frowned, he turned around to find Cody bearing down on him. "We got trouble, Sheriff."
Rand sighed and picked up his hat, then looked at Maddie. "Come by my office later. Brandy can keep Linda company while you and I talk about those names."
He left without waiting for an answer. Whatever had Cody's tail in a twist had better be good. He hadn't even gotten to eat his lunch.
"What's up, Cody?" Rand asked as they stepped outside.
"There's a package back at the station that I think you should look at. Harold Sims just dropped it off. Came in this morning." Before Rand could ask who it was from, or for, Cody had climbed into his squad car and backed out of the parking lot.
Resigned to missing lunch, Rand followed him back to the office. Linda stood outside on the sidewalk. "I didn't want to stay in there with it, whatever it is. It smells awful."
Rand took the front steps two at a time. Cody was prone to exaggeration, but Linda was normally level-headed and cool in a crisis. If something ruffled her feathers, he paid attention.
The smell hit him as soon as he stepped through the door. Foul and putrid, it was unmistakably the smell of rotting flesh. "What the hell?"
Linda was at his heels, two fingers pinching her nose closed. "It's addressed to Maddie Cooper, General Delivery. Harold brought it here because he didn't know what else to do with it."
"Call Harold and tell him I want to know how it got into the postal system, and when and where. Was it actually mailed, or was it slipped into his truck when he wasn't looking?" As Linda left to do as he asked, Rand turned to Cody. "Get the gloves and a couple of masks. Who knows what we're dealing with here."
When the deputy returned, Rand donned the mask and gloves, and then carefully sliced the tape across the top of the box. When he peeled back the lid, he was glad he'd missed lunch.
***
Maddie looked through the meager real estate offerings in the Greendale Gazette while Brandy flipped through the channels on the television, searching in vain for her favorite music video channel. Domino curled close to Brandy's side, not happy with being cooped inside.
"Do we really have to stay here long enough to rent a house?" With a frustrated sigh, Brandy tossed the remote control onto the scarred bedside table.
"I don't know. But I don't feel safe staying in the motel. The door is so flimsy anyone could kick it in. And too many people come and go at the café. I want to find a place where we would notice anything strange." Maddie circled the only two listings she might be remotely interested in.
"Make sure it's close enough to town to get cable and internet."
Maddie laughed at Brandy's petulant demand. "I'll make that a top priority. Want to get out of here for a while?"
"Sure. Where are we going?"
"I thought we'd drive by these two places, see what they look like. Then I'll show you around the town. It's not so bad once you get used to it."
"Uh-huh. I'll bet there isn't a mall within twenty miles."
Maddie made sure the door locked behind them and glanced around the parking lot before getting into the car. "You're close. When I lived here, the nearest mall was about thirty miles away."
"How did you stand it?"
"It wasn't that bad. We stayed busy doing other things." She pulled out onto the highway and drove the two miles into town. "We went roller skating on Friday night, and either bowling or to the movies on Saturday night. See, that's the movie theater over there on the corner."
Brandy strained to see through the windshield. "That little bitty thing is a theater? Give me a break."
Maddie pointed out things she remembered from her childhood as they drove around the outskirts of town and did a quick drive by of the two houses for rent, then she made the turn onto Main Street that would take them to her old neighborhood. When she pulled to the curb in front of a small frame house, she fought back tears.
Fourteen years. After fourteen years, she was finally home. Only
Rand sighed and picked up his hat, then looked at Maddie. "Come by my office later. Brandy can keep Linda company while you and I talk about those names."
He left without waiting for an answer. Whatever had Cody's tail in a twist had better be good. He hadn't even gotten to eat his lunch.
"What's up, Cody?" Rand asked as they stepped outside.
"There's a package back at the station that I think you should look at. Harold Sims just dropped it off. Came in this morning." Before Rand could ask who it was from, or for, Cody had climbed into his squad car and backed out of the parking lot.
Resigned to missing lunch, Rand followed him back to the office. Linda stood outside on the sidewalk. "I didn't want to stay in there with it, whatever it is. It smells awful."
Rand took the front steps two at a time. Cody was prone to exaggeration, but Linda was normally level-headed and cool in a crisis. If something ruffled her feathers, he paid attention.
The smell hit him as soon as he stepped through the door. Foul and putrid, it was unmistakably the smell of rotting flesh. "What the hell?"
Linda was at his heels, two fingers pinching her nose closed. "It's addressed to Maddie Cooper, General Delivery. Harold brought it here because he didn't know what else to do with it."
"Call Harold and tell him I want to know how it got into the postal system, and when and where. Was it actually mailed, or was it slipped into his truck when he wasn't looking?" As Linda left to do as he asked, Rand turned to Cody. "Get the gloves and a couple of masks. Who knows what we're dealing with here."
When the deputy returned, Rand donned the mask and gloves, and then carefully sliced the tape across the top of the box. When he peeled back the lid, he was glad he'd missed lunch.
***
Maddie looked through the meager real estate offerings in the Greendale Gazette while Brandy flipped through the channels on the television, searching in vain for her favorite music video channel. Domino curled close to Brandy's side, not happy with being cooped inside.
"Do we really have to stay here long enough to rent a house?" With a frustrated sigh, Brandy tossed the remote control onto the scarred bedside table.
"I don't know. But I don't feel safe staying in the motel. The door is so flimsy anyone could kick it in. And too many people come and go at the café. I want to find a place where we would notice anything strange." Maddie circled the only two listings she might be remotely interested in.
"Make sure it's close enough to town to get cable and internet."
Maddie laughed at Brandy's petulant demand. "I'll make that a top priority. Want to get out of here for a while?"
"Sure. Where are we going?"
"I thought we'd drive by these two places, see what they look like. Then I'll show you around the town. It's not so bad once you get used to it."
"Uh-huh. I'll bet there isn't a mall within twenty miles."
Maddie made sure the door locked behind them and glanced around the parking lot before getting into the car. "You're close. When I lived here, the nearest mall was about thirty miles away."
"How did you stand it?"
"It wasn't that bad. We stayed busy doing other things." She pulled out onto the highway and drove the two miles into town. "We went roller skating on Friday night, and either bowling or to the movies on Saturday night. See, that's the movie theater over there on the corner."
Brandy strained to see through the windshield. "That little bitty thing is a theater? Give me a break."
Maddie pointed out things she remembered from her childhood as they drove around the outskirts of town and did a quick drive by of the two houses for rent, then she made the turn onto Main Street that would take them to her old neighborhood. When she pulled to the curb in front of a small frame house, she fought back tears.
Fourteen years. After fourteen years, she was finally home. Only
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