Rita, the agent, walked over to them and asked if they wanted to go inside to talk.
“Of course,” Brynn said, hoping she would straighten out the mess in her head. What had David Reese been thinking? What was his ultimate goal—other than money, of course? Why would he have killed that young man? And why did he try to frame Josh for killing the other one? And why was he trying to frame Wes? So many questions. Brynn wanted them all answered, but she knew some of them might never be. Human behavior was often unexplainable, unfortunately.
After they situated themselves in the living room, each with a glass of water or iced tea, Rita cleared her throat. “Do you have any questions?”
“Where do we start?” Becky said after a few moments.
“I can tell you a few things you probably are unaware of and we can move forward from there,” Rita said. “We’ve been watching Reese for quite some time. But not for cyber issues, per se, for porn issues. He runs several underground porn sites, using underage teenagers.”
Chelsea!
“He befriends them, gives them gifts, good drugs, and then drugs them, uses them in these flicks.”
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard,” Becky said.
Wes and Max sat with their mouths open.
Brynn’s head was spinning. So the flick they found of Chelsea? She was drugged. She must have been trying to keep it quiet. So David Reese had her under his thumb. And Roy must have been aware of it.
“One young girl came to us, confessed in a way, and reported the circumstances. She was afraid for her life. He’d threatened her to keep her mouth shut or he’d tell her family, everybody she knew, and so on. She suspected he’d killed young men who she had an interest in.”
“Was this Chelsea?” Wes asked.
“I’m not at liberty to tell you that. But he’s ruined many young women’s lives. This girl is bringing him down.”
Brynn hoped it was Chelsea. It would redeem her in Brynn’s mind. After all the nonsense with the collar. Wait. If it was Chelsea, were her parents in on it? Is that why they behaved the way they did? She hoped so.
“Those chips were valuable to him because they link him to cybercrime and he’s going down.” Rita looked at Wes. “That gun, however, links him to the murder of Donny Iser. We don’t have a confession. But I’m certain it won’t matter. His crimes are so deep, he’ll be in prison a long time.”
“I hope so,” Brynn said. “This has all been too much. Why was he trying to frame Wes, of all people?”
“He’s also a member of the KKK.”
“What!?” Brynn’s heart couldn’t take much more. “Do you mean there’s a chapter around here?”
She nodded. “It was disbanded several years ago. He’s been trying to start it up again.”
“Whoa,” Wes said, eyes wide.
“After this incident, I don’t think they will be a problem,” the agent said, smiling reassuringly. She drew in a breath. “David had an obsession with Chelsea. He was trying to off all of her boyfriends, who he thought were his competition.”
“Why did they hide the chips in Jewel’s collar?” Becky asked.
“We have no idea, but maybe we’ll find out, eventually.” She drew in air. “I know this has been rough on you. But we figured he’d act quickly, and he did. Allowing us to watch your place was helpful. Thank you for complying and for keeping it quiet. It wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”
Brynn warmed. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have all the answers right this minute. She had the most important one: Wes would be completely exonerated, and he’d be free to live his life. She blinked away a tear. “Thank God,” she said.
Becky reached over and held her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
Wes glanced at Brynn and quickly looked away. So young, any display of emotion embarrassed him. She smiled. “You’re a free man, Wes.” Tears now were streaming down her face. The agent handed her tissues.
“Well, good. We’ve got a lot of work to do around here,” he said with a hint of cracking of his voice, as his father’s arm went around his shoulders.
Chapter 50
By the next day, there were no traces of the FBI or their surveillance cameras. Brynn learned the arrest and events were all over the news. But she chose not to turn on the computer or watch TV. She’d lived it and didn’t want or need a review.
She was surprised people were still hanging around, not that she minded. Not at all. But Wes’s family didn’t seem like they were about to leave anytime soon—and neither did her sister. Brynn was getting stronger every day, but she enjoyed Becky’s company. So she wasn’t about to complain.
She’d missed having her sister close by. True, Richmond wasn’t on the other side of the country. But it was far enough away that Brynn couldn’t just visit for the day, carefree, popping in whenever.
“Brynn, there’s something I need to show you in the make,” Becky said.
Uh-oh. They’d been keeping her away from the make since her concussion. She figured they were trying to spare her something. Something that would have stressed her out or upset her.
“Okay,” Brynn said, getting up off the couch. Romeo leaped down, too. The cat had been snuggling up next to her in a near-perfect round ball. “Sorry to disturb you, Romeo.”
She and Becky walked outside into the humid, hot day. “Whew, it’s awful out here,” Brynn said. “What’s in my make?”
“It’s a surprise.” Becky led the way and opened the door.
Brynn stepped into the make and blinked her eyes. “Surprise!” the voices of a crowd rang out. She blinked again. Who were these people? They looked vaguely familiar.
Wes stepped forward. “Welcome to your cheese contest. We decided to reschedule it and hold it here.”
Brynn’s face heated and mouth dropped, but something in her chest bloomed.
