Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon Read Online Free PDF Page A

murder – he'd normally be wild with excitement and thus useless as a watchdog. But since I'd refused to let him examine Ted's body, he was sulking, and had apparently decided that if he couldn't have any fun, neither could anyone else. I did hope the police showed up before anyone figured out how to escape by rapelling down the side of the building,I heard a noise behind me – someone opening the front door. I turned and shouted.
    „Stop right there! I said no one comes in, and I meant it!“
    The door stopped about two inches open.
    „You didn't tell us this was a hostage situation,“ murmured an unfamiliar voice out in the hall.
    „It's not,“ I heard my brother, Rob, say. „That's just my sister, Meg, keeping people away from the crime scene. Meg? It's Rob. I have the police. Can we come in?“
    „Of course,“ I said. „You should have identified yourselves; I thought you were just more stupid sightseers.“
    „You can stay outside, Mr. Langslow,“ the unfamiliar voice said. „We'll take it from here.“
    I heard murmured conversation from the hall, and then the door opened, cautiously, and a head appeared.
    „Ms. Langslow? I'm Chief Burke.“
    Chief Burke was a balding, middle-aged African-American man whose laugh lines suggested that his face more often wore a smile than the current anxious frown.
    „Please come in, Chief,“ I said. „I'm just trying to keep all the rubberneckers out.“
    „We appreciate that,“ he said, stepping a little farther into the reception room. „Could you –? Oops!“
    I heard a thud, followed by the squeaking voice of the Affirmation Bear.
    „Whenever something makes me angry, I stop, take a deep breath, and try to see the humorous side of the situation.“
    „That's God-damned easy for you to say,“ the chief growled. And then he added, „Who the hell said that, anyway?“
    „I'm sorry,“ I said. „I guess you tripped over the bear.“
    By this time, he had fished the bear out from under him and was frowning at it. „It talks?“
    „Poke his stomach,“ I said.
    He did, tentatively.
    „Harder,“ I said. „Vent your frustration over being tripped.“
    The chief punched, harder, and I suspected, from his form, that he had boxed during his youth.
    „Don't keep anger and hurt feelings bottled up inside,“ the bear advised. „Find positive ways of expressing negative feelings.“
    „Mouthy little thing,“ the chief said, heaving himself up with the help of a worried-looking officer in uniform. „Sure hope the grandkids don't want one of them for Christmas. So – good Lord.“
    He'd noticed George.
    „Office mascot,“ I said quickly.
    „Okay,“ the chief said. „Thought for a moment maybe you'd waited a little too long to call us.“
    We both laughed – nervously, and maybe a little more than the joke deserved. I found myself wondering if they saw many murders here in Caerphilly.
    „I'm going to have to clear people out of the crime scene while we investigate,“ he said.
    „I figured as much,“ I said. „Can we shoo everybody down to the parking lot?“
    „Well, by crime scene, all I meant was this room here, where he was killed.“
    „Yes, but he wasn't killed here. He was killed on the mail cart.“
    „Which is here in the reception area.“
    „Yes, now it is; but he certainly wasn't killed here. I've been sitting here at die switchboard all morning. I think I'd have noticed something as bizarre as one of my coworkers getting strangled with a mouse cord.“
    „Um… right,“ the chief said, glancing at George. „So someone moved the body?“
    „Not really. He was on the mail cart.“
    „You're not suggesting some lunatic wheeled the mail cart in here without even noticing there was a dead body on it?“
    I explained about the automated mail cart, Ted's obsession with it, and his annoying antics of the morning.
    „Let me get this straight, then,“ the chief said. „We have no idea where he was killed, because he was riding the mail