Page 4 of Homicide in Water Creek

“Yup, he’s dead,” he agreed, his gaze taking in everything almost at once.

She motioned toward the body. “Shouldn’t you look for the cause of death or stick a thermometer in his liver or something?”

He twisted to face her, pushing his hat up on his head. “Do you watch CSI or something?”

“I sure as hell don’t need a law enforcement degree to tell me this guy didn’t put himself in the trunk!”

He knelt, poked the guy in the side, then in the back, before standing up. “Nope, he didn’t put himself in the trunk. Considering rigor mortis is no longer present and he’s already juicy, I’d guess he’s been dead over a week, maybe even ten days. Boone is pulling the paperwork on when the car arrived.”

A sickening ball settled in her belly. “Uh, King, I’m not sure it’s a he.”

He spun back to the car, the blond hair spilling out from under the dark wig a dead giveaway. “It’s a woman?” he asked, putting the glove back on and taking a closer look. The man’s suitcoat was indeed covering an impressive set of knockers, and when he twisted his head to the side, he stumbled backward and fell into the car behind them. King’s mouth opened like a fish a couple of times, but no words came out.

Jacks aimed her flashlight at the body and gasped. “That’s Vonita King,” she hissed, her voice low and shocked.

“What is my mother doing in Water Creek?” His voice was barely audible as she turned to face him.

“Better question is, why is she dead?”

He closed the trunk again and pointed down the aisle. “We’ll go back to the shop and call the ME and the crime scene techs. Things just got complicated.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Jacks asked, grabbing his arm before he could turn.

“The last time Vonita King was in Water Creek, I was six months old, Jacks,” he hissed.

“A little odd for her to turn up dead in Water Creek, then,” she deduced.

He pointed at her. “Exactly. Let’s go. This will require damage control. It can’t get out that Vonita King is dead, let alone that she’s in my county.”

“I’ll head back to the ranch,” she said, trying to keep pace with his long strides. “I promise not to tell a soul.”

He stopped and spun at the same time, nearly knocking her over. “You can’t leave. They’ll have questions for you.”

“I don’t have any information beyond what I told you. I was looking for a light when I came across the body. Nothing more to say.”

He pointed his finger forward, and they walked back to the shop without another word. When he was on the phone and distracted, she slipped out the side door and climbed into Suzie. She was done with bossy sheriffs and their dead moms for the day. As she backed out of the parking space, she caught sight of him in the rearview mirror. She felt a little bad for leaving, since his mother had just been found in a trunk, but not enough to go back. His hands were in the air, and he was yelling. Her lips tugged into a grin as she flipped on the radio and sang along to I Will Survive.

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King 0

Chapter Three

King threw his keys onto his old, pitted wooden desk and hung his hat on the tree in the corner. The clock told him it was late, and his stomach said he’d missed dinner. Funny how finding your mother dead didn’t stop your body from needing fuel. He plopped into the chair, too tired to think about food. As if finding his mother dead in Water Creek wasn’t bad enough, Jackson Miles had to be the one to find her.

Slowly, he tipped his head back against the chair. Guess he wasn’t too tired to think about Jackson Miles. Damn her for always getting under his skin like a festering splinter. He’d been waiting for this splinter to work its way out for years, but so far, no dice. Her granddaddy did right by her, raising her to be a strong woman, but he sure didn’t curb that attitude of hers.

King groaned and grabbed his phone, checking for a notice from the ME confirming the cause of death. When they got Vonita out of the trunk, a cursory glance revealed her cause of death. Someone had slit both carotid arteries. Hollywood’s sweetheart had bled out. It still had to be confirmed. Containing this to Water Creek would be as hard as raking dry leaves on a windy day. If only she’d gone all Hollywood and left a note explaining why she turned up dead in his town.

His stomach growled, and he pushed himself up. A glance at the clock showed it was after ten. That meant The Whistle Wetter was the only place in town still serving food. He should go down there and order, but the idea of walking into a bar full of townspeople was a lot to swallow right now.

He trusted his colleagues without question when it came to keeping this under their hat. Neither the ME nor the crime scene techs would say a word about finding Vonita dead until he was ready to release that information. Boone didn’t know they’d identified the body, and they didn’t have a newspaper or television station in town. That left the rogue player who knew the body's identity in the boneyard.

Jackson Miles.

Nervous energy forced him to straighten his desk, emptying half-full cups of coffee into the sink. Their dispatcher, Libby, was Wonder Woman, but he refused to let her clean the place. If he could afford a janitor, he’d hire one, but he barely had a budget for bullets and printer paper. King rested his hands on his desk and hung his head as images from earlier assailed him.

He had no love for the woman who birthed him, then or now. She ditched his father with a baby and left Water Creek for Hollywood before he’d even said his first word. Everyone knew she was his mother, but they were good at pretending she wasn’t. That was exactly the way he liked it. With any luck, they’d get to the bottom of this quickly. Working this case was a clear conflict of interest, but he couldn't do much about it. Until he could hire another deputy, it was just him and his deputy sheriff, Cass Maverick, running this small department.