pull the plug, quit being sheriff, and learn to cook.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Butch advised. “Given your recent history with maternity leave, you wouldn’t last two weeks.”
Grandpa Jeb’s Sunday Meat Loaf
2.15 pounds ground chuck
1 cup oats
4.5-ounce can chopped green chilies
½ cup milk
½ cup minced onion
2 eggs*
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
About 2 hours before serving, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1½ hours.
Recipe compliments of Carl and Barbara Bender
About the Author
J. A. JANCE is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, and five interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family, as well as a volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
www.JAJance.com
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by J. A. Jance
JOANNA BRADY MYSTERIES
Desert Heat
Tombstone Courage
Shoot/Don’t Shoot
Dead to Rights
Skeleton Canyon
Rattlesnake Crossing
Outlaw Mountain
Devil’s Claw
Paradise Lost
Partner in Crime
Exit Wounds
Dead Wrong
Damage Control
Fire and Ice
Judgment Call
The Old Blue Line: A Joanna Brady Novella
Remains of Innocence
Random Acts: A Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds Novella
Downfall
Field of Bones
J. P. BEAUMONT MYSTERIES
Until Proven Guilty
Injustice for All
Trial by Fury
Taking the Fifth
Improbable Cause
A More Perfect Union
Dismissed with Prejudice
Minor in Possession
Payment in Kind
Without Due Process
Failure to Appear
Lying in Wait
Name Withheld
Breach of Duty
Birds of Prey
Partner in Crime
Long Time Gone
Justice Denied
Fire and Ice
Betrayal of Trust
Second Watch
Stand Down: A J. P. Beaumont Novella
Dance of the Bones: A J. P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker Novel
Still Dead: A J. P. Beaumont Novella
Proof of Life
WALKER FAMILY NOVELS
Hour of the Hunter
Kiss of the Bees
Day of the Dead
Queen of the Night
Dance of the Bones: A J. P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker Novel
ALI REYNOLDS NOVELS
Edge of Evil
Web of Evil
Hand of Evil
Cruel Intent
Trial by Fire
Fatal Error
Left for Dead
Deadly Stakes
Moving Target
A Last Goodbye: An Ali Reynolds Novella
Cold Betrayal
No Honor Among Thieves: An Ali Reynolds/Joanna Brady Novella
Clawback
Man Overboard
Duel to the Death
POETRY
After the Fire
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
FIELD OF BONES. Copyright © 2018 by J. A. Jance. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Cover design by Richard L. Aquan
Desert landscape © Glass House/Getty Images; sky © Cressa Cruzan/Shutterstock; vulture 1 © Natalia Kuzmina/Shutterstock; vulture 2 © Maria Jeffs/Shutterstock; vulture 3 © FotoRequest/Shutterstock; vulture 4 © Bruce MacQueen/Shutterstock
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-265759-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-265757-2
Version 08082018
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
&
nbsp; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5H 4E3
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida
Uttar Pradesh 201 301
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
* (May substitute ½ cup Egg Beaters Southwestern Style for the eggs.)