Eggs Benedict Arnold Read Free Page B

sequence of events. But everything was still fuzzy, like a long-ago dream that could only be remembered in disjointed fragments.
    “ Huh? ” said the deputy.
    “ What are you sayin ’ ? ” asked Doogie. His jowls sloshed vigorously as he stared at Suzanne, his eyes suddenly wide with surprise.
    “ I came back here to deliver Ozzie ’ s pie, ” explained Su zanne, “ and th at ’ s when I saw him. Just... ” Suzanne grimaced as she glanced past Doogie. “ ... just lying there. ”
    “ Was he dead? ” Sheriff Doogie asked.
    “ I don ’ t know, ” said Suzanne. “ Well, I suppose he was. I mean, he must have been. He was all white and waxy- looking, just like he is now. ” She felt hot tears prickle her eyes, but fought to keep them back. Men were funny about tears: Disdainful really. If she could keep the waterworks under control for the time being, her story would carry far more credibility. Suzanne tried to emphasize the chain of events with another hopefully cohesive statement: “ Before I had time to react and really get a decent look, someone grabbed me from behind and slapped a rag across my face. Drugged me, ” she added again, for emphasis.
    Sheriff Doogie seemed to be having trouble comprehending all this. “ You mean they chloroformed you? ”
    “ I don ’ t know if that ’ s the technical term, ” said Suzanne, starting to feel a little frustrated, “ but yes. Someone chloroformed me. Like a friggin ’ bug dropped inside a Mason jar for biology class. ”
    Doogie snatched his modified Smokey Bear hat from his head and slapped it against his knee. “ Heck you say! ” Doogie still seemed reluctant to buy into Suzanne ’ s story.
    “ Sheriff Roy Doogie! ” said Petra, in her sternest, steeliest voice. “ You listen to Suzanne. She doesn ’ t make up stories! ”
    Sheriff Doogie ushered them all into the small parlor, the unoccupied parlor, where they sat on lumpy couches and love seats and Suzanne told her story again. Slowly, filling in the details.
    Doogie went over a few parts with her. “ So when you came in carrying the pie, the boxes were spilled all over. ” It was a statement, not a question.
    “ Yes, ” said Suzanne. “ Like maybe there ’ d been a struggle. ”
    “ And then you saw Ozzie. With the ... ” Sheriff Doogie pointed an index finger at his own forearm. “ . . . with the thing ... the needle ... stuck in his arm. ”
    “ Yes, ” Suzanne said again.
    Doogie ’ s lined face sagged. “ Well, shit. ”
    Suzanne glanced around the semicircle of somber faces. “ He was murdered, wasn ’ t he? ” she said. But she really wasn ’ t asking a question, either.
    “ We don ’ t know that for sure, ” said Doogie, still hedging.
    “ Whoever attacked me had probably just murdered Ozzie, ” Suzanne said, forcefully this time.
    Petra, who was perched next to Suzanne, gripped her forearm tightly.
    “ Wilbur, ” said Doogie, glancing at his deputy. “ Go out to the truck and fetch my kit. ”
    Wilbur rose hastily and left the room.
    Petra stared directly at Doogie and said in an accusatory tone, “ This could have easily been a double murder, Sheriff. ”
    Doogie lifted both hands to belly level and made a calm ing gesture. “ Now we don ’ t know anything like that. But I ’ m going to go ahead and treat this as a crime scene … . give it some serious investigation. ”
    “ You ’ re going to call in the state crime lab? ” asked George Draper. He hadn ’ t said anything up to this point. Now he looked colossally unhappy.
    “ First things first, ” Doogie told Draper. “ First thing I want to do is go back in there and take my own look-see. Is there anyone else besides you and Ozzie who worked back there? ”
    “ Ozzie had a sort of lab assistant, ” said Draper. “ A young man he ’ d taken an interest in. Helped him, really. Fellow by the name of Bo Becker. I think Ozzie was hoping Bo might study for a degree as a di e ner. ”
    “ Get him