by CeeCee James
“You look like a wooly lamb, that’s what. Anyway, did you guys click?”
I was suddenly perturbed at the idea that she had tried to set me up. What was it with people being so unsatisfied to see a single person now-a-days? “He seemed nice.”
“You haven’t had many prospects. Just the baker up the street. I think you should get out.”
There were many responses I wanted to give her, but I swallowed them in a mighty effort of self-control and managed to squeak out a thank you. She was as pleased as punch at her match-making skills and spent the rest of the day in a rosy mood.
I was glad to have his name and scribbled it down on the receipt before I forgot. The rest of the day rolled by in chunks of brooding about the corpse and why he was at our house, and checking my phone to see if William had texted back about Nikki. My nerves were fried when it was time to clock out.
The drive home was no better. It was a beautiful early summer evening, but I couldn’t appreciate it. Worry weighed even heavier now, like a dense scarf across my shoulders. Where was Nikki? Was she okay? And why hadn’t William gotten back to me?
It was the weirdest thing to stress over someone I’d never met, at least that I remembered, and have that zing of urgency rattling my nerves. And even worse to realize there was nothing I could do if she didn’t answer my email.
I turned into the driveway. The field was outlined in gray-gold from the setting sun. Immediately my feet marched toward the barn, carrying me there as if they had a mind of their own. The barn called to me, offered solace and comfort. Animals listened better than most people I knew.
The clean scent of hay and warmth hit me as soon as I opened the door. I glanced at the ladder that connected up to the loft. As much as I could use his assistance with Rosy, I was actually thankful Freckles was away at Sharon’s. He was a great help around the farm, but somehow having him live here had dampened the barn as my special place.
I dragged a hay bale over to the piglets’ pen and sat, leaning against the edge of their corral. They were mellow today and lay in piles of warm grunting sleepiness. One lazily opened an eye and blinked white eyelashes at me before snuggling deeper into his straw.
I breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh bedding. As I sighed, the same little piggy opened his eyes again. This time he struggled to his feet and stumbled over, his tail drooping between his legs.
I hung my arm over the wall, and he sniffed it with a little oink. He moved until he positioned my fingers on his back where he wiggled to give himself a scratch. I was going to miss them when they were gone.
Corey Brickstone. That was the name I’d heard the officer say. How did he know us? More importantly, what did he want?
I checked my email again and rolled my eyes at no messages either from Nikki or William. What was I supposed to think? She might not even be missing. This could all boil down to something as simple as her needing a break from her dad.
“So what do you think?” I asked the piglet. “Do you think there really is something to panic about? And do you think she’ll message me back? She might think I’m just some whacko customer trying to stalk her or something. I’m not even sure William told her about me. I should have asked him. She might think of me the same way as I thought of her, as a wisp remaining from a childhood dream.”
I scratched the piglet some more. As I leaned over, there was a tug on my shirt from the other stall. It was Jelly.
“You jealous?” I patted the little goat for a minute. Freckles spent time with them every night so they were probably lonely with him gone. Now Bean butted my hand so I gave him some attention as well. It only took a second before they were both standing on their hind legs, trying to climb over one another for a chance to be scratched.
And then the bleating started.
“Shh. All right, kids. You’re okay.” Hoping to quiet them down, I fed them some old carrot tops from the bin and then hurried out.
A splotch of color caught my attention as I walked toward the house. In a lovely arrangement, wrapped in crinkling pastel plastic, sat a bouquet of flowers on the first step. They were so fragrant that I could smell them as I approached.
Who had left them? They must be for Tilly. I sat on the top tread and bent my head to take in another sniff. They reminded me of an enormous rose bush at my mom’s house. A bush that had once only been a small pot of two scraggly stalks. Mom had rescued it, wilting and forlorn, from a 1/2 off garden sale and planted it on one hot summer day with as much care as if it had been a prize rose. “It’ll grow, Chelsea,” she’d assured me.
And it sure had. It had grown so big, in fact, that it eventually had covered my bedroom window, which had been very helpful to hide me sneaking in and out of the house as a teenager.
However, these flowers here weren’t the giant velvety-petaled roses of my youth. Instead they were spidery bunches of peach, that curled at the end. They were so pretty and unique looking, the splash of color against the white of the porch railing, that I snapped a picture with my phone. I was about to gather them up when I spotted a note tucked underneath one of the blossoms.
I plucked it out and unfolded the card. “Can’t thank you enough for the pictures.”
So they were for Tilly, then. Probably from one of her clients. I folded the card back into the envelope and picked up the bouquet. Sniffing them deeply, I brought them inside.
“Wow! Those are impressive! Did you just get them?” Tilly asked as she walked down the stairs. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and her cheeks red from being fresh out of the shower. She held a handful of clothes in her arms and walked into the kitchen. I followed after her to get a vase.
“Actually, they’re for you. They were waiting by the door. So I guess your question means you didn’t see who left them?”
Tilly’s forehead wrinkled. She dumped the clothing into a box perched on a chair. Several more boxes were stacked on the floor. “I didn’t see anyone but I was in the bathroom.”
