“See you tonight at practice, Kelly,” Lisa said as she followed after Mimi.
Kelly gathered up all the fluff balls and headed to the central yarn room, where Burt was opening another box of yarn. An empty box lay at his feet.
“Hey, Burt, I see Megan’s got you two running so fast you’re meeting yourselves in the middle.”
“You’re right about that, Kelly,” Burt said without turning around. “Mimi and I are seriously considering running off to elope this weekend.”
“Too late for that, Burt,” Kelly said as she started filling bins with fluff balls on top of fluff balls. “Dresses have been bought, cakes are being baked, or will be. You’re stuck now.”
Burt chuckled. “But you know what?” He turned to eye Kelly. “I like being stuck with Mimi.”
Kelly laughed softly as she continued to load the balls of colorful yarn into bins. Mimi brought out another box, and Kelly started loading those yarns as well. The bins and shelves fairly spilled over with the abundance of fiber. Merino wool, cotton and silk, eyelash, crinkly ribbons.
“Anything new on that investigation, Burt? Any word from your friend?”
“Nothing new, according to Vern,” Burt said, reaching deep into the box. “They were finally able to interview the last retreat attendee. She’d been away on business ever since Peterson started the second round of investigations.”
Kelly looked up with interest. “Did she say anything different from the others?”
Burt shook his head, then emptied the box. Two fluffy balls and crinkly skeins fell onto the floor. “Not really. She did mention something about Greta hearing a noise in the middle of the night.”
“Really? Well, that’s something. I don’t recall Greta saying anything about that.”
“It doesn’t sound like anything, though. Edie is the woman’s name, and she and Greta shared a cabin. She said she awoke in the middle of the night and saw Greta standing in the open doorway. Anyway, she asked if anything was wrong, and Greta said she thought she heard something and got up to check outside. She didn’t see anything, though.”
“Maybe she heard Bill Zarofsky’s truck engine like Dr. Norcross did. What do you think?”
Burt shrugged. “I don’t know, Kelly. Maybe.” He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a smile. “But it really doesn’t matter what we think. It’s Peterson’s ball game. He calls the plays, and we’re not on his team. Officially, that is.”
Kelly’s bat hit the ball with a loud crack. The sweetest sound in the world to Kelly’s ears. She watched the ball sail up, up, and away as she dropped the bat and took off, rounding first base in a loping stride. Good-natured teasing and cheers sounded as she ran.
They were all hitting well tonight. Everybody connected with line drives, even home runs. “Outta the park,” as one of Kelly’s summertime teenage baseball players would say.
If this were a game rather than a practice, they’d be burying the other team with their bats. Oh, yeah.
“Lookin’ good,” Megan called, giving Kelly the high sign as she rounded third.
Boy, were they ready. The season started tomorrow night. Bring it on.
Seventeen
Kelly slammed the door of her cottage and raced down the steps. The light showers predicted for this morning had appeared exactly on schedule. She ran through the rain, across the driveway, and into the flowering patio garden behind Pete’s café. Since spring’s showers had been abundant in April and May, the garden was already lush and green with plants.
Flowering lilac bushes threw their wet scent into the air, peonies burst into bloom, and vinca vines covered the flower beds with green leaves and purple flowers. Yellow and pink irises edged the fence, and the blossoming crab apple trees were heavy with pink and white flowers.
Kelly scampered up the wooden back steps to the café and burst inside, shaking raindrops off her clothes. “Boy, it’s chilly today,” she declared, brushing droplets out of her hair. “I really need that coffee now.”
Jennifer took Kelly’s mug from her outstretched hand and poured a stream of Eduardo’s black brew. “One of these days, you’ll learn how useful jackets are on rainy days. I thought you had a jacket with a hood.”
“I do, but I always forget to wear it,” Kelly said as she eagerly accepted the refilled mug. She sniffed the heady aroma trailing upward. “Did you learn anything about Zarofsky yesterday?”
