Kelly called out as Everett neared his truck, “Everett! I want a word with you.”
Cal Everett spun about, and to Kelly’s immense gratification, actually looked apprehensive as she strode up to him. She was almost as tall as he was, and Kelly pulled herself to her full height as she put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“Yeah, what is it?” Everett said warily, glancing about the barnyard.
“I want to put you on notice that if you ever get anywhere near my friend Jennifer again, you’ll regret it. First, you’ll have to get past me. And the rest of her friends back in Fort Connor will be watching your every move, Everett. One of them is a retired cop, so you can be sure your license plate will be checked out. You’d better stay up here in the canyon and keep out of Fort Connor, if you know what’s good for you.”
Everett’s shifty blue gaze darted around. “Listen, I don’t want any trouble, you hear.”
Kelly advanced closer, her finger pointed close to his chest. “You stay away from Jennifer, or her friends will beat the snot out of you,” she warned, borrowing Jane’s colorful phrase.
Everett’s gaze hardened. “I don’t take to threats,” he snarled.
“Then stay away from Jennifer.” Kelly leaned closer and jabbed her finger into his chest before turning away.
Kelly was startled to see Donny and Marie right behind her, staring wide-eyed at the confrontation. Their expressions clearly revealed surprise at what they overheard. Kelly sped past both of the college student helpers as Cal Everett’s huge truck engine rumbled to life.
“Hey, look at that,” Jane said, holding up the completed washcloth. “It doesn’t look half bad.”
“It looks better than that, Jane,” Lisa said. “You’ve done a great job. Anybody else finished a washcloth?”
“Working on it,” Sue said. “Maybe I’ll finish it this afternoon rather than go riding. Can we stay here on the deck?”
“Sure, I think we can stay until the kids set up for dinner.” Lisa picked up Jennifer’s pale pink afghan and draped it over the deck railing for all to see. “See how much Jennifer got done just sitting out here. Projects go pretty quickly with the larger needles.”
Kelly glanced at her watch. “Actually, Donny and Marie will be setting up for dinner pretty soon. Would you believe it’s nearly four thirty?”
“Isn’t it amazing how time flies by when you’re doing this fiber work. Does everyone notice, or is it just us?” Dr. Norcross asked as she stood up.
Dawn pushed back her chair. “Well, I certainly had forgotten how satisfying and relaxing this was.” She held up a pink and yellow eyelash scarf. “I’m going to keep this going. When did you say the shop gathers around the table?”
“Well, you can always find people around the table, no matter when you come,” Lisa said, gathering up the extra yarns and shoving them into a tote bag. “But there’s an evening session on Tuesday nights as well as morning and afternoon sessions. Just bring your work, and you’ll always find someone there.” Kelly and Jennifer joined her cleanup, collecting stray needles and hooks and scissors.
Donny and Marie appeared on the deck then, bright smiles in place. “Hey, folks, we’re going to set up for dinner now.”
The rest of the women took their yarn projects and began to leave, as the two helpers started rearranging tables.
“What’s for dinner?” Lisa asked as she followed behind the others leaving the deck.
“Spaghetti and meatballs,” Marie sang out cheerfully. “I’ll be ringing the bell in a half hour, so bring an appetite.”
“That’s never been a problem,” Jennifer said.
“Pasta, again?” Edie complained. “I’d better take another hike after dinner.”
“Not a bad idea,” Kelly said as the group crossed the barnyard.
The sound of roaring engines caught her attention as Cal Everett’s emerald green truck came speeding up the ranch driveway. Kelly spotted a dark blue pickup swerve into the driveway, too, following right behind. Kelly and the others ran to the lodge porch as the two trucks roared into the barnyard.
Everett stepped down from his truck as the blue pickup barrelled up behind him and jerked to a stop. A tall man wearing a flannel shirt and baseball cap leaped from his truck and charged toward Everett.
“You can’t run away, Cal,” he yelled. “That payment is past due, and you know it. I want my money, and I want it now!”
