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“This guy came in a few minutes ago and said he’d found a body over near the Butler place, off the road in some weeds. He says he’s a detective from Miami and he’d be happy to volunteer his services to help solve the case.”
“A murder. A body. An out-of-town detective who found it.” Cody took a calming breath. “Okay. Where’s the body? Have you brought it in yet?”
“See, that’s the hitch. The detective saw the body but apparently it’s been moved. He wants to help us look for it.”
Cody stared at the wall. First Anyu, now this. It was getting to be a very rotten day. “Okay, I’ll come into the office and we’ll go from there.”
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
“This detective, does he seem to know his business?”
“I guess so. He sure reminds me of that TV detective Remington Steele. He’s not handsome, but he dresses like the detective did. Very suave.”
“I’m on my way.” Cody hung up.
CHAPTER FOUR
THEDETECTIVEFROMMiami was dressed, as the young deputy had said, in very suave clothing. An expensive suit, a white silk shirt, and his hair was very much like the TV detective’s. The only thing the man was missing was height. He was shorter than Cody. Of course, Cody was over six feet tall, so a lot of people couldn’t match his height.
“Are you the sheriff?” the other man asked with a big smile, extending his hand. “I’m Mike Steele. From Miami.”
Cody shook the hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sheriff Banks. Now what’s this about a body?” he asked somberly.
“I found one! It was in the briars just south of the ranch house at the Butler place,” he assured the other man.
“What condition was it in?” Cody asked, because the snow from the last storm had just melted, and he expected the crime scene investigator would need a sturdy body bag. And maybe a shovel.
“The body?” the other man asked. He frowned. “Well, it was wearing clothes like the cowboys do, and there was an arrow through his chest.”
Cody blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I mean, a bullet hole. Yes. A bullet hole.” He grinned. “Sorry. I mixed up my point of reference.”
“Where was the bullet hole?”
The little man thought hard. “In his chest.”
“Powder burn?”
The other man scowled. “I didn’t really notice.”
“Powder burns are hard to miss,” Cody said, hiding a sudden suspicion about the identity of the so-called expert here. “What condition was the body in?”
“Well, it was dead,” came the stark reply.
“Obviously. I mean, was it wet, dry, decomposed, dismembered...?”
The little man shuddered. “Oh, of course not! It was in one piece!”
“Great. Where is it now?”
The detective raised his eyebrows. “It’s gone missing.”
“You should have called us in before coming in here to report it,” Cody said. He scowled. “And why didn’t you call from the crime scene?”
The questions were disturbing the little man. He coughed, pausing as if he was searching desperately for a reply. “My cell phone isn’t charged!” he said after a minute, triumphantly. “And it’s still in my motel room, plugged in,” he added. “So I couldn’t take a picture at the crime scene,” he finished.
“Damned shame,” Cody replied. “Photos would have been a great help. But we can go out there with you and look for trace evidence.”
