by B. J Daniels
“Don’t worry,” Dorothea said not very convincingly. “It’s all going to be fine.”
But Poppy could see that something was wrong as Dorothea stepped over to the two-way radio they had used the day before to communicate when Lexi was lost.
Trying not to worry, she quickly went to the fireplace and started a fire, then headed into the kitchen to put the coffee on before she began breakfast. She had no idea what would happen next. But when she was upset, she cooked. People said they weren’t hungry in a crisis, but she’d found they would often change their minds when food was put before them.
She wanted to go outside and find Will. But she knew she wouldn’t be of any help out there. In the kitchen, she felt stronger, more capable and always useful. When she looked at the clock, she was surprised at how early it was. She’d had no idea what time it was. Outside there was nothing but falling and whirling snow as gusts sent the huge heavy flakes whipping past the windows.
In the main room, she could hear the pop of the blaze in the fireplace. She turned on the radio only to get the grim news. The winter storm was paralyzing not just the mountains but the valley, as well. No one had planned on the storm to come in so early or with such force. With the wind and the amount of precipitation, roads were closing. Everyone was warned to stay home unless it was an emergency.
With a tray of coffee, mugs, cream and sugar, Poppy went back into the main lounge. Apparently everyone had heard the weather report. They’d taken a seat in front of the fire, but no one was talking as she put down the tray.
“Coffee,” she said. “It will help you warm up.” When no one reached for a mug, she went back into the kitchen. Dorothea followed her and pulled her aside.
“Do you have any other powers besides cooking like you do?” the woman asked.
Poppy wanted to laugh, but she was too worried. Dorothea still thought she was a sorceress? “I’m afraid not.”
“That’s too bad because we could really use them right now,” the woman said in all seriousness. “I’ve done what I could, but it’s not enough. The landline is down and...” She dropped her voice even lower. “The two-way radio has been disabled.”
Poppy frowned at her, uncomprehending. “Are you saying—”
“Someone wanted to make sure we couldn’t get a call out to the sheriff.”
She couldn’t believe this. She glanced toward the lounge. “Who would—”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Big Jack is really dead?” Dorothea nodded. “What happened?”
The woman hesitated for a moment. She pulled Poppy even farther back into the kitchen so they couldn’t be heard. “He was murdered. In the barn. Lexi found him. Who knows what she was doing up in the wee hours of the morning. She says she was awakened by something, looked out and saw him and thought he looked strange, like he was sleepwalking. She was worried and followed him to the barn, but didn’t go inside because she got scared. She said that she looked down and saw that his tracks and hers weren’t the only ones in the snow. Someone was waiting in the barn for him.
“She was debating what to do when someone rushed out, knocking her down. She didn’t see the person’s face and could give no description. When she got up, she went into the barn, saw Big Jack and started screaming.”
“You think Big Jack had gone to the barn to meet someone?”
Dorothea shrugged. “Or had followed someone.”
“Does everyone know that he’s dead?” Poppy said, motioning toward the other room.
“That’s all they know. When they all came running up to the barn to see what was going on, Will sent them in here. He told Lexi not to repeat her story until she tells the sheriff. But I have no idea when that is going to be since the lines are down, and now with the two-way radio out... I suppose Will plans to drive her down when he goes to notify the sheriff. I don’t know. He won’t want to leave us here with a murderer.”
She felt her eyes widen. She hadn’t thought of that. “I just heard on the local station that a lot of the roads are already closed because of the amount of snow that’s fallen and still coming down. Because of poor visibility, it’s emergency traffic only,” Poppy told her.
“Well, I’d say this constitutes an emergency. I just wish they had all left yesterday.”
“The storm wasn’t supposed to hit until noon,” she reminded her. “Will told me that Big Jack had agreed to leave right after breakfast.”
“Is that why Will stopped by your room last night?”
Poppy didn’t answer even though she could hear the challenge in the woman’s voice. They had more to worry about now than a kiss and how dangerous it could be to take it any further. But it had been an amazing kiss, one that promised of things to come—if they didn’t stay away from each other.
“I’m going to make breakfast,” she said as she heard the front door open. They both moved to where they could see who’d entered. Allison was dressed and so was Mick. They both came in covered with snow. Behind them was Lamar and Will. Trailing even farther behind was Channing.
As the others made their way toward the roaring fire, Will came through the dining room to the kitchen. He immediately lowered his voice. “You’ve heard,” he said to Poppy. She nodded. His grim gaze shifted to Dorothea. “I tried the phone in the barn. The landline is down in here, too?”
The woman nodded. “But I have worse news. The two-way radio. Someone disabled it.”
Will swore. “Whoever killed Big Jack doesn’t want us getting help.” He shook his head and glanced toward the other room, looking as worried as Poppy was feeling.
“Are you going to try to get through the storm for help?” Dorothea asked.
He shook his head. “I need to be here to make sure all of you are safe. I sent Huck to notify the sheriff, but I’m not sure he can get through. With the storm like it is...”
“A lot of roads are closed. They’re saying emergency travel only,” Poppy told him.
