“So did you find any clues to Ms. Walker’s whereabouts?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I just went in far enough to see the body, and then I got right out.”

Even though I knew the temperature was in the 90s, I suddenly felt briefly and irrationally chilly.

Chief Burke must have noticed.

“That’s all for now,” he said. “I guess I know where to find you if I have any more questions.”

“Or if you learn anything about Karen’s whereabouts,” I suggested.

He nodded, rather distractedly.

Or was he only pretending to be distracted? I realized that the chief was acting oddly. More restrained than usual.

Maybe it had something to do with the guys in the plain cars. I suspected they were law enforcement of some sort, though not under the chief’s jurisdiction. From the State Bureau of Investigation, perhaps? Whoever they were, I had the feeling that either the chief hadn’t invited them or he had come to regret doing so.

I walked back to my car and began the tedious process of getting out of Hiram Bass’s yard without running into any other vehicles, living or dead. I did pretty well until I came to the fork in the road. Aubrey Hamilton’s red pickup was stopped there, motor still running, while he leaned out, staring at the police activity with visible dismay.

“What’s going on?” he asked, craning his neck to see past me.

“There’s a reason you haven’t seen Jasper Walker for the past few days,” I said.

He frowned and looked at me.

“Someone killed him.”

“Holy—when?”

“They don’t know yet. I bet at least a couple of days ago.”

“Damn.”

He looked ashen. Did he know Jasper better than he’d admitted? Or was I being overly suspicious—after all, I think I’d be more than a little shook up if someone was killed next door to me. Then he narrowed his eyes.

“How come you know all this?”

“I’m the one who found him.”

“Damn,” he repeated. “A couple of days?”

“At least. The police are probably going to want to talk to you,” I added. “Have fun.”

In fact, two officers were already approaching us. Hamilton pulled the truck up a little farther, so I could get by, and cut the ignition. When I glanced back in the rearview mirror, I saw him talking to one of the officers as he stepped out of the cab.

I headed for town. If I were a better person, I’d have hurried home as soon as Chief Burke let me go, to relieve Rob of Timmy-sitting duty. But I was in such a low mood that my mind rebelled at the thought.

“I’ll go in and see if Michael wants to do lunch,” I said aloud, and felt almost immediately better. To everyone else, I was determined to put on a brave front and pretend that it didn’t bother me, finding the days-old dead body of someone I had actually known, however slightly. And in front of the police, I didn’t think it was a good idea to show any doubt of Karen’s innocence. But I could share it all with Michael.