Murder by Artifact (Five Star Mystery Series) by Barbara Graham Read Free Book Online

we did have a strange case. Can’t imagine how I forgot about it since it scared the snot out of me at the time. I doubt it’s what you’re looking for.” He cleared his throat a couple of times. “There was some animal mutilation. It started with a couple of small animals. A possum, for sure, and maybe a coon. I’m not sure what else. Oh, yeah, someone’s goat disappeared around then. It was probably a simple theft. The whole thing ended as fast as it started, after a couple of cattle were slaughtered. A year or so later, I put the file away. It never happened again.”

    “How long ago?”

    “Years.” Harvey fell silent.

    Tony remembered Theo’s timetable. “Maybe twenty years ago? That would be about the time I joined the Navy.”

    “No. Well, I guess it could be. I was thinking maybe a couple of years later.” He gazed out the window and nodded. “My youngest was away at Xavier, playing on a basketball scholarship. I remember being glad that she wasn’t around with some freak running loose.”

    “Isn’t she the same age as Theo?”

    “Yep. They graduated at the same time. So it’s maybe been fifteen or sixteen years.”

    Maybe this was what had upset Theo’s grandmother. It was odd. No one in his family had bothered to tell him about the most exciting thing that had probably happened in Park County since they had moved there.

    Harvey laughed. “About that same time there were some reports of space ship landings, aliens loose, some real woo-woo stuff. The closest thing to space aliens I ever saw is that robot statue and life-sized saucer old man Ferguson built out of tractor parts and stuck in his front yard.”

    “Okay, thanks, Harvey. Call me if you think of anything else.”

    “Keep your powder dry, kid.”

    Tony laughed and saluted before leaving the old sheriff.
     
    Harvey had been the sheriff in Park County since forever. He had been the sheriff when the Abernathy family had moved to Silersville when Tony was eight. He was still the sheriff until three years ago when Tony and Theo moved back from Chicago, at his suggestion. With his support, Tony was elected as Park County’s new sheriff.

    As he returned to his office, he decided being sheriff felt like a game of “Tag” and he was “It.”

    His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door frame. He looked up to see Deputy Mike Ott. Mike wasn’t scheduled to work for two more days. In case he dropped by, Tony had taped a note to his locker. “You wanted to see me?”

    “Come in, Mike. Don’t worry, I know you’re still on vacation.” Tony leaned back in his chair. “How’d your trip go?” Mike and his girlfriend Ruby had been out of town, searching for Ruby’s little girl. Her ne’er-do-well ex-husband had given her to relatives and they in turn had given, or, more likely, sold her to another family. “Any news?”

    “Well, we have another lead to follow. You know how it goes. One thing leads to another.” He exhaled heavily and sank onto one of the extra chairs. “Ruby is pretty discouraged, and I have to confess, I am, too.” He squeezed his hands together. “If her SOB of an ex-husband wasn’t already dead, I swear, I’d enjoy killing him myself.”

    The flash of pure malice startled Tony. Mike looked as nondescript as paste and usually managed his emotions with an iron control. It made him the perfect undercover cop. Tony wasn’t sure how much control he would have himself if something threatened Theo or one of the boys. He doubted he would do half as well as Mike.
     
    Tony shook his head to clear it. “On the subject of leads, I want you to look at this.” Tony handed him the bag containing the newspaper clipping.

    Mike studied the letters in silence. Finally, he looked up, his clear blue eyes meeting Tony’s. “Do you think we missed something out there in the woods? We searched the best we could. Dammit’s not trained as a cadaver dog, you know.”

    “I know, and no, I don’t think we