“We couldn’t let the contest be ruined by a bunch of crazies,” Becky continued. “So these are the folks from the first contest. And it’s just as official.”
“Next year, we’ll have it at the fair, no problem,” Wes said.
“With security, though,” Brynn responded.
He laughed. “Of course.”
The crowd spread as she walked through her make—the place where she created her cheese. The long tables now held other people’s blocks of cheese, with their tags explaining the cheese. It looked beautiful!
Willow stepped forward. “We didn’t suppose we’d surprise you.” She smiled. “But we managed.” Brynn hugged her. Willow was so much better than at the start of this mess. Brynn said a little prayer to the universe that she’d be okay after witnessing the tractor “accident.”
Beyond where Willow stood was Schuyler—and she was with a date. Maybe. Was she?
“Hey, Schuyler, were you in on this, too?” Brynn walked over to her and hugged her.
“We all were. Wes didn’t give us a choice.”
Brynn eyed the guy next to her. He waved like he knew her. Wait. Was he—
“Do you remember me, Brynn? I’m Deacon, the FBI agent Schuyler knocked down.” He grinned. “Told you I fell in love.”
Brynn laughed and Schuyler elbowed him. “I told you to stop saying that.”
He shrugged.
Wes interpreted. “Enough with the socializing, ladies. Let’s get the show on the road. Here’s the first cheese. You start here. And I’ll start on the other side.”
“Bossy!” Schuyler said.
“You gotta be around here,” Wes answered.
Brynn drew in air. It smelled so cheesy in her make that she could have sworn she’d died and gone to cheese heaven. And then the first cheese she tasted was the cheddar she adored. She doubted any of the others were quite as good—but she was willing to keep an open mind.
Cheese after cheese. Some better than others. Others way worse than most. What she would expect. For many of these cheesemakers, cheese was a hobby they were just starting to pursue. It made her heart glad som
e folks were as enamored with cheese as she was. It was so easy to go and buy cheese from the store or farmers’ market. It took a special sort of person to feel inspired enough to try it on their own. And Brynn was surrounded by them.
The cheddar won, hands down, with a Parmesan coming in a close second and a Swiss third. Many honorable mentions were given and the next thing she knew she was signing people up for classes. Not in the plans. Not yet. But it would be okay with just this small group of people—as long as the list didn’t get any larger. And the income was much needed.
After the event, Willow and Schuyler and her date and Wes, Nathaniel, and Max stayed to clean up. Brynn’s sister pulled out a bottle of iced champagne and Wes passed out glasses.
Wes stood on a crate. “Friends and family, we have much to celebrate here tonight. The first ever Shenandoah Springs cheese contest was a success. Finally. After a bit of a rocky start.”
Brynn’s face burned as she tried to hold back tears.
“We are all together. Healthy and free. Thank you all so much.” Wes’s voice cracked. “Thanks so much for standing by me during my rough patch.”
“Hear, hear!” Brynn said as she raised her glass. Never had a toast meant so much to her.
* * *
The next day Brynn received a dozen yellow roses. She choked up when she read the card. It was from Chelsea and her family, thanking her for her discretion and apologizing to her for the way they behaved.
I’m so sorry to involve Jewel, but I thought it would be a great hiding place for the chips. I didn’t know he’d been spying on me and saw me do it. I’ve made terrible mistakes I hope to never make again. But I thank you and hope you will forgive me.
Chelsea
Brynn held the card to her chest. We all make horrible mistakes. It’s what we do after that matters.
She pulled out her new cell phone and called Chelsea to invite her and her family to dinner.
Chapter 51
Two Months Later
Brynn watched the photo shoot in the crisp autumn air, with the colorful Blue Ridge Mountains as a natural backdrop. Chelsea spun around and the photographer ate it up, camera clicking. Petunia stood next to her and she even seemed to be enjoying it. Chelsea ran her hand along Petunia’s nose and the cow lifted it in obvious pleasure.
“Perfect! Daughter of the Stars!” Mick, the photographer, said.
It was the name of Brynn’s new award-winning cheese, the cheese that Wes sent off to a contest without telling her, a contest in which she came in first place and won enough money to launch the cheese into national markets, while still keeping her focus on the local, artisanal market. Branching out was always in the plan, just not so soon.
“She’s doing a great job,” Wes said about Chelsea as he came up beside Brynn.
Brynn never thought to hear kind words about Chelsea coming out of Wes’s mouth. But after everything that had gone down, he’d stopped talking about her.
A gust of wind prompted Brynn to pull her sweater in closer. “I hope it’s not going to rain. She’s perfect for the job.” And the situation made Brynn’s lie seem like less of a lie. Granny Rose always said one lie led to another and that it would always come back to bite you. She was right, most of the time. This time, Brynn’s lie led to a plan.
When she found out that Wes had entered her in the contest, she imagined what she’d do if she won. Daughter of the Stars cheese was a new cheese she crafted when moving to the Shenandoah Valley. “Shenandoah,” as close as anybody could tell, meant “Daughter of the Stars.” At least it has been interpreted that way for generations.
