High Desert Detective, A Fiona Marlowe Mystery (Fiona Marlowe Mysteries) by Marjorie Thelen Read Free Book Online

Molly’s mama is going
to be upset.”
    Jake nodded. “I hope they’ll be all right. They got knocked
around pretty good.”
    Caleb nodded toward Jake’s truck. “Better check your rig over to
see if it runs.”
    The two walked over, and Jake started the truck but couldn’t get
it to move. It landed straddling a rock on the front end and wouldn’t move
front or back. Caleb hooked up the winch again and pulled Jake’s big Ford 350
out with his ancient truck. The truck bounced off the bank. The two men checked
under the hood. Fiona walked around the chassis checking for damage.
    “It’s got a few dents,” said Fiona.
    “That won’t hurt nothing ,” said Jake. “The
engine doesn’t seem to have any leaks. I’ll go over it good when we get home. Do
you know if your nephew had insurance?” he asked Caleb.
    “Don’t rightly know. This is the first time he ever came to visit.”
    The three of them watched Dora ministering to the accident
victims, and Fiona said, “Did you notice there’s something bobbing out there in
the water?”
    Jake and Caleb followed Fiona’s finger to the odd phenomenon out
on the water.
    “What do you suppose that is?” asked Caleb.
    Jake shaded his eyes to see. “Can’t say. I’ll check.”
    “Check what?” asked Fred. He came over to see what they were
looking at.
    “Was anyone else with them?” asked Jake.
    “Not that I know,” said Caleb, “but I’ll ask.”
    While he walked over to his nephew, Fred said, “I got my waders
on. I’ll go in to take a look. The waders cut down on the heat of the water a
little.”
    He went down the bank and into the water shovel in hand.
Carefully, he approached the bobbing object. He tapped at it with the shovel
and the bubble collapsed. He poked around in the water, caught a hunk of fabric
with the shovel, and pulled up. A long piece of fabric came up and Fred grabbed
hold of it.
    “It feels like it’s caught on something,” he said. He pulled
harder but the fabric wouldn’t budge.
    Caleb shouted from the bank. “My nephew says they were the only
two in the car. He doesn’t know what that might be.”
    Fred put his weight into the pull, leaning back. With a jerk the
fabric came free. Fred’s legs went out from under him, and he fell backward
onto the bank.
    “Guess I pulled a little too hard,” he said, standing and brushing
off.
    More bits and pieces of fabric floated to the surface.
    “This looks like a man’s shirt,” said Fred.   He grasped and pulled. “Someone’s dumped
their laundry in the spring.”
    He kept pulling and a pair of pants surfaced, too.
    “Something is in these pants.” He hefted them out of the water.
“Good golly, these are bones, and this looks like a rib cage in this old shirt.”

 
 
 
    Three

 
 
    “Bring that stuff to the bank,” said Jake. “They’re caked with
mud and falling apart. They look like they’ve been buried.”
    Fred dumped the load on the bank and one by one bones dropped out
of the pants.
    “I wonder what happened to this guy,” Fred said, “and how long
he’s been here.” He wrinkled his nose. “Looks like we
disturbed this guy’s final resting place. How did he get here, do you
suppose? Do you think the guy wrapped himself in a sheet before he took the
plunge or somebody did it for him after the fact? ”
    Jake shook his head. “The Sheriff can decide that.” He turned to
look at Fiona who had joined him. He could see the lively interest in her eyes.
He didn’t know what it was about a mysterious demise that so enticed the woman,
but she had that look on her face.
    “We can ask the Sheriff if he’s missing anyone,” Fiona said,
warming to the subject.
    Fred dug around with the shovel and gathered up floating pieces
of fabric. “It couldn’t have been an Indian burial,” he said. “They did above
ground platforms in the old days. Wow, it’s hot in here.” He waded out of the
water and started lining up pieces of fabric and bones on the