Apple Cider Slaying

by Julie Anne Lindsey

  “I completely understand,” Jake said, attention fixed on the open folder in his hands. “I’ll look it over, then get it to Mr. Sherman as soon as he comes back.”

  I looked toward the wall of larger offices. Mr. Sherman’s light was off.

  “He’s out on a visit now, but I expect him any minute,” Jake volunteered.

  “Thank you,” I said, sincerely. “I really do appreciate this.”

  “Anytime.”

  Back in the car, the kittens cried for an escape. They’d pressed themselves against the little gate at the front of their carrier and stretched skinny orange paws through the holes toward me. I stroked the soft fur of their arms and promised they’d soon be free, then headed the rest of the way over to the town’s beloved veterinarian’s office.

  Doc Austin had been a large animal vet for thirty years, mostly dealing with local livestock and horses until his retirement. Then, like most men his age in Blossom Valley, he’d gotten restless and gone back to work a year later. Now, he leased clinic space on Forrest and Vine, but he also made house calls. He said he went wherever the work took him. He boarded pets at his home while owners took vacations, and he even provided daycare at the clinic for elderly and very young pets while their humans were at work. Basically, he was the previous generation’s version of Dot, and I loved him. It didn’t hurt that he had been a lifelong friend of Grampy’s.

  I parked in the animal clinic’s lot and unfastened the seatbelt from the kittens’ carrier.

  Mildred, the receptionist met us at the door. “Come on in,” she said, ushering us inside. “I was so glad when Dot called to say you were taking these little sweeties. What happened to them was tragic, and you’ve got all that space out there on the orchard without a single pet. You’re in for a real treat now. These guys will make everything more fun.”

  I handed her a jug of my cider with a bow around the center. “This is for the office, from the orchard.”

  She hugged it to her chest. “Thank you.”

  “Of course. And you’re right about the kittens. They’ve been an unexpected joy.” Kenny and Dolly had only been in our lives for a couple of days, but I already couldn’t imagine life without them.

  “Good.” Mildred’s bottom lip jutted forward. “Lord knows your granny could use a little comfort right now. It’s hard to be on the business end of the rumor mill. I know.”

  My muscles tensed. “Do you think folks really believe Granny hurt Mrs. Cooper?” I asked. “No one came out to see us today.”

  She frowned. “Didn’t the sheriff shut you down?”

  “Yesterday,” I said. “Not today, and he was just looking for any evidence that might have been left behind by the killer, who isn’t Granny,” I added for good measure.

  “I thought your Granny closed up shop after Thanksgiving,” she said, sounding puzzled. “What’s she doing open today?”

  “Christmas at the Orchard,” I said. “We’re going to start staying open all year, weather permitting, and I have a big winter festival planned this weekend.” I dug a flier from my purse and passed it to her. “You should come. Tell folks about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

  She looked at me as if I’d grown a new head. “The trees are dormant all winter.”

  “Yes, but our products are still available. We make cider, pies, jams, and jellies regardless of the season. We’ve always sold them to the general store and local restaurants. Now, we want to sell direct from the orchard. Winterfest is my way of helping folks see they can visit Smythe Orchard for our goodies any time of year.”

  She still looked confused. “You plan to keep the fruit stand going?”

  “Only seasonally. I’m going to open a cider shop in our Mail Pouch barn where people can come and spend some time with friends and family over hot apple cider and a slice of granny’s pie anytime.”

  She nodded and headed for her desk. “That sounds lovely. Make yourself at home, and I’ll get your new patient forms together. The doc is finishing up with another appointment, then he’ll be right with you.”

  As if on cue, Doc Austin appeared in the hallway. “I won’t be a minute, Winnie,” he said, lifting a finger and vanishing through another open door.

  The receptionist waved a stack of papers from beside her desk. “I’m going to put you in exam room three.”

