by Sandy Vale
“Wel , if you insist.” They both laughed. “Here comes Frank. Maddie wil be happy to see Henry.” Corey patted the little pony’s neck.
“Maddie went with her mom to Connecticut. I don’t know when she’l be back. Didn’t you hear what happened at the fair?”
“No. I was at Alex’s yesterday. We never made it to the fair.”
“Blake, Maddie’s stepdad was murdered. His body was found behind the chicken barn at the fair.”
“What?”
“That’s al I know. I’m going with Frank to his ex’s house to take a look around. You’l have to keep an eye on everything today.” Kitty jumped into Frank’s black Jeep Wrangler. “How did it go with Sheila and Maddie this morning?”
“Not wel . Maddie didn’t want to leave, which annoyed Sheila. I told her I was going to get the rest of my stuff out of the house. That irritated her too but I’m stil half owner so she can’t say no.” Frank pul ed into the local coffee shop. “Want anything for the ride?”
“Good idea. I’l come in with you.” Kitty walked in ahead of Frank and was surprised to see the girl from the fair, Nicole, working behind the counter. “Just a smal black coffee for me please.” Kitty didn’t acknowledge remembering Nicole.
Handing the coffee to Kitty, Nicole said, “Hi again. Don’t forget to give me a cal sometime. Where are you off to today?” Nicole had a strange smile on her face.
Kitty almost dropped her coffee. Frank ordered his coffee and they walked back to the Jeep. “Do you know that girl?”
“I was going to tel you about her. It was strange. She approached me at the fair yesterday but then there was al the drama with Blake and I forgot about it. She said she knew my grandfather and she wants to see ‘his’ farm.”
“She looks familiar to me. I think she was walking by my car when I was talking to Mia. That pink stripe in her bleached hair kind of makes her stand out.”
“You saw her at the fair? Was she with anyone?”
“I don’t remember.”
Frank and Kitty drove along in silence, sipping the steaming coffee.
Kitty interrupted the silence. “Tel me about Sheila. She seemed distracted when I met her yesterday. How long were you two married?” Frank sighed, put his coffee in the cup holder. “We have a thirty minute drive so I can fil you in on the basics. Sheila and I were married for six years when I discovered she was having an affair with Blake. Maddie had just turned five. To be honest, I was devastated. Never saw it coming. I knew Blake. We worked in the same world. Investigations. But I work for the state and he was a private detective. I was away a lot. Maybe Sheila got lonely. I stil don’t know how they met and I don’t care anymore. We, or at least I, thought we could work it out but Sheila had other plans. Blake was a charmer with the women and I guess she fel for that.”
Kitty looked out the window at the passing scenery. This part of the state was rural and beautiful. “How did Maddie take al the changes?”
“Not wel . I never liked how Blake treated Maddie. Like she was in the way. Things seemed to be getting better ever since I bought my own place in Wil ow Fal s and I could have Maddie stay with me more often. But I think that just made Maddie more reluctant to go back with Sheila and Blake. I’d love to have her ful time but Sheila wil never agree to that.”
“Did Sheila and Blake get along wel ?”
“I’m not sure. I felt like there was starting to be some tension. I never asked her though. Didn’t feel like it was any of my business. Here’s the exit.”
Frank drove through a smal col ege town and parked in front of a modest white colonial on a side street. “We better run, it’s starting to rain.” Kitty fol owed Frank inside just as the skies opened up and the rain pelted the house. Thunder cracked and lightning pierced the sky. “This looks like a nice summer thunder storm. I hope we don’t have to drive home in this.” Kitty put her bag by the front door, hoping she wouldn’t forget it on her way out. “This must bring back lots of memories for you. When’s the last time you were here?”
“It’s been awhile, except just to pick up Maddie. It’s about time I get the rest of my stuff out. Sheila has been bugging me about it. Actual y, she threatened to throw it away. There’s real y not too much here, just a few boxes of photos and papers I saved after my mom died and a few old work files.” Kitty watched Frank look around.
