There, at long last, was the body we'd been looking for. To be completely honest, it was a bit anticlimactic. Pulling out my cell in a breach of fake war, fake battle protocol, I called Soo Jin. In seconds she joined me, followed by the girls in my troop.
"This guy has two legs," Betty stated the obvious. "I thought you were looking for a guy with one."
Soo Jin got down on her knees and prodded just below the hip on both legs. "Nope. One is separated. The other one is attached. They hid it by putting on a different pair of pants."
"Do you recognize him?" I asked, even though I now had a pretty good idea who he was.
The man was maybe in his late fifties and clean shaven. His uniform was disheveled but clean for some reason. And he was Union. And like Soo Jin had said, he was a Caucasian, middle-aged man, about 6'2", and just under 200 pounds by the look of him.
The medical examiner frowned. "I've never seen him before. He wasn't with any of the units here."
"Would you know everyone?" I wondered. "He looks like about five other guys I've seen here. Same beard and everything."
"Well, I can't be one hundred percent positive." She took out her phone and texted Eddie.
The theory in my head grew stronger. "It's kind of weird how the killer waited until the last day to dump him."
"They didn't want the event to end," Soo Jin mused as she examined the body. "It looks like his carotid artery was punctured. He bled out somewhere. That's the cause of death, I'd say."
"Which was why," I thought out loud, "there was no blood on the leg. But why cut off the leg?"
Soo Jin shrugged. "If I had to guess, I'd say they toyed with cutting him up to get rid of the evidence."
I frowned at the body. "Why stop with one leg?"
"Because cutting up a human body is hard," Soo Jin answered. "Remember the amputation tent? We needed a knife to cut through the skin and a bone saw for the bone. Cutting up a whole body would take time and a lot of effort."
I finished her idea. "So they made one cut and gave up."
The medical examiner shrugged. "That's what I think. Of course, I won't know everything until I've conducted an autopsy."
I whistled. "He looks pretty good for someone who's been dead for at least four days."
The body was alabaster white, as though it had been frozen. But who'd have the electricity to run that here?
And then it popped into my mind.
"The sutler." I snapped my fingers. "He has to have electricity so that he can scan credit cards, right?"
"That sounds probable," Soo Jin agreed. "In fact, the food tent was storing food in his back tent." Her eyes grew wide when she realized what she'd just said.
I shrugged. "If he's the only one with electricity and he's storing stuff for the food tent, he'd have a freezer chest. Right?"
The medical examiner nodded. "Eddie isn't here. Neither is the sheriff. I'll stay here with the body so that we don't lose it…again."
"Yeah," I replied drily. "I won't take that personally."
Betty slammed her fist against her palm. "Let's go interrogate him." She held up a rusty pair of thumb screws.
"We're not going to torture him." I confiscated the devices. "We just want to ask him what he knows."
Betty seemed disappointed.
"Besides," I said, "you need to stay here with Dr. Body and guard the dead guy until Trooper Ruiz arrives."
Betty saluted and shouldered her sword. "You can count on me. I just had Old Bertha here sharpened. Anyone comes to get the corpse, I'll run him through."
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," I mumbled. "We can wait for Eddie."
The thought of returning to find a pile of dead soldiers next to the child was planted in my mind. And yes, I was pretty sure she could take on anyone and win.
"I never get to have any fun," the girl grumped.
Eddie arrived on the scene and was briefed. "I've never seen him before either," he said. "I called Sheriff Carnack. He's on his way."
Damn. Just when I'm about to interrogate Tom Branson.
"You know," Soo Jin whispered, "if you hurry, you can beat him."
I was gone before she said anything else.
The sutlery tent was bigger than I'd thought. There was a flap in the back that led to that back tent Soo Jin had mentioned. And the lights were off. I guess with the last skirmish over and people gone to get ready for the Blue and Gray Ball, he didn't see any reason to remain open.
"Hello? Tom?" I stepped through the flap.
Most everything had been taken down. Now that we had the body, was he planning on doing a runner? Oh sure, I didn't know for sure that he had stored the body. But why give up on this idea now?
