Blogtober 2023
When they returned to the Sheriff’s office, Murphy was checking in with the duty officer for an update on the dead and missing when a loud flood of cursing came from the holding cell.
“Goddamnit!” Clarkton shouted. “Where’s my body?”
“Coroner picked him up about an hour ago,” the deputy said. “Is there a problem?”
Clarkton held his tongue and thought for a moment, then asked Murphy, “What’s our situation?”
“Six confirmed dead, more than 10 reported missing,” Murphy said. “The bad news is that it’s on social media now.”
“That Internet shitbox?” Clarkton said. He hated the Internet more than he hated cell phones. “What are they saying?”
“Everything you’d expect,” Murphy replied. “Bears, cougars, serial killer, Bigfoot. The real problem is that it’s not scaring anyone off. All the tough guys are headed into the woods to find whatever’s doing this and take it down.”
“And get themselves killed,” Clarkton said. “If there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s stupidity.”
“Do we want to try to stop them?”
“How would we do that? Block off hundreds of county roads and log trails? Half of these people already live in the woods. They’ll be hunting in their back yards.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“We stick with Carl,” Clarkton said. “We know he’s at the morgue, so we rendezvous with Nicole and follow him if he imitates Tippen’s Walking Dead impression.”
Clarkton ditched his crime scene van for a county 4x4 SUV and drove to the funeral home.
Photo credit Adobe Stock #604964904
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