“Sheila changed everything. It doesn’t even feel like home anymore. I guess that’s a good thing. Now that I’ve settled in Wil ow Fal s, I feel like my life is final y moving forward. Anyway, let’s take a look in my old office. That’s where al my stuff should be.” Kitty couldn’t help but notice al the photos of Maddie on the wal going up the stairs. They were al studio photos of her with pretty dresses and patent leather shoes on. No photos of the tomboy that Kitty saw shine when Maddie came to the farm with Frank. She decided to take some photos of Maddie with Henry and surprise Frank sometime. He could put those photos in his new house.
Another loud crack of thunder made Kitty jump.
“Are you okay?”
Kitty laughed. “Yeah, I’ve just always been a little scared during thunder storms. I used to hide under my bed when I was little. At least I don’t do that anymore.”
“Here’s my office. There are just a few boxes of mine in this corner. We can carry them downstairs and have some tea while we wait for the rain to taper off. I’m not even sure what’s in these boxes anymore.” Frank peeked inside the top box. “I forgot about this one. It might be interesting. This is a box of recipes that I saved from my mother. You like to cook, why don’t you take this box to your house and rummage through it? See if you find anything interesting.”
“Thanks. It wil give me a chance to see what kind of food you grew up on. Surprise you with a special recipe sometime. What was your favorite meal that your mother made?”
Frank paused. “Promise not to laugh?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“Whenever I was sick, my mom made chicken noodle soup. She always used the alphabet noodles. I loved that. It always made me feel better.
She would sit next to me on the couch and tel me stories to get my mind off of whatever aches and pains I had. Or read to me. She was a wonderful person.”
“I think we al have memories connected to foods we love. That’s why food is so important. It’s the sharing with family and friends that make a meal special.” Kitty smiled to herself as she remembered cooking and eating with her grannie.
“It sounds like the rain is about over. I can clean up these tea cups if you want to start loading the boxes.” Kitty rinsed and dried the cups, putting everything back where it came from. As she headed to the front door, Frank walked in looking like he was ready to explode.
“What’s the matter?”
“You won’t believe it. My car has a flat tire. It looks like someone slashed it.”
“Real y? Is this a bad neighborhood?”
“Not at al . Unless it was a prank from one of the col ege kids. The worst part is, I can’t find my tire iron. I’l have to look in the garage and see what I can find to loosen the bolts.”
Kitty finished loading the boxes in the back of the Jeep.
“I found something that wil work. We should be out of here in no time.” As Frank and Kitty were final y ready to drive away, a car went by slowly. The driver, wearing a hat pul ed low, looked at them.
“Who is that? Someone you know?”
“No. I couldn’t get a very good look. Let’s get out of here before something else strange happens.” Kitty was glad when Frank turned into her driveway. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”
“I’d love to but I should get home and unload these boxes. It’s been a long couple of days.” Kitty pul ed in next to the car parked in front of her house. “I wonder why the police chief is here. Do you think it could be something about Blake’s murder?”
Police Chief, Herb Simmons was waiting for Frank and Kitty to pul up and get out of the Jeep. “Hi. I wa
s hoping to find you here. Frank, I need you to come to the station. We’ve made some progress on the homicide and I need to question you.” Frank looked confused. “I’m not part of the investigation Herb.”
“I know. We’re questioning you as a suspect.”
“I’m coming with you Frank.” Kitty gripped his hand to give him support.
“There’s no need for that.” Herb sternly replied.
“Herb. I’m coming too. We’l fol ow you.”
They climbed back into Frank’s jeep. Kitty’s heart sank. This couldn’t be happening.
Chapter 3
“Frank Hughes? Is that your name?”
“Yes, Herb. You know that’s my name. What’s going on?” Frank was sitting in a smal room with the Police Chief.
“We found the murder weapon in the dumpster.”
Frank leaned forward. “And?”
“And. It’s a tire iron with your fingerprints on it. Care to explain?” Herb steadied his gaze on Frank’s face.