“Hold your horses, Bill. You’ll get your money in a couple of weeks, like usual. You know I’m good for it,” Everett said, ambling up to his irate visitor.
“Dammit, Cal. You’ve been late with every payment since January. I’ve had it. I’m going to give you till tomorrow to come up with that money, or I’m gonna put a lien on those river acres.”
“The hell you will!” Everett challenged, getting right in Bill’s face. “I’m paying that note off. You got no claim on that land!”
Kelly stood on the lodge porch with the other women, transfixed like everyone else by the heated argument taking place in the barnyard. The men were toe-to-toe, in each other’s faces.
“You backed up the note with that land. I never would have loaned you the money otherwise, and you know it. If you want to save the land, then pay the note in full. You’ve jerked me around for the last time.”
“I can’t come up with the money that fast, Bill,” Everett protested, backing off a bit.
“Then I’m going to put a lien on it, I swear to God, I will.”
Everett exploded in a string of curses, then stalked off.
“Don’t think you can walk away from this, Cal! I’m coming back, and we’re gonna have this out once and for all!” Bill threatened before heading to his truck. He roared off in a cloud of dust.
Kelly watched Bill’s blue truck disappear down the driveway. What was up with Everett and Rancher Bill?
Kelly rested her chin on her knees, watching the campfire flicker in the dark. She snuggled into her jacket. Springtime in the Rockies was still cool during the days and downright cold at night.
The fire snapped, sending sparks and embers floating above. She was reminded of the camping trips she and Steve had taken last summer and fall. Curled up in sleeping bags—sometimes inside their tent, snug and safe, and sometimes outside gazing up at the stars. Carl on a leash beside them.
The murmur of women’s voices around the campfire rose and fell as private conversations and joint sharing that had begun this weekend continued in the dark. She looked over at Jennifer, who was staring almost mesmerized into the fire, while Dawn and Edie talked beside her. Lisa was speaking softly with Nancy, and Dr. Norcross and Greta were deep in conversation. Jane and Sue and Cassie were still roasting marshmallows on sticks. Kelly had had her fill of the sticky treat earlier.
Glancing up at the canopy of black above her head, Kelly found the familiar stars her father had first shown her as a child. The constellation of Orion. Sirius, the Dog Star. The Big Dipper and Little Dipper.
The low hoot of a nearby owl announced the night predators were out, whether taking flight or stalking through the grass. The hunt was on.
Detecting some movement on the deck behind the ranch house, Kelly thought she glimpsed Cal Everett pacing about the deck as he had been most of the night. The glow of his cigarette and that frequent smoker’s cough announced his presence. His voice carried on the breeze as he argued loudly with someone on the phone. Kelly figured he was trying to find ways to come up with the cash he owed his irate creditor. The man named Bill sounded like he had run out of patience long ago.
Lisa stood up and stretched. “I think I’m turning in, guys,” she said. “How about it, Jen? Want to go back to the cabin?”
Jennifer pulled herself off the ground and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. I feel like walking for a little while. Don’t stay up.”
Kelly rose and stretched. Sleep sounded like a good idea. It was funny how you got sleepy earlier higher u
p in the mountains. “You want some company, Jen?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I actually need to be alone for a little while. You guys go on back.”
“Okay, be careful,” Kelly warned as she and Lisa headed toward the lodge. “Don’t get too close to the trees. The varmints are out.”
Jennifer didn’t answer.
Five
“Boy, am I hungry this morning,” Lisa said as she swept up her blonde ponytail into a scrunchy band behind her head. “I hope there are pancakes.”
“Let’s hope not,” Jennifer said, tying her sneakers. “Hot breads are my downfall.”
“You know, if I was smart, I’d take a run before breakfast, then I could have those pancakes with a clear conscience,” Kelly said as she stood in the cabin doorway waiting for her friends.
