“Stop, stop now. Crouch down, and, uh, don’t squash me.”
I lifted Bun’s leather riding pouch outward and let it hang over my knees as I bent them. His usual sling needed laundering and this pouch, though supple, was heavier. It was difficult to get a clear look at what had Bun on guard. I stretched my neck forward, then to the side, and back again. Bun leaped from the pouch, bounding into the dense brush. He was too fast and slipped through my grasp.
Bun never liked getting his feet wet or muddy. While the ground was dry and hard, he’d still get his feet dirty, so why had he taken off? About to make my way through the brush, I waited for a second or two in hope of his return.
“Bun,” I whispered in the direction he’d taken. “Where are you? Get back here right now.”
He popped up in front of me so quickly, I lost my balance and fell back onto the hard ground. “Where did you go? You scared the bejeepers out of me.”
“You won’t believe this. There’s a tent over there. Come on, let’s take a gander.” He turned to hop into the brush again when I caught him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to me.
“Get into your pouch. If things go wrong, I don’t want to worry about you being left on your own.” I held out the leather opening, tucked him in, and waited until he snugged his way to comfort. He complained the entire time.
“You take the fun out of things, don’t you? I can handle myself and protect you at the same time. Look how I jumped that guy in the barn, huh? He got what was coming to him.”
“Yes, he did, and you are a superhero. But until we see what the tent holds, it’s best not to tempt fate. Now stay calm and we’ll go in as though we have every right to, which we do because this is my land.”
“We should have done a property search before today. We might already have solved the mystery and caught Arty’s killer.”
“Shoulda, coulda, woulda gets you nowhere. Be still and let me take the lead if someone is in the tent.” We’d reached a small clearing on the other side of the trees. A bunch of small, broken branches lay stacked near a makeshift firepit. Rocks formed a round border, used to keep the fire in check. A stump sat close by, and a half-baked spit, consisting of two crudely cut, thick branches that forked and had been jammed into the ground. Wire went from side to side and held a dented old teakettle.
Approaching the tent, I moved with caution, making no sound. Bun began to quiver. I shook from the inside out, and then summoned enough gumption to whip the front tent cover aside. I hadn’t realized I’d held my breath. I let it out on a sigh of relief when I saw the tent was empty.
“Aww, that’s disappointing.”
“Really? What if this person had been waiting with a bat, or a gun, or another dangerous weapon, huh? Would you still be whining about disappointment then?” I reached into the pile of men’s clothing, strewn haphazardly on the ground. There was no identification to be had, nor any indication of who camped on my land.
Twisting his head to see me, Bun said, “I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t expect to find danger. Sorry.”
“I understand, it is disappointing to find the place empty. The problem is, we aren’t prepared for a confrontation. We’ll go back to the house and call Sheriff Carver. He can find who’s been residing here and make them talk.”
Our trip back to the farmhouse was quicker than when we’d left. Within twenty minutes, I hurried through the door, dialed up the sheriff’s office, and told him of our find.
“We’ll be there shortly. Stay put, no heroic stuff, you hear me? Let us take over from here. Any idea who might be living there?”
“None, I checked the clothes in the tent, but found nothing. I didn’t linger, I wasn’t about to be caught by the squatter.”
“Smart move. Stay put.” The line went dead. While we waited, I freed Bun and made a cup of tea.
It wasn’t long before Sheriff Carver’s cruiser pulled into the yard followed by two other police cars. Four officers followed Carver to the front door. I stepped aside and let them in.
Only Carver spoke.
“You were smart not to hang around the campsite. Was there any sign of recent activity?”
“The fire ashes weren’t that old, the wind hadn’t taken them from their bed, and the teakettle was dust free. Other than that, I couldn’t tell when the place was last inhabited. The clothes were men’s, a tall guy by the look of them. Could it have been the same man who attacked me on the bike path?”
“I don’t know, anything’s possible at this stage. Where exactly is the tent and how long will it take us to get there?”
