Claire and the Missing Heir

＂I just don’t know what to think of poor Mr. Johnson’s death,＂ CC said, stretching a toe out to pet Benji.

＂What do you mean? He’s dead.＂ I stroked Blackbeard from head to tail as he lay across my lap and part of the cushion next to me. He is a very, very big boy. CC rolled her eyes.

＂I know he’s dead, but how? And if it was murder, who did it? I just can’t imagine anyone we know is a murderer.＂ Her eyes took on a faraway look as if mentally going through a Rolodex of town members.

＂Well, I’m sure the hotshot new sheriff from the city will solve it in no time.＂

When Mr. Johnson, the abrasive and crotchety bank manager who was almost universally disliked, is found dead in his house under suspicious circumstances, best friends CC and Claire decide the new sheriff doesn’t know enough about small towns, and the people who live there, to solve the case. They begin asking questions, and generally annoying the sheriff, but one person points the finger at another until there are no answers, just more questions. With lots of reasons to want Mr. Johnson dead, what finally caused somebody to kill him? Could somebody they know really be a killer?

Claire’s inability to keep her thoughts to herself cause hurt feelings, hilarity, and bodily harm wherever she goes, but that won’t stop CC and Claire from trying to find who might be a murderer. Nor do the sheriff’s hopefully idle threats, and pointed statements, to keep out of his investigation. As far as Claire is concerned, he doesn’t have much of an investigation.

To make matters worse every time Claire and the sheriff are in the same area, he ends up injured. She didn’t mean to hit him with her car, or slap him, or hit him with a door, or feed him dog biscuits, or run over his foot, or ... well you get the idea. A smart person would avoid the walking hazard that is Claire, but the sheriff keeps turning up wherever Claire goes. Is it a coincidence, or something more? The sparks and injuries fly as Claire and the new sheriff both try to solve the suspicious death of Mr. Johnson.