by Dayle Gaetz
“So, then that’s what the threat is about,” Katie mused. “Who do you think made it?”
Aunt Margaret kept scrubbing the frying pan, even though it looked perfectly clean to Katie. “I don’t know. It could be someone hoping to pick up my land cheap, maybe an employee of a big corporation. Either that or it’s simply someone out to scare me.”
“Like Scott? Trying to get even for getting fired?” “Maybe. I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if he was innocent all along. That might explain why he’s so angry.”
“How could he be innocent? Didn’t you find that necklace in Scott’s room?”
“Yes.” She handed the frying pan to Katie. “But Megan always liked that necklace. She used to wear it around the house sometimes. It was Megan who had cleaned the room before me. I just wonder…”
“You think Megan put it there to get Scott in trouble?”
Aunt Margaret shook her head. “Megan would never do that to Scott. But, what if she put the necklace on, just for fun? What if she was wearing it when she did the housework? It could have fallen off, and she didn’t notice. I found it on the floor under the bed when I was vacuuming.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If it was Megan’s fault she wouldn’t have let you fire Scott.”
Aunt Margaret’s face sagged. She pressed her lips together and blinked back tears. She stared down at her hands immersed in greasy water.
“I don’t know, Katie,” she whispered. “I can’t understand Megan lately. It’s like she’s in her own little world. She barely eats and she’s always angry at everyone, especially me. I hoped that seeing you, so young and full of life, she might come to her senses.”
Katie heard the clink of coffee cups being gathered together on the porch and rushed into her next question. “Do the calls ever come when Cliff or Megan are with you?”
“No, it’s always in the evening when I’m alone.
At least, I always was alone until you all arrived this week.”
A peal of laughter was followed by soft footsteps.
“Could it be Cliff?”
“What? Making threatening calls? No. Definitely not. He’s the one person I can rely on.”
“It looks like you two are out of dishes.” Katie’s mom came up behind them. “Never fear, I have more here.” She laughed and put four coffee mugs in the sink.
A few minutes later GJ stepped into the kitchen. “How about I set to work finishing that rock planter out front?” he suggested. “It looks like you ran out of time for it.”
“Oh, that was Megan’s project,” Aunt Margaret told him. “Since it’s her job to clear the fields with the rock picker, she wanted to put the rocks to good use. She had visions of a flower garden and a birdbath and I don’t know what else to attract birds. But she lost interest after a few days.”
“Looks to me that there’s enough rocks to finish the section she started,” GJ said. “I’ll take Rusty and Sarah with me. They’re looking for something to do together.”
“Katie,” her mom said, “Gram and I are going to weed the kitchen garden out back. Do you want to come and help us?”
Katie wondered if she had a choice. “Uh,” she said, “maybe later, Mom. I want to write in my new notebook first. Besides I helped with all those dishes!”
“Thanks so much, all of you,” Aunt Margaret said. “I’m off to the canola field; it’s due for spraying.
Cliff’s busy trying to repair the cutter bar, and Megan needs to move the cattle to the west pasture and see to their water.”
Grateful for some time to herself, Katie settled on the screened porch to make notes about her talk with Aunt Margaret. She checked back through earlier notes. So far—not so good. She still had no idea who to blame. It was beginning to look as if the accidents were only that. Accidents caused by Megan’s carelessness. But the phone calls?
They could be from someone who works for a big company that wanted this land, like Aunt Margaret thinks.
They might be from Scott.
In spite of what Aunt Margaret said, Katie wasn’t ready to cross Cliff off her list. If he wanted the land as badly as Aunt Margaret said, would he resort to any means to get it for himself?
No question about it, she needed to question him. Katie closed her notebook, slipped it under her arm and set off to find Cliff.
15
Beyond the equipment shed was another outbuilding, similar in size, with a steep metal roof and vertical siding. Until now, Katie had not paid much attention to it, but as she approached, she heard the quick sharp rap of metal on metal. There was no door on the driveway side, only a small high window. A well-worn path led through tall brown grasses along the sidewall.
Before setting out on the path, she stopped on the driveway and looked toward the front of the house where three figures were hard at work. GJ was on his knees, smoothing a layer of mortar around a volleyball-sized rock on the low wall. Rusty and his mom were piling rocks into a large gray wheelbarrow from a short stack on the front grass.
Katie tried to get Rusty’s attention, willed him to look in her direction. He staggered under the weight of a large rock, took several wobbly steps and dropped it with a loud clanking thud that shook the wheelbarrow. Rusty brushed his hands against one another to rid them of dust and grabbed the handles. He put his head down, his baseball cap pulled low on his forehead to block the sun, and tried to lift the loaded wheelbarrow. He pushed. His feet made walking motions, his heels kicked out behind, one after the other, but he was going nowhere. His mom hurried over to help.
As much as Katie would like Rusty along as back up, she didn’t dare wait. Cliff was alone right here and now, not out on a distant field where they wouldn’t be able to find him. She walked boldly along the path to the far side of the building.