“It was a good half-hour to forty-five-minute trek to get there. I wasn’t looking for anything, just taking a walk. The tent sits in a clearing behind a copse of trees. I can show you the way if you’d like.”
“Since I don’t know the layout of this property, you’d better come along.” He slanted his head toward Bun. “The rabbit stays here.”
“Sure thing, I’ll get my jacket.”
Bun stiffened and turned away while I donned my jacket. He refused to look at me and hopped into his room without a word. Oh, yeah, I would hear about this later.
We walked in silent pairs, with Carver and me in the lead. A half hour later, I recognized the cluster of trees and stopped, indicating the tent just past them.
Carver nodded and murmured, “You’ll be safe here with Adam. He’ll keep an eye out for strangers while we check the site.” He gave Adam a look, meaning what, I had no idea. I stood next to Adam, watching the officers head for the clearing.
“The sheriff says you have a nose for news, is that true?” Adam asked softly as he gazed off into the trees and the surrounding land.
“I wouldn’t go that far, I merely happened to find Arty dead. I didn’t plan to end up in this situation. Has Carver made any progress on the injury to our intruder’s leg?”
He gave a shrug. “I couldn’t say. He doesn’t keep me in the loop.”
“For a cop, you’re a really bad liar. Cough it up, the truth, come on. Carver found the man had been treated locally for an animal bite, didn’t he?”
“All I’ll say is that he came across the fact that somebody had been treated at one of those walk-in clinics that have popped up everywhere. Don’t ask me anything else, because that’s all I know.”
“Sure it is. I’ll have to settle for that much, I guess.” I heaved a weary sigh, heard the crunch of underbrush at the same moment Adam heard it, and stepped behind him for my own protection.
Adam whispered, “Slowly step back into the trees, Jules.” He put his fingertip on the microphone attached to a tab on his shoulder and said in a low tone, “He’s coming your way.”
No sooner had we melted into the copse of trees and hunkered down than a man sauntered past. He didn’t look our way, and we didn’t move a muscle. I don’t even think I blinked. Good thing Bun wasn’t here. He might have jumped from his pouch and scrambled off to who knows where. On second thought, he would have been trembling too hard to move an inch.
A few minutes later there were sounds of a scuffle mixed with a lot of grunting. Adam and I rushed from the trees to join the fray. Two of Carver’s men were holding a man face down on the ground, while another handcuffed him.
Adam placed his hand on my arm and ordered me to stay where I was while he went toward the other officers. I wrung my hands and watched their actions closely as their prisoner gave them a hard time. Sheriff Carver turned to me as Adam leaned forward and murmured something to him. Curious, I walked over, staring at the man in handcuffs the entire time.
I needed to speak with the stranger about why he was camping on my property, and who he was. Before I could reach him, Sheriff Carver cut me off.
“Stay right where you are,” he said. “We’ll take things from here.” He turned and nodded to his men. Together we watched them walk away. The stranger turned his gaze to me, but never said a word. His shaggy brown hair danced in the wind, and his blue eyes were cold and as ang
ry as his expression. A tad more than average in height, this man had worn, but not shabby clothes on. I wondered if he was a bum or just down on his luck. How long he had been here was certainly a mystery. Why I had never noticed smoke rising from the trees must have been because I hadn’t paid attention. There was too much going on in my life lately, and I didn’t like it one bit.
Once he’d been marched past us, I turned on Carver. “I have every right to question this man. I need to know why he’s on my property and how long he’s been here. It would also be nice to know if he’s the one who’s continuously entering my barn and lying in wait.”
“I understand. You need to give us time to do our job. Let’s go back to your house, then after I’ve questioned him, I’ll let you know what he said. He could simply be a homeless squatter.”
I slanted a look of disbelief in his direction. “Do you think that’s the case? He does look disheveled.”
We walked through the woods and across a field, before arriving at the house. Carver walked in behind me and asked, “How many acres do you own?”
“Twenty or so, I believe.” I wiped my feet on the mat and waited for his response.
