by Judy Clemens
“You can eat now?”
She smirked. “Barbecued chicken sandwich for lunch. With potato salad.”
“That’s allowed?”
“I hope so.”
I narrowed my eyes, but was stopped from scolding her by the appearance of Bryan behind her. Carla introduced the two men with exuberance, and I watched as Nick took a first look at Carla’s new boyfriend.
I tried to catch Nick’s eye after their handshake, but he avoided looking at me as Carla ushered us into her house, getting us away from the heat and humidity that had sprung up with the middle of the day. Concord huddled behind the couch, peeking out from behind it as we entered. Carla knelt down and called him softly.
“He’s still shaky from his previous life,” she said to Nick. I could hear the anger under her voice. “They treated him so horribly. Come on, sugar. Come on out. We’re all friends here.”
I glanced up at Bryan, who caught my eye for a split second before jerking his head away.
Concord crept slowly out from hiding until he stood, shaking and leaning hard on Carla. She smoothed her hand over his sleek head, talking softly. “This is Nick. He’s a good guy. And Stella…well, you know Stella, don’t you? Don’t worry about her crutches. They won’t hurt you.”
I set my crutches on the ground out of sight of the greyhound and held my hand out toward him, letting him reach out to sniff it before attempting to pet him. Soon he let me run my hand down his back, but never left the circle of Carla’s arms.
“You’ve sure been going through a lot,” Nick said to Carla.
“You said it.” But then she went on, telling him all about the attack, the hospital, the lack of adequate nourishment, and how Bryan had stepped up to take care of her. “He’s been my knight in shining armor.”
Gag.
“And Stella came to see me, too, of course.”
Nick looked at me, a smile flickering on his face. “Yes, she told me.”
“Oh, and you know what I didn’t tell you,” she said to me.
“Something else?”
She looked at me, puzzled, and I waved her on. “What didn’t you tell me?”
“Remember how I was saying I got that pass from a new client to go to Club Atlas for a couple of weeks? That gym where my friend Babs is the manager?”
“Sure.”
“Well, she was almost attacked in the parking lot.”
“What?”
“Real early this morning. She got there about five, and there was a man waiting. Luckily, some of her big lifters showed up just then and scared the guy away. Completely freaked her out.”
“Does she know who it was?”
“Couldn’t tell. It was dark enough the shadows hid his face, even with the security lights on the building.”
“He have a car?”
“She doesn’t know. He ran through the back, into the parking lot for the spa next door. And with all the racket the guys made chasing him, she wasn’t sure if she heard an engine turning over.”
“They didn’t catch him, I take it.”
“Nope. But she’ll make sure from now on that she doesn’t show up for work alone.”
I looked at Nick, my neck prickling. What the hell was going on around here?
Nick met my eyes. “You don’t think it’s the same one?”
Carla’s brow furrowed. “The same one that what?”
I cleared my throat. “That attacked you.”
“What? Why would it be?”
“Because these attacks are happening every day now.”
“What attacks?”
I took a breath. I told her about Katherine’s church being vandalized. And then I told her about Dr. Peterson.
Bryan, who had been listening to all of this with a darkening expression, shook his head. “That’s it. I’m staying here.”
Carla looked up at him. “You don’t have to, sweetie.”
“Yes, I do. If there’s some maniac on the loose you need protection.”
But who was Bryan to take over? She’d known him for a grand total of what? Three and a half weeks?
“You can stay at my place, if you want.” I stared at her, trying to send my vibes of discomfort into her head.
She gave a half-hearted laugh. “Come on, you guys, you make it sound like I can’t take care of myself. I’ve got Concord, after all.”
Great. A quivering, aging greyhound. That’s what she needed.
“This guy’s already come after you once.” Bryan wasn’t giving up. “He might come after you again.”
“He will not.”
“You don’t know that. And it sounds like he’s getting more violent, not less. Killing the doctor. And he probably would’ve killed your friend at the gym if the other guys hadn’t gotten there.”
They faced off, Carla’s stubborn countenance against Bryan’s crossed arms and clenched jaw. Her arms around Concord tightened until the dog whimpered. Carla released him, and her shoulders loosened. “All right. Maybe it would be a good idea.”
“I don’t think—”
Nick widened his eyes at me, and I snapped my mouth shut. Fine. I stood up. “I guess we’ll be going.”
Carla frowned. “So soon?”
“Got to get back to the farm.”
“Oh. Well, sure. Give Barnabas a pat for me. I’ll come out to see him again soon.”
“You’re going back to work?”
“Saturday.” She looked relieved. “I’ll be glad to get back to it.”
Bryan didn’t seem so sure, but that was his problem.
We said our good-byes and I lurched out to the truck, throwing my crutches into the bed before climbing in. We were a couple of miles down the road before Nick said, “He seemed nice.”
“Hmpf. He treats her like she’s going to break. She’s a tough woman. She can take care of herself.”
