Maximum Security (A Dog Park Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

then.”
~ ~ ~
    Viola started barking shortly
before 9:30. The others joined in, howling. A minute later, Lia
heard a car door slam. She opened the door as a freshly showered
and shaved Peter came up the walk carrying a pizza box from Dewey’s
with a bag on top. Frantic, Viola jumped on him and whimpered. He
handed dinner to Lia, then stooped to pet Viola.
    “What’s in the bag?” Lia
asked.
    “Salad.”
    “Good man.”
    “I’m learning.”
    “Yes, you are.” She leaned in,
lingered over her ‘hello’ kiss. “Let’s get you fed. Then I’ll pry
information out of you.”
~
    Peter leaned back on the sofa,
propped his stocking feet up on the coffee table and tipped back a
bottle of Beck’s. Having stuffed themselves on pizza crust, the
dogs were spread out on the floor, napping.
    “That was excellent,” Peter
said.
    “I do agree. So, out with it. What
happened after I left?”
    “You can’t share. Just the stuff
that’s public.”
    “Cross my heart,” Lia said
solemnly while she made the required swipes with her index
finger.
    “It looks like one skeleton,
scattered around in pieces. Chris brought Boo to scent the area for
other remains, but they didn’t come up with anything.”
    “How do you think he
died?”
    “Brent found a crossbow bolt, so
it’s possible it was a deer hunting accident. I found a hunter’s
deer blind in one of the trees, something someone built out of
scrap lumber. Permanent tree stands are illegal on public hunting
grounds, so fat chance finding out who it belongs to. We think the
shot came from there.
    “Whoever he was, he died there.
Boo found the spot where he bled out. It was recent. Not all the
bones were clean.”
    Lia grimaced at the
thought.
    “What’s really strange,” Peter
continued, “the area stank to high Heaven, like a corpse that has
been kept in an oil drum for six months. We didn’t find anything
that would account for that. Then there’s the question of why bones
were scattered all over the place.”
    “How can you accidentally shoot
someone and then not help them or call the police?”
    “That’s what we’ve got to figure
out. We found the remains of clothing and something thick and
plush, like a blanket. Could be he was asleep on the ground and the
hunter didn’t see him.”
    “Sounds unlikely, and it doesn’t
explain why there was nothing left but scattered bones.”
    “Yeah, that’s what Brent and I
think.”
    “So what’s your next
step?”
    “The coroner’s office should have
a description and a time of death for the deceased by tomorrow.
We’ll check that against any local missing persons cases and see if
we have a match. If we do, we get dental records and make a
comparison. If not, we’ll have to do a facial reconstruction and
send it to the media. Meanwhile, we’re pulling the names of all the
bow hunters licensed for the current session of the deer cull at
Mount Airy. Shouldn’t be more than about thirty. If we don’t get
any joy there, we’ll look at all licensed bow hunters in
Cincinnati.”
    “Do you think there’s a chance it
wasn’t a bow hunter?”
    “There always is, but until we get
evidence that suggests otherwise, we’re looking for horses, not
zebras.”
    “What do I get to tell everyone at
the park? They know we found a human bone.”
    “We found a body and we’re trying
to identify it. The trails are closed to everyone, including
hunters, until further notice.”
    “The hunters won’t like being kept
out of the woods.”
    “Nope, they sure
won’t.”

 
Day 2
Thursday, October 10
    Lia steeled herself for grilling as
she strode up the park drive the next morning. She had all four
dogs in tow, having agreed to keep Viola for a few days. Peter
would be working long hours until headway was made on the case and
would have little time for his dog.
    The service road ended at a brick
picnic shelter separating two fenced enclosures, one for large dogs
and one for small. Lia noticed a middle-aged woman