Desperate Measures

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “Well it’s a little different for you and Mary. You own the ranch. I don’t plan on staying in the business that much longer. Been thinking of going back to school and getting a degree in engineering.”

  “Yeah?” Tom nodded. “That’s not a bad field.”

  “Excuse me,” Jennie cut in. “I’m finished with the feeding. Um—I think I’ll go back up to the house.”

  “Okay. Thanks for the help.” Tom waved at her. “See you in a while.”

  Tom and Jim went back to their conversation, and Jennie jogged back to the house.

  “Good morning, Jennie,” Mary greeted her in a cheerful voice. “Don’t tell me you’ve been out working already.”

  “Okay, I won’t.” Jennie kicked her boots off and went in to wash her hands.

  Mary laughed. “Are you hungry? I have some oatmeal baking and I just finished cooking up some bacon.”

  “Mmm. I love baked oatmeal. But I think I’d like to shower first.”

  “Take your time. It won’t be ready for another twenty minutes.”

  Jennie tiptoed around the bedroom so she wouldn’t arouse the sleeping beauties. In a way, she wished she were still sleeping, but there’d be little point in going to bed. She was too keyed up to sleep. Instead, she showered, dressed, braided her hair, then gathered up her dirty laundry and headed downstairs. Mary showed her how to use the washer, and a few minutes later she had a load agitating.

  It was only eight, but Jennie felt like she’d been up for hours. When she returned to the kitchen, Mary had two places set on the table. “Looks like it will be just you and me for now. The girls may be asleep for a while—Megan likes to sleep late. Tom wants to finish the order before he eats.”

  Jennie pulled out a chair. “Fine with me. I’d like to talk to you anyway.”

  “Oh?” She sat down. “About anything special?”

  Jennie scooped a generous portion of oatmeal out of the baking dish, then reached for the milk. “Agent Tucker said Christine is selling her farm. I was curious about that. I mean—they haven’t even had Mr. Sutherland’s funeral yet. He also said Tom might buy it.”

  “Yes, Tom and I talked about it. If she does sell, we’d like first option.” Mary secured a piece of bacon and waved it in the air while she talked. “I’m hoping she’ll back off and wait for a while, though. Hate to see anyone make such important decisions during a crisis. I think she’s afraid she won’t be able to take care of it, but like I told her, she has Stan. Jim can help—Tom, too, if it comes to that.”

  Jennie sprinkled on cinnamon and took a bite. “Had you thought about buying it before?”

  “Christine mentioned that they might sell a year or so ago. She’d been after Bob to retire. Tom said then he’d be interested, but they never brought it up again. Which is fine.” She poured a glass of orange juice and offered the pitcher to Jennie. “I wish Tom hadn’t been so quick to offer this time. Agent Tucker practically accused him of murdering Bob for the land—which is insane. He has been wanting to expand, and having the barns already set up would be a bonus—price is right, too, but we certainly wouldn’t kill for it.”

  Jennie nodded, glad Mary had brought up the investigation. “Tucker is looking for motive.”

  “I suppose they need to look at all the possibilities, but I can’t help but be offended. Tom wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “Do you know Sal—Algie’s friend?”

  “Not well. He’s been here swimming a few times.”

  Jennie told her about Sal’s short-lived job at the Sutherlands’ and her suspicions about him being connected with the murder and the attempt on Scott’s life. “He may have been the one responsible for the explosion last night.”

  “I hope not, Jennie. I’d hate to think any of Megan’s friends would be involved in anything so violent.”

  “Yeah. Well, I need to tell Sheriff Parker about the job. They may already know, but it could be an important clue.”

  “Mmm.” The buzzer on the stove went off, and Mary jumped up. She turned it off and pulled out a second pan of baked oatmeal. From the counter she took two casserole dishes covered in aluminum foil and set them in the oven.

  “Isn’t that a lot of oatmeal?”

