Gray Ghost Murders (9781101606070) by Keith McCafferty Page A

bullet.”
    Stranahan looked skeptical. “Didn’t they already use a metal detector the day we found that bone?”
    â€œThey only used it where the bodies were buried. Come on,” Katie said. “I thought you were an optimist. Have a little faith.”
    She started fiddling with an adjustment device on the tool. “This is your basic model,” she said, “but I can tune it to discriminate metals. Like, if you know the bullet you’re looking for has a copper jacket, you can weed out other metals. That can save a lot of time at an urban crime scene. But I figure up here there’s not going to be a lot of trash, so we’ll just set it to all metals.”
    â€œDo you have a plan?”
    â€œHey, I brought the detector. I’m going to leave it to you to come up with the plan.”
    â€œThere’s too many trees to try to search every one, so I think we should start here at body one and conduct a diameter search, working out, say, thirty yards or so, then move on to body two and do the same thing.”
    â€œLet’s do it.”
    Two hours later, they had exhausted Stranahan’s plan, including broadening the search area to a fifty-yard diameter around each burial site, and had found only one piece of metal, a discolored gold band that had prompted them to utter the same words—“wedding ring.” The ring had been buried under several inches of loose duff at the base of a spruce tree, on the upper-level bench where they had unearthed the second body.
    â€œWere either of those guys wearing rings?” Katie said. She blew a sweat-damp strand of hair out of her eyes.
    Stranahan shook his head. “I’m not even sure the second guy had fingers.”
    â€œIt’s something, though. See, this wasn’t for nothing like you were thinking it was going to be.”
    In fact, Stranahan was thinking about dinner with Martinique. It was already early afternoon and they’d need to get going fairly soon if he was to make it back in time. He slipped the band over his ring finger and slipped it off.
    â€œHe had big fingers,” Katie said.
    â€œLike a rancher,” Stranahan said.
    Katie drew a dog biscuit out of her shirt pocket and snapped off an ear for Lothar. She snapped off the other ear, cracked that one in half, and handed a piece to Stranahan.
    â€œCome on, take it. They’re gourmet.” She popped her half into her mouth.
    Stranahan bit off a corner. A little dry, not much flavor. But it wasn’t bad.
    â€œI suppose you’ve heard they call me ‘Dog Breath,’” she said, “’cause I eat biscuits. I say if you really want to find out, all you have to do is kiss me.”
    It was an awkward moment, for they were standing far enough apart that one or the other would have had to step closer to be in range of a kiss, and as the moment passed, Katie made light of the situation by saying, “You know, in the interests of science and all.”
    â€œOh,” Stranahan said, “I doubt you’d have anything to worry about.”
    â€œYou ever want to find out for yourself, I promise I’ll keep my dog from tearing your throat out.” Now she was teasing him.
    â€œSo what was it you were going to tell me about Gordon Godfrey’s wife? Before Lothar chased that cat up the tree?”
    â€œOh, that. If I tell you, it might put you off kissing women for good.”
    â€œTell me.”
    â€œOkay. So, Julie finds out her husband was cheating on her with the woman in West Yellowstone, right? He’s buying her flowers, sleeping on the couch like a good boy, promising it was nothing and will never happen again, he’s just been under all this stress. Yada yada. And after a few days pass, this would be the day before yesterday, she acts like she’s going to give in and they share a bottle of wine and he thinks, you know, makeup sex, he’s going to get lucky. What he