A voice called out from the back of the tent. "Hold on."
Tom emerged from the darkness and smiled when he spotted me. "Mrs. Ferguson! Doing a little last-minute shopping?"
"Oh, yes," I blurted out. "I was thinking of getting souvenirs for the girls. Any ideas?"
He looked thoughtful. "Normally I'd suggest a hair pin or ribbon, but your girls are rather different."
"You've got that right," I mumbled.
"We've got some replica photographs. Or insignia pins. I have a lot of those and can sell them to you for two dollars apiece. I can't sell you knives. Oh hey! I know what!" He went over to a box and opened it. "How about some Confederate money? Kids love that stuff!"
I fingered the paper money. "It's worthless, right?"
Tom laughed. "Yes. I don't even take it in the shop. But you'd be surprised how many times Rebels want to use it. They get pretty pissed off when I won't accept it for payment. The hardcores think it should be legal here."
I needed to find something to get him out of the tent. "I guess they would try to pay with it since that's what they had at the time."
"Well, Yankees didn't take it, and neither do I. I can't use it to pay my bills."
I thought about Riley's case. "But some of it is worth something, right?"
"Oh sure. There are rare bills out there. Collectors would pay a fortune for those. The trouble is all the fakes out there. Like these." He pointed to the bills in my hand. "These are just replicas. Worthless. I sell them mostly to kids. The hardcores won't touch those."
Lauren and Betty walked in. Eddie must've dismissed them. This gave me an idea. He didn't have anything but low bills here.
"Those seem perfect. I'll need ten of the largest bills you have."
He frowned. "I think I have some in my van. Could you wait until I get back? It'll only take five, maybe ten minutes."
"Of course." I smiled. "Take your time. I'll wait."
A few seconds after he left, I gave the girls instructions to follow him and alert me when he was heading back.
"How do we do that? You confiscated our phones," Lauren said.
"I'll think of something!" Betty assured her.
"Wait." I grabbed her arm. "What are you going to do?"
"Don't worry. You'll know it when you hear it."
And with that, the girls were gone.
Slipping my cell out of my pocket, I headed for the back room of the tent. It was pretty dark. Turning on the flashlight app, I scanned the area. There was a flap that led to another tent. Inside were various stock supplies and a cash register. Did he have to keep it in here so that the hardcores wouldn't have a fit?
And there in the corner was a huge chest freezer. My heart leaped at the sight of it.
Footsteps pounded outside, and I froze, thumbing off the app. It was a common quandary in the spy biz. You'd hear a sound in the next tent—did you wait or flee? Many a spy had been busted by waiting because fleeing just meant you had to come back later. It was a total crapshoot.
When I heard nothing else, I headed for the freezer.
Locked. Of course it was. I'd lock it too if I'd been storing a body or body parts inside. This was how he had kept the leg and corpse without the rest of us smelling it. Which was pretty gross.
How much time had passed? I should've kept track. Being retired had turned some of my skills rusty. I bent over and inspected the lock. Why hadn't I brought my lockpicks with me? Then I remembered that Kelly had a set of hairpins.
But there was no way I'd be able to run to our tent, then back here, and pick it before Tom got back.
The chest was sturdy. Freezers were a great way to stash a body, drugs, or enough meat for the Annual Five Cartel Barbeque and Chicken Races that Carlos the Armadillo hosted. Very useful.
I wasn't going to get into it right now. At least I knew where it was. I was just turning to go when I heard a flurry of hooves outside.
"Whoa!" I heard Branson shout. "Look out!"
He was in the main tent. I was trapped. The girls had let me twist in the wind. We were going to have a very serious talk when this was over on how to not leave another spy hanging.
I tugged at the tent walls. They were bolted down by tent pegs on the outside. That made sense, I guess. Branson didn't want anyone sneaking in and stealing his merchandise. But it didn't do me any favors.
There was a loud braying that I guessed came from Daisy the donkey.
"Help! Help!" Betty's voice cried out, sounding fearful. "Runaway donkey!"
Yeah. I'd just bet. Betty didn't have a helpless bone in her body. This was what she came up with? Why not just the old-fashioned bird cry like I'd taught them on our very first camping trip?
