“What makes you think someone has been tampering with your pumpkins?” Sadie asked. Hal eased into her line of vision, trying to catch her eye. She shifted away from his gaze. In the corner, Luke sat and propped his ankle on his knee, a visual cue that he was interested in the woman’s story but pretending not to be.
“Footprints in my garden, night sounds, and…” she paused, too choked up momentarily to speak. “Marge’s stem was cut. She died.”
“Was Marge your prizewinner?” Sadie guessed.
“She was one of them. I had a good crop this year. Out of a hundred and fifty, nearly a dozen have made it large enough to be contenders. Marge is gone; I only have eleven left. With the fair drawing near, I want to make sure the rest survive. If that rascal wins again this year, I may just kill him.”
“That rascal?” Sadie prompted.
“My ex-husband. He’s the one that’s been doing the tampering, but I can’t catch him at it. I should have listened to my mama. Tomkins blood is no good.”
“Why do you think it’s your ex-husband?” Sadie asked.
“Because I got the pumpkins in the divorce and he’s never gotten over it. He started his own patch on his own piece of land, and he’s had some winners, but we’ve put years of work into this patch. He’s so jealous of my ladies this year that he can’t see straight.”
“Have you tried a wildlife camera?” Sadie said.
“Of course, but the sneaky so-and-so dismantled it. I need professional help.”
Behind her, Hal nodded solemnly. Sadie flicked her fingers to ward him away. “What would you like me to do?”
“I want you to guard my pumpkins, and I want you to catch him in the act so I can take his sorry behind to court,” the woman declared.
“That sounds doable,” Sadie said.
“There’s one problem,” the woman continued. “I live in Bateman.”
Sadie’s glance slid to Luke. He was staring at her. He shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together. Not being a local, Hal was clueless over the weight of this pronouncement.
“Where’s Bateman?” he asked.
“It’s on the mountain,” the woman said. She turned to Sadie. “You’d have to stay with me a while to do a proper job. I’ve got some spare rooms, and you’d have your own toilet. I’m real clean, and I keep to myself. I’d expect the same from you.”
Luke shifted, leaning forward as he cleared his throat. “Sadie, can I talk to you in the hall a minute?”
Sadie turned to him again. His hands were clasped between his knees, his face earnest and serious. She knew what he would say. She played both sides of the debate in her head, needing no help to know Luke’s side. His thoughts were as clear to her as her own. He would tell her to stay. He would list all the reasons she shouldn’t go. She might capitulate; after all, Bateman wasn’t a hotspot vacation place. She didn’t want to go. But if she stayed, she would be here, mired in confusion, jealousy, and pain. If she went, she might have a chance to breathe, to clear her head, to figure out her next move, to purge some of Luke from her heart and mind.
The front door burst open again and Vaslilssa galloped in, a box of Ding Dongs held aloft. “Lucas, I have won eBay auction for Twinkies!” She shook the box, her joyous smile fading as she scanned the room of serious faces. “Is wrong timing now?”
Sadie noted with pain the way Luke’s eyes lit and warmed at his girlfriend’s arrival. “No, your timing is fine,” she decreed before turning back to the woman and offering her hand. “I’ll take the job. When can I start?”
His shoes couldn’t find traction in the dirt and gravel. He ran like a hamster in a wheel, never getting anywhere. He fell, scrambled to his feet, and fell again. When the command came, it was like something from his worst nightmare.
“Stop and put your hands up.”
He complied, pushing his hands into the air. Maybe he could talk his way out of it. That had worked before. “You can have it,” he said. “I swear, I was just about to get it.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not, I swear. I promise.”
“On your knees.”
He wasn’t above begging. “No, please, don’t do this. You don’t want to do this. I’ll give you what you want, I mean it this time. Please.” He scanned the crowded salvage lot. Surely there had to be some form of help among the twisted piles of metal. All he needed was one chance to land a blow, once chance to get free. “Let’s talk.”
