Risky Undertaking by Mark de Castrique

midnight and two this morning.”
    â€œAny sign of a struggle?” I asked.
    Tuppler gave a quick glance at Tommy Lee and I knew I’d hit upon a key question.
    â€œYes and no,” the medical examiner said. “There were no overt signs of a beating. No visible scratches or extensive bruising. But there were abrasions around both wrists.”
    â€œHe was bound?”
    â€œYes. And he struggled to free himself. My guess is someone used PlastiCuffs and didn’t care how tightly they were applied.”
    PlastiCuffs were lighter and cheaper than metal handcuffs, but could be easily overtightened if an arresting officer wasn’t careful. They were disposable and eliminated the need for cleaning whereas metal cuffs could spread disease if not properly sanitized between uses. PlastiCuffs were not part of our standard gear at the Sheriff’s Department, but I’d used them in Charlotte when we were dealing with mass demonstrations that could result in multiple arrests.
    I turned back to the grave. “Did you find PlastiCuffs beside the body?”
    â€œNo,” Tuppler said. “They must have been cut off and taken by the killer.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI have no idea.”
    â€œI do,” Tommy Lee said. “Panther was captured by his killer or killers somewhere else and brought to this site for his execution.”
    â€œOK,” I agreed. “But that still doesn’t explain why the cuffs are missing.”
    â€œIt does if we’re meant to think Panther drove here himself and was discovered at the grave. We should start pursuing that hypothesis until evidence or the good doctor here proves differently.”
    â€œYou’ll get top priority.” With that promise, Tuppler left to join his techs.
    â€œLet’s walk a little farther,” Tommy Lee said. “Bring me up to speed on Luther.”
    I recounted our visit and Luther’s reactions that appeared to be both genuine shock at Panther’s death and deceit as to his own activities.
    â€œThe guard’s testimony doesn’t help,” Tommy Lee said. “And we don’t know when Luther left his house.”
    â€œYou think he lured Panther to the cemetery?”
    Tommy Lee stopped walking. “I’ll be damned if I know what to think. If Panther drove himself to Heaven’s Gate Gardens and Luther ambushed him, why the PlastiCuffs? On the other hand, if Luther abducted him, someone else had to drive Panther’s truck because Luther needed his car to return home.” Tommy Lee sat on a marble bench close to the wooded edge of the cemetery. “I’ve been on my feet for nearly two hours. My knees aren’t what they used to be.”
    â€œI hear after the mind, knees are the second thing to go.”
    â€œSmartass. At least I had a mind once. And I’ve still got enough sense to know we should back away from Luther for the moment. Check any friends close enough to have been accomplices. Hell, even the mayor, although I can’t see Sammy Whitlock having the stomach for murder. Then we need to focus on the movements of Jimmy Panther.”
    â€œHave you contacted the Cherokee Police Department?”
    â€œYes. I gave them enough details so they could notify next of kin.” Tommy Lee stood. “Let’s get back to the department, get things working there, and then we’ll head for the reservation.” He scanned the headstones dotting the grassy hillside. “Our answers are with the living, not the dead.”
    As soon as we walked into the Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Reece Hutchins came running across the bullpen to intercept Tommy Lee. “The mayor’s been by twice looking for you.”
    â€œDid you tell him I was at a crime scene?”
    â€œYes. He knew about Panther. Luther called him.”
    â€œFigures.” Tommy Lee stepped around Reece. “Let’s talk in my office.”
    The sheriff flipped on his