Crime in the Country

By Annette Dashofy

CRIME IN THE COUNTRY is a collection of short stories featuring characters from the Zoe Chambers Mysteries. All have been published previously, either on Annette Dashofy's website or in other publications. This anthology brings them together in the order they happened, although not in the order they originally appeared.

"A Christmas Rescue" features the search and rescue call where Zoe Chambers and the brand-new chief of police, Pete Adams first meet.

"A Signature in Blood" first appeared in the Winter 2006-07 issue of Mysterical-E Magazine and was the short story that inspired the series. It was also nominated for the 2007 Derringer Award.

"Sweet Deadly Lies" first appeared in Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales, an anthology from the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime. It introduces Officer Abby Baronick, Detective Wayne Baronick's kid sister, prior to her joining the Vance Township Police Department.

"Las Posadas-A New Mexico Christmas" revisits the cast from No Way Home.

"A Christmas Delivery" has Chief Pete Adams searching for the Vance Township version of the Grinch who stole Christmas.

"Secret Santa" features Pete's dad Harry Adams and his lady friend who try to solve a string of thefts at Golden Oaks Assisted Living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Annette Dashofy
• Release date: Oct 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201718930

Book preview

A Christmas Rescue

H ave you met the new police chief?

Zoe had been asked this same question at least twice a day for a week. This time it was her best friend Rose posing the question with the same level of eager anticipation as Rose’s five-year-old daughter when asking about Santa Claus. Not yet, Zoe said.

I hear he’s handsome.

Better not let Ted hear you talking about other men like that.

Ted knows I’m only interested in other men for you.

I heard the new chief’s married.

Really? Rose couldn’t have looked more disappointed if she’d learned Ted hadn’t been able to buy the diamond earrings she’d been hinting about for the last three months.

Truthfully, Zoe had no idea if the new police chief was married, single, handsome, homely, or even if he was straight. All she knew was what everyone else knew. Long time Vance Township Police Chief Warren Froats had retired the first of November. Interim Chief Jimmy Romano had neither the interest—nor the support of the township supervisors—to move into the job in more than a temporary capacity. In fact, he’d only agreed to lead the small, rural department until the first of December. Now it was Christmas Eve, and he was still holding the position. The final thing Zoe knew was the supervisors had tapped a police sergeant from Pittsburgh to take over the job on January first.

Happy New Year.

Rose eyed the two shopping bags Zoe deposited on the kitchen table and the brightly wrapped packages poking out of the top. You didn’t have to bring these over today. You could’ve brought them tomorrow.

I’m working.

On Christmas? The disappointment of the new man in town being married took a back seat to the disappointment of Christmas not panning out as Rose had planned.

The ambulance is gonna have a skeleton crew as is. A bunch of us single folks volunteered to man the station tonight and all day tomorrow so the happily marrieds could be with their families.

You worked on Thanksgiving too.

That was my regular shift. Catching the disapproval in Rose’s eyes, Zoe added, I’ll have New Year’s Eve off though.

Oh, whoopty-do. Are you gonna go out?

Maybe.

Rose gave her an all-knowing, skeptical glare.

Zoe had no intention of spending New Year’s Eve out on the town. For one thing, she’d sworn off men after her last of several disastrous relationships. For another, every penny she earned with Monongahela County EMS went to rent a tiny apartment above a vacant storefront on Dillard’s Main Street and to pay board at a local farm for her horse. That didn’t leave anything extra for a frivolous night of horns, noisemakers, watered-down drinks, and sloppy drunks kissing her at midnight.

Wish Ted and the kids a merry Christmas for me. Zoe gave her friend a hug and beat a hasty retreat out the door.

Rose’s words trailed after her. You need to get out and have some fun.

The crew lounge at the ambulance garage boasted way more Christmas decorations than Zoe’s apartment. Some overly happy and eager paramedic/elf had decorated a tree and strung garland and red ribbons everywhere.

Everywhere.

Have you met the new police chief yet? This time the question came from her partner for the holiday shift, Barry Dickson, but at least he didn’t make the new chief sound like fresh dating-meat up for grabs.

No. Have you?

