Farmed and Dangerous

by Edith Maxwell

  “We’re okay,” Cam said. “Mr. Broadhurst there tried to kill us. But Dasha came to the rescue.”

  Vince whipped a folded bandanna out of his rear pocket and knelt at Pete’s injured side. “We just finished a first aid course. Let me help.”

  Pete nodded. Cam withdrew her hands from his wounds. Vince pressed the cloth against Pete’s arm with both hands. Cam tore off her coat and slid it under Pete’s head, grateful to have human help at last. She sat cross-legged behind him. Stunned, she stared at her bloody hands for a moment before wiping them on her jeans. She stroked Pete’s ashen face.

  Vince said, “Ellie, come and relieve me. I want to get my coat off.”

  Ellie replaced Vince with the wound pressure. “Are you okay, Mr. Pappas?”

  Pete nodded again but winced as he did. Vince removed his wool pea coat and laid it over Pete. He pulled off his glove and pressed his fingers into Pete’s neck, watching the old-school clock on the wall. “Pulse is a little high but okay.”

  Richard reared his head and spat out a string of obscenities. “My hands. She broke my hands.” He writhed, and Dasha growled at him, readying his open jaws above his neck.

  Ellie stared at Cam. “You broke his hands?”

  “I guess so. I whacked them pretty hard with a shovel. I had to tie him up, and he wasn’t cooperating.” Cam let out a shaky breath. Apparently, she had the capacity to be violent, after all.

  “You rock, Cam,” Vince said.

  Ellie whistled in admiration. “You’re so brave.”

  “I couldn’t let him get away with more murders.” This was one time when physical violence was justified.

  “More murders? He killed Bev?” Ellie asked, eyes wide.

  Cam nodded. “And maybe somebody else.”

  “Vince, tie up his legs, too,” Pete croaked out. “Then sit on his back.”

  Cam pointed Vince to the rope. He tied Richard’s feet with it. Vince stroked Dasha and convinced him to move to the side, then plopped onto Richard’s back. Cam knew Vince had been lifting weights recently in an effort to get stronger, but he remained a bony young man. She wasn’t sure exactly how effective he’d be if Richard, who looked like he weighed twice as much as Vince, really started to struggle. But she knew they could count on Dasha to help.

  “Why aren’t they here yet?” Cam gazed at her phone. “Should I call again?”

  “No. Be here soon. Probably dealing with Rosemary.” Pete closed his eyes.

  “Mr. Pappas, you need to keep your eyes open,” Ellie urged. “Tell us what happened.”

  “What did you say to Dasha? What was that command you gave him?” Cam asked.

  Pete opened his eyes. “Means ‘attack’ in Greek. I trained him.”

  “It sure worked. You should have seen Dasha.” Cam smiled. “He performed like he’s been doing this all his life.”

  “Damn dog,” Richard said.

  Still alert, a foot away from their attacker, Dasha barked at him.

  “Good boy, Dasha,” Cam said. “But, Pete, why aren’t you wearing your gun? You had it earlier today.”

  Pete sighed. “Have it locked in the car. Didn’t think I’d need it. Wrong.”

  A chill ran through Cam. All of a sudden, she wasn’t sure her legs could hold her up. She was glad to be sitting down. It had been so close. Richard had shot Rosemary. Was she dead? Richard had intended to kill both Pete and Cam, as well. And she’d smashed Richard’s hands. She shuddered again, remembering the sickening crack of bones.

  The welcome sound of a siren in the distance grew louder. She glanced at Ellie. The girl looked determined as she pressed on Pete’s arm, not rattled at all by the situation. Cam wasn’t surprised.

  “What brought you and Vince over here?” Cam asked Ellie.

  “I said I’d come and help you with the shares, but I needed to wait until Vince got off work. He was going to drive me and said he’d help out, too.”

  “I’m sure glad you didn’t get here a few minutes earlier. I hope I never see another gun in my life.”

  Sirens blared close by and then shut off. The barn door slid open. Ruth Dodge rushed in, followed by another officer, both with guns drawn, and then came two EMTs, each carrying a bag of gear.

