Page 18 of Barbed Wire and Burglary
The stench of rotting food and other garbage slammed into his nostrils right before his beam of light landed on the item he was looking for.
Gotcha!The olive green frog Mr. Peters had described lay shattered in the corner.
He pulled his head out of the dumpster to fill his lungs with fresh air before taking the smelly plunge. “I’m going in.”
Aurora’s eyes widened with mirth. “I didn’t peg you for a dumpster diver.”
“I’m a man of many talents.” He handed his Stetson to her, which she promptly put on. Circling the dumpster, he discovered an old television butted up against the fencethat was partially enclosing the area. It was one of those big, boxy television sets that had taken up an entire corner of his parents’ living room while growing up. Scooting it closer to the opening of the dumpster, he used it to hoist himself inside.
His boots landed on something squishy that turned out to be a head of rotten cauliflower. He shook it off the bottom of his boot and stepped closer to the shattered frog. Snapping pictures on his cell phone from every angle, he texted them to his boss before reaching for the biggest porcelain shard. He lifted it by its outer edges to avoid smudging any fingerprints that might be present.
He carried it to the opening of the dumpster, where Aurora was waiting and watching him with interest.
He held out the first shard to her. “Would you mind piling these somewhere they won’t get stepped on?”
Without waiting to be told, she mimicked his movements, accepting the broken piece of porcelain while only touching its outer edges. “I don’t mind at all, Sherlock.”
He continued hauling shards to her, right down to the smallest chips he could find. Then he sent another text to Decker Kingston, asking him how to proceed. He hoped the question would subtly communicate his suspicions about Deputy Aaron Cannon and get a backup police officer en route.
Decker texted back within seconds:
It’s Deputy Cannon’s call.
Well, I tried.It was too bad the chain of custody of the evidence A.J. and Aurora had gathered would go through a dirty deputy’s hands.
A.J. was in the middle of scooting a broken armchair tothe opening of the dumpster to hoist himself out when the toe of his boot nudged an empty box. Something shiny glinted up at him. He paused to aim the beam of light from his cell phone at it.
Unbelievable!
He found himself staring at a short length of barbed wire—silver and shiny like the “signature” of a notorious jewel thief who’d called himself the Collector. Past tense. The burglar’s remains had finally been found and identified a couple of years ago. If they hadn’t been located, the law enforcement community would’ve never known the aging criminal was gone due to the number of copycat burglaries still being committed. A.J. carried the barbed wire with him out of the dumpster, knowing it was a significant find. All along, he’d sensed something bigger was in play, and now he was sure of it.
Dozens of articles had been written by crime scene specialists, speculating about the significance of the Collector’s “signature.” Of all the theories running around, A.J. favored the simplest one. Barbed wire represented restriction, oppression, and conflict—including the inner kind—all of which the Collector had possessed.
According to a mix of case files and legend, the Collector was a poor farmer who had the audacity to fall in love with the daughter of a wealthy rancher. Shortly after she agreed to marry him, he was accused of breaking into her home and stealing a diamond ring from her mother. From all modern accounts, he was likely innocent, but he’d gone to jail, anyway. In a twist of pure irony, his infamous crime spree had begun after he’d emerged from prison. Some chalked it up to revenge. Some said it was a tribute to the woman he’d loved and lost. Regardless, he’d amassed a fortune in stolen gems, which had yet to be recovered.
“If you’re anything, you’re thorough.” Aurora watched with astonishment as he added the barbed wire to their growing pile of evidence. “Any particular reason one of these pieces of garbage looks different than the others?”
“Sorry, ma’am.” He tipped her chin up for a kiss. “I’m not allowed to discuss an ongoing investigation.” He knew he was walking a fine line, considering how much he’d already involved her.
She wrinkled her nose at him, eyes shining like she was having the time of her life. “That stinks almost as much as you do right now.”
He snickered. “Thanks for being my partner in crime despite the stench.”
“Wait a sec!” She backed mockingly away from him with both hands raised. “I had no idea you were dragging me over to the dark side. Do I need to hire a lawyer?”
“What for?” He pulled his jacket over his nose to make himself look like a highway robber. “If anyone asks, just tell ‘em you didn’t see anything.”
“But I did.” Aaron Cannon’s voice broke coldly over them.
A.J. lowered his jacket from his nose and faced the biggest bane of his existence. “Any updates on Trooper?”
Aaron pushed back his Stetson to scowl at him. “Yep. Someone found him wandering around the lake.”
Aurora clapped her hands triumphantly. “You can thankmy boyfriendfor launching the search party,” she bragged. “He had them scrambling all over each other to do his bidding.” She planted a brazen kiss on his lips.
Aaron flinched as he watched them. “Guess that explains why the woman who brought Trooper home acted like she deserved an Olympic medal.”
“All I did was appeal to their sense of decency.” A.J. wasdeeply touched by Aurora’s praise as well as her public show of affection. She seemed determined to wear down her brother’s resistance to the idea of them dating. A.J. still wasn’t sure what Aaron had against him. Aaron didn’t yet know A.J. was trying to put him behind bars, so it couldn’t be that.
