Chapter 3

In spite of the massive snowfall on Saturday night and Sunday, Monday had been remarkably light on motor vehicle accidents since not many people could get out.

Today was already making up for it and today had started at 3 a.m. when Pate's phone had jarred him from a deep, peaceful sleep with pleasant dreams, to the rude and unpleasant world of jackknifed 18 wheelers, and multi-vehicle accidents.

Since he had gotten to bed at about 2300 hours, at least he had gotten a few hours sleep. A partial thaw had begun on Monday but everything had refrozen last night, which made for treacherous travel. The schools remained closed and probably would for the rest of the week. Most of the businesses in the northern third of the state closed, except for essentials such as gas stations, grocery stores, and hospitals.

The only people stirring away from the hearth were people who, absolutely had to get out, such as road crews, emergency services, wreckers, and the power company. The National Guard had transported those folks who needed temporary shelter to the Armory where food was available.

Civilians possessing four-wheel drive vehicles had helped those folks needing assistance of one kind or another, which had alleviated the pressure on the Sheriff's office as well as the State Police, which had their hands full just working, traffic accidents.

At least there had been no fatalities, although MediVac chopper had taken one to Little Rock with suspected spinal injury. Only one baby, so far, had made an appearance.

The parents lived in a local community, close to the main highway, and the ambulance had gotten through without a problem.

You could bet on two things; that baby probably wouldn't be the last, they have a habit of being born after midnight or when the weather is horrendous. With the power out and no television, video games, or other distractions you could bet there would be allot more appearing in Searcy County around early October.

It was getting toward suppertime; lunch had come and gone, uneaten. Everyone was either finishing up paper work or out working the most recent accident, and Pate still hadn't had time to return Bill Mackenzie's call.

He'd heard that Bill hadn't been feeling well for some time. He and Bill had a cordial relationship but weren't particularly friends, more on a professional level of lawman to ex-lawman.

Bill had been sheriff for fifteen years when he decided to retire and had supported one of his deputies who ran against Pate in the election, which had been a pretty, big upset because people had decided they needed a change.

Picking up the phone, he dialed Bill's number but got no answer, and made a note to try to go by on his way home, if he did get to go home tonight.

The question of the corpse that the Jamie had found was still a puzzle that begged solving. All of the nursing homes, clinics, or hospitals polled for recently deceased or missing patients with negative results.

No missing persons reports matched the description of the, now, cremated body.

The only persistent irritation he had to deal with, besides the usual busybodies, was the news media, both state and local, but mostly Mona who seemed to be under his armpit every time he turned around.

In-between a trip or two outside to have a snowball fight and build a snowman, all with Hoot's enthusiastic help of course, Anna and Jamie had spent the day baking chocolate chip cookies, talking or sorting out some more of Jake's things, and, basically, cleaning house.

Generally, it had been a fine day so far and, perhaps Pate would be able to finish up early enough to come by, as if he didn't live in the opposite direction. Hard to believe that they had only been acquainted for a few days because already it seemed they had known him for ages and missed him when he wasn't around.

There was a story here; she was sure of it, and more than just the few facts that dribbled out. She hoped it would get her noticed by the wire services and lead to a job offer to get her out of this one horse town. She had been out to the scene, but outside of a picture of a patch of bare ground surrounded by piles of snow and thick trees, there was nothing there of interest.

Then the business of the ambulance, the loss of the body had led her to haunt the sheriff's office ever since the first phone call from one of her informants on the scanner brigade told her of the finding of a body. She could tell she was beginning to get under Pate's skin but, as she had told him, she was doing her job just as he was doing his.

Mona decided to drive out and talk to Bill Mackenzie, no problem for her since she'd had the foresight to invest in an SUV when she moved to this back end of nowhere fresh out of college. From what she had heard of his tenure as sheriff, he might be able to shed light on anything that took place in this flea bitten county.

At least she would be out from under Pate's feet for a while. Let him take a breather then she'd get after him again. Bill lived alone about four miles out of town on County Road 9 in a ranch style home set back from road about a half a mile.

If she was to believe the rumors, built, not with the salary that he had received as sheriff, but from the money, he had extorted from the dope growers, bootleggers and the Able Sisters.