  “Detective, Cam. Give me the one-minute summary,” Ruth said, lowering her weapon after surveying the scene. The other officer strode to Richard. Vince scrambled to his feet when the officer gestured that he’d take over for him. The officer set one foot firmly in the middle of Richard’s back and pointed his gun at Richard’s head. The EMTs knelt on either side of Pete and got to work, with Ellie handing off the pressure to one of them. Cam got out of the way, too. One of the EMTs handed Cam’s and Vince’s coats to Cam and covered Pete with a blanket. He cut open Pete’s coat sleeve and bandaged the wound, while the other EMT put an oxygen mask over Pete’s mouth and nose.

  Pete pulled the mask off. “Arrest Broadhurst,” he said. “Threatened both of us. Told us he convinced Rosemary Contini to poison Bev Montgomery. And I believe he shot her at his farm.”

  Ruth’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir. The Jackson arrest is invalidated?”

  “It is. Sorry about that . . .” Pete’s voice trailed off, and he closed his eyes again. He let the EMT replace the mask.

  “Not a problem,” Ruth said.

  “Dasha and I managed to get Richard down,” Cam told her. “Dasha bit his wrist, the one that was holding the gun, but the gun went off and got Pete in the arm. I hit Richard on the head with a shovel, and he went down. Then he came to, or maybe never was out, and he grabbed my ankle. I, um, whacked his hands pretty hard so I could tie them. Vince secured his feet.”

  “Where’s the gun?” Ruth asked.

  “I heard it hit metal.” Cam looked around. “There. It landed under the tiller.” She pointed. A glint of metal was nearly hidden under the tines of the heavy, formerly red machine.

  “I didn’t do anything. Flaherty there maimed me.” Richard struggled, his head turned to look at Cam.

  “Quiet, Broadhurst.” The officer pressed his foot more firmly into Richard’s back. He leaned over and brought the revolver into Richard’s line of vision.

  Detective Jaroncyk hurried into the barn with her left hand on her waist under her jacket. “Got here as soon as I could.” Her eyes widened when she saw Pete. “Pappas, you all right?”

  “He will be,” Cam said. She repeated what had happened.

  “Got it.” The blond detective nodded.

  Ruth turned away when the radio on her shoulder chattered a staticky message. She spoke into it and then walked over to Detective Jaroncyk. Dasha still stood in an alert stance next to Richard. Cam slipped on her coat and handed Vince’s to him.

  “Come here, Dasha. They’ve got it now,” she said. She patted her thigh.

  Dasha trotted over to her but kept right on going to Pete’s side. Dasha whined. He pushed the EMT’s hand aside with his head. He licked Pete’s cheek. Pete brought his good arm up to stroke the dog.

  Cam called Dasha again. “It’s okay, buddy. He’s going to be fine.”

  Dasha gave a little bark. He trotted to Cam’s side, tongue out, panting. Moments after one of the EMTs wheeled a stretcher into the barn, he and his partner had bundled Pete onto it. A sob bubbled up in Cam at the sight of his white, strapped-in form, the mask still covering his mouth and nose. Pete’s gaze went first to Dasha and then to Cam.

  “I’ll see you at the hospital,” she called, her hand on Dasha’s head. Both of them watched as the EMTs hurried Pete out of the barn.

  Cam turned back to see Ruth and Ann Jaroncyk conferring. Ann nodded and pointed at Ruth.

  Ruth moved to Richard’s side. “Richard Broadhurst, you are under arrest for the murders of Beverly Montgomery and Rosemary Contini, and for the attempted murder of Peter Pappas and Cameron Flaherty,” she said, then proceeded to read him his rights.

  The other officer replaced the line around Richard’s wrists with handcuffs and loosened the bin
ding on his ankles until his feet were a shuffling distance apart.

  “You should arrest Flaherty there.” Richard grimaced. “She broke my hands.”

  Dasha looked at Richard and barked in loud, sharp bursts. Cam grabbed hold of his collar with one hand and stroked his head with the other until he quieted. “It’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s okay.”

  Two more officers hurried in. They maneuvered Richard to his feet.

  “You ought to put that dog down. It’s dangerous,” Richard snarled. As they led him out, he narrowed his eyes at Cam and spat in her direction. “Now what’ll happen to all that fine farmland? Huh, Flaherty? Mine and Bev’s, both. Ginger will cut down all the trees and build some crappy development. Is that what you wanted?”

