“I agree,” Becky said. “She’s getting there, but not quite.”
He shuffled his feet around, tucked his thumbs in his jeans, his gut hanging over his belt. “Can I take a look at her?”
Brynn’s instincts were kicking into full gear. At first she thought, No, I want him nowhere around her. But then she remembered the FBI were watching. She felt safe. To a point.
“Okay, well, all the girls are in the pastures,” Brynn said, heading toward it. The pasture was so much better than the house. So. Much. Better.
Becky followed along, stiffly, with her arms crossed. She didn’t like the scene any more than Brynn did. He was a cad. Brynn was glad Roy had hit him. And Brynn was a nonviolent sort.
She opened the creaky gate, and they all walked through. Freckles bounded over to them, barking at David. “Freckles!” She continued barking, baring her teeth. Brynn crouched down. “It’s okay. Freckles, sit down.” The dog whined but sat down.
“She doesn’t like men,” Becky said.
Petunia looked up from her grazing. Buttercup and Marigold walked off in the other direction. Jewel stood in place as David approached her. She mooed loudly and took off in the other direction.
He turned to look at Brynn quizzically.
“I’m sorry. I should have warned you. She’s shy.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
“And you can see she’s not ready for adoption. I’ll be happy to give you a call when she’s ready.”
“I’ve got cash. I’d like to take her today,” he said.
The hair on the back of Brynn’s neck bristled. “What? She’s not mine. She belongs to Schuyler. I can’t take your money.”
“You can give the money to Schuyler. It’s more than a fair price.” His hands balled into fists and rested on his hips. “I need that cow.”
“I wish I could help, but she’s not mine to sell.” She hoped her voice held enough gravity. What was his problem? Why did he want Jewel so badly? As the wheels spun in her brain, it hit her with a bang. He knew about Jewel—and the collar. Was he there for the computer chips?
He pulled out a fistful of cash. “I’d like to give this to you and take the cow.”
“Look,” Becky said. “The cow is not for sale, David. You need to take your money somewhere else.”
“Well now,” he said with a strange evil grin. “I can tell you’re not from around here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Becky asked, with her arms still crossed.
“Look, David, you better go. We’re busy with orders and I’ve got a business to run. When Jewel is fattened up and healthy, I’ll let you know.”
He glanced around the hilly fields, as if he was searching for something. Was he checking to see if they were alone? Two against one, bucko, don’t even think about it.
“Okay, then,” he said, and stomped off. “You’ll be hearing from me.”
“I hope not,” Becky muttered as he walked away.
Becky and Brynn stood on the grassy hill and watched as David drove off. He actually had a trailer attached to his truck—so confident Brynn would take his money.
“What is his problem?” Becky said.
“Think about it. He knows something. He knows those chips were in Jewel’s collar. That has to be it. Otherwise, him coming here, offering me money for Jewel? It makes no sense.”
“You’re right! That has to be it. And he’s the guy who sold Josh the tractor, right?”
Brynn nodded. “He is. Where’s an FBI agent when you need him?”
Chapter 47
Brynn’s hands trembled as she poured herself a glass of iced tea. Adrenaline coursed through her. Of course! It all came to her. It made sense on one level—but not on other levels. David had the power to pull it all off, and he was certainly interested in Jewel. But why would he involve himself in this? That was the question. A man with a good business, wife, and family and, from the looks of things, an average guy.
Becky walked back into the kitchen and sat at the table. Brynn drank her iced tea, looking out over the field where the cows and Freckles were.
“Do you think the surveillance crew caught that conversation?” Becky asked.
“I’d hope so.” Brynn frowned. “I’ve been thinking about this. What would prompt David Reese to be involved in this? Family guy with a good business.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why would he risk it? What would be the reason?”
“Don’t be naïve. Guys like that are a dime a dozen. Just because he looks like he’s an upstanding citizen doesn’t mean he is. Remember how he looked at us. He’s a lech, if nothing else. So he’s not all that great. Besides, it happens all the time. Pillars of the community, clergy, you name it. We’re talking about child porn here.”
