To Sketch a Thief
Table of Contents
Praise for
Sketch Me If You Can
“Fast-paced and spirited, Sharon Pape’s mystery . . . introduces police sketch artist Rory McCain and her cranky, ethereal housemate Ezekiel Drummond.”
��Julie Hyzy, national bestselling author of
Grace Under Pressure
and the White House Chef Mysteries
“Police sketch artist Rory McCain, moonlighting as an amateur detective, assisted by the ghost of an 1870s federal marshall. Sharon Pape takes this improbable premise and makes it work—and how! Rory is memorable, her sidekick intriguing. Exceptionally well-written, a standout mystery. I’m looking forward to more.”
—Susan Witting Albert, national bestselling author of
The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies
“The fun in this lighthearted frolic is figuring out who the killer is before the heroine and her poltergeist partner do. Readers will admire and adore the intrepid heroine.”
—
Genre Go Round Reviews
“This is the first in a new series, and it looks like it’s going to be a fun ride.”
—
CA Reviews
“Sharon Pape’s debut novel,
Sketch Me If You Can
(the first in her Portrait of Crime Mysteries), is part mystery, part paranormal and all spine-tingling suspense. This promises to be a great beginning to a dynamic ongoing series that both mystery lovers and paranormal fans will enjoy.”
—
Fresh Fiction
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Sharon Pape
SKETCH ME IF YOU CAN
TO SKETCH A THIEF
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
TO SKETCH A THIEF
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / June 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Sharon Pape.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eISBN : 978-1-101-52903-4
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®
PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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With love and gratitude to all the
four-legged members of our family,
past and present—Apollo, Buck, Kodi, Jesse,
Lyla and NikNak—who’ve enriched our lives
beyond mere human expectation.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank:
Michelle Vega, for seeing the forest as well as the trees. I couldn’t ask for a finer editorial eye.
Mike Farris, for helping me navigate the publishing world. I’m fortunate to have him in my corner.
Dr. Doreen Acuff, for the skilled and gentle care she’s given the canine members of our family. If not for her, we would have missed those wonderful last years with our amazing Jesse.
Dr. Alexander Mauskop and Lynda J. Krasenbaum, for giving me back my “eyes.”
My husband, Dennis, the first to read each chapter, for picking up on inconsistencies and flaws in logic, since logic and I have only a nodding acquaintance.
All the readers who were kind enough to write and let me know how much they enjoyed
Sketch Me If You Can
, the first book in this series.
And as always, my family and friends for their loving support.
I invite everyone to visit my website at
www.sharonpape.com
.
Any liberties I’ve taken with regard to veterinary care were solely for the purposes of the story.
The Long Islander
EST. 1839
September 7, 1878
Published in Huntington, New York
ARIZONA MARSHAL
MURDERED IN HUNTINGTON
Ezekiel Drummond, federal marshal for the Arizona Territory, was discovered dead of gunshot wounds to his back yesterday in the house belonging to Winston Samuels. Mr. Samuels has stated that upon returning from a trip into town to purchase feed for his horses, he found his thirteenyear-old daughter lying unconscious in the parlor with a gash to her head and bruises on her arms. The body of Marshal Drummond was lying nearby. Samuels further stated that the room was in disarray, as if there had been a scuffle, and that his hired hand, John Corbin, was missing along with one of his horses. A trail of blood led from the parlor through the kitchen and out to the barn, leading authorities to conjecture that Corbin had been wounded. The only weapon recovered at the scene was a Colt Single Action .45, favored by lawmen in the western part of the country. The Colt, which had not been fired, is believed to have been the property of the marshal.
When the young Miss Samuels regained her senses, she told a chilling tale of being overpowered by Corbin, who was determined to have his way with her. She remembers struggling to break free of his clutches, but claims to have no recollection of the events beyond that point. After a complete and careful examination of the young woman, Dr. Edmond Stuart has pronounced her quite fit, given the horrific nature of her experience. He has additionally stated that a bout of amnesia is not uncommon in a victim of such a tender age and sensibilities.
Upon contacting the office of the territorial governor in Arizona, it was learned that Marshal Drummond had left his post without notice two months earlier. It was believed that he was on the trail of a fugitive by the name of John Trask, who had raped and murdered several young girls, but this could not be corroborated. The authorities in Arizona are convinced that the hired hand, John Corbin, is in fact an alias of the above-mentioned Trask. Should anyone have additional information regarding this case, they are asked to present themselves at the office of the Suffolk County sheriff.
As Marshal Drummond was not known to have any kin, he will be laid to rest at The Burying Ground Cemetery tomorrow morning at eight o’clock with all rites and respects due any brave member of the United States Marshals Service.
