he’d do as promised and we waved at them as they drove away.
I sighed as Sally and I got into the Blazer to head home. The first damn day in a new town and this was what I had to deal with. It was just about as gruesome a scene as any I’d ever seen back home in LA. There, we had to contend with the odd drive-by shooting, or floaters coming up in the ocean; that was awful but this… this had been a slaughter and I had to wonder who’d done it. I couldn’t very well ask my new deputy if something supernatural had killed Buck. All day long, I’d caught her sniffing the air with her head up or glancing my way when she didn’t think I was looking. It was odd behavior and I was certain something was going on with her. How was I going to find out?
“So, Sally, are you a deer or a bunny?” I chuckled from the passenger seat as I thought the question in my head. She glanced over at me as she turned out onto the main road and then headed west. The sun had just begun to set and the sky was gorgeous, dotted with purple and orange clouds against a blue background. It reminded me of those sunsets in Malibu that I’d always loved.
“What’s funny or are you just so tired you’re slaphappy?” she asked from beside me.
I glanced over at her, grinning. “I’m definitely slaphappy… and starving.”
“You wanna stop and get something to eat?” Sally asked. “Todd’s Hash House makes great food.”
“Todd’s Hash House?” I smiled, rolling my head on the headrest to look at her again. “It sounds like a place where you could score some great dope.”
Sally chuckled. “Nope. Todd makes amazing hash—of the corned or roast beef variety. He has fantastic steaks, Mexican food of every kind, and fantastic pies if you’re in the mood for one of them.” She patted her ample belly. “I take a whole pie home now and then.”
“It sounds great but I’m gonna just head home. My fridge and pantry are fully stocked and to be honest, all I want to do is stuff something in my face, take a shower, and crash until morning. I’m pretty sure the ME will have something for us by then, right?”
“Yeah, she’s thorough. Tammy shouldn’t even be working for our small department here in Prosper Woods. She used to work out in Santa Barbara in a much larger coroner’s office but she and her husband decided they wanted to retire early to a small town. Quiet and solitude are the reasons they moved here.”
“She came here to retire? I guess she rethought that right quick.” I reached up and rubbed a hand over my face. I really was exhausted.
“Yes, she did. The fact is, Tammy is twenty years younger than her husband. He was a college professor and wanted to leave education and just write novels so she left her job in Santa Barbara to be with him. I guess after six months of puttering around the house and watching him write, she couldn’t take it anymore which is why she applied for the open ME position when our old coroner died. The town council hired her immediately. She has a fantastic resume so the choice really was a very simple one.”
“Well, I hope she can tell me what kind of animal or animals attacked Buck Walters,” I said.
“That and whether there’s any human DNA other than Buck’s anywhere on the body,” Sally added. “There’s just something not right about that crime scene. I’m sure it was staged, Sheriff.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so too.” I was quiet as Sally drove down the road to town. After a few minutes, I rolled my head on the headrest to glance over at my deputy. “Can I ask you a weird question, Sally?”
She glanced over at me, taking her eyes away from the road for only a few seconds as she nodded. “Sure, anything.”
“Do you believe in supernatural creatures?” I watched her fingers tighten on the steering wheel and I was certain Sally’s entire body seemed to stiffen. She looked over at me.
“Um… well, yes, but why do you ask, Sheriff?”
“Because I’m certain they do exist. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the matter.”
She glanced back at the road as we drove into town. Her jaw was clenched in a way that I just knew had been caused by the shock of