Free Murder in the Devil's Cauldron by Kate Ryan

wasn't attached.
    Starr knew she was going to have to tell her
mother about it, but for now it was fun just know she had made
another discovery. After that, though, the cabin didn't reveal any
other secrets. As she came around to the front of the cabin, she
heard a door slam and then another one and went to investigate.
    It was the two guys who had picked up their
stuff. They were looking around trying to figure out which cabin to
go to. There weren't any numbers on the door and the only way to
tell that this was her cabin was the blue dreamcatcher on the
porch. Starr waved at them and pretty soon their stuff was unloaded
and the moving van was driving away.
    Finally, Starr thought. She could go
exploring. She checked her watch and realized it was time for
lunch. Maybe she'd eat first and then explore.
    There was plenty of time now.
     
     
* * * * *
     
     

Chapter 15
     
    Fae hauled the boxes out of her car one by
one and put them on the big table in her workroom. It had been
empty since her accident and she hadn't been inside it in months.
When she had walked into the room this morning, the empty shelves
and work table had looked sadly neglected. Even though it had taken
awhile to haul everything in and get it set up, now, as she
surveyed the stack of files and paper, she realized how good it
felt to finally get back to work.
    She had set aside the file marked "Unofficial
Notes" when she first started. Now, she made herself comfortable on
the cushioned chair and began reading the file. When she was done,
she had the basic gist of the case and an idea where to start.
    Returning to the work table, she sorted the
files by alias and then by date. Then she created a chart with a
column for each alias and entered the information about each known
scam with the victim names and dates. Although she knew not every
victim reported being scammed because of embarrassment or for other
reasons, there was still an impressively long list that gave her a
clear idea of the kind of person the con man was.
    "You've been a very busy boy," Fae muttered
as she finished the list.
    When that was done, she created a big
calendar on butcher paper which she pinned to the walls. Using the
chart, she colored in the date blocks to match, using a different
color for each alias. When she was done, she had a visual
representation of what the guy was doing and when, as well as which
alias he had used.
    She tacked a blown up sketch onto the wall
and then added an old booking photo next to it. He had apparently
done time as David Smith, but it was a long time ago and she
doubted that was his real name. However, she was going to have to
call this guy something . Since no one seemed to have any
idea what his real name was and he had done time as David, Fae
decided to call him Devious Dave for now.
    As she stood back to get an overview of her
work, she groaned as her back reminded her that she had overdone it
and a pain pill was hours overdue. She closed the door to her
workroom behind her to keep the cats out and made her way to the
living room to get her prescription. She wasn't going to be much
use to Bailey if she didn't moderate her activities a little
better. She swallowed the pill and then went out onto her deck and
lowered herself carefully into the lawn chair she had outfitted
with cushions, blankets and pillows. It was a gorgeous afternoon
and she might as well enjoy it while she waited for the pill to
take effect.
    But as she waited, instead of turning off,
her brain sorted through the information she had just reviewed. One
of her strengths was her ability to see patterns, which had been
instrumental in bringing a number of criminals to justice. But so
far nothing had jumped out at her about this guy. The other thing
that bothered her was that there were so many holes in his reported
activities. It was possible those periods were when he was taking
time off or it could mean he was using another, unknown alias.
    Fae shifted her legs slightly to find a