“I’ll be in touch with you as soon as I know anything. Until then, remain vigilant. This might not be our man, Jules, so let’s not get our hopes up.” With that, he left the farm behind the other cops.
Twilight was on its way as I prepared supper. Jessica scooted down the stairs. Her face was filled with what I took as concern.
“Was that Carver? Did he have a bunch of other officers with him? I saw them rush across the yard surrounding another man. Is that our guy?”
I held up a hand. “It was Carver and four of his men. We—Bun and I—came across a tent pitched way out on the property. We came back and called Carver. Wouldn’t you know, I left my cell phone on the charger?”
“Who is he?”
“No clue. Nobody would let me get close enough to question him.”
“There’s more to this, isn’t there?”
Bun came forward from his spot at the threshold of his room and said, “Of course there is, but I wasn’t allowed to go with you, was I? You didn’t even insist. Some friend you are, Juliette Bridge.” He went to Jessica, sat at her feet, and stared at me just like she did.
Ignoring his snippy attitude, I picked up the pasta box and poured the shells into a pot of boiling water. I emptied a leftover bowl of sauce into another pot, turned the heat level to low, and set the lid on it. “If you give me a minute, I’ll tell you what happened.”
By this time, Jessica had begun to set places at the table, urging me to give her the lowdown while she did so. Bun had moved aside to give us space to walk, but never uttered a word. It didn’t take long to relate the entire story once I stopped Jess from interrupting every other second or so.
Bewildered, Jess gave me a stern look that included Bun. “You can’t help yourselves, can you?”
His whiskers jittered. “Excuse me? I wasn’t in on the second half of that adventure.”
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to answer Jess. Bun made a clicking sound with his front teeth, then rudely interrupted what I’d been about to say.
“Right, I forgot, she can’t hear me. Well, go on, then.”
“We were merely walking the property. I wasn’t looking for anything or anyone, we just happened upon this man’s campsite. Nervy of him to squat on my property like that. Carver’s going to question him and then give me a call.”
I drained the pasta, dumped it into a bowl, and poured the sauce over it. I set it on the table as Jess added a salad to our fare. We chatted about how she was feeling. I asked if she was working her rotation tonight, and she nodded.
“If you’ll be okay by yourself, I’ll go. If not, I’ll have to make up the clinical work I’ll miss.”
Waving away her concern, I said I’d be fine, after all, Bun was here to keep me company.
With a shake of her head, she grinned. “A lot of good that would do you if there was trouble.”
I glanced at Bun, who turned his face away from Jess and peered at me. “He’s been very good company and I can read his signs when there’s a problem. His whiskers jitter, his ears stand up straight, and he’s like a pointer when someone’s around that shouldn’t be. I couldn’t ask for more.” I leaned sideways and scratched his head.
“If you say so, then I’ll go. When I can take a break, I’ll give you a call. If you don’t answer, I’ll call the police. You’d better answer the phone, Jules. I mean what I said.”
“Guess she doesn’t have faith in me either. Good thing you do, Jules. I take back what I said about not being a good friend.”
We stood at the door watching as Jessica drove away. I took a breath and let it out slowly.
“What a day.”
“You can say that again. On second thought, don’t bother. Was the camper familiar to you? I wish I’d seen him, I might have known him from somewhere. That old biddy I lived with before coming here had lots of company and not all of it good.”
“You never mentioned that before. What kind of company, and what were they like?”
“Some were quite disreputable, others just everyday folks. I tried to stay out of the way so I wasn’t abused, you know? One time I made a remark about one of them, and the old biddy gave me a kick.”
Picking him off the floor, I hugged him to me and rubbed my face against his cheek. “I’d never let anyone hurt you, Bun. Not ever. I promise.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
After a night of tossing and turning, I gave up the idea of a good night’s sleep and got out of bed. Jess had called when her class took a break, I’d said all was well and that I hadn’t heard from Carver. Her voice seemed disappointed, but she said Carver must not have anything to tell us yet. I considered our phone conversation while the coffee perked, and I filled Bun’s feeder.