Point taken. “Okay, I hear you. But why would he want the cow?”
“Who knows? He’s not up to any good, for sure.”
Brynn took a long sip of her sweet tea. “This tea is great. Did you make it?”
“Yes, I did. I thought about using your fresh mint, but I didn’t get a chance to go and pull some out of the garden.”
“I like it the way it is.”
A knock at the front door interrupted their conversation. Becky stood and left the room to go answer it.
“Come on in,” she said, then brought one of the FBI agents back into the room.
“Ms. MacAlister. We wanted to ease your concerns. We heard the conversation and are checking him out. How well do you know David Reese?”
“Not well. I met him at the fair this year. And I saw the fight.”
“Fight?” The agent’s head tilted.
“Yes, there’s was a young man who actually hit him at the fair. Roy. I don’t know his last name.”
“What was the fight about?”
Brynn explained the fight to him. He didn’t seem to be surprised or affected by it. He remained calm and cool as you’d expect from an FBI agent.
An FBI agent was in her home.
“I’m with the cybercrimes unit. We don’t see much of that kind of action,” he said. “But that’s good information to have.” He stood awkwardly in the kitchen, shifting his weight.
“Would you like a glass of iced tea?” Brynn asked.
“No thanks, I need to get back to my station. We wanted to let you know we’re watching and we saw and heard all of it.”
Brynn should feel better than she did. A sense of protection. But uneasiness sat in her guts. The FBI was watching her place. “Thank you. Do you know how much longer you’ll be here?”
He looked surprised. “We’ll stay until we figure this out.” He paused. “I know it’s unfortunate. We respect that and are trying to stay out of your way.”
Brynn’s stomach settled a bit. “Okay.”
The agent took his leave.
Brynn sat quietly and finished her tea. An ominous, prickly sensation swept through her. Was it because the FBI was here? Oh, calm down, Brynn; you’ve done nothing wrong. Okay, so you’ve got a little illegal imported cheese in the cellar. But that’s not what they were here about.
“Who’d have thought the FBI would take such an interest in this case?” Becky said.
“Cybercrime is an FBI issue. Especially when it involves entire communities.”
“If you think about it, it’s a wonder more of this stuff doesn’t happen. We’re all online. All of our important information is online. Banking. Taxes. Everything.”
“Right. I don’t like it. I’ve been considering going off the grid.”
“I get that. But what a pain that would be, right? I’ll stay online and take my chances. Change my password frequently.” She paused. “And I’ve no money, so who would want what I have?” Brynn laughed. “It’s funny because I’ve yet to make a profit. It’s just looks like we’re successful.”
“Well, I don’t even have that.” She grinned. “I never thought I’d think that was a good thing.”
Brynn knew her sister ha
d it rough. After her husband died, there wasn’t much. Becky worked hard as a beautician and made decent money, but as she was a single mom, it never was enough and it certainly wasn’t secure.
But what Brynn was doing was risky, too. If the cheese business did not start to earn, she’d have to start again. She wanted to succeed, but there always seemed to be problems to keep her away from her business. Like Nancy’s death. Like the murder and accident and cybercrimes going on now. Her concussion didn’t help any of it. Sometimes when she closed her eyes at night she saw the whole scene over and over again in her mind’s eye. Wes on the floor, in pain. And all of the blood. Then blackness.
Who would’ve imagined a cheese contest would wind up with a half-crazed young man shooting an innocent man? Who knew she should have hired security? She would next year. If there was a next year. She’d poured more money into the cheese contest than she should have. How would they recoup their losses? She felt she needed to return the application fees to the contestants. It was the right thing to do.
In the meantime, there was work to accomplish. She’d only washed about half of the cheese in the cellar the other day before she’d gotten too tired.
“You want to help wash some cheese?” Brynn asked Becky.
“Sure. We can’t have dirty cheese.”