Hiring Chelsea became a plan, not a lie. She was Daughter of the Stars personified.
“It’s amazing how far we’ve come in a few months,” Wes said.
“True.” She still didn’t want to think about Wes being accused of murder, nor any of the other weirdness happening at that time for which David Reese was responsible. The ransom ware. The remote-controlled tractor. And worst of all, the murders. Thank goodness he’d be in prison probably for the rest of his life. Good riddance to bad trash.
As Brynn had read over the article in the paper about him, she wondered how many young people had been affected by his hideous porn scams. They would never know. Most victims would not step forward. No victim had—except Chelsea, who was made of sterner stuff than anybody had given her credit for, including Brynn.
“Are you ready for a break?” Wes asked the photographer. “Lunch is ready.”
“We’re almost there,” Mick said, turning to them and then back to Chelsea, smiling, emanating wholesome energy and goodness.
“What’s next, boss?” Wes said.
“Lunch?” Brynn grinned.
“You know what I mean. This has fast-tracked your business. What other plans do you have?”
Brynn thought about it for a few minutes. Wasn’t this enough? More than enough? A few years ago, she just imagined this farm, this business. Now it was real—and more successful than she imagined.
“We’ve got plenty to deal with right now,” she said. “We’ve got the new calf coming along and we’ve got Jewel. I might like to experiment with cheese from a Highland cow.”
The wind picked up even more and dark clouds moved quickly across the sky. Shadows moved across the mountains, in a play of light and shadow that Brynn had come to love.
“I read that their milk is high in butterfat,” Wes said. “It’d be fun to experiment now that she’s fattened up so nicely.”
Jewel had indeed fattened up and her coat had taken on a bit of a sheen. It was almost hard to believe she was the same frightened, half-starved cow that Schuyler brought to her a few months back.
“We should.”
“That’s a wrap!” Mick said as he sauntered over to them. “I’ve got some great shots. I’ll e-mail the proofs. But in the meantime, look at them here.” He held up his camera for Brynn and Wes to view the screen. He flipped from one photo to the next, then stopped on a perfect picture: Chelsea smiling straight at the camera, Petunia looking straight at the camera, and the sunlight hitting them both just so.
“Perfect,” Brynn said. The only thing that would’ve made it more perfect was if Becky were there. But she was back in Richmond.
Later, with all of them sitting at the kitchen table consuming pimento cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, contentment washed over Brynn. She didn’t think she’d ever heal completely from Dan and his cheating on her, but she could honestly say she was happier now than she’d ever been.
Even with the bad events that had happened after she moved to Shenandoah Springs, including the latest murders, she knew this was the place for her and her cows. Maybe it was the place for Wes, too. Maybe he’d outgrow it. Chelsea certainly would.
A serenity washed over Brynn. Maybe she’d spend the rest of her life doing what she’d always wanted to do. She’d dug her heels in and made this home. She’d been here almost a year and she’d realized she hadn’t really embraced the place—with all of the strange events and murders right after she moved in. It was almost as if she hadn’t exhaled into her new life. Ridiculous. After all, it’s such a small community. What were the chances of any more murders?
She took in the scene. Food on the table. Friends gathered around. Her cows in the field. She was home. Finally.
Acknowledgments
Thanks so much to Mary Sproles Martin and Jennifer Feller for being such great beta readers. Very special thanks to Jill Marsal, literary agent extraordinaire. I’d also like to acknowledge my daughters, Emma and Tess, two lovely young women who make me proud and inspire me every day. A big hug to the team at Kensington—Elizabeth May, Larissa Ackerman, Lauren Jernigan, Alexandra Kenney, Kristin McLaughlin, and Tara Gavin. A shout-out to my favorite bookstores and people Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond and Mary Katherine Froelich of Stone Soup Books (now online.)
More big hugs to my review crew, who receive advance copies to review through my newsletter. And th
e Cozy Mystery Review Crew does a great job. Thank you!
A special word of thanks to Aimee Hix and Dru Ann Love, who are very supportive of me. I’m grateful for your friendship.
I worked for an IT company briefly and picked the IT guys’ brains frequently. Special thanks to Thomas Kinsinger, Stephen Shilling, and Peter Fitch.
Mostly I want to thank my readers. I can’t tell you what a joy reading has been to me. I love the whole experience of opening a book, the sound of pages turning, the scent of paper, and being drawn into another world. It’s an honor that readers choose to spend their time in my happy little book worlds. I’m grateful.
XO,
Mollie
Recipes
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
1½ cups whole wheat flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons melted butter
Directions
In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, add in mashed banana, milk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Mix well. Add flour mixture into banana mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t over-mix. (If your mixture is too thick, thin out with a bit of water.) Coat a griddle or nonstick skillet with canola oil and preheat to medium heat. Pour approximately ¼ cup batter on heated skillet. Cook until bubbles form and flip over. Cook approximately another 3 minutes. Repeat until batter is gone.
Cheese Straws
Ingredients
½ cup butter, softened
Goodnight Moo Page 23