Read The Jezebel Remedy for Free Online Page A

like.”
    “We’re fine,” the sheriff replied. “Thanks just the same.” He hooked a thumb into his patent leather gun belt. “I know you’ve been good to look after Lettie VanSandt,” he said to Joe, “so I thought I’d tell you that we found her dead this morning. Out at her place.”
    “Oh no,” Joe said. Everyone was still standing, and he’d walked back behind his desk and leaned against a credenza. “What—”
    “Got fried cookin’ meth,” Hatcher interjected, eager to tell what he knew, no pity or concern in his tone. He smirked through the words.
    “Meth?” Joe repeated. “Lettie’s a lot of things, but she’s not a druggie.”
    “Facts prove different,” Hatcher remarked. He took his hands off his hips. “She was in a shack next to her house, and the damn place had the whole shebang, from the Coleman fuel to the matches to the boxes of cold medicines. Iodine. Burners. I’ve seen my share of methamphetamine outfits, and this lady was cooking crank. No doubt.”
    “It sure looks that way,” Perry added. “Surprised me too. Lettie was a pain in the butt and as hateful as a striped snake, but I’d have never pegged her for a drug dealer, no sir, not me.”
    “So what happened?” Lisa asked.
    “Well,” Perry said, “it looks—”
    “Meth is volatile,” Hatcher interrupted, “and the fumes can be very flammable, and she screwed up and, boom, there’s an explosion and a fire, and it’s curtains. End of story. We bring in the feds to take these damn things apart—that’s how serious it is. You brew this poison, bad things can happen to the chef.”
    “Thanks for the tutorial,” Joe said.
    “Poor lady,” Lisa said. She sighed, raked a hank of hair behind her ear. “I never cared for her, but you have to hate it for the old kook.”
    “It wasn’t pretty,” Perry said. “We didn’t find her for several days, and between the fire and all those animals, well, you get the picture.” He peered at the floor for a moment.
    “Ouch.” Joe grimaced. “You guys certain it was her?”
    “I mean, who else would it be, Joe?” Perry shifted his weight, and the hardwood boards creaked. “She’s not around and hasn’t been seen for well over a week, the remains—the little bit we can find—are in a shack on her property, the jewelry that didn’t completely melt is similar to hers, and it’s a female.”
    “How about dental?” Joe asked.
    “We, well, a lot of her was either burned or destroyed or has gone missing. I’ll check. But where would we find her records? She had the gold tooth when she moved here years ago from St. Louis, and I’d wager she’s never darkened the door of a dentist’s office since.”
    “Then you should run DNA.” Joe was firm.
    “There’s a great idea,” Hatcher said. “Let’s waste time and taxpayers’ money and clog a lab that’s already months behind and can’t get us what we need on
important
cases so we can confirm information we already know for certain.” He narrowed his eyes. “The way I figure it, if she’s not dead, we’ll all know soon enough when she shows up at the grocery store or the Friday night square dance. Right?”
    “Or the board of supervisors’ meeting or my office or Delegate Armstrong’s office or at the phone company to bitch about the static in her line,” Perry cracked. “Joe, what more could there be to it?” he asked. “She was a mean old fruitcake who lived with a bunch of stray animals and could worry the horns off a brass billy goat. Nothing’s missing so far as we can tell, nothing’s hinky, and maybe a meth habit would explain why she was so contrary.”
    “People get killed in drug deals every day,” Joe noted. “It’s possible there
is
more to it.”
    “Like what?” Lisa asked. She was looking at her husband but noticed Agent Hatcher in the periphery, staring at her.
    “I don’t know. Maybe Lane’s right. It’s just a shock.” Joe stood straighter, folded his arms across his