“Keeping the cheese clean is important,” Brynn said as she stood.
“I remember Granny Rose going on about it.”
“Remember the time a friend of hers died and she always said it was because she ate dirty cheese?”
Becky squinted her eyes. “I sort of remember it. But cheese is really like milk gone bad or something. It’s amazing more people don’t die from it.”
“No, it’s not milk gone bad. It’s milk transformed into something else. Food. With different flavors and nuance. People don’t die from it because cheesemakers are very careful, very clean. Well, at least most of us are. But you can bet the wrong mold on cheese would definitely kill someone.”
Every cheesemaker’s nightmare. Brynn shuddered and crossed herself. Just to be on the safe side.
Chapter 48
Brynn cranked up the Dolly Parton tunes and she and Becky finished washing the cheese. She was happy to complete the task without needing a nap. She shut the music off and they headed upstairs to search for lunch. But Freckles’ barking interrupted her.
She ran out of the house, searched for the reason for the barking. No cars. Nobody walking along the driveway or road. Did Freckles have an animal cornered? Brynn hoped not. She wished Wes were here.
But she and Becky rushed to the barn.
“Freckles!” she said. “Heel.”
The dog kept barking at the barn. Was one of the FBI guys inside? She opened the door. And the dog stopped barking but gave a low growl.
“Doesn’t seem to be anything in here,” Becky said.
Brynn crouched down and petted Freckles, trying to calm her down. “It’s okay, girl. Look around. There’s nothing in here.”
The dog’s fur was stiff with fear or something. Brynn hadn’t ever seen anything like it. “Hush, now. It’s okay.”
Brynn stood and looked around herself. A tingle traveled through her. Freckles didn’t behave like this. She’d seen or heard something—even if it was just a groundhog.
An odd scent crept into Brynn’s nose. The barn didn’t smell right. What was she smelling? Then it left as quickly as it came. Was it soap? Perfume?
“Have you been wearing perfume?”
Becky shook her head. “I smelled it, too. I don’t think it was perfume. Cologne. A man’s scent.”
Brynn froze. There was someone in the barn. That person was gone. It must have been an agent. That must be it. “One of our friends, no doubt.”
Becky shrugged. “Let’s hope.”
The dog was still unsettled even though she was quiet. Freckles had made friends with all the FBI guys. And they all had snacks for her. Was there a new guy who didn’t know about Freckles? Some misunderstanding?
There certainly had been a lack of communication with Schuyler—although it was partially her fault.
She heard a foot thump. The dog growled. A click.
“Call your dog off or I’ll shoot her.”
Brynn looked at Becky, eyes wide. She turned to face David Reese—holding a gun.
“What?”
“Call your dog off or I will shoot her. Right now.”
Brynn crouched next to the growling, barking dog. “It’s okay,” she said to Freckles, trying to calm her. The dog whined. “It’s okay,” Brynn kept saying, trying to make her voice soothing, but with each breath her voice became more and more scratchy and trembly.
Becky stood quietly, eyes watching the gun and David. “If you put the gun away, the dog will probably stop barking.”
“No chance of that, Becky,” he said with a sinister expression.
“What do you want?” she asked while Brynn was calming the dog.
“I think I made that clear earlier.”
“This isn’t about a cow; come on,” Becky said.
“If you want her, take her,” Brynn blurted. “Just get outta here with that gun.”
He stood with the gun pointed at them. “Well, now you’re talking some sense. But, you see, now I’ve got two more problems. You and your fine sister.”
Becky folded her arms.
The man was unaware of FBI agents stationed throughout the property. They probably were outside right now. Brynn felt a little braver, a little more secure.
“Why are we a problem?” Brynn asked. “Take the cow and go. Do you think I care about that cow?” Oh, but she did. She did. If she and Becky got out of this alive, she’d never let anything happen to Jewel. She knew right then and there she was keeping her. He’d never get out of there with Jewel. Where were the agents?
