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Tom Cantrell pulled his wife into his arms and back into the house to call Sheriff Morgan.

Within fifteen minutes the sheriff arrived annoyed as ever.

“This is the second time something like this has happened, Sheriff. Who would want to do something like this? That was my damn rooster.” Tom carried on until the sheriff calmed him down.

They spoke about possible suspects, but Tom didn’t have a clue.

“Well I’ll go by the Henleys’ and the Shays’ ask the boys if they’ve seen anything and to keep a lookout. I’m real sorry about this, Lynn and Tom.”

The Sheriff got into his patrol car and headed toward the Henley’s place. It was 5:45 a.m. but he knew they’d be up. He headed down the dirt road and saw a young woman jogging. Immediately he knew it was Lori Shay as he stopped the patrol car in front of the Henleys’ place.

“Good morning, Lori.”

* * * *

Lori regrettably stopped to be polite to the sheriff.

“Good morning, Sheriff. How are you?” she asked politely.

“Good…good. How about yourself? You’re running a little late this morning. Don’t you usually leave your house around 5:15?”

“I guess I was a little tired this morning. I suppose you know everything that goes on in this town, huh?”

“Pretty much, well, I’ll let you get back to your run. Are your parents home?”

“Yes, sir, Sheriff.”

“Lori, please call me J.R. For some reason when you say ‘Sheriff’ it makes me feel older and unattractive.” He winked. It was obvious he was flirting and she smiled back at him. He seemed pretty nice and she waved good-bye then went back to jogging. But she was still cautious and didn’t want to come across as being overly friendly. The past proved that people aren’t always as they seem.

* * * *

Charlie stood by the front porch and watched the sheriff talking to Lori. He noted the time and the fact that she was running a little late this morning. It was town knowledge that Lori jogged every morning and had the most stunning green eyes. For some strange reason it annoyed him how the other men in town talked about her, wanting to get to know her. A few of them made comments about asking her out at the barbeque today. Why should he care though? Lori was stuck up and unfriendly and acted like he had some kind of disease the way she pulled away from him the other day. It annoyed him even more that his mother thought she was wonderful after lunch yesterday and that his sister-in-law Michelle and brother Andrew thought the same thing. In his eyes she was probably just like most women, on the prowl, playing hard to get and nothing but heartache.

He took another sip of his coffee as J.R. drove up in the patrol car and headed toward the front porch.

“Morning, Sheriff. Get ya some coffee?”

“No thanks, Charlie, I just came from Old Man Cantrell’s place. He had some trouble out there this morning. The missus woke up to a bloody, headless rooster hanging from the front porch.”

“What? This is the second time something like this has happened. Who could be doing this?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Could be some stupid game some kids are playing. I wanted to see if any of you heard anything last night.”

“No, not a sound.” Just then Dante and Trevor came outside and they hadn’t heard anything either.

“Well keep a lookout for me and let me know if you see anything suspicious. I’ll see you all later at the barbeque.”

Chapter 5

The sun was bright and a gentle breeze kept the temperature at seventy-five degrees. Maggie was by the Hanson’s porch talking to Jasper along with Phil and Diana. The party had begun and guests were arriving. Everyone brought some kind of food, appetizers, side dishes, or desserts to go along with the main meal. The aroma of barbeque chicken and baby back ribs traveled through the air and outshined the typical hot dogs and hamburgers the children were beginning to eat.

Ben was playing with Michelle and Andrew’s son, Andy, and a bunch of other kids from town. He was having so much fun, laughing and enjoying the appropriate life for a five-year-old kid.

Charlie, Lou, Phil, and Matt were manning the barbeque, hand turning the ribs and chicken with such precision and master technique.

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; Lori was on her way across the yard to join the party. She arrived late due to the pains she was having in her arm and elbow. Everyone watched her cross the lawn as her long blonde hair danced in the breeze. The knee-length beige, floral skirt tapped against her long legs. The matching beige V-neck T-shirt accentuated her curves, and it was obvious that she was reserved but well endowed. She carried a light blue-jean jacket in her arms in preparation for the cool evening. Diana glanced at her husband who simultaneously looked from Lori to her. She smiled. Their daughter was gorgeous.