Another gorgeous mountain spring morning beckoned. The early green leaves were almost translucent they were so pale—fragile and soft. Summer’s deep green had yet to come. But it was on its way. By the end of May, summer would be upon them all. Meanwhile in the mountains and in town, there was still a chance of mid-May snows. That’s why most gardeners waited to plant delicate annual flowers until after Mother’s Day.
Lisa and Jennifer joined Kelly, and they all headed across the barnyard, waving to some of the other women who’d become friends this weekend. Today, Sunday, all of them would return to their normal lives and routines.
“Ummm, I smell bacon,” Lisa said as she waved to Sue and Jane.
Kelly sniffed the delicious aroma, and her stomach rumbled. What is it about mountain air that makes you hungrier? She never could figure that out. She really would have to take a run this morning.
“When does the retreat wrap up today?” she asked Lisa, acknowledging Cassie’s wave as they approached the deck.
“There will be a session this morning, then Dr. Norcross hopes there’ll be time for a trail ride after that, right before we leave. I think everyone would enjoy it.”
The enticing aromas of breakfast grew stronger as Kelly and her friends joined the others on the deck. Like the other meals, buffet servers were set up inside the ranch house dining room through the glass patio doors. Kelly noticed that Jane, Dawn, Sue, and Nancy had already filled their plates and were settling at tables on the deck. Greta and Edie were seated at another table, hunched over bowls of oatmeal.
“Yep, pancakes,” Jennifer said, eying the plates. “And my usual downfall—scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon. Now, if I could just restrict myself to one, I’d be okay.”
Kelly didn’t plan to restrict herself at all, and eagerly joined the buffet line. Breakfast had always been her favorite meal for some reason. Maybe because she and her dad always had special breakfasts every weekend. Lots of memories were associated with breakfast.
Donny and Marie scurried back and forth, bringing pans of biscuits and bowls of gravy and platters of fruit.
“Oh, no, not gravy,” Jennifer complained. “I’m doomed. Hand me a biscuit, will you, Kelly?”
“Here, take two, they’re small.” Kelly used tongs to snag two hot biscuits and dropped them onto Jennifer’s plate.
“They won’t be as good as Megan’s,” Lisa said.
Jennifer ladled gravy over the steaming breads. “They’ll do until Megan bakes again.”
Dr. Norcross joined the line. “Well, I have to admit I’ll miss these breakfasts,” the slender professor announced.
“That’s easy for you to say, Professor,” Cassie countered, scooping up fresh fruit into a bowl. “You’re as skinny as a rail. I’ve got to get back to my bran flakes, dull as they are.”
“That’s too virtuous for me,” Jennifer said, snagging some bacon.
“Is Everett in his office this morning?” Dr. Norcross asked Donny as he refilled the juice pitchers. “I wanted to check to see if we could schedule a trail ride before leaving.”
“You know, I haven’t seen him, ma’am,” Donny said, pausing. “That’s kinda unusual, too. He usually takes his breakfast early.”
“Maybe he’s sleeping in this morning,” Dawn said drily. “Sounded like he was on the phone late last night. You could hear him all the way out at the campfire.”
Donny shrugged and returned to the kitchen, clearly not about to speculate on his boss’s late night activities.
Kelly grabbed a glass of grapefruit juice and followed Lisa and Jennifer onto the deck. Noticing several knitted and crocheted afghans draped over the deck railing, she said, “Lisa, don’t forget the blankets and stuff you brought. We left some things on the deck yesterday afternoon when we finished up quickly.”
“Forgive me if I don’t talk,” Jennifer said as she settled at the table. “My face will be in my plate for a few minutes.”
Kelly laughed as she pulled out a chair. It was good to hear Jennifer’s joking comments. It was the first lighthearted comment Jennifer had made since arriving at Cal Everett’s Lazy C Ranch. If it took biscuits and gravy to help Jennifer regain herself, then bring on the gravy.
Swallowing a yummy mouthful of eggs and bacon, Kelly buttered her pancakes and took a bite. “Anybody up for a run this morning?” she asked around the deck. “I don’t know about you folks, but pancakes twice in two days are deadly for me.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Me, too.”