Uh-uh. But I saw a moving van down on Second Street in Dillard. I thought you might have bumped into him.

Second Street—there was no Third or Fourth or Fifth Streets in Dillard—was Ted and Rose’s street. Zoe had spotted a moving van at a house a couple blocks down when she’d left but didn’t realize it was the new chief’s house. Nope. I haven’t.

Barry made a humming noise in this throat. I wonder what he’s gonna be like. He’s from the city, you know?

I heard.

Couldn’t the stupid supervisors find someone local?

The township police force consists of three cops. Of those, the only one remotely qualified is Jimmy and he doesn’t want the job.

"Not that local. Certainly there’s a cop somewhere in the county who’d be willing and able."

Zoe shrugged. I have no idea. Nor did she care. As a paramedic, most of her interactions with the police department involved the cops directing traffic at emergency scenes. The old fart who’d just retired liked to drop in at the ambulance garage to either mooch a cup of bad coffee or scare the daylights out of the junior crew members with threats of tossing them in jail if he caught them misbehaving in his township. Several of them had gone out to celebrate when Froats finally hung up his badge.

The sound of the emergency tones drifted back to the lounge from the office. Zoe glanced at the clock on the wall. Four fifteen p.m. on Christmas Eve. She and Barry exchanged looks. No time was good for needing an ambulance, but she knew this would be especially bad.

A moment later, Tony DeLuca’s voice called out. All hands on deck. We have a missing kid.

The missing kid in question was twelve-year-old Frankie Walker, who apparently had run away from his home on the edge of the Pennsylvania State Game Lands. Police, fire, and EMS had been ordered to a staging area set up in a parking area used by hunters. Zoe and Barry arrived at an already crowded lot by four-thirty. The heavy gray sky of an early dusk had started to shed fat, lazy snowflakes with the weather forecast calling for three to six inches by morning. Everyone had been ecstatic. A white Christmas! But with a pre-teen out there somewhere, Zoe and the rest of the crew tasked with finding him greeted the news with considerably less enthusiasm.

Emergency personnel gathered in a mass circle around a state trooper, Vance Township Acting Chief of Police Jimmy Romano, Phillipsburg’s chief of police, and Vance Township Fire Chief—and Rose’s husband—Ted Bassi. A fifth man wearing jeans, a hooded Carhartt jacket, and a Vance Township PD ball cap, stood with them.

Barry elbowed her. That’s the new chief.

Even in the gathering dusk, she could tell the new guy held a commanding presence. And she could imagine Rose whispering in her ear, He’s really good looking.

Ted took a step forward and called out. Quiet. Everyone quiet down, please.

The rumbled conversations faded until the only sound was the hiss of the wind through the dead grass and bare tree branches surrounding the parking lot.

Ted made quick work of introducing the men with him, including Pete Adams whom Ted referred to as incoming chief of police and then got down to the business at hand.

"We’re looking for a twelve-year-old male, four foot ten, approximately one hundred pounds. Brown hair, brown eyes. According to his mother, he’s wearing a black winter jacket, jeans, and snow boots. He left tracks in the snow behind his house indicating he’d walked into the game lands, but his mom lost the trail and called us. The boy is familiar with the area and is reportedly despondent over the recent split between his parents.

We’re going to be in total darkness in very short order, so make sure you have your flashlights and extra batteries.

At that point, he ordered the assembled search party to break into teams and to spread out.

Barry slung a backpack filled with basic first aid and survival supplies over his broad shoulders. Zoe carried the oversized Maglite and clipped the two-way radio to her belt. Loaded down, they strode toward the search area they’d been assigned with just enough gray daylight lingering to not yet need the flashlight. Around them, teams called out the boy’s name over and over.

Acres of rolling reclaimed strip mines surrounded the parking area. For the first few minutes, other teams remained in view although appearing as ghostly silhouettes through the veil of snow. Soon, Zoe lost visuals on the other searchers. Haunting voices calling Frankie carried, barely audible, over the rising howl of the gale. Every few strides, Zoe and Barry took turns adding their own voices to the wind.

You’ve ridden horses out here, haven’t you? Barry asked between