Free John Saul by Guardian Page A

before, although if she’d had to identify which buildings were new and which were original, she wouldn’t have been able to, so perfectly had the recent structures been blended with the old.
    “New money coming in,” Charley Hawkins commented. “So far, we’re managing to keep the flavor of the place, but it seems like a new developer comes in every week. I’m spending most of my time these days fighting off challenges to our zoning restrictions. And now,” he added grimly, “I’ve lost my strongest ally. If Ted hadn’t died …” He was silent a moment, then shrugged. “I guess we’ll figure out a way to get by without him, won’t we? Since we don’t seem to have a choice.”
    They made the rest of the drive up to the ranch in silence, but MaryAnne was relieved, once they left the town behind, to see that the valley seemed much the same as she recalled. At last they pulled through the gate to El Monte, and up the narrow, curved drive to the front of the big, lodgelike house.
    Bigger, MaryAnne realized, than she’d remembered it.
    She had just stepped out of the car and started toward thefront steps when the door opened and Joey burst out, charging across the broad porch, taking the three steps in one leap and throwing himself on MaryAnne.
    “Aunt MaryAnne? What are we going to do? Mom and Dad are—” His words died on his lips, and MaryAnne hugged him close.
    “It’s going to be all right, Joey,” she said softly, stroking his hair. “I’m here now, and it’s going to be all right.”
    The boy gazed up at her, his eyes fearful. “Are you going to take care of me?” he asked.
    “Of course I’m going to take care of you,” MaryAnne reassured him. “That’s why I’m here.” She gently led him back into the house, with Charley Hawkins following behind with her suitcase. Standing in the doorway was a small friendly-featured woman in her mid-thirties, clad in jeans and a plaid shirt, looking as tired as MaryAnne felt.
    “I’m Gillie Martin,” the woman said, offering MaryAnne her hand. “My husband’s the senior deputy out here, and I came up with him last night when”—her eyes shifted to Joey for an instant, and she shook her head sadly—“when I heard about Audrey,” she finished uncomfortably. “If there’s anything I can do for you, you call me anytime. There’s plenty of food in the kitchen—people have been dropping by all day—and I went ahead and got one of the guest rooms ready for you.” She flushed slightly. “I hope that’s all right.”
    “It’s fine,” MaryAnne assured her quickly. “If you’ve been here all night, you must be exhausted. You must want to go home—”
    “Not until you’re settled in, and I know you and Joey are going to be all right,” Gillie said in a tone that left no room for argument. “I’ll just call Rick—that’s my husband. He can pick me up.” She smiled warmly. “And I can hold him off for a while. I know he’ll want to talk to you, tell you what happened here. But not today, right?”
    MaryAnne nodded gratefully.
    The house seemed to fill up with people, and MaryAnne, struggling to fight off the exhaustion of the last twenty-four hours, let herself be taken care of by the throng of neighborswho had arrived to offer her help with whatever might be necessary for the next few days. By early evening, though, they had begun to disperse, and finally she was at the front porch saying good night to Charley Hawkins.
    “You’re sure you feel all right staying here tonight?” he asked. “If you and Joey want to come and stay with me, I’ve got plenty of room. Since Mabel died last year, I’ve just been rattling around like the last bean in the coffee can.”
    “Thanks, but we’ll be fine,” MaryAnne replied. “Or as fine as we can be, given the circumstances. But I think tonight Joey and I need to be alone together, if you know what I mean.”
    “I do,” Hawkins replied. “If you need anything—anything at all—you