The Chocolate Moose Motive: A Chocoholic Mystery by Carl JoAnna

Author:Carl, JoAnna [Carl, JoAnna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781101606711
Publisher: NAL HARDCOVER
Published: 2012-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

At least Hogan had made my mind up for me.

I ran by TenHuis Chocolade and scooped an old beat-up metal mixing bowl out of the storage room, several plastic spoons out of the break room, and a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator. Then I headed east out of Warner Pier. Nosy and Rosy said they had found footprints, and Hogan apparently thought it would be a good thing to have a cast of them.

Not that the cast, made by an amateur detective, would be very good evidence. But even if it wasn’t an official clue, it might give some real investigator a hint.

Luckily, Joe and I had taken a course for citizens who were interested in becoming police department volunteers, so I had an elementary idea of how to use the dental compound today’s law officers use for casting. Now I just hoped Nosy and Rosy were home. I didn’t want to go onto their property without permission. That would probably bring another report of prowlers.

The next mailbox east of Moose Lodge was marked with the name Reagan. It was shaped like a great big fish; the postman poked the mail in through a wide-open mouth. At the end of the drive I saw a small black pickup truck. Good. Maybe Nosy and Rosy were there.

The Reagans’ property wasn’t as neatly kept as Wildflower’s. The woods were thick over almost all of it, with only a small patch cleared for a scraggly bit of grass and one flower bed. In the little clearing was a light gray double-wide with a colonial-style front porch. The double-wide would have made me feel as if I were back in Texas if it hadn’t been for the tall trees and thick undergrowth.

Actually, the undergrowth was much too thick to suit me. The whole property felt damp and claustrophobic. I gave a shiver as I stopped the van, and I couldn’t have guessed if that shiver was caused by the clammy atmosphere or by the threatening vibes I was picking up from all those trees.

It was the kind of area I call “mosquito heaven,” and I was glad to see that hanging on the porch was a big bug light, the kind that attracts bugs, then electrocutes them.

As I got out of the van, Rosy came out the front door. His white hair was fluffed up in back, and I wondered if he’d been taking a nap when he heard my van.

He looked a little puzzled; then his face cleared. “Mrs. Woodyard, right? What can we do for you?”

“Wildflower wasn’t happy with the cursory way the sheriff was investigating the possible burglary at her house. She asked me to look around and see if I could find any more evidence that someone had been prowling around. And you folks said that y’all found some tracks.”

“Darn right! And that sheriff wouldn’t even look at them. I guess we’re not important enough in the Warner County picture for him to pay us any mind.

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