Organized for Scheduled Sabotage

by Ritter Ames

  “Also, where was Liz anyway?” Meg asked. She straightened and looked at her watch. “Wonder how long it will take for the feeding and medicating? It’s been fifteen minutes, and I’m getting curious.”

  “The medicine run took about this long while we were measuring this afternoon, and she didn’t feed anything then. Figure another ten minutes? I think the police have to get all of their curiosity satisfied first and make sure she’s not pulling any fast moves. But my guess is she’ll be finished soon,” Kate said. “She would have done the medicating first. So now she’s feeding and watering.”

  The heavy wooden door creaked open and Liz slipped through. The police officer following a moment later. That’s when the dogs set off their cacophony again and double-timed it down the driveway. A blue Jeep rolled down the gravel, running a little faster than was probably safe, and braked near the rear of the Camry. The barking continued, and the dogs circled the vehicle. A dark-haired young man jumped out and both leggy animals clustered around him, taking turns woofing their hellos.

  “David! You’re here too quickly. I didn’t want you speeding,” Liz called as she hurried toward him. But the relief that flashed across her face told Kate the lecture was perfunctory.

  The young man flashed a relaxed grin. “Don’t worry. I was at Zach’s when you called. I was five minutes closer than from my apartment. Cuts a half-hour off the drive time.”

  Liz laughed. “Obviously, your math skills need some work.” She reached out and grabbed her son by the shoulders, hugging him. She dropped her voice, and Kate barely heard the words when she said, “Thanks for caring so much about your old mom, kid.”

  “Ah, someone has to.” David patted her back, then pulled away to extend a hand to the officer. “David Tillman.”

  The two shook hands, and David added, “Can I get my mom in the house now and start setting up our barricades? I want her to feel safe.”

  A white van pulled up behind the Jeep and the dogs took off to investigate. The officer waved a hand toward the new vehicle. “That’s crime scene guys. They’ll set up their stuff in the barn. Getting evidence. They’ll also reduce the risk from the gasoline. Probably be someone around here most of the night. The barn is off limits, but you can use the house.”

  Liz walked closer to him. “I’ll have to doctor the animals again—”

  The officer handed her a business card. “Text this number when you want to do anything in the barn tonight, and someone will unlock the big door and give you access. Don’t try to do anything without a police chaperone.”

  “I understand.” Liz looked at the card, then slipped it into a back pocket. She looked at the two women. “Want to come in for coffee before you head home? I’m sorry that you’ve been here so long.”

  Kate looked at Meg, who nodded. “Sure. Just a few minutes.”

  They followed Liz and David to the kitchen. Minutes later, they ringed the kitchen table. Meg called her mom and gave an update, ending the connection as Kate pushed the cream pitcher her way.

  “Alright then.” She shoved the phone into her pocket and added cream to her coffee. “Mom says the kids are all camped out in the living room watching some Godzilla movie and throwing popcorn if anyone acts scared.” She laughed. “It was Sam’s idea.”

  “Oh, your poor mother.” Kate dropped her head into her hands. “I’ll make Samantha pick up every last kernel.”

  Meg patted her shoulder. “Mother’s thrilled. My genius son, Mark, wanted to squirt pickle juice at any fraidy cat. Sam’s idea was much more tolerable. And less stinky.”

  “Sounds like our gang,” David said, taking a sip of coffee. “Except with us, you could bet something would have gotten broken before the movie ended.”

  “Yeah.” Liz shook her head. “But we never knew if it would be a lamp or a leg.” She looked across the table at Kate. “They didn’t tell me why you were here, but they did say you found her. I’m so sorry you had to be the ones.”

  “We forgot our notepads,” Kate said, reaching for another cookie from the plate that sat in the middle of the table. The cookie earlier in the day had been so good. She needed to remember to ask for the recipe. “We didn’t get the notepads after we saw Bren either.” She broke the cookie in half. “They’re still on the floor by the wall, I suppose. I tossed them toward my tote, but they must have gone down the back instead of into the bag.”