He glanced at me, his eyes sparkling. “Maybe she likes it.”
“What?”
“Being treated like a princess.”
“I don’t think so. She got pretty pissed at him back there.”
“But she gave in.”
He let that sit for a few seconds before he said, “Not every woman is as tough as you, you know. Not even your friends.”
I looked out the window, watching the passing developments. Carla had always seemed so independent. So much in control of herself. Her life. Maybe that was changing.
And, I had to tell myself, Nick had come to stay with me. And I was glad.
I shook my head, realizing my discomfort had another level. “I just don’t like him.”
When I looked back at Nick, he was grinning.
“What?”
He tried to stop smiling. “Nothing.”
“What?”
Now he laughed out loud. “It’s just…I don’t think he likes you too much, either.”
I crossed my arms and stared out the windshield, wondering again when it was ever going to rain.
Chapter Twenty-three
We sat in my office, the window air conditioner chugging away, trying to ease the heat and humidity. I took an ibuprofen and leaned back in my office chair, feet on my desk.
“It’s got to be about women,” I said.
Nick stood in front of the window unit, his shirt sticking to his chest. “Sure seems like it.”
“I mean, Carla, Katherine, Dr. Peterson, and now this Club Atlas lady? It seems obvious. But why them?”
We were quiet for a few moments before I said, “I guess that should be obvious, too, just like I told Willard.”
Nick’s eyes were closed. “What should?”
“That these women are threatening someone. Think about it. All of them have jobs that are traditionally men’s. A vet. A pastor. A doctor. Now a lady who runs a predominantly male gym. I mean, who’s next? Some poor business owner who just so happens to be female?”
Nick’s eyes were open now. “Yo
u mean like you?”
I sucked in a breath. “No.”
“Why not?”
Because I’d already been through my share of sabotage and pain and heartbreak.
“Because who else would want to be a dairy farmer? I mean, come on. It’s not like I’m taking one of the more…desirable male jobs. There are hardly any farmers left at all because it’s such a shitty lifestyle.”
He was still looking at me.
I dropped my feet to the floor. “I’m calling Willard. He probably knows about Club Atlas, since it’s in his jurisdiction, but I want to make sure.”
He knew.
“We’re on it, Stella.” I could imagine his pencil bouncing up and down on his desk.
“On what, though? The event at the gym, or the fact that women are being targeted?”
“Was there a sign?”
“A what?”
“You know, like at the church, and the doctor’s office. A sign with a saying.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t investigate it.”
“Well, there wasn’t. No sign.”
“There wasn’t for Carla, either.”
Silence.
“Okay,” he said. “It’s not that I won’t consider a connection. I just want to be sure.”
“Well, be sure sooner rather than later.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t say good-bye.
“What?”
“I spent the morning in Warminster.”
“Okay. Doing what?”
“Attending Dr. Peterson’s autopsy.”
Oh. “I’m sorry, Willard. I don’t mean to be an ass.”
“It’s okay. You can’t help it.”
“What did you find out?”
“Pretty much what we expected.”
I waited.
“You sure you want to know?”
“No. Not really. But yes, tell me.”
“It was the head injury.”
“From hitting her temple on the corner of the sink.”
“Yes.”
“So she was pushed.”
“Or tripped. There’s no way to know at this point.”
An accident? Or murder? Both, really.
“It was a direct hit,” Willard said. “She probably died instantly. No prolonged suffering.”
A small consolation.
“So you think I might be right? About it being the same guy?”
“Stella, I just don’t know. We have to check out the possibility that it was one of her patients. Or a druggie.”
“I know, but—”
“I’ll talk to you soon, Stella.”
I hung up, closing my eyes and breathing deeply.
“Stella, what is it?”
I told him.
Nick stepped away from the air conditioner and pulled his shirt away from his chest. “What about your theory?”
“Willard thinks I’m wrong.”
“He said so?”
“Not exactly.”
“Wrong about what?” Lucy stood in the doorway.
“About why women are being attacked.”
“What?”
I told her about Babs.
She frowned, the lines around her eyes deepening. “It’s getting really scary.” She looked out the window, then back at me. “So what do we do about the farm?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this place is owned and run by women. What makes you think we won’t be a target?”
Nick looked at me, like “See?”
A flood of memories hit me. The days—and nights—of watchfulness the past summer, taking shifts with Howie, rage simmering just below the surface. The sabotage, the dead cows, Howie, lying in his own blood…
“Okay,” I said. “Suggestions?”
“Queenie,” Lucy said. “She always lets us know when someone’s on the property.”
Except for last night when she’d missed Nick’s truck.
“She helps. But at night she’s coming inside. She can watch from the window. She’s done that before.” She’d also been dog-napped, and I wasn’t taking any chances. I rested my elbows on the desk. “And nobody stays at the farm alone. There’s got to always be at least two people here. Not including Zach.”
“Agreed.”
