Hot Roll (Caught Dead in Wyoming, Book 8): Caught Dead In Wyoming, #8 by Patricia McLinn

Author:Patricia McLinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: traditional western mystery series, female sleuth, mystery romance humor series, cozy mystery dog, western murder mystery series, TV journalist mystery series, mystery novels best sellers
ISBN: 9781944126353
Publisher: Craig Place Books
Published: 2020-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Two law enforcement vehicles stood outside the neat frame house not far from where I’d lived when I first moved to Sherman.

This wasn’t one of the original houses from more than a hundred years ago, but those workers’ cottages still dotted the neighborhood, earning it a historic designation. The majority of the elaborate homes the employers built around the same time on the other side of town hadn’t fared as well.

That seemed like some kind of comeuppance for the once high and mighty. Except I did love the few examples of the surviving big, old houses.

The Lawtons’ house was white with a porch and dormers promising cozy bedrooms upstairs.

“Hollister,” Jennifer muttered from the passenger seat of my SUV, as we pulled in behind the Sherman Police Department vehicle in the driveway. Officer Randy Hollister of the tiny Sherman Police Department clearly didn’t rank high in her estimation. “He can’t handle a break-in.”

A Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Department vehicle was parked in front of the house. If we were lucky, it would be Deputy Richard Alvaro’s. He was smart and approachable. Although I could see his openness diminishing as he spent more time with Sergeant Shelton and Sheriff Conrad.

Sherman Police Department patrolled within the town limits, while the sheriff’s department had responsibility for the rest of the sprawling county. As a matter of practicality, however, whoever had a unit closer responded to calls. The sheriff’s department, with more resources, staff, and experience ran most cases more complicated than traffic stops and the milder bar fights.

Mike in his SUV and Diana in the Newsmobile — a station all-wheel drive closely related to a tank — pulled in right behind me.

Diana might have heard the news from the scanner in the Newsmobile, but Mike must have been instantly notified via the newsroom grapevine and come after us.

KWMT now outnumbered law enforcement. I liked those odds.

Faith Lawton came out the front door as we reached the porch, pulling her daughter into a hug.

“Jen, you didn’t need to come home. I just didn’t want you to worry from hearing it on the police scanner. That’s why I called.”

I didn’t hear—” Jennifer stiffened, “That damned Thurston Fine.”

Ah. Of course. He frequently turned off the scanner, claiming it disrupted his work routine. In other words, his nap.

“How nice of you to come, Elizabeth. All of you,” she amended as Mike and Diana walked up.

“Okay with you if I shoot video, Faith?” Diana asked.

“Not much to see, but you’re welcome to come in, all of you. The break-in was through the back, so we’re not interfering with the investigation here.”

“What did they steal, Mom? Did they trash the house? Vandalism? What about—?”

“No, no, nothing like that. We don’t know if anything’s been taken. We haven’t had a chance to check thoroughly. I can tell they went through your room and Adam’s and the den. No sign of them in our room. In fact, the officers will be glad you’re here to see if anything’s missing.”

She spoke over a mechanical whine from across the street that made me turn.

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