  I grabbed the carrier and froze as motion caught my eye outside the window. It took only seconds for me to recognize Oscar and his grubby old fishing hat. I watched curiously as he moved quickly along the sidewalk and across the busy street. Where had he been coming from? Aside from the vet clinic, there was only an orthopedic shoe store, pediatrician’s office, and a beauty shop. Could he have followed me? Goosebumps rose on my skin as I considered the reason why he might. Could he be Nadine’s killer? Keeping tabs on me in case I’d seen through his lies and planned to tell someone? Like the sheriff.

  “Winnie?” Mildred asked.

  “Coming.” I followed her to a closet-sized room at the back of the building, thankful I could no longer be seen from the window. Mildred handed me a clipboard, pile of blank forms, and a pen before making herself scarce.

  I started by scratching out the words Kenny Rogers on the second form then printing Dolly’s name in its place.

  Doc Austin arrived a few minutes later, his puffy white hair as thick and wild as Albert Einstein’s. He wore Wrangler jeans and a West Virginia Mountaineer’s T-shirt beneath his lab coat. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, a welcoming smile across his lips. He opened the gate on the pet carrier immediately and with enthusiasm. “I heard all about these little guys from the rehabilitation specialist in the national park. You and Dot saved their lives.”

  “It was all Dot,” I said. “I’m just feeding and housing them. Dot was the one who did the rescuing.”

  “You always were a humble one. You still driving your Grampy’s cars?”

  “Yes, sir,” I said. “I drove Sally here today.”

  He chuckled. “That’s cause she’s your favorite. Always has been. Personally, I like the eighty-four SVO. I was with him when he found her, you know?”

  “I believe I have heard that story.” I smiled. “Took the two of you three years to find all the parts she needed.”

  He folded his arms and grinned. “Those were good times. Your grampy was a great man.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He slid his glasses onto the bridge of his nose and shot me a mischievous look. “If you’re ever looking to unload her, I know a guy who’d pay her full worth and treat her like a queen.”

  “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” I said, enjoying the warm moment with a man who’d loved Grampy once too.

  “Well.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s meet these little survivors.” He pulled the kittens into his arms and turned them over with practiced skill. “Boy,” he said, then looked into Kenny’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. “He’s healthy. Clean. No ear mites or fleas that I can see.” He did the same for Dolly. “Girl,” he announced, then weighed them both with a little effort. Neither wanted to hold still long enough to get a reading, but the doc managed. “One pound six ounces and one pound nine ounces. What are you feeding them?”

  “Some formula Dot left me, plus some kibble, but they prefer Granny’s scrambled eggs and shredded chicken.”

  He belted out a hearty roar of laughter. “Well, that sounds about right,” he said. “There’s no need for special treatment. These two are big enough for kibble, so feel free to move away from the bottles, and tell your granny they will be just fine without a personal chef.”

  “I’ll tell her, but I don’t think it will stop her.”

  He chuckled again. “Probably not. Now it’s time for the ouchy part. Shots.” He set the kittens carefully on the floor where a trio of feathery toys awaited, then opened a cabinet at eye level and swung his head back to avoid putting his eye out in the confined space. “This is why I need to expand,” he said. “Closets don’t make sufficien
t exam rooms.”

  I grinned. “You could always stop being so likable and good at your job,” I suggested. “At least a few folks would go elsewhere. Then you could have your closets back.”

  He got out a pair of vials and read the labels. “I guess you’re right. Everything’s a matter of perspective. It’s easy to forget the little annoyances are sometimes blessings. It’s like fussing over where to store all the extra food after a party.”

  “Did you say you’re expanding?”

  “As long as the banker will allow it, that’s the plan.” He scooped up the first cat and administered the shot, then rubbed the spot carefully to soothe Kenny.

  Dolly charged him, jumping onto the doc’s left pant leg and scurrying up by her nails before being pulled off and set onto the table. “Yeow!”

  “Sorry,” I said. “They do that.”

  He sprayed a little mound of what looked like orange Play-Doh out of a can and onto the paper table cover. “How about some cheese?” Both kittens dug in, and Doc Austin administered Dolly’s shots while she ate. She didn’t seem to notice.

