Chapter 39
THE MOMENT BAR pulled into his front yard—if a patch of ground covered with nothing but bare earth and pine needles can be called a “yard”—he realized something was amiss. An inverted plastic five-gallon bucket sat beneath one window. It could have been put there for only one reason—so that someone could stand on it and look into his trailer. He found small shoe prints in the bare soil accompanied by the paw prints of a medium-sized dog. Then he saw the telltale tire marks and his suspicions were confirmed.
He made a quick check inside to assure that nothing had been taken or touched. Then he drove back up the rutted farm road to Ryman’s cottage. Nardell answered his knock.
“Where’s the boss man at?”
“I’m right here,” Ryman called from his office.
“Any idea what your old la
