Chapter 33Mayor Judy Vasar-Martin deleted massive amounts of email while sitting behind her expansive, hand-carved desk. While palm fronds hit the window, the mayor added a windy swoosh to each click on her keyboard. She lifted her dark blue eyes above the monitor and frowned. Outside, the swirling desert sand created a dust storm that blocked the sun, the sky and most of the light. She couldn't see her car in the parking lot and thought about how the expensive car wash, earlier that morning, had been a major exercise in futility. Irritated, she logged off and answered her buzzing phone. “What?”
The receptionist had called to tell her she had a visitor. “Sure, send him in, I'd love to see him,” she replied with a sarcastic tone, adding, “I can't believe he came out in this dust storm. It
