Sonterra

A waitress strolled over, ogling Sonterra the way waitresses almost always did.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

Still musing, Sonterra opened the passenger door for me and waited until I was settled.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

“No,” Sonterra agreed, and waited out the foodservice professional when she returned with our ice teas, lingered a little too long, and finally left.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

I seemed to attract them on my own, and my association with Sonterra, who was a homicide cop at the time, merely compounded the problem.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

Sonterra pressed a hand to the small of my back and steered me toward the exit.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

“I know a lawyer,” Sonterra said, and managed a semblance of a grin.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

Sonterra and I could blister a mattress, but when it came to just about anything else, we were both pretty careful about showing our cards.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

Sonterra and I left the building in silence, started across the parking lot toward his slick SUV, gleaming black in the winter sun.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

If Sonterra moved to Dry Creek, a polyp forty miles up the intestines of Creation, I would have to make a drastic choice.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995

Sonterra stayed in touch with Jimmy after that, got him a room in Nogales, on the Sonoran side, then pushed up his sleeves and waded into the red-tape matrix.

Pirates Linda Miller 1995