Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy Page A

what seemed like a long time he took fast and furious notes without saying much to the person on the other end. “I’ll call that up immediately, Sheriff,” he said at last. “As it happens, Detectives Magozzi and Rolseth are in my office right now. If you’d stay on the line for just a moment, I’ll put this on speaker.” He pushed hold, and Magozzi noticed the Chief was three shades paler than he’d been a few minutes earlier.
    â€œThis is Sheriff Iris Rikker from Dundas County.”
    Gino nodded, recognizing the name from the papers a few months back. “The green-as-grass deputy who skunked the sitting sheriff.”
    â€œCorrect. She may have a snowman of her own. You need to listen to what she has to say.” He pushed SPEAKER and nodded at Magozzi, who inched closer to the phone.
    â€œLeo Magozzi here, Sheriff Rikker. The Chief tells us you’ve got another one of our snowmen up there.”
    â€œAs I told your chief, I’m not entirely certain, Detective. From what I saw on the news last night, it doesn’t look precisely like the ones you discovered in Theodore Wirth Park yesterday, although it may have originally. It’s difficult to assess that at this point.” Magozzi frowned, trying to sort the relevant from all the words she’d spewed out. It was like talking to an FBI agent. “Explain, please.”
    â€œYour snowmen looked very carefully crafted—almost artistic, in fact.”
    â€œAnd yours?”
    â€œWell, we’ve had freezing rain here this morning, then sleet, and now snow…”
    â€œSame here.”
    â€œâ€¦so even if this had started as a recognizable duplicate, the weather conditions would have altered it considerably. I’ve sent a photograph to your chief so you can make an assessment for yourself.”
    Magozzi saw Chief Malcherson at his computer on the credenza behind the desk, downloading a file from online.
    â€œIn the meantime,” Sheriff Rikker went on, “we are preserving the scene as well as we can under the circumstances, which of course means we haven’t begun to dismantle the snowman yet, and without at least rudimentary examination of the deceased, we haven’t yet determined with any degree of certainty that this was a homicide.”
    Gino yawned noisily, and even Magozzi was getting a little impatient. “You are sure there’s a body in there, right?”
    He could almost hear a backstep in the pause that followed, and then a snippiness in her speech. “I’m very sure, Detective. His hands were exposed. You’ll see that in the photograph.”
    â€œAny chance it could just be someone who got caught out in the storm and then covered with snow?”
    Another long pause, and Magozzi sensed a little temper in there somewhere. That was the trouble with a lot of woman cops, in his experience, especially women in power spots. They couldn’t take a little good-natured ribbing like a man could. “There is a very definite structure to this form, Detective. Whether or not it was perfectly executed, and in spite of the weather damage, it was obvious to all of us that someone constructed a snowman around this body. Whether or not it relates to your case remains to be seen. From our perspective at least, this was a courtesy call. After you’ve examined the photograph, you may be able to better determine the necessity of sending your people up here in these weather conditions.”
    â€¦better determine the necessity…? Who the hell talked like that? Magozzi rubbed at his temple and saw Gino doing the same thing, a pained expression on his face. The woman was giving them both a headache.
    â€œFine, Sheriff Rikker. I see the Chief has your photo loaded now. Can you hold a moment while we take a look?”
    â€œCertainly.”
    Malcherson pushed the hold button, then stepped aside so Gino and Magozzi could see the computer