“Let’s hope Huck gets through. He knows these roads and the best way to get down off this mountain. But if the valley is bad, too... Our only other option is to wait out the storm. Once the phone lines are up again we can call for help. In the meantime...”
“We’re trapped here with a killer,” Dorothea said, her voice breaking.
* * *
THEY ALL TURNED at the sound of someone coming into the kitchen behind them.
“Did you reach the sheriff?” Lamar asked, his voice rough with emotion.
Will stepped toward him, seeing how upset he was. “The landline is down because of the storm and as you know cell phones don’t work here even under the best weather. Apparently the two-way radio isn’t working, either.”
“We have to get help,” Lamar pleaded.
There was no help for Big Jack. All Will could do was hope that Huck got through to the sheriff. That didn’t mean, though, that the sheriff could get up to the ranch any time soon. He shook his head. “I’ve sent Huck for the sheriff. That’s all we can do at this point. Even if the roads weren’t closed because of the storm—”
“Don’t tell me we can’t get out of here,” Lamar said, sounding panicked.
“Please keep your voice down. I don’t want to scare the others.”
“They’re already scared,” he shot back.
Will hesitated, reminding himself that the man had just lost his father. “I sent Huck for help, but quite frankly, even if he can get through, I’m not sure the sheriff can reach us until the storm lets up. So I think we all need to settle in and make the best of it until the roads are open again. I’m sorry. In the meantime, we’ve locked up the barn. Your father’s body will be secure until the storm lets up and the sheriff can get here.”
Lamar raked a hand through his blond hair. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Neither can we,” Will said, glancin
g back at Poppy before he turned again to Lamar. He wished he hadn’t gotten her into this and yet he didn’t know what he would have done without her the past few days. “Do you know anyone who might have wanted to harm your father?”
The young man laughed and glanced toward the living room. “Just about anyone in that other room might have had reason to want him dead. I don’t know. He told me when we arrived that he thought someone was stealing from the company. It might be the reason he planned this retreat. It certainly wasn’t my idea.”
“Stealing from On the Fly. You don’t know who he meant?”
He shook his head. “But whoever killed him might have thought my father was onto them and wanted to keep him from having them arrested.”
That seemed a long shot. He also suspected that Lamar wasn’t telling him everything. It was one thing to be a thief. It was another to resort to murder to cover up the theft. He said as much to Lamar.
“Unless that person was desperate. I don’t know. This was all news to me. I wasn’t aware of any problems at the company.”
Will said, “Last night your father mentioned to me that he’d made enemies.”
Lamar laughed again. “True enough, but I have no idea who he was talking about. You know how he was—self-centered, impulsive and often clueless about other people’s feelings. He never met a rule he didn’t want to break. Or a woman he didn’t want to bed.” As if realizing he was talking about the dead and his father, he turned away with a curse.
When he spoke again, his voice was filled with emotion. “I loved my father, but he was a difficult man. We’d been butting heads over the company. I wish I knew what he hoped to accomplish with this out-of-the-blue retreat.” He met Will’s gaze. “Knowing him, he probably thought he’d draw out the thief. That would be just like him.” Lamar’s voice broke. “Apparently he succeeded.”
Will recalled that Big Jack had said he thought this would be his last visit to the guest ranch. “Is there any chance your father was ill?”
The question seemed to take the man’s son by surprise. “Ill?”
He told him what Big Jack had said.
Lamar shook his head. “I have no idea. That’s another thing about my father. He could have been dying and he wouldn’t think to share that kind of news with his sons.” Will saw his expression change. “Unless he told Mick. But even if Dad was dying, that doesn’t explain why anyone would want to kill him. In fact, why not wait until whatever disease he might have had did the job? Why risk murder?”
Good question, Will thought, and again suspected Lamar knew more than he was telling him.
* * *
POPPY HAD OVERHEARD the conversation before Lamar went back into the other room to join the others. Like Lamar, she couldn’t believe this was happening. Will had gone with him only to return looking even more worried.
“I don’t know how much you overheard,” he said, keeping his voice down. “Lamar thought there might have been a thief in the company and that Big Jack had hoped to expose the thief at this retreat. I suppose that could be a motive for murder if the person felt backed into a corner. Dorothea, what in heaven’s name are you doing?” Will barked the last, his nerves obviously frayed.
“I’m filling this bottle with herbs and spices to make a protection potion,” she said belligerently. “What do you think I’m doing? I need to go to my cabin for a white candle and my amethyst stone.”
Will rolled his eyes. Poppy could tell he didn’t really need this right now. “I was just about to say that we need to keep everything as close to normal as we can,” he said.
“I suspect this is normal for Dorothea,” Poppy whispered. The woman ignored them both. Poppy smiled at Will and met his gaze for a moment, reminded of their kiss. It was all she’d thought about last night lying in bed before she’d gone to sleep. “I’m going to make us a special breakfast.”
“Thank you,” he said, impulsively taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.
