Read Online Effigies by Mary Anna Evans - Free Book Online Page A

look a lot better for Neshoba County if Judd’s attacker is behind bars, and you’re throwing a parade for the man who rescued him.”
    Silver’s gaze swiveled her way, then everybody else in the room lifted their eyes from their toes and focused them on her. Dr. Mailer had brought the team to the Fair to get acquainted with the locals. Well, she may not have strictly made their acquaintance, but she surely had their attention.
    Thinking of Dr. Mailer, she realized that she’d barely seen him since they’d arrived at the Pavilion. Oka Hofobi, Toneisha, Chuck, and Bodie—they’d all faded away after Judd’s speech. She and Joe should probably ease out of this party, too, but she couldn’t bring herself to slink away and let Silver think he’d intimidated her. She decided to have one more beer and leave when it was empty. Joe, who knew her well, leaned far to the left and accessed the nearest cooler with his long, rangy arm. He grabbed the can on top, without checking to see whether it was the tastiest cheap brand, and opened it for her. Faye drank slowly, trying to calculate how long she should make her twelve-fluid-ounce stalling tactic last.
    Silver rose from his chair with a grunt and disappeared into the kitchen. Calhoun and their friends followed him. Faye took a long sip.
    The blonde woman handed Faye a bag of chips. “I didn’t know that Congressman Judd was up for the Medal of Freedom. That is so cool. And he’s from right here in Neshoba County.”
    “Too bad we didn’t treat him better when we had him,” said the Molly Hatchet fan, passing Faye the French onion dip. “I’m Todd and this is my wife, Jennifer.” He gestured to the blonde. “What’s your name, anyway? You’re not from around here, are you?”
    “I’m Faye and this is my friend, Joe. We’re with the archaeological team working out at the Nail place.”
    “You folks ran into a little trouble yesterday, didn’t you?” Jennifer said. “Is everybody okay?”
    “Everybody’s fine,” Sheriff Rutland said, still spooning mashed peas. “I gotta say that I never thought a bunch of scholars would have such guts. You two in particular. I believe you could chew the heads off nails.”
    “Faye eats nails for breakfast.” Joe popped open a beer of his own.
    “That’s how I get my minimum daily requirement of iron.” Faye quaffed about half the beer. She was gratified to hear laughter come from all corners of the room. If Silver felt like lynching her, he wouldn’t be able to count on these people to help him.
    Faye leaned close to Neely’s ear, so that she couldn’t be heard by Calhoun in the next room. Or by any spies remaining behind. “You know, Sheriff, Mr. Calhoun’s mound is really important. I spent just a minute on top of it yesterday, and I got a new perspective on the lay of the land all around it.”
    “I know what you mean. I spent last night up there, you know.”
    “I do know, and I want to shake your hand for what you did yesterday.” Neely stuck out a hand and Faye pumped it once. “As I was saying, you get a good feel for the topography of the land when you’re standing up on that mound, and I saw some decent evidence that Calhoun’s mound is both bigger and more important than it looks at first sight.”
    “What does your professor think about that?”
    “I didn’t get a chance to tell him yet. But he’ll agree. So do you think you can get me permission just to go up there once? All I’ll do is stand still and look around. Truly.”
    “No way.” The authority of an enforcer of the law had crept back into Neely’s tired voice.
    “Mr. Calhoun’s got a right to be mad, but he knows you, and—”
    “To hell with Carroll Calhoun. I don’t care about his property rights. I don’t care about your historical preservation. I just care about keeping the peace. Neshoba County is chock-full of good people, and they come in all colors, but there are a few Neanderthals who would shoot you right off the