Read Online Murder at the Courthouse by A. H. Gabhart - Free Book Online Page B

right, and living up to Aunt Lindy’s expectations. In fact, after the wreck, he had sort of liked going to Joe to get his hair cut, because at least that hadn’t changed.
    Joe still cut Michael’s hair. However the haircut turned out, it was usually worth it in information, because a good portion of the men in Hidden Springs sat in Joe’s chair one or two times a month.
    Michael should have gotten his hair cut today. Joe always talked more when he was cutting hair. Instead Michael had gone in and sat in the waiting chair. Since he didn’t have any customers, Joe had settled in the barber chair. His orange tabby cat that somebody had traded for a haircut several years back jumped up into his lap.
    When Michael asked Joe whether he’d noticed anything unusual that morning, such as a man getting shot on the courthouse steps, Joe stroked the cat’s ears and considered his answer for a long minute.
    â€œFact is, Mike, I was a little late this morning, and first thing, I cleaned out the litter box and put out some food for Two Bits. Then I made my coffee.” Joe looked up at Michael and then back down at the cat. “That’s the way I always do it. Two Bits first, then coffee.”
    Michael waited without prompting Joe with more questions. The little man sat ramrod straight in the chair and rubbed the cat’s ears with the same precise strokes he used when he was working with his comb and scissors. Well into his sixties, he still had a full head of black hair that most folks figured he dyed, even though he wouldn’t own up to it. But his customers forgave him almost anything because of the way he laughed at even the dumbest jokes.
    There hadn’t been any jokes or laughter that afternoon. Instead, the silence stretched out till the air in the shop was almost taut. Finally, Joe sighed. “It’s a bad thing, Mike.”
    Suddenly the barber stood up, spilling the cat out of his lap onto the floor. Two Bits landed on his feet with an indignant yelp and haughtily stalked into the back room. Joe paid the cat no mind as he rearranged his combs and scissors on the counter in front of the mirror that covered the back wall.
    Again Michael was patient, and after a while, Joe said, “I didn’t really see anything though. Like I told you, I was busy with Two Bits, and by the time I turned over the open sign, the man was already there. I saw him when I pulled up the shade, but I figured he was just waiting for the courthouseto open up. You know, so he could buy his car license or something. I never gave a thought to him being dead.”
    Michael went over to stare out the front window. A couple of boys were working their way up the walkway to the spot where the body had been discovered. Michael ignored the boys shoving and pushing each other toward the steps and made himself think about what Joe might have seen that morning.
    â€œI guess it would be hard to see from here that he’d been shot.” Michael kept his eyes on the courthouse steps. “Miss Willadean passed right by him and thought he was drunk.” Michael turned away from the window as the two boys broke and ran, as if a ghost had risen up off the steps to chase them.
    Joe smiled for the first time since Michael had come in his door. “Well, you have to make allowances for Miss Willadean, and it wasn’t as if she was expecting to meet up with a dead man on her morning rounds.”
    â€œThat’s for sure.” Michael smiled too. “Had you ever seen him before?”
    â€œEven if I had known him, I couldn’t have told who he was from here. The old eyes aren’t what they used to be.” Joe glanced at Michael in the mirror and then turned his attention back to his combs. “I wish I could help you, Mike, but I just didn’t see it happen.”
    Now as Michael guided his cruiser around the last and biggest chughole, something about his talk with Joe kept nagging at him.