“I missed them too. I was in the barn. Where’s Emma?”
“She’s in her room playing dolls. Were you saying goodbye to the piglets?”
“Yeah. I’m going to miss those little rascals.” I found a glass pitcher and filled it with water, and then slowly added the flowers.
“It’s sad, but they are going to good homes. 4-H kids who are super excited to raise them.” Her eyebrows lowered. “That’s weird.”
“What’s the matter? What’s weird?” I froze with a lilac in my hand in mid-arrangement.
“I swear that peach one is the same flower that was in the bucket.”
“Wait. What?” I examined the arrangement.
“Yeah. The flowers by the pond. Wasn’t there one like that in the mix of them?”
“I’m trying to remember. Honestly, the dead body took up the forefront of the memory. Here, read the card.” I handed it over.
Tilly scanned it quickly. “Hm. Must be from Dwayne. I just did that shoot for him for his bar.” She leaned to sniffed the flowers. Wrinkling her nose, she pushed the bouquet away. “I don’t like them. Get rid of them, would you?”
I’ll admit, I was a bit startled. “What?”
“They smell weird. I think you should throw them out. They remind me of a funeral.”
Well that little word picture broke any endearment I held for them. I grabbed them out of the water and chucked them in the trash.
She flashed me a guilty expression. “Sorry, Chelz. I know. I’m being weird. Maybe it’s the stress of having to travel again. I’m going to miss my baby girl. I don’t know if I can really do this.”
“It’s not forever, Tilly. One day, you are going to be famous. She’s going to be so proud of you. And I’m here. I’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”
“This time you’ll only have her for a few days. Her dad is arriving home soon and he’ll take her then.” She took a shirt from the pile she’d been holding and held it up to herself. Sighing, she folded it and placed it in the box.
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br /> “It’’ll be fine, no matter what. Now what are you doing?”
“I wanted to declutter my closet before I left. It’s been an insane amount of work.”
“I imagine so. That’s a lot of boxes.” I walked over to one that hadn’t been sealed and poked open the lid. “Is that your pink shirt?”
She pulled it out. “Look, it’s two sizes too big. And this one is too small. These were my after-Emma clothes. And the skinny clothes are from my divorce diet. Finding out he cheated practically killed me. I’ve kind of settled in the middle of those sizes now.”
“You look great. Balanced now.”
“That’s one way to say it. Anyway, they both represent different things. The after Emma clothes are my thoughts and dreams for a bigger family. My skinny clothes are ones that I don’t want to live like to fit into again. The grief diet. It’s time to let things go.” She taped the box top shut.
My cell rang. I pulled it from my pocket to see it was my mom.
Waving at Tilly, I headed upstairs to my bedroom. “Hi, Mom! How are you?”
“Good, honey. How are you?” Her voice lowered. “I heard the awful news.”
Of course she did. Even though she lived a few towns over, there was no keeping bad news away from her. “How did you find out?”
“My hairdresser told me. Apparently, she knows one of the young officers who answered the call this morning. Dear, you really should have called.”
“I know. Sorry. It was shocking.”
“And do you have any idea who he was?”
I flopped on my bed to stare at the ceiling. “We have absolutely no idea. It’s kind of creepy. There was no abandoned car, or anything. Maybe he was a hiker or someone wandering through.” I shivered at the thought.
“That is beyond bizarre. Is Tilly home yet?”
“She’s home, but she’s just getting ready to head out for another photo shoot. She’ll be gone for at least a week.” It was my mom, so I didn’t bother keeping the glumness out of my voice.
“Oh, poor baby. So you’ll be the sole farm girl again, hmm? I never thought I’d see the day. You used to be so scared of spiders when you were a kid. You even screamed at sugar ants!”
I huffed and briefly considered trying to bluster my way out, but it was of no use. I still was scared.
Her voice softened. “Have you had any news on your sister, Nikki?”
“No. I’ve been trying to reach out to her.”
“Is William being a help?”
“Sort of. We had one phone conversation, but since then, I haven’t been able to get hold of him. It’s like he dropped off the planet.”
She sighed. “That’s his original MO.”
“Well, it’s only been since this morning, so I’m giving him a chance. I really need to hear back from him, though.”
“Maybe you can check where he works? Last I heard he was at Grant’s Construction.”
“That’s a good idea. I—”
There was a tap on my door, and Tilly poked her head in. Her mouth was tight, and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.
I raised my brows, questioningly.
“I have some news,” she whispered, seeing I was on the phone. She walked over on tip-toes. In her hand was a note which she passed over to me.
I gasped as I read it. “Are you serious?”
Chapter 5
“Hang on a sec, Mom.” I read the paper again and then looked up at Tilly for confirmation.
“I guess it’s true.” She crossed her arms and pursed her lips in a ‘can you even believe it?’ expression.
“How do we know this is true?”
“Officer Orville just called. He’s on his way over here right now with a few questions.”
The room seemed to reel for a moment while I tried to digest the information. I swallowed and then addressed the phone. “Uh, Mom. I guess we have a bit more information about Nikki, after all. ”
“Really? And what’s that?”
