kind,â I said. âHe can't dispose of it as easily as a few chickens. Not without getting caught.â
âI only hope she took some pictures of it,â the quilter said. âTo document it. It might help the police find it.â
âIf she didnât, I did. I was running around with my phone camera last night, taking some local color shots for the Web site. Tell Vern Iâm going to e-mail my pictures of the fugitive quilt to Debbie Ann down at the station.â
âGood,â Mother said. âNow run along. Iâll stay here with Rosalie, and Iâm sure you have things to do.â
Yes, I did.
I sent the photos off. Then I called Randall.
âAre you still with the reporter?â I asked.
âYes,â he said.
âSorry to interrupt, then, but thereâs been another theft. This time a valuable quilt. I think we need to warn the exhibitors. And if you ask me, itâs no longer practical to keep that reporter from finding out. Too much has happened. We should break the news to him, putting our spin on it, before he hears it from some other source.â
âI agree,â Randall said. âAnd I think we should enlist the assistance of the press. Meet me at the fair office.â
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Chapter 5
The fair office was a large converted trailer that, when it wasnât fair season, served as a mobile field office for any large projects Randallâs construction company took on. It had phones, electricity, and an Internet connectionâat least most of the time, and when those failed there were always Shiffleys available nearby to get them going again.
I got there first, and by the time Randall and the reporter arrived, I had already printed out a copy of my master exhibitor list. And figured out that owners of the stolen chickens were actually named Bonneville.
ââseveral officers patrolling the grounds last night,â Randall was saying as he entered. âBut weâre going to double the police presence tonight.â
âYou think that will help?â the reporter asked.
âMeg is also organizing some of the exhibitors to do voluntary patrols.â Randall was offering the reporter one of our folding chairs.
I was? Okay, I guess now I was. Or maybe Vernâs suggestion of a few volunteers to hunt for the chickens had morphed into full-fledged patrols. I flipped to the right page in my notebook and scribbled a few more notes on my plan for the volunteer patrols.
âItâs a big area to cover,â the reporter said.
âIt certainly is,â Randall agreed. âA hundred and twenty acres.â
He indicated the wall where weâd posted a map of the fair. It was vaguely shield shaped, a little like the state of Ohio. On the southern side, where Ohio bordered Kentucky and West Virginia, were the entrance gates. If you turned left after you came through the gates youâd reach the amphitheater where all the music and other talent performances would take place. To the right was the big show ring where the rodeo events and major animal competitions would be held. The arts and crafts barn, the vendorsâ barn, and the wine pavilion were all in the center, where Columbus would be.
The exhibitorsâ campgrounds and parking lots were in the upper left cornerâpast the amphitheaterâwhile the animal barns, tents, and sheds filled most of the upper right cornerâpast the show ring. Beyond the agricultural area, in the very upper right area of the map was the Midway. That part was shaded pink instead of green like the rest of the map, because it was across the border in Clay County.
âFortunately this is the first incident of this kind weâve had during the history of the Un-fair,â Randall was saying.
âYou only started it last year,â the reporter pointed out. âNot much of a history.â
âNo, but our record last year was unblemished,â Randall said. âNo theft or
Elmore - Jack Ryan 0 Leonard