“A little. There wasn’t much to learn,” Jennifer said as she headed back into the busy café.
“Did your commercial broker friend know him?” Kelly asked as she settled at a table in the alcove along the side of the café.
Jennifer paused at Kelly’s table, scanning the seated customers before answering. “Ralph never heard of him. He checked his associations’ lists, and Zarofsky isn’t there. So, the only thing Ralph and I can figure out is maybe Zarofsky is a ‘wannabe.’ You know . . . he pretends to be a developer when in reality, he doesn’t do squat.”
“Maybe so,” Kelly said, sipping her coffee. “I had a feeling he was lying.”
“Well, that’s what I figured after I talked with Ralph. Then yesterday afternoon I took some paperwork over to another real estate agent who has an office in the Commercial Bank Building. While I was there, I checked the directory, and sure enough, Zarofsky has an office in the building. And he’s listed as ‘Commercial Real Estate.’ ”
Kelly stared at her. “What? But he’s not working in commercial. Your guy said so.”
“Yeah, I know. I thought that strange, too, so I went up to his office. His name is on the door, all official, but it was closed and locked. Not a soul in sight.”
“That is so bizarre,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “This guy is lying. I can feel it. But why?”
“I know, it doesn’t make sense. There’s a possibility he’s getting started in the business and hasn’t joined the associations yet. But, that’s kind of unlikely. Real estate is a business of networking. Everyone knows everyone else in the business. You’ve got to work with people to be successful. Maybe he’s so new at it, he simply doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.”
“Yeah, riiiight. I still think he’s lying, but I can’t figure out why.”
A customer on the other side of the café lifted his cup, and Jennifer turned away. “Gotta go, customers calling. But there was one other thing. I checked the county real estate records and found out Zarofsky did put that lien on Everett’s ranch.”
“He did?” Kelly exclaimed. “Whoa, now that’s something serious, according to Jayleen. When did he do it?”
Jennifer started to walk away. “The Monday following the retreat. Talk to you later.”
Kelly’s thoughts sped up. Monday was the day after they found Cal Everett’s dead body. Boy . . . Zarofsky sure didn’t waste any time, did he? Why would he put the lien on Cal’s property so soon after their fight? Unless . . . unless Zarofsky already knew Everett was dead. And if he was the one who “helped” Cal over the railing, then Zarofsky knew Everett would no longer be a problem.
Her mind buzzing, Kelly pulled out her laptop and set up on the café table. She had client accounts to enter. Work to do. Boring, yes, but necessary.
Gray, rainy days were actually unusual in Fort Connor, since it boasted approximately 320 sunny days a year. So, those days were conducive to snuggling in a warm, cozy spot and working. She flipped open the laptop and powered it up. Her hand moved the cursor over the screen as she tried to force her mind into accounting mode. It wouldn’t go. Instead, the cursor stopped over the Web browser icon. Always so tempting.
She paused, staring at the icon. Kelly’s last search on Zarofsky revealed nothing except alpaca associations. Maybe Megan had learned something. She dug out her cell phone and punched in the familiar number.
Megan answered quickly. “Hey, there, I was about to call you.”
“Why? Did you find something on Zarofsky, I hope?”
“Well, yes and no. Like you, I didn’t find anythin
g about a commercial real estate connection—”
“Neither did Jennifer,” Kelly interrupted. “But she did find his office in the Commercial Bank Building. All closed and locked. Nobody there.”
“That’s bizarre.”
“Isn’t it, now? I know that guy is up to something. I can feel it. Did you find any legal problems or stuff like that?”
“Not on William Zarofsky, but I did find some past history on a Kevin Zarofsky. He was arrested several years ago for selling drugs.”
“Whoa! I wasn’t expecting that. He must be related to Bill Zarofsky, don’t you think? I mean, with that same last name. ‘Zarofsky’ isn’t exactly common.”
“I think that’s probably a good bet.”
“Way to go, Megan! You are fantastic. You and those special websites of yours. How long ago did this happen? Was he convicted? How long was he in jail?”
