INT. - DESERT'S EDGE MOTEL - NIGHT

Ray stood from testing the liver of the dead man, her thermometer reading higher than she expected. The depth of humidity in the room, the oppressive heat of the California night, was going to make assessing time of death more difficult this way.

Gerri's energy was so fiery she almost felt her friend coming, though it was the steady thud of cowboy boots on the worn linoleum floor that was the real precursor. Ray clenched against the ...