Grave New World: A Jane Ladling Mystery

Jane entered Jacob Thacker’s home directly behind Conrad. Built in the Tudor revival style that had inexplicably taken hold in the late 1940s, the steeply pitched roof cast long shadows over the lawn. He’d inherited the place from his grandmother and had done little updating to the compact foyer. An old hatstand waited by the door, and pictures of relatives from bygone centuries graced the walls.

Deputies sporting crime scene protective gear worked to process the scene, placing plastic numbers here and there, dusting for fingerprints and taking photos to document everything. Billy McCullough, the coroner, crouched beside the body, his lips in a grim line.

Conrad offered Jane a pair of latex gloves and a pair of booties, but she turned down the first and donned her own. His were a little too big; the reason she kept a baggy with multiple pairs of a smaller size inside her purse. And they were pink! Because crime solving didn’t have to be drab. She pulled the paper booties over her shoes.

One of Conrad’s newest hires, Deputy Poteet, stopped in her tracks upon spotting Jane, surprised. Then she shrugged and hurried on to do her job. Jane’s murder solve rate in this town was unsurpassed.