Half in Love with Artful Death by Bill Crider

Author:Bill Crider
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250039682
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter 13

Rhodes pulled into the rest area behind an old Chevy pickup with rust spots on the tailgate. He got out of the county car and looked around. He hadn’t been in this rest area in years, but it looked pretty much the same as ever. It was a pleasant day, plenty of sunshine, cool but not cold, not much of a breeze to speak of. Rhodes thought it might not seem so pleasant if he didn’t have any clothes on.

He didn’t see a naked woman, but he did see a man sitting at one of the tables. It was shaded by cedar elms with some green leaves still on them. Most of the leaves were yellow, and the ground was littered with them.

The man at the table was eating a sandwich. A brown paper bag and a can of Dr Pepper sat on the table near him. He took a bite from the sandwich and laid it down on some waxed paper. He chewed for a second and then took a swig from the Dr Pepper can. Rhodes walked over to him, briefly envying him the Dr Pepper.

“Been here long?” Rhodes asked.

The man was about sixty, Rhodes thought. He had a seamed face and close-set eyes. He wore an Astros cap, a floral shirt, and faded jeans. He looked at the badge holder hanging from Rhodes’s belt.

“Been here ’bout five minutes. Just got started on my ham and cheese sandwich. That against the law in this county?”

Rhodes eyed the sandwich. It looked pretty good to him. So did the Dr Pepper. “Not in the least.”

“If it’s not, then you must be looking for the naked woman.”

“That’s right,” Rhodes said. “You seen her?”

“You bet. My name’s Gates. Jerry Gates. No relation to Bill, more’s the pity. Wouldn’t mind having some of that money of his. I’m from Waco. Going to see my cousin over in Palestine. Thought I’d stop here and eat my sandwich.” The man shook his head. “Never thought I’d see a naked woman, though, not that I have any objections. Woman wants to go naked, I say let her go. You, now, being a sheriff, you might not feel that way.”

“She could be in trouble,” Rhodes said.

“Probably is. Probably going to get arrested for public indecency.”

“I’m not talking about that kind of trouble. Usually somebody without clothes in a rest area is in some other kind of trouble.”

Gates nodded. “I see what you mean. Drugs, assault, that kind of thing.”

“Yes,” Rhodes said. “That kind of thing.”

“Maybe so,” Gates said, “but when I asked her if she needed help, she just headed for the bushes. I figured I’d better back off.”

Now they were getting somewhere, Rhodes thought. Thick bushes grew at each end of the rest area, and they were even thicker across the barbed wire fence that separated the rest area from privately owned land.

“Which bushes?” Rhodes asked.

Gates pointed. “Across that fence.”

Rhodes didn’t see how anybody without clothing could cross the fence without some difficulty. Then he saw that someone had built a wooden stile that provided a way over the fence.

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