Three Sisters by James D. Doss Read Free Book Online

(protectively, it seemed) by the broad-shouldered chief of police and the elfin medical examiner. As Pug offered a few hopeful homilies about how mild the weather was for March and how pleasant it was to see the ladies and how terribly sorry he was for their “recent loss,” the sisters responded with appropriate nods and murmurs, ignored the proffered seats.
    Now that the polite little waltz was over and done with, Beatrice Spencer looked the DA straight in the eye. “Well?”
    The bull-necked politician tugged at his starched collar, which had instantly shrunk by two sizes. He jerked his chin to indicate the cherubic little man with the halo of white hair. “Doc Simpson has kindly agreed to give us a summary of his examination of the—uh…” His ugly bulldog face grimaced. “The remains.”
    The medical examiner seated himself in a padded armchair. His little feet dangled, barely touching the floor. The longtime friend of the Spencer family addressed the sisters in a stern, grandfatherly tone: “Sit down, girls.”
    They sat.
    Ignoring the THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING plaque on the DA’s wall, the elderly physician fished a slender black cigar from his coat pocket, bit off a plug, spat it in Pug’s wastebasket, lit it, took a puff. Exhaling, he said to the ladies, “Astrid was attacked by a carnivore. From a first look at the remains, could be a mountain lion, maybe even one of those wolves the government has turned loose. But during the process of a more careful examination, I discovered several animal hairs.” The medical sleuth added, with an air of satisfaction, “Probably left behind by a bear.”
    Beatrice responded in a dull monotone: “That would seem to settle it, then.”
    Cassie hugged herself, shuddered. “Poor Astrid—killed by a bear !”
    The ME’s little face had a distinctly foxy look. “Well, not necessarily.”
    The DA squinted at the aged physician. “What’s that mean?”
    Doc Simpson revealed a choice piece of intelligence that he had been keeping to himself. “Back in nineteen seventy-eight, your father killed a black bear on Yellow Pines Ranch. The cheeky creature was practically in his backyard, stealing peaches from the orchard. Joe kept the pelt in a ground-floor bedroom.” He removed the cigar, pointed it at Beatrice. “The same bedroom where Astrid was attacked. As time passed, it got pretty tattered—and was shedding hair. Joe threw it out years ago.”
    Beatrice glanced at her sister. “I had forgotten all about that old bearskin.”
    Cassandra nodded. So had I .
    “It does complicate matters.” The ME smiled at the Spencer beauties, who were preserved in his memory as disarmingly charming little cuties. “But I’ve sent some tissue samples to FBI forensics. I’ve no doubt they’ll find traces of saliva, which will contain a few mammalian cells. And those cells will identify the species of animal that killed your sister.”
    Cassandra’s big eyes popped. “They can tell all that—just from some spit ?”
    Doc Simpson’s chuckle jiggled the cigar, popping off miniature smoke signals. “You bet your boots, Cassie—that and lots more. If we happen to get our hands on a suspect animal, the forensics techs can do a cross-check on the DNA and determine whether that specific bear or cougar or whatnot is responsible for the mauling.” Wolf was a long shot. Simpson had an afterthought. “It might’ve even been that vicious dog pack that’s been running wild, pulling down sheep and—” Seeing Beatrice pale, he clamped his mouth shut.
    Cassandra sighed. “Poor Astrid. How horrible, to have a bloodthirsty animal break into your bedroom and—and…” Her eyes seemed to glaze over.
    Doc Simpson was observing the elder sister with intense clinical interest. I hope she doesn’t have one of her seizures, right here in Pug’s office . “It happens more often than you might think, Cassie. The bear—if it was a bear—probably smelled something good to eat in the