Killer Bay

Death By Moonshine

On a dirt road in the forest . . .

"Hey, Adalet," Frank says as they drove along the bumpy dirt road, "do you know what this red light means on the dashboard? It's been blinking for a while. I just hope this clunker makes it home before beer o'clock!"

Adalet leaned over to see the light, "Frank, that's the fuel indicator! We're almost empty!"

"You're saying it's the fuel indicator? But . . . The tank was nearly full this morning!" he assured gripping the wheel tighter, "I can't believe this! Just what we need, getting stranded in the woods like a couple of girl scouts."

"And if the cops at the station hear about this . . ." she groaned.

"You're right, Adalet, if we call the station for help we'll never live it down! At least I won't!" he added, "just wait until Andrea finds out I can't even be trusted to fill up the car."

"Did we pass by a bar a few minutes ago?" she asks not believing what she was suggesting.

"Genius idea, Adalet! We should go to that little bar we've just passed by! The Mad Cow! Somebody will help us out with a can of gas!" he says making a hard U-turn once the road widened out.

A few moments later, at The Mad Cow Bar . . .

"At least the car was kind enough to stop near the only bar in the forest! What do you think of the place, Adalet?" Frank asked as they entered the smelly bar, "I've been here a couple of times . . . It's the only decent place around here."

"I'm not a big fan of the decorations . . ." Adalet admitted as she saw all the taxidermied animals around the room.

"You think the decoration's weird? Well, yeah, it's tacky," he agrees, "but, you know, it's just a jive bar, not an art gallery, ha-ha!"

"I meant this!" she says as she hopped up onto the stage and pointed to a head-mounted to the wall.

"Oh, you mean this . . . This . . . Holy smokes! You're right!" he cried seeing the human head, "what's wrong with that decoration?! OK, folks, nobody moves until Capt. Adalet has examined the place!"

The few patrons that were in the bar bolted before Frank could stop them, but they allowed the drunken men to leave as they wouldn't be helpful in their current states. Adalet reached the center of the stage as she pulled on a pair of gloves and got a scalpel out of her case. She pried the head off the plaque as Dean paws at a broken board and Hunter picked up a wallet.

"Frank," Adalet says as she finished removing the head from the wall, "if this is what you call tacky, I don't want to visit your house!"

"Agreed, Adalet, a human head on the trophy mount definitely takes tacky to a whole new level! I know the woman who runs this joint, I'll find her for you straight away," Frank promised turned to face the bar, "hey! Hey, Betty-Lou, come over here for a minute! Capt. Adalet wants to know if you recognize this man!"

"Eeeek! It's Sammy, Sammy the Swindler! I mean, Sammy Duncan! Of course, I recognize him! He's a regular, he . . ." the woman behind the bar backed up until her back hit the wall, "aaaaaahhh . . ."

"Betty-Lou?" the detective walked over and peeked over the bar, "ah, well, I guess the severed head was too much for her. But don't worry about her, Adalet, we'll talk to her when she's feeling better."

"In the meantime, I sent word to the station about this," Adalet says as she placed the head on a plastic evidence bag, "they'll be here soon to pick up the head."

"I see you've already arranged to have this head sent to Roxie. Imagine her excitement when she opens the parcel!" he laughed, "and you've already made some progress with the crime scene, too! A broken blackboard? My eyes are too old for puzzles in this dim light, Adalet, but you're really good with patching things up!"