Free Murder Gets a Life by Anne George

the cotton patch. And how on God’s earth had she been able to locate Blenda in the middle of the night?
    “That woman is scary,” I said. Henry and Tiffany both laughed. For some reason they thought I was joking.
    Lady Bountiful and Blenda were handing out biscuits and little packets of grape jelly when the door to Kerrigan’s trailer opened, and the sheriff and a woman so beautiful that Henry said, “Wow!” came out.
    “Okay, everybody,” Sheriff Reuse said loudly. “Gather ’round.”
    “He reminds me of a P.E. teacher I had once,” Tiffany said, getting up. “We better go or he’ll start blowing a whistle.”
    I looked around for Fred. He was gathering ’round just like the sheriff had requested. Right up at the front of the crowd by Kerrigan Dabbs at whom he was smiling. My head hurt too much to bother; let the old fool enjoy himself.
    “You want a sausage biscuit with grape jelly, Sheriff?” Mary Alice called. That made me feel better. I followed Henry and Tiffany and stood at the back of the crowd awaiting instructions. I was already discovering I wouldn’t be able to wear the rubber boots very long. Given the certainty of my feet feeling like they were on fire and the uncertainty of a snake bite, I’d have to opt for the snake.
    “Y’all know what happened here yesterday,” the sheriff said, “and we appreciate your coming.” Kerrigan began to cry. My Fred handed her a tissue.
    “How did Uncle Fred get up there?” Henry murmured. I gave him a hard look.
    Sheriff Reuse continued, “We can’t leave any rock unturned until we find Sunshine.”
    “Well, she crawled out from under one. Maybe she crawled back.” A whisper in my ear. Grape-jelly breath. For a moment, the remark didn’t register. By the time it did, and I whirled around, there was no one close enough to pinpoint as the whisperer. A redheaded girl moving away was a possibility.
    I grabbed Henry’s arm. “Who was behind me?”
    He was startled. “What?”
    “Did you just see anybody right behind me?”
    “I wasn’t paying any attention. Why?”
    Tiffany turned. “What’s the matter?” Several people were looking our way.
    Sheriff Reuse, pulling an old schoolteacher trick that I knew well, hushed talking and simply looked our way.
    “Nothing,” I whispered. “I’ll tell you after while.”
    “We’re going to divide into groups of five and walk toward the river. I want you to stay an arm’s length from each other and walk slowly. If you see anything that looks suspicious, don’t touch it. I’ve got some whistles here, one for each group. Blow it, and we’ll come.”
    “I told you,” Tiffany said. “I could just look at him and tell he was a whistle blower.”
    “Suspicious like what?” a man asked.
    “A shoe, anything.”
    “Sunshine was barefooted,” Meemaw called. I didn’t realize she had come out of the trailer until I heard her voice. She stood to the right of the group between two very large bearded men who looked like the Smith cough-drop brothers and must be Eddie and Howard.
    “Good morning, Meemaw,” the sheriff acknowledged her, then turned back to the crowd. “Like I said, anything at all. Just use your common sense.”
    Tiffany grinned. “Big order.”
    “How come he doesn’t have dogs out here?” Henry murmured. “Wouldn’t that be simpler?”
    I shrugged. “Ask him.”
    “Sheriff,” Henry called. “How come you aren’t using dogs?”
    “We’d have to borrow them from Jefferson County and mainly what they’ve got is drug-sniffing dogs. Dogs can’t do as good as people, anyway.” He slapped his hands together. “Okay, divide up into groups of five. Remember how hot it is today. If you’ve got any health problems, don’t try it.”
    There was instant confusion as the group tried to sort itself out.
    “Wait for me,” I told Henry and Tiffany. “I’m going to go get Fred.”
    He was still consoling Kerrigan who, at closer glance, was even more beautiful than she had