Strange Medicine (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #1)(5)

“Abso-damn-lutely.” He grinned as he started to leave. “Only this time, the luck is on Rainy Dale’s side.”





Chapter Two


Royce

I had trouble shaking our new town doctor from my mind. He was an odd duck, that was for sure, but attractive. My gut warmed at the memory of his pretty mouth and blue eyes. Living in a small town meant the pool of good-looking, available men was small. And the supply of gay good-looking, available men was even smaller. Not that Maxwell seemed particularly available. Prickly might be a better word.

Ned Tinkerson barreled out of the Pancake Palace restaurant and barely missed slamming into me. “Oh, crap. Sorry, Sheriff.” His bald head was slick with sweat and his face flushed.

“Slow down, there.” I patted his shoulder.

He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.” He seemed agitated.

I couldn’t help but notice that it was at least 100 degrees, but he wore long sleeves.

“I’m in a little bit of a hurry,” he muttered.

“Where you off to?”

He dropped his gaze. “Oh, I have a meeting with my Realtor.”

I frowned. “You selling your house?”

Shifting his gaze away, he laughed. “No. More like looking to buy.”

“Really?” I tried to hide my surprise. Ned didn’t have a lot of money. From what I’d heard from Clare Smith at the Rainy Dale Mortgage and Loan after a few glasses of wine, he had enough trouble paying his existing mortgage.

“Yep.”

“Huh.”

He must have felt my skepticism, because he added, “I… uh… inherited some money.”

“Ahhh. I see.”

He scratched his covered arm, grimacing when he saw me notice. “I’ve got a heat rash.”

“Maybe it’s not a good idea to wear long sleeves in this weather,” I said.

“I know. But I don’t want anyone seeing it.” He shot a dirty look in the direction of Dr. Thornton’s office down the road. “I tried to have the new doctor look at it, but he wasn’t very agreeable.”

“He doesn’t open till tomorrow, right?” I could see why Maxwell might need a few days to get his office in order.

“Would it have killed him to take a peek?”

“Well, he’s probably got a bunch of people vying for his attention.”

“Still,” he grumbled. “I’m his neighbor. You’d think he could extend me a little favor.”

I pulled off my hat, enjoying the breeze that ruffled my hair. “Give him time. He’s a city boy. He’ll learn how it is soon enough.”

“He better or he won’t last long.” Ned scowled. “He even kicked Mayor Granger out of his office. She was livid.”

I laughed. “Maybe he didn’t know she was mayor.”

He snorted. “He did. Have you ever known Penelope to introduce herself without mentioning her title?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.” He sighed. “Anyway, I have an appointment with him tomorrow afternoon, so I’m hoping he can do something to get rid of this damn rash.”

“What do you think it’s from?” I frowned.

He avoided my gaze. “No idea. It just popped up about a week ago. I’m not allergic to any foods that I know of.”

“I’m sure the new doctor can get it all sorted out.”

“I hope so.”

I shifted. “What house are you looking to buy?”

It was an innocent enough question. But from the way his face froze and he stepped back, you’d have thought I’d asked him for his social security number and bank password. “Um… I’m just visiting all the available properties.”

“Didn’t think there were over two in town.” I studied his tense face. I had good instincts when it came to people lying to me.

He licked his lips and looked around like he’d love to bolt. “Some are available but not on the market.”

“Got it.” I nodded. “Any reason you can’t tell me which one you’re looking at though?”

His face flushed pink. “It’s not a done deal, so I’d rather not.”

Dolly Brown came rushing up. “Sheriff, there are some kids trying to break in to a parking meter over on Bladford Street.” She grimaced, tugging her purse closer to her side. “I told them to knock it off, but they just flipped me off and told me to… well, let’s just say they weren’t very nice.”

I straightened and put my hat back on. “I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Dolly.”

She sighed. “It’s disappointing to see that element in Rainy Dale.”

“I agree.” Ned nodded. “You should get their names and have tough talk with their parents, Sheriff.”

My lips twitched. “Too bad I got rid of my torture equipment on eBay.”

Ned scowled. “It’s not funny. Someone stole my 4th of July cutout of George Washington last month. There’s a bad element afoot in this town lately.”

I squashed my smile. “It’s just a couple of kids.”

“They were very rude.” Dolly sniffed.

“I know. I’ll go talk to them.” I trotted across the main road and headed toward Bladford Street. As I rounded the corner I saw three boys, one of them with a baseball bat, swinging at the meter. “Hey!” I yelled.