Bones in Her Pocket: A Tempe Brennan E-Short Read Online Free PDF

favorite.” Doris’s smile crumpled again. “I mean are .” She shook her head. “Oh, dear. It’s just so troubling.”
    A couple entered carrying a beagle puppy. Doris jumped as though tasered.
    “Excuse me! Absolutely no dogs allowed!” Moving faster than I thought someone her age could move, she hustled the offenders back out the door.
    I nudged Slidell. Pointed to a bulletin board beside a nest big enough to accommodate pterodactyls. A thumb-tacked flier proclaimed “Fight Back At Duke Energy—Learn To Live Off The Grid.” The contact listed was [email protected].
    Doris returned to her counter, vivid lips smashed up into a scowl. “Really. There are signs everywhere. Don’t people understand that dogs are dreadful for birds?” She rotated her upper arm to display a bruise, an eggplant arch curving the pallid flesh. “A dog bit me last week. Truth be told, I don’t trust the creatures.”
    “Did Edith know a man named Herman Blount?” I tried to steer the interview back on track.
    “Yes.” Wary.
    “Not a fan?”
    “I can’t fault Herman’s love of animals. Though it’s poor judgment to own a Rottweiler, any bird’s worst nightmare. But he’s a bit . . . extreme for my taste.” Doris’s eyes went wide. “Has Herman done something wrong?”
    Slidell ignored her question. “How well did Blount know Blankenship?”
    “He once brought in an injured barred. That’s an owl. Edith helped nurse it. Poor thing didn’t survive. Edith and Herman were both passionate about forcing power companies to make their lines safer for birds. And, well, if you’ve met him, you know. Herman isn’t hard on the eyes.” Doris flicked her brows in a “get my drift?” message that was quite unsettling.
    “Did they spend time together?” I asked.
    “I don’t know.” Shrug. “I mind my own.”
    Skinny went straight for the kill. “Is Blankenship capable of violence?”
    “Like what?”
    “Like screwing with power lines? Blowing stuff up?”
    Doris looked away.
    “What?” Slidell pressed.
    “I don’t want to speak ill. But that girl might do anything to protect her birds.”
    “Do you have any idea what might have happened to her?” I asked gently.
    Doris looked at me blankly.
    “Any tiny detail could be a big help.” I smiled what I hoped was an encouraging smile.
    “Judge not lest ye be judged.” Mumbled.
    “If someone has hurt Edith, we need to find out in order to bring him to justice.”
    Doris sighed. “No good ever comes from sleeping with a married man.”
    Not what I expected.
    Ditto Slidell. “Edith was hooked up?”
    Doris’s hands started worrying the edge of the counter. “I’ve said too much.”
    “I’m gonna need a name.” Slidell whipped out his spiral.
    “Edith only mentioned him once, in the very strictest confidence. They’d fought, and she was upset. I think she realized he was never going to leave his wife.”
    “A name!” Barked.
    “She was seeing her professor. Dr. Jack Olsen.”

S LIDELL ASKED A FEW more questions, then we returned to the Taurus. While gunning from the lot, he called the biology department at UNCC. From his end of the conversation, I guessed he wasn’t getting what he’d hoped.
    I was totally amped by the lead Doris had given us. Wanted to jump straight on it. Slidell had another target on his mind.
    Minutes after leaving raptorville, Skinny parked in front of a squat building with a sign featuring a grinning pig in a puffy chef’s hat. Lancaster Barbecue. I’ve never understood why BBQ joints put cheery smiles on the farmyard friends they serve up for lunch.
    Entering was like crossing from Kansas to Oz, lackluster exterior yielding to NASCAR wonderland. Neon signs, antique gas pumps, vintage car paraphernalia adorning every surface, including the ceiling. A zillion TVs broadcast race reports in keeping with the stock car theme.
    I didn’t need a menu. Pulled pork sandwich, hush puppies, slaw. North Carolina gold. Slidell was