  “I always make extra and freeze it. The casseroles are for dinner tonight—one of them is. The other I’ll be sending over to Christine. I invited her to join us for dinner, but she’s not up to company. I’m concerned about her. She’s withdrawing, but that’s understandable with all she’s been through. I just wish this business would end and the police would. find the killer.”

  “Me too.” Jennie savored the salty, crunchy texture of the bacon. They ate in companionable silence for several minutes.

  “This has been quite a visit, hasn’t it?” Mary gave her a dimpled smile and sipped at her coffee.

  “No kidding. I had a feeling something would happen, but I sure didn’t expect all this.”

  The phone rang. Mary jumped up to get it, and after a brief conversation pointed the phone to Jennie. “Agent Tucker wants to talk to you.”

  Coming to the phone, Jennie felt oddly nervous. “Hello?”

  “How’s it going, Jennie?” he asked, apparently not expecting an answer. “Tess said you wanted me to call.”

  “I did. I wondered how you were.”

  “Other than feeling like I’ve been run down by a semi, great.” He sounded annoyed. Jennie didn’t blame him.

  “Um—I was hoping you could tell me what happened to Scott.”

  “No can do, Jennie. I’m not even sure myself. We took him to Portland, and the supervisor up there was taking care of him.”

  “Is there any chance they’ll let me see him?”

  “I don’t see why not. Call the office when you get back home.”

  “There’s something else.” Jennie told him about Sal’s short-term employment with the Sutherlands.

  “Thanks for the info. I’ll check into it. Hmm. Wonder why Christine didn’t give me his name when I asked for possible suspects? ’Course, she was pretty upset.”

  “Well, he is Crystal’s brother and—maybe she didn’t want him to get into trouble.” Jennie twisted the cord around her finger. “Which reminds me, did you find him?”

  “Not yet, but we will.”

  “I heard you let Aleshia and Crystal go.”

  “Yep. Not enough to hold them. Scott wasn’t able to get much information—nothing on Sonja, which was why he went with them in the first place. Can’t bring charges against them for printing propaganda.”

  “Jim says he’s going to try to talk Aleshia into getting out of ARM.”

  He laughed at that. “More power to him. Look, I have to go. Sheriff Parker just came in.”

  Jennie hung up, wishing she were staying on—wishing she were an adult so she could officially work on investigations. What would you do then, McGrady? she asked herself.

  Write it all out, she answered, and put the pieces together. She was missing something important. Okay, maybe she’d never figure it out, but she had to try.

  Jennie finished eating and excused herself to go upstairs. Lisa and Megan were still asleep. She was ready to scream—not at them—it didn’t really bother her that they were sleeping in. What bothered her was this stupid case. Why couldn’t she figure it out? If ARM hadn’t killed Sutherland, who had? Had the same person committed all the crimes?

  Jennie made her chart, listing the suspects along one side of the paper. Then on the top of the page she wrote motive, means, and opportunity. Drawing a line under each person involved, she made a note under each heading. Her suspects included Tom, Mary, Christine, Aleshia, Jim, Crystal, and Sal.

  She began the process of elimination based on the premise that Scott’s hit-and-run, Sutherland’s murder, and the attempt on hers and Tucker’s life had been done by the same person. Since Tom
and Mary were at home and couldn’t have run Scott down, Jennie crossed them off the list. Christine was in town shopping when Sutherland had been killed. Aleshia said she’d seen her dad after her mom left. Jennie put a line through Christine’s name as well.

  Aleshia, Crystal, and Jim couldn’t have been responsible for the accident on the mountain. Sal could have been around for all of them. But somehow Jennie didn’t think he was the one. Again she came back to the possibility that the incidents maybe weren’t connected. Either that, or someone was lying, which was entirely possible. Then again, maybe she hadn’t yet written the killer’s name down.

  Mr. Sutherland had told Scott he knew who Sonja was. She added Sonja to the list. Maybe ARM wasn’t taking responsibility for anything but the raids, but that didn’t mean Sonja or another ARM member hadn’t done it.

