"Still no word from Lenny, eh?" he asked.
I grimaced. "Not a peep."
"We'll figure something out," he said. "But let's not worry about that tonight."
"No well water, Jed Stadtler on the loose, my friend charged with homicide, a weird predator stalking my livestock, and a murderer probably on the loose in Buttercup. What could I possibly be worried about?"
"Don't forget the haunted house," Quinn chimed in.
I sighed. "How could I forget?"
"Did you ever get that diary to Maria?" Quinn asked.
"I did," I said as I rummaged through the freezer and pulled out a pan of lasagna. "She spent over an hour poking around to see if there were any other secret caches in the house, but I don't think she found anything."
"Any ghostly appearances while she was there?" Quinn asked.
I shook my head and turned the oven on. "I think she was a little disappointed."
"Maybe the ghost wanted someone to find the diary," Quinn suggested. "It could be that's what it was trying to say."
"You really think the house is haunted?" Tobias asked.
"I didn't see any loose shutters," I pointed out as I tucked the lasagna into the oven. I stood up and peered out the darkening windows. "Do you think it's safe to go get some salad makings?"
"I'll go," Tobias announced.
"I'll go with you," I told him. "That way we'll have each other's backs."
"I don't know. Fresh salad is good, but it's not worth being mauled by..."
"...A chupacabra?" I finished.
"No such thing," Tobias asserted yet again. "But there are mountain lions."
"Good thing you have a tranquilizer gun, then. Besides, the dogs have settled down."
He glanced at Chuck and Pip, who were still agitated, but no longer growling, then opened and closed his mouth as if he were about to tell me no, but thought better of it. "All right," he said. "But stay close."
Quinn corralled the dogs as I grabbed a flashlight and a basket and headed for the back door with Tobias behind me. Together, we headed out into the darkness. "This way," I told him, leading him toward where I'd planted rows of greens. "I need to thin the arugula anyway."
"Fine, but we should hurry up about it," Tobias said. "I don't feel like shooting a mountain lion tonight."
"I'm glad," I told him. "I wouldn't want to hang out with someone who wanted to shoot a mountain lion."
As Tobias stood guard, I used a flashlight to find the row of arugula and then bent down to pluck enough to fill the basket. I was halfway down the row when there was a low, deep growl from somewhere close to the barn.
I stood up and whirled around, shining the flashlight in the direction of the sound. I caught a flash of eyeshine, then a quick, sinuous movement as something darted around the corner of the barn. The goats bleated anxiously from inside, and the dogs began barking and yipping behind the farmhouse door.
"We're going back inside," Tobias said, shouldering the gun, and I didn't argue. "Stay behind me."
I did, happily, as we hustled from the garden to the house. "Are you sure the barn is locked up tight?" he asked as we entered the warm pool of light glowing from the kitchen windows. I kept shining the light behind us, just in case whatever it was decided we looked tasty, but there was no sign of the creature.
"Now you're making me doubt myself," I said, "but I don't want to check. Besides, if I hadn't, wouldn't that... whatever it was already have gotten in?"
"Probably," he admitted as I pulled open the kitchen door.
"Are you okay?" Quinn asked as we burst into the kitchen. "The dogs went nuts again."
"We saw it," I told her. "By the barn."
"What do you think it is?" she asked.
"I didn't get a good look, but it's definitely a predator," Tobias said. "It didn't have the look of a wolf, but I don't think it was a mountain lion, either."
"Why not?"
"It moved differently, somehow," he said. "I don't know what it was. I do know one thing, though."
"What?"
"It wasn't a chupacabra, because they don't exist."
After a few minutes, the dogs settled down. When Chuck reclaimed his spot next to the woodstove in the kitchen, Tobias stood up. "I'm going to go check to make sure the barn is secure."
"Want company?" I asked as I picked roots off the baby arugula.
"No," he said shortly. "I'll be back in a few."
Quinn and I watched as he headed out the front door. I abandoned the arugula, feeling anxious as he opened the gate and headed toward the barn, the gun at the ready.