  Ten minutes later, I’d written a check for two kitten exams and was on my way back to the car.

  I slowed at the sight of a paper wedged beneath my windshield. I buckled the carrier inside, then grabbed the page and turned it over in my hands.

  Three little words were scratched across the page:

  LEAVE IT ALONE

  My heart rate spiked, and my mouth went instantly dry. I struggled to breathe through the panic.

  I scanned the street, but no one in sight paid me any attention. Couples moseyed hand in hand along the sidewalk a few blocks away. Distant shoppers ducked in and out of storefronts. Nothing unusual. No signs of someone sinister. I turned back to the words etched beneath my fingertips and felt a distinct pang of unease.

  Oscar had been outside the vet clinic earlier, and he’d been moving away at top speed when I spotted him.

  I locked myself inside the car and dialed the sheriff’s department. The woman who answered the call instructed me to stay put and wait. I did as I was told while examining every male passerby in search of Oscar and wondering if he might be the lunatic trying to scare me to death.

  Sheriff Wise’s cruiser pulled into the space beside mine a few minutes later. He came to stand beside my door with genuine concern on his unreasonably handsome face. “You okay?”

  I cranked Sally’s window down an inch and stuck the note outside. “Do you believe me now?” I asked. “Who else would harass me like this and tell me to leave things alone besides the true killer? Who obviously isn’t my granny.”

  Sheriff Wise snapped a pair of blue latex gloves over his big hands, then took the note. He sealed it inside the equivalent of a gallon freezer bag before reading it. His brows lifted, and he turned his attention back to me. “This note says nothing about your granny, Nadine Cooper, or her death.”

  “It’s another threat,” I croaked. “It’s clearly from the killer, and this time he walked right up to my car in broad daylight. You can’t ignore that.” I bit my tongue against the urge to announce Oscar as my new number one suspect. The sheriff had already made his feelings about my opinions crystal clear. Plus, the last time I’d given him an opinion, I’d told him I thought Oscar was a nice guy.

  “I also can’t assume this note is from the killer,” Sheriff Wise continued. “How do I know you haven’t aggravated a whole slew of people lately? Anyone could have written this message about any number of things.”

  My jaw sank open. “You know exactly what this note is about, Colton Wise,” I snapped, angling my mouth toward the inch of open window up top.

  One corner of his mouth inched up. “What did you say?” he asked.

  My heart stopped. “What?”

  “Did you call me Colton?”

  Had I? I raced mentally backward over the exchange, and heat rushed over my face. I had! Nosily reading all his family’s Facebook posts had left me feeling as if I knew him far better than I actually did. “So?” It was his name.

  He rocked back on his heels, looking victorious for no reason. “I don’t believe I’ve ever introduced myself to you that way. Which means you’ve been asking around about me.”

  “No, I haven’t.” I responded too quickly and his smile grew.

  I really hadn’t asked anyone about him, but I’d spent hours digging up information online, and I suddenly wondered if he knew.

  “You sure about that?”

  I bit the insides of my cheeks and pulled my chin back. “Yes. I have to go.”

  “Anything in particular you wanted to know?”

  “Please find my stalker,” I said, starting Sally’s engine and shifting into reverse. “Goodbye.”

  He stepped back, eyes twinkling. “You can call me Colton,” he said. “If you want.”

  “No, thank you.” I checked my mirrors four times before backing up. I was thoroughly rattled for no good reason, and I didn’t want to take out an innocent bystander in my haste.

  “That’s fine,” he said. “Some people are into that. Men in uniforms. Positions of authority. You can keep addressing me as Sheriff if that’s your thing.”

  “No.” I nearly poked my eye out trying to get sunglasses onto my face. “Not me.” I cleared the parking spots and pulled the shifter into drive.

  “Well, you have to call me something,” he said with a grin.

  I could think of a few options, but I kept them to myself and stared straight ahead as I motored past him.

  “Colton it is, then,” he called, his reflection rocking with laughter in my rearview mirror.

