tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure by Kathi Daley Read Free Book Online Page B

The man seemed to be sincere, but my instinct told me he was lying. The problem was, his stoic facial expression and monotonous voice pattern made it impossible to know for certain.
    “But he was found lying on his back and the injury was to his temple. Besides, there wasn’t anything nearby for him to have hit his head on.”
    “I can assure you that we’ve taken all the evidence into account, including the placement of the body and the apparent head injury. I really can’t go into detail at this time, so you’ll just have to accept the fact that I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know what to look for. The reason I came by was to inform you that the attic is no longer off-limits. You’re free to clean up as you see fit.”
    Clean up? The crime scene guys hadn’t even been by. “Are you sure? What if it’s later determined that foul play was involved? There could be clues to be found in the attic. Fingerprints or other physical evidence, for starters.”
    “The investigation has been closed and Buck Barnes’s body has been cremated. Like I said, you’re free to clean up once I remove the tape from the attic doorway.” Deputy Savage took a step toward the stairs as if to do just that.
    “Wait! Did you track down the men Buck Barnes had been seen hanging around with prior to his disappearance? The men several people have informed me Barnes claimed were his treasure-hunting partners? Maybe they have information that isn’t currently being taken into consideration.”
    Deputy Savage took a deep breath. Based on the tension around his mouth, it appeared he was tiring of my questions, but nothing he was telling me made a lick of sense. “Actually, we did track down those men. They were tourists who were lured into Buck’s hunt by the promise of a big payout. When Buck was unable to produce the map he claimed he had access to, the men left the island. Both have alibis that confirm that they left the island several days before Buck went missing. We don’t believe they were involved in Buck’s death in any way.”
    “But it makes no sense that he died of natural causes. The attic was totally trashed. Someone was up there looking for something.”
    “Look, I know you have good intentions and I know it seems like foul play was involved, but we’re certain it wasn’t. Like I said, I can’t tell you any more right now, but we’re certain that, other than the fact that Buck obviously broke into this house, most likely to search for a map that doesn’t exist, no crime has been committed. I’m going to suggest you forget all about this unfortunate incident and enjoy the rest of your summer.”
    Seriously?
    “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go upstairs to remove the crime scene tape and be on my way.”
    There was no way Buck Barnes broke into the house, trashed the attic, had a heart attack or some other natural event that could have led to his death, and then hit his head as he fell to the floor, making it look like he’d been bludgeoned. The entire situation was ridiculous. More than ridiculous; it was downright unbelievable. And the fact that his body had been cremated was just a bit too convenient. Something was definitely up and I intended to find out what it was.
    “What was that all about?” Doc asked after Deputy Savage left. Both Kyle and Grandpa were out, so it was just the two of us with the girls.
    “It seems Buck died of natural causes. The deputy came to remove the police tape from the doorway of the attic.”
    Doc frowned. “Natural causes? Why does he think that?”
    “He declined to say. He just said they’d determined Buck died of natural causes and we were authorized to go ahead and clean up the attic.”
    Doc turned and headed toward the stairs without saying another word. I followed him. When we arrived at the attic he walked immediately to the place where the body had been found. “Have you been up here at all since we found the body?”
    “No.”
    “Has