by CeeCee James
Forget the police officer. I raced out of the house and around the corner in the direction of the panicked shrieks. There was Emma by the clothesline. She was waving her arms and kicking her legs in some weird kind of dance move.
Figures. I rolled my eyes. “Emma! Stop that right now! The police are here!”
In response, she kicked her legs higher, and her screams got louder. I glanced behind me to see the police officer get out of her car with a very curious, wary stare in my direction. “Chelsea Lawson?”
“Yes! Just one sec!” I yelled in what I hoped was a calming way, before jogging toward Emma.
I didn’t get too far before I realized what was happening. Something black was dive-bombing her. She clawed at her neck.
Without thinking, I raced over and tucked her under my arm. I carried her to the side of the house. Once there, I quickly ripped off her shirt and batted at the insect. It was a hornet. It fell to the ground where I stomped on it. I spun her around but there were no more insects. However, I could see angry welts rising all across her neck. When I turned her back, I saw her cheeks had been stung as well.
“Bring her here!” the police officer called. I scooped up the crying girl and carried her back to the front of the house.
The officer had already found the hose and was running the water out onto the ground, making a black mud. She scooped up a handful and plastered it on Emma’s stings.
Soon Emma looked like a polka-dotted Dalmatian. But her cries had subsided to a few snuffly sobs.
I knelt next to her and gave her a big hug. “Emma, I’m so sorry that happened. You’re going to be okay.”
“That h-hurt,” she sobbed out, her little head resting on my shoulder.
“Aw, honey, I know. And you are so brave. Even braver than when I got my scar.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, and do you know what kind of medicine we use for stings?”
She shook her head.
“Ice cream.” I nodded emphatically. “Or a popsicle. And if you don’t have any, then I’ll go get some.”
Squealing, this time in excitement, she jolted out of my arms and ran through the front door. “I know where we have some!” she called back.
I watched her disappear and then wearily rose to my feet and turned toward the officer. “Thank you for helping me.”
“No problem. But you need to keep an eye on her for any swelling, especially those on her face. We’re watching for an allergic reaction.” Then she stuck out her hand. “Officer Kennedy. I heard you have a dead body for me.”
Chapter 3
I rubbed my head, which felt like it was being split in two by a tornado.
The officer’s eyes narrowed a bit as she waited for my answer. “Ma’am? A body?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s in the barn. I can show you the way, just let me make sure Emma’s settled.”
I left Officer Kennedy standing at the edge of the driveway and sprinted up the steps and into the farm house. A quick search downstairs found Emma on the sofa with a movie blaring and an ice cream sandwich already dripping in her hand. I seized a dishtowel from the kitchen and covered her lap.
“How you doing?” I asked, tousling her hair.
“Watching Cinderella! I love her.” she said, her eyes bright with excitement. “Look at the mice. This is my favorite part.”
I grinned while I gave her a quick once-over. The welts seemed to be settling down, much to my relief. “It’s a good movie. I used to love it too. When your ice cream is gone, come find me. I might have another prize for you.”
I figured that would be the safest way to make sure I got to check on her again in a few minutes in case I got preoccupied.
She gave a big smile with white ice cream covered lips. I laughed.
With the scent of denied toast in the air, I returned outside. There I found Officer Kennedy walking backwards as she studied the driveway.
“Has it just been you here, today?” the officer asked, glancing at a notebook in her hand.
I nodded.
“Did anyone else show up? Maybe just to turn around in the driveway?”
I shook my head. Then again, I had been yanked out of bed a little reluctantly. I might not have noticed.
“Well,” she continued, “I found some tracks at the entrance that don’t match your car’s tires.”
I did a double blink. So, someone had been here recently.
She slid the pad into her front pocket. “Where’s the body, Ms. Lawson?”
I pointed toward the barn. “It’s right down there.”
“And you believe the person is deceased?” she asked, marching in that direction.
I thought of his bulging eyes and gulped. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
She led the way with me lingering a step or so behind. When she reached the barn door, she paused as if listening. Slowly, with her fingertips, she nudged it open. Her other hand dropped to the gun at her belt. Seeing that motion sent adrenaline zaps through my core.
I swallowed hard, as she scanned the interior. With a smooth gait, she walked in.
The body was obvious, still sprawled out in the center of the floor. To be honest, I was actually oddly relieved to see it there. After such a surreal morning, what with Freckles and the nightmare, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see that it had walked away on its own. After all, this type of barn scene was in every zombie movie I’d ever seen.
Officer Kennedy whistled, and it did not sound good.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, like there could be something worse than a dead body.
“Well, now you’ve done it.”
“I’ve done what?” Alarm bells sounded in my head.
“You know who that is?” She squatted next to the body, her leathers squeaking. Frowning, she grasped his wrist to feel for his pulse.
“Someone important?” I hazard a guess.
“Someone important, all right. Try the mayor’s cousin. This is Clint McDaniel. Mayor McDaniel is going to be all over this place like flies on a slice of watermelon.”
