Free Town in a Wild Moose Chase by B. B. Haywood Page A

help.”
    “And we’re sitting here drinking wine,” Maggie said, looking down at her glass.
    “Exactly. The truth is, if Judicious thinks something’s up, it’s hard for me not to believe him. He’s essentially corroborating Solomon’s story. And you know what that means?”
    “What?” Maggie asked.
    “It means Solomon was right—there really was a body in the woods.”
    That seemed to surprise them both, and they sat for a few moments in silence as the other guests in the inn’s lounge moved obliviously past them.
    After walking over from Town Park, they’d settled into a corner booth and ordered glasses of an aromatic Chardonnay from Washington State. Ben had not yet arrived, but that had given the two of them a chance to talk about the day’s events.
    “So,” Maggie said, trying hard not to sound too ominous, “what should we do about it?”
    “I think,” Candy replied, “that we need to be proactive rather than reactive.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Meaning we need to search the woods ourselves.”
    Maggie’s eyes went wide. “You’re not thinking of doing it right now, are you?”
    “No—much as I’d like to. But it’s too late in the day. By the time we got out there it’d be starting to get dark. We wouldn’t have enough time to conduct a thorough search. Tomorrow, maybe, depending on what happens.”
    “We?”
    “What?”
    “You said,
By the time
we
got out there.…
”
    “Oh yeah, I guess I did. Well, I don’t think I should go alone. That would be irresponsible, right, given what we might find? So I thought about you—”
    “Me?”
Maggie squeaked, both excited and scared at the same time.
    “—but I figured you’re probably working all day tomorrow, aren’t you?”
    Maggie just as quickly deflated. “Oh yeah, that’s right, I am. Darn, I always seem to keep missing out, don’t I? Because it really would be fun, you know—tramping around the woods all day, freezing my toes off, looking for a crazy old hermit and a dead body, catching a cold, being bedridden for days or weeks, maybe dying of pneumonia. But, you know, good times.”
    “That’s such a gracious way of putting it,” Candy said with an admiring smile.
    “It is, isn’t it? It’s one of my skills, you know—being able to quickly summarize your little mysteries.”
    “Obviously you missed your calling. So, anyway, I figure I need to take someone who’s the outdoorsy type, someone who’s got decent survival skills and knows how to find his way out of the woods if we get lost. That’s why I’m going to ask Ben to go with me.”
    Now it was Maggie’s turn to give her friend a knowing smile. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. It’ll be nice for you and him to get out and do something—spend a little time together. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been planning this.”
    “Actually it’s a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, but it seems like the most sensible approach. If we should happen to run into any trouble with Solomon, or whoever’s chasing him, or whatever it is that’s out there in the woods, at least I’ll have Ben there to get us out of a jam.”
    “Think he’ll go for it?”
    “I think so. He sounds just as worried about Solomon as I am.”
    “Well, it’s a good plan… as long as he shows up.”
    Candy checked her watch and glanced at the door. “Hmm, you’re right about that. I wonder what happened to him.”
    A little earlier, when they’d found Ben in the park, he’dbeen standing apart from the crowd, off to one side by himself, deep in thought. After Candy had told him where they were headed, he’d agreed to meet them, but so far he hadn’t shown up.
    “He must have gotten distracted,” Candy said, reaching for her cell phone.
    “Sure he did, honey. That’s exactly what happened.”
    “I’ll text him and see where he is.”
    “That’s a good idea. I’m sure he just got sidetracked.” Maggie placed her chin in the palm of her upturned hand and watched