Frank felt like he had just been punched. “I got a flat tire today and that’s the first time I realized it was missing. Actual y, someone slashed my tire and when I looked in the back for the tire iron, it wasn’t there. I don’t know when I last used it. Who checks if their tire iron is missing?”
“So you don’t know how your tire iron, the murder weapon, got in the dumpster?”
“No. Someone put it there, but it wasn’t me, Herb.”
“What was your relationship with the victim?”
Frank sat back, trying to relax. “He was married to my ex-wife, Sheila.”
“Was that difficult for you?”
“At first. But I’ve been over it for quite a while.”
Never taking his eyes off Frank’s face, Herb asked, “Did you notice anyone near your car during the fair? Someone that might have taken the tire iron?”
“I was talking to Kitty’s friend Mia and several people walked by. The only one I remember specifical y was a girl, early twenties maybe, with bleached blond hair with a pink stripe. I saw her again this morning. She works at the coffee shop.”
“How about your ex-wife? Do you know how her relationship was with the victim?”
“You’l have to ask her, Herb. They just had their honeymoon. I would hope they were getting along.”
“You have a young daughter too, right?”
“Yes, Maddie.”
“Any problems with Maddie and the victim?”
“Maddie didn’t like Blake. I suppose you know I argued with Blake before he was murdered. Listen, Herb, I didn’t kil him and I’m not trying to hide anything.”
“Okay Frank. I just had to ask these questions. Doing my job. You can go now. Ask Kitty to come in please.”
“Kitty? Are you serious? She was watching my daughter when Blake was murdered.”
“Just ask her to come in.”
Frank shook his head and walked from the room. “Kitty. Herb wants to ask you some questions now. I’l wait here for you.” He leaned in close to her ear. “He found my tire iron. It’s the murder weapon.”
Kitty felt her heart lurch as she went into the room. “Herb. What’s going on? Are you going to question everyone that was at the fair?”
“It may come to that. At least everyone that I can track down. Tel me what you saw or heard.”
“Frank texted me that he was leaving but I had my rooster in the chicken exhibit so I needed to check on him. Maddie, Frank’s little girl, saw me.
Frank’s ex-wife, Sheila, asked me to watch Maddie so she could look for her husband. Frank came back and said he changed his mind, was going to stay after al . Then we heard al the sirens from the ambulance and police cars. It al happened in a short amount of time.”
“Do you know Frank’s ex-wife?”
“No. The first time I met her was at the fair. It was strange. She didn’t look happy that Maddie, their little girl, was so happy to see me, but she asked me to watch Maddie. She had something on her mind or was worrying about something.”
“How was she when she came back to get Maddie?”
“I never saw her again. Frank came back and asked me to take Maddie to my house and he would pick her up later.” Herb sat quietly. Thinking. “Thanks. That’s al for now. You can go.”
***
It was a long night for Kitty. She tossed and turned thinking about how Frank could possibly be a suspect. In the meantime, she had to focus on her planting schedule. It was spring and her organic vegetable crops had to get planted so she could get the farm store stocked with produce. Peas, broccoli, lettuce, beets, carrots and potatoes would be the first things going in. She already had seedlings started for the warmer weather veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and eggplant. A big order of strawberry plants was coming soon for u-pick strawberries. This was a busy time.
“Max, at least you’re here to keep me company. Let’s go out and check on everyone in the barn.” Max wagged his tail. He was always ready for an adventure.
Corey was already in the barn feeding the chickens. Cleo wiggled al over when she saw Kitty and Max.
“Cleo is almost ful grown. I can’t believe it. You’ve done a nice job training her Corey.”
“Thanks. Sam helped me. And Max of course.”
“You’l never guess what I found this morning.” Corey said with excitement. “Licorice was curled up in the stal with Henry. It seems that everyone has fal en in love with that pony.”
“I’ve been wondering where that sneaky little black cat had disappeared to. This is a great spot for him. He can keep the mice out of the grain and keep Henry company.”
Kitty stroked the soft cat fur. “Are you ready to start planting today? It wil be perfect after yesterday’s rain.”
