THIRTY-ONEMonday had been a bust for Chief Irwin. They’d all put things on the back burner for the funeral. Supporting a fellow officer had taken priority over all else, as it should have. This morning he stood before his minimal group of officers. His skeleton crew. He had violent crimes that needed solving. Agua Verde wasn’t used to murders and the natives were getting restless, as was he. Petty crimes were the norm, people dealt with that unless they were the ones getting their homes or shops robbed. But recent events had brought local crime to a new level.
He looked around the room. William Washington, Trick Delgado, and Jim Bullock. That was it. He could use at least three more men but that wouldn’t happen. He could probably manage someone to replace Mackey Hogan, eventually. Having