I raised an eyebrow. What exactly did that mean? How many flies were normally on a slice of watermelon? Should I pack up a suitcase and take Emma out of town? What did Tilly get me into?
“I’ve never met either of them,” I said. “I’m sure the family is going to be crushed. I’m sorry this happened.”
She sighed and slowly stood up. “I have a feeling you’re going to be sorrier when this is all said and done.” Reaching for her shoulder mic, she called in a code.
The temperature in the barn felt like it dropped twenty degrees. That was a threat if I’d ever heard one. But why?
Just then I heard the slam of the front door. Emma was coming to find me to claim her second treat. I hurried out to meet her in the yard. Quickly, I checked over her skin. Although still polka-dotted, the horrible swelling was gone down. Pleased, I sent her back inside for a popsicle this time.
When I reentered the barn, Officer Kennedy was taking pictures. The air floated with hay particles, giving the scene an odd quality of sprinkled pixie dust. Magical dust of the nightmare kind.
“You find anything more?” I asked.
“No. The scene is surprisingly clean.”
“What do you think happened?”
She licked her bottom lip. “I really can’t say. Have you been here all night, Chelsea?”
I nodded.
“Anyone else here with you?”
“Just Emma.”
She grunted. “You have anyone else who can verify that you stayed in the house?”
“You mean all night? I don’t. I spent some time trying to get the cow into the stable, but she kicked me and kept on running. I finally gave up and had to leave her outside with her stall door open.” As I talked, I filled the goats’ bin with fresh pellets and let them out of their stall. The doe left slowly, but the buck jumped like he had springs for hooves. While Officer Kennedy continued to take pictures, I fed the bunnies. Rosy the cow was al
ready in the field. The hay in her bin from the night before was gone so I assumed she must have wandered in at some point during the night.
Officer Kennedy grinned as she focused her camera. “Rosy. She’s a handful.”
“Oh, really? How do you know about her?” Immediately I was more wary over the fact the cow had a reputation than Officers Kennedy’s questions suggesting that there might be some suspicion over me.
“You’ll find out, I’m sure.” She smirked, but before she could say more, her radio went off. She spoke into the mic again. “They’re almost here.”
“You did say there were tire tracks by the road,” I said, crossing my arms. “So that proves someone else was here, regarding where I was last night.”
“That’s right.” She spoke another code into the mic. “Thank you for reminding me. We’ll see if we can get those cast. You sure you didn’t see anyone lingering around here?”
I shook my head.
“There’s just one very odd thing about Clint being here.” She frowned at the body as if she were angry with him.
“What’s that?”
“Why’d he end up here?” Her lip pursed. “Don’t you worry. I aim to find out.”
Sirens came blaring toward the farm. They all must have heard about the tire tracks because the cops parked down the road.
I walked back up to the house to make sure Emma was still contained and not bouncing off the ceiling from the sugar. Or worse yet, brewing up some plan to spring out at one of these cops to scare them.
I found her sitting on the couch with her face pressed against the window. She shivered with excitement when I entered, her little dotted face making her look like a mini clown. “Are they here to take that bad man away?”
“Bad man?” I asked.
“Yes. Freckles didn’t like him at all.”
“How do you know that?”
“Freckles told me when I found him.” She turned her attention back to the window.
I swallowed hard and decided not to dig myself in any further with her invisible friend but to just answer her question. “Yes, the police are taking him away. We have to leave them alone for a bit. How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. My movie’s over.”
“Let’s find another,” I said resolutely.
After I had her settled again, I put in a call to Tilly. It was still late there, but I had to do what I had to do.
As the phone rang, the comment Officer Kennedy made played through my head. Exactly how did the deceased man end up in the barn? That was a great question. There were those tire tracks. Had someone dropped him off, before driving away? And I’d never heard the vehicle…. was I that clueless?
I shivered at the thought of some strange man wandering around outside while I slept. I glanced out the window. The yard was swimming with blue uniforms.
There was one more statement Officer Kennedy made that I needed to consider.
She said the mayor was going to be mad at me.
Chapter 4
I bit my nail as I waited for her to answer. My hands were sweaty, and I was not at all excited about this phone call.
“Hello?” Tilly’s sleepy but quite panicked voice answered. “Chelz, is everything okay?”
“Hi, Tilly, first of all, Emma is fine.” Well, not exactly fine, with her having been stung all over and then dipped in mud, but I’d drop that bit of info later. “There is an issue, however.”
“An… issue?” Her voice rose like someone squeezed her throat real hard.
“Yes. Um, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but we’ve discovered a person in the barn. He… he’s deceased,” I blurted out, feeling like a dad who yanked the child’s wiggling tooth loose on the count of three.
“A person?” she said, her voice now dropped into a robotic tone.
The connection wasn’t clear, and I rubbed my face. I hoped this was all getting through to her. “Yes, and he’s dead,” I reiterated.
There was a chunk of silence, and I stared at my phone to make sure we were still connected. We were, but there was no response. “Hello? Tilly?”