  “I’ll try to get them for you when I do my rounds next time,” Liz said.

  Meg shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. We need to figure something else out anyway.”

  “What?”

  Kate spoke softly, “It’s a crime scene now. It’s going to be days before they’ll let any of us back into that room. Maybe even the barn. Without an escort, of course.” The shaky feeling grew stronger, and she almost flipped the rubber band on her left wrist, stopping herself at the last second. She slipped one half of the cookie into her mouth and wrapped her hands around the coffee cup. The warmth was exactly what she needed—but all over her body.

  “We can’t use the room until the police are through processing it,” Meg said, “And someone will have to go in and completely neutralize the gasoline risk. The officer said they’d do something tonight about the fire danger, but it probably won’t be everything that must be done.”

  “My publisher is going to be livid.” Liz planted her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands. “I don’t want to call—”

  “Don’t do anything just yet,” Meg interrupted. “Let’s think of some alternative sites to use. We can stage an office easily enough in one of the small sheds out behind, or maybe a room on the other side of the barn from the office.”

  “But the room where Bren—” Liz took a deep breath. “That’s the only room close enough to the house to give me a workable wi-fi connection.”

  Kate shrugged. “The photographer’s shots won’t show that either way. You can sit at a laptop with a weak connection and the screen will be fine—just frozen. The calendar photo will be the same either way.”

  A slow smile spread across Liz’s face. “You’re right. I got so anxious I felt I was going to choke, but someplace else could work. Even in the house here. While my family is gone, we could mock up a space and I can change it back later.”

  “We’ll start reconnoitering on a new space in the morning,” Meg said. “After we all get some sleep.”

  Kate smiled at Liz. “And I’m glad you’re not going to be staying here alone.” She moved her gaze to David. “Between the murder and the gasoline there’s a real risk, and I want you both to be careful. Though I’m glad you’ll have each other.”

  “I think Bren was the potential firebug,” Liz said. “I don’t know who killed her, of course, but I have to believe neither threat is one I have to worry about anymore. But I agree that my original plan of living here alone this week is no longer a wise idea.” She patted David’s arm. “I’m just glad I have such an accommodating kid.”

  “And the cop walking the barn beat here all night to make sure we don’t tamper with the evidence helps too,” David added.

  “You saw the murder weapon, right?” Liz asked.

  Meg nodded. “The letter opener you were telling us about earlier.”

  “The one I handled an inordinate amount of time today. I know a good lawyer can explain my prints on the murder weapon, but I really hope it doesn’t come to that. I have been warned not to leave the area. And who knows if I’ll ever get great-grandfather’s letter knife back.” Liz ran hands through her short hair. “I’m just glad I have an alibi for today, and someone has been with me for all but the few minutes I drove home from the church.”

  “That’s where you were before you came back here tonight?” Kate asked.

  “Yes, I’m on the church board and we had a budget meeting. Normally I hate those things, but tonight I’m truly grateful that I was arguing over numbers with so many people. Though after chasing horses and fixing fence until nearly dark, my logi
c wasn’t the best in the world by that point.”

  “But it looked like one horse was still missing when we drove in,” Meg said.

  Liz nodded. “The mare acted like she had a hurt foot, so I put her in a box stall in the barn. She’s getting on in years and I need to watch her. Of course, if the barn had been set ablaze—”

  “Don’t think about it, Mom,” David interrupted. “It didn’t happen.”

  “Not that the alternative was better.” Liz shook her head, then said to David, “I need to remember to call Josh and Travis. They’ll call the rest of their friends. Need to let them know it’s okay to tell the police where I was all afternoon.”

  Kate looked at Meg and realized her friend’s gaze was already leveled her way. Hearing Josh’s and Travis’s names reminded them of the silver bracelet with the stained glass charm. Meg started to speak, but Kate put a hand on her arm to stop her. They couldn’t be sure the bracelet was Stacy’s. They didn’t know the girl, but she didn’t strike Kate as someone who would stab someone else in the neck and leave a person to die. But something told her the police wouldn’t like it if they discussed this over coffee while the officers were still gathering evidence and statements.

