The Canyon Creek Murders

*Chapter 7*

"Oh, erm, good, err, morning Sam," Deputy Miller stuttered, appearing to be quite startled at having company so early.

"Good......Morning....," Sam replied, somewhat hesitantly.

"Sorry, caught me off guard there," Deputy Miller explained. "Wasn't expecting anyone in for a long while yet," he added, with a slight suppressed chuckle in his voice.

Sam laughed a little before responding. "Didn't mean to scare you. I woke up early so I thought I'd get up and make the drive into town just in case. You know first time an' all that. To be honest, I was heading towards the diner, but I saw the lights on, and well... here I am," Sam told him, holding his arms out wide as if he were presenting himself.

"Still, plenty of time to do that if you like," the deputy told him. "The Sheriff won't be here for another half an hour, at least."

"No, I'm here now," Sam replied with a slightly reluctant tone in his voice. "I don't suppose they do deliveries by any chance?" he added hopefully.

Harrison Miller laughed out loud at that suggestion. "No, I'm afraid not. They do have a couple of servers that help out during the busier times but essentially, it's only the two of them in there. Ethan, whom I believe you met yesterday, and his wife Kira. One of them will open up and cover the morning shift then the other comes in around lunchtime to cover the afternoon and then lock up again in the evening. The following week they usually switch over and do the opposite shift so if you want anything in particular then you'll need to know who's working but you'll soon get used to that."

"Oh, so they don't cook the same food then?" Sam questioned, slightly bemused at that thought.

"Well, the bulk of the menu yes. They both cover all the main meals etcetera, but they do have their own specialties also. Like those brownies you had yesterday."

"Oh, they were amazing," Sam interrupted.

"Yes, they are," Harrison nodded. "But if you want one of them you need to catch it when Ethan is there. That recipe is so secret even his own wife doesn't know it!" Sam laughed but appeared to be baffled by that revelation. "I know. Bakers huh?" the deputy added, noticing the quizzical look on Sam’s face.

"I guess so," Sam responded, although still looking slightly puzzled.

"Not the way I would do it either, but it obviously works for them, and they both seem happy enough so good luck to them," Harrison added. Sam nodded his agreement before the deputy spoke up again. "That said, Kira does do a really good peach cobbler which is well worth checking out."

"Sounds good," Sam responded slowly, raising a smile once more.

"Oh, and once a month they usually do a special," Harrison continued. "They are quite popular actually. Last month we had an Italian night, the month before they did a Mexican night. Mm, that was so good." Harrison closed his eyes and almost visibly salivated at the mention of that before continuing once more. "It’s usually on a Friday night, so some folks even finish work a little early head on over to the diner for the special, and then have a little get-together at the bar after. It’s a great atmosphere for that and usually a good night. Would be a great way to meet and get to know a few of the locals if you fancy it?"

"Sounds perfect, thanks for the tip," Sam smiled. "I'll keep an eye out for that."

The two of them continued chatting for a while before Sheriff Shanahan arrived along with Barry in tow. "Morning guys you're in early?”

"Yeah, I had a bad night," Harrison told him. "Couldn't sleep so I came in early to catch up with some of the clerical bits and pieces."

"Morning Sheriff," Sam greeted him. "I was just awake early, so I just thought I'd get going."

"Oh, I see, everything okay?" The Sheriff responded, looking concerned. "Also, when we’re amongst colleagues it's just Luke, OK?"

"No problem," Sam answered. "And yes, everything's fine. Honestly, the trailer seems great, and I had a really good night's sleep. I just woke up early. I did go to bed earlier than usual so not sure if that had anything to do with it but yeah, all good, and excited to get stuck in."

"Delighted to hear it," the Sheriff beamed. "Let's do exactly that then, shall we? To begin with, let's see what's on that video." He sat down at his desk, fired up his PC, and opened up the relative file while Harrison, Sam, and Barry all gathered around, eagerly anticipating its contents.

For the next hour, Sam and Barry looked on as the two locals examined the footage they had been given the previous afternoon. As they watched, they were also making notes on a map of the area attempting to track the route the hot air balloon had taken. The exercise finished with Sheriff Shanahan drawing a circle on the map where they believed the human hand had been spotted.

“Okay, well, we can't be one hundred percent certain, but we think what you're looking for is somewhere around here," the Sheriff announced turning towards Sam and Barry while highlighting the circled area with his pen. "And this is the best route we think you should be taking to get there," he then added, tracing his pen back along a line he had drawn between their intended destination and the take-off point where the balloon had begun its journey. "Now, unfortunately, both Harrison and I are otherwise engaged so I'm afraid you're going to be on your own for this one if that's OK?"

"No problem. Completely expected," Sam answered.

"Why you called us in the first place right?" Barry chipped in. The Sheriff raised his eyebrows and nodded his head noting his agreement with Barry's comment.

"But before we do anything we need to take you two shopping," he added looking them both up and down. Sam and Barry frowned at each other before the Sheriff explained further. "Trust me, you won't want to go hiking in a business suit, or business shoes for that matter. And make no mistake, once you get inside that canyon this will be a real hike."