Death by Dumpling: A Cozy Paranormal Women's Fiction (Snips and Snails Cafe Murder and Mayhem Mysteries Book 4) by Elizabeth Rain

Author:Elizabeth Rain [Rain, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic
Publisher: Elizabeth Rain
Published: 2021-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The phone was ringing. With a growl of disgust, Lyle put the instruments in his hand on the waiting tray and peeled his gloves off. He was right in the middle of a routine autopsy and he hated interruptions. He snatched it up, frowning at the unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Lyle Turner? This is CJ, down at the garage. I’m calling about that wreck they hauled out of the Hat River.”

Comprehension dawned. He knew CJ in passing. “Oh, hello. Yeah, sure. What about it?”

“Well, the authorities are releasing it this afternoon. I’m having it hauled over to the junkyard for demolition. And I thought, maybe you, as coroner, might want to have one last look.”

Lyle glanced around the autopsy room, at the two other bodies lined up and waiting. Lately business had been good — which was bad. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell him they were all through, and he could sign the release when he remembered Juli and what she’d found. The cops had missed that casing. He wondered suddenly what else they might have missed. He wondered how thoroughly they’d checked the trunk. The sedan had been under water for close to three years, but that trunk had been sealed all that time. Water could get in, but nothing could get out. He scowled, making a sudden decision. “CJ I’m glad you called. Mind if I pop by on my lunch break and have one last look? Especially in the trunk?”

“Nope, that’s fine. I’d like to release it later this afternoon, though. It’s taking up room on the lot.”

Lyle looked at his phone, noting the time. “That’s good then, I’ll be there in about an hour.”

He hung up and reached for another set of gloves. If he hurried, he could have this one finished up before he left.

#

The sky was overcast, thick clouds rolling in and creating a dense pall over the lake. Thick rollers crashed on the shore as Lyle drove along Cliff Road, watching them churn and foam. A storm was coming. He hoped to make it in and out of the garage before it hit.

He pulled into CJ’s and got out. He found the man himself deep in one of the garage bays, changing the oil on a cherry-red, late model Chevy. He had to shout his name twice before he was heard over the blast of the radio on his workbench.

Wiping his hands, CJ extracted himself from under the hood.” He reached over and turned the radio down.

“I’ll take you back. We recovered the keys, but three years beneath the water and the impact of the crash made the lock on that trunk a no go. We had to use a pry bar to jimmy it open. We have a bungee cord holding it closed for now. Pretty soon it won’t matter anyhow.”

“Thanks for the call. There probably won’t be anything there.”

“Never know, that’s why I called you. Hope you don’t mind, but I called Juli, too. She’ll be by

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