A Shortcut Through the Shadows (The Foxglove Corners Series Book 4) by Dorothy Bodoin

Author:Dorothy Bodoin [Bodoin, Dorothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
Published: 2015-02-21T05:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

Lieutenant Dalby sat straight in the wicker chair. He wore sunglasses again, keeping his eyes hidden. Powerful and slightly condescending, he was as courteous as Susan Carter in the same professional way. If he thought I was delusional, he was thoughtful enough not to mention it.

“I’m not doubting your word, Ms. Greenway, but there’s no green scarf anywhere near the crime scene. I checked it out myself.”

“But it was there. I would have brought it in myself, but I couldn’t reach it. The scarecrow was a little taller.”

He looked at me. “Taller than you are?”

“Then it was the first time I saw it. Someone must have replaced the stand with a higher one.”

He glanced at his patrol car. “I see what you mean now. I didn’t notice any difference myself.”

“Did you talk to the people who own the cornfield or take care of it?” I asked.

“I would have, but no one’s been home.”

He thought I was mistaken, imagining things. After all, I was the only one who had seen the scarf. But why would anyone invent a piece of evidence and report it to the police?

I made an attempt to salvage my credibility. “Maybe a bird took it away.” At his condescending look, I bristled. “It’s possible.”

“Isn’t the purpose of a scarecrow to frighten birds away?”

“Yes, but think of a large aggressive hawk or a vulture.”

“He would have to be a smart bird to be able to undo a knot.”

I ignored that. I couldn’t remember if the scarf had been knotted or just securely wound around the scarecrow neck.

I’d better let the Lieutenant have the last word. I wasn’t going to win this war of words and was tired of talking about the scarecrow and the scarf—and of having company, too. Why had I gone to the police with my story? In the past I’d been rebuffed for my efforts to help them.

“Someone found the scarf and put it back on the scarecrow,” I said. “That couldn’t be a bird.”

“Not even a smart one.”

Halley lay at the far end of the porch with her head resting on her paws, watching us.

“Nice collie,” he said. “I used to have one when I was a kid. Where’s your other dog?”

“He’s staying with my friend temporarily. I’m sorry I wasted your time, Lieutenant.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s part of my job. If you see this green scarf again, be sure to call us.”

“I will.”

Lieutenant Dalby got up. During the last few minutes, he’d been looking longingly at his cruiser and Jonquil Lane.

“Until then, Ms. Greenway,” he said.

~ * ~

“We have time before the show,” Crane said that evening. “Let’s drive over to the cornfield and check on the scarecrow.”

He lifted the corner of my dress out of the way and slammed the door of the Jeep. I watched him as he walked around to the driver’s side. He looked even handsomer tonight than usual.

“Lieutenant Dalby thinks I’m imagining the scarf,” I said, as he started the Jeep.

“If you say you saw it, you did. The police deal in facts.

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