"Capron, Bill - Color Blind Detective - Ups Green" - читать интересную книгу автора (Capron Bill)

She frowned. "Now there was a girl mean enough for Smallston. She downright scared the men round these parts. What do you want with her?"

"Just trying to find her, that's all."

She returned to the glasses. "Well, you're a day late and a dollar short.

You police?" "Not really, private."

"Gosh, never met a PI before." I shrugged. "Misty's dead, or at least we think she is. Went off hiking one day, never came back. You should have seen the men of this town searching, you'd've thought the president was lost. They looked for two weeks. Found her backpack in an old tree house overlooking the gorge, site of some of her favorite conquests. Gotta tell you, been a whole lot less sex in these parts since she done disappeared."

"Any chance she just skipped town?"

She shook her head, "No way. She was having too damn much fun. She just loved lumberjack nooky, no other way to put it."

I pulled out a picture of Edgerton Fuller,III. I'd taken with my telephoto. "Ever see this guy before?"

She held the picture at arm's length, then took reading glasses from her jeans' pocket and looked more closely. "Yeah, I've seen him. Maybe six months ago." She seemed to rummage through her memories. "Yeah, he and Misty got it on. She banged him in the woodshed out back." She motioned over her shoulder with her thumb. "I think he took it more seriously than he should have. Why?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Can't tell you, but my guess is you'll hear soon enough."

I finished my beer, left a tip. "Thanks for the information." I patted the back of her wet hand.

"Name's Maria, if you're ever back in these parts."


* * * *
The next day I was Dave's assistant, a new substitute driver. We pulled the big green truck into Fuller,III's driveway with a half-mile widening band of dust behind us. He skidded to a stop in front of the house.

The little girl was playing with a beach ball on the thick- grassed front lawn. Dave knelt down beside her and pushed the ball away from her. She laughed and chased after it.

As the woman came out the front door, Dave said to the daughter, "Hey, Elouise, don't you remember me? From Tucson?"

Dave turned and looked at the woman. "I have a package for Tamarella Fuller."

Instant suspicion clouded her face, but she was quick, "I'll give it to her."

Dave continued, "I haven't seen her around since I got transferred from down south. Is she okay?"

Another quick ad-lib, "She was injured a while back. She's been in the hospital for a while, but she's getting better."

She looked at the envelop, scanning the address label. It was from the Back Water Saloon in Smallston, Idaho. She blanched an ashy white.

Dave gave her his best smile. "Gee, when's she due back? We were pretty good friends in Tucson. I'd like to say hi."

"Yeah, sure." The woman turned without another word and walked into the house. She slammed the door behind her, an emphatic good-bye.

When he got back to the truck, Dave had a sudden attach of doubt. "What if she really is in the hospital? What if I'm wrong?"

I used my cell phone to call the number, "Hi, I'm looking for Tamarella Fuller."