“Hold on, let me check my notes.” Megan paused. “He was convicted seven years ago on two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines. Looks like he served five years in the Colorado State Department of Corrections in Buena Vista.”
“How old is he?”
“That information wasn’t listed.”
“Was he arrested here in Fort Connor? I mean, was he doing drugs here?”
“It looks like he was arrested in Denver. Yep, Denver. And he was tried in Denver District Court and sentenced to serve five to eight years. He got out in five.”
“So he’s finished his sentence. Can you find out where he is now?”
“Nope. No can do. That’s all I’ve got.”
“Man, you are fantastic, Megan. A superstar sleuth.”
“Yeah, right. Listen, I hate to state the obvious, but the fact that Bill Zarofsky has a scumbag relative who’s a convicted felon doesn’t prove anything about Zarofsky himself. Kevin could be the black sheep in the family, that’s all.”
Kelly considered Megan’s point. “You’re right. But my instinct is still buzzing about Bill Zarofsky, separate from his criminal relative. He’s proved himself to be a liar once already. And I think he’s lying again about Cal Everett.”
“So, what are you going to do now?”
That was a good question. Kelly thought for a minute. What can I do? She had nothing on Bill Zarofsky except an empty office. That was less than nothing. People closed offices all the time. And having a felon for a relative didn’t prove anything.
“Right now, I’m going to call Jayleen and see if she’s learned anything about Zarofsky. She knows him from the alpaca associations and exhibitions.”
“Well, good luck. I’ve gotta get back to my own work because I’m hoping we’ll still have a game tonight. It’s not looking too good right now.”
“Do we have a rain date?”
“Yeah, tomorrow night. Meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed that those clouds blow away.”
“Will do. Thanks again, Megan,” Kelly said as her friend clicked off.
She immediately paged through her cell phone’s directory until she found Jayleen’s number and punched it in, anxiously waiting as the phone rang.
“Hey, Jayleen, did you find out anything about Zarofsky?” she blurted when her friend’s voice came on the line.
“Hey, Kelly, slow down and take a breath,” Jayleen said with a laugh. “I was going to give you a call later.”
“Did you learn anything?”
“Not much. All I heard were some comments about his dealings with other breeders. Seems he’s had some disputes with a couple of them over breeding fees and stuff. Apparently this guy has a short fuse.”
“Short fuse and lying to the cops. Not a good combination. You know, Megan did a Web search and found out that Zarofsky has a relative who was convicted of dealing drugs a few years ago in Denver. He served five years in Buena Vista.”
“Damnation! Well, that sure puts a new light on things. Was Zarofsky connected to any of it?”
“Megan didn’t see his name mentioned at all, so there’s no proof he’s connected with Kevin Zarofsky. But with a name like that, it’s likely they’re related.”
Jayleen paused. “You know, Kelly, Zarofsky might not be involved at all. Whether Kevin is a relative or not. Zarofsky might be clean as a whistle.”
Kelly mulled over what Jayleen said. Of course it was possible Zarofsky was innocent of all wrongdoing. But Kelly’s little buzzer kept going off. Something was up with this guy. Something made him lie to the police about the night of Everett’s death. What was it? Was he involved in Everett’s death? Was he involved in Kevin’s drug dealing?
Suddenly a memory surfaced from the back of Kelly’s mind. Something she heard around the Lambspun table when she and Megan were talking to the two women who lived in Poudre Canyon. They both had strong opinions about Cal Everett, but one woman also mentioned something about Zarofsky. Something that bothered her. What was it?
Cars. The noisy cars in his driveway regularly woke her up at night. There were lots of cars, she said, coming and going at all hours. Kelly’s little buzzer rang louder.
Why would Zarofsky have so many visitors? Maybe those cars weren’t coming to see Bill Zarofsky. Maybe they were coming to see ex-con Kevin. Was Kevin Zarofsky up to his old habits? Was he dealing drugs from the canyon ranch?