I kept low to the ground and made my way to the entrance to the main tent. Most people will look into a doorway at the height of a person. So maybe I'd get lucky and Tom wouldn't see me.
I wasn't completely prepared for what I saw.
Lauren, my best horseback rider, was sitting backwards on Daisy, who was running around inside the sutlery. Betty stood there looking terrified and begging for help.
Tom was running behind the beast, trying to catch Daisy's reins to stop her. I slid right inside and ran over as if I'd been there all along.
When she spotted me, Betty stood in front of the stampeding beast and held her hands up.
"What are you doing?" Tom shrieked. "She'll trample you!"
But Daisy stopped in her tracks, nuzzling the girl's outstretched hands with a contented snort.
Tom walked over, visibly shaken. Aww. He was genuinely worried about the girls. Too bad he'd had a body in his freezer.
He gently lifted Lauren off the donkey and set her on the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Sure," Lauren said. "Thanks!"
"What's goin' on here?" A furious Ike burst through the main entrance. "Daisy! What did these brats do to ya?"
Brats?
I stepped forward. "You shouldn't have a dangerous animal around children!" I scolded. "She could've been killed!"
"Dangerous animal?" Ike's jaw dropped open. "Daisy'd never hurt nobody!"
With all the indignation I could muster, I gathered up the girls, fussing over them with an exaggeration you'd usually see in a Real Housewives episode.
"Are you alright? You poor girls! Let's get you back to our tent." I gave Tom an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry. I'll be back later to take care of what we talked about." And then I hurried the girls out the door and didn't say a word until we got back to the tents.
"The donkey?" I hissed. "The donkey was the sign?"
Betty shrugged. "I was going to do a bugle call, but I couldn't make it work right."
"So you swiped Daisy?"
"Nah. Lauren whispered her. No problem. Daisy was in on it."
"Probably the most fun she's had in a while," Lauren declared.
I was about to say something else when I noticed Sheriff Carnack and two deputies walking my way. Damn. Soo Jin must've told him about the freezer. Now I wouldn't get to break it open first.
"Merry?" the large man asked. "We've had a report that your girls kidnapped a donkey?"
As incredulous as he sounded, I knew he knew better. This man knew what my girls were capable of.
"No." I shook my head. "More like the other way around. The donkey kidnapped one of my girls. But it's all good now."
"Okay," Carnack said as he hid a smile.
"So," I asked casually, "you've seen the body?"
He nodded. "I'm afraid I have to shut this event down."
"No ball?" the four Kaitlyns screamed in unison. I didn't even know they were here.
"I'm afraid not," he said sadly.
The sheriff liked my troop. I'm sure he hadn't wanted to disappoint them.
"Noooooooooo!" the girls wailed.
"Our gowns are too pretty!" Caterina joined us.
"You can't cancel the ball!" Ava stamped her foot.
Kelly arrived, and the girls mobbed her, complaining about the cancellation.
"What?" She looked at the sheriff. "You can't do that!"
Really? She wanted the ball?
"Alister was going to escort me!" she complained.
So that's why he wanted to talk to her.
Facing an onslaught that he was ill equipped for, the sheriff held up his hands. "Ladies, this is a crime scene. We can't have you all trampling it."
"Technically." I held up one finger. "The tent where the ball would be held wasn't near the crime scene. The body was found on the battlefield, at least one hundred yards from here."
Kelly added, "And I know you can't shut down everything around the crime scene. Right?"
Did she know that for certain, or was she making it up? I nodded and said, "Yeah!"
Eddie joined us. "We can move it up to have it earlier, Sheriff. And everyone will stay right here so that you can question them."
"Yeah!" I sounded more sure this time.
The sheriff sighed heavily. "No one leaves. You can have the ball, but I will have a presence there, and I get to shut it down if something happens. Deal?"
Eddie nodded solemnly. "I'll be there. I'll help keep an eye on things."
The sheriff threw his arms up in the air and walked away, flanked by the deputies.
"Nice save," I said.
"Yeah, well, I'd hate to let the girls down."