  * * *

  The Sip N Sup was its normal kind of busy when I clocked in for my shift the next night. It would have been a great time to ask questions and gather information, but I couldn’t seem to get the note from my windshield out of my mind. It wasn’t that the message had been especially scary when I really thought about it. It was more about the fact I lived in such a small town that whoever was threatening me must always know exactly where I was. I didn’t like this new feeling that nowhere was safe and I couldn’t hide. I found myself scrutinizing male faces in search of Oscar or someone who looked as if he might be the one trying to scare me. I surveyed their heights and builds seeking a match for the man who’d knocked me down the press building’s steps.

  “Winnie?” Birdie Wilks waved a hand before my eyes. She and her card club were on their fourth carafe of coffee, and I was beginning to think one of them was spiking the pot with all the hooting and hollering going on.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I answered, moving in her direction with a smile. “Y’all sound like you’re having a terrific time over here. Maybe I ought to join a card club.”

  “You should,” Birdie said, and a number of the women burst into another round of laughter. “We’re already having great fun thanks to you,” Birdie continued.

  “Me?” I smiled, a little unsure where this conversation was going and if I wanted to hear it. I cast a look around the room to count the number of folks who might be about to hear something I didn’t want them to.

  “Yes. We were just discussing how you marched right over to that hiking group of Nadine’s and asked the trail master what on earth he was arguing with her for.”

  Another round of laughter ripped through them.

  I blushed. “You said they argued.” And they had. Oscar admitted it.

  “We know what we said. It’s just that gossip doesn’t normally go that way. Normally,” she drawled, “someone hears a juicy tale, and they pass it on. Then the next person does the same until everyone knows, and the person they’re all talking about doesn’t have a clue that their little secret has been hung out to dry like underpants on a clothesline.”

  “It’s funny because I let Oscar know people were talking about him?” I guessed.

  “The way we hear it, you did more than let him know,” Birdie said. “ I heard he was so worked up when he got home, he didn’t know if
he should scratch or wind his watch.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset him. He seemed fine when I left,” I said, suddenly realizing that if Birdie’s card club was telling me this, a whole lot of other people had heard about it too. Like Sheriff Wise. I rubbed my temples. He hated when I asked questions about Mrs. Cooper. And he thought I’d been asking around about him, I reminded myself, blushing furiously again. “I’ll apologize to Oscar the next time I see him.”

  By closing time, I had a mental list of things I wanted to do when I got home, starting with looking more closely at the trail master. Was he truly flustered by my questions or was he upset because he’d lied to me? What had he been doing near the vet today before the threatening letter had appeared on my windshield?

  I also had a lot more to do in preparation for the Winterfest. I’d mailed the fliers and placed the ad in the paper yesterday, so people would soon learn about the event on a mass scale, and Mildred was sure to tell people about my future cider shop. I’d seen the intrigue in her eyes, even if she’d pretended to blow me off. Which reminded me. I had to make a few more gallons of my specialty ciders soon.

  What I needed more than anything was for Sheriff Wise to announce Granny’s innocence publicly or at least make it clear that she was no longer a suspect. From what I’d read online, he was a good detective, and there was no way even a bad detective could truly believe Granny was behind any of the bad things happening in Blossom Valley.

  I grabbed my coat and clocked out with images of Mrs. Cooper in my mind. She must’ve confided in someone about her boyfriends, but who? Did she have a best friend I didn’t know about? A sister or a beloved hairdresser? If I knew who she’d talked to about her love life, I could contact the men in question, and surely one of them would be able to shed some light on her last few days for me.

  I waited for Freddie to walk me out at closing. He was vigilant about keeping watch on anyone leaving alone after dark, and I appreciated that more than ever as he peeked under my car and into my back seat before I climbed inside. Something about the darkened lot had given me goosebumps and kept me from setting foot outside without a chaperone. Thankfully, Freddie didn’t mind being anyone’s white knight, and as a bonus, there wasn’t another note under my wiper. I waved goodbye as I pulled onto the road, feeling infinitely safer strapped into Sally’s cockpit.