Free One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) by Lia Farrell Page A

area and went down the hall into the conference room. Mae moved a little closer as Dory opened the door.
    “Sheriff Bradley.”
    “What is it, Dory?” the sheriff asked in an exasperated tone.
    “Sheriff, Miss Mae December is here with coffee and donuts for everyone. She’d like to come in.”
    “Tell Miss December I’ll see her in an hour and not before. Dory, what’s wrong with you? You know I can’t let civilians into a staff meeting.” The door shut firmly.
    Dory turned to Mae. “Sorry, I guess he’ll see you in an hour.”
    “Did you tell him I have Ruby’s cellphone? Her calendar’s on it.”
    Dory nodded. “Now you sound like Suzanne’s child, with that persistence. I’ll tell him.” Dory opened the door again.
    “She has Ruby’s cellphone.” Dory’s voice was deadpan. “It has her calendar on it.”
    “Fine,” Ben snapped.
    Dory turned to Mae. “The sheriff said you can come in.”
    Both women walked into the conference room and sat down at the table.
    “Good morning , all.” Mae smiled as she set down the box of donuts and the coffee urn. “I’m Mae December.”
    Thank you for joining us, Miss December,” the sheriff said dryly. “Listen up people, this is the woman who found Ruby’s body. Mae, I’d like to introduce my staff. This big guy to my left is Wayne Nichols, Chief Detective. To his left is Tech Hadley Johns from our lab.”
    Hadley Johns was tall and gangly looking. His dark hair was military short, Mae noticed. She thought it was probably to protect samples from contamination.
    “ Next to Hadley is Emma Peters, also from the lab. Going around the table, we have Deputy Robert Fuller in the glasses and George Phelps, who always looks a bit sleepy this early. George, are you with us?” Ben asked and George nodded, looking shamefaced.
    Deputy Fuller had given Mae a s harp look when Ben said she was the person who found Ruby’s body. It was not the look of a man appreciating a woman.
    Deputy Phelps smiled at Mae, seemingly unrepentant at Ben’s chastisement.
    “It’s very nice to meet you all,” Mae said, smiling.
    “Now, Dory said you have a cellphone for us?”
    “Yes, Sheriff.”
    Ben peered into the envelope. “Damn thing looks more like a computer than a phone. Does anyone here know how to use this thing?”
    “I do.” Mae smiled. “It’s just like mine. I found it yesterday. Don’t worry, I used gloves. Her calendar shows that she had an appointment with the road commissioner on March fifteenth at ten a.m. Then she had an appointment with her attorney at one, her doctor at three and a dinner scheduled at the Bistro at six forty-five. I couldn’t find a dinner partner’s name.” Mae smiled.
    “Thank you, Miss December. Where did you find this?” asked the sheriff.
    “I went to Ruby’s before the storm and dialed her cellphone number. When it rang, I followed the sound to the floor of the garage by her car. It was right behind the left front tire.”
    Ben sighed. “Didn’t you see the yellow crime scene tape?”
    “Yes, and I know I’m not supposed to enter a crime scene, but the yellow tape was around her house, not around her garage.”
    “Okay. Our mistake then.” He turned to his staff. “Which one of you geniuses put up the crime scene tape and failed to put tape around the victim’s garage?” He shook his head when Phelps put up his hand. “Go take care of that right now, George.” Phelps left in a hurry with his head down.
    “Sheriff, could I stay for the rest of your meeting?” Mae asked.
    He shot a glare in her direction. “Absolutely not.”
    Deputy Fuller gave her a wink. “Oh come on, boss, a pretty lady who brings us coffee, donuts and a Blackberry?”
    Ben gave him a stern look. “Fine, but only until we finish discussing what we can learn from this phone, since Miss December seems to be the only one of you smart enough to decode it.”
    “Thank you,” said Mae. “Please help yourselves to the treats. Yesterday I read