Dead to Rights by Jack Patterson (fiction book recommendations .txt) 📕

plenty of animation. Finger wagging, throwing hands in the air, kicking at the dirt—Sloan looked like a baseball manager getting in his last two cents with an umpire after getting ejected from a game.

“What do you reckon that’s all about?” Arant wondered aloud.

“Is this part of the Okefenokee protected by the federal government?” Cal asked.

Arant shrugged. “Depends on where they found the body. Portions of Bee Gum Lake are, but not all of it. Why does that matter?”

“Jurisdiction. If it’s a national forest or reserve, the feds take over the investigation. Otherwise, it’s a local matter.”

“But how’d the feds get here so fast?” Arant asked.

“Now, that’s a really good question,” Cal said. “Maybe we can ask Sheriff Sloan when he comes over here.”

“Screw ‘em,” Sloan yelled as he stormed toward the journalists.

“What is it, Sheriff?” Arant asked.

“The damn feds are comin’ in here and takin’ over my case,” Sloan said, breaking into jittery nervous laughter. “And they told me not to tell you a thing. Well, I say screw ‘em. I’ll even tell you, Mr. Hot Shot reporter,” he said as he looked at Cal.

“What can you tell us at this time, Sheriff?” Arant asked.

“The deceased is Jordan Hayward. He was found lying dead in a johnboat with a gun in his hand. It looked like a staged suicide to me.”

“Just to be clear, as a source close to the investigation,” Cal said with a reassuring wink, “you’re of the opinion that it wasn’t a suicide? And his body was found in a johnboat?”

“That’s right on both accounts. Somebody wanted us to think it was suicide.”

Cal shook his head. “Sounds eerily familiar to how your deputy found Isaiah Drake all those years ago.”

Sloan nodded and complained for another few minutes about the feds taking over his murder case.

Cal was listening so intently that he didn’t see Kelly slip off. After a few minutes, he noticed she was missing and scanned the area to locate her. When he finally did, he watched her click off a few photos.

She’s always thinking. Man, I love that woman.

When Sloan finished ranting, he stormed toward his truck. In an apparent rush to leave, dirt and rocks flew everywhere as Sloan’s vehicle roared away from the crime scene.

“Well, that was interesting,” Cal said. “Let’s go introduce ourselves to the feds.”

Arant declined and headed straight for his car.

Cal shook a couple of the agents’ hands, but they all stonewalled him just like he knew they would.

Doesn’t hurt to try.

Cal hustled back to his car, where Kelly was waiting for him. She grinned wide and motioned hurriedly for him to join her.

“What is it?” Cal asked as he got inside the car.

“I decided to take some pictures of the scene, as I’m sure The Times would want them to go along with your story,” she said.

“Good thinking, honey. I can always count on you to be two steps ahead.”

“No, that’s not the good part. It’s when I started taking pictures, I caught someone lurking in the shadows near the tree line.”

She held out her camera and showed the display screen to Cal.

“Now, who does that look like to you?” she asked.

“I can’t quite tell on this small image area. Can you put it on your computer for me?”

“Give me a minute,” Kelly said as she took the camera from Cal’s hands. She worked quickly to retrieve the memory card and then placed it in a slot on her laptop. The computer whirred and came to life as it downloaded the photos.

After a few more seconds, she turned the screen around to Cal.

Cal stared at the screen again, glaring hard at it.

“Is that who I think it is?” he asked.

Kelly nodded. “Yep. None other than Jacob Boone.”

CHAPTER 22

CAL AND KELLY DECIDED to grab a quick bite to eat at Curly’s Diner for a late lunch. He figured the lunchtime crowd would be cleared out—but he was wrong. They managed to snag the only available table as it seemed as though the entire town descended upon the popular eatery to put their heads together as to who killed Jordan Hayward.

Curly hustled over to Cal and Kelly’s table.

“You two know how to stir things up,” Curly said with a wink.

“Don’t blame me,” Cal said. “We’re just here to get a good story.”

“Now you’re going to get a better one than you bargained for, aren’t you?”

Cal grinned. “All we need now is for the Marsh Monster to make an appearance on Main Street.”

Curly wagged his finger at Cal. “Don’t laugh. The Marsh Monster is in a dead heat for first when it comes to identifying a suspect. To the people around here, that monster is no joking matter.”

“So, what humans made the list of suspects?” Kelly asked.

“You wouldn’t recognize most of the names since Jordan Hayward was a known drug dealer.”

Cal cocked his head and stared at Curly.

“Hayward is a known drug dealer? How come Sheriff Sloan hasn’t done anything to him?”

“Oh, he has, plenty of times. Hayward’s been in and out of jail for drugs, but the charges don’t always stick or they just dismiss them for various and odd reasons. It’s probably been about five years since he was last arrested. He was still dealing, but most people suspect he and the Sheriff came to some kind of an understanding.”

“What kind?” Kelly asked.

“The kind where the Sheriff leaves Hayward alone, probably in exchange for a hefty donation to the department.”

“So, maybe he missed a payment?” Cal suggested.

Curly shrugged. “Maybe. If the first part of that hypothesis is true, that would certainly be a logical conclusion.”

“Who else makes the list?” Kelly asked.

“Patrick Simmons, one of the drug runners from Hayward’s crew. Jacob Boone, who was routinely seen arguing with Hayward. Most people think Boone and Hayward were always up to something. Also, there’s some talk about how fast Sheriff Sloan arrived at the scene and how fishy that seems.”

“Wild theories abound,” Cal said.

“Yes, they do,” Curly said. “And let’s not forget that Manley’s Department Store