Kelly felt her pulse speed up at that thought. Assuming Kevin Zarofsky was related to Rancher Bill, wouldn’t the police know about it? Wouldn’t he be under supervision or on parole or something? Who knows? Maybe he jumped parole and slipped away from Denver. The canyons surrounding Fort Connor were heavily wooded and filled with rugged crags and ravines. Someone who wanted to hide out could do so easily in the canyons, especially if they had a relative nearby who provided food and shelter.
Her mind racing, Kelly let the images and scenes she was scripting in her head swirl. Then, another thought flashed in front of the rest. One of her crazy ideas, of course. Most of her best ideas were a little bit crazy and often a little bit risky.
“Kelly, I can hear you thinking all the way over this phone line,” Jayleen said with a low chuckle.
Her friends knew her too well. “Yeah, I am, Jayleen. There’s something I want to do, but I could use your help. That is, if you don’t mind doing a little sleuthing after lunch.”
“Ha! I knew you were up to something. What’s going on in that fertile mind of yours?”
“Is there a way we can go up to Zarofsky’s ranch and take a look? Slip in a side way, so we can see without being seen?”
Jayleen paused for a moment. “What’re you looking for, Kelly?”
“I’m just curious. One of Lambspun’s regulars has a place next to Zarofsky’s. And she mentioned that cars were coming and going down his driveway all the time. Even at night. She said it kept her awake.”
“You don’t say.”
“Yeah. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now that we know Zarofsky’s got a relative who was selling drugs, well . . . it makes me wonder.”
Jayleen was quiet for a moment. “You know, Kelly, you’ve got me curious, too. Why don’t we take a little drive up there. I know that area around his ranch real well, because it backs up into national forest. We can drive down a forest road, park, and hike up to his property line and take a little look-see.”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind. When can you go? I can be up there whenever it suits you,” Kelly said, once again pushing off the accounting routine until another day.
“How about you be at my ranch by noon? We’ll head off then, okay?”
“Works for me.”
“We’ll take my truck. Your little red car can stay parked here. It sticks out like a sore thumb.”
“Good point. I see you’ve done surveillance work before,” Kelly teased.
“You mean spying on people? Hell, yes. Back when I was still drinking and paranoid. Usually checking on my cheating husband. By the way, you’d better bring a jacket. It’s still raining up here.”
“Wow,
you really have done this before.”
Jayleen chuckled. “I’ll bring my binoculars.”
Kelly stepped through the pale spring green foliage, wet grass clinging to her khaki pants. This high up in Poudre Canyon spring was only now making its presence known. The buds on the bushes were starting to open, and tiny leaves were clasped together like praying hands. Everything glistened. The earlier rain had dropped to a light sprinkle.
Mountain rain showers, however, were deceptive. They may appear light, but they soaked you through unless your rain gear shed water well. One of Kelly’s first shopping trips after she’d decided to make Fort Connor her home had been to the local outdoor gear retail store. She’d needed to stock up.
“Looks like there’s a good spot up ahead,” Jayleen said, walking in front of Kelly.
Pushing back a pine branch, Kelly followed. Droplets of water fell from the branch onto her pants and hiking boots as she walked through the dark, wet soil of the forest floor. The smell of damp earth rose like perfume. Pine branches caught at her jacket but slipped away, unable to grasp its wet surface.
Jayleen paused behind a stand of evergreens and brushed aside a long branch. Kelly joined her and peered through the opening Jayleen had created. The land sloped down from this spot and ended in a rolling green pasture.
There below, Kelly spotted a sprawling one-story white farmhouse. Pastures with alpaca bordered both sides of a gravel driveway that ended in a clearing beside a large reddish brown barn. A smaller gray-colored garage was set back from the barn. She could see alpaca grazing in the pastures, and several clustered in the corral leading into the barn. From here, Bill Zarofsky’s place looked like a typical mountain canyon ranch. Nothing special and nothing suspicious.
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