Facing a dirt roadway that led toward the fields was a wide-open garage door. In front of the door was yet another piece of farm equipment. A dark green, metal contraption, it had two fat knobby wheels near the back. At the front was a hitch, like the one on Gram and GJ’s trailer, to attach it to a truck or tractor. Between the wheels was a kind of bin, like an oversized wheelbarrow bucket. In front of the bucket, low to the ground, was a wide row of metal teeth, like a gigantic comb. This comb, or fork-type thing, was attached to a reel and it looked like the long teeth were supposed to scoop up something from the ground. The reel would then turn to lift the load and dump it in the bucket. Katie had no idea what this machine was used for. There were so many different machines around here; no wonder Aunt Margaret had no money left over if she had to pay for all of them.
Katie stopped at the open door where the metallic clang of the hammer was so loud it hurt her ears. At first she didn’t see Cliff, only his shadow on the far wall. A shadow hammer rose and fell in perfect time with each ear-splitting clang. She gripped her notebook a little more tightly and checked that her cell phone was safely tucked in her pocket; then she stepped into the workshop. She lingered for a moment near the door. Hot sun streamed in and landed on Cliff.
As if the shop weren’t stifling already, Katie thought, Cliff was working in hot sunshine and his T-shirt was damp with sweat. Sweat poured down the side of his face, and his jaw was set in a grim line. She wondered why he didn’t take the cutter bar outside and work in the shade of the building.
She took a few steps closer and stopped again when she realized it wasn’t the cutter bar he was hammering on so furiously. It looked instead like a long thick bolt with a dark green head. The bolt was held in a vice while Cliff hit it with strong sharp blows of his sledgehammer.
“What are you doing?” she shouted. But he didn’t hear, probably due to those fat orange sound protectors, like earmuffs, over his ears. She stepped so close he couldn’t fail to see her.
Cliff jumped, the hammer poised above his head.
“Are you nuts?” he yelled. “You don’t sneak up on a man when he’s working!”
“I didn’t sneak. I just wanted to talk to you. Can I help it if y
ou didn’t see me?”
Slowly Cliff lowered the hammer. He slipped the ear protectors down around his neck.
“What are you doing?” Katie repeated. “I thought you were fixing the cutter bar.”
“I am. At least I’m getting to that next. I had another little job to do first.”
“What’s that machine just outside the door?” she asked. “Is that what you’re fixing?”
He looked at her as if she didn’t have one scrap of brain in her entire head. “That’s the rock picker. I need to check it over before your aunt uses it to finish clearing the field Megan started.”
He put down the hammer and wiped his damp brow with the back of his hand. Then he grinned. “Your aunt figures if she gets more rocks today, your grandpa will be able to finish that rock wall while he’s here. Kinda like getting two birds with one stone.”
“Good idea,” Katie agreed. Then she decided to get right down to business. “Can I ask you a couple of questions?”
Cliff smiled indulgently. “I hear you’re a bit of a detective. Okay, two questions it is; then I need to get back to work.”
“Do you think all the bad stuff that’s happened is just by accident?”
“No. I said it before and I’ll say it again. I think Scott’s behind all of our problems.”
“Why Scott?”
“I don’t trust him; he’s a sneaky character.”
“But, why would he go to all that trouble?”
“I told you before. Revenge.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.”
“Why not?” Cliff’s face turned angry and he stepped toward Katie.
When she stepped back he smiled again, as if he suddenly realized he was frightening her. “Don’t worry, little girl, I’m not going to hurt you. But you really should stay out of this. I have a feeling Scott can be dangerous if he doesn’t get what he wants.”
“Can I ask you just one more question?” she asked.
“Seems to me you’ve already asked more than two.
But if you’ll get out of here and let me get back to work. Deal.”
Katie nodded. “All right then. It’s about Megan’s cell phone. How do you think it got out there by the road?”
Cliff shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she lent it to Scott and dropped it later, after he gave it back. That girl is getting more scatterbrained by the day.”
“Why would she lend it to Scott?”
“Who knows? Maybe Scott said he needed to make a call—he’s very inventive. Has anyone checked the outgoing calls?”
Katie nodded. “We did.”
“We who? What did you find?”
“Rusty and me. But, all we found was a bunch of numbers.”
“Not one to your aunt?”
Katie shrugged “I’m not sure, why?”
“I hope you didn’t delete them.”
She shook her head. This was going all wrong.
She was supposed to ask the questions.
“Okay, time’s up. You’ve passed your quota of questions.” Cliff pulled his ear protectors up from his neck.
“Okay,” she shouted, “thanks.” She started for the door. A phone rang. Realizing Cliff might not hear it, Katie glanced around.
“It’s you,” Cliff said, holding the protectors away from his ears. “Your pocket’s ringing.”
She grabbed her cell. “Hello?”
“Hey, is that like, Katie?”
“Yes.”
“So, I’m thinking, I can pick you up at like, twelve.
Scott will be at his house for lunch. Can you and Rusty come over then to, like, ask your questions?”
“Sure, thanks, Emily. I’ll go tell Rusty.”
After the call, with her cell in one hand and her notebook in the other, Katie started again for the door.
“What was that all about?” Cliff wanted to know.
“It was just Emily. She promised to take us out today.”
