by Tonya Kappes
“Mae,” he said my name with a clenched jaw. “Please don’t make me worry about you.”
“Don’t make me choose.” I held the gun case close to my chest. “It’d be so much better if you let me help you. I’m good at this.” I was referring to my snooping around and how I’d helped him a few times before.
I opened one of the kitchen drawers with my free hand and took out the notebook I’d used to keep various clues I’d come across on past cases where my amateur sleuthing had come in handy. Granted, those had been murder cases and this was a prison escape, but an investigation was an investigation.
I dropped the notebook on the café table between our two plates of Chinese food.
“This is different. This is a serial killer.” Hank’s words had an edge to them. “I’ll let you go see Mary Elizabeth and Dawn. Only because I want you to try to get them to stay here, but I’m not letting you try to find this guy.”
“Fine.” It was all I’d asked. I knew if he thought I wasn’t going to poke around in his investigation, he’d surely give in to me going to see if Mary Elizabeth and Dawn were okay.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed the small container off the kitchen counter and a fork on his way out the door.
Five
The large silos around the Milkery had the dairy’s name printed on each of them. Even as dusk started to set in, you could see them from miles away. The cows were walking together as they made their way up to the barn where it was about time to feed them before nightfall.
I noticed the free-range chickens were gathered in the coop on the other side of the Kentucky Post fence as I drove up the long, blacktopped drive. Blacktopping was something Mary Elizabeth had insisted upon when she and Dawn first bought the place even though it was very expensive to do, especially with as long as a driveway as they had.
She said a customer’s first impression was of the utmost importance and gravel didn’t give off a good first impression. Leave it to Mary Elizabeth and her southern roots to know what looked good and what didn’t. She was right. It added a much more businesslike and sophisticated feel to the dairy farm.
The steel building where the offices were located was all lit up, even the flood lights were on. Those were only used during a middle of the night emergency with the animals, which did happen since we did have foxes and coyotes in the area that loved to snack on the chickens.
The air had a bit of a chill as night was falling and a breeze settled into the holler where the Milkery was located.
It was typical for an early spring night in the state of Kentucky to feel a little crisp. The buds on the oak trees that surrounded the property showed the first signs of new life and would soon sprout into the brightest green leaves. The limestone-rich soil had already given the Kentucky Bluegrass a hint of blue and it was highlighted by the burnt orange sky from the sun about the set behind the Milkery.
Hank had already jumped out of his car and darted into the offices. When Mary Elizabeth came out the door, I knew he’d told her I was on my way.
“Are you okay?” I busted out of the car and hurried over to her, noticing that her normally glossy brown and perfectly styled hair was somewhat disheveled. “I heard the hunting dogs caught scent of the escaped prisoner off one of the service roads. I think you need to pack an overnight bag and come stay with me and Fifi. Dawn, too.”
My mouth was like a motorboat. It just kept talking and going faster as the words fell from my mouth. A sure sign I was a bit nervous.
“I’m fine.” She patted my arm with confidence, but the smudge of black mascara underneath her eyes told me she was worried. Mary Elizabeth only sweated when she worried. Many times she’d looked this way when I didn’t come in at curfew. And her pants were wrinkled. Mary Elizabeth would’ve never gone out of the house with her pants wrinkled. I didn’t care if she was just walking to the mailbox. Never. And I mean ever.
“I have the new security system and you know I pack,” she referred to her conceal and carry permit. “I’ll shoot him dead if he comes near me.”
Security system. Well, stinker, I thought and drowned out how she was going to go after Greaser if he got anywhere near her. She reminded me that I’d yet to get the security cameras at Happy Trails fixed. Something my insurance agent told me that I had to have with my policy. I made a mental note to get that done as soon as possible.
I looked over my shoulder towards the chicken coops when I heard the sound of a howling dog echoing off the caverns of the national park. “I think you need to come stay with me.”
I was sure she hadn’t shot a gun since her class.
“I won’t hear of it. I want you to come in and take a look at the bed and breakfast. I’ve got a fresh pot of coffee on.” She curled her hand into the crook of my arm and twisted us around. “You won’t believe all the changes Dawn and I have made. I’m pretty proud of them.”
Both of us looked uneasily out into the national park beyond the boundaries of the Milkery as the dog’s howl appeared to be getting closer.
“What about some cinnamon rolls to go with that coffee?” I tried to lighten the mood and get our minds off the dog.
“Why, you sure know I got some.” She patted my hand as we walked along the front of the office building towards the back half of the property where the renovated barn house was located. “You just come along with me and I’ll get you something good for your belly.”
“Are you trying to keep me out of the Milkery offices?” I asked, even though I’d already made up my mind to get some coffee. The cinnamon rolls were a bonus, but I still couldn’t help but notice her persistence. “Did Hank put you up to this?”
“Oh, dear. You know me all too well.” She patted and rubbed my arm, a sure sign she was trying to keep her hands busy and not muss with her hair like she did when she was nervous.
“No wonder he ran in there ahead of me.” I glanced back and noticed a flurry of movement in front of the building as Mary Elizabeth dragged me along the side towards the barn house.
