Part 11 (2/2)
”I have your first names.” I had to admit at that point that I'd heard them.
”But not our last names.”
”True. But I think you'd be smart to give them to me.”
”You'll have to catch us,” he said.
I didn't understand. ”What?”
”Run!” Scarecrow yelled and they both took off sprinting across the gra.s.s lot, looking back over their shoulders to see if I was chasing them.
I was not.
I was just standing there, wondering for the millionth time if they added crazy to the water in Rose Petal or if everyone here was just born that way.
21.
Before I could get into the fairgrounds, I was intercepted by an unfriendly face.
Sheriff Cotter adjusted his sungla.s.ses. ”Son, I think that maybe you have a memory issue.”
He'd seen me coming toward the main gate and went from sitting in his lawn chair-de facto security-to standing up and hitching up his belt.
”Why is that?” I asked.
”Remember that conversation we had?” he asked, tilting the brim of his cowboy hat up slightly. ”About not investigating until the fair closed?”
”Vaguely,” I said.
”Son, I'm not messing around here,” he said. ”I specifically asked you to leave it alone until the festivities were over with.”
”Well, unfortunately, I was hired to check into George's death,” I said. ”I'm being careful to not disturb the fair in any way.”
”The point is that I asked you not to,” he said.
”I know you did,” I said. ”And I'll be honest with you, Sheriff. That didn't really make much sense to me.”
”That right?”
”Well, maybe not about me doing the investigating. The part that didn't make sense was you letting a criminal act go unlooked at for a few days,” I said. ”Can't imagine that's the best way to go about it.”
He sucked on his teeth for a moment. ”That because you've got all that police experience?”
”I've never been a police officer.”
”Exactly,” he said, smiling. ”So you probably shouldn't be thinking you know what I should be doing.”
I nodded. ”Probably not. But I'm curious what state law enforcement would think of that practice. Like, say, if I called the Texas Rangers later on today and let them know that you're sitting on a possible homicide. I wonder what they'd say.”
The smile vanished. ”Are you threatening me, son?”
”I'm just making an observation,” I said.
”I'd suggest not making those, then.”
”Or?”
”Or you'll be sorry,” he said, raising an eyebrow behind the sungla.s.ses.
”So I should let Mama know you don't want me doing anything about George's death?” I said.
He shuffled his feet against the dirt and hay on the ground. ”Mama? What does she have to do with any of this?”
”She's the one that hired me,” I said. ”And she's the one who told me that if anyone gave me any trouble, I should let her know. And this right here? Sorta seems like you're giving me trouble.”
He sighed. ”Mama hired you?”
”Yes, sir.”
He tilted the brim on his hat back down. ”Well, that makes it all a little different now. Wish she'd tell me things when she changes her mind.”
”Changes her mind?”
His mouth twisted, but he didn't say anything.
”She the one who told you to hold off on investigating?”
His mouth twisted tighter. ”We have a standing agreement.”
”What exactly is that?”
”Anything bad happens at the fair, she asks me to wait until it's over,” he said. ”I work around it. But I don't make a lot of noise.”
”Why?”
”So it doesn't screw up the entire week,” he answered. ”One bad week here and it can have a trickle-down effect on the entire town. So it's not like I've just been letting the thing sit. I've just been very quiet about it. If I'm stalking the fairgrounds, asking every single person questions, it's gonna look a whole lot less friendly than normal. People will stay away. They'll talk. It'll mess up the whole week.”
I didn't disagree with him, but it was still hard to see how that took precedent over a murder investigation.
”I pulled prints from the freezer,” he explained. ”Body is being checked for DNA samples down in Dallas. Determined cause of death.”
”Which was?”
He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, as if saying it didn't matter if he told me or not. ”Trauma to the head. Not sure what the weapon was, but looks like he took a blow to the back of the head.” He shrugged again. ”So I'm doing things. I'm just not doing anything that might ruffle Mama's feathers.” He paused. ”Probably why she hired you.”
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