“I need some time. So I’m going to ask you two to stand back to back,” he said, pulling out handcuffs. “By the time anybody finds you, I’ll be in Mexico.”
Where was the FBI? How long were they going to let this continue? Hello? FBI? Rita? Where are you?
Becky and Brynn stood back to back, and the dog sat and watched as Brynn told her to be quiet over and over again.
“What exactly is going on? What do you need with the cow? Why are you going to Mexico?”
“I don’t need the cow,” he muttered as he handcuffed the sisters together. “I need the collar.”
Brynn knew then he must be behind everything. But she didn’t know why. “The collar was stolen a few days ago. But it was returned yesterday. Go ahead and take it. I can get another collar. Why do you need to do this?”
“Like I said . . . I need time . . . to get out of the country.”
“But why?” Brynn persisted. “I don’t understand.”
He didn’t respond. He set his gun down and exited the barn and left the door open a bit. Brynn assumed he was looking for Jewel. She wondered if Jewel would let him near her. A jolt of fear hit her. What if she did and he discovered nothing in the collar? Becky must have thought the same thing. “Holy smokes, Brynn, there’s nothing in that collar.” Her voice trembled as she whispered to her.
“I don’t think Jewel is going to comply.”
The sisters sat on the barn floor, back to back. Brynn looked at the camera on the ceiling corner, stared at it, willing the agents to come and help them.
What were they waiting for?
She eyed Freckles, who was in the same position. But unhappy about it. Such a good dog.
“Argh!” Brynn heard from outside. “Jesus! Help me!” David yelled.
But of course, Brynn and Becky couldn’t help him. Who knew what was going on out there?
Rita, the FBI agent, came out of the darkness. Where did she come from? How long had she been there?
“Thank God!” Brynn whispered.
Rita took a key and uncuffed them. “Be quiet. You’ve got to see this.”
Brynn and Becky looked out the door.
“Ouch, God help me!” David screamed.
Brynn and Becky walked over to him. “I’m not sure about this, but I don’t think God’s going to help you now,” Brynn said.
She pulled Petunia away, glanced around for Jewel, who was sitting in the corner of the field shaking. Brynn ran to her; the agent stepped in and handled David Reese.
“Jewel?” The cow sat motionless, trembling. “Jewel? Sweetie?” She rubbed her nose for several minutes and finally the cow’s eyes opened and she blinked at Brynn. That was a good sign. Jewel was going to be okay. He’d probably come after her and the other cows stepped in between. Brynn’s heart exploded with pride. Watch cows. Ha!
Chapter 49
Wes and Max bounded onto the scene. The agents were quietly taking David away in an unmarked car. Handcuffed and withdrawn, he stared out the window as they drove off.
“What the heck is going on?” Wes asked.
“He’s just been arrested,” Brynn answered. “He was behind the tractor accident and the ransom ware. He wanted those chips, and he threatened us with a gun.”
“A gun?” Wes’s voice leveled up a notch. “Are you okay?”
Brynn nodded. “We’re both okay, but it could have gone really bad. Thank God the FBI agents were here.”
“Did they take the gun?” Max asked.
“I’m not sure,” Brynn replied.
“The last time I saw it, it was in the barn,” Becky said.
Wes and Max raced to the barn. Becky looked at Brynn and shrugged. Then it dawned on Brynn: the reason Wes was so interested in the gun. Was it the gun he’d been accused of buying and killing Donny Iser with? Was David Reese the killer of Donny as well? Brynn’s heart raced.
Wes exited the barn holding the gun. An agent came up beside him and took it from him, examined it, and smiled at Wes. Suddenly Wes’s expression changed. Relief washed over him.
He walked over to Brynn. “That’s the gun they thought I killed Donny with. David Rees had it. I never imagined him a killer.”
“None of us imagined you one, either,” Brynn said, and wrapped her arms around him. He dropped his head on her shoulder and stood there for several moments. When he lifted his head, he wiped away tears. “It’s over,” he said. “It’s over.”
Goodnight Moo Page 22