  Chapter 34

  Cam found her way to emergency department bay 8C two hours later and peered around the green privacy curtain. Detective Jaroncyk had insisted on questioning her on the spot, despite Cam insisting she needed to get to the hospital.

  “Anybody home?” Cam now whispered.

  Pete lay on a bed with the head raised, a white blanket drawn up to his waist. His eyes were closed, and a blue sling held his forearm over a hospital johnny. She walked to his uninjured side. His hand rested on top of the blanket, with a clip on his index finger that attached him to an oxygen monitor. An IV taped to the back of his hand dripped fluid through a slim tube from a bag hanging at head level, but he didn’t seem to be connected to any other machines. The air held the medicinal scent that Cam wished wasn’t so familiar.

  As she stroked his forehead, Pete opened his eyes. And smiled.

  “Hey, good looking.” His voice came out low and slow.

  “Hey, yourself.” She mustered a smile in return. “How’s it going?”

  “I’m alive. Been x-rayed, scanned, poked. Bullet passed right through my arm. Nicked a blood vessel . . . it’s why I bled as much as I did. Didn’t get the bone, though, so all I have is two big, honking holes in me. I’ll heal.” He reached out his hand and found hers. He squeezed a little, then closed his eyes. “Tired,” he said.

  “Then rest.” She kept hold of his hand and watched his chest rise and fall with his breaths. The fluid dripped silently out of the bag. Voices and a rolling cart hurried by outside the curtain. Beeps and buzzes sounded from other bays.

  His eyes flew open. “You’re still here. Good. How’s Dash?”

  “He’s good. I left him with Ellie and Vince. I didn’t want to leave him alone, and they said they’d stay until I got back.”

  “Thanks. Listen, I need to apologize.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I do.” He nodded. “Should have protected you. Should have kept my firearm on me.”

  “Don’t be silly. We didn’t know Richard was going to show up with a gun. You thought the murder was all tied up, with Frank’s arrest.”

  Pete sighed. “Yeah. Big mistake.”

  “Anyway, your awesome Dasha rescued both of us. He deserves a medal. Or at least a nice piece of steak. I’ll get some on the way home.”

  “You showed a lot of courage with that shovel, Cam. Bet that wasn’t easy for you.” He squeezed her hand again, the flat plastic of the clip pressing against the back of her hand. “Thanks. For everything.”

  Cam frowned. “Well, if I’d told you about Rosemary earlier—”

  “Forget it. No second-guessing.”

  “So his shots must have killed her. Ruth arrested him for her murder, and for Bev’s.”

  “I missed it. Shouldn’t have.”

  “Hey, no second-guessing, remember?” Cam tried to sound upbeat through her sadness at Rosemary being gone. She’d been an odd mix of caustic and naive, but she’d seemed happy to be with Richard. Not a mutual feeling, apparently.

  A woman in a white coat bustled in, carrying a tablet device.

  “Dr. Fujita,” Cam said. “I’m Albert St. Pierre’s—”

  “I remember you. How is your uncle doing, Ms. Flaherty?”

  “He’s getting better every day. He was hallucinating for a while, but that’s starting to pass.”

  “Did he remember how he came to fall?”

  “Not yet.” She wasn’t sure he ever would at this point.

  “And how’s our gunshot wound?” Dr. Fujita moved to Pete’s injured side and adjusted the sling slightly.

  “Alive,” Pete murmured. “But tired. So tired.”

  “Well, you are on a narcotic for the pain, and that makes you sleepy. You’re heading into surgery now to fix up that blood vessel, and then we’re going to admit you for the night.” The doctor set her tablet on a tray and typed something. “But you should be able to go home tomorrow. Do you live with anyone? Have anybody who can take care of you?”

  Pete glanced at Cam, who smiled and nodded. “I’m all set with that.”

  In her house an hour later, after thanking Ellie and Vince and sending them home, Cam cubed the steak she’d picked up on the way and placed it in Dasha’s bowl. She was pretty sure the dog would appreciate it more than a medal. She had also stopped by Pete’s condo and had picked up Dasha’s kibble and his bed, since the dog would not be going home tonight. And she’d selected a set of clean clothes, including a front-buttoned cardigan, to take to Pete in the morning. Blood had stained what he’d been wearing, not to mention the fact that his coat and his shirt had been cut off his arm.