“The guy who died in the pond was her boyfriend.”
She sucked in a breath. “Are you kidding me? Her boyfriend? What would he be doing there at your place?”
I held the phone to my chest. “What do you think, Tilly?”
“I think he was here to see you. What else makes sense? He had to be.”
She was right. Which meant that Nikki had to know about me as well.
“Chelsea? Where are you?” Mom asked.
“Oh. Sorry, Mom. I have no idea why he would have come here. What could he have wanted from me?”
Tilly crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “I don’t know, but expect to have an answer soon because Officer Orville will be here any minute.”
Mom heard her this time. “Oh, my gosh. The police are coming?”
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m practically on a first name basis with them.”
“Chelsea!” The indignation-infused voice proved she was not amused.
“I’ve got to go, Mom. I’ll call you later.”
“You better!” she threatened, and we hung up.
Tilly barely had time to bribe Emma to stay in front of the TV with a popsicle before Officer Orville had pulled into the driveway. We shot each other nervous glances and walked down the front steps to meet him.
“Ladies.” Officer Orville slammed his door. His boots crunched in the driveway gravel as he walked slowly toward us. As he drew nearer I could see sweat popping out on his forehead and upper lip. “So I hear there might be a connection with the corpse to the two of you after all? Anything you want to tell me?” He did not sound happy.
“I’m shocked at the news,” I answered. “I’m not sure if I can help you.”
“So you heard the deceased man is connected to a Miss Nikki Campbell. And that is your sister?”
“I—”
Before I could finish, Rosy decided to make her presence known. She stretched her neck over the fence and mooed loud enough to rival a space shuttle launch.
Officer Orville flicked an annoyed eyebrow as he glanced in her direction. He straightened his shoulders, causing the belt around his waist to creak from the buckle’s tentative grasp on the last hole of the leather. He tried again. “You were saying?”
“I said, I—”
Rosy mooed even louder. Her muscles strained through her pelt in her desperation to reach us. Of course, that set Jasper off into a rousing barking accompaniment.
“What is that cow’s problem?” asked Officer Orville. At least I thought that’s what he said. His mouth was moving in that direction, anyway.
Tilly hollered back. “She sees me and wants her neck scratched and her carrot treat. She’s wondering why I’m delaying.”
He gestured with his pen. “Well, go scratch her or we’ll never get this done.”
Tilly nodded and hurried over to the fence. Jasper followed hot at her heels as Rosy continued to bawl.
The cow loved the attention. She made a rumbling noise and lifted her nose in the air so Tilly could reach the full length of her neck. It made me smile. That cow was an old softy, underneath the stubbornness.
“Okay. Let’s try this one more time,” Officer Orville said. He watched me pointedly, his pen ready against the notepad. “Was Nikki Campbell your sister?”
“Yes. I’ve only met her once, and that was back when we were both three or four.”
“I see.” He scribbled in his book. “And nothing since then?”
I shook my head. “I actually didn’t know I had a sister until recently.”
“Then why do you think Corey Brickstone came by here to see you?”
“I really have no idea. But I’ve recently reconnected with our father. He’s been looking for her because he was worried that she might be in trouble.”
“Did your father tell you why he was worried about her?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“What’s his name?”
“William Campbell.”
He scrawled that down. “Do you have any other siblings or family we could contact that would know about Nikki?”
“Not that I know of. There’s my mom but she hasn’t heard from or seen Nikki since I last have.”
“Let me have her number, just to check for myself.”
My mouth felt dry. Nikki and I had the same dad, but two different moms. “She’s not related to her.” He gave me a glare so I rattled it off.
He wrote that down as well. “Okay, is there anything else that you think might be helpful? Anything we should know?”
I shook my head. “No, I think that’s it.”
Officer Orville turned toward Tilly, who by now was having a full blown conversation with her cow. “And how, about you, ma’am? Know anything about Nikki Campbell?”
Tilly shook her head. “I know less than she does. I’m surprised there was a connection with the man’s death to us at all.” Rosy nudged her shoulder to remind her to keep scratching.
Officer Orville snapped the notebook shut. “All right, ladies. You both have my number. If you can think of anything, please let me know.”
We promised we would, and he headed back to his car.
Tilly gave the cow one final pat. Rosy seemed to know visiting time was over and moseyed away in the direction of her metal feeder trough.
“Well, that was interesting,” she said dryly. “I feel like I’m a horrible friend and totally leaving you with your hands full. I’m having some extra feed brought in tonight, so you won’t be stuck again. And they will be taking the piglets too.
I smiled confidently. “We’ll be fine.” But in my heart I wasn’t feeling the same way.
Just then, another truck drove up the driveway.
It was silver.
Chapter 6
“Terrific. Now who?” I asked.
Tilly glanced over and rolled her eyes. “Oh, no. Not him.”
Him? Alarm flicked through me as I stared at her, but she was already walking away to meet the truck. Her body language said everything. The way she stood with her hands on her hips made me think there might be fireworks erupting soon.