Hank was in the middle of the group as some cops with maps in their hands were pointing and talking. A cop with a dog wearing a reflective vest on a leash walked up to them shaking his head.
“He knows how insistent you are.” Mary Elizabeth hurried in front of me. “Let him do his job and you come have a cup of coffee and a snack.”
“One night?” I asked again, hoping she’d just say yes. “Stay with me one night. It would make me feel better.”
“No, I’m fine as a fiddle.” There was no sense in fussing about with her. She’d made up her mind. “Besides, I’ve got Dawn. She’s a tough nut you know.”
“Where is she anyways?” I asked, reaching around her to grab the handle of the front door of the bed and breakfast. “Is she here?” I asked, swooping the door open for her.
“She’s in the kitchen making a breakfast casserole for Betts and Lester.” She led the way into the house. “Since you are here, you can take it with you and take to Betts in the morning. We’ve got some planting we need to do in the garden and they sure aren’t going to plant themselves.”
The smell of cinnamon and honey filled the inside of the Milkery Bed and Breakfast, giving me a little peace deep in my soul. When I was growing up, Mary Elizabeth was always cooking in our house. She was a great cook and a great baker especially. From the smell of things, she was teaching Dawn.
The thought of Greaser hanging around this house made me so nervous. But I had to trust Hank and do exactly what he wanted me to do.
“Something smells so good.” I walked into the kitchen.
Dawn was standing at the counter, rolling out dough. She had on a pair of red footy pajamas. She looked so stylish in them with her black pixie cut hair, something only she could pull off.
“Hey there.” Dawn looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m making some cinnamon rolls now. I figured Betts and Lester could use something sweet too.”
“Mae will take the casserole with her since we have t
o get up early.” Mary Elizabeth walked over to the oven and opened the door.
The breakfast casserole had a light brown top to it.
“It’ll be another five minutes before it needs to come out,” she said to Dawn.
“Mary Elizabeth is teaching me how to cook.” Dawn had a big grin on her face while she cut the dough into strips. “And bake. I guess I’m going to need to know all that when we have more than one guest staying here.”
I grabbed a coffee cup from the mug tree and filled it with some of the freshly brewed coffee. Mary Elizabeth took some frozen cinnamon rolls from the freezer and quickly nuked them. My mouth watered when she grabbed a bowl of her homemade buttercream icing from the refrigerator and iced the warm cinnamon rolls.
“I hope mine turn out that good.” Dawn nodded towards the sweet treat Mary Elizabeth had put on the table.
They were the perfect ratio of dough to cinnamon filling. Dawn gave them a good onceover before she went back to counter, put more of the cinnamon mixture on her dough, and rolled it into the shape of one big cinnamon roll before she cut it into many smaller rolls.
“I bet they will if they are anything like Mary Elizabeth’s.” My mouth watered at the mere sight of them, not to mention the smell.
Mary Elizabeth had already sat down at the table next to me.
“Can you believe the dog picked up Greaser’s scent?” Dawn grabbed two oven gloves and put them on her hands before she took the casserole out, placing it on the cooling rack. “It’s crazy.”
She put the baking sheet of cinnamon rolls in the oven, turning down the temperature after she shut the oven door. She set the manual apple timer that was sitting on top of the stove to the desired time it took to make the cinnamon rolls perfect. The timer looked just like the one Mary Elizabeth had when I was living with her.
“I can’t believe he’s around here. But it would make sense if he’s heading out of town, which is what he should be doing.” I motioned for Dawn to sit down and join us.
Dawn made herself a cup of coffee and moseyed over.
“If you think about it, the Milkery is north of the prison, so he probably headed off on foot headed north somewhere.” It was the most logical explanation as to why his smell would be around here. “I told Mary Elizabeth that y’all can come stay with me, but she declined.”
“We are fine.” Dawn karate chopped the air. “I’ll take him down and beat him with that Billy club.”
The three of us laughed but stopped when we heard the front door shut. All of our jaws dropped, our eyes shifted between each other, visibly shaken with each sound of the heavy footsteps.
“Hank,” I let out a long deep sigh. “You scared us.”
“Not me.” Dawn did another chop.
“You should never leave that door open,” he scolded us. “ But I have some good news.” Hank pointed to the coffee maker. Mary Elizabeth nodded, and he made a cup. “The dogs lost his scent on the road, so I’m guessing someone picked him up, maybe a trucker, and he’s headed far out of town. We put out an alert for all trucks to be stopped all over Kentucky and the FBI has already stepped in.”
“What does that mean?” I asked and used the toe of my shoe to pull out the chair next to me for him to sit down.
“They will take over from here or work alongside Normal’s sheriff department and the Daniel Boone National Park Forest Rangers.” Hank took a sip of his coffee.
It seemed so long ago that he’d cut his hours back as a Ranger. He’d gone to school for that, but loved the investigation aspect so much that he went back to the sherrif’s department to become a detective.
“Then we are all safe.” Mary Elizabeth pushed herself up to stand and moseyed over to the cinnamon rolls.