  By now, everyone’s cup was nearly empty. Liz rose to grab the pot for refills.

  “No,” Kate covered her cup with a hand. Time to lighten her thoughts and switch gears. “We really need to go. We have popcorn to dig out of carpet and children to deprogram from all of Meg’s mother’s spoiling.”

  “Yes, if my mother ever decided to try world domination her grandmother spoiling skills would guarantee even the most notorious dictator would throw all support her way,” Meg added with a smile.

  A couple of hours past bedtime, Kate and Meg finally had their pint-sized crews back to their respective homes, bathed, and in their own beds. Well, working that direction anyway. Kate’s girls had been particularly difficult to wind down, and she listened to Sam’s play-by-play of the nights B-movie extravaganza on one of the cable channels, while Suzanne played jack-in-the-box running from her bed to the closet to pick and re-pick outfits for the next day.

  “Suze, that’s enough,” Kate spoke up after the third quick change. She reached for the light switch. “I’m counting three and you both had better be in bed and heads on pillows. One, two—”

  “Eek!” Suze performed a running leap that would make any gymnastics teacher proud and landed on the top of her pink and green comforter. As she scrambled to get her feet under the covers she said, “Okay, Mom, I’m good.”

  That’s not even debatable, Kate thought, smiling. She walked over and gave each a kiss goodnight on the forehead. Sam added a fast hug before scooting back down into her twin bed. But Suze’s expression showed she was already a million miles away, probably thinking about more outfits and accessories. Kate hit the light switch on her way out, and the cat slipped through the door just as she pulled it almost closed.

  Keith arrived home at his regular time, a little after midnight, once his radio show wrapped up. When a career-ending knee injury permanently sidelined him from the goalie position in the NHL, the offer he received the day after surgery to come back to his Vermont hometown and anchor the evening’s sports program at WHZE had seemed the best kind of blessing. And it still was most of the time, Kate noted, except when she really needed a hug.

  “Not that I don’t like you meeting me at the door like this, but what’s wrong?” Keith asked, pulling back a little to raise his wife’s chin with one finger. “You wreck the van or something?”

  “Or something.” Kate pulled out of the embrace and took his hand, walking to the living room as she added, “Meg and I found someone when we went back for our notepads.”

  “At your client’s?”

  “Yeah, in the office in the barn.” She pushed the cat off the couch, and Robin-Hero jumped back into Kate’s lap when she sat down.

  Keith put an arm around her shoulders. “When you say someone—”

  “A body.” She hugged the cat and he meowed and flew from her arms. “A young woman we met today.” She launched into the story, telling Keith about Bren’s first appearance, the missing horses, the verbal exchange at the market, and how she and Meg discovered Bren hours later. “And I think I recognized a bracelet at the scene. I think I know whose it was. But Meg and I didn’t say anything to the cops.”

  “Why not?”

  Kate shrugged and leaned into Keith’s chest. “I’m not sure, and the girl didn’t seem like a person who would stab someone else. But if they try to pin the blame on Liz, and I don’t mention what I think I know until later, I’m afraid they’ll think I’m just manufacturing the information to help my client.”

  “Or that you were withholding information at your client’s request. That could get you threatened with an obstruction charge.”

  “I know.” Kate sighed. “I was going to wait and talk to Liz about it tomorrow, but—”

  “I think keeping your client out of this kind of information loop might be the smarter thing to do.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you have a number for the investigating officer?” Keith asked.

  Kate nodded, pulling the business card from her pocket. “Another number to add to my contact list. And surprisingly, I didn’t see Johnson tonight either. But one of the officers did contact the Vermont police and said Johnson is aware of the situation.”