“Out where?”
“Just around, kind of a sightseeing tour. Anyway, thanks for your help. I have to go now.”
16
An old truck, the color of a prairie sky, turned off the dirt road, rattled along the short driveway and stopped in front of a long ranch-style house with wide windows facing the road. The truck engine coughed once and then chugged into silence.
Seated between Emily and Rusty, Katie looked out at the house and the tall teenaged boy who stepped onto the covered porch to meet them. He waved. “Hey, Em!”
Katie followed Rusty out the passenger side.
“Hi, Scott,” Emily called as she slid down from the driver’s seat. “These are, like, Megan’s cousins, Katie and Rusty.”
“Hi, kids,” Scott said. “C’mon in.” He led them down a short hallway to a large modern kitchen. They settled around a square kitchen table next to a sliding glass door. Beyond the door a field of grain rippled into the distance like ocean waves in a gentle breeze.
Scott opened the fridge and pulled out a plate with three thick sandwiches on it. “If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’ll eat my lunch while we talk. My mom left them here for me.” He poured himself a tall glass of milk.
Watching him, Katie realized how hungry she was.
She licked her lips.
“You guys hungry?” Scott asked.
“No.” Emily shook her head. “We won’t share your lunch. You’ve been, like, working hard all morning.
Milk would be good though, if you’ve got lots.”
Scott chuckled. “Please! Drink milk! All of you.
We’ve got more than we know what to do with already, and the cows just won’t quit.”
Emily went over to help him. She poured three glasses of milk while Scott opened a cookie tin and placed it on the table.
Minutes later, after wolfing down his first sandwich, Scott rested his forearms on the table and leaned toward Katie. “So, Em says you’ve got questions? What about? Is Megan in trouble? How can I help?”
“Whoa!” Rusty said. “You ask more questions than Katie!”
Katie shot him an angry look but Scott laughed. He was kind of cute, Katie decided, with his wide dark eyes, straight brown eyebrows and his hair that was blond on top but dark where it was cut so short over his ears. He had a narrow friendly face and a smile that made his eyes crinkle.
“Aunt Margaret’s in trouble,” Katie said. “And I’m not sure what’s wrong with Megan.”
“Megs has her problems.” Scott’s tone implied he didn’t want to discuss it. He glanced at his watch and picked up the second sandwich. “What do you want to know? I need to get back to work soon. Mom and Dad are in town for the day, and I’ve got tons of stuff that needs doing around here.”
“Okay, I only have a few questions. First, do you know how Megan’s cell phone ended up in the grass near the place you parked your truck last night?”
He swallowed. “No! Why would I? I didn’t even know it was there.” He glanced from Katie to Rusty.
“So it was you guys who answered her cell last night?”
Katie nodded and made a quick note. “Cliff said you stole it from the house.”
“What?” He had been about to drink some milk but thumped the glass down hard. “Why would I? If I took Megan’s cell, why would I have phoned it? Why would I want it anyway?”
“Did Megan have it with her when she met you?”
He shook his head. “No. She forgot to clip it back on her belt after she recharged the battery. Megan forgets a lot of stuff these days.”
Katie scribbled a quick note and glanced up at Scott. “What about the necklace?”
“Necklace?” His face flushed bright red. “I never took it. I never stole anything in my life! Besides, if I did take it, why would I be stupid enough to leave it under the bed where someone would be sure to find it?”
“That’s what I wondered.”
“Are we almost done?” Scott drained his glass and picked up his final sandwich.
“Uh,
not quite. I wondered if you knew how that chicken wire got in the field?”
His shoulders slumped. “Megan thinks it’s her fault. She likes making those nest baskets, you know? She’s a volunteer for the Wildlife Federation. Ever since she was little, she made nest baskets with her dad. Anyhow, I helped her do some last spring, before I got fired, but Megan made that one by the hay field herself. She’s always been careful to pick everything up before she leaves.”
“What about the one near the place where you always park?”
“I only parked there once.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know there was a nest basket there. Megan must have done it.”
Katie recognized the lie. “Didn’t you park there two nights ago?” she asked. “Rusty and I saw you drive away.”
Rusty nodded agreement. “We saw you up near the house too.”
“Oh that.” Scott rubbed his hand over the top of his head, making his blond hair stand up on end. “Yeah, okay, you got me. I was there. I couldn’t get in touch with Megan. I even risked making her mom mad by phoning the house, but no one answered. So I wanted to make sure she was all right.”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
“She told me she couldn’t take it anymore. I was afraid she might run away.”
“Run away?” Katie thought back to that day. Soon after they first arrived Cliff drove up with a fuming Megan and her bulging backpack. “I think maybe she did, run away, I mean. I think Cliff brought her back.”
Scott scratched his head. “He keeps a close eye on her. She hates that.”
Katie made another note. “One more question,” she said. “Did you phone Aunt Margaret and tell her you knew she grew GM canola in her field?”
Scott jumped to his feet. He walked to the sliding door and stared out at the wide yellow field, his hands on his hips. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. Mrs. Piercy would never have anything to do with GM seed.”
“But you know about GM canola?”
