by Holly Quinn
“He’s not in the car frozen … is he?” Heidi’s face grimaced as if she had just sucked a sour lemon candy.
“No,” Tim answered. “I’ve already been down to the car, and it’s empty. Unfortunately, due to the snow, I can’t tell if Marty left on foot or someone picked him up or what exactly happened here. If he was hurt, we would have found him at the hospital, and as you guys know, that isn’t the case, because as far as we know”—Tim swung an imaginary lasso around the group with his finger—“he’s not even aware of his wife’s death. I’ve been waiting for Nash before I touched anything else so he can investigate, and then you three S.H.E.s came along.”
“We’d be happy to provide any assistance if you’d like,” Sammy suggested.
Nash replied with a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I bet you’d love that.” He put up a hand of defense. “But it really won’t be necessary. The best assistance you can provide is distance from my scene. Please, move along.”
His hand of defense irked Sammy. “Hey, you were supposed to call Deborah and I to tell us what happened. Why didn’t you? I was the one who answered the frantic call from Marty. The least you could do is keep me up to speed on what’s happened to the guy! I find this out on my own because we were lucky enough to drive by? Don’t you think you owe me at least that?”
“Oh boy, here we go. Now Sammy’s gonna get all fired up … we’re off to see her firecrackers explode,” Tim said disapprovingly, shaking his head and then shooting pretend guns off with both hands.
Sammy turned to Tim. “Well, what do you expect? A woman dies in the window of my shop, her husband screams for help from Wanda’s phone—which by the way, I was the one holding. Why wouldn’t I be curious to know what’s happened to the Wadsworths? Wouldn’t you think I was a horrible person if I didn’t care at all?” She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying anything else.
“It’s okay, Sammy,” Ellie soothed. “They’re just trying to do their job, and we’re evidently in the way here. Maybe we should go,” she suggested.
“Maybe I should arrest you for poisoning her. You were the one responsible for holding on to her tea, weren’t you?” Liam asked.
“What did you say?” Sammy’s eyes lasered in on the detective.
“Sorry, bad joke on my part. I was wrong to instigate a reaction.” The detective waved his hand casually. “Settle down, you’re fine. I didn’t think it was you anyway. Tox tested the tea; there was no indication of poison in the peppermint. Wanda had to have ingested the poison earlier in the day.”
“Hang on, did you just say Wanda was poisoned? By what?” Sammy leaned in closer.
The detective looked at Officer Maxwell sheepishly. “You mean to tell me you didn’t tell them already?”
Tim tucked his gloved hands around his police belt. He didn’t say a word but shook his head no, a stoic look on his face.
“See what assuming does, Detective Nash? You assume Tim leaks things to us about the ongoing investigation, but he doesn’t.” Sammy grinned with satisfaction.
Nash continued without a flinch. “The preliminary results are back. Unfortunately, toxicology needs to run more tests. It wasn’t the usual rat poison or cyanide or anything. They’ve never seen this before, so it’s going to take some more time to try and isolate the type of poison that was used.”
By this time, a look of confusion had washed across Ellie’s face. “If you find out what kind of poison it was, maybe the substance will lead you back to your killer.”
“Nice job, E!” Sammy smiled. “She has a valid point, don’t you think, Detective?”
“What I think is that you girls ought to move along. I need to be sure you three will keep this information and this conversation private, or else you’ll scare off our perp. Let us do our job here, and this time please respect the boundaries within the police department. We have enough on our plates.”
“You have our word, we’ll stay out of it,” Heidi said, then added, “Looks like the tow truck has arrived too. We’d better hurry and get out of the way.”
“I think that is a very good idea,” Detective Nash said with finality. “I have a lot to accomplish before the tow truck can remove the car, so if you’ll please excuse me.” He turned on his heel, then quickly turned back around. “I’ll talk to you later.” He brought his fingers toward his eyes and then lasered them on Sammy’s.
“Me?” Sammy jutted a thumb to her chest.
“Yes, you. Privately,” he added, and then turned back in the direction of the embankment.
“What was that all about?” Ellie asked as the three made their way back toward the Jeep.
“Heck if I know,” Sammy answered with an eye roll.
“It’s L-O-V-E,” Heidi sang out before opening the driver’s side door, handing the lasagna to Ellie, and hopping back into the seat.
“Highly doubt it,” Sammy said under her breath. But then she couldn’t help but wonder. What did the detective want to talk to her about privately?
Chapter Nine
The snowdrifts blanketed a portion of the country road that led to Jackson’s farm, making it nearly impossible to view the roadway. Evidently, the town must have run out of time in autumn and neglected to put up a snow fence before winter reared its ugly head. The wind whipping across the harvested open fields had wreaked havoc on any roads off the beaten path, and this one was no exception. Sammy was relieved Heidi was driving her four-wheel-drive Jeep through the snowbanks and they weren’t in her old beater car, as they would’ve had to abandon their excursion out to the sticks a long time ago.