She felt a shiver of desire as his lips touched her skin. “You’re welcome.” Their gazes held for a long moment. She couldn’t help but think again of their kiss last night and that promise of things to come if they didn’t stop. She felt her insides go molten. Having a killer among them only seemed to heighten her senses. If there was a chance that the two of them wouldn’t make it out of this...
“I’m so sorry I got you into this,” Will said quietly. “As much as I’ve loved having you here.”
An argument broke out in the living room. Will groaned and let go of her hand to leave. “I need to take care of things. Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me,” she said and smiled, while at the same time remembering her earlier thought. Funny how when there is a chance of dying, a person forgot all about retribution. Nothing mattered but being with the people you cared about.
Dorothea was shaking her. “The two of you can’t really be thinking about... Not at a time like this.”
Poppy had to laugh. “Is there a better time?”
The woman waved a hand through the air as if to extinguish all thought of that. “Well, he can’t be serious about acting like nothing is wrong. Besides, you aren’t really going to cook for those people?”
She’d always cooked when she was upset. Right now she was scared for all of them, maybe especially Will. But she was determined to do as Will asked and try to keep things as normal as possible even though her hands were shaking.
“Will’s right. We need to stay calm.” In the other room, whatever had been going on, Will seemed to have taken care of it. “And we all need to eat.”
Dorothea stared at her in disbelief. “We’re supposed to feed a killer?”
“Tell me which one is the killer and I won’t give him or her anything,” Poppy said.
“This isn’t funny.” Dorothea sounded close to tears. “You heard Will talking to Lamar. He’s trying to find out who might have wanted Big Jack dead. He’s putting himself in danger, as if we aren’t all in enough danger as it is.”
Poppy knew exactly what Will was doing. He wanted to narrow down the suspects, hopefully find the killer before anyone else could be hurt. She thought it was the only thing he could do. Actually, she’d been thinking she might talk to Lexi. There was obviously more to her story yesterday. After everything that had happened, maybe Lexi would open up to her.
But she wasn’t about to mention that to Dorothea. If anything, she hoped to keep the woman as unperturbed as possible.
“I knew something bad was going to happen,” Dorothea was saying. “I tried to warn Will, but he wouldn’t listen. No one ever listens to me.”
“Dorothea, we can’t panic. Just think about it,” Poppy said, trying to reason with her. “If you were the killer, you’d be nervous, right? As it is, I’m sure they’re all in there looking at each other wondering who did it. So the best thing we can do is let the person believe he or she got away with it.”
The woman huffed. “Well, you’re a better actor than I am. I’m not turning my back on any of them. I’m going to be watching them all closely. Like you said, the killer will be nervous. I’m betting he or she will make a mistake and when that happens...” She drew a sharp knife from the block on the counter and wrapped it in a dishcloth and stuck it into the deep pocket of her apron. “I’m going to be ready.”
Great. “Isn’t it enough that you have your potion to protect you?” she asked, knowing that pointing out that the knife was a really bad idea wouldn’t get her far.
“A spell potion can only do so much.” She narrowed her eyes. “I put a spell on you to keep you from captivating Will with your cooking and look how well that’s worked. Some forces are too powerful.”
Poppy shook her head. “Why don’t you get me out some butter and eggs. I’m thinking I’ll make sourdough pancakes with wild huckleberry syrup, along with a slab of honey-grill
ed ham, fried potatoes with onions, and Brie and herb omelets with roasted tomatoes.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Just look at it this way,” she whispered. “While the killer is eating, he or she won’t be murdering anyone else.”
Dorothea, of course, took her seriously. “You don’t think the killer is going to stop with Big Jack, either, do you?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
WILL HAD NO idea how he was going to contain this as he looked around the lodge at his guests. Mick and Kirk had been going at each other when he’d walked in. He’d broken up their argument, overhearing just enough to suspect it had to do with Allison rather than Big Jack’s death. How the two could argue over a woman at a time like this, he did not know.
But tensions were high. Mick was emotional, which was understandable. He’d just lost his father. Worse, one of the people in this room had bludgeoned Big Jack to death in the barn.
So now what was Will going to do? His hope was that Huck got through the storm and returned with the sheriff. But he wasn’t counting on that. He suspected they would have to wait out the storm. He couldn’t imagine anything worse. The animosity in this room felt like a powder keg ready to blow.
Meanwhile, he couldn’t keep the guests locked up in the lodge until the storm let up and the sheriff arrived. There weren’t enough bedrooms upstairs for that even if he had some way to lock them in. They would have to stay in their cabins. Which meant he had no way of actually making them do that.
“Poppy is making breakfast,” he announced. “I see she made you coffee and it is nice and warm in here. So everyone is fine. We can weather this.”
“When can we leave?” Dean asked without looking at the others. He was rubbing his wrist as if it still hurt from being bucked off the horse.
“I’ve sent Huck down to bring the sheriff back if possible,” he said. “Unfortunately, the storm has closed a lot of the roads already, according to the latest weather update on the radio. I’m afraid we won’t be able to get out until the storm lets up and the plows get the roads open again.”
