From Newsprint to Footprints: A River's Edge Cozy Mystery (River's Edge Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Elaine Orr Read Free Book Online Page A

too many pictures. But you know he fired somebody every few months lately, when subscriptions went down."
    Andy leaned an elbow on the cash register, ready to chat. "Heard Fred got some part-time work in Des Moines."
    "Andy! I don’t' care about Fred right now."
    "You don’t have to get grouchy about it."
    I shut my eyes for a moment. "Sorry, I…"
    The door opened, and two men in dark-colored suits stood there, looking at me. "Miss Perkins?"
    "Yes."
    "Sheriff said your truck was here when he drove by. We're from IDI. We need to talk with you for a few minutes."
    "Hot damn," Andy said.
    The older of the two men was about forty-five, with close-cropped hair that was more grey than its original brown. "Probably at the sheriff's office."
    "Sure. Meet you there."
    For a couple of seconds it seemed as if the agent who was closer to my age was going to say he wanted me to ride with them.
    I couldn't help it, I grinned. "It's not like I could go anywhere else without being seen."
    Both men seemed to relax, and the older one held out his hand. "Charles Holcomb. This is David Masters."
    I shook both of their hands. "I can lead you down there, if you like."
    "No cuffs?" Andy asked.
     
    THE TWO AGENTS were polite, but they spent a lot more time talking to me than Sheriff Gallagher had yesterday. Today, Deputy Granger sat on the same side of the table as the agents, and I sat across from them at the old metal table. Sheriff Gallagher stood against the conference room's door jamb, eyes moving to whomever was talking.
    The third time one of them asked me what time I got to Syl's I said, "Do you really not hear what I say, or is this some kind of deal where you're trying to see if I tell you the same thing each time?"
    "Melanie." The sheriff's mouth twitched for a second. "It's just how they do their job."
    I looked back at the agents. "I get that, and I realize I know I didn't do it and you don't. It just seems to me that you'd catch the killer faster if you looked for him."
    Sheriff Gallagher cleared his throat, and Charles Holcomb nodded. "We have to check every possibility."
    "So what others are you checking?"
    David Masters didn't seem to have his colleague's patience. "We're asking the questions, Miss Perkins."
    "Clearly. But a news reporter asks questions too."
    "Which you aren’t anymore," Granger said.
    For the third time we went over why I was fired and what Hal said in the grocery store. Then the agents looked at their notes, apparently trying to come up with something new.
    "Sheriff."
    Gallagher looked at me.
    "Can I leave?"
    "They may have more questions," he said.
    I looked at the two IDI agents. "I'll answer any new questions. But I'm not answering the same ones again."
    "We'd hate to have to categorize you as a hostile witness," Masters said, almost smirking.
    "You can categorize me as dumber than a mule, as long as we cover new ground."
    When they didn't say anything I picked up my purse from the chair next to me and left.
     
    IT WAS AFTER the breakfast rush and too early for morning coffee breaks, so the diner only had a couple of people in it. I glanced at the woman behind the counter. "The usual, Shirley, if you've got it."
    "Coming right up, sugar." She tucked some loose strands under her hair net as she went to get my food.
    I sat in a booth toward the back and scowled for a few seconds as I stared out the window. The diner is on a side street off the square. The buildings are a mix of brick and frame, none more than two stories. A couple of vacant buildings, one with several boarded windows, were eyesores, and a plastic bag moved slowly across the street.
    What did those IDI agents think they would accomplish by going over the same material three times? And who else were they talking to?
    Shirley set half a bagel and two small cartons of grape jelly on the table. She's sixty or so, or maybe fifty. Hard to tell with her skin creased from smoking. She stopped last year when she got an official diagnosis of COPD.