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Three hours later Agatha watched the paramedics roll Russell Dixon’s body to the waiting ambulance. He was covered with a sheet, of course. The emergency personnel loaded him up, then jumped into the ambulance and drove away—at a much more sedate speed than they’d arrived and without the siren blaring. Russell Dixon wasn’t in a hurry. It wouldn’t matter how long they took to deliver him to the county morgue.
Had it really only been a few hours since she’d found him? How life could turn on a dime.
She stood watching, her Bible in one hand and a basket of food in the other. Tony walked over and said something to the lieutenant. Those two seemed like oil and water. Lieutenant Bannister reminded her of a peacock her neighbors in Shipshe had once owned. The thing would strut around with its feathers spread wide and cry like a baby. She’d been rather relieved when they donated it to a local zoo.
Antonio Vargas, on the other hand, looked like a man who had just strolled onto her property. Warm brown skin, black hair sprinkled with gray, and brown eyes that caused her to wonder what had happened to him. Tony looked for all the world like a man who’d woken abruptly from a long nap and found himself dropped into the river of life.
She thought back to the day she’d moved to Hunt. The property had been in a state of disrepair and she’d been exhausted by the long trip to Texas. Not ready to face what was on the inside of the house, she walked around the porch and sat on the steps to watch the river flowing by her property. Tony drove down the drive that separated their two homes, parked in his carport, and trudged into the house. He’d looked exhausted even then.
He still looked exhausted.
As if he sensed the direction of her thoughts, he turned now and walked toward the front porch.
She met him at the steps, a book in one hand and a basket in the other. She handed him the basket.
“For me?” His eyebrows shot up as he peeked under the dishtowel.
“You were working with the officers while the rest of us ate.”
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I think you rather earned it.”
Tony tucked the cloth back around the dinner. “Would you like to sit for a minute?”
She led him over to the rockers. A rocking chair could soothe her soul when few other things could. The cat immediately jumped down from the window sill and began winding his way through her legs.
“You’ve already been fed, Fonzi.”
“Fonzi?”
“Gina—my friend—named him. He came with the house, and we’ve become gut freinden.” As if to prove her point, the cat dropped on the porch floor and rolled onto his back, paws in the air, a soft purr emanating from him.
Agatha rubbed his belly, then glanced up at Tony. “Who was the man in the blue sedan?”
“Our county ME—Medical Examiner.”
“And why was he called?”
“In Texas, if there’s an unattended death, then it’s standard procedure to bring in the ME. His name is Scott Millican. He’s a good guy.”
Agatha blinked rapidly. She patted both of her pockets then the top of her head to locate her glasses. She only needed them to read. She was always leaving them lying about, which was one of the problems with only needing them for certain tasks. She’d like to open the Bible in her hand and read one of her favorite verses. She needed that guidance now more than ever. As it was, she felt like a blindfolded child trying to find her way, only this wasn’t a game of hide and seek.
“This Mr. Millican will determine the cause of death?”
“He will. He can request an autopsy, but in some cases—hopefully, in this case—he can determine the cause of death by performing an external examination and reviewing the deceased’s medical records.”
“How long will that take?”
“Twelve to twenty-four hours. Longer if a full autopsy is needed.”
Agatha had meant to work on her knitting project this evening. Knitting project? Why was she thinking about that? They were discussing a dead man in Cabin 3. She needed to pull herself together.
The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than she noticed Tony studying her closely and waiting. At least the man knew how to abide silence. Being rushed right now would only fluster her more.
“Do you think the cause of death was natural?”
“Probably.” Tony placed the basket on the floor and leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees.
“I know you already filled out a report for Lieutenant Bannister, but I’d like you to tell me what you noticed when you first walked into Cabin 3. Not just what you saw, but what your first impressions were.”
The last thing Agatha wanted to do was re-experience finding Russell Dixon yet one more time. She’d already given her written statement, as well as endured questioning by the lieutenant. The Hunt Police Department had been quite thorough in its investigation of a man who had, in all likelihood, died from a heart attack.
“You’re tired. I get that, but...well, memories tend to fade, and I just want to verify a few things.”
“All right.” She walked him through calling out to Dixon, knocking on the door, and finding it locked.
“And everything on the porch looked as it should?”
She closed her eyes, rocked, and allowed the slight breeze to wash over her. Suddenly her eyes popped open. “There was a mud print on the bottom step.”
“Why did you notice that?”
“I try to keep an eye to anything that needs cleaning or tidying. When I walked up the steps I noticed the print and thought Dixon must have been out along the river. I was wondering if he’d also tracked mud through the cabin.”
“And had he?”
She closed her eyes and tried to envision the inside of the cabin. “Only to the bed, I think. He must have sat down and taken off his shoes.”
Tony nodded. “He was barefoot when you found him, so that’s possible.”
“But why would he go out the back door, and why wouldn’t he put on his shoes?”
Tony shrugged, which she was learning was his way of saying, go on.
“Okay. Well, the covers were thrown back. It definitely looked like he’d slept there. His clothing was...tossed everywhere. I didn’t spend much time looking at the room because the back door was open, and I thought that was odd.”
“Wide open or ajar?”
“Wide open, as if someone had thrown it open.”
He motioned with his hand for her to continue.
“I saw him...saw him almost as soon as I looked outside. We only mow about ten feet out from the cabin. The natural grasses, they bring in birds like roadrunners and bobwhite quail. Anyway, beyond the perimeter of the cabin, the grass is quite tall, nearly waist high. He was lying in it, and I couldn’t see most of him. But his foot was sticking out onto the mowed part, as if—well, as if he’d been standing there and someone had pushed him over.”
“Anything else?”
“Nein. Except...” She rubbed her eyes, suddenly realizing how desperately tired she felt. But she wanted to get this right, wanted to see her memory—not one she might have reconstructed from hearing the others talking. She took a deep breath, pushed aside thoughts of a hot cup of tea and questions over whether this would be bad for business and what would that poor man’s family think when they learned he’d passed. She began at the bottom of the steps and walked back through the cabin.
“The breakfast tray.”
“What about it?”
“I left it on the porch steps early that morning. Dixon had fetched it and placed it on the nightstand beside the bed, but the mug...the mug was shattered on the floor.” Her eyes popped open. “And the bedding...it wasn’t thrown back. Someone—I suppose Mr. Dixon—had dragged it toward the open back door. Why would he do that?”
“Something startled him perhaps.”
“Or someone.” Agatha’s mouth went suddenly dry. “If you jumped up out of bed, wouldn’t you throw the covers back? And why was the mug broken?”
Tony ran a hand up and down his jaw line. Finally, he said, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She rubbed the palm of her hand over the smooth oak of the rocking chair’s arm and admitted, “It’s been a long day.”
“I won’t keep you then.” Tony stood, picked up the basket, and walked toward the steps. He turned back toward her before she’d even risen from the rocking chair. “If you see or hear anything...”
“Like what?”
“Anything at all, Agatha.”
It occurred to her that it was the first time he’d used her name, and why did he suddenly look so concerned?
“If you see or hear anything, come and get me.”
Without any other explanation, he stepped out into the darkening night.