The Woodlander
Page 30
“Didn’t the Ballingers have two young girls?” Underhill asked.
“Yes, sir,” Grimes replied, checking his notebook. “Lisa and Violet Ballinger, ages fifteen and seven.” He peeked into the grave. “You don’t think—”
Sheriff Underhill shook his head. “No, Mrs. Farnsworth reported seeing the girls just a few weeks ago. These bones are old, probably been down here for years.”
“Then who is it, sir?”
“If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s their mother, Liana Ballinger. We’ll need to call in the medical examiner from Harper’s Chase to confirm it.”
Grimes checked his notebook. “Liana Ballinger? I thought Mr. Ballinger was divorced.”
Underhill grunted. “So he claimed. He said Liana ran off with another squirrel several years ago.”
“But you don’t believe him, do you, sir?”
This time Underhill did smile. Grimes had a way of reading people, he had to give him that. It would come in handy when he was sheriff.
“That’s right,” Underhill said. “I knew Liana. Woman was sweet as can be. And she loved those two kids. No way she’d just run out on them like that. But a few years ago, she stopped showing up for church. That’s when her friends grew worried and came to see me. I dreaded coming up here to check on her at the time, half-expecting to find her battered and bruised, or worse. But I didn’t find her at all.”
“Her husband beat her?”
Underhill nodded. “Liana always denied it, but it was the worst-kept secret in Land’s End. She was always showing up in town with fresh bruises. Hell, the last time I saw her, she had one arm in a sling. But no matter how bad it got, she never did turn on that husband of hers. She defended him to the end.”
“Why didn’t you arrest him?”
“First rule of a murder investigation, deputy: no body, no murder.”
“It seems you found your body, sir.”
Underhill nodded, a grim expression on his face. “But now we’re missing our prime suspect. And two young girls, to boot.” He sifted some loose dirt through his paw. “Old bones, fresh blood…”
“What do you think it means, sheriff?”
Sheriff Underhill looked up at him. “I’d be interested in hearing your own thoughts on the matter, deputy.”
Grimes took a deep breath before kneeling down. He peered into the grave. “Fresh blood. That means somebody else was in this grave recently.”
“Very good, Grimes. Go on.”
“But these bones are old, so they must have been here for years. And since the grave is open, that means somebody came back to dig it up.”
“For what purpose?”
“To bury a second body?”
“Or bodies,” Underhill suggested.
Deputy Grimes swallowed hard. “Or bodies.”
“And your conclusion?”
“Well, these bones suggest Stefan killed his wife years ago, right?”
Sheriff Underhill nodded. “I agree. And the blood?”
“Well, given what we know about Stefan, I suspect he must have also killed one of his daughters recently. He then buried her body here in the same grave.”
“But for some reason he returned to dig it up? Why would he do that?”
“To move the body? You know, to hide the evidence?”
“That’s a fine theory, deputy.”
“But you’re not buying it, are you, sir?”
Sheriff Underhill snorted. Grimes was perceptive—at least with the living. “No, deputy, I’m not. Why would he move the body but leave these old bones behind? In an open grave, no less? And he didn’t even try to clean up the blood on the porch. If he was trying to conceal a crime, he certainly half-assed it. But you’re right about one thing—there was a second body in this grave, and judging by the blood, rather recently. But now, that body’s done disappeared.”
Deputy Grimes furled his brow. “So, what do you think happened to it, sheriff?”
Sheriff Underhill did not immediately answer. He knelt down to study the trail of blood leading to the grave, then peered into the dark hole. The empty eye sockets stared up at him from the bottom. Underhill closed his eyes, rocking on his haunches as he sifted dirt through his paws.
Deputy Grimes waited silently. He had learned not to disturb the sheriff when he was in one of his trances. “Talking to the bones,” he had called it. Whether the bones actually responded, Grimes couldn’t be sure, but the sheriff always seemed to get his answer.
After a long moment, Sheriff Underhill stood to face him. “Well, Grimes, I don’t think anybody moved the second body at all.”
Grimes peered down into the grave, a confused expression on his face. “Then… where is it, sir?”
Sheriff Underhill placed his hat on his head and stared off at the horizon.
“I reckon it done climbed out.”
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I hope you enjoyed reading The Woodlander as much as I enjoyed writing it. I look forward to bringing you the continued adventures of John Grey and his misfit band of friends in Grimm & Grey, book two of The Grey Tales, coming soon!
Questions? Comments?
Feel free to write me at woodlandwriter@gmail.com, or click here to leave a review on Amazon.
One Last Thing…
On the next page you’ll be asked by Amazon to rate this book. If you enjoyed The Woodlander (and I hope you did), I would be grateful if you took a moment to leave your feedback. It really helps me out.
Thank you again for reading,
Kirk Watson
Table of Contents
Copyright Notice
Prologue
ON FALLING
Chapter 1
SPIRITS
Chapter 2
BICYCLE
Chapter 3
UNHINGED
Chapter 4
THE CRADLE WILL FALL
Chapter 5
VALEDICTIONS
Chapter 6
THE DISCARDED
Chapter 7
FRIEND OR FOE
Chapter 8
THE WELCOME COMMITTEE
Chapter 9
NATURAL ENEMIES
Chapter 10
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Chapter 11
SCHOOL TIES
Chapter 12
OBSTACLE ONE
Chapter 13
TALLY-HO!
Chapter 14
THE RUNNING OF THE SQUIRRELS
Chapter 15
JUST BREATHE
Chapter 16
NUPTIALS
Chapter 17
THE DARKEST HOUR
Chapter 18
LISA’S STORY
Chapter 19
THE SHADOW ON THE MOON
Chapter 20
THE THORN BIRD
Chapter 21
A RAY OF LIGHT
Chapter 22
HITCHING A RIDE
Chapter 23
RETURN TO SENDER
Chapter 24
CURTAIN CALL
Chapter 25
SQUIRRELS IN A BLANKET
Chapter 26
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING LEWD
Chapter 27
I’LL BE BACK TOMORROW
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Prologue
OLD BONES, FRESH BLOOD
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Table of Contents
Copyright Notice
Prologue
ON FALLING
Chapter 1
SPIRITS
Chapter 2
BICYCLE
Chapter 3
UNHINGED
Chapter 4
THE CRADLE WILL FALL
Chapter 5
VALEDICTIONS
Chapter 6
THE DISCARDED
Chapter 7
FRIEND OR FOE
Chapter 8
THE WELCOME COMMITTEE
Chapter 9
NATURAL ENEMIES
Chapte
r 10
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Chapter 11
SCHOOL TIES
Chapter 12
OBSTACLE ONE
Chapter 13
TALLY-HO!
Chapter 14
THE RUNNING OF THE SQUIRRELS
Chapter 15
JUST BREATHE
Chapter 16
NUPTIALS
Chapter 17
THE DARKEST HOUR
Chapter 18
LISA’S STORY
Chapter 19
THE SHADOW ON THE MOON
Chapter 20
THE THORN BIRD
Chapter 21
A RAY OF LIGHT
Chapter 22
HITCHING A RIDE
Chapter 23
RETURN TO SENDER
Chapter 24
CURTAIN CALL
Chapter 25
SQUIRRELS IN A BLANKET
Chapter 26
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING LEWD
Chapter 27
I’LL BE BACK TOMORROW
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Prologue
OLD BONES, FRESH BLOOD
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR