He sits down at one of the desks and reaches for the single manilla folder in the basket. Opening it, he licks his finger and uses it to point as he scans down the page. “Yeah, Horne died at home, nose down in his breakfast. Autopsy was hinky, so we can’t close the case yet.”

“I saw that in the report too. What’s the investigation of that looking like? Any leads on what might’ve caused the blood abnormalities?”

Jeff sighs as he drops the folder back in the basket. “Nah, we’re waiting on a rerun of the toxicology. Problem is that our local lab is a little slow. Budget, you know. To make sure there was no mistake, we had to ship blood and tissue samples up to the state lab. And they make us look fast.”

“A mistake?” I question. “So you’re not looking into a possible exposure?”

Sheriff Barnes shakes his head, eyeing me like I’m stupid for even asking the question. “No need until the report is confirmed, which it probably won’t be.” He shrugs and leans back in his chair, seeming wholly unconcerned for Mr. Horne’s results, and I get the feeling he really wouldn’t care about Mrs. Horne’s claim.

“Okay, I guess I’ll follow up on that then. I’m going to see the coroner next.”

That gets Barnes’s attention. His feet hit the floor with a thud, and he bolts upright and leans across the desk toward me. “You’re going to see Zoey?”

My eyes narrow. He doesn’t seem protective or caring. More so, he seems concerned or even fearful. I don’t like it, not after how the folks at the bar treated her.

So it’s hard to keep the ice out of my voice as I clip out, “Yes, she’s the coroner on file for Mr. Horne.”

“Yeah, she would be.” He nods, agreeing with himself. “She’s . . . well, she’s . . .” He seems unsure how to complete that sentence, and I want to give him more than enough rope to hang himself with.

“She’s what?” I prompt.

“She’s a strange one, our Zoey,” he whispers.

“Strange how?” I’m going to make him say it, whatever it is. I want to hear what’s truly on his mind so I can decide just how bad, and how widespread, this situation with Zoey is. She said ‘everyone’ thinks she’s cursed, but surely, these people aren’t that superstitious?