Murder at Catfish Corner: A Maggie Morgan Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

few
minutes, Maggie reviewed her notes while Earl David bragged on his
granddaughter. When he attempted to list the toddler’s accomplishments and food
preferences for the fourth time, Maggie stopped him by asking, “Do you have any
employees?”
    “Not to speak of.
Well, that’s not a nice thing to say. My cousin helps me out and there’s a boy
that lives up the road from me who works weekends and nights sometimes. He’s
been working this summer, but I didn’t know if I could trust him to run things by
himself, and my cousin was on vacation. I hated awful bad to close for the day
and lose out on business, but I wasn’t about to miss my baby’s birthday.”
    “When did you
get back home?”
    “Gosh, I don’t
remember what time I got back, but it was early that morning. I stopped at home
for a little while and then I came down here. The ambulance and the police
hadn’t been here long when I drove up. Uncle Boone said –”
    “Uncle Boone?” Maggie
exclaimed. “As in Boone Osborne?”
    “Yeah, you know
him?”
    “No, well, yeah.
My daddy bought a sow from him once and I came with him to pick it up. I
thought he lived somewhere around here. So, what did he tell you?”
    “Just that he
had found her not twenty minutes before I got here.”
    “Did you notice
anything out of the ordinary that morning?” Maggie asked. “Was anything out of
place?”
    Earl David chuckled.
“There’s not an awful lot that can get out of place as long as the fish stay in
the water and the water stays in the ground.”
    Maggie allowed
herself a moment to appreciate Earl David’s logic before steeling herself for
the next question. She dreaded asking it, but she had learned while
investigating Mac Honaker’s death that when she had a difficult question to
ask, it was better to blurt it out. Without the benefit of segue, she asked Earl
David, “How did you and Hazel get along?”
    Earl David
fidgeted with his empty water bottle and said, “We got along pretty good.”
    “I noticed a
privacy fence separating her property from yours.”
    “She installed
that fence a number of years ago,” Stella said. “I’ll be honest, she said she
didn’t like looking at the pay lake, but I don’t recall her ever mentioning
specific problems with you, Earl David.”
    “I didn’t have not
one problem with Hazel and I can understand why somebody wouldn’t want a pay
lake practically in their front yard.”
    “I wouldn’t want
one in my yard, I’ll tell you that,” Stella said, laughing. “But, like I told
Hazel, I live in a subdivision and our deeds specifically prohibit us from
operating businesses. There are no such regulations or zoning laws on your
basic county property.”
    “No,” Maggie
agreed, “people like Earl David and I can do almost whatever we want on our
basic county properties.” From the corner of her eye, Maggie could see Stella glaring
at her. “Earl David, if there’s anything else you can think of, just give
Stella a call and she’ll let me know.”
    Earl David nodded his agreement and Maggie and Stella headed next door to
talk to Boone.
    When Maggie
introduced herself as Robert Morgan’s daughter, Boone’s eyes widened.
    “Robert Morgan.
I reckon I ain’t seen him in fifteen year.”
    “Well, I know
it’s been about twenty-five years since we came here to buy a sow from you.”
    “I remember, I
remember,” Boone said as he lowered himself onto his front porch swing. “You
was just a little brown-haired girl then.” The old man grinned. “Why, it don’t
look like much has changed. You’re still a little brown-haired girl, but taller
now. Back then, for every step Robert walked, you had to take three to keep up
with him.”
    Maggie smiled at
the recollection and took a seat in a rocking chair. “That sounds like me, and
I’m still taking three steps for every one that he takes. He’s not slowed down
one bit.”
    “Let’s see, about
ten years or so after he bought that sow, I went over to