  Sal seemed to be a key figure in all of this. Jennie wanted to drive over to Crystal’s and find out if Sal, too, was involved with ARM. Unfortunately, Tom had her keys. She took her note pad and pen and headed downstairs. Maybe she couldn’t drive over, but she could call. While she still had a hard time casting Sal in the role of a killer, she sensed he was deeply involved. Her intuition painted him more as a victim. Either way, he was in mighty big trouble, and Jennie felt compelled to dig deeper.

  23

  Settling into an overstuffed chair, Jennie paged through the phone book. When she’d found the number, she dialed Crystal. The nurse answered on the first ring.

  “Crystal, this is Jennie McGrady.”

  “Oh.” The tone of her voice clearly indicated disapproval. “What do you want?”

  “I was wondering if you’d heard from Sal.”

  “No. And I blame you for this. If you hadn’t talked him into bringing you—”

  “Hey, I wasn’t the one who took a patient out of the hospital and hid him in the woods.”

  There was a long silence. For a moment Jennie thought she’d hung up. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I have no one to blame but myself. I never should have become involved with ARM.” Her voice broke. “I’ll never forgive myself if my actions have caused danger to my brother. He’s a good boy, Jennie.”

  “Is he a member of ARM?”

  “No. He’s much too young.”

  Jennie didn’t think so but didn’t comment.

  “I heard he worked for the Sutherlands for a short time.”

  “Yes.” She sounded wary.

  “And Mr. Sutherland fired him?”

  “Yes—why are you asking?”

  Jennie doodled on the paper while she talked. “Do you know why he was fired?”

  “It didn’t work out.”

  “Did he get along all right with Mr. Sutherland?”

  “I don’t know. He’s a very demanding boss, and Sal doesn’t like too much pressure.”

  “Why did he take the job in the first place?”

  “He needed something part time. I mentioned it to Aleshia. She told her mother, and Christine said they could use someone through the pelting season.”

  “Was Sal angry about being let go?”

  “Not really. Sal’s an easygoing guy. If you’re thinking he killed Mr. Sutherland, you can forget it. But I’m really concerned. It’s not like Sal to stay away. He knows how Mama and I worry about him. If he were able, he’d at least call. I’m so afraid for him, Jennie.”

  Jennie told Crystal about Jim’s plan to talk to Aleshia about leaving ARM. “Maybe you both should leave. There’s another organization—an animal protection group that seems a lot more practical.”

  “Yes, Scott mentioned that last night. I may, but I doubt Aleshia would. She’s very dedicated.”

  “But you’re not?”

  “I came close to losing my job—fortunately, Scott didn’t disclose my involvement in getting him out of the hospital. He took full responsibility for checking himself out against doctor’s orders.”

  They spoke for several more minutes before Jennie rang off. Her suspicions about Sal had given way to concern for his safety.

  Mary peeked into the living room. “Oh good, you’re off the phone. I need to call Christine. Did I hear you mention Sal?”

  “Yes. I was talking to Crystal. She hasn’t heard from him.”

  “That’s too bad. I certainly hope they find him and that he hasn’t come to any harm.”

  “Agent Tucker said they were still looking for him.” Jennie frowned. “At least now I’m pretty sure he isn’t one of the bad guys.”

  “Oh? What makes you say that?”

  “Something Crystal said. Apparently Sal is in the habit of checking in every so often. Doesn’t like to worry his mother. Crystal said he’d have called her or at least gotten word that he was okay. The fact that he hasn’t checked in makes me wonder if he’s been injured or worse.” Jennie stood. “The phone’s all yours.”

  Mary thanked her, dialed, and waited.

  “Oh, hi, Christine—I thought maybe you’d gone. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  Jennie didn’t mean to eavesdrop and had gone back into the living room, but Mary’s voice carried.

  “I baked a chicken and wild rice casserole for you and Aleshia for dinner tonight,” Mary said.

  Jennie watched out the front window as Jim emerged from the house and got into the car, backed around, and drove out. She concentrated on the taillights when he braked. It wasn’t his car that she’d seen the night before. The taillights were too long and narrow. The car she’d seen was smaller and the taillights more rounded.

