Murder by Artifact (Five Star Mystery Series) by Barbara Graham Page A

shuddered. “Maybe it’s a good thing that the museum is not pushed too much for now.”

    “Why’s that?”Theo pushed her glasses up her nose and stared into his eyes. “I thought you were in favor of them pursuing this dream.”

    “Oh, believe me, I am, especially since it’s keeping them from singing in bars.” Tony’s eyes sparkled. “All I mean is the museum’s not exactly finished yet, is it? Is there any sense in making a big publicity push until an opening date can be announced?”

    “True.” She shifted in her chair and peered over her glasses at him. “Now, tell me why you came to the museum yesterday. I loved the expression on Doreen’s face. It has to be the first time anyone managed to silence her without resorting to a gag.”

C HAPTER N INE
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    Another newspaper article arrived in the mail. Again, there seemed to be no way to trace it to the sender. This clipping described a hiker missing on the Appalachian Trail. Evidently traveling alone, a young man whose last contact with his family had been in Pennsylvania, never reported in again. Several hikers remembered seeing him farther north. None had much information to share. No one in Tennessee had seen him. A series of media pleas and posters in the towns near the trail turned up no clues. Several years later, the hiker’s disappearance had even been the subject of a national television program. It didn’t produce any solid leads.

    The note attached to the newspaper article simply read, “I could make a call and be on television tonight. I wanted you to have this.”

    All information about the case went from his office to the FBI and the TBI. Federal, state and local law enforcement had the same information, or lack of it. The bones Theo had found were examined by forensic anthropologists under the watchful eyes of a host of interested observers.
     
    They determined the bones belonged to a thirty-something Caucasian male. Other than that, nothing. The teeth were missing so dental records would not help. Tony found the number of men missing for at least three months to twenty years staggering. Lots of men had disappeared and could have passed through the area.

    Rather than dedicate countless days, weeks or months sifting through the growing list of tragic stories, Tony wanted to throw all of the information into the trash and set it on fire. He wouldn’t, of course. As the case continued to worsen, he wondered if it would ever be solved.
     
    By the middle of the following week, at least eight yard ornaments had been reported missing from different sites around town. The thief, or what seemed more likely, a group of thieves, seemed to specialize in the largest ornament from each property struck. Some of them had to weigh almost a hundred pounds, and the odd shapes would make stealing even harder to manage. Prying up these babies wasn’t like taking a wallet and slipping it inside your shirt.

    Tony had quite a discussion with his regular night deputy, J. B. Lewis. Because his parents had not supplied him with first or middle names, only initials, he was often referred to by his fellow deputies as Jonely Bonely.

    “Honest to God, J.B., I don’t know any more than I did after the first theft. I really assumed it was a copycat of last summer’s migrating gnomes.”

    “So did I.” J.B. sighed heavily, sending the scent of spearmint chewing gum across Tony’s desk. “It wasn’t until the third one vanished and nothing reappeared that I realized we have a new ornament thief.”

    Tony rubbed his forehead and reached for an antacid. “I can’t exactly post a deputy on each monstrous ornament. We don’t have that many deputies to start with, and the tourists keep those busy.”

    “Speaking of tourists,” said J.B., “did Wade tell you about his new admirer?”

    Pausing with one hand wrapped around the antacid bottle, Tony frowned. “No.”

    “I get to be the first to tell you, then.” Excitement mixed with merriment