by Tara Meyers
The door was yanked open.
“What on earth are you doing here, Ember?” Marissa Thomas stood in the entrance, a look of annoyance on her face.
Ember held the paper out as if it were a white flag begging for a truce. “Mayor Gomez asked me to stop by and drop off this list for you. It’s, um, for the flowers. For the Christmas dinner,” she added unnecessarily.
Stepping forward, Marissa’s expression softened as she took the paper. The door stood open behind her, and Ember could see an incredible assortment of plants, several of them flowering. Moist heat wafted out, along with a tropical scent that Ember associated with saunas where too much sun lotion was used.
“Thank you,” Marissa said simply.
Ember’s gaze was drawn back to the older woman to see if she was being sarcastic. She didn’t appear to be. Her hair was loose of its bun, hanging in moist ringlets alongside her plump cheeks. There was a loose smile on her face that somehow didn’t seem foreign to the creases at the corners of her gray eyes. Ember was struck by the unexpected perception she had of a friendly grandmother. She thought back to the comment the mayor had made, that Marissa always donated flowers but had never attended a dinner. Maybe she’d never been invited.
“Are you going to the dinner?” Ember said spontaneously before she could stop the thought from escaping. “Because we still have an empty seat at our table.”
Something akin to scorn straightened Marissa’s lips, and Ember knew immediately that she’d made a mistake. The older woman thought she pitied her, and in truth, that was perhaps the motivating factor behind the invite.
“What I mean is,” Ember struggled to backpedal, “your flower donation is so generous. It doesn’t seem right that you’re not at the dinner. Not to mention that you’ve been in Sanctuary your whole life.” She was blabbering now.
Marissa raised an eyebrow, and her nostrils flared once. Twice. “I appreciate your…concern, but it is misplaced.”
Ember was saved from any further foot-eating by a flash of headlights and tires crunching behind her. Spinning around, she put a hand up to block the glare of the lights and recognized the sheriff’s SUV.
“Did I miss the party invitation?” Marissa grumbled, slamming the door behind her to stop the flow of escaping heat.
Ember glanced sideways at Marissa and chose not to answer. Nothing she said would be satisfactory anyway.
“Ember?” Sheriff Walker called out as he emerged from his vehicle.
When Ember waved in response, he closed the distance with long purposeful steps. It was clear from his demeanor that he was there on business.
“I thought that was your truck,” he stated after stopping in front of the two ladies. Looking back and forth between them, he didn’t ask why she was there, but it was obvious he was curious. “I was actually on my way to your place to follow up on those test results we were discussing this weekend.”
Marissa threw her hands up. “Sure. Don’t let me interfere with your private conversation in my backyard. I’ll just dismiss myself and go back to what I was doing before I was interrupted.” She turned away without another word and disappeared into the greenhouse.
Shrugging, Walker put a hand out to guide Ember back toward their vehicles while he spoke. “Did you hear back yet from the lab about the berries the cat threw up?”
Ember shook her head. “They’re backed up. This afternoon they promised to get it to me in the morning. Why? What did you find out?”
Sheriff Walker wiped at his nose and then squinted at her. His dark eyes were ominous in the harsh glare of the headlights. “The coroner ran his tests three times to be sure. There’s no doubt about it, though. Allen Swensen died from a lethal dose of arsenic.”
“Arsenic!” Ember hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t that. “I don’t know much about it other than the fact that it occurs both in nature and also as an inorganic compound that used to be common as a pesticide, which is why we still learn about it in school. It can come up randomly as an accidental poisoning in animals, but to cause death? That would almost have to be―”
“Intentional,” Walker finished for her. “Yes. There’s no question about it. Swenson’s death has been ruled a homicide. I’ve removed myself from that investigation, for personal reasons.”
When the sheriff didn’t offer to explain what those reasons were, Ember came to the most obvious conclusion. “Is it because Delilah is a suspect?”
