Read Terry Odell - Mapleton 02 - Deadly Bones for Free Online Page B

Once an idea gets in your head, it’s hard to get rid of it.”
    She shut off the motor, scraped down the sides of the bowl, and turned it on again. “My grandparents. They were here then. Maybe they’d know something.”
    “Yeah. Interviewing the old-timers is on my list.” Thinking of that reminded him of Solomon and Crazy Freddy. He should add Fred to the list, although he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get anything coherent out of the man. And even if he did, would it be reliable?
    A tap on the back door startled Gordon out of his thoughts. Angie looked at him, head tilted.
    “Are you expecting anyone?” he asked.
    She glanced toward a clock mounted on the wall. “Not at this hour. Staff’s due to start showing up in about half an hour. Ozzie comes in early sometimes, but he has a key.” She wiped her hands on a towel tucked into the strings of her apron and started toward the door.
    “Let me,” Gordon said, moving ahead of her.
    “What, like you think someone’s going to knock on the door if they wanted to rob the place? Not to mention whoever it is will wonder what the heck you’re doing in my kitchen at five-thirty in the morning.”
    He ignored her protests. “Let them think what they want. Maybe you heard a prowler, called the cops, and I showed up. I’m the Police Chief. I’m allowed to be anywhere any time I want.”
    She lifted her eyebrows. “Well, that’s a change of pace. What about you having to adhere to a higher moral standard because of your position?”
    “My car’s been outside all night.” He’d thought about it when he’d come over. Which would be worse? Having someone recognize his car parked near Angie’s place, or in the parking lot behind Finnegan’s? Townspeople thinking he was having a liaison, or hanging in a bar? His estimate at the time had been that it would be an even split. Then again, maybe nobody gave a damn.
    He put his eye to the peephole and stared at the distorted image of Ed Solomon.
    “Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Solomon said when Gordon opened the door. “Saw your unit and the lights on.”
    “Nothing to interrupt,” Gordon muttered, hoping Solomon would keep his mouth shut.
    Solomon nodded to Angie. “Morning.”
    “Morning, Ed,” Angie said. “You want some coffee?”
    “No, thanks. Not yet. Mind if I borrow the chief for a minute?”
    Gordon set his coffee on the counter and trailed Solomon to the parking lot. The harsh lighting accentuated the weariness in the officer’s face. And the mud on his uniform. Gordon tried to shake off the This can’t be good feeling if Solomon had come directly to him. “What’s up?”
    Solomon swiped his hand across his face. “I don’t know, Chief. It could be nothing. I didn’t want to write up my report until I talked to you.” Solomon leaned against his cruiser, as if he needed it for support.
    Knots formed in Gordon’s stomach. “Talk.”
    “It’s Crazy Freddy. I’m no shrink, so I can’t tell for sure.” He paused. Took off his hat. Swiped his sleeve across his forehead.
    Gordon waited.
    After a prolonged exhale, Solomon continued. “I mean, he hasn’t broken the law, so I couldn’t bring him in. But he seems crazier than usual.”
    “Drunk?”
    Solomon’s lips twitched. “As a skunk, but that’s always been the norm.”
    “So what triggered the call in the first place?”
    “Noise complaint. Gunfire. Chain saws. Mrs. Blanchard was afraid he was going to go at it into the wee hours. He’s done it before, she said. She’s got the hearing of a bat. I swear, she could hear a squirrel fart from a hundred yards.”
    Crazy Freddy and a chain saw? Gordon had a fleeting image of a cross between Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street and Leatherface from Texas Chain Saw Massacre . He shuddered and shook them off.
    Solomon must have seen his reaction. “Relax, Chief. Nothing gory. Freddy was clearing land. Since he owns the property, there’s nothing illegal about it.”
    “So why