Read Bone Dry (Blanco County Mysteries) for Free Online Page B

absolute knockout. See, I don’t want word to get back to Mabel. She may think I’ve got something going on with this gal.”
     
    Colby finally lost it and erupted in laughter. “You been datin’ your way through the supermodel circuit, Rodney?” he managed to ask.
     
    Rodney tensed, and Marlin held up a hand to quiet them both. “She look anything like that?” Marlin gestured to the front windows of the diner.
     
    Outside, two people had just arrived in a rusty yellow Volvo. The driver was a short, scruffy guy with ragged curly hair, a wispy beard, and a weathered camouflage jacket. The other was a tall blonde woman who would have looked right at home on the cover of Cosmopolitan. She was dressed casually, in a tailored jacket and cream-colored denims.
     
    The residents of Blanco were accustomed to strangers passing through town; after all, Main Street was also U.S. Highway 281. But the majority of visitors looked like they belonged on the streets of Austin or Dallas, whereas this woman looked like a vision from the runways of Milan. When she walked through the front door of the diner, the small crowd went dead quiet.
     
    The couple found a table and, as she prepared to sit down, the woman removed her jacket. She was wearing a tight red turtleneck that hugged a curvy torso. Marlin was embarrassed when one deaf old regular said, a little too loudly, “I’m glad I took my heart medicine this mornin’.” The crowd tittered.
     
    The woman turned, found the old man, and gave him a sly wink, which caused a murmur. “That’s her!” Rodney hissed. “She’s the one who blasted my truck!”
     
    “You sure about that, Rodney?” Marlin sounded skeptical. “I mean, if I go question her, I won’t be making a complete ass of myself?”
     
    “No doubt whatsoever. Look at her, John. You think there’s two of her kind runnin’ around Blanco County?”
     
    “Good point.”
     
    Marlin gave Colby a look that asked, What am I about to get myself into?
     
    Colby responded with a shrug. “Duty calls.”
     
    Marlin rose and crossed the room to the woman’s table. The crowd was silent, enjoying a front-row seat to whatever was about to happen.
     
    “’Mornin’, ma’am…sir.” Marlin nodded to them both.
     
    The woman gave him a poker face. “Good morning, Officer.” The woman appeared so Scandinavian, Marlin was expecting an accent, but there was nothing but a Midwestern twang.
     
    “Ma’am, I was wondering if I could speak to you outside for a minute.”
     
    “Pardon?”
     
    “Well, I just want to ask you a few questions about an incident. I’m the game warden in Blanco County.”
     
    The woman started to reply, but her scruffy companion spoke up, with a bit of an attitude. “We can read the badge on your shirt, sir. Do you mind telling us what this is all about?”
     
    The internal radar Marlin had developed by interviewing thousands of poachers simply said: Asshole. Marlin dealt with all types of people in the course of a season. Most were respectable, law-abiding citizens. But some were belligerent, some were drunk, and still others—like this guy—were self-righteous jerks who thought they were above the law.
     
    Marlin responded with a little attitude of his own: “Sir, at the moment I’m speaking to this young lady. If I have any questions for you, I’ll be sure to let you know.” He kept a firm glare on Mr. Scruffy for a moment. The man gave Marlin a contemptuous sneer, but remained silent.
     
    Marlin turned back to the blonde woman and gestured toward the front door. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind...” The woman remained seated. “I believe I’ll stay right here, but feel free to ask all the questions you want.”
     
    “Fine,” Marlin said, taking a breath. “We’ve received a couple of reports of hunter harassment in the last few days, and you match the description of the woman involved. Now, can you tell me where you were yesterday at about two in the