Temple: A New Journey Begins
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The Sheriff shook his head at the prospect of a long investigation that may end up going unsolved. "Look, we don't have the manpower or the resources for this kind of investigation," the Sheriff resigned. "Something like this hasn't happened in Braniff for several years. All this is purely circumstantial. You're going to need a lot more proof to even prove the two cases are related."
"Are you asking me to head up the investigation?" Kermit questioned.
"You seem to know more about this than I do. And you seem to know the woman than anyone else in town. Besides, I happen to know about Kyle Jameson. He's a recluse, but he's not the kind of man that would get involved with murder or defrauding someone out of a gold mind."
"It's a platinum mine and this paper says otherwise," Vance intervened.
"Don't go accusing people without more proof," the Sheriff argued. "You're liable to wind up in a lawsuit."
Kermit pursed his lips and was silent for several seconds. "I'll look into this if you don't have the resources. These two cases are connected. We just have to find out how. I know who Xia was and she wasn't who she appeared to be. Do you know where she was living?"
"No. No one saw her before the night she attacked Sally."
"You're wrong. Sally said when she made her report that she saw the woman talking to two men at the bar."
"She did, but they can't have anything to do with this."
"Don't be so sure," Kermit stated. "They may hold the key to this more than you know."
The one thing that was preventing the Sheriff from proceeding was the lack of clues. When Xia's body had been discovered, nothing appeared out of the ordinary in her jail cell.
"Maybe the autopsy report will give us more clues," Kermit suggested.
"We had to send her body to Lordsville. We don't have someone here who could perform an autopsy."
"That's okay. Just give me the address and I'll go myself and get the file."
"I'll call ahead," said the Sheriff. "The coroner may not know who you are."
"Who's the coroner."
"Some older guy. He retired to this area about five years ago. Said he used to work at some big city police precinct. Name's Nicky Elder."
"So, that's where Nicky retired to," Kermit replied. 'But why would he retire here? Nicky really thought he was dead, unless something changed his mind.'
"You know him?"
"Oh yeah."
Kermit headed to his old green corvair and got into the front seat. His thoughts drifted to the last case that he and Nicky ever worked on. It wasn't pretty. It was the day Captain Karen Simms was found dead in his apartment. All evidence pointed to him as the killer. Only one thing that saved Kermit from a hangman's noose was the fact that Kermit had been out of town that week and had just returned.
It took a great deal of persuading to the current commissioner to keep Kermit out of a jail cell. In the end, Nicky had been his saving grace. He found the evidence that brought the real killer to justice. Even so, their relationship had been strained. It was Nicky who nearly persuaded Kermit into believing that Peter Caine was dead. The argument between them had put a strain on their relationship. That had been the last time he and Nicky had been together. Not long after that, Nicky quit the force leaving no forwarding address. Kermit blamed himself for that for a long time. Maybe this was an opportunity to rectify that situation.
"Well Nicky, looks like you're going to get a visit from an old friend."
Continues with Part 40
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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