Dog Gone Lies (Pacheco & Chino Mysteries Book 1) by Ted Clifton Read Free Book Online

energy.
    Martinez entered the room like he was running for political office and was there to greet voters: big smile, big handshake, big phony.
    “Good morning sheriff. Glad you could come down and visit.” They shook hands, and Ray introduced Tyee. Martinez didn’t shake Tyee’s hand.
    “The Indian can wait out here.”
    “Tyee is with me. If you don’t want to meet with us, we’ll leave.” This was said in a voice that would make it clear to anyone, even a jerk like Martinez, that there was no room for discussion.
    Martinez looked at Ray, then at Tyee. There was a dull look in his eyes, as if he didn’t really understand what was going on.
    “Yeah, well come on back to my office.” He showed Ray and Tyee, along with Happy, into his small, cluttered office.
    “So this must be the dog you found.”
    “Probably more accurate to say he found me. Showed up in the evening three days ago. Let’s see—that would have been Saturday evening.”
    Martinez continued, “We believe the dog belongs to a woman who was staying at the Hot Springs Inn Friday night. She apparently went missing on Saturday. The Inn called in a missing person report Saturday morning, but for some reason nothing was done until her ex-husband and the El Paso police called on Monday looking for information about her. Any chance you happen to know this woman, Monica Jackson?”
    “Nope. Never heard of her. Was her car still at the Inn?”
    “I’ll ask the questions, Mr. Pacheco.”
    Okay, ask away asshole. Ray knew this guy was a jerk and probably didn’t have a clue about how to investigate a missing person, but he just shut up anyway and waited.
    “Look Sheriff Pacheco, I didn’t mean to be rude. Her car was at the Firestone store getting some new tires. That’s why she was staying at the Inn—they had to have the tires brought up from El Paso. No doubt for some reason her dog was let out in your area on Saturday, the day she disappeared. We probably should have been on top of this earlier but one of my deputies, and Cindy out front, dropped the ball. At this point we have no evidence as to what happened with her, so we’re just asking questions to see if anything turns up.”
    “Well, Deputy, I don’t know anything except what I’ve told you. Are you going to take the dog until this is resolved?”
    “Actually, if you’re willing, it might be best if you could keep him until we either find the owner or have someone show up wanting to take possession—is that agreeable to you?”
    “Sure, I suppose that’s okay with me.” Ray stood to leave. Martinez didn’t seem to be done.
    “Since you’re living up here now, maybe you know we’re having a special election for sheriff—just wanted to make sure you knew I was running. It would be great to have your vote and support.” This was accompanied by what appeared to be a practiced smile that by all appearances was painful for Martinez to use.
    “I’d heard about the special election but I’m not real familiar with the candidates. I’ll look into it and see who should get my support. Thanks for your time, Deputy.”
    Ray had previously had no interest in who became sheriff of Sierra County, but he did now—pretty much anyone but this guy. As they left, he could tell that Cindy had been crying—no doubt after a good reprimand by Martinez. Ray guessed it was because she’d failed to create a report about Ray reporting the dog he had found. While he felt sorry for Cindy, having to deal with such a pompous ass, it was one of the basics of law enforcement to make sure information was reported and shared.
    As they neared the Jeep another Deputy approached Ray.
    “Hi, I’m Deputy Clayton. I know you’ve been in talking to Deputy Martinez about the Jackson woman and I just wanted to let you know that I met the woman and there was a threat made against her on Friday.”
    “Deputy Clayton, nice to meet you. Actually, weren’t you part of a joint task force between Sierra and Dona