Walker shifted from foot to foot, and he tugged at his hat. “Yes. I’m too close to this. The Thomas County Sheriff’s Office is handling it. They’re the closest department.” He turned abruptly to go but then paused and looked back. “Will you let me know what you hear tomorrow? As a personal favor.”
“Of course,” Ember replied without hesitation.
They were interrupted by a loud voice erupting from the radio attached to his belt. “Dispatch to Sam One.”
Ember recognized the police phonic code. Sam was the standard used for the letter S, supplemented for the S in Sanctuary. As sheriff, Walker would be referred to as unit Sam One.
“This is Sam One, go ahead.”
“Sheriff, we have a…um…situation at the End of the Road Bar and Grill.”
Walker was instantly irritated, and it came across clearly in his voice. “Then notify Sam Three. He called into service nearly an hour ago.”
“That’s affirmative, Sheriff, but…you’ve been requested to respond personally.”
“What is this, a freaking dinner reservation?” the sheriff grumbled without keying up the microphone. Throwing a crooked smile at Ember, he sighed and then spoke into the radio. “Dispatch, what exactly is the disturbance? Does it require more than one unit?”
There was a long drawn-out pause on the other end of the radio before it chirped back a hesitant response. “No, sir. But―it involves your son.”
TEN
“What brings you out our way? I don’t remember requesting a house call.” Bonnie Hathaway finished tossing a pitchfork full of hay into the horse stall before turning around. A thin smile conveyed her mild annoyance at the interruption.
“I’ve been hearing about an alarming number of missing animals around the county in the past couple of weeks,” Ember explained. She stepped back out of Bonnie’s way as the older woman marched past her.
After leaning the tool against the wall of the barn, Bonnie pulled off her work gloves and slapped them against her thigh. Puffs of dust and bits of hay drifted into the beam of weak morning sunlight slanting through the open barn doors.
“And? What’s that got to do with us?” She challenged.
Ember hesitated. Bonnie obviously knew what it had to do with them. While it was common knowledge that the other woman was one of the biggest gossips in Sanctuary, she’d still be quick to chastise Ember for it. She chose her words carefully.
“I asked Sandy Ellsworth why they’d gotten a dog, and she explained that your calf being taken last week was the last straw for them.”
“Huh,” Bonnie puffed. “I didn’t know they got a dog. Morton has always been so set against them.”
Ember relaxed slightly. They’d found some common ground. Bonnie was generally a nice lady, but she had a quick trigger. “I know! That’s why I asked. I never thought I’d see it. He’s a cute Australian Shepherd.”
“So, you think our stolen calf is somehow connected to the other missing animals? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ember could feel her face reddening, and she further regretted the side trip on her drive to work. It was too early to be defensive. “You’re probably right, Bonnie,” she conceded. “They’re most likely not related. But I figured I should check and make sure we don’t have a bigger coyote problem than suspected.”
Bonnie nodded her head in agreement. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I can assure you that it wasn’t a pack of coyotes that nabbed our calf. Not unless they’ve learned how to use wire cutters.”
“Someone cut yo
ur fence?”
“Sure did.” Bonnie put her gloves back on, signaling that she needed to get back to work. “Had a good twenty head roaming out in the back forty. Took a good hour to round ’em all up. Only one was missing. It’s an assumption to say it was stolen, but there was no sign of any other animals or an attack. With all that snow, it would have been very obvious if there had been.”
Ember followed Bonnie over to a stack of hay bales. The smell was a combination of sweetness with a musky overture as mold tried to set in. She avoided looking at the farthest stall on the opposite side of the barn. It held memories that she’d rather not confront right then. “You don’t think it just wandered off?”
Bonnie leaned against the stack and gave a small roll of her eyes. “There was no fresh snow that night, so the tracks were easy to follow. It’s how we found the other cows. In addition to the cows, there was one set of human prints leading in from the road and one set leading out…along with the calf prints. Someone was so bold as to park a trailer on our back road to load it up!”