He checked the first barn door and had rounded the building to check the back when the dogs erupted behind us.
I cracked the door open. "Tobias, watch out!" I yelled. He rounded the barn a moment later, paused, and then started running... but not toward the house.
"Where are you going?"
"Fire!" he yelled. "Call the fire department!"
17
"I'll call," Quinn said and raced for the phone as I bolted out of the farmhouse. The smell of smoke was on the air; when I turned, I saw flames leaping down by the dry creek. Which was downhill from us. Which meant the flames would soon be rushing toward the farmhouse.
My throat turned dry, and I caught a movement on the other side of the creek. It wasn't an animal; it was a person; I caught a quick glimpse of a face, and then it was gone.
I grabbed Tobias's arm. "There's someone down there."
He surveyed the flame-lit area. "I don't see anything. Are you sure it's not the mountain lion?"
"I saw a face," I said.
"No time to chase it down now," he pointed out.
"I know. We need to get the hose and pump water from the stock tank," I replied. "It's not much, but it's something. If you'll grab the hose, I'll go get the pump going."
"I'll put the dogs in the truck," Quinn said. "What do you want me to do about the animals?"
"If it gets too close, open the barn and the gates," I told her. "At least they can escape."
"What about whatever was out there?"
"We'll just have to hope the fire will scare it off." I paused. "And grab my grandmother's cookbook from the shelf." If I lost the house, at least I'd have something to remember her by.
"Got it," she said as we ran out the door.
By the time we got the water going, the fire had advanced and was about fifteen feet from my peach orchard. As Tobias tried to wet down the dry grass ahead of the advancing flames, I ran to get a bucket and filled it. Despite our best efforts, the fire was spreading.
"We don't have enough water!" Tobias yelled when the first peach tree caught fire. I winced as the little tree flamed, then blackened, and glanced back toward the farmhouse. My grandparents' home had survived for more than a hundred years. Would this be the end of it?
At that moment, headlights flashed behind us; the pumper truck came roaring up the driveway, then bumped down the pasture toward us. The fire brigade had arrived.
Peter and Ethan swung down from the truck. "Get to safety," Peter ordered us as they worked to get the hose detached from the truck. A moment later, a solid spray of water had slowed the fire's advance on the orchard. Unfortunately, there was only one truck, and a snake of fire was slithering toward the barn.
"I've got it," Tobias said when I pointed it out, and hurried over with the hose. I stamped out some of the flames as he watered the dry grass between the fire and the barn; with luck, it would at least slow it down. I turned back to watch Peter and Ethan battle the flames. They'd saved the peach orchard, but another line of flame was hurrying up the pasture.
"It's all going to go up, isn't it?" I asked Tobias.
He squeezed my arm. "It might be time to go open the gates."
My stomach clenched as I ran to the barn. Would I be able to get them out in time? Between the skulking predator that had recently been snuffling around and the smell of smoke, would they even come to me?
I opened the gat
e and hurried to the barn door, unlocking it and throwing it open.
"Come on, girls," I cajoled, but everyone was huddled at the back of the barn, the whites visible around their terrified eyes. "Let's go," I said in my softest voice, taking a step forward, but they just pressed against the back of the barn. For the first time, I began to panic. I couldn't bear to lose them to the fire. But how was I going to get them out of here in time? Even if I managed to rope the spooked animals, was I strong enough to get them to the door?
I grabbed a length of rope from a peg by the door and hurried to the closest goat, which happened to be Hot Lips. "Come on, girl," I said, but she ducked her head as I attempted to loop it around her neck. I finally got it on with a slipknot, but when I tried to lead her to the door, she dug in her heels and bleated at me. I dug in my own heels and started pulling. I'd almost gotten her to the door when she turned her head and slipped the rope, running back to the corner.
I was about to try again when there was yelling from outside. At the same time, there was a loud banging sound, and a cold wind slammed against the open barn door. I ran outside. As I turned to look at the fire, a cold, wet drop landed on my head. And then another. A moment later, the heavens opened and rain came sluicing down.
