"Why don't you drop us off at camp? They can play outside for a bit while you interview the sheriff."
Betty disagreed. "I think I should go too. For backup."
"While I appreciate the thought, I think I'll be okay at the sheriff's office."
Betty grunted. I wasn't sure about the exact meaning, but I was pretty sure she was not happy.
"Besides," I added. "I need you to help keep an eye on things at camp. Especially with those ghosts and aliens."
Betty looked me in the eye. "You're patrondising me."
"Patronizing," Kelly corrected unhelpfully.
"No, I'm not. If there are dangerous things at camp, you're the only one I trust to deal with it."
The girl squinted at me for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll do it. But if you don't come back in an hour, I'm coming to get you."
I wondered how she was going to do that without a vehicle. And I was a bit worried that half of me kind of wanted to find out.
CHAPTER TEN
The sheriff's department was off the highway just outside of camp in a squat, ugly, bunker-like building that looked like it was ready to fend off a zombie apocalypse. I opened the door and went inside, wondering if I'd been too brash in denying Betty's offer.
"Can I help you?" a bored young man asked when I approached the reception desk.
He was maybe twenty-two, with black hair, pasty skin, and nervous, pale blue eyes that skittered back and forth as he spoke. He wore a dark brown uniform with a name tag that read Jared.
"I've got the sheriff's lunch." I held up the bag.
Jared sniffed the air suspiciously. "Where's Nancy? How do I know you didn't poison it?"
I opened my mouth and then closed it. "Why would I poison it?"
He looked around surreptitiously even though, from what I could see, he was the only one there.
"You never know with those people," he whispered.
I couldn't help repeating, "Those people?"
Jared nodded as if it made sense…as if I somehow knew what he was talking about.
"Who are those people?"
"Those folks from Behold." He twirled a finger next to the side of his face. "They aren't quite right."
"Really?" Now that was interesting coming from someone I was starting to think wasn't quite right either.
He continued cautiously, as if at any moment I was going to flatten him with a herring. "Suspicious activity happens there all the time."
"You mean the aliens?" I couldn't help messing with him.
His eyes bulged. "You know about the aliens?"
"That's enough now, Jared." Sheriff Carnack, a dead ringer in every way for my own Sheriff Ed Carnack, walked through a doorway.
He looked so similar, right down to his large size, haircut, and easy mannerisms. For a second I wondered if I'd somehow been transported back to Who's There.
I handed him his sandwich while blurting out, "Are you a twin of Ed Carnack in Who's There?"
Jared narrowed his eyes at his boss. "You have a twin? That's kinda weird that you never told me about him."
The sheriff ignored his protégé and gave me a nod. "Come on in, Miss…"
"Merry Ferguson," I responded.
Jared had pulled out a notebook and pen and, turning his body away from the sheriff and with a glance back over his shoulder, began scribbling quickly.
"That's Ed, with one D," I said to the kid before following the big man down a hall to an office.
The sheriff thanked me for bringing his lunch, sat at the desk, and unwrapped his sandwich, offering me half, which I refused. I knew I was staring openly, but I couldn't help myself. Sheriff Ed Carnack, back home, was one of my favorite people. Did I have an ally here in this guy? It would be nice to have someone who knew the lay of the land and all the players.
I waited a moment before asking, "So do you have a brother named Ed Carnack?"
"He's a cousin, actually," he said in Ed's voice and then took another bite of his lunch.
"You're joking. You've probably heard this one thousand times, but you're a dead ringer for him."
The man looked me over. "We've both had to deal with that all of our lives, until he moved halfway across the state. I'm Ted Carnack."
"Your names are kind of obnoxiously similar," I laughed, hoping he had a sense of humor about it. Sheriff Ed had a sense of humor.
"Our mothers were twins," he explained without so much as a smile. "How is Ed doing? I haven't seen him since the conference on public safety almost a year ago, but we do talk on the phone every now and then."
Recognition lit up his face. "Hey, you aren't Merry Wrath, are you? You said your name was Ferguson."
I nodded, worried what the sheriff back home had told his cousin. I had a reputation for getting involved in cases that I probably shouldn't have. But Sheriff Ed was somewhat okay with my meddling. In fact, he sometimes thanked me…maybe one third of the time. It might be more like a fourth. Or even a fifth. Okay, I did annoy him a lot. What would this guy do?
"Well, I'll be!" He slapped his hand on his desk. "I have a bona fide celebrity in my office!"
That wasn't what I'd expected. "I'm not a celebrity…"
Ted nodded at me. "You were a spy! That's right! You were that spy that was outed! By the way, I think you got a bum deal on that."
I relaxed a bit and thanked him. "I was forced to retire earlier than I'd have liked."
The sheriff nodded as he finished the sandwich, wiped his hands, and tossed the napkin into a waste basket. "Why are you here in my county?"
I explained about Aunt June and the circumstances of my new inheritance, ending with the reason why I'd delivered the sandwich.
He leaned back in his seat and let out a long, low whistle. "That's some crazy stuff there. But then again, Behold is full of strange people."
Did that mean Ted was an outsider? "So Jared