“Seems like a lot of effort for one cow.”
“You’re right.” Bonnie crossed her arms and tilted her head. Her salt-and-pepper hair was wound up on top of her head in a loose bun, and several strands had escaped. She blew some out of her face before continuing. “Will probably fetch less than a thousand, even with a couple months more of growth. I guess for some that might be worth the risk, but it struck us as odd. Carl figures he might spot it someplace local come spring, and then we’ll, um, handle it then.”
Ember’s brows came together in response as she wasn’t sure what to make of the comment. On impulse, she blurted out the first question that came to her. “Did you see Allen Swenson last week?”
Bonnie pulled a long strand of straw from the stack behind her and stuck one end in her mouth. “Of course we saw Allen. The leech comes by twice a year like clockwork, trying to peddle his over-priced gadgets and machinery. Carl told him where he could put his catalog.”
“You heard what happened to him?”
“Who hasn’t?” Bonnie pulled the straw from her mouth and stared at Ember suspiciously. “Why do you ask, Dr. Burns?”
Right on cue, Carl Hathaway strode into the barn, smacking his Stetson on his leg in much the same manner as his wife had with her gloves. “Dr. Burns.” He nodded in her direction by way of greeting as he passed before stopping in front of a high shelf with an assortment of items on it.
“What are you looking for, Carl?”
Ember braced for the coming exchange. She’d seen enough of them to know that the couple had a very abrasive way of communicating with each other.
Muttering something unintelligible, Carl started pushing things around, causing a plastic tub to fall off of one end. It hit the ground with a loud thud, and the snap-on lid was jarred off to one side.
Gasping, Bonnie raced forward and carefully pushed the top back into place. After tipping it one way and then the other to check for spillage, she then picked it up cautiously and placed it back on the shelf. “Carl, I’ve told you before to store that out in the shed!”
Ignoring his wife, Carl found the object of his search and turned around with it clenched in his large fist. It appeared to be some sort of rusted wire cutter. “You worry too much. What can we do for you today, doctor?” he continued, finally addressing Ember.
Ember’s gaze flicked first to the tub, where the initials MSMA were prominently displayed on the front, and then to Carl’s weathered face. The last couple of times they’d spoken in town, he didn’t seem to be holding a grudge over Daenerys’ charging his prized mustang, but the man was always intimidating.
“She wanted to know about the missing calf,” Bonnie offered. “I already explained it has nothing to do with coyotes.”
Snorting, Carl waved the tool for emphasis as he spoke. “It involved a much more cunning animal.”
“Would you consider reporting it to Sheriff Walker?” Ember asked. “I’m trying to gather enough proof about local missing animals to request a formal investigation.”
Snorting again, but louder, Carl shook his head. “I appreciate the advice, doctor, but I know how to handle my problems. Ben Walker isn’t even capable of keeping track of his own son.”
ELEVEN
The smell of pumpkin spice latte filled the break room.
“Why,” Ember moaned while bringing the large steaming cup to her lips. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the sweet concoction as it overpowered her senses. How could it possibly seem like she was tasting it for the first time?
“Because it’ll be off the menu in a month, and you’ll regret all the times you turned me down.” Mel sipped from an even bigger cup.
“How many espresso shots have you had today?” Ember asked with genuine concern.
Eyes widening to alarming proportions, Mel hunched forward and hooked her hands to form claws around the cup. “My precious…”
“You know, you do that disturbingly well.”
Staying in character, Mel hopped onto the couch she’d been lounging on so that she was squatting on the cushion. “It can never be too much, my precious.”
Daenerys came running in, the dog treat she’d been chewing on in the front lobby forgotten. Tilting her head to one side, she stared at Mel and whined.
“Stop it,” Ember begged. “You’re upsetting the dog.”
Scrambling across the sofa, Mel leaned in close to Ember, her pumpkin-scented breath hot on her ear. “Finish it!” she purred. “Or I will drink your precious.”
