Mudflaps and Murder

by Tegan Maher

  On the way, Erol popped in, nearly scaring me to death.

  “Holy crap on a cracker!” I exclaimed. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  He pivoted toward me and waved a hand. “Stop being a baby. I have great news. My brother’s embezzling from his company.”

  I turned to him, trying to link what he was saying to why it was important.

  “He’s embezzling, you ditz! You have dirt on him. Tell him to take a walk. I have the account number of the bank he’s transferring it to. Show him that, tell him if you ever hear from him again, you’ll turn him in. Then, as soon as he’s gone, turn him in.”

  I glanced at him. “You’re positively evil, you know.”

  His face split into a wide grin. “I know. I knew if I followed him long enough, I’d get some dirt. He’s a sleazeball. Always has been, which is why the rest of my family has basically disowned him.”

  “Okay, then,” I said, the relief finally washing over me. “It looks like that’s one problem solved!”

  He gave a sharp nod, satisfaction and joy scrawled across his face. “It is, indeed. Now, stop staring at me and pay attention to the road. We can’t both be dead, because somebody has to run the shop.”

  I rolled my eyes and started to respond, but he was already gone.

  I made it to Brew with ten minutes to spare, and the place was still dark, lit only with the glow from the cooler. Raeann was sitting at the gleaming black faux-marble counter counting the drawer.

  “Mornin’ sunshine,” she said as I pulled off my jacket and took a seat beside her.

  “Mornin’,” I replied, picking up the cup of coffee she already had made for me.

  She cast a curious glance at me. “You sound unusually chipper. What gives?”

  Unlike me, Rae was one of those weird morning people, which was a good thing considering the shop opened at six every single morning.

  “Well, for one, my shop’s safe,” I replied, waving a hand to open the pastry case. I floated two muffins toward us. I gave her the rundown on what Erol had just told me, and her face lit up with a combination of relief and happiness.

  “I knew it would work out. That’s not all, though. You look ... relaxed.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just weird having another human up and about at the farm. It’s nice. He’s an early riser, so I guess that makes it a little less horrible when I have to be.”

  “Well, well,” she said. “Is it possible that you may just get used to an early schedule, now that you have an early bird in the house?”

  “Oh, hell, no. It just means that you’re not the first person I had to interact with, so my brain is already semi-awake.”

  “I’ll still take it,” she said, smiling as she slid the drawer away from her and peeled the paper off her muffin.

  Ten minutes later, I cleaned off the counter, put my purse in the office, and turned on the lights. As usual, Roy and Jimi were first in line and filed in to get their coffees.

  “Put one of those scoops of arthritis stuff in there,” Roy said, thumbs hooked in his bib straps. “My knees are killin’ me this mornin’.”

  “Ain’t no coffee gonna cure your knees,” Jimi groused. “Comes with bein’ an old coot.” He pressed his lips together, then motioned toward where we kept the coffees. “But throw a scoop in mine, too. Can’t hurt none, but it might help a little. I ain’t lookin’ forward to winter this year. My bones are already achin’.”

  I smiled as I made their coffees, then handed them over, along with Roy’s standard blueberry turnover and Jimi’s apple one. They shuffled over to their chess table and each of them snapped open a newspaper and proceeded to argue about who should be elected to the city council this term.

  Mondays were always busy, for some reason, and today was no exception. We didn’t stop until almost noon, and I took advantage of the brief lull to wipe down the counters and restock the coffees.

  The bell above the door chimed, and I turned to greet the newcomer. My smile froze for an instant when I realized who it was. Evie stepped up to the counter, and the smile slid off her face, too.”

  “Oh,” she said, disgust dripping from her tone. “I had no idea you worked here. What, you snoop around and eavesdrop on conversations, then take the info back to your boyfriend?”

  I gave her a sugary smile. “Why? Are you meeting somebody and plan on talking about how you killed Jackson?”