“Hey, it’s the weekend.”
The good-natured comments flowed around the deck as Kelly indulged herself in her favorite “comfort” foods. She was considering going back for the wicked biscuits and gravy, when Lisa spoke.
“Jen, I don’t see your afghan on the railing with the others that I brought. Did you take it inside already?”
Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. “Not yet. I wonder if it blew off last night.”
“Well, it won’t go far,” Cassie observed as she rose from the table, empty plate in hand. “I’m going back for seconds. Can I get some juice for someone?”
“Yeah, some OJ would be nice.” Jane raised her hand.
“Cassie, would you take a look over the side of the deck, please, and see if my afghan fell down there?”
“Sure,” Cassie said, strolling to the railing. “It probably just blew—” Cassie’s sentence was cut short with a gasp. “Oh, my God!”
Kelly stared at Cassie, who was pointing toward the ground below the deck. What on earth was there? Maybe a mountain lion’s leftover, half-eaten carcass. She rose to see what had concerned Cassie, as did Dr. Norcross.
“He’s not moving. Is . . . is he dead?”
Kelly raced to the railing and peered over. Cal Everett lay sprawled on the rocky slope below, Jennifer’s pale pink afghan draped across his chest.
Dr. Norcross took in a sharp breath beside Kelly. “Oh, my God. We have to call an ambulance.”
All the women ran to the railing then and leaned over, staring below. Their shocked exclamations broke the quiet.
“Oh, my God!”
“Damn.”
“How awful!”
“Do you think he’s still alive?”
“Not likely. Look at him. His eyes are fixed and staring.”
“Oh, gross!”
“He had to be drunk.”
Dawn shook her head as she continued to stare down the slope. “A yarn-covered corpse.”
Cassie shuddered as she turned away. “I can’t look anymore.”
Kelly slipped her cell phone from her pocket. She’d make the call, even though she could tell it was too late for an ambulance. Cal Everett’s death-gray face told her so.
Six
Kelly watched Lieutenant Peterson talking to Dr. Norcross, notepad in hand. She remembered Peterson’s careful procedures when he’d investigated another murder in one of the nearby canyons a couple of years ago. Kelly and Jennifer had found the body of an alpaca rancher friend in her beautiful mountain home—murdered. Kelly wondered what the county police detective would say when he saw her. She had involved herself in some of his other investigations since then.<
br />
Kelly and her friends stood in the barnyard as Peterson and two uniformed officers interviewed the workshop attendees and ranch staff. One uniformed county policeman was listening to Donny and busily writing in his notepad. Several feet away, another policeman interviewed Marie, who was wiping her nose with tissues. All the women in the workshop had been interviewed by the officers and now stood in quiet clusters talking and watching the police go about their work.
“What an awful way to end a great weekend,” Lisa said as she observed the proceedings. “I’ll bet he was so drunk he took a header off the deck. I saw him carry a full bottle of liquor to the deck last night while I was searching the slope for more brush to add to the fire.”
Kelly pondered. “Well, that would explain why his voice kept getting louder and louder. He was yelling at someone on the phone several times last night.”
Kelly glanced at Jennifer, who was strangely quiet. She’d barely said a word since Everett’s body was discovered almost two hours ago. “Are you okay, Jen? You still look stunned.”
Jennifer kept staring ahead at the police, then answered in a quiet voice. “Yeah. Kind of.”
Kelly figured her friend was still trying to process everything that had happened this weekend. First, Jennifer was confronted with the man who sexually assaulted her. Then, she shared her story with a group of total strangers. That was out of character for a private person like Jennifer.
And now she saw the man who assaulted her lying dead on a rocky hillside, his body spread out in a contorted heap with her beautiful knitted afghan across it.
Lisa slipped her arm around Jennifer’s shoulders. “I don’t know if this brings closure of sorts, Jen. But it does bring some sort of justice. He was a horrible man who met a horrible end. It must be Karma.”
Dropped Dead Stitch Page 5
