Read Lia Farrell - Mae December 02 - Two Dogs Lie Sleeping for Free Online Page B

smile.
    Ben went back to his office and called Mrs. Anderson. A frail woman in her eighties made for an unlikely suspect, so he assumed he could talk to her. She described the man she saw as about six feet tall and heavy-set. He was wearing a baseball cap, jeans, and a black T-shirt. She was too far away to tell eye or hair color, but thought she had seen him once before somewhere, either in the newspaper or on television. She might be elderly, but the old lady was sharp as a tack. Thanking her again and telling her to call his private line if she thought of anything else, Ben obediently returned to Dory.
    “So?” She was sketching something on a pad of paper.
    “Dory, could I have your attention, please?”
    She gave him a long-suffering look and gestured to a sketch that showed a window with shutters. The left shutter was kept open by something that looked like a large, fancy “S.” He’d seen them before on old houses; most were made of wrought iron. Dory pointed to it with one long, purplish painted fingernail.
    “Shutter dog,” she said laconically.

 
    Chapter Eight
Detective Wayne Nichols
    D riving into the Powell’s driveway, Wayne Nichols was impressed by the impeccably maintained home located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Deputy Robert Fuller had asked to go with him and Wayne was pleased to see that the deputy’s car was already there.
    The two men walked up to the house together , where they were met by July Powell, who was wearing cut-off denim shorts and a wrinkled T-shirt. Her shoulder-length dark hair was scraped back in a messy ponytail and her eyes were puffy. She offered them both iced tea and they declined.
    “Mrs. Powell, I need to ask you some questions,” Detective Nichols said. He motioned to Rob. “Deputy Fuller will be taping our conversation.”
    July looked away. “Let’s go into the family room,” she said quietly and led them into a spacious room with brown leather furniture and an enormous television.
    “I know you’re the person who found Tom Ferris yesterday,” Detective Nichols said. July nodded. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Can you tell me about it?”
    “It was awful .” She stood looking out through the window into her backyard. July bowed her head for a minute and her shoulders slumped. She looked very small and alone, standing in the casually luxurious room full of oversized furniture and the detritus of family life. He waited for her to continue. Finally, she turned around and collected herself.
    “Please sit down, Detective, you too, Deputy.”
    Wayne nodded and sat at one end of the tufted leather sofa. Deputy Fuller grabbed a chair and set the tape recorder on a nearby end table. July Powell took a seat in a chair on the other side of a large, glass coffee table.
    “Mrs. Powell, can you run through what happened , starting with when you arrived at the mansion yesterday? Take your time. Anything you can remember will be helpful,” Deputy Fuller said.
    “Please call me July.” Her smile didn’t reach her dark eyes. “I got to the house around five. I was doing a final check of my space, which is the back entry to the house. I was just about to leave when I heard a loud bang. Oh, I forgot to tell Ben, I mean Sheriff Bradley, something else I remembered. I heard another noise, too. I think I heard a door closing.”
    “Do you have a key to the house?”
    July blushed lightly. “Yes.”
    “How is it that you have a key?” Detective Nichols asked.
    “I kept it, Detective,” she hesitated, “from the time when I was dating Tommy.”
    “What time do you think you heard the loud noise?”
    “It was probably close to six. I thought the sound came from the nursery so I went up the back staircase. It was dark up there and at first I didn’t see him. But then I saw a body lying on the floor.” She looked away again and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
    “Go on.”
    “I got down on the floor and asked him if he was all right.” She shook