River Rocks: A West Virginia Adventure Novel by Steve Kittner

Author:Steve Kittner [Kittner, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SteveKittnerBooks.com
Published: 2014-12-28T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Oh, well, that’s not the best thing that could have happened,” Burl Otis grumbled. “He will get busy trying to figure things out, you can bet on that. Collins has been so obsessed, and now that he has the map, he will be up twenty-four hours a day deciphering it.”

I’m gonna make a quick call,” Josh said.

“Who ya calling?” Eddie asked.

“Giselle,” he replied. “I think we need to know more about Mansfield. Who is he and why is he holding our copy, knowing that it’s ours? Also she can look up the Collins/Franklin connection and see if there is any past dirt on him.”

“Maybe so,” Burl said. “He is really, really obsessed with it. The whole story is in his family too, ya gotta remember. I don’t know if he has been on the outside of the law but…”

“He was outside the law when he took the deer hide out of my garage,” Josh replied. “And being obsessed is one thing, but spreading lies about someone else’s family…it doesn’t make sense. There has to be more to it.”

“Well, you’re right about that, and your friend can look it up, but I really don’t think there will be much to find. I do have a hunch about that Mansfield guy, though. He seems peculiar, keeping your copy like that.” Burl sat up a little straighter in his chair. “What I think we need to do is study the copy that you still have. We need more information.”

“It’s in your pack, Eddie. I’ll get my phone and the copy.”

Burl looked at Eddie. “How accurately did you boys copy that document?”

“Letter for letter,” Eddie said. “There was even a little drawing at the bottom of it. We traced that line for line. Everything is just like it is on the original.”

“What was the drawing?” Burl asked.

“We weren’t sure, just a little sketch of some kind. Maybe you will get something out of it, I don’t know.” Eddie shrugged.

Josh returned to the table with his cell phone and the yellow copy of the deer-hide document.

The detectives began their work.

Eddie opened the yellow copy while Josh tapped out seven numbers on the cell phone. Burl Otis looked down on the cell phone as if it were from Mars. Technology was nothing that interested him. He figured that all these gadgets that were invented to simplify lives had done nothing but complicated most people, and had added a hundred digits to their stress level every time the blasted things failed. You get used to having weather radar on your telephone in your pocket and suddenly you can’t do without it. Heaven forbid it fails when you feel a sprinkle outside. No sir. Burl Otis liked things simple. He could feel the weather anyway. He had a bad knee that could predict a low pressure system two days away.

Giselle O’Conner’s phone sang out a dance mix of the B-52’s Loveshack and she answered within the first couple of bars.

“Hello.”

“Giselle, it’s Josh.”

“Hey, you guys made it up there?”

“Yeah…long story.

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