VEGGIELANTE VIOLENCE (PAPERBACK)

Chapter 1

“Come on, Eggy!” Angela called. The little hen waddled out of the coop, squawking at her fellow hens as if she were their boss. Angela chuckled. Though Eggatha had finally moved on from her stubborn phase, the little hen still liked to throw her weight around with the other chickens from time to time.

Angela’s phone rang as she ushered the pigs out to pasture. When she noticed the caller was Chief Helbar, Hummings Hollow’s resident police chief, her heart skipped a beat.

“Hello?”

“Angie? Is this a good time?”

“Yes, what’s up?”

“We’ve got another case on our hands,” he said.
Angela felt a bit callous as she grinned. After all, someone must have been murdered if the chief was calling her, but it had been a little while since wrapping her last case and she’d been eager for another one.

“What happened?”

“Meet me at the station,” he said. “It’ll be easier to talk there. Besides, I want to take you to the crime scene and get your thoughts. Feel free to bring Ruff along.”

“Sure!” Angela replied, trying not to sound too eager as her grin stretched from ear to ear. Chief Helbar had never let her come to a crime scene, preferring for her to wait until they were done before moving in to do her own investigations.

“I warn you, it’s likely going to be gory,” he cautioned.

“I wouldn’t be in this line of work if I couldn’t handle it,” she countered. Chief Helbar chuckled.

“That’s the spirit. See you soon.”

Angela cheered and danced around after hanging up, alarming some of the animals as she did. She kneeled and took her border collie’s face in her hands.

“Did you hear that, Ruff? We get to go to a real crime scene!”

He yipped, jumped up and chased his tail, catching on to her excitement.

Let’s go!

Still feeling a bit morbid over her jubilation, Angela ran inside her farm house and quickly scanned her wardrobe, eventually settling on a light-green sweater and navy-blue slacks.

She arrived at the station, where Chief Helbar greeted her immediately.

“Come ride with me,” he said. “It’ll be easier to fill you in that way. Officer Dell, you too.”

“Yes, chief,” she replied, grabbing her gear and following them. She smiled warmly at Angela as they left the station and hopped into Chief Helbar’s police cruiser. Ruff settled into the backseat beside Angela while Chief Helbar and Officer Dell sat up front.

“Where are we going?” Angela asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“Just north of here, out in the woods,” he replied. “A game warden was shot sometime during the night.”

“Whoa. Any idea who might have done it?”

He shook his head. “Department of Natural Resources called it in. They didn’t give many details. We’re meeting them there. This case is technically their jurisdiction, but they are calling in extra help because they’ve never dealt with a homicide before.”

Chief Helbar’s radio went off, and Angela assumed he was talking to the DNR officer because he kept mentioning coordinates and landmarks.

“Hold on one second,” Chief Helbar said. Turning to Officer Dell, he gestured to the GPS unit on the dash.

“Could you please type in these coordinates?” he asked. Officer Dell clicked on the coordinates option and typed in the numbers the chief rattled off.

“Take this road until about here,” she replied. “The actual coordinates are west of there.”

“Yeah, the warden covered a large area,” the chief replied. “The coordinates should lead us straight to the body.”

As the car climbed a lonely, winding hill in the middle of nowhere, they saw a DNR vehicle parked at the top, off to the side.

“Perfect!” Chief Helbar said. “Looks like we’re on the right track.”

He pulled the cruiser up behind the DNR car, parked and got out. Angela, Ruff and Officer Dell followed.

Angela couldn’t help but smile as Ruff scampered around, sniffing the trees, the forest floor, and all the large rocks. He loved being outside, especially somewhere new. Even while exploring, he obediently stayed within five feet of Angela at all times.

“Will it be a bit of a walk?” Angela asked. Chief Helbar nodded as he frowned down at the GPS unit.

“Yeah, probably about a mile out. It shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes or so at a good pace, though.”

“What do you know about the case so far?”

“Not much more than I already told you,” he replied. “This is my first time out at the scene.”

“How’s your family doing, Angie?” Officer Dell asked.

“They’re really well, thanks!” she replied. “Will has more customers than he knows what to do with. Tony and Jake left a decent client base, and he’s expanded on it. He can still only do basic things while he’s in school, but he’s doing really well for himself.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear it,” she said. “How are your parents?”

“They’re busy helping Will maintain his business. Mom’s doing well, still forgetful at times, but it doesn’t look like things have progressed much with the dementia.”

“Good!” she replied. “I’m sure being busy helps.”

Angela chuckled. “Oh, it does. She’s working part time as Will’s secretary, and she really enjoys it.”

“I’m so glad you solved that last case and cleared Will’s name,” Officer Dell replied.

“I might have had a thing or two to do with that, Kim,” Chief Helbar grumbled. Officer Dell laughed.

“I know, but without that wrench, I’m not sure we could have nailed Tony,” she teased.

“Ruff and P. Nutty actually found it,” Angela replied modestly. “Will and I were just along for the ride, trying to keep up with them. I thought Ruff had gone crazy and was going to eat the squirrel after we’d just released him.”

They all had a good laugh at that. Ruff was walking out a few feet in front of Angela when he halted, his ears quirking.

“You hear something, boy?” Angela asked. In response, he dipped his head to the forest floor and began to sniff, randomly at first, then in a straight line.

This way!

“Do we have time to follow him?” Angela asked.

Chief Helbar shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t lead us on some epic journey.”

Angela shook her head. “He’s got the scent of something,” she replied. “I recognize that look of his.”