  Cam held out one of the Pawsitively Organic Gourmet dog biscuits she’d found in the pet food section of the market. “Dasha, here, boy.” Dasha trotted in from the other room and gulped down the biscuit in two bites, then hurried to his dish after she set it on the floor. Cam could swear he smiled before he started in on the meat. She watched him enjoy it. She still felt a little sick at having to crush Richard’s hands, despite the necessity. Dasha showed no such remorse. From the opposite corner, Preston gave one of his tiny mews. The two animals seemed to have arrived at a cautious truce. Cam filled Preston’s food bowl and stroked him a few times. She yawned. What a day it had been. Sleep threatened to take her even as she stood. But she had a couple of things to do before she rested, and the first of them was to join the animals in eating.

  She found leftover stew in the fridge. Three minutes later she sat at her table with the microwaved stew and a glass of merlot. She ate and sipped for a couple of minutes, then reached for the house phone and dialed Albert, comforted by the zzz of the wheel as it returned after each number.

  “Uncle Albert, you wouldn’t believe what happened today.”

  “Oh, I know all about it. They arrested Jackson wrongly, as it turned out. That Broadhurst character killed our Rosemary, as well as Beverly. And you had quite the kerfuffle in your barn.”

  She pulled the receiver away from her ear for a moment and stared at it. She pulled it in. “How in the world do you already know all that? How could you?”

  “My dearest Cameron. Do you remember the size of this town? News travels. Now, tell me every detail. And I also heard Broadhurst shot your detective Pappas. He’s really going to be all right?”

  Cam smiled to herself at the “your” and sipped the wine. Nothing escaped Uncle Albert. “He is.” She filled him in on a few details of the encounter in the barn, since he knew most of it already.

  “Broadhurst is a sick man,” Albert said.

  “Agreed.”

  “Pete didn’t have his own firearm with him, I gather?”

  “No. And Richard planned to make it look like a murder-suicide.”

  “You must have been so frightened, my dear.”

  “I was terrified. But Pete gave a special command in Greek to Dasha, and the dog attacked Richard.” She glanced over at Dasha, feeling Richard’s hand grabbing her ankle. Her desperation, her fear for Pete. Hearing the crunch of Richard’s bones breaking. She took a deep breath.

  “Glad to hear it. And I’m grateful that you weren’t harmed, my dear,” he said. “I know your views on violence. I’m here if you want to talk about what happened as tim
e goes by.”

  Her throat thickened. “I know,” she managed to murmur.

  “Oh, I have news for you, too.”

  “What’s that?” Cam didn’t think she could take any more bad news.

  “Why, I finally remembered how I fell. It was my consarn crutch getting all tangled up in my lap blanket. I simply tripped. Don’t know why it took me so long to recall what happened, but there you have it. The nurse here told me my memory would come back, and sure enough, it did.”

  Cam let out a breath. “That’s a relief. And it ties off a piece of the puzzle. I’m glad nobody assaulted you.”

  “I don’t have any enemies. You know that.” He chuckled.

  “I didn’t think I did, either.” But being threatened three times in a year was getting ridiculous.

  Chapter 35

  Cam straightened in the hoop house the next morning. She’d filled almost an entire bushel basket with dark purple mizuna, deep green tatsoi, red komatsuna, and the frilly light green shungiku. The mix of shapes and colors of the cold-hardy Asian greens made an attractive salad that the customers seemed to crave in the winter shares. Greens were about the only newly harvested vegetables Cam could offer at this time of year. She stretched her back before hefting the basket and carrying it out of the structure.

  “Come on, Dasha.” He didn’t seem to run off while she worked, so she’d let him accompany her without a leash. It was comforting having him nearby. He didn’t make many demands and was simply a quiet companion. She was starting to understand what people saw in dogs, after all.

  She paused. Every snow crystal sparkled in the mid-morning sun. Only a month after the winter solstice and already more light graced the days with the earth tilting back toward the sun. The air was still below freezing, but no wind rustled the bare branches of the tall maples and the evergreens that stood next to them, and it felt almost mild on her cheeks. She inhaled, smelling clean snow with a hint of pine and a touch of spice from the greens. Her own clear, bright mood stemmed from having the worries of the week behind her: Pete not seriously hurt and their relationship on track again, Albert recovering, a murderer in custody.