  “Don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad that the lieutenant wasn’t there,” Keith said. “When you get in situations like this it’s kind of comforting to know someone like Johnson is keeping an eye on you.”

  “Excuse me?” Kate laughed.

  “I said ‘kind of’.” Keith hugged her again, then asked. “Want me to hold your hand when you talk to the officer?”

  She shook her head and rose to grab the phone. “No, go on up to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “If you change your mind, just call and I’ll come back down.” He kissed her and headed up the stairs.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  STACKED IN YOUR FAVOR, LLC

  KATE MCKENZIE, CEO (Chief Executive Organizer)

  MEG BERMAN, VIP (Very Indispensable Partner)

  Tuesday morning, July 16th

  WORDS OF MOTIVATION

  “Eat a live frog every morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

  —Mark Twain –

  (“Or substitute a cinnamon roll and coffee without sugar.” – Meg Berman)

  GOAL(S) FOR THE DAY:

  Avoid getting in the way of any crime scene personnel

  Avoid the actual crime scene

  Find alternative photo shoot locations for photographer(s) to use

  Confess to Meg & Liz about midnight call to detective in charge of the murder investigation

  Make sure everything is in the bag before we leave today. Sigh...

  “IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER list,” Kate said the next morning, sharing coffee with Meg and Liz in the rescue’s farmhouse kitchen. It wasn’t cold, but the warm cup against her hands relieved a little of her stress. “We need to brainstorm and evaluate what options you have here on the place, or decide if we need to look outside of your farm for new locations. First, though, I need to tell you about what I did late last night, or I guess I should say really early this morning.”

  She related the bracelet conversation she and Keith had after he came home at midnight, and how they both concluded she needed to call the investigating officer about the jewelry she saw near Bren’s body. The drive over would have been the perfect time to tell Meg, but she hadn’t wanted to say everything twice. The shocked expression on her friend’s face as she related the events told her that she might have some explaining and apologizing to do later.

  “I didn’t want to get Stacy in trouble,” Kate said. “But it seemed better to let them investigate anything like this now and let them safely strike her from the list of suspects. Rather than my bringing it up later. I was afraid
if I waited to report the bracelet’s possible ownership it might appear as if I was trying to throw suspicion on someone else... if...”

  As her voice trailed off, Liz said, “If they decide to focus the investigation on me.”

  “But you have an alibi, right?” Meg spoke up.

  “To a degree. But the meeting I attended was only a few miles away, and much closer if I cut across fields.” Liz sighed and rose from the chair to grab the coffeepot. “I won’t be off the hook until they know for sure who did it.”

  Meg said, “You got the horses back—”

  “Sure, but if they decide I happened onto Bren as she doused the barn with gasoline... Well, I couldn’t blame them for thinking I’d go on a murderous rampage. Though I’d probably beat her with my fists instead.”

  “Please don’t say that again. It’s scary how easy such remarks turn up as evidence in a court case,” Meg said, pulling her cup back after a refill.

  “You’re absolutely right. I’ll keep my smart mouth shut.”

  Something bothered Kate about what was just said. A memory she couldn’t quite bring to the front of her mind. Since the thought wouldn’t surface, she asked, “What did your husband say? Or have you had the chance yet to tell him what’s happened?”

  “I tried, but they’re camping in an area with sketchy cell phone service,” Liz explained, turning her coffee cup around and around as she spoke. “When I didn’t get through to him, David and I talked. I know my husband will be mad when he gets back and finds out, and he would definitely have come straight home if I could’ve reached him, but there’s nothing he and my other sons can do about this except hold my hand and worry. David said we should just let them enjoy the time out there, and I agreed. I’ll cross the irritated spouse bridge when he comes home. Unless, of course, I’m locked up by then.”

  She rose and returned to the coffeepot, leaning on the counter as she ticked points off on her fingers. “Back to the problem at hand. We could overhaul my youngest son’s room upstairs, or make the cats mad and move into the living room—or even the kitchen here.” She spread her arms out wide.