“Hold on to your lasagna, El!” Sammy chuckled from the back seat, gripping her seat belt tighter when the Jeep took a lunging dive through the white powder. “I’m not sure four wheel drive allows you to drive through snowbanks, Heidi. You may want to ease up on the gas pedal and quit pushing this Jeep to its very limits. Do you have a death wish or something? Maybe we should’ve turned around back there and waited for the plow to go through.”
“I’m glad I was smart enough to wrap the towel underneath the lasagna, that’s all I can say.” Ellie joined in the laughter as they hit yet another bump in the road. “If this keeps up, I might toss my cookies; this ride is making me nauseous. Sammy’s right, maybe we should wait for the plow.”
“If we waited for the plow to go through, we’d have to wait days, maybe weeks. Hey, we made it this far. Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” Heidi said, before her voice rose an octave and she shrilled, “What the heck was that?”
“I told ya, we need to slow down, my little race-car driver!” Sammy teased as she turned to look out the window. “Dunno … did we hit a rock or something?” A large, crusty boulder lay just to the side of the Jeep’s freshly made tracks. “I think it was a huge chunk of ice left over from the last time the plow went through, which was probably not since the last storm blew through here. We’re getting our adventure in today, that’s for sure. No doubt about it! It’s always an adventure when us S.H.E.s are together!” Sammy smiled wide.
The Jeep finally came to a clearing, and the three let out audible sighs of relief. Acres of open land revealed a brick farmhouse, scattered outbuildings, and a tall blue silo standing off in the distance with an American flag proudly stamped on its side.
Heidi turned the steering wheel in the direction of the recently plowed driveway.
Sammy recognized the familiar painted quilt block attached to the side of the barn a couple hundred yards from the farmhouse. She remembered viewing the very same quilt block depicted in the painting on Wanda’s living room wall in the pictures from Randy’s real-estate listing.
“What a gorgeous property,” Heidi said with longing. “Man, I would love to live out here.”
“I love the quilt block on the barn, don’t you guys? It really adds a certain hominess to this place.” The geometric star, painted blue, yellow, and green, matched the photo, its vivid colors starkly contrasting the deep red of the flaking barn. “It’
s stunning and really cool to see up close, firsthand,” Sammy added. “I bet the quilting group from Community Craft would really appreciate the artwork too. Gosh, I should really organize a field trip and bring them out here to see it.”
“Sammy, you know why they have that quilt block painted and attached to the barn, right?” Ellie asked.
“No. Why? Did Wanda paint it for her brother before she passed? She was one of our best quilters at Community Craft. Actually, I’d often suggested she publish a book with all the new patterns she’d come up with over the years. We lost a true artist.” Sammy felt a lump form in her throat.
Ellie flung a gloved finger in the direction of the barn. “No, that quilt block on the barn doesn’t have anything to do with Wanda’s quilting.”
“Okay, you lost me. I guess I’m not following. What do you mean?” Sammy asked. “If it doesn’t have to do with Wanda’s quilting, is it just to add pizazz or something? To be honest, it looks very Amish. Don’t the Amish have quilt blocks on their barns? Wanda’s family isn’t Amish, are they?”
Heidi laughed aloud. “No. Wanda’s family isn’t Amish. And it’s not just to add pizazz. How is it you’re the last to know about this project?”
“Project? What project? You and I looked at the listing photos together, and you never mentioned any project. There was a picture of this barn in Wanda’s living room, remember?”
“Sorry,” Heidi said. “I thought with you working on Main Street, you were already up to speed on everything going on in and around this town.”
“Well, first of all, it seems as if we’re outside Heartsford on some country road which may or may not even be part of our county—or state, for that matter. Where the heck are we, anyway? I’ve never been out this way. But that’s beside the point. How is it you guys know about some project that I’m not privy to?”
“It’s not actually a project; it’s more of a trail, to be honest,” Ellie said. “Yeah, I agree with Heidi—I can’t believe you haven’t heard about it yet. Not only that, but Deborah has mentioned the painted quilt blocks to me on more than one occasion when we’ve worked together at Community Craft. I’m really amazed she hasn’t mentioned it to you.”
“Deborah knows about this project too?” Sammy was totally confused at this point. She broke free of her seat belt and tucked her body between the two front seats, her interest now officially piqued.
