byAs Detective Joan Castle parked her cruiser at the curb and headed for the entrance of the Jenkins Mini-Market, she regretted having to make the visit into the country. Earlier, Fred Jenkins, the owner, had called her station to report a robbery. Unlike with most such cases, Jenkins claimed he knew the thief, a man named Neal Ambrose, and that accusation had Joan unsettled.
Joan had known Neal since his high school days as an honest, hard-working individual. After graduation, he had held a variety of jobs until finally going to work for the U.S. Postal Service as a rural mail carrier. Recently engaged, Neal had taken over the route, including Joan’s address outside Woodhole, when Cy Slocum retired. Neal had even purchased Slocum’s specially-built sedan with the steering wheel on the rig
