Joan Hess - Arly Hanks 04 Read Online Free PDF Page A

Maggody is," Plover said amiably. It was his most irritating trait -- this good-humored, easygoing amiability of ol' Sergeant Complaisancy. It carried us along from week to week, but I was increasingly aware that I knew very little about his inner convolutions. Maybe he didn't have any. A soul of silk, perhaps.
    I was about to agree with his remark when my beeper went off. "I'd better call in," I muttered. "Ruby Bee's likely to have developed a hangnail or some such tragedy. Let me know if Cricko eats anybody."
    I used the pay telephone outside the concession stand, and came back to the car with a scowl. Slamming the door hard enough to cause heads to pop up in backseats all around us, I said, "There's another fire between Maggody and Hasty. Harve wants me to meet him there."
    "Does this mean we'll have to miss Tanya Makes the Team? darn it, you know how much I enjoy sports stories." He was already putting the speaker on the stand and starting the engine, however, alleviating me of the necessity of making a comment about his sordid taste. After all, I was the one who savored the antics of nature's finest mutants. That in itself might have merited some introspection, but I was more concerned about the recent spate of fires.
    "What do you know about firebugs?" I asked as we pulled onto the highway.
    "Not much. You ought to talk to Merganser about it. He's done a couple of special courses with the FBI and knows more than anyone else at the barracks."
    "He came out to investigate the last fire, but the shack was so dry that it burned to the ground before the fire department arrived. We both agreed it was arson, though. You can't blame faulty wiring when the place had no electricity."
    "Maybe some derelict was holed up there and made a fire to cook," suggested Plover.
    "Four times in the last month? You'd think he'd learn something about campfire safety along the way." I stuffed my mouth with popcorn and thoughtfully chomped my way through it. "These fires are being set deliberately. Our nut case, as Harve so politely calls him, could be a derelict. He could also be a kid or a drunk from the pool hall or a real, live psycho. What frightens me is that he seems to be heating up rapidly. Eventually someone's going to get hurt, or the fire's going to spread and do serious damage."
    All Plover could do was repeat his suggestion to talk to Merganser. We turned on the county road that led to Hasty, and had no difficulty finding the scene, in that roiling smoke deposited ashes on the windshield long before we caught sight of an orange glow above the treetops. Sheriff's department vehicles blocked the road, thwarting the growing line of trucks and cars filled with spectators.
    We parked and joined the parade of pedestrians, some of whom had the foresight to bring coolers and folding aluminum chairs.
    "What's burning?" Plover asked me.
    "A barn," I said, trying to picture something I'd driven past a million times. "There used to be a house, but it was torn down years ago. The roof of the barn collapsed and it wasn't much more than a pile of gray lumber and a home for mice and snakes."
    "Evenin,' Arly," said a voice from behind us.
    I looked back at one of the Maggody magpies. "Hi, Eula. What are you doing out here?"
    "Lottie called me when she heard about the fire, and I thought I'd come take a look at it. Oh, there's Elsie and her daughter walking with Larry Joe and Joyce. I don't think it's good for Joyce to be exposed to smoke when she's" -- Eula noticed Plover and lowered her voice -- "in a family way."
    "Don't worry about him," I said. "He's my gynecologist. You wouldn't believe some of the things he's seen. Tell her about the contortionist who -- "
    Eula fled. We wound through the crowd, went past the police line, and found Harve glumly watching the volunteer firemen hosing the fire, which by now consisted only of isolated sputters of flames. "Any evidence?" I asked.
    Harve plucked a cigar butt from his shirt pocket. Once he'd gotten