"Thank you," I murmured, looking up at the sky with my hands open. As if in response, there was another series of bangs from the little house down by the creek. I glanced at it; the reflection of the flames danced in the windows, but when I turned to look at the fire, it was no longer marching up the pasture, and the wind had turned, pushing it away from the house and toward the dry creek.
"Perfect timing!" Tobias jogged over to me, hose still in hand, as I closed the barn door behind me.
"It's a miracle," I said. "I just hope it's enough." Tobias squeezed my arm; together, we hurried down to the firefighters.
"Will it put it out?" I asked Peter, who was still spraying down the area. I had to yell to be heard over the sound of the rain and the hose and the fire.
"No," he called back, "but between the rain and the changing wind, it should stop it long enough so that we can." He glanced over at me, his long hair slicked against his cheek. "Any water left in your stock tank?"
"There is," I said. "Use whatever you need. Can I help you out at all?"
"Probably best to steer clear and be ready to evacuate if things change. I've called for the second pumper truck."
I thanked him, but Tobias and I lingered a few minutes longer, surveying the damage. I'd lost about four peach trees, it looked like. Some of the trees down by the creek had been burned, too, which made me sad; I hoped the sycamore and cottonwood would bud out in the spring, but I didn't have high hopes. On the plus side, there was water in the creek now... which meant the fire's progress was blocked.
* * *
It was late by the time the fire was completely out. I ferried hot chocolate and coffee out to the two volunteer firefighters; it was the least I could do to thank them for coming out to save my farm.
When Peter and Ethan knocked on the front door of the farm, the rain was still coming down hard, pattering on the metal roof. "We got it," Peter said, "but we're drenched."
"Come in and warm up," I told them, taking off their jackets. "I'll get you some towels, and I have some leftover lasagna if you're hungry. I can't thank you enough for saving my home."
"Happy to do it," Peter told me. "And lasagna sounds terrific."
I threw a few more logs on the fire, heating up the kitchen, and grabbed fresh towels while Tobias and Quinn dished up some lasagna for Peter and Ethan. When we were all sitting around the table with mugs of chocolate, I turned to Peter. "I saw someone down by the creek when the fire started. Is there any way to tell if it might have been arson?"
Peter and Ethan exchanged glances. "We'll have to get an investigator out," Peter said.
"That's what I figured," I said.
"Who would have wanted to burn your place down?" he asked.
"Maybe it was Jed," Quinn said. "I came here last time... maybe he saw my truck and knew I was here."
"Or maybe it was someone who didn't want you looking in to what happened to Bug Wharton," Peter suggested. "I heard Serafine got out. I was thinking of stopping by to see her tomorrow."
I grimaced.
"What's wrong?"
"Tobias and I think someone tried to poison José down at the game ranch this morning," I said. "With Serafine out of jail, she could be a suspect again."
"Is he okay?"
"Tobias managed to get the poison out of his system."
"How?"
"Charcoal tablets and ipecac," I said. "The poison was in the Splenda in José's trailer, I think."
"That could have been anyone," Quinn said. "And if it was locked, it would have to be someone with a key."
"I have no idea if it was locked," I said. "People get a little lax about that here."
"But the Whartons had been in the city for years. Besides, everyone knows Serafine and the Whartons didn't get along. Wouldn't someone have noticed if she were there?"
"Good point," I said. "And why would she want to kill José?"
"Whoever tried to kill him must have thought he had some incriminating evidence," Tobias mused.
"Maybe we should head down to the hospital and ask him some questions," Quinn suggested.
"I get the feeling he wouldn't be too forthcoming," I replied. "He seemed kind of cagey about things."
"He did," Tobias agreed. "And Mitch Wharton didn't want us hanging around that trailer, either."
"I wonder what he was hiding."
Tobias ran a hand through his hair. "There are a lot of files in there. Maybe something attached to the ranch?"