They followed Ruff as he walked, sometimes veering off slightly in one direction, but maintaining a mostly straight course. Ruff led them down into a shallow gully surrounded by trees, then stopped and started circling.

“Look at this!” Chief Helbar exclaimed. He pointed to the ground, where several footprints were visible. He crouched down and took photos of them with his phone, then straightened up.

“The footprints don’t have any unusual markings,” he said. “But it’s still worth making a note of them.”

Angela paid attention carefully. She didn’t always agree with Chief Helbar’s methods, but she understood the value of learning from many mentors.

“There are spike holes, too,” Officer Dell said, pointing them out. “Someone staked a tent here.”

“Good eye, Dell,” Chief Helbar remarked.
Angela bent down to peer at them. “How did you even see those?”

Officer Dell shrugged. “This far out here, I figure someone’s been camping. Especially if that warden was shot at night.”

Everyone combed the area thoroughly, eyes glued to the ground for any more telling clues. Angela glanced over at Ruff to see him sniffing intently in one spot. She walked over to him and gently scooted him aside.

“Good boy, Ruff!” she exclaimed. “I think you guys need to see this.”

Chief Helbar and Officer Dell looked at where she indicated.

“That’s a folding knife,” Chief Helbar said, putting on some latex gloves. He picked up the knife and put it in the plastic baggie that Officer Dell supplied. Bending down, he scratched Ruff’s ears.

“We wouldn’t have caught that with all the leaves in the way,” he said. “Good boy, Ruff!”

After another few minutes of intense investigation, Chief Helbar shrugged.

“I think we’ve found everything of interest that we’re going to find here,” he said. “But both of you keep your eyes peeled while we head to the scene. And Ruff, keep your nose open.”

Ruff barked twice and wagged his tail. They hiked back up the side of the gully and continued on, reaching the scene a few minutes later. A tall, brunette officer in full DNR uniform stood talking to a few other officers, looking as if he were in his mid-forties. A blue plastic tarp lay over something lumpy on the ground, and with a shock, Angela realized it was the body.

“Officer Blake, I’m Chief Helbar,” the chief introduced himself, shaking hands with the brunette officer. “We spoke on the phone. This is Officer Dell and Angela, a private consultant we work with sometimes.”

Ruff barked.

“And this is Ruff, Angela’s dog,” Chief Helbar added with a roll of his eyes.

“Nice to meet you all,” Officer Blake said with a good-natured smile. “Thanks for coming out. It’s a nasty business. Poor Officer Grant. I just can’t believe it.”

“It’s always hard when it’s someone you know,” Chief Helbar replied. “Especially when it’s a colleague.”

Angela looked at Chief Helbar curiously. She knew he’d worked in Baltimore prior to taking the position at the local station. He must have witnessed something in Baltimore, judging by the haunted look in his eye.

“No, it’s definitely not easy,” Officer Blake agreed. “That’s why I want to catch this creep.”

“Please tell us everything you can think of,” Chief Helbar encouraged. “Any little detail could be significant.”

Chief Blake sighed. “We got some calls out at the office about shots being fired at night in this area. The reports started coming in more regularly, so we decided to investigate.”

“Is it legal to hunt at night?” Angela asked. Officer Blake looked over at her and smiled warmly, then shrugged.

“Technically, there’s no law against it, unless there’s a noise ordinance in place,” Officer Blake replied. “And this area is designated for hunting. But it’s a dumb idea to shoot in the dark. The other problem is that the only thing people are legally allowed to hunt right now is goose.”

“Do people hunt geese out here?” Officer Dell asked.

“Yeah, this area seems to be in their migration pattern,” Officer Blake replied.

“So, it’s possible that this was a hunting accident?”
Officer Blake shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible,” he replied. “But I don’t know what kind of weirdo would want to hunt geese in the dark. There wasn’t even any moonlight last night to help a person see. If I had to guess, I’d say it was some crazy person shooting off a gun for fun, or someone who had a grudge against Larry.”

“Is there a history of illegal things happening in these woods?”

Chief Blake furrowed his brow. “Not illegal as in drug deals or things like that, but we’ve had vagabonds come through here from time to time.”

“Did you find anything unusual with or around the body?” Officer Dell asked. Officer Blake shook his head.

“Just his regular supplies,” Officer Blake said.

Chief Helbar finished writing notes in his book and looked up.

“Mind if we look around?”

“Not at all,” Officer Blake replied.

“Angela, you take the area to the left of the body. Look for anything that seems unusual of out of place. Officer Dell, you take the right side of the body, and I’ll go up here above the head.”

They fanned out and scrutinized the surrounding area carefully. Angela shuffled her feet through the old leaves and paid close attention to Ruff. He sniffed all over the area, but didn’t seem to pick up anything interesting.

She looked up at the trees before her and noticed a straight, deep cut on one trunk. Turning around, she examined other trees in the area, soon finding another tree with a similar mark. As she continued to examine the trees, she noticed a pattern, that the marked trees stood almost in a straight line.

“Come on, Ruff,” she whispered. “Let’s see where these lead.”

“Angie! Where are you going?”

She looked back to see Chief Helbar looking at her, his expression stern. Motioning him over, she showed him the marked trees.

“The marks are sequenced too perfectly for it to have been a deer scratching its antlers,” she explained. “I wanted to see where the trail leads. I just got caught up in the moment.”

“That’s all right,” he said. “This could be a good clue. Take Officer Dell with you. I don’t want you getting lost in these woods.”