  Her expression turned to ice. “I told you, I was with Stuart.”

  And I know for a fact you’re lying,” I said. Stuart was at Bobbie Sue’s at seven. There’s no way he was there when the killin’ took place.”

  Panic slipped across her face for a split second before she schooled her face back into a blank slate, but I caught it just the same.

  “You think I murdered Jax?” Her lips turned up in a malicious smile. “Prove it.”

  She turned on her heel and strolled out the door as if she didn’t have a care in the world. I shot around the counter and watched as she walked back to her car. As soon as she thought she was out of sight, the careless stroll turned to a purposeful stride as she yanked her phone from her purse and held it to her face as she climbed into a pristine but older silver BMW. I’d have given a million dollars to be a fly on the wall until I remembered I could be.

  I closed my eyes and directed my focus to her.

  Evie: They think I’m the one who killed him. What if they find my fingerprints there?

  I about jumped out of my skin when I actually heard the person on the other end of the line respond. I thought I could only read her thoughts, but apparently, somehow, I was actually in her mind. I focused and saw her hand reaching for the car door handle as if it were my own. I was so stunned that I almost lost the connection.

  Man: They’re not gonna find your prints there. You didn’t touch anything except the cash box, and you wore gloves, right?

  I wasn’t sure since I’d only spoken to Stuart once, but I was almost positive the voice wasn’t his.

  Evie: Yeah. But what if somebody saw me? I mean, they have to have something or else they wouldn’t be looking at me.

  Okay, This was getting weird. She obviously did something, but I was starting to doubt she was the murderer.

  Man: Look, worst-case scenario, you go tell them what you did. You may get in trouble for stealing his money, but at least you won’t be on the hook for murdering him. And it’s not like they know he had thirty grand in that cash box. Lie about the amount.

  Evie: Maybe that would be for the best. I don’t know what to do, Andy.

  Well, at least that explained who she was talking to. And even worse, he didn’t sound like he did it, either. I’d thought maybe he was lying about the game, but now I was having doubts. She was in her car now, and I was getting a little woozy from being in two places at once even though I had my eyes closed. When neither of them said anything for several seconds, I thought maybe she’d hung up, until he gave a deep sigh then spoke again.

  Adam: Look, sister. You’re a good person who got involved in a bad situation. The sheriff seems like a fair guy. Maybe it would be best if you did go talk to him.

  Evie: And what do I say? Hey, sheriff. I didn’t kill him, but I have been cozying up to him for the last month so I could rob him.

  Adam: Yeah. That’s exactly what you say. Except maybe not frame it quite that way. It’s not like you planned to rob him. You planned to sweet-talk him into giving us our money back. Or at least getting him drunk and tricking him into signing the truck over. Then you found out he’d sold the truck and that’s when you decided to rob him.

  Evie: I’ll think about it. I mean, if you think about it, that money should have been mine, anyway. Or at least yours.

  They hung up, and I withdrew from her mind. Now the two main suspects were crossed off the list, and only Sarah remained.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Evie didn’t do it, and neither did Adam,” I said as soon as Hunter picked up the phone.
/>   “I’m gonna need a little context, babe.”

  I pulled in a breath and blew it out between my cheeks, then backed up. “Evie came in here. She got smart with me, so I got smart back.” I cringed a little because had things gone down differently, I might have blown his case for him by opening my big mouth before I engaged my brain. Water under the bridge, though.

  “Okay. That’s not ideal, but it’s not entirely surprising, either.”

  Since I deserved that, I let it go. “I basically accused her of killing Jackson, and she stomped out. As soon as she thought she was out of sight, she called somebody, and I climbed into her head to hear what she was saying, only it was weird. It was like I was actually her, but I’ll explain that better later. Anyway, the gist of it is that she called Adam because I scared her. She figured if I was accusing her, then you had something on her that made you think she was the killer, which we sort of did.”