Daenerys barked.
Ember laughed and shoved Mel gently away so that she fell back into the cushions. “I’m going to have nightmares.”
Holding the twenty-ounce paper cup up to save it from spilling, Mel giggled. “Yeah, well, I owe you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act all innocent,” Mel chastised. Patting at the empty space between her and Ember, she beckoned Daenerys to the couch. She then rubbed at Daenerys’s head when the dog complied and settled next to her. “You have to watch Pet Sematary in the dark when you’re alone, you said,” Mel said in her best imitation of Ember. “And make sure there’s a cat in the room with you. I especially appreciated that advice.”
“Hey, you have no one to blame but yourself for being that ignorant,” Ember countered. “You’re a film buff. There’s no excuse for never watching Pet Sematary before you reached twenty-five years old.”
“I have one word for you: priest.”
“Uh-uh,” Ember replied with a shake of her head. Reaching forward to where the remains of their lunches sat, she grabbed a grape and plopped it in her mouth. “You can’t blame this one on your father.”
“I most certainly can!” Mel disputed. She snatched the last grape and made a show of eating it slowly. “You have no idea what it’s like to grow up as the pastor’s daughter.”
“Yes, I do,” Ember said with a grin. “You tell me all the time.”
“I was convinced by ten that if I watched movies about evil stuff that it would…do something bad.”
“And?”
Mel put an arm around Daenerys and hugged her like a teddy bear. “I’ve come to the conclusion that my father was right. I’ve had two nightmares about possessed cats, and I’m afraid to walk through my apartment with the lights off.”
Ember had a moment of guilt, but then she saw the corner of Mel’s lips twitching. “You’re totally messing with me.”
Mel took a slow measured sip of her coffee. “Am I? My precious.”
Ember jumped up from the couch and turned to throw one of the smaller cushions at her best friend. Life would certainly be boring without her.
A knock at the front door interrupted any further banter.
“That’s probably Cody!” Mel leaped up and skipped out of the room.
Ember followed close behind. Mel hadn’t mentioned anything about Cody stopping by during lunch. In fact, she was pretty tight-lipped about anythi
ng having to do with the guy, which certainly wasn’t like her. Ember wasn’t sure what to make of it, but instinct had her worrying over anything that changed her friend’s normal outgoing personality.
Sure enough, Cody was waiting on the other side of the glass door, breathing into his hands to keep them warm. Mel let him in and gave him a quick, chaste hug.
“Ready?” he asked. He looked up from Mel and gave Ember a curt nod. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Ember returned. “Ready for what?” she directed at Mel.
“I wasn’t sure if you were coming,” Mel told Cody. “You were supposed to text me.”
Cody had the smarts to at least look sheepish. “Sorry. I was rushing to get the rest of the pathway shoveled for Delilah, and I lost track of time. I checked, though, and the ice is good.”
Ember watched the exchange and thought back to the night before with the sheriff. She’d struggled with herself all day about whether to ask Mel if she knew what happened. In the end, it felt too much like gossip, and she didn’t want to enforce any feelings Walker might have about her repeating things she heard while she was with him. It had been a radio dispatch, not a regular conversation.
“Would you mind if I take a couple of hours off to go ice skating?” Mel was looking hopefully at Ember.
“On Crystal Lake?” Ember asked in alarm.
“No way!” Cody answered. “That would be stupid. There’s a pond at the far end of the resort that’s only a few feet deep in the middle. It’s perfect for skating on.”
Ember relaxed. “There’s only two well-checks this afternoon. You know I don’t care, Mel. You put in plenty of overtime.”
Mel beamed at Ember. Reaching for her coat hanging nearby, she threw a punch at Cody’s arm. “You get things straightened out with Tanner?”
Cody chuckled and rubbed at his shoulder in mock pain. “Wasn’t much to talk about. He’d had a few too many beers over pool and made some stupid comments. He apologized, if that’s what you’re asking.”