Free Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments by Marja McGraw

Watson followed Bill outside. I hope they’re not in the way.”
    “I’ll go get ‘em, Mom.”
    “No you won’t. You just want an excuse to go see what’s happening. You stay right here. I’ll go get them.” I thought for a moment. “Well, you can go out to the back yard if you want to, but you can’t come out front. Understand?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” I could hear frustration in his voice. I reminded myself that if I were his age, I’d feel left out, too. Of course, my mother and father never would have been involved in a murder in the first place. Were we really involved?
    Mikey ran out the back door while I joined the men in the yard.
    Creak, bang! The door announced me.
    Doc was doing his job again, but he didn’t look too happy about it. He glanced up when I approached but quickly went back to work.
    “Hey, angel,” Chris said. “I was just explaining to Bill about the gold diggers who were here last night. Look around. There are several holes. These people didn’t waste any time finding their shovels.”
    “Why didn’t you call us last night?” Jimmy asked. “After all, you had trespassers on the property.” He reached down and patted Sherlock’s head. The dogs were thankfully keeping their distance and letting Doc do his job.
    “My brother showed up and scared them off. There had to be at least five trucks. I can’t believe we didn’t hear them pull in. But we were dead to the world after our long day.”
    “Poor choice of words, bro,” Bill said.
    “Sorry.”
    “Jimmy, do you think Charlie was killed because of the gold and silver?” I asked.
    “Probably, although it doesn’t look like anyone found the treasure. Charlie was well-liked around town , so I can’t think of any other reason for his murder.”
    “Murder,” Bill said. “I’ve never really given that word much thought until now. You hear about these things, but you never see them. It doesn’t really mean a lot until you actually see a dead body – a murder victim.”
    Chris showed compassion when he looked at his brother. “The real world can be ugly sometimes, but we usually try to ignore distasteful things. Nobody wants to end up as buzzard bait.”
    I rolled my eyes because I knew Bill wouldn’t take well to the particular phrase Chris had used. I was familiar with his slang and often used it myself, but Bill wasn’t.
    “Buzzard bait? What’s the matter with you, Chris? There’s a dead body here and you’re referring to him as buzzard bait ?” Bill turned on his heel and headed for the house.
    “I guess I’d better go after him,” Chris said.
    “I guess so. And take the dogs with you.”
    “Come,” he commanded, looking at Sherlock and Watson. Sherlock would follow Chris anywhere, to the ends of the earth if necessary, so he immediately stood and followed his master. Watson didn’t want to be left out and followed.
    Watching Chris follow Bill, something caught my eye. Mikey was peeking around the side of the house. He saw me spot him and ran back to the rear of the house.
    “Jimmy, do you really think Charlie was killed because of the treasure?” I asked.
    “He was a very quiet man, but when he did speak, it was because he had something worth saying. He was just good ol’ Charlie, and everyone in town seemed to like him. If anyone had a grievance, I never heard about it.”
    “Had he been in town long?”
    “He lived here nearly all his life. He didn’t have any family.”
    He sure didn’t sound like a man someone would hit over the head. Of course, you never know what’s just below the surface.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Thirteen
     
    Jimmy helped Doc load Charlie’s body in the van and they took off, although they left crime scene ta pe around the general area of the hole in the ground. The flatfoot had carefully picked up the shovel that had lain next to the grave and placed it in his patrol car. He said it didn’t look like it was the murder weapon, but he had to be sure, and it