  My words were flowing so quickly trying to keep up with my thoughts that I wasn’t sure I was being clear. “You following me so far?”

  “Well enough,” he said, “though I’ll be interested in hearing the long version later. So what did they say?”

  “We already suspected she was the one with him in the feed store.”

  “Which Harry just confirmed for me,” he said. “It was definitely her, and boy did he have some stories to tell on her wild days.”

  I waved my hand as I paced the small space in Raeann’s office. “I’m sure. I’m also sure he probably has a slew of stories on me, but we’ll not go there. So the reason she was with him is because she was trying to cuddle up and get him to either give her their money back or if that didn’t work, she was planning on getting him drunk and tricking him into signing the truck over to him. Apparently, though, those plans fell through and she robbed him the night he was killed.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there. What, exactly, did he have worth stealing?”

  “Twenty grand. He sold the truck. She didn’t really go into any details, so I’m not sure who he sold it to or why he was still racing it, but it’s not like she knew I was listening to her. There was no reason for her to lie.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds, thinking. “I haven’t talked to Roger Queen yet because he wasn’t home when I went to talk to him, but that just shot to the top of my list. If anybody’d know about Jackson selling the truck, I have to assume it would be his mechanic and right-hand man.”

  “And what if he doesn’t know anything about it? Then we’re left with nobody but Sarah.”

  “No, we’re not. I was just reviewing the log of everything we took from his tent the night of the murder. I went down to the evidence room because I wanted to check it against what we actually have listed. Make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

  “Okay,” I said, hope blooming. I shoved it back, afraid to let it take root yet. “Did you find something?”

  “Yep,” he said. “A red bandana. It had been logged in as a red grease rag because it was laying on the open toolbox, but it was folded into a band and tied. The only reason it stood out is because I’ve seen you use one like that to tie your hair back. When I looked closer, it had a few blonde hairs in it.”

  My heart sank. “That was probably Evie’s, then.”

  “But Evie was brunette the night of the murder.”

  “So? Maybe she left it there before she died her hair.”

  “That occurred to me. Except when I looked closer, there was blood on it.”

  “Is it Jackson’s?”

  “Yes, it is.” I heard his office phone buzz followed by Peggy Sue’s tinny voice. “Sweetie, I gotta go. Peggy Sue just buzzed me. Evie’s out front waiting to talk to me, and I want to wrap this up. Love you.”

  My phone beeped, indicating he’d ended the call.

  I mulled over what he’d said, and my brain raced to figure out what other blonde would want him dead. Everything clicked into place, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it before. Hunter’s gut feeling that he’d been overlooking something had been right, and so had mine. My subconscious had even tried to tell me via that stupid dream about flowers. We’d completely overlooked the murderer because we’d written her off as a ditzy kid who was just acting out because she wanted to drive her brothers’ truck.

  “Holy crap balls,” I exclaimed even though there was nobody to hear me. “It was Daisy.”

  My first impulse was, of course, to rush headlong into things and go to their farm, but that would have been stupid on so many levels that I didn’t even bother to count them. Instead, I did it right and went to the courthouse. By the time I ran to his office, I was out of breath and had to stop and drop my hands to my knees for a minute. I really needed to start working out.

  “Hey, Noelle,” Peggy Sue said, standing from her desk. Concern etched her soft features, and she came around the corner of the desk. “Where’s the fire?”

  I sucked in a couple deep breaths, then panted, “I need to see Hunter. Right now.”

  “He’s with somebody, sweetie. You’ll have to give him a minute. I’m sure he won’t be long.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I know who killed Jackson, and Hunter’s not answering his phone.”

  Peggy Sue’s face creased into a smile. “Oh, honey, you gotta have a little faith. Hunter just sent PJ to pick Daisy up.” She came around her desk and put her hand on my arm. “Now, why don’t you sit down? You really don’t look so good.”