“Is this some kind of prank? Because it’s two am right now and—”
“I assure you, this is no prank. The police are here right this minute.”
“Oh, my gosh! I’ll see if I can get a flight back.”
“No. Don’t worry about that yet. This could be an open and shut case or—” I swallowed hard, remembering how Officer Kennedy had said it was the mayor’s cousin. Still, I didn’t want to alarm my friend. “At least let’s wait until the dust settles. I have everything under control right now.” I knew this photo shoot was the biggest break in Tilly’s entire career. If she left now, the chance would be gone forever. There was no need to panic. It was going to work out. It had to.
“Okay. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Her voice dropped with worry. “How’s my baby? Did she see anything?”
I gritted my teeth. This was the moment of truth. “She actually did, but you know your girl. She as excited as a one of your crazy goats. So excited, in fact, she somehow found a ground hornet. I killed it but not before it stung her a few times.”
Tilly gasped.
“But don’t worry. The police officer was here, and we slapped some mud on it. I’ve fed her popsicles and have been watching her like a hawk. She’s fine and giddy as a hen again. I’m keeping her from all the action by distracting her with Cinderella.”
“Cinderella and popsicles? Chelz, you really do have everything under control. I knew you had the kid skills to handle her. You both are getting along okay?”
“Super!” I said, avoiding the way Emma liked to stare me awake. “And tomorrow is school so she will be back to a regular schedule. I think we just have to push through.”
“You’ll keep me updated, immediately.”
“I will. You want texts or phone calls?”
She made a humming sound, and I could tell she was trying to figure out the best way to navigate her spotty service. “How about texts but if I don’t answer, then a call.”
“You got it.”
“And if there is even a whiff that I need to come back immediately, you let me know.” Her voice held the same threatening tone as it had back when we were teens and I was going on a blind date.
“Of course, Tilly. Don’t worry. I promise.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you. Can I talk with Emma for a minute?”
“Absolutely!” I said and brought the little girl the phone. This time Emma’s lips were stained bright red. “Want to say hi to your mom?”
She eagerly seized the phone and in excited giggles and run-on sentences, rattled out the story to her mom about the morning’s crazy adventure. I cringed when she relayed—with big belly laughs I might add—the story of me trying to wrangle the cow into the barn the night before. I thought we could have forgone that little tidbit. Regardless, Tilly must have heard enough to reassure her that Emma was doing okay. I got the phone back to hear a very tired Tilly wish me goodbye, after she extracted out of me yet one more promise to keep her in the loop.
We hung up. It was perfect timing because walking up the pathway were two policemen. They looked grim. Seeing them brought that nasty flicker of an old memory back to my mind. I frowned for a second, knowing it was connected to my recurring dream. I squashed the memory down and hurried out the door to meet them.
It turned out they just wanted to record my official statement, which was hardly anything more detailed than me saying that I opened the barn door and stumbled onto the body. But they took careful notes and made me sign the paper before they left, seemingly satisfied.
After that, there was a flurry of activity as the emergency personnel packed everything up, including taking the poor man out in the black coroner’s van. As I watched the last police car flip a u-turn and head back to town, I realized the yard was much too quiet, and had been for some time.
Where w
as that dog?
During all this activity, with strangers crawling all over the yard, there was nary a bark. Jasper hadn’t returned from his break-away run earlier this morning.
I dropped my head into my hands and released a whimper. Was this day of problems never going to end?
There was no time to sit. I had to go find him.
The sun had risen just high enough to sit on the ridgepole of the barn. Shielding my eyes, I stared out through the field. There was the cow, meandering along the fence line. As I looked for the dog, my brain tried to problem solve what I was going to do with her tonight. What if I could never get her back into her stall?
Later, Chelsea, later. Dog first.
I strained to see beyond the waving grass and into the trees along the back. Trees I could barely see. Way down there. Waaaay down there. Excruciatingly far away for a person who didn’t walk very much and had a bruised leg.
I glanced at the house and realized I needed to get Emma to come with me. I couldn’t very well leave her alone in the house, not with what had just happened.
But what had happened? Did the mayor’s cousin just wander into the barn to die? What if the man had been murdered, and the killer was in the woods?
I nodded. Right. Okay. I’d arm myself. I had pepper spray. It was probably all for naught since Officer Kennedy never mentioned murder. Besides, there’s no way a killer would stick around this place when it was crawling with cops.
I headed back inside, checked Emma’s stings and then had her dress for the walk. As I tied on my shoes and hunted for my pepper spray, I did wonder how long I was supposed to leave the mud on her. Did you just let it wear away?
I decided that was the best plan for now.
Feeling a courage I hadn’t felt before, I reached for the little girl’s hand, who quickly darted away. Shrugging, I followed her down the path in the direction the dog had disappeared in.
As I walked, my inner warning system sent a prickly feeling racing around my gut. My jaw clenched. Call it premonition, call it whatever, but it was warning me to be careful.