“Yes. Deborah was approached by one of the organizers to see if she wanted to head up the painting of these eight-by-eight quilt blocks, since the 4-H can’t do them anymore, as more and more barns want to participate. There’s a whole trail map that’s being created. And it sounds like, from what you mentioned, Jackson’s farm is going to be part of the map.” Ellie gestured a hand toward the barn.
“Ohhh? A quilted trail map?” Sammy was finally coming to an understanding and nodded her head slowly. “That sounds like a very cool idea.”
“Yeah, they’re hoping to loop Heartsford and the rest of the county onto this Wisconsin quilt trail map, as it would be good for tourism in our area. I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Heidi said. “People come for miles for this sort of stuff.”
“It really is brilliant,” Ellie agreed. “It’ll probably bring more business to Community Craft too; you know tourists love to shop.” She turned to Sammy and winked.
“Do you miss the ol’ farm?” Sammy turned her attention to her cousin, knowing full well Heidi was still contemplating purchasing a property of her own. She wondered if she’d buy acreage where, at the very least, she could raise chickens. Sammy hoped so; then she could snag some fresh eggs like she had when her aunt and uncle raised them.
“I do,” Ellie interrupted, shifting the towel beneath the lasagna on her lap to keep the disposable metal pan from dripping onto her clothing. “We had so much fun at your family farm growing up, Heidi. I can’t imagine our childhood without those fond memories. The freedom we had to explore out there. Sometimes I wish my Ty-baby had the same. I mean, I love my home, don’t get me wrong, but our postage-size lot after having a childhood like ours, where we could roam free, just seems utterly unfair. Especially for a boy like Tyler, who absolutely loves to explore.”
“Yeah, Ellie, he must take after his auntie. A curious mind and high energy. I just wish I wasn’t feeling so old these days and still had the high-energy part,” Sammy agreed with a giggle.
“I do miss the farm,” Heidi said with a hint of nostalgia. “But I’m not sure, with my job at the hospital, if I’d have time for the upkeep. That’s why it’s taken me so long to commit to buying a property of my own. I just don’t know what I really want, and I’m afraid to tie myself down to a thirty-year mortgage only to find out it’s not where I want to be, you know?” Heidi said, unclicking her seat belt and opening the door of the Jeep. “Until I can stop waffling, I guess I’ll have to remain a renter.”
Sammy wondered secretly if Heidi was still waiting to see if Tim was finally going to pop the question—and if that was the real reason for waiting to purchase a home. She decided to remain quiet about that tidbit as she followed Heidi’s lead and stepped out of the car.
A friendly black Labrador approached the Jeep and began to pace around the passenger door. Sammy stepped closer to the animal and patted the dog on the head, then reached into her thick coat pocket, dug for a piece of leftover Bara treat, and tossed it to the Lab. She then walked around to the passenger side to help Ellie negotiate transport of the lasagna. Ellie lifted the casserole from her lap, and Sammy removed the sauce-soiled towel, rolled it in a ball, and tucked it beneath Ellie’s feet on the floor of the Jeep, then held the door so Ellie could step outside.
“That smells so good,” Sammy said with longing, following the wafting scent. She was afraid that if she stood next to her sister much longer, she would dig into the lasagna with her own two hands. Her stomach rolled again with hunger. She hoped they wouldn’t be long and have time to go out to a late lunch, as they’d planned earlier.
“Thanks,” Ellie said, smiling. “I made two in case our visit ran a little late, so you’ll have to come over for supper if we run out of time and don’t get a chance to go to lunch.”
“I’ll take you up on that offer, no problem,” Sammy admitted easily, returning the smile.
Heidi halted their pace before they stepped another foot forward and leaned toward her cousins conspiratorially. “Before we go and talk with Jackson, I think we should put our S.H.E. hats on,” she suggested. “I mean, not literally—I trashed that baseball hat years ago,” she added with a laugh. “However, I don’t think we should tell him about Marty’s abandoned car. Or the fact that Wanda was poisoned. Right? Let’s not give away too much or share anything with him that the police department hasn’t yet informed him or anyone else about. What do you guys think?”
“Totally agree. Marty is Jackson’s bother-in-law, and we don’t want to upset him regarding things that are completely unknown at this point. Let’s play it cool. I think we’ll find out more that way too. I’m interested to know his take on Wanda’s death.” Sammy zipped her lips with her fingers. They quickened their pace as a cold wind whipped up, sending glittering snow tornadoing around them.
The three approached the two-story brick farmhouse and climbed the few steps onto a modest front porch. Heidi knocked on the aged, sun-striped wooden door.
They stood waiting for what seemed to be an exorbitant amount of time, and Sammy grew restless, dancing from foot to foot to keep the blood pumping to her numbing feet. Despite the practical winter boots, her toes were freezing. She chastised herself inwardly for not wearing her wool socks. “Someone must be home. I can