Wassahatchka County — The Burger Barn
A discharged army veteran is found dead in an alley way behind a local hamburger joint. investigating the potential murder leads midge and jake into the world of homeless, unemployed veterans and the wassahatchka county park system.
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“The arm looks strongly muscled, stringy and long, like somebody used to hard, physical labor, but not a body-builder type. Odd: there’s a silver or maybe stainless steel chain around his neck, though I can’t see what’s on the end of it — a cross, maybe? Maybe nothing.
It’s murder, all right. There’s a clear slash across the left side of his neck, right across the carotid artery, and just above that under his left ear is a puncture wound that looks like it was made with something small and very sharp, something pencil-sized or even smaller. An ice pick? The blanket is stiff from a lot of dried blood. I don’t need to look further; I know I’m not going to find any bullet holes, probably no other marks of violence. Whoever did this man in knew exactly what he — or she — was up to. Probably the small wound was made first to incapacitate the victim, then the slash across the carotid finished him off. Looks professional to me, like a gang hit. But who would want to kill some old looney homeless man who carries a strange sign around?”
— Deputy Sheriff Midge Sumpter
— Sign: “Unemployed Psycho Killer: No Amount Will Help.” - Sgt. Francis Trujillo, Army Special Forces — Black Ops