Free Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery) by Barbara Graham Page A

swallow. A deep rumbling belch followed. The sound echoed in the quiet room. A self-deprecating grin blossomed on his face. “I really hate upchucking without something in my stomach to begin with. I'm ready to go.”

    Tony felt a surge of almost fatherly pride. It was a measure of the respect and friendship that existed within this group that no one made a comment. Everyone knew that Wade was tough enough to eat his cereal with battery acid, but the sight of a dead body was guaranteed to produce his last meal. The morning's combination of a hideously messy body and widespread blood spatters had tempted each of them to join him.
     
    Tony considered asking Wade to stay behind to do his computer work on the fingerprints pulled from the car and snake boxes, but he knew that it would not be what the younger man wanted or needed. Wade wanted to be a detective. A good one. One way or another, he would get through the autopsy, even if he had to hold a bucket the entire time.

    Tony rose to his feet. “Okay, let's go. I want to be there too.”

    He reached for his jacket. “Mike, stay on that car. I'll bet that we can learn something else from it. I'm really curious about how it came to be in our little town when it is supposed to be in Atlanta and why it has that license plate.

    “Sheila, find out what Quentin's been up to lately. I doubt that he would know the truth if he sat on it, but make sure you have backup if you go out there. I wouldn't be surprised if he won't be so welcoming on your next visit.” He remembered Quentin's attitude and grinned. “I would like to talk to that female in the house with him. She might have all kinds of information.”

    As autopsies go, Tony thought, it was uneventful. No bullets or knife wounds turned up in the body. The worst part was watching Wade try to obtain a set of fingerprints from the corpse. The fingers simply weren't cooperating.
    After a single bout with the bucket, Wade observed the rest with apparent interest. Tony wondered if Wade's system could be getting stronger.
     
    According to Doc Nash, nothing obvious indicated that any cause other than the snakebites was responsible for the death. He seemed to think that because of the severity of the reaction that the man would have died even if he had gone directly to the hospital.

    Doc Nash wouldn't be through for a while.
     
    Tony decided to go home. He left Wade there.

C HAPTER S EVEN
----
    Theo couldn't believe her ears. The sounds coming up the stairs and through her door sounded like the mob storming the Bastille. “For heaven's sake, Zoe. Maybe I better go help Jane. I'm afraid they'll be calling for the guillotine.”
    She hadn't seen this many women in the shop at one time since Super Bowl Sunday. On that day, it had been the promise of great sale prices, door prizes and food that had created the excitement.

    “Theo!” Several women shouted her name at the same time. “Do you know who died?”

    Theo could only shake her head. Even if she had known, she wouldn't tell anyone until the news was announced. The relatives deserved to know before it hit the gossip lines.

    “I know.”

    All eyes turned to the speaker. Nellie Pearl Prigmore stood near the front door. The old woman was an avid gossip but not a quilter. “I saw that little car speeding past my house all the time. A lot of the time there was another car following it.”

    “Whose car?” Theo wasn't surprised that she saw speeding vehicles pass her house. After all, she did live next to one of the busiest roads in the county.

    “Well, how would you expect me to know? It's not like I keep track of my neighbors.” The crotchety old lady cast a venomous glare at a young woman, who let a snort of dissension escape. “It's always going too fast.”

    “So who's the dead man?”

    “Don't know his name but I can tell you that he's a foreigner.”

    Theo knew that only meant that he hadn't been born in the county. It didn't mean that he came from any