  I laughed. She was right. Hunter was brilliant—it was one of the things I loved most about him, and I gave myself a solid mental kick in the backside for doubting him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Since Gabi’d done the chores that morning, it was only fair that I do them that night, so after I unloaded the trailer, I texted and told her she didn’t need to rush home. I also reminded her it was girls’ night. She replied within just a couple minutes. It seemed she already had plans and wouldn’t be able to make it to Fancy’s. I frowned, even more intrigued, but I didn’t ask.

  Instead, I told her to have fun, then proceeded to bring the horses in. Kristen pulled up right as I closed the last stall door.

  “Hey, girl,” I said. “I thought you were staying at the fairgrounds for the weekend. Aren’t they doing a fun show today?”

  That was the part of the horse-related events I’d been looking forward to the most. It involved silly games that anybody could participate in. Games like Egg and Spoon, where you had to put an egg on a spoon and ride to the end of the arena without dropping it, and Buddy Pick-Up, which involved running to the end of the arena on your horse, picking up a friend who was standing down there, often on a barrel waiting to swing behind you on the saddle, then running back.

  She pressed her lips together, disappointment etching her features as she reached in the trailer window and unhooked Bones’s lead rope. “We decided to cancel it. There weren’t that many people left, and it’s supposed to rain. Besides, I just got some bad news, and I wasn’t really in the mood anymore.”

  “Is everything okay?” I asked, worried. “I mean, obviously it isn’t, but it’s nothing serious, is it?”

  “I guess it depends on what you call serious,” she replied, swinging the trailer door open. “Nobody’s sick or anything, but my landlady sold my house. I’ve been living there for three years, and the rent’s ridiculously low because I helped her out by mowing her lawn and running errands for her. Now she’s decided to move to Texas with her kids, so she sold her house and the two rentals she had because she’s not planning on coming back.”

  “Wow,” I said. “And the person who bought it won’t continue your lease?”

  She shook her head and caught Bones by the halter as he backed out of the trailer. “Nope. They’re a young family and are gonna live there.”

  “How long do you have?” I asked, grateful that I’d never have to deal with that. Though times had gotten tight on more than one occasion, I’d sworn never to put a mortgage on the
house because no matter how bad things got, I had a home that was bought and paid for.

  “Thirty days. That’s not long enough to even find a place, let alone save up enough for a security deposit.”

  “That’s rough,” I said. “What are you gonna do?”

  She looked miserable. “I guess I’m gonna have to move back in with my folks until I can save up some money. And it’ll be hard to find something that’s in my price range, too. Hopefully, I’ll luck into somebody willing to do the same thing Ms. Brooks did and let me work some of it off.”

  My heart went out to her. I knew how hard she worked and how little she made as a manager at the convenience store where she worked. It was enough to get by, but not much over and above that. My knee-jerk reaction was to offer to let her move in, but I needed to run that past Gabi and Matt first. After all, they lived there, too. Plus, there were the ghosts and Max to consider. I wasn’t the only person who had a say.

  I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze as we led Bones to his stall. “Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna work out just fine. What are you doing later? We’re going out to Fancy’s, and you’re more than welcome to come.”

  Her lips turned up in a sad smile. “Oh, no, I don’t want to be a third wheel, but thanks anyway. I think I’m going to go home and start packing.”

  “No worries about being a third wheel. It’s girls’ night. Me, Coralee, Raeann, Alyse, Bobbie Sue, and a few others are just gonna go blow off some steam. Have a couple beers, eat some wings, and lose a few games of pool to Anna Mae. You should come. Packing will wait ’til tomorrow.”

  She thought about it for a second as she turned Bones into his stall and pulled off his halter. “You know what? I’ll do that. I need to go home and shower first, though. What time?”

  “Seven, but we’ll be there for a few hours, so anytime after that will be fine.”

  She pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. “It’s only three, That gives me plenty of time to shower and maybe even pack a couple boxes before then. I’ll be there! And thank you.”