Dead Madonna Read Free

tried punching in the number for the client she was scheduled to meet at noon. Not only were her hands still shaking but as she started to speak, her throat closed and the only noise she could make was a hoarse sob. Chief Ferris turned at the sound and skipped back up a couple steps. “Sharon,” she whispered, “a deep breath.” Sharon did as she was told. She found her voice.
    “Mallory?” she said. “I’m, ah, I’m running late, maybe another hour or so. Is that a problem for you?”
    “Not at all—but is something wrong?” said Dr. Paul Osborne’s oldest daughter, who had taken the call on her own cell phone from where she was standing in her father’s basement.
    “Just a bad start to the day,” said Sharon, with a weak smile at Chief Ferris. “Tell you about it when I see you.”
    “Please take your time, Sharon. Erin and I have our hands full sorting through all Mom’s stuff—we had no idea how much junk was down here. You come when you can or call back if we need to do it later, okay? I’m at Dad’s through the weekend.”
    “That wasn’t Paul Osborne’s daughter you just spoke to, was it?” said Chief Ferris, concern in her voice as Sharon slipped her cell phone back into her pocket. “I don’t mean to be nosy but there aren’t many people named Mallory around here.”
    “Yes … I’m meeting her and her sister, Erin,” said Sharon, wondering what could possibly be wrong with that. “They want me to sell their mother’s china on eBay.”
    “In that case, I would appreciate it if you would do me a favor when you get there—give Doc a message for me?”
    “I don’t know if he’ll be there or not,” said Sharon. “Mallory is the one who has made all the arrangements. But I’ll be happy to if he—”
    “Tell him I have to cancel our plans for tonight.”
    Before Sharon could answer, the cell phone on Chief Ferris’s belt rang. “Yes, Marlene?” Again the no-nonsense tone that Sharon found reassuring.
    “Are you serious?” said the police chief, her voice terse. “Wait—let me get this straight. You’re telling me our overpaid coroner took the week off to play his accordion at a polka convention? When the hell did he decide to do this? Why didn’t he tell me he was leaving town?”
    Sharon couldn’t make out what was said next but the mollified look on Chief Ferris’s face answered the question: “Oh … well, my fault. The memo’s in my box, huh? That’s what I get for relying on email. All right, Marlene, hold tight while I rethink what’s happening here because I’ve got two fatalities under questionable circumstances … What’s that?”
    She paused to listen. From where she stood, Sharon could hear a high-pitched chatter. Irritation flashed across Chief Ferris’s face. “Oh, he has, has he? Well, you tell Mr. Bertram Moriarty I don’t care how much he pays in property taxes or when his plane leaves for Chicago—he does not budge from that boat until I get there. No … one … leaves.
    “And, given what I see here, I’d say it will be a good hour or more until I can get there. I can’t send Roger because he’s got his hands full with that three-car accident in the Loon Lake Market parking lot. Plus I don’t want him there. So tell those people to hold their horses.
    “Now, Marlene, I need a coroner and the Wausau boys ASAP. I’ll give a call to Chuck Meyer at the Wausau Crime Lab—but will you please reach Doc Osborne and brief him on the situation? Thank you. Give him this address and ask him to meet me here as soon as possible. I’ll need him here and at Moccasin Lake.”
    Chief Ferris hadn’t even clipped her phone back onto her belt before it rang again. “He’s not answering? Damn. Okay, call Ray and ask him to walk over and see if he can find him. I know Doc was planning to fish with his grandson this morning.”
    Again her phone rang within thirty seconds. “No answer from Ray either? Jeez Louise—what else can go wrong! Try Ray at the