Culhane and Joe sat the kitchen counter.  Bonnie and Miss Phee pulled up stools alongside them. 

“Catch anything?” asked Bonnie.

“Not much but a foot,” said Joe tersely.

“A foot?” exclaimed Miss Phee.  “Where in heaven did anyone lose a foot out there?”

“Honey, it was a woman’s foot in a running shoe.  Didn’t look to be chewed on much, either, like it hadn’t been in the water all that long.  We left it with the authorities.”  Culhane took a big munch of his grilled cheese.

“Seems like they oughta be able to catch up with the foot person,” said Miss Bonnie.  “This has been going on for a while now.  You remember when the last one was, Joe?”

“Not exactly,” said Joe,” but I think it was found over by Lopez Island.

“They been showing up for a couple of years now, here and there around Puget Sound.”  Bonnie dished up more soup for Culhane, who had drained his.

He thanked her and listened intently.

Over the past several years, various sorts of feet had been washing up or like the one found today, hooked by fishermen.  Today’s find might be traced through DNA but nobody knew for sure how that worked.  They didn’t speculate.

“Seems like there would be a reason for a person losing a foot, I should think,” said Miss Phee.  The phone rang.

Bonnie answered the phone.  It was for Culhane, who picked up.  “Callendret speaking,” he said.  “Well, I’ll be danged.  That’s you, huh.  Haven’t heard from you in quite a while.  You heard about the find.  Ahh.  Mmmhmm.  I was thinking along the same lines, actually.  I don’t think there’s any connection in the sorts of feet that were found, but yeah, it sounds like him alright.  Jeesh, I hate to think where they lost them.  Yeah.  Gruesome is pretty much it.  Oh,  she was real nice.  I didn’t see any of the others.  I’d appreciate that.  We’re supposed to be on vacation , you know.”  Culhane hung up the phone.

“That was my buddy, Deets, from the Bureau.  They’re not gonna send anyone over.  They took the foot to headquarters in Seattle.  They’re gonna check it out.  They figure we’re on vacation,  we’re gonna stay that way.  Meanwhile, that slice of pie looks awful neat, Miz Bell.”  Bonnie handed him the slice of apple pie and poured fresh coffee all around.