9

9

He entered the sheriff’s station, and it was a calm and quiet environment, similar to usual. It appeared that their front desk person wasn’t working that day, but that was hardly surprising. Claudia was usually part-time at best, since it was a quiet town that rarely required any major intercession. Sheriff Dillon Starr and Deputy Juno Lane, along with a third deputy, though that position was currently unfilled, managed to handle everything that arose in their town—everything except this unsettling matter, which was new to all of them.

Juno looked up from her desk, which was positioned where she could greet people in case Claudia wasn’t available. She nodded to him and said, “The sheriff said you might stop by after he spoke with your father.”

“It seemed like the thing to do. Were you the one who found the fliers, Juno?”

The tall brunette stretched as she pushed back from her desk and came over to stand near him. “It wasn’t me. Gus was coming in to do cleaning at City Hall, and he’s