“And at night?”
I sighed, resting my face on my hands. “Like we said, Queenie will keep watch from downstairs. We’ll leave the window open a little so she can hear. And we’ll flip on the barnyard lights.”
Lucy chewed her lip. “You think that’s enough?”
I could stay up. Sit outside like I did last summer. Fall asleep out there where I’d be vulnerable. Make Nick sit out with me, when he needed his sleep to stay healthy.
“It’ll have to be.”
She looked at me a little longer. “So should I still take the evening off, or do you want me to stick around?”
“You can go. Nick’s here with me. We can do the milking, and keep an eye on things.” I looked to make sure he was with me, and he nodded.
“All right. But if you need me, you just call.”
“Will do.”
She glanced at the clock. “I’m going to finish up what I was doing, then head home.”
“Sounds fine.”
She still stood there.
“Lucy, go.”
She bit her lip, looked at the floor…and finally left.
Chapter Twenty-four
Milking went smoothly, if a little slow. Nick had helped enough times he knew the routine and was able to do the things I couldn’t quite manage. The cows accepted him, and he avoided getting peed on or falling in a slippery patch of manure. I stayed upright, too, to both of our surprise. We were finally done and resting on the side yard, talking about how we could go about getting ice cream from Dairy Queen and still keep an eye on the farm when a Camry pulled into the drive, Queenie running circles and barking in front of it. I sat up quickly, staring at the driver. What was he doing here?
But it wasn’t just Abe Granger, my childhood best friend and almost-could’ve-been boyfriend who stepped out of the car. The passenger door also opened to reveal a familiar face.
“Missy?”
She smiled and raised her hands, like Ta da. “It’s me.”
It sure was. She wore the same fashionable, light-colored clothes I remembered from the summer before, free of farm dirt and grime. White sandals, a tank top, and a short skirt. Long blonde hair, tied back from her tanned and conservatively made-up face. Pretty. No…cute.
Nick hopped up to greet the two of them, but I didn’t feel like struggling to get upright while they all watched, so I stayed where I was.
Abe came around the car to shake Nick’s hand and offer Queenie a rub before stopping in front of me and looking down at my leg with an amused expression. “So what’s up with you, Princess?”
I groaned. “Ma didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. Did you get mad and kick one too many butts?”
“Ha, ha.” I held out my hand. “Help me up.”
He did, and gave me a hug. “Good to see you.”
“Yeah, you, too. But I didn’t know you were coming down.”
“Neither did anybody else.” He looked over at Missy. “We, um, had some news we wanted to share.”
Oh, no.
He held out his hand and Missy walked over to take it, wrapping her other hand around his arm and smiling into his face.
Abe looked at me. “We’re getting married.”
I stared at him, my mouth open, until Nick stepped up. “Congratulations. That’s great news.” He shook Abe’s hand again, and gave Missy a kiss on the cheek.
Abe continued looking at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “Congratulations.”
Nick put his hand lightly on my back. “So when’s the big day?”
“December twenty-four,” Missy said. “A Christmas Eve wedding.”
“At home. New York. We thought if we did it at Christmas Abe’s family would have a better chance of getting there, with kids home from school and everything.”
“Sure,” Nick said. “That’s a good idea.”
It was?
Abe was still looking at me, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to feel.
“Hey,” Nick said. “We were just talking about getting some ice cream from Dairy Queen. You folks want to join us?”
Missy brightened. “Sure.”
He looked over at me. “How about Missy and I go get it?”
“Great,” Abe said.
I gritted my teeth. “That would be fine.”
“Good. Let me just run and get my wallet.”
He was back in a few seconds, and Abe tossed Missy the keys to the Camry. “Here you go.”
She paused, keys in hand, then smiled, looking from me to Abe. “Requests?”
We gave her our orders, and they left. I sank back onto the ground, Queenie sitting beside me, snuffling at my face with concern.
“I’m okay, girl,” I said, pushing her gently away.
Abe sat next to me. “So what did happen?”
“Huh?”
“To your foot.”
“Oh.” I explained.
He shook his head. “The things you get into…”
That was nothing. But I didn’t feel like telling him everything else that had been happening.
I took a deep breath and let it out. “So you’re getting married.”
“Yup.”
“You proposed?”
“Yeah.” He pulled out a piece of grass and started breaking it into little pieces. “I took her to a really nice restaurant and had the waiter bring out the ring with dessert. You know, in case I chickened out during the main course.” A smile flickered on his face.
“I thought you were going to wait until next Valentine’s Day.”
He tossed away the grass. “I changed my mind.”
“How come?”
He pulled his knees up, hugging them to his chest. “Because I’m ready now.”
I looked at the barn and listened to the sound of a cow, mooing in the paddock. “Which means what?”
“Being ready? That I’m tired of waiting. I want to get started with the rest of my life.”
The dusk-to-dawn light flickered on, and I squinted up at it.