"Or maybe the poisoned Splenda," I suggested.
"But why would Mitch kill his brother if he was the one who won the lottery?" Quinn asked. "He was the one with the money. It doesn't make sense. If anything, you'd think Bug would kill Mitch."
"Mitch won the lottery? I wondered how they bought the ranch," Peter said. "How much did Mitch win, anyway?"
I grabbed my computer and pulled it up. "Five million dollars."
"That'll pay for a few kangaroos," Tobias said.
"And a whole lot of acreage, apparently," Quinn said. "But you're right; it kind of knocks out the motive for Mitch."
"Here's an idea," I said. "What if whoever put the poison in the EpiPen poisoned the Splenda at the same time? So, there would be two ways to kill Bug... and because it was poison, you could be long gone when it happened."
"Or maybe lead investigators astray," Tobias suggested.
"It's a thought," I mused, "but it doesn't feel right. I think someone was trying to kill José because he knew something."
Tobias and I exchanged glances; I knew we were both thinking of Serafine's sister. Would hiding her relationship with Mitch be enough of a motive to kill him? Or was there something else going on?
"What about that lady in Houston?" Ethan suggested. "She could have planted the poison while she was here."
"I drove down to Houston to talk to her. She seemed surprised to find out Bug had died... but I wouldn't have pegged her as a murderer."
Tobias sighed. "Just because she didn't seem like a murderer doesn't mean she isn't one. There's got to be someone who had a reason to kill Bug and poison José."
"But who?"
"Maybe there's someone we don't know about," Tobias suggested. "Maybe someone who worked with both of them."
"Jed did," Quinn said slowly. "We all know he's as mean as a snake."
"He doesn't strike me as the poisoning type, though," Tobias said. "Besides, I don’t know when he started working there. And I don't know what his motive would be."
"He hates authority." Quinn's chin jutted out. "I’ll bet he reported to both Bug and José. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Mitch was next."
I glanced at Tobias. "I guess it's possible."
"What other options do we have?" he asked.
"Som
e folks might think it was me," Peter admitted. "After all, I organized the demonstration at the ranch. Plus, at the Witches' Ball, I wore that Grim Reaper outfit, and Aimee pulled that card..."
"Nonsense," Quinn said, glancing nervously at Peter. "Don't even talk about it. There's no way you were involved."
"We're coming up empty here," Tobias said. "Mitch was the one with the money, so he didn't have a motive; we're all confident Serafine didn't do it..."
"What would her motive be, anyway?" I asked.
"Anger over the way the animals are treated," Peter said. "And José was complicit in it. I can see how someone who was really passionate could see themselves as justified."
"I guess," I said, "but without a secondary reason, it feels weak." Tobias and I glanced at each other again, and I knew we were both wondering the same thing. Would protecting her sister really be enough to cause Serafine to commit murder?
"It's always possible his Houston ex did everyone in," Quinn said, "and Lucy doesn't think she did."
"Someone probably lit that fire," Tobias pointed out. "You've been present both times, you're a former investigative reporter, and everyone knows you're trying to get Serafine off the hook."
"Are you saying someone was trying to scare me—or worse?"
"If you did see someone, and if whoever it was lit that fire, it's possible."
"Nothing like cozy, small-town life," I quipped.
"It was all pretty boring until you came around," Tobias said, grinning. "And it's not all been bad."
I gave Tobias a wry smile of my own. "Aww. You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."
He leaned over and kissed me on the top of the head.
"Hey there, you lovebirds. We have a serious situation here," Peter said.
I sighed. He was right, of course.
"Can you get someone to investigate the fire?" I asked him.
"I've already put a call in," he informed me.
I turned to Tobias. "I think we might want to make another trip to the ranch tomorrow, to check out those kangaroos again."
"Sounds like a plan," he said. "But in the meantime, I'm sleeping here tonight, in case someone decides to come back and finish the job."
Deadly Brew: A Dewberry Farm Mystery Page 15