  After a long pause, Mary said, “Nonsense—it’s no trouble at all. I can have Jim bring it over.” Another pause. “Yes, he’s concerned about you. I suspect he’ll be over soon.”

  Jennie hurried into the kitchen to tell Mary that Jim had already left.

  Mary hung up the phone. “Is something wrong?”

  “Just that Jim just took off.”

  “Well, no matter. I’ll run it over there myself.”

  “I’ll do it. I need something to do anyway.”

  “Thanks, Jennie. That would be a big help. I’ll call Christine and let her know you’re coming.”

  Jennie slipped on her tennis shoes while Mary settled the hot dish in a basket with a loaf of bread, a bottle of sparkling cider, a package of premixed salad, and some fruit. Jennie felt a little like Red Riding Hood carrying the basket. She took the lake trail and once again experienced a sense of unease at being alone. She’d tried to get Drooley to come along, but he had declined, choosing instead to lie in the warm kitchen with his small patient and the comforting scents of the dinner to come.

  When she arrived at the Sutherlands’, Jennie thought at first no one was there. The driveway was empty. It seemed strange they’d all be gone. Hadn’t Jim said he was coming here? Jennie went up to the door and rang the bell. If nothing else, she could leave the basket on the front porch.

  On the second buzz, Christine opened the door. Jennie suspected she’d interrupted her as she was getting dressed. She was wearing jeans rather than her usual dress, and a plaid tuck-in shirt with the sleeves folded to her elbows. She had no shoes or socks and wore no makeup. Not that makeup would have done much good. Christine looked like she’d been crying. “Hi, Jennie. Thanks for bringing it over. I told Mary she didn’t have to do all this.”

  Jennie smiled. “That’s the way she is.”

  “Yes, a regular Martha Stewart.” Jennie didn’t miss the sarcasm in Christine’s voice. That seemed odd. Christine had a similar propensity for doing for others and showed it when she invited Jennie in for tea. Of course, Jennie didn’t blame the woman for feeling out of sorts.

  She nodded toward the driveway. “I didn’t think anyone was home.”

  “My car is in the garage.”

  Jennie was disappointed. Part of her reason for coming over was to get a look at Aleshia’s and
Christine’s cars. She also wanted to talk to Aleshia about Sal.

  “What about Aleshia and Jim? I thought Jim was coming over here.”

  “He was but decided to meet Aleshia in town. She’s gone in to be with Crystal.” Christine shook her head. “It never seems to end, does it? I certainly hope no harm comes to the boy. He was taking a chance staying in the woods alone like that. Asking for trouble.”

  Jennie shifted the basket to her left hand. “It’s kind of heavy. Where would you like me to put this?”

  “I’ll take it.” She surprised Jennie by effortlessly snatching it up and setting it on the counter. “Have a seat—I’ll get you some tea. Is that all right, or would you rather have hot chocolate?”

  “Tea is fine.”

  Christine poured hot water into two cups and set them on the table. “I’m glad you came, Jennie. I was hoping for an opportunity to talk with you. Have you had breakfast?”

  “Yes.”

  She reached into the refrigerator and brought out a carton of eggs, then filled a pan with water, settling all twelve eggs into it.

  “You’re eating all those?”

  Christine smiled. “I’m making egg salad for sandwiches later.”

  “Oh.” Jennie felt embarrassed for asking. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “I understand you’re quite the little detective.”

  Jennie couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or sarcastic. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Aleshia said you’d managed to track down your friend and lead the FBI to them. They weren’t doing anything wrong, you know.”

  “Weren’t they? I know it isn’t a crime to belong to ARM, but it seems to me she’s playing with fire.”

  Christine gave her an odd look and returned to the table. “She’s careful.”

  “How much did Aleshia tell you about their trip into the mountains?”

  “Not much. I didn’t realize she’d gone with Crystal until after I got back home that morning I saw you at Crystal’s. When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine.”

  “Did you know they’d taken Scott?” Jennie asked.