Bodies & Buried Secrets: A Rosewood Place Mystery (Rosewood Place Mysteries Book 1) by Ruby Blaylock

above and around her, surprised to find very few chinks of sunlight made it into the old building. She could see the one loose plank where Devon had squeezed through to rescue the kitten, but apart from that, the whole structure seemed pretty sound. “Well, at least the barn’s in good shape,” she mused, running her hand across a beam as she passed it.
    Rory shook the flashlight, its light growing dimmer by the second. “Darn, I guess I should have grabbed the spare batteries.”
    Annie put her hand on his elbow. “Wait, I forgot I had my phone with me. I can use it like a flashlight.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and flicked her finger across the touchscreen, bringing it to life. A few more flicks turned her phone into a light source even brighter than the flashlight. She passed it to Rory, who nodded appreciatively, and they continued their tour of the dark and musty barn.
    Annie watched as Rory located a ladder built onto one of the center beams of the barn. “Must have an upper level,” he said and headed up without hesitation.
    “Be careful up there, Rory. We don’t know if the floor up there is stable or not.” Annie followed him up the ladder, her eyes adjusting finally to the low light. “What’s up there? Is is a hay loft?” Annie’s mind whirled with visions of a party barn filled with people celebrating birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. Once Rory installed some lights, she could start planning out her new barn venue properly, but she was already tingling with anticipation.
    “Annie, don’t come up here.” Rory’s tone made her hesitate, but only for a second. Annie continued up the ladder, and nearly bumped into Rory.
    “What? What’s wrong?” Annie strained to peer around him, trying to see why Rory didn’t want her on the upper level of the barn.
    Rory pointed the phone towards his feet quickly, but it was too late. Annie caught a glimpse of something long and white sticking out from under a pile of hay. “Oh, my goodness! Is that--”
    Rory nodded. “I think so.”
    Annie’s stomach did a funny somersault, and her mouth went dry. “Well, crap.”
    Rory pulled her into a hug, and she didn’t resist. “I guess I’d better call the police,” she said finally, “and let them know we’ve found another dead body.” Only the second in one day , she added silently.

10
Suspicious Minds
    Much to Annie’s dismay, Delbert Plemmons was the first officer to arrive on the scene, again. He grinned a little too broadly for someone investigating a corpse in a long-neglected barn, and he seemed to look at Annie a little too often for her liking.
    “Ms. Richards, Annie,” he corrected himself, “We ought to stop meeting like this.” His lame attempt at humor made Annie think of Barney Fife from the old television program. As she looked Delbert up and down, she realized that he was Fife reincarnated. From his clumsy walk to his flirty demeanor, it occurred to her that sometimes life imitated art more than most people realized.
    “Officer Plemmons, thank you for coming out here. As I explained to your nice dispatcher, the body is in my barn. This one has been here for a while, I think.” Annie didn’t waste any time leading Delbert to the barn, explaining how they’d found the body as they walked.
    “So Rory Jenkins found this body?” Delbert asked, and Annie nodded. “How long was he alone with the deceased?”
    “Well, what difference does that make?” Annie was baffled by his question. “He was never alone with the body if that’s what you’re asking.” Realization hit her, and her temper flared. “Wait a minute! Are you implying that Rory had something to do with the dead body in the barn?”
    “Well, now,” Delbert began, hitching up his pants by the belt loops. “He was present when both bodies were discovered, and he does have a violent criminal past.”
    “Delbert Plemmons, you watch your mouth!” No one had heard Bessie come out of the house.