“Oh, no, Sheriff Romeo. I just came in for my morning coffee and to see what’s up.” I noticed how she turned to look at Mary again as I finally realized that the girls actually were giving each other puppy eyes. Sometimes I wasn’t that quick on my feet, not quick at all.
“Well, okay then. See you at work, Precious.” I threw her another smile and then followed Mary to a seat next to the window.
A waitress came over to me and set down a coffee cup and an insulated carafe, then took my order. I took her suggestion and was glad I did when she set down a steaming plate of corned beef hash and poached eggs with a side of biscuits and homemade sausage gravy.
Everything smelled amazing and as I dug into the food, I reflected on the vast empty spaces in Vincent’s fridge and cabinets. I smiled to myself as I remembered placing a food order with Sid that included ketchup only to be told that he’d run out and that I had to wait until his next shipment came in. After seeing an entire shelf of bottles in my vampire’s refrigerator, I’d realized why the general store was fresh out. I made a mental note to stop by the store and place an order for Vincent’s house. We seemed to spend a lot of time there.
As I was finishing up the last of my breakfast, I looked up, only to find Sally rushing into the restaurant, looking around. The moment she spotted me; she came over wearing a serious expression.
“Hey, Sally,” I said, smiling. “Have a seat and get some breakfast with me.”
“No time, Sheriff. We’ve got to get to work.” Her frown wasn’t comforting.
I set down my fork. “What’s wrong?”
“Some kids found skeletal remains in an old closed up mine. We need to get out there right away.”
I scooted out of the booth and stood up, digging a twenty out of my wallet and dropping it on the table. Waving at my waitress, I followed Sally out of the diner onto the street, where she stopped and turned to me.
“Who is it? Do you know?” I asked.
She nodded. “Based on the description, I’d say it’s Roy Willis, the previous sheriff, but we won’t know until we go out there.”
“Oh shit,” I said. “Didn’t he retire and move out of the area?”
She glanced down, and I noticed the way she shuffled her feet.
“Sally, what happened to Roy Willis?” I pressed.
She sighed and looked back up. “He had a confrontation with Floyd Reardon when he told him he couldn’t keep throwing troublemakers out of the bar. There were always fights, so one night when Roy had enough, he called Floyd and told him that he had one last chance to get things under control or he was going to shut down the saloon.”
“And…”
“And then the next day things changed at the saloon. Greg Brown was made bartender and manager rather than just the kitchen help, and Floyd’s friends—the troublemakers—calmed down. It wasn’t until two days later that I received a letter from Roy saying he was tired of Prosper Woods life and was moving on. In the letter he wished me luck and said he hoped Mayor Farrell would find us a replacement soon. That’s about all.”
“And now we have a body in an old mine shaft,” I concluded.
“Yes.”
We started walking to the station. “You said the remains are skeletal?”
“From what the kids told me over the phone, the skeleton was wearing his uniform, gun and all,” Sally said. “One of the kids is Brady Eubanks and is the son of Jedediah, our mailman. The other one is Tico Mendez, the brother of Ricky Mendez who’s the town mechanic. They’re both thirteen and really good boys who stay out of trouble.”
“They’re still out there at the mine?” I asked.
Sally didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she opened the door to the station and we both walked in. Precious was sitting behind her desk, drinking from a tall paper coffee cup with the Todd’s Hash House logo circling it. She looked up at us, her young face more serious than I’d ever seen it. She was usually all smiles and full of welcoming energy.
“Brady and Tico are waiting for you two at the mine. Dave is with them and they’re pretty shook up,” Precious said. That answered that question.
“Let me grab a couple of radios, and then we’ll be off,” Sally said. She walked down the hall, and I turned to look back at Precious.
“Do you know how far the mine is from here?” I asked her.
“It’s the old Hawk Hills mine which is about four miles from here—give or take,” she replied.
“What kind of mine is it?” I asked, curiously.
“Gold,” Precious replied, “but the mine was played out decades ago. The owners boarded it up, but you know kids. If they’re determined to get in, they will.”
I nodded, impressed with Precious. She couldn’t be more than a decade older than those teens, but she was world wise and mature for a girl of her age, regardless of the outfits she wore. I heard a noise and looked up to see Sally coming back down the hall holding two large two-way radios in one hand and a pack slung over the opposite shoulder. She stopped in front of me and handed me one of the radios.
“Does Dave have a radio?”
Sally nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I wanted these. Depending on how deep in the mine the remains were found, we could lose reception with cell phones.” She held up the radio and wiggled it. “Thus, the alternative.”
I squeezed her shoulder. “Good thinking.” I reached for the pack she’d slung over her shoulder. It looked heavy. “Let me
