Bug Man Suspense Bundle (1,2) Read Online Free PDF

the single engraved word, AIRBORNE, followed by the twin AAs of the All American Division.
    The sheriff turned and stepped a few paces from what remained of his childhood friend and comrade at arms. He stood facing away, staring at the ground and grimly shaking his head.
    “It’s Jim, all right.”
    On the other side of the body three hunters stood watching. The first hunter, Ronny, nudged Wayne and nodded silently toward the sheriff; Wayne passed the observation on to Denny, who reached up and slid the bright orange cap from his head. They all stood silently until the sheriff turned back to face the decomposing carcass once again.
    “Sorry to have to call you like this, Pete,” Denny said. “Whatwith Jim being an old friend of yours and all, we thought you’d want to know straightaway.”
    “You did the right thing.” The sheriff paused. “You boys didn’t touch anything, did you?”
    “Hey, give us a little credit, Pete. We didn’t even move the gun. See? It’s still in his hand. He didn’t even drop it after he …”
    An awkward silence followed. No one wanted to finish the sentence.
    “Let’s get something straight.” The sheriff glared at two of them. “I don’t want to hear any more talk about ‘suicide’ until the coroner has a chance to look things over. All we know for sure is that Jim McAllister is dead.”
    “I s’pose we know what suicide looks like,” Wayne grumbled.
    “It’s not a suicide until I say it’s a suicide. That’s the law.” Sheriff St. Clair folded his arms and kicked at the ground. “As far as we know, it might have been an accident. Maybe even murder.”
    Ronny and Wayne stood with heads hung low and hands in pockets, looking suitably repentant. Denny, suffering from a lifelong case of what his childhood friends referred to as “diarrhea of the mouth,” was the only one foolish enough to respond.
    “C’mon, Pete. I know you and Jim went way back and all, but … an accident? Shot in the side of the head? Nobody has an ‘accident’ like that—least of all an Airborne ex. And who would kill Jim? Nobody liked him—but at least he stayed to himself, stayed out of everybody’s way. Besides, we just don’t have many murders in these parts.” Then he added for good measure, “Look who I’m telling.”
    It was true. The last murder in Holcum County was over a year ago, when old Mrs. Kreger decided to stop feeding her invalid husband. Her attorney got her off on the grounds that she just might have had a touch of Alzheimer’s herself, but the people who knew Mrs. Kreger best weren’t so sure. In any case, Denny was right; there weren’t many murders in Holcum County, but the sheriff was not about to surrender the point. He took a step closer and spoke quietly, as though he might be overheard.
    “Look. You boys know what it’s like in a town like this when somebody does hisself in. Remember when they found AlvinRafferty in his garage a few years back? I don’t think his family ever got over it—the way people look at you, the way they talk behind your back. Well, Jim’s got a sister, remember? I don’t want that to happen to her. Let’s keep this quiet, okay? Can I count on you? Ronny? Denny? Wayne? For Jim’s sake.”
    Each man nodded gravely. They were a part of the inner circle now, Keepers of the Secret—certainly one of the best secrets in Holcum County for quite some time.
    They were interrupted by noise from the edge of the clearing—the heavy, clumsy, crashing footfalls of someone obviously not at home in the woods. From an opening in the small pines emerged the figure of a deputy, a young man of startling stature. He was a full head taller than the sheriff. His shoulders were heavy and rounded, and they hung down over a hulking torso. His arms were shapeless and pale but as thick as an average man’s thigh. His blunt-fingered hands swelled into two great drumstick forearms that belied the overall softness of his appearance. His pale blue eyes