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“No windows,” she said, surprising him. “French doors. And they were locked from the inside, too. Sheriff Ralston has been working that cold case every spare minute he has. The victim was his godfather.”
“Tough,” Tom said. “Can you think of anything else that might be helpful?” he added.
Hazel studied him for a minute. “Emus kick forward, not backwards.”
He stared at her without blinking.
“Oh, you mean helpful about the case,” she replied, with a grin. “Sorry. We have an emu farm outside town. One of the emus got loose once and our former local vet went to try and catch him. He walked up to the emu and got kicked in a very bad place because he didn’t realize their legs work the opposite of ours.”
He grimaced. “A lesson he didn’t forget, I imagine.”
“He packed his bags and went back to Los Angeles the very next day.” Hazel chuckled. “He said he wasn’t suited to the outback.”
Tom chuckled. “It certainly sounds like it. I’ve never seen a live emu; only on nature programs on TV. Not much of that, either. I work long hours.”
“I imagine you do. I hope you catch whoever killed Julie,” she added with narrow eyes. “She was a sweet, kind girl, despite her mood swings. Nobody should be left to freeze to death, not even a rabid animal!”
“We’ll find out who did it,” Tom assured her. “The investigator was very thorough. We need enough evidence to convict, if we can connect it to anyone local.”
“Really hurts to think our community could harbor somebody like that,” she said sadly. “We’re kind people for the most part. We may gossip about our citizens, but it’s not malicious. It’s because we care.”
“I live in Chicago,” he replied, “where it’s a good idea to mind your own business and not have much to do with your neighbors.”
She frowned. “That’s a sad way to live. Do you have family there, at least?”
He shook his head. “My whole family is dead.”
“But who takes care of you, if you get sick?” she wanted to know.
That question was so disturbing that he pretended not to hear it. He stood up, smiling politely. “Thank you very much for your time. If I have any follow-up questions, I’ll be in touch, if that’s okay.”
“It certainly is,” Hazel assured him. “I want that person caught, too. It gives our town a bad name to have an unsolved murder in it.”
He nodded.
* * *
He went out for a late lunch, stopping by the local café. Jeff Ralston was there having lunch alone. He motioned for Tom, who had a hamburger and fries and coffee on a tray, to join him.
“Do you always eat alone?” he asked Jeff as he put his plate and mug on the table and slid the tray onto Jeff’s empty one before he sat down.
Jeff sighed. “Story of my life. I was involved with an ex-girlfriend, but she went back to Denver and got married. So, yes, I eat alone, unless one of my deputies is free at the same time I am. Not likely this time of year, with snow and ice alternating weeks, and wrecks by the half dozen.”
Tom chuckled as he started on his hamburger. “Sounds like Chicago in winter. We always get a few people from warmer climates who move in and don’t know how to drive in ice and snow. Sometimes that ends tragically.”
“Tell me about it,” Jeff said with a grimace. “So, how’s the investigation going?”
“I’m learning a lot about Raven Springs,” Tom said. “And about the murder victim.”
Jeff sipped coffee. “Learning a lot about Annalisa Davis, too, we hear,” Jeff added abruptly, and with a broad smile.
Chapter Four
Tom’s hamburger was suspended in midair as he stared at Jeff, surprised by the unexpected comment.
“Don’t worry, it’s not malicious gossip,” Jeff assured him. “We take an interest in anybody who lives or works here. Annalisa is special,” he added quietly and with a smile. “She had a bad time with her dad. A lot of cops drink, you know, but he was usually over the limit. Everybody protected him.”
“Why?”
