Read Online Bill Hopkins - Judge Rosswell Carew 01 - Courting Murder by Bill Hopkins - Free Book Online

female, didn’t have her throat slashed. She wouldn’t have stuck around after the guy bought it if she wasn’t in on it, unless she was under some kind of duress.”
    “You get that from looking at the ground?”
    “No. Looking at the pictures. The murderer slashes the guy’s throat. The woman is watching. She’s in on it. Or drugged. The murderer kills her second. Why, I don’t know. Maybe they had a fight. Who knows?”
    Kneeling, Rosswell wadded up a ball of mud and smelled it. It smelled like a wadded up ball of mud. Nothing special. He wouldn’t taste it if the fate of the universe depended on it. It felt squishy, full of leaves, sticks, and who knew what else. From knee level, he again surveyed the whole area. A bald eagle flew loops high in the air. Rosswell hoped the bird wouldn’t mistake Ollie’s bald head for a tasty purple treat.
    Ollie’s reasoning made sense. Rosswell stood and rephrased Ollie’s conclusion. “The female helped the guy kill the other guy. That means there were at least three people out here. Could be more, but definitely three.”
    “You’re making assumptions.”
    Across the river, Rosswell watched an armadillo clawing into a mound of dirt, apparently searching for tasty grubs. Armadillos were supposed to be nocturnal. Had the scent of death awakened the critter?
    “What assumptions?” Rosswell said, turning his attention back to Ollie. “Name me one.”
    “You think the third person was a man.”
    Rosswell thought about that. Ollie, damn it, was right. “The female helped the male or female suspect kill the male. Is that fair?”
    “Fair and clear.”
    “Maybe we need to be looking for a big woman? The dead woman wasn’t all that big. It would’ve taken a big woman to help the dead woman hold the guy so they could slice his throat.”
    “Not if he was drugged. Or perhaps shot.”
    “You just pointed out that his throat was slit.”
    “Maybe his throat was slit.” Ollie sounded like he was about to bray that fricking squeak of his. “Do you have the autopsy reports? No, you don’t. You lost the body. Bodies.”
    Rosswell thought about that too. He recalled why he consulted Ollie often. Ollie was pissy, yes, but the rodent could think. Although now Ollie could be running down the wrong track.
    Rosswell said, “What if the guy and the other person killed the woman first? Maybe one of them shot her. Then the third person, the mastermind, was a big guy who slashed the dead man’s throat. That could’ve happened.”
    “I doubt that. If the killer shot the woman, then why didn’t he or she shoot the man? Why waste all that energy to slash the man’s throat?”
    “The murderer wanted to send a message.”
    “Judge, let’s not get mired down in all that unadulterated bullshit pop psychology.”
    “Let me get this straight. We’re looking for at least one person, male or female, that could be big enough to kill the guy with the help of the dead woman?”
    “That’s a good place to start.”
    “And the man could’ve been shot before his throat was slit. Or maybe drugged before.”
    “Judge, now you’re thinking like a detective.”
    “But there could be another, fourth person, another murderer. The two bodies I found and two other people to kill them.”
    “Or a fifth.”
    “Maybe not. Even Hermie Hillsman would’ve noticed a killing party that big.”
    “Think outside the box.”
    Rosswell scratched his mustache. “Let’s not even get ourselves in a box. Keep an open mind.”
    “Keeping an open mind here.” The Vaseline on Ollie’s bald head glistened in the afternoon sun. His hand reached for his head, but he stopped before he could follow through with a head rub.
    Rosswell said, “What if there were only two people involved?”
    Ollie squinted into the sun. “You’re not making sense.” He closed his eyes.
    “What if one of the dead ones surprised the other two? The mastermind had to kill them both.”
    “She wasn’t planning on coming