The gun poked the base of his skull, but he still believed he could talk his way free. The gun clicked, and he went to his grave believing in the power of words.
Chapter 2
“Bateman, Sadie. Bateman!” Abby slammed pots and pans as she made her way around the kitchen. “You might have saved yourself the trouble and stabbed me through the heart.”
“Abby, we don’t yet have the luxury of turning down jobs,” Sadie soothed. Abby was predictably angry, but after she got over her bluster, she was bound to see sense. The bluster might take awhile, however.
“I don’t understand the problem,” Hal said.
“Bateman and Atwood are rivals,” Luke explained.
“Like athletic rivals?” Hal said.
“Everything rivals,” Sadie said.
“Rival is too gentle a word for what we are,” Abby said. She slammed one final pan and sank wearily to a chair. “It began years ago when my great grandfather started this town. He and John Bateman were vying for title of county seat. Bateman tried everything to besmirch my grandfather’s name, but in the end, they got theirs.”
“Abby, you look three seconds away from chafing your hands together and laughing maniacally,” Hal said. “How did they get theirs?”
“My great grandfather sent them two cases of rum from Barbados. Being the heathens they are, they got roaring drunk. As coincidence would have it, the box of rum arrived the night before the state auditor made a surprise inspection. As soon as the inspector saw the men of Bateman sprawled slovenly in the streets, Atwood won the title of county seat, along with all the prestige to go with it.”
“Prestige?” Hal echoed, snickering.
Abby sat up with a huff, properly offended. “It was that prestige that allowed us to build a hospital, young man, the very hospital where you are now a resident. If Bateman had won, you would no doubt be letting blood with leeches on top of their forsaken mountain.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Hal said, covering her hand with his. “Will you forgive me my ignorance? Small town rivalry is new to me.”
Abby’s expression was still peeved, but she squeezed his hand before turning her attention back to Sadie. “And now one of my own is willingly entering into a contract with one of those toothless hillbillies. How could you, Sadie?”
“Abby, I’m doing a job, not becoming a citizen. Fiona needs our help. She was a very nice woman, and if you had met her, I’m sure you would have agreed with me about taking the case.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” Abby said.
“Her ex-husband is plaguing her. She’s helpless and fragile,” Sadie argued.
Luke rolled his eyes and Hal coughed to cover his laugh. If there was one thing Fiona Tomkins wasn’t, it was fragile.
“Emotionally fragile,” Sadie amended. “These pumpkins mean the world to her, and they’re being targeted for assassination.”
Hal raised his hand. “Does anyone mind if I name this case? I’m torn between ‘Gourd Grinder’ and ‘Squash Stalker,’ although ‘Pumpkin Punisher’ has a nice ring to it.”
“You’re suspiciously silent, Luke,” Abby said.
“He’s trying to scour the image of his girlfriend devouring a box of Ding Dongs in thirty seconds from his mind,” Sadie said. After gorging herself on the entire box of treats, Vaslilssa had gone home to make more eBay bids.
“No, I’m trying to scour the image of you wrestling with a serial killer from my mind,” Luke said. “Don’t you think it’s a bit soon to go away on a case, Sadie?”
“No,” Sadie said. “I refuse to put my life on pause.”
“Bateman is far away, and Abby has a point. The people are different there,” Luke said.
Abby gave a cluck of agreement.
“They’re different, but they’re not dangerous. Seriously, guys, I’m going to be guarding pumpkins, not dismantling bombs. I can handle it.”
“I would feel better if I could go with you,” Luke said.
“No,” Sadie blurted. She needed space. If Luke insisted on tagging along, she would drop the case. Maybe that was his plan. She narrowed her eyes at him. He affected an innocent expression and avoided blinking a few beats to pass her inspection.
“I’ll go,” Hal said. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. “I have a few days off from the hospital. I was going to go home to visit my family, but this is way better.”
“Hal,” Sadie began. He hadn’t seen his family in ages, and she didn’t want to take that away from him.
