The Cracked Pot Read Online Free

Hey, Butch. How are you doing, David?"
    David nodded an abrupt greeting as he approached Hodges. "Is there any sign of him? What happened?"
    The sheriff ignored the question and stared at me. "What do you know about this, Carolyn?"
    "I just heard about it," I said. "Is there any sign of him yet?"
    Hodges shook his head. "One of your neighbors was out walking his dog when he found this car sitting here with the door open and the keys still in it. I was kind of hoping you might be able to shed a little light on it."
    "I was at Fire at Will all evening," I said stuffily. "That car was certainly not there when I left." It was a beat-up Ford Escort, and I wondered how little the potter must have made publishing his opus.
    "We can vouch for that," Butch said. "Not the car being there, but her presence at the shop. She never left the place all night, and I'm willing to swear to that in court."
    "Why am I not surprised you'd vouch for her?" he said.
    Bill piped up. "Wait a second here. We've already had this conversation, Hodges."
    "It's Sheriff Hodges," the man said curtly.
    "I've known you forty-five years, and I'll call you what ever I want. Carolyn didn't have anything to do with this."
    The sheriff shook his head slightly. "I can't exactly just take your word for that, either, now can I?"
    Bill looked like he was about to blow, and I didn't want the sheriff to have any more reason to dislike me or my fam ily. "Why don't we go inside and let the police deal with it, Bill? I assume you're finished with us, Sheriff." The Firing Squad was just going to have to get along without me for the rest of the night.
    "I'm done with you for now," he said. "I'll probably have more questions for you later. Right now, I've got my deputies coming. We're going to search the area for Mr. Potter."
    "I'll help," David chimed in.
    "Thanks, but we've got it covered," the sheriff said just as another squad car pulled up. He walked over to greet them.
    I touched Butch's arm. "Thanks for bringing me home. Would you mind taking David back to the shop? I'd better hang around here for now."
    "How are you going to get your car?" Butch asked.
    "I'll take her later," Bill said. "Thanks for coming, both of you."
    Butch nodded. "Call me if you need me. Don't worry about the time."
    I smiled. "What about your appointment? I'd hate to in terrupt anything."
    "Friends come first," he said. Then Butch turned to David. "Let's go."
    "I want to help look for him," my assistant said.
    Butch replied, "I know you do, but the sheriff's already turned you down. Come on, there are bound to still be a few meatballs left back at Fire at Will."
    Bill blanched a little at that, probably rightly believing he wouldn't be getting any leftovers tonight.
    Once they were gone, my husband and I walked up to the house. "It's getting chilly, isn't it?" I asked. I glanced back at the abandoned car and added, "I hope he's all right."
    "I just wonder what he was doing here in the first place," Bill said.
    "I'm sure the sheriff is wondering the same thing," I said.
    Once we were inside, Bill looked hard at me. "Are you sure you don't know why he'd come here?"
    "I don't have a clue," I said. "And I'm not all that crazy about everybody asking me that. Why won't anybody be lieve me?"
    "I do," he said gruffly. "I was just asking. It's too bad about the meatballs. I'm feeling a little peckish."
    "You didn't look in the refrigerator, did you?" I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a covered dish. "I left you some, you big goof. All you had to do was look."
    "Well don't just stand there, let's eat."
    As Bill waited for the microwave to do its job on reheat ing our late snack, I asked, "Aren't you the least bit con cerned about what happened to Charles Potter?"
    "Why should I be? He's a grown man, isn't he? I'm sure he's fine."
    "Then why would he just abandon his car like that, and what was he doing at our house in the first place?"
    "I don't have a clue," Bill admitted as he took the dish out of the