It was early when Bun and I shuffled into the barn to check the rabbits and ready them for the day. “You take one side of the barn and I’ll take the other side. We’ll meet in the middle. If anyone’s been about, you let me know, okay?”
Bun tipped his head to the side, twitched his ears, and jumped into action. I walked the other side of the barn’s aisles, checking for food, water, and waste trays. I met Bun in the middle aisle. No one had entered during the night, which meant the newly installed locks had held so far, or we hadn’t had an unsuccessful invasion attempt. I double-checked that the slide bolts were still secured, and all the window locks. That done, I added hay and replenished water bins before filling rabbit feeders. I saved cleaning the waste pans for last.
While I wondered why Carver hadn’t called the night before, I assumed I’d hear from him today. Jessica had arrived home later than usual and was still asleep. Caring for the rabbits and doing what was needed, I had nearly finished when the phone rang.
Discarding my work gloves, I answered the call. “Fur Bridge Farm.”
“Sheriff Carver here. I hope I didn’t wake you, I thought you might be doing chores. If you have some free time, could you swing by the station this morning? I want to fill you in on the man we arrested yesterday.”
“I’m always up early. Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I think it would be better if we spoke in person. What time can you come by?”
“How about eight thirty? I’ll have time to clean up and drive to your office.” After chores, I liked to take a quick shower.
“Eight thirty it is.”
After I set the phone on the charger, Bun and I went into the house. My mind buzzed with questions that had no answers. Bun had asked many of the same questions I mulled over.
“I have no idea what Carver wants,” I murmured. I poured a cup of tepid coffee, reheated it in the microwave, and made a slice of toast. Slathering it with jam, I munched away while Bun went on and on over my visit to the police station.
“Watch what you say, this might be a trap. Sheriff Carver is up to no good. Othe
rwise, he’d have told you over the phone what he learned from his prisoner. Mark my words, he’s up to something.”
I could hear Jessica walking the upstairs hallway. Before she came downstairs, I whispered, “You only say that because he doesn’t think highly of you like I do.”
I tilted my head as Jess came into view. “Good morning.”
She smiled, flipped her hair out of her eyes, and mumbled the same greeting.
“Is there any coffee?”
“Just what’s left in the pot. You’ll have to reheat it. I’ll make more toast, if you want some.”
She agreed and set about pouring herself a cup of coffee. A piece of toast hanging from her mouth, Jessica brought it to the table and slid into her usual chair.
“I have those invitations. They’re more like fancy postcards. There are great pictures on the front. Lizzy did four sections, with a picture of the farm, the rabbits, the shop, and one of you and Bun she got from your website.” She shuffled over to the coatrack and rummaged through her book bag.
She handed me a stack of large postcards that were perfect for what we wanted to get across to our customers and the public.
“I can drop some of these off at various shops in town and address the rest for mailing. The rabbits are all set for the morning. Fred will show up anytime now, but you’re in charge of that. I have to stop in to see Carver when I’m in town.”
Her eyes widened a tad. “What’s that all about?”
“He said he wanted to talk about the squatter. I haven’t any other information. He was being secretive by saying he thought it would be better if we spoke in person. Who knows what theory he’s come up with now.”
“I take it we didn’t have any visitors last night?”
“The new locks did the trick, and everyone was safe and sound. No keys are to be given to anyone, okay?”
“Sure, I’m all for that if it means we’ll no longer have barn invasions. I wonder why the guy never came into the house, but stayed in the barn?”
“Could be he was only interested in setting the rabbits free like he said, or didn’t have a key to the house. There’s no money in the barn and nothing of great value either, other than the rabbits, that is.” I glanced at my watch and calculated how much time it would take to shower and get to the police station now that I’d procrastinated. Making the eight thirty appointment would be a close call, but I could do it. I left the chair and my mess on the table.
Left Fur Dead Page 10
