Read Online tj jensen 01 - barkleys treasure by Kathi Daley - Free Book Online
Authors: Kathi Daley
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can’t believe the deputy is lying.” Kyle shook his head.
“What if Deputy Savage saw something when he was in the attic that led him to the identity of the killer?” I asserted. “And what if the killer, as it turned out, was someone the deputy had a strong reason to protect?”
“Like who?” Ben asked.
“Like a sibling or parent, perhaps even a child,” I answered.
“I guess that would make sense,” Ben agreed. “The deputy finds a clue in the attic that points to a specific person. After the body is removed Savage comes back to clean up. Then Savage returns the next day to say he died of natural causes, thereby eliminating the need for a thorough investigation.”
“The man from the mortuary must realize Savage was lying,” I pointed out. “He sees a lot of dead bodies. You’d think he would be able to discriminate between those who die of natural causes and those who don’t. Maybe the deputy and the man from the funeral parlor are friends. It’s reasonable they would be, and I also suppose it’s reasonable that one would cover for the other.”
“If that’s true I don’t see how we’re ever going to prove it,” Kyle stated. “We really have nothing except our recollection of what we saw. It would be easy enough for a trained professional to turn around everything we think we remember so that our testimony won’t hold water in court.”
“Are you saying we should drop the whole thing?” I asked.
“Not at all. But I am saying that if we decide to pursue this we’re going to need to stay mindful of our limitations. We won’t be helping Buck Barnes or ourselves if we end up making everyone mad.”
“Sounds like we need a plan,” Ben suggested.
“The girls want to go to kids’ camp tomorrow and I have the contractor coming in the morning,” I reminded everyone.
“And I need to return the rental truck. Doc can follow me in the car and Ben can stay with Tj to help out with the contractor. We should all meet back here at around lunchtime to come up with a strategy.”
We ironed out the details and then both Ben and Doc headed into the house, while Kyle and I decided to enjoy the evening on the deck.
“Blackbeard asked about you today. I think he might have a little birdie crush,” I teased Kyle.
“He asked about me?”
“When I went in to feed him he repeatedly asked for Captain Kyle.”
“I know parrots are supposed to simply mimic what they hear, but I swear that bird has a mind of its own, although the Captain Kyle thing came from Gracie.”
I laughed. “Were you playing pirate again?”
Kyle blushed. “When we got home from camp I decided to take the dogs for a walk. Gracie wanted to go and she asked if we could bring Blackbeard. I found a tether that goes around his leg so you can take him outdoors and not worry about him flying away, so I agreed to take him. When I opened the door to the cage he said, ‘Play with pretty boy,’ and Gracie told him my name was Captain Kyle. He called me Captain Kyle for the entire walk. I’m not sure he has a crush on me, though. He told me to walk the plank several times during the twenty minutes we were on the beach.”
“That’s funny. I bet Garrett must watch pirate movies. Either that or he plays pirate with Blackbeard as well. It’s really amazing the way he seems to really be talking to us and not just repeating random words. He actually has a pretty large vocabulary. Earlier today I heard him saying, ‘Charlie bad, Charlie bad,’ and every time he sees Cuervo he says ‘Kill the cat, kill the cat.’”
“I know why he wants us to kill the cat who’s made a hobby of taunting him, but I wonder who Charlie is,” Kyle said.
“I have no idea, but I can ask Garrett the next time I talk to him.”
Kyle leaned back and looked up at the stars. “This is really nice. I love Paradise Lake, but there’s no way we’d be sitting outside after dark without both a jacket and a fire if we were at home.”
“I do like
“What if Deputy Savage saw something when he was in the attic that led him to the identity of the killer?” I asserted. “And what if the killer, as it turned out, was someone the deputy had a strong reason to protect?”
“Like who?” Ben asked.
“Like a sibling or parent, perhaps even a child,” I answered.
“I guess that would make sense,” Ben agreed. “The deputy finds a clue in the attic that points to a specific person. After the body is removed Savage comes back to clean up. Then Savage returns the next day to say he died of natural causes, thereby eliminating the need for a thorough investigation.”
“The man from the mortuary must realize Savage was lying,” I pointed out. “He sees a lot of dead bodies. You’d think he would be able to discriminate between those who die of natural causes and those who don’t. Maybe the deputy and the man from the funeral parlor are friends. It’s reasonable they would be, and I also suppose it’s reasonable that one would cover for the other.”
“If that’s true I don’t see how we’re ever going to prove it,” Kyle stated. “We really have nothing except our recollection of what we saw. It would be easy enough for a trained professional to turn around everything we think we remember so that our testimony won’t hold water in court.”
“Are you saying we should drop the whole thing?” I asked.
“Not at all. But I am saying that if we decide to pursue this we’re going to need to stay mindful of our limitations. We won’t be helping Buck Barnes or ourselves if we end up making everyone mad.”
“Sounds like we need a plan,” Ben suggested.
“The girls want to go to kids’ camp tomorrow and I have the contractor coming in the morning,” I reminded everyone.
“And I need to return the rental truck. Doc can follow me in the car and Ben can stay with Tj to help out with the contractor. We should all meet back here at around lunchtime to come up with a strategy.”
We ironed out the details and then both Ben and Doc headed into the house, while Kyle and I decided to enjoy the evening on the deck.
“Blackbeard asked about you today. I think he might have a little birdie crush,” I teased Kyle.
“He asked about me?”
“When I went in to feed him he repeatedly asked for Captain Kyle.”
“I know parrots are supposed to simply mimic what they hear, but I swear that bird has a mind of its own, although the Captain Kyle thing came from Gracie.”
I laughed. “Were you playing pirate again?”
Kyle blushed. “When we got home from camp I decided to take the dogs for a walk. Gracie wanted to go and she asked if we could bring Blackbeard. I found a tether that goes around his leg so you can take him outdoors and not worry about him flying away, so I agreed to take him. When I opened the door to the cage he said, ‘Play with pretty boy,’ and Gracie told him my name was Captain Kyle. He called me Captain Kyle for the entire walk. I’m not sure he has a crush on me, though. He told me to walk the plank several times during the twenty minutes we were on the beach.”
“That’s funny. I bet Garrett must watch pirate movies. Either that or he plays pirate with Blackbeard as well. It’s really amazing the way he seems to really be talking to us and not just repeating random words. He actually has a pretty large vocabulary. Earlier today I heard him saying, ‘Charlie bad, Charlie bad,’ and every time he sees Cuervo he says ‘Kill the cat, kill the cat.’”
“I know why he wants us to kill the cat who’s made a hobby of taunting him, but I wonder who Charlie is,” Kyle said.
“I have no idea, but I can ask Garrett the next time I talk to him.”
Kyle leaned back and looked up at the stars. “This is really nice. I love Paradise Lake, but there’s no way we’d be sitting outside after dark without both a jacket and a fire if we were at home.”
“I do like
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