Dead Man's Puzzle by Parnell Hall

what’s wrong with that?”
    “Just because something’s true doesn’t mean it’s not sexist.”
    Chief Harper put up his hands. “Stop it. We’re not having this conversation. You’re not getting out of this so easily. What were you and Becky Baldwin doing in the cabin?”
    “Looking for evidence you missed.”
    “I knew you were going to say that.”
    “Then you’re not disappointed.”
    “Did you find it?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re a thorough investigator, and you didn’t miss anything.”
    “Why do I find that answer so exasperating?”
    Cora tactfully changed the subject. “I notice you didn’t mention any guns you might be tracing.”
    “No one asked me about any guns.”
    “It would seem to come under the heading of Mr. Overmeyer’s possessions.”
    “It would also come under the heading of evidence in a murder investigation. As such, I would prefer not to have it bandied about.”
    “Did you notice how I carefully didn’t bring it up?”
    “If you had, I’d have arrested you on the spot.”
    “I had a feeling,” Cora said.
    “We have a dead man. We have no apparent motive for his death. Unless some partner in crime wanted to shut him up for some past transgression.”
    “Or the offspring of such accomplice. You’re not about to give Harmon a free ride, are you, Chief?”
    “Just between you and me, I’d love to pin it on him.”
    “Too bad he was in Texas at the time.”
    “Candy could be sent in the mail.”
    “Not without wrapping. Big problem there, Chief. You send the guy a box of candy with a note that says, ‘Burn the wrapping paper before you eat this,’ he’s gonna get suspicious.”
    “True, but if no one suspects he’s being poisoned . . .”
    “The evidence get cleaned up before you got to it?”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “You didn’t have to. This is a mess.”
    “You’re telling me? I got absolutely nothing to go on. I got this bozo running around making trouble. I got Rick Reed asking stupid questions that make me look stupid because I got no answer. Yes, I didn’t treat Overmeyer’s cabin as a crime scene. Because it wasn’t a crime scene until two days after he died. If I treated every death as a potential homicide, it would be cruel and heartless. Can you imagine me striding into some new widow’s home: ‘Hello, ma’am, sorry your husband just kicked the bucket, but it’s my job to make sure you didn’t hurry him along. You wanna give me your fingerprints and stay out of the bedroom while my boys give it the once-over.’ ”
    “I see your point.”
    “I’m in a pickle. Unless Dan comes through with the gun, I got nothing.”
    “Yeah.”
    “So if you can come up with anything, anything at all, it would be a lifesaver.”
    “I’ll see what I can do,” Cora said.
    The crossword puzzle was burning a hole in her purse.

Chapter 22
    Sherry Carter stood on the seat and stuck her head out of the open top as the Land Rover bumped its way across the plains of the Masai Mara. The elephants off to the right, so exciting the first day of the safari, were no big deal. Not since they’d had a herd surround their Jeep. One had even charged before Jonathan, their guide and driver, started the engine and scared him away.
    Giraffes were grazing right by the road. Jonathan barely slowed down. Sherry and Aaron had seen enough giraffes to last a lifetime. Today they were after wildebeests.
    The migration this year had been late. There’d been ample rainfall in the Serengeti, grazing had been good, and the wildebeests had been slow to move. A two-week delay would be enough for Aaron and Sherry to miss them. They couldn’t have that. If the wildebeests wouldn’t come to them, they’d go to the wildebeests. Even if they had to drive all the way to Tanzania.
    Aaron put his arm around Sherry’s shoulders. “Do you know why the wildebeests aren’t in Kenya yet?”
    She frowned. “Why?”
    Aaron’s eyes twinkled.