Read Jason Deas - Benny James 03 - Brushed Away for Free Online Page A

laughing. “You’ll like it. I was a bit skeptical myself at first. I promise you’ll like it.”
    “You haven’t lied to me yet, but I’m thinking we are about to have a first.”
    “Did you find anything else?”
    “I did. I decided to hire a trucking company to move the tent to a warehouse space without breaking it down. I thought it might preserve any evidence inside the tent we may have overlooked.”
    “Look at you. Damn son! Are you the same guy who was throwing up at the first murder scene we ever worked together?”
    “We’ve been through a lot since then.”
    “We have.”
    “When we picked up the tent to put it inside the truck, I found something underneath.”
    “What?”
    “Today’s edition of the Tilley Bee .”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me? The killer went back to the scene?”
    “It has to be him,” Vernon said.
    “Then the gash in the sand could be when he came back.”
    “I guess it could,” Vernon said thinking. “But I would bet my life that the gash is from the first visit to the site. He was nervous and driving fast.”
    “Wait a minute,” Benny said. “What time does the paper get printed?”
    “4:20 a.m.”
    “Yeah. I now remember that from our last case. What time does it go in all those boxes around town?”
    “An hour later, I suppose,” Vernon said. “I see what you’re getting at. Do you think they only made one trip and it was just before dawn? And the newspaper is just supposed to trip us up?”
    “That would be my bet,” Benny said.
    Benny pulled the spaghetti squash out of the oven and shredded it with a large fork. Vernon looked on in horror. Benny took two bowls out and filled each halfway with shredded squash. On top he ladled his homemade marinara. Vernon eyed the dish with skepticism. Sitting at Benny’s kitchen table, he slowly brought a forkful to his mouth and chewed. His eyes went from fright to surprise in a moment. He chewed some more and swallowed. Vernon smiled with delight.
    “You white folks been keeping this a secret?”
    “Yep,” Benny said. “That’s the way we are.”
     
    After lunch, Benny borrowed Donny’s speedboat. He had Vernon go over and ask for the keys as he didn’t want to get Donny upset again.
    Rene also lived on a boat. She lived directly across the lake from the Sleepy Cove Marina. She made her home on a sailboat. Rene came to Tilley a few years back when her husband was transferred from Italy. When he was transferred back, she realized she loved Tilley more than she loved him and she stayed. Her marina was a little bit smaller than Benny’s and only catered to sailboats. Of the three marinas on the lake, it was known as the snooty one. It was named X-Sailence. It was against the rules to live on the premises, but Rene somehow talked the owner into it. Benny had often wondered what she had to give up or do to make him budge on the policy.
    As Benny steered the boat toward the marina, Vernon made his way to the front of the craft. He gave Benny the thumbs up sign asking him to speed up. Receiving the message, Benny pushed the throttle forward as far as it would go, and the boat skipped across the gentle waters with a rhythmic up and down motion. Vernon held on as the wind rushed across his face.
    Nearing the marina, Benny pulled the throttle back.
    “That was fun,” Vernon said.
    “You were acting like you’ve never been on a boat before.”
    “I haven’t.”
    “What?”
    “I drove a canoe once.”
    “You don’t drive canoes.”
    “Whatever.” Changing topics, Vernon asked, “Do you think Rene even knows anything?”
    “No. It’s what she doesn’t know she knows. You know what I mean?”
    “I think I do. Do you know where she parks her boat?”
    “Yes. And you don’t drive or park boats. You dock them in a slip.”
    “Well, isn’t that sophisticated.”
    “I guess it is.” Benny pointed toward a boat and Vernon’s eyes followed. “That’s it, the one named Fresh .”
    “Do you see what I