“Believe me, Sadie, being on a case with you is a thousand times more fun than trying to wade through the mire of family baggage. We’ll go spy some pumpkins together. It’ll be a blast.” He held his fist out for a bump. She tapped it, smiling. With Hal, everything was more fun, hopefully enough fun to drag her out of her dour mood.
“Speaking of family baggage, I’m going to check on Gideon,” Sadie said. She made the short walk next door to Gideon’s with trepidation, never sure of her welcome. Her father had been in a better mood lately, but that could change without warning at any time. She rapped once on the door before unlocking it and letting herself in. “Dad, it’s me,” Sadie called. When a man owned as many guns as her father, it was always a good idea to call out a greeting, even if he teased her for it.
“Oh, good. I was afraid it was that burglar I gave a key to,” Gideon said. He sat half sprawled on the couch, the puppy, Barney, draped in his lap. Barney stirred and began to whine at the sight of Sadie, tripping over his ears in his haste to reach her.
Sadie picked him up and cuddled him close, basking in his sloppy puppy kisses. “Who’s a good boy? Is Barney a good boy? Yes, he is.”
“You’re going to spoil him,” Gideon said.
“Absolutely,” Sadie said. She saw no need to point out the open container of puppy treats on the end table. If appearances were any indication, Gideon was doing his own job of spoiling the dog. When Barney’s furious affection began to calm to playful nips, she picked up one of his chew toys and began teasing him with it. “Dad, I’m going away for a few days.”
“Yeah? You finally have a job interview somewhere?”
“No, Dad, I have a job here. That’s why I’m going away. I’m doing some surveillance in Bateman.”
“Bateman?” he echoed with much the same derision Abby had used. “Sadie, those yokels are crazy. They have their own group of vigilantes. People have gone missing there and never been found. If the crazies don’t get you, then the bed bugs and tetanus will. Their family tree has one branch, and it points straight up. Why on earth are you going to Bateman?”
“Someone hired me for security,” she said.
His eyebrow arched. “Someone hired you for security. For what? Some sort of hillbilly awards show? Do they want you to help judge who has the best looking tooth?”
“You sound like Abby,” Sadie said, and Gideon quickly shut up. The last thing he wanted was to be lumped in with Abby; the two had a contentious love/hate relationship as it was.
“I don’t understand why you’re playing at being a cop. If you want to do real police work, why don’t you actually become a cop?”
“I like being able to make my own hours,” Sadie said.
“You don’t want to take orders,” Gideon said. “You don’t work well with others.”
“If only there were some magical way of knowing where that trait came from,” Sadie mused.
“I worked just fine with others,” he said. “Ask anyone.”
“You worked well as long as you were in charge,” Sadie said. “You didn’t like being a subordinate any more than I do.”
He opened his mouth, thought better of it, and clammed up again.
“Have you heard from Mary lately?”
A heavy gust of air hissed between his teeth. “No. Stop asking. You want to pretend there’s some fairytale romance between me and Mary, but there’s not, and there never was. I hadn’t talked to the woman in years. I see no need to change that.”
“Oh, Dad.” She let it go at that. There was no talking sense with Gideon. He picked up the remote and turned up the volume on the television, effectively ending the conversation anyway. She stayed for a while petting and playing with Barney. Sadie had never owned a dog; she had no idea a piece of her had been waiting for one, but the dog was filling all kinds of holes inside her. She thought maybe it was the same for Gideon. He had seemed softer somehow since the dog came into their lives.
She reluctantly set Barney on the couch and walked back to Abby’s home. Hal’s car was gone. Without him as a buffer, she was reluctant to go inside. Abby might want to vent about Bateman again, but the real problem was Luke. Sadie sat on the porch swing and used one foot to gently push back and forth. She enjoyed a few minutes of quiet before Luke joined her. He stood in the doorway, watching her, backlit from the entry light. One shoulder was propped in the doorway, his ankles crossed to affect a casual pose. He wasn’t casual, though; he was worried about her. He finally ambled over and nudged her aside, shoving a warm mug into her hands.
