Free The Huckleberry Murders: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery by Patrick F. McManus Page A

surprised. They’re a careless bunch. So you’re the famous redhead. I can see now the boys haven’t been exaggerating.”
    She laughed. “They’re pretty nice boys, Sheriff.”
    “Call me Bo, please. Everybody does, even my criminals.”
    “I hear you’re quite the fly fisherman, Bo.”
    Tully nodded. “Yeah, but I’m mostly a catch-and-eat kind of guy. Wet a fly now and then. That way I don’t catch so many fish it becomes a distraction. I know some great fly-fishing streams, by the way, if you’re interested in taking up the sport.”
    “Is that an invitation, Bo?”
    “It definitely is. I’d be most happy to give you a few lessons.”
    She laughed. “Really? My father started me out with a fly rod when I was eight years old, if those are the kind of lessons you had in mind.”
    “They most certainly are. You probably can give me some lessons, Scarlett. Let’s see, my mind seems to have gone blank for a second. Oh, yeah, I was going to say that right at the moment I’m tied up with some crimes and stuff like that. But I should be free in a couple of weeks. I’ll, uh, be in touch. But back to business. You may have had a kid about twentycome in here to get a wound in his arm treated. Would have been the last few days.”
    “Sure, I remember him. I helped patch him up. He said he had fallen on a sharp stick but both the doctor and I thought it was a bullet wound. We cleaned it up, put in a couple stitches, and gave him a shot of penicillin.”
    “He give you a name and address?”
    She shook her head. “He did but they were both obviously fake. He didn’t have any ID on him. Called himself something like Bill Brown. I can look up the name and address for you if you want.”
    “Naw. They’d both be phony. Maybe if the wound gets infected he’ll come in again. Give me a call, will you?”
    “Sure.”
    “One other thing, Scarlett. My deputy Brian Pugh . . . ”
    “I know Brian.”
    “Of course you do. He was supposed to bring in a not-so-young lady earlier. Is he still here by any chance?”
    “I haven’t seen him leave. Hold on a sec, I’ll check.” She punched a couple of buttons and spoke into a speaker. “Is Brian still back there?”
    Brian? Tully thought. So he’s that well known around here.
    “Yeah,” a voice said. “Who wants him?”
    “His boss. At emergency reception.”
    “He’s on his way.”
    Brian came striding out. “So you tracked me down, Bo. What’s up?”
    “I was just checking on our two patients.”
    “They’re going to keep Bev a couple of days for observation. She was hurt a lot worse than anybody at Slade’s knew or let on. She’ll be all right, though. J.D. apparently had a bruised kidney or something like that. Probably got it from a fall. But he should be out tomorrow.”
    “Good. J.D. will probably be politer to strangers in the future.”
    “I suspect so.”
    Brian nodded at the nurse. “I see you’ve met Scarlett.”
    “Bo and I may go fishing together in a couple of weeks,” she said.
    Pugh laughed. “I told you he works fast.”
    “Actually, Brian, I think I was the one who worked fast.”
    Scarlett was about to add something when her phone rang. She picked it up and said, “Blight City Emergency.” She listened. “Yeah, Tim, he’s still here.”
    She handed the phone to Tully. “Tim Doyle.”
    Tully took the phone. “Hi, Tim. What’s up?”
    “Bo, we just had a shooting outside the K-Bar convenience store on the north side. I think it’s something you might be interested in. I’m on my way there. You want to swing by?”
    “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, Tim. Thanks for the call.”
    Scarlet looked up at him. “Business, I bet.”
    “Afraid so.”
    “You need me, boss?” Pugh said.
    “Naw, I’ll handle it.”
    “Good,” Pugh said. “I’ve invited Scarlett out for a late-night snack after her shift ends.”
    Tully gave the nurse a wink. “Watch out for this guy. He’s got a bad rep.”
    She laughed.