Jack-O-Lanterns and Jinxes (What the Cat Dragged In Cozy Mysteries Book 7) by Sara Bourgeois

Author:Sara Bourgeois [Bourgeois, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Lil parked her new truck-car right out front and hopped out. “Who wants to go for a ride?” she asked when she entered.

“You bought it?”

“It’s practically a Chevelle. Better than a Chevelle, there’s only seating for two,” Lil said. “Although I’m sure someone will ask me to help them move, now that I have a truck.”

Andy looked at the El Camino. “You bought a truck?”

“I’m leaning toward a Chevelle with a truck bed,” Lil said.

“Pretty color. Probably looks even better in the sunlight,” Andy said.

“Well, we’ll have to see. In six months when the sun comes out again,” Lil said.

Maybe Lil could shake Andy loose. “Andy says that Detective Jackson has been following him. And that Agent Hoarch’s phone was found on the skeleton outside the hotel.” Creepy city, Jen thought.

Lil gave a half-questioning squint to Jen before she faced Andy. “Has there been an identification on the human remains yet?”

“Not that I know of. It’s not like I’m getting much from the department. Still, news of a murder victim IDed couldn’t be kept on the down-low for long,” he said.

“And no major police activity at the theater either?” Lil asked.

“I’ve become a big tipper at Hill of Beans. They’ve been keeping an eye on the place during business hours. Nothing but carpenters and contractors going in and out, as far as they’ve seen,” Andy said. “Even if they decided to do it at night, someone would notice all the official vehicles parked outside—ME, police techs, detectives—you couldn’t cover up an operation like that. Even if the cops wouldn’t talk about it, the rumor mill grinds on.”

“The city couldn’t even get away with one cop car parked in front,” Jen recalled.

“My guess is that Doug is being cautious. Because he’s always too cautious. He probably brought in Hoarch, who knows as much as anybody about the Piper case. Stanislavsky probably wanted to confirm that Peter Piper was involved before bringing in the big guns. The cops around here are always anxious to pass off any Piper-related cases. But if you’re always going to the feds, they probably get tired of hearing from you,” Lil surmised.

In fact, the very first case Lil dragged Jen into was the discovery of human remains in Merriweather Regional Park. Indeed, the local PD pulled in the FBI immediately. It turned out that it wasn’t the work of the notorious killer. On the other hand, Andy had decided the victim’s personal effects contained a clue. Neither Jen nor Lil put much stock in it. But that clue led to another, and to a chain of clues that ended at the Luxe Theater. And barrels. Skeletons.

An unmarked police car pulled right in front of the shop, parking in front of the truck-car.

“Again?” Andy sighed.

But it wasn’t Detective Jackson. It was Doug Stanislavsky. When he entered, he gave Andy a scowl. “What, do you live here now?”

“Your detective told me not to leave town,” Andy said. “Not that I don’t have a lot to do outside Conflict.”

Stanislavsky shook his head.

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