huge area to cover and a lot more crime. The most exciting thing we’ve had lately is a break-in after the owner of the house committed suicide.”
Her jaw literally dropped. I always thought the expression was nothing more than an idiom for unimaginative writers, but she was on the verge of losing her dentures. I jumped in before she could confess. “I think I heard about that. Wasn’t it over by Bailey?”
“Not even close. He lived right over the county line in Pine Junction,” Bob answered before Bonnie could pass out. “But tell me about the hikers you didn’t see. The ones you think had a leaky transmission, and why you don’t think they’re our missing persons.” He was like a bulldog --or is that an elephant?-- he hadn’t forgotten about my hypothesis.
“Those Datsuns didn’t have automatics,” Bonnie answered for me. Evidently she had recovered from the thought of spending the night in jail.
“Datsuns?” White asked.
It was my turn to interrupt. “Your brother-in-law, Rick, told us the kids were driving a Datsun.”
“And Jake used to have one of them, so he figured out all by himself it wasn’t the kids.” Bonnie finished for me.
White looked like he was getting upset. “Okay, maybe I will have that cup of coffee after all, and then we’ll start over but I only need one of you to tell me the story.”
“Do you mind Bon? You make better coffee than me anyway,” I said while leading Officer White back to my kitchen table.
Bonnie busied herself with making fresh coffee and cleaning my dirty dishes while I explained how Fred had found the transmission fluid and tracks leading to the mine. I also added my two cents about why the footprints couldn’t belong to the kids with a brief history of early Datsun pickup trucks. But for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a way to ask about Appleton without incriminating myself or Bonnie. I suppose Fred was just as guilty, but I didn’t think they’d arrest him.
***
“Do you think they’re on to us, Jake?” Bonnie asked while lighting a cigarette. The three of us were sitting on my front porch watching White drive away.
I didn’t bother acting annoyed over the smoke, for I knew she needed the nicotine to calm her nerves. “Not yet. I was surprised Bobwhite didn’t say something about my Jeep breaking down by Appleton’s. Unless that deputy never called in my plates, they must have a record of me being in the vicinity of the break in.”
“Bobwhite? Why did you call him that?”
“It’s his name,” I answered with a short laugh. “Officer Robert White, or as he prefers to be called, Bob.”
The irony of his name made her smile, but only for a moment.
“I only hope the burglary was discovered before the other deputy saw me there. Then there would be no reason to suspect me, unless the CBI finds some prints we missed when we tried to wipe the place down.”
“CBI?”
“Colorado’s version of the FBI. I doubt that Park County can afford a modern forensics lab, so I assume they outsource it to the state.”
Bonnie tapped cigarette ashes into her hand, and seemed to be considering my explanation. “What about the blood on the deck, Jake? What if the CBI finds it and our prints? Won’t they think we killed him?”
Fred had been sitting and listening to every word, so I tried to lighten things up a bit. “What do you think about Mexico, Freddie? Would you like to meet a cute Chihuahua?”
Bonnie wasn’t amused. “Seriously, Jake. How can you joke at a time like this? I nearly died when they thought I killed Shelia. Now I’m a suspect again!”
“I’m sorry, Bon. Even if they do connect me as the one who wiped the place clean, they have nothing on you. I promise I won’t say a word about you being there.”
Her eyes began to swell with tears, and she spoke without looking at me. “I’m sorry I was so self-centered, Jake. You remind me so much of my Diane. She didn’t have a selfish bone in her body
Her jaw literally dropped. I always thought the expression was nothing more than an idiom for unimaginative writers, but she was on the verge of losing her dentures. I jumped in before she could confess. “I think I heard about that. Wasn’t it over by Bailey?”
“Not even close. He lived right over the county line in Pine Junction,” Bob answered before Bonnie could pass out. “But tell me about the hikers you didn’t see. The ones you think had a leaky transmission, and why you don’t think they’re our missing persons.” He was like a bulldog --or is that an elephant?-- he hadn’t forgotten about my hypothesis.
“Those Datsuns didn’t have automatics,” Bonnie answered for me. Evidently she had recovered from the thought of spending the night in jail.
“Datsuns?” White asked.
It was my turn to interrupt. “Your brother-in-law, Rick, told us the kids were driving a Datsun.”
“And Jake used to have one of them, so he figured out all by himself it wasn’t the kids.” Bonnie finished for me.
White looked like he was getting upset. “Okay, maybe I will have that cup of coffee after all, and then we’ll start over but I only need one of you to tell me the story.”
“Do you mind Bon? You make better coffee than me anyway,” I said while leading Officer White back to my kitchen table.
Bonnie busied herself with making fresh coffee and cleaning my dirty dishes while I explained how Fred had found the transmission fluid and tracks leading to the mine. I also added my two cents about why the footprints couldn’t belong to the kids with a brief history of early Datsun pickup trucks. But for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a way to ask about Appleton without incriminating myself or Bonnie. I suppose Fred was just as guilty, but I didn’t think they’d arrest him.
***
“Do you think they’re on to us, Jake?” Bonnie asked while lighting a cigarette. The three of us were sitting on my front porch watching White drive away.
I didn’t bother acting annoyed over the smoke, for I knew she needed the nicotine to calm her nerves. “Not yet. I was surprised Bobwhite didn’t say something about my Jeep breaking down by Appleton’s. Unless that deputy never called in my plates, they must have a record of me being in the vicinity of the break in.”
“Bobwhite? Why did you call him that?”
“It’s his name,” I answered with a short laugh. “Officer Robert White, or as he prefers to be called, Bob.”
The irony of his name made her smile, but only for a moment.
“I only hope the burglary was discovered before the other deputy saw me there. Then there would be no reason to suspect me, unless the CBI finds some prints we missed when we tried to wipe the place down.”
“CBI?”
“Colorado’s version of the FBI. I doubt that Park County can afford a modern forensics lab, so I assume they outsource it to the state.”
Bonnie tapped cigarette ashes into her hand, and seemed to be considering my explanation. “What about the blood on the deck, Jake? What if the CBI finds it and our prints? Won’t they think we killed him?”
Fred had been sitting and listening to every word, so I tried to lighten things up a bit. “What do you think about Mexico, Freddie? Would you like to meet a cute Chihuahua?”
Bonnie wasn’t amused. “Seriously, Jake. How can you joke at a time like this? I nearly died when they thought I killed Shelia. Now I’m a suspect again!”
“I’m sorry, Bon. Even if they do connect me as the one who wiped the place clean, they have nothing on you. I promise I won’t say a word about you being there.”
Her eyes began to swell with tears, and she spoke without looking at me. “I’m sorry I was so self-centered, Jake. You remind me so much of my Diane. She didn’t have a selfish bone in her body
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