“Can’t wait. The sooner we plant, the sooner we’l be harvesting al those wonderful veggies.” They turned Henry and Poco out into the field just as Frank drove up in his Jeep.
Corey waved on her way to the garden to get started with the planting.
Kitty watched Frank walked to the barn. “How are you doing Frank? Did you get any sleep?”
“I’ve been better. Probably about as much as you got.”
“Someone must have stolen that tire iron from your car. When’s the last time you saw it?”
“I don’t remember. Herb asked me the same thing. I haven’t had to change a tire in a long time. It was supposed to be in my car. It could have been missing for weeks. Months even.”
Max charged over, wagging al over with excitement to see Frank. Crouching down to Max’s level, Frank patted him. “It’s nice to have no worries, huh Max?”
Max’s woof was rewarded with a smal smile. Kitty headed toward the kitchen door. “Come on inside. I’l make you a delicious breakfast. That wil make you feel better.”
Before Kitty even got the eggs out, her phone rang. “Hi Kitty, Nicole here.” Kitty put the phone away from her ear and whispered to Frank, “It’s that strange girl.”
“Hel o Nicole. What can I do for you?”
“Just want to let you know, I’m stopping by the farm later. See ya.” The phone went dead before Kitty could respond.
“I get bad vibes from this person. She said she’s stopping by. Didn’t ask if she could stop by. Just said she is stopping by. What should I do?”
“You may as wel get it over with. It doesn’t sound like she’s going away. I’l stick around today if you want me to.”
“Definitely. There’s something odd about the way she talks to me. Like she knows me. I don’t like it.”
***
After breakfast, Kitty, Frank and Max took a walk around Fat Hen Farm. Kitty always found walking to be relaxing and the best way for her to clear her head.
Chatting about Maddie and how adorable her pink cowgirl boots are and the look of astonishment on her face when she saw Henry, made them both laugh out loud. Rounding the side of the barn, brought them back to the present. A car was parked in front of Kitty’s house, with Nicole leaning
against it texting on her smart phone.
“Hey Kitty. Hope you don’t mind me stopping by. Real y need to talk to you.” She pocketed her phone and approached Kitty like they were old friends.
“I’m busy today. What do you want?” Kitty was hoping to make this a short visit, not even inviting her inside.
“Oh, it won’t take long. I have a document I want to show you. How about we go inside? Who’s your friend? This doesn’t concern him.” Nicole rudely looked Frank up and down.
Kitty ignored the comment. “What do you have to show me?”
Nicole careful y pul ed an official looking document from a manila envelope and handed it to Kitty. “Our grandfather gave this to my grandmother many years ago and she left it to me.”
Al color drained from Kitty’s face “Our grandfather? Your grandmother?”
“Yeah. Surprised, huh?” Nicole smiled shrewdly. “How about we go into the farmhouse now.” Kitty held the paper like it was burning her fingers and looked daggers at Nicole. “I don’t know who you are or what your game is. My grandfather had one grandchild. You need to leave.” Kitty turned and walked toward her house.
“I can understand your shock, Kitty. You’l be hearing from me again, don’t worry. Oh, and keep the document. I have the original.” Nicole took her time looking at the beautiful view surrounding the house and barn. “I can see why Bernie loved this place. You must be happy here.” She climbed into her car, waved and drove out the driveway.
Frank held Kitty’s arm as they went inside. Stopping, Kitty looked at Frank. “Did she say, our grandfather? Did I hear her right? I have to talk to Sam. If my grandfather had an affair, Sam would know. Sam and granddad were very close. I think that’s why Sam always stayed next to the farm after granddad died. He promised to keep an eye on my grandma Nel ie.” Frank took the paper from Kitty. “It says Bernie Watson deeded twenty five percent of the farm to Rebecca Flemming. That must be Nicole’s grandmother. There has to be a reasonable explanation Kitty. That girl could be lying. Doesn’t your friend Tina work for a lawyer? Maybe she could have him take a look at this document. You could get a private investigator to look into Nicole’s background. Find out as much as possible about her.”