A gust of warm cinnamon and sugar floated over to us when she opened the oven door.
“Those smell so good.” I smiled. “I’m more than happy to take those to Betts.”
“You can have one and tell me if it tastes the same.” Dawn winked.
Hank reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper from the inside pocket.
“I hope you don’t mind that I used the printer in your office to make some copies of the flyer the FBI put out with Greaser’s face on it.” He took out the piece of paper and laid it on the table.
“That’s him?” I asked, picking up the piece of paper, noticing he looked just like every other person on the street. Nothing special like big moles, facial tattoos, long hair, bald - no unique marks.
“That’s him.” Hank leaned back and curled his hand around the handle of the mug, bringing it up to his lips. “In case he does come back, I want you to put these flyers up all over the campground.”
“Sure. I’ll have Dottie make them in the morning.” I laid the piece of paper back on the table.
Mary Elizabeth sat down and slid it over to her side of the table. Her face turned white as a ghost.
Slowly, she lifted her chin, her eyes big. She swallowed as though something was stuck in her throat.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“This is the escaped prisoner?” She lifted her hand to her pearl necklace.
“And serial killer,” Hank added.
“Are you okay?” I asked her again.
“I. . .um. . .Dawn?” She called Dawn over from the counter where she was using a spatula to place each cinnamon roll on a fancy milk glass platter. “This is Greaser.” She held the piece of paper up so Dawn could see it.
“No.” Dawn laughed, but quickly stopped when she saw our faces. “That’s our first guest.”
“Guest?” Hank asked.
“Oh, gosh.” Mary Elizabeth’s hand moved from the pearls to covering her mouth. “He stayed here last night.”
“What?” The shock took over. “How on earth did you let him stay here? What were you thinking? You’ve got to shut this place down. No more!” I jumped up, pacing back and forth. “You don’t know what kind of riffraff you’ll get staying here. You are too old to deal with this and I can’t take it.”
“Calm down,” Hank spoke to me in a soft and rational tone, putting his hand out for me to sit back down. My chest shook as my breaths got deeper and deeper.
“She could be dead now.” I pointed to Mary Elizabeth.
“She’s not. Just sit down.” Hank’s sheriff side had taken over. “Dawn, can you please come sit down and tell me about Greaser being here.”
“Sure.” She ran her hands down the tea towel and sat down across from Hank, next to Mary Elizabeth. “We were in the garden doing some hoeing when he came up from nowhere.”
“You should’ve known then.” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut even though Hank continued to give me the wonky eye.
“He asked if there were any rooms available for the night.” Dawn looked over at Mary Elizabeth for confirmation. “We told him there were and that he was our first customer.”
“Excuse me.” Mary Elizabeth stood up and walked into the bathroom off located just off the kitchen.
“This will bother her,” I said and ran my finger around the rim of the mug to keep from shaking.
“We thought it was weird he had no car or luggage, but he said that a friend had dropped him off.” Dawn gnawed on the edge of her lip, then rubbed them together. “He ate supper with us. He wasn’t wearing anything that looked like prison clothes.”
“What did he have on?” Hank reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out the little notebook for his case notes. He snapped the pen and started to write.
“Jeans. A gray V-neck sweater. Loafers.” She put her finger in the air. “I remember the loafers because most of the people who’ve come to the Milkery to buy products usually have on boots or tennis shoes. Hiking-friendly footwear.” She shrugged. “When he said he had been dropped off, I figured he was in town on business and needed a place to stay for the night.”
“How did he pay?” Hank asked.
“Cash. He pulled out a wad of cash from the front pocket of the jeans. No wal
let,” her voice trailed off as though she was watching a movie of him in her head. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“My stomach is a mess.” Mary Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. “I can’t believe I didn’t see past his act.”
“What do you mean?” Hank asked Mary Elizabeth.
“He was a nice guy. He didn’t have a ring on his finger, and he spoke with intelligence.” She reached over and patted Dawn on the back. “I encouraged Dawn to get his personal information because he was so charming, and she could use a charmer.” She grimaced and said, “She likes those biker types. Tattoos and all.”
Dawn and I looked at each other. We both knew what it was like to be mothered by Mary Elizabeth.
If it weren’t for this being a serious conversation, I might’ve said something about Mary Elizabeth always trying to play matchmaker. Another thing that drove me crazy as a teenager. She loved having boys over for supper as potential dates for me. Embarrassing.
“It’s fine.” Dawn put her hand on Mary Elizabeth’s and patted her back. “He didn’t have much to say about his past. I even invited him to the reenactment, but he said he was heading out of town.”
“What time did he show up and what time did he leave?” Hank asked. There was no expression on his face. His green eyes were intense.
“He showed up around three in the afternoon?” Dawn said with more of a question. “We were out in the garden for a few hours. Since he was our first customer, we told him to pick any room. He was gone by the time we got up this morning.”
“Where is the room?” He asked, leaning on this left leg as he reached around to pull his phone out of his back pocket.
“I’ll show you.” Dawn stood up and walked out of the kitchen with Hank following along.