Terry Odell - Mapleton 02 - Deadly Bones Read Online Free Page B

Fred.
    Sixty-something Fred had lived on his thirty-five-acre spread since he was born. When his parents died, Fred inherited everything and had never left. Maybe it was the isolation, maybe it was something inside snapping when his wife took off for Georgia with his kid, or maybe he’d always been a taco short of a combination plate, but Gordon couldn’t remember him as anything other than Crazy Freddy.
    Maybe he’d be dancing through the woods buck-naked again. Once, he’d been sitting up in a tree, howling like a wolf. Alcohol was frequently involved. But, the consensus was, Fred was harmless. Even so, Gordon didn’t envy Solomon his task. One could never predict how Fred would react to being interrupted in whatever he thought was behavior vital to his existence at that precise moment.
    When Gordon got to the station, he grabbed the food from the backseat and set the plates on his desk. He heard Irv’s voice. From the vicinity of the break room, not Dispatch. His stomach clenched.
    Blowing out a frustrated sigh, wondering if he’d ever get to eat, or see Angie—and which had the higher priority—Gordon strode into the break room. “Irv, make sure your desk is covered and see me in my office, please.”
     

Chapter 4
     
    Megan climbed the stairs to Angie’s apartment. When Angie opened the door, Megan extended the vase filled with flowers she’d picked from Rose’s garden. “Thanks for playing hostess for the week. It’ll only take me a few minutes to finish packing and be out of your hair. And I’m sure Gordon will be glad I’m gone.”
    Angie rolled her eyes as she accepted the flowers and carried them to the coffee table. “He’s going to be at least an hour. Cop stuff, so it’ll probably be more like two. I’m thinking of dropping in on him later, to remind him what he’s missing. For now, come keep me company.” Angie tilted her head and grinned. “Unless you and Justin…”
    Megan waved her off. “It’s his parents’ last few hours here, and I’m in the way. Plus, he’s still working on his grant proposal. His promotion means more paperwork.”
    “Sounds familiar. Gordon’s always complaining about how little cop work he gets to do as Chief of Police.” She waved toward the sofa. “Sit. Want something to drink? Wine? Coffee? Lemonade? Take a minute to unwind after the party.”
    “Lemonade sounds great… once I finish packing.” After emptying the dresser drawer Angie had cleared for her, Megan retrieved her toiletries from the bathroom and added them to her suitcase. She wheeled the case to the door.
    Angie patted the sofa cushion next to her. “Join me.”
    “First, I want to check my email. Rose and Sam don’t have a wireless network.” Not to mention, when she was with them, it was too hard to keep pretending everything was wonderful. Megan felt she was under a microscope, and she was always afraid something would slip. Rose and Sam were constantly bragging about her to Justin’s parents, who had never been particularly receptive to her friendship—Megan wasn’t ready to think of it as a relationship yet—with Justin. Until she had something new for Rose and Sam to brag about, skirting the issue was the way to go.
    Megan found her laptop where she’d left it, on Angie’s makeshift desk in a corner of her makeshift office in her makeshift dining room. Given that Angie practically lived downstairs at the diner, Daily Bread, about the only part of her apartment she used was the bedroom.
    Megan checked her email, her heart rate accelerating in anticipation. Nothing from the bank. She sighed. No news was better than a rejection, right? And it was Saturday. Why was she expecting an answer on the weekend?
    “Something wrong?” Angie appeared at her side and set a glass of chilled lemonade next to Megan.
    Megan found a smile. “The usual. Mostly it’s a matter of deleting all the spam and making sure nothing important ended up in my junk folder.” She shut the