Character Friday - Mitch

My name is Mitch Caldwell and I'm a deputy Sheriff in Malheur County, Oregon. There are only two us deputies stationed in the Jordan Valley office, so it's good not much happens out here. We have a lot of territory to cover. Our usual business isn't crime fighting, but hauling in drunk cowboys, ticketing speeders, and helping the occasional lost hunter.

That's how I found Kameron McBride. I doubted a Chrysler 300 parked on the side of the road belonged to any hunter, so I guessed a tourist. I pulled up behind the car and ran the plates. Turned out to be a rental. I had a hunch the lady behind the wheel was lost, so I moseyed up and asked for the usual license and rental agreement.

She acted pretty nervous, and had a smart mouth to boot, but I kept my cool until she reached for her purse and something flew out of her hand and bounced off the windshield. Following procedure, I drew my weapon, told her to put her hands up, and drop the object out the window.

I covered her while I squatted down to pick up the cannister. I nearly cracked up. The lady was threatening me with a travel sized can of hairspray!

I let her know she shouldn't be traipsing around in the desert or she'd end up a pile of bones being picked over by the buzzards. I couldn't help teasing her just a little. Something about those eyes... Yeah, I thought she looked pretty good even all sweaty with her hair plastered on her face. I liked her spirit. She was ready to defend herself, even if her only weapon was a can of hairspray. I gotta admire that.

I led her to Rosewood, the town she'd been trying to find. I figured she might like something cold to wet her whistle, so asked her to join me at Jack and Jill's cafe, the diner run by Ray Johnson. I'll admit I wasn't in any hurry to go back on patrol.

There was something else that made me want to stay by her side. My half-sister was full-blood Paiute, training as a medicine woman when she became ill.

I was in Iraq, but had just run up on an IED, so I took the leave offered to take care of Janet. Just before she died, she'd told me I'd find a woman lost in the desert. Well, when I did just that, I knew I had to stick around with Kam. Funny thing, I didn't believe any of the dream vision stuff, but when I found Kam, I knew I had to protect her. After that, I started to take Janet's last words pretty seriously.

Here's a bit from the book that I liked...a lot. We had dinner at the Old Basque Inn--our first date.

Kam spent the next half hour telling him about her mother, her job as a systems analyst, her life in Seattle. By the time they finished dessert, they were laughing and teasing as if they’d known each other for years.

They climbed back into the Expedition. “That was really nice, Mitch. I didn’t think I’d like Basque food that much. Even the txakoli started tasting good.”

Mitch gave her a sidelong glance. “I could stop at the drugstore. It stays open late.”

“I’m fine. I don’t think I need any…oh.” Kam glanced at him. “Yes, let’s stop there first.” She leaned across the center console and moved to kiss Mitch on the cheek. He turned and put his hand behind her head, drawing her in for a long kiss.

When they came up for air, Mitch asked, “My place?”

Kam reached over and put her hand on his thigh. She gave it a squeeze, admiring the solid muscle under the Levis. “Absolutely.” Mitch started the SUV and backed out.

Fifteen minutes and one drugstore stop later, they pulled into the driveway of a small house on a quiet street. Mitch helped her out of the Expedition and unlocked the front door of the single-level ranch. Then he swept up Kam in his arms, carried her across the threshold, and into the bedroom. He set her gently on her feet. “I’ve a bottle of a local wine. I’ll go get it.”

Kam examined the neat room. He had made the bed. Mitch must be the first guy she’d ever met who actually did that. She thought for a second, and a small smile crossed her lips. He’d gone home and cleaned up the house for her. A big pile of brownie points right there. Most guys wouldn’t have bothered even if they thought it a sure thing.

Mitch brought an opened bottle and two glasses. He poured, and offered a toast. “To a new…friendship.”

She clicked glasses with him. “To a new friendship.” She had a momentary twinge. This might be a new friendship, but it wouldn’t last long. When she went back to Seattle, she’d never see him again. Best intentions to stay in touch rarely worked out. She shook the thought off and decided to enjoy the moment.

He took her glass from her hand and set both glasses on the side table. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her, deeply, tenderly. His kisses moved down her neck. Kam arched her head back and sighed. Her body begged for more. Somewhere deep, her brain still clamored for her to stop, not let this get personal. She’d be gone in a few days. Her body won the battle.

Character Friday - Judge Leiper

I didn't want to let the Judge rant on about his prejudices, so I'm covering for him. This is one mean, nasty old man. But one soft spot in his heart does him in.

In "Missing, Assumed Dead," a self-proclaimed 'judge' runs a small Justice Court (really only traffic court) in a tiny town in Southeast Oregon. He has appointed his nephew, George Leiper, de facto town police chief. Of  course, there is no police department, but George loves to wear the uniform and enjoy the comforts of his own office in the City Hall.

Nobody cares to oppose the Judge as long as he keeps his connection to the White Power groups away from Roseword.

But that's not always the case. He brings the darkness of the Aryan Brotherhood right to the town's front door when he forces his daughter, Miranda, to marry one of the brotherhood, Cole Bristow. Mostly, the Judge want to get his daughter away from a Basque shepherd, Salvadore. When Salvadore disappears mysteriously, the town whispers behind closed doors, but don't dare cross the Judge with his connections to the White Power group.

Soon after bearing her daughter, Mirabel, Miranda commits suicide rather than remain married to Cole. The whole town worries, but fear keeps the secrets hidden.

The judge becomes the guardian of his granddaughter, but keeps her away from the rest of the town. Even her uncle admits that she's not right in the head. Something happened to her around the time that Salvadore disappeared. What happened to Salvadore, and why is Mirabel insane? Is the Basque shepherd her father rather than Cole, Miranda's husband?

Prejudice, murder, insanity, suicide: Every small town has its secrets. Find out what those shocking secrets reveal in "Missing, Assumed Dead."

Here's an excerpt from the book that tells you a little about Judge Leiper.

The next morning, George drove up to the Vasco place. He didn’t see anything suspicious but wrote a note for Salvadore to contact him. When he hadn’t heard two days later, he went back. The note was still on the door. He walked around the shack but didn’t see anything except Salvadore’s walking stick, the shepherd’s crook, leaning against the tool shed door. He looked inside, but nothing seemed amiss.

Vasco rarely went anywhere without that stick. George went back to town, worried something might have happened to the old man. He decided to tell his uncle about it. As a Justice of the Peace, he had close contacts with the Sheriff’s Office.

“That’s what I found, Uncle, um, Judge. I think the old man mighta wandered off and got lost.”

Judge Leiper stared at his nephew with watery eyes, then pulled a big, white handkerchief from his suit pocket. He wiped the sweat from his pasty face, nearly as pale as the cloth.

“Don’t think there’s need to worry. He’s a tough old guy and knows those hills like the back of his hand.”

George hesitated to speak up to the judge, but he had to do his duty. “I’ll contact the sheriff and see if I can get them to come out to search for him.”

Narrowing his beady eyes, the judge’s voice went from friendly to mean. “Now, you don’t want to be bothering the sheriff. I said not to worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“But—”

The judge waved his hand at George. “Now you just forget about it. I’ll take care of it.”