Read Evelyn David - Sullivan Investigations 02 - Murder Takes the Cake for Free Online Page A

the words aloud, just let them bounce around in her head. The sheriff had known the man rotting on the bed upstairs. He’d called him by name, Brian Crager. The same man who’d called the office this morning and said he was missing some turkeys. The real Brian Crager hadn’t called anyone in weeks.  And if you ever saw him.  Oh, she’d gotten a good look at him alright. At first from the bedroom doorway, she’d thought he was still alive; she’d seen his head move. But as she’d stepped into the room, she realized she was seeing flies. They were moving on his face.  You could even say it glows….
    A wet nose pressed into the palm of her left hand and JJ stopped humming along with the radio. “I told the sheriff you found him; that you stood outside the bedroom and barked until someone heard you. I’m sorry it took so long.”
    The dog whined.
    She stroked Whiskey’s head. “I want to go home too.”
    “ Sir, describe the man in the barn.”
    “ Late forties, about five-ten, 170 pounds, dirty blonde hair. Had an uppity attitude for someone shoveling turkey–”
    “ I understand, Mr. Freed. Just a few more questions.”
    JJ almost felt sorry for the deputy. Edgar liked to add lots of color to his recitation of the facts. The deputy ‘s little notebook was almost full. She wondered who the man in the barn was. She couldn’t remember if his voice was the same as the man who’d called about the turkeys. She thought it was different, but most people sound different on the phone. What was really going on?
    All of the other reindeer.…
    Whiskey bumped her leg–hard!
    “ Sorry. You don’t like that song? Or is it my voice?” JJ blinked, trying to clear the image of the bloody bedspread from her eyes. It was white chenille. Her grandmother had one like it for years–but without the blood. The man looked like he’d had a massive nosebleed. Blood had pooled around his nose and chin, before running down his neck and onto the bedding. Those stains weren’t going to come out.
    “ Miss? I need to get some information from you now.”
    “ Poor Rudolph.”
    “ Would you like some water? You look kind of pale.”
    JJ tried to focus on the deputy. She felt kind of pale. Her side hurt and just the thought of what she ‘d seen when she’d topped the stairs kept her stomach churning. Whiskey had been standing at the open doorway, howling. Even as she’d punched in the numbers on her cell phone for the police, she’d known it was much too late to help the victim. The smell was terrible. She’d tried to run into the bedroom, just in case, but the hardwood floor might as well have been wet sand. Even moving her feet forward had been almost beyond her strength. She’d seen the blood, the bedspread, the flies, then turned, intent on leaving before she saw any more. A ray of light, shining through the sheer curtains had reflected off the mirror, catching her attention. Below the mirror, on the bureau top was a newspaper–a newspaper with a square cut out of it. It was so much like what she’d done that morning, she almost picked it up. Her fingers had hovered inches above it, before she pulled them back.
    Join In Any Reindeer Games.
    A killer was playing a game and he’d involved her in it. Why?
    “ Feel like tossing your cookies, Julianna?” The old man moved his scooter closer to the spot on the porch where she stood. “Maybe the deputy can make you a cup of tea. Law enforcement work isn’t for prissy little girls. Next time maybe you’ll stay in the office, typing letters and doing your nails.”
    Crazy old.… She felt a surge of anger and the music in her head stopped. Maybe that was his intent. Someday, but not anytime soon, she might thank him for it.
    “I’ll answer your questions.” JJ nodded at the deputy. “But first let me try to call my boss again.”
     
    ***
     
    Rachel checked her watch again. 6:46 P.M. A minute later than the last time she looked and fifteen minutes after Mac Sullivan was