2 A Deadly Beef Read Online Free PDF Page A

deceased neighbor.  "Moose and I were driving by
and we saw your arrangements.  I loved them so much I bought you
out."
    Sally
looked pleased by my compliment, and even more by my purchase, as Ron handed
her the cash I’d paid.  With a smile, she said, "If I’d
known you liked them that much and were buying them in bulk, I could have
knocked a dollar off each one."
    "I
think six dollars apiece is more than fair," I said.  "I had
no idea you had such a creative knack, Sally."
    "Well,
it’s not all farming around here, and everything we do helps pay
the bills.  I do my best to get away to agricultural conferences a few
times a year, and things like this help pay for my travel."  She
glanced at Ron, and then asked, "Don’t you have some chores to do
back at the barn?"
    "Yes,
ma’am," Ron said quickly, and before I could even manage to say
goodbye, he was gone.  What had he been about to tell me before Sally
appeared?  I’d have to find out sometime soon, but it was clear that
our conversation was over, at least for now.
    Moose
walked over and smiled at her as he offered her his hand.  "Sally
Ketchum, how the heck are you?"
    "Moose,
you are truly a sight for sore eyes.  Is it possible that you’re
getting even more handsome with each passing day?"  As Sally
spoke, she held onto his hand and put the other on my grandfather’s
shoulder. It was hard not to notice that she was also smiling a lot brighter
for him than she had for me.
    "I
always try to look my best," he said, preening a little with the
compliment.
    "Well,
you don’t need to try that hard.  No other man in the county
is going to have a chance if you get any better looking than you are
now."
    Moose
looked a little flustered by her praise, but then he managed to shift gears as
he said, "It was a shame about what happened to poor old Wally,
wasn’t it?"
    Sally
nodded as her smile disappeared altogether.  "I’m still having
a hard time believing it myself.  With him being gone, who am I going to
argue with now?"
    "Did
you two fight a lot?" I asked.
    Sally
smiled sadly.  "It was more a way to pass the time than anything
else.  Ron and I liked to fuss at each other about our property
lines.  He’d mow ten feet on my land one time, and I’d plow up
five feet of his, just to be ornery.  Most folks would have thought it was
strange, but that was just the relationship we had, you know?  I’ll
miss him more than most, I can promise you that."
    "Who
do you think might have done it?" Moose asked.
    "I
don’t have a clue," she said.  "I figure it’s not
my place to guess, either.  Let the police handle it.  That’s
why they make the big bucks."
    "Aren’t
you worried, being out here all by yourself?" I asked.
    "Not
the slightest bit.  I have my friend, Winchester, hanging around, and my
buddies, Smith and Wesson, are never far away, either.  I’m fairly
certain they’ll protect me if anybody decides to take a run at me."
    I
didn’t doubt that she was more than capable of taking care of
herself.  "How’s Ron taking the news?" I asked her.
     "I
suppose he’s just fine.  As a matter of fact, I don’t believe
that we’ve even discussed it."
    That
was odd.  "How can that not have come up in
conversation?" I asked.
    "We’ve
been too busy working the farm to get much gabbing in.  Now, if you two
will excuse me, I’ve got to get back to work.  Thanks for stopping
by, and your purchases.  Come back again any time."
    Sally
got back into the truck and drove off toward her barn, raising a little dust
behind her as she went.
    "That
didn’t go as well as I’d hoped on my end," Moose said. 
"Did you get anything out of Ron before Sally showed up?"
    I told
him what Ron had said, and my grandfather whistled softly.  "So, old
Wally had a thing for Penny.  You just never know, do you?"
    "I’ve
got a hunch that there’s more to the story than that."
    "She’ll
be someone we need to talk to next, then," Moose said.
    "What
do you think about