The Case of the Ridiculous Raven by L. C. Richards

Author:L. C. Richards [Richards, L. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-10-24T04:00:00+00:00

Sheriff Henry Clayton was a diminutive man: small features, small hands, small nose. The only thing big about him were his ears. They looked like sails. I figured him to be pushing seventy.

He didn’t walk seventy if you know what I mean. As soon as I opened the RV’s door and asked the Sheriff to come inside, he mounted the two little steel steps like an athlete. He was in uniform. You know, lanyards, patches, badge, nameplate, and whatnot. And he wore a straw hat that was so rigid it looked like it was made of cement. He took his hat off as soon as he was inside. “Henry Clayton, ma’am,” he said.

I told him my name and took his proffered hand and shook it.

“I won’t be but a minute.” Sheriff Clayton took a small notebook out of his shirt pocket and the stub of a much-chewed pencil. Rifling through the torn and scribbled pages, he found some blank space. “You’re Ms. Ross, correct?”

I said, yes.

“And you were with the party that found the deceased, right?”

Correct, correct, correct. Correct on all accounts, your honor! (Being silly!)

“And did you or anyone else in your party know the deceased?”

We were standing just inside the entrance. “By the way, would you like to sit down?” I asked.

The Sheriff declined my offer.

“I didn’t know-know him, but I had met him briefly the day before.” I explained how I had been out walking with my dog, and we had met each other.

“And that’s how you learned the deceased’s name?”

“He introduced himself as John,” I explained.

Sheriff Clayton looked around. If he saw the crazy board with the hastily drawn face of the deceased and the word “Dead” on it, he didn’t let on. “Is this your RV?”

I explained it belonged to Dottie and Penelope, but that Penelope wasn’t feeling well and was lying down.

The Sheriff referred to his notebook. “That would be Ms. McNamara and Ms. Pigeon, correct?”

I said yes. Then, before I could say anything else, the Sheriff turned to go. “About how long are y’all going to be here?”

“For the rest of the month.”

The Sheriff handed me a few business cards. “If you don’t mind, give one of these to Ms. McNamara and Ms. Pigeon, and tell them to call my office sometime. We’ll need to get a formal statement from everyone. One of my deputies can come out here and get it from you. Won’t take five minutes.”

Sheriff Clayton was just about to leave, but I stopped him. “Before you go, do you think this was an accident or foul play?”

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