“Abby sent a peace offering.”
Sadie took a sip of the warm brew and grimaced. “When do you think she’ll finally realize we hate warm Ovaltine?”
“I think she knows and doesn’t care. In her mind it’s healthy and comforting,” Luke said. Sadie supposed the consistency was comforting. Their childhood had been punctuated with countless mugs of warm Ovaltine.
His right arm eased around her. With his left, he reclaimed the mug. He took a sip and also began swinging them. Jobless, Sadie’s feet curled beneath her. Her head rested on his shoulder.
“What’s wrong, Sade? Something is up with you, and I can’t get a handle on it.”
“Neither can I,” Sadie admitted. He had never seen her jealous before because she had never been jealous. She was Sadie Cooper; such things didn’t happen in her world. She didn’t get jealous of men and especially not nerdy scientists with little dating experience. If she were going to be jealous over anyone, it would be someone spectacular, not Luke.
“Is it Gideon?”
“No, it’s not Gideon.”
“You told me you’re not upset about Ben, and I believe you, but something is going on. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this quietly sad for so long.” He paused. “Is it your ex?”
She thought of her ex-husband, Kai. News of his engagement had gained national attention last week when he finally proposed to his longtime supermodel girlfriend. Was she bothered by that? No. She had married the man, had conceived and lost his child, and yet she felt nothing but relief that he was out of her life. He had been so strong, so physically solid, but his embrace had never felt as secure as Luke’s. There was no doubt that Kai could take him in a fight, but Luke had all the emotional fortitude and integrity Kai had lacked. “No, it’s not about Kai.”
Luke tensed. “I didn’t mean him; I meant the most recent one, the reporter.”
“Oh.” Oops. She had broken the cardinal rule of mentioning Kai, reminding Luke of her abandonment all over again. She waited to see what he would do. He had promised to let it go, to try and move on. After a moment of tension and deep breathing, he relaxed and began swinging them again. Sadie was so relieved that he hadn’t gotten up and walked away that she turned toward him and nestled closer. She slung her arm over his waist. He set the mug aside. His other arm circled her shoulders and his head rested on hers. He sighed, sounding as content as she felt. They glided in silence awhile before Luke spoke again.
“If it’s
not Gideon and it’s not one of the exes, than it must be me,” he deduced.
Her lack of answer was all the answer he needed.
“It’s me,” he confirmed. “We’ve been getting along so well. What did I do?”
“You know you didn’t do anything. Being upset for no reason is part of being a woman; it’s what we do,” she said.
“You’ve always had a reason before.”
“I’m turning over a new leaf. I’ve also decided my life needs more drama. I’m going to start catfights with other females and cross my fingers for a spot on one of those reality shows.”
“And is part of this new resolution to not tell me stuff? Come on,” he urged. “Tell me what it is so we can fix it.”
“Sometimes things can’t be fixed,” Sadie said.
“According to you, that’s not true. If I have to try and get over past hurts, then you can’t develop new ones. That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair.”
“Stop being philosophical and melancholy. This isn’t you, and I don’t like it,” he said.
“Neither do I,” she agreed.
“I know what this is,” he said.
“Clue me in,” she said.
“This is you getting ready to run,” he said.
“What? It is not.”
“It is. You’ve been here too long already. You’re getting restless. You think somewhere else has something better to offer, and you want to go search for it, so you’re inventing problems.”
“I’m not going to run.”
“You’re running to Bateman.”
“I’m driving the speed limit and I’m taking Hal,” Sadie pointed out.
“You’re prepping for a sprint. Abby’s going to be heartbroken.”
“Abby’s not going to be heartbroken because I’m not leaving. I’m not,” she reiterated when he remained dubious. “I’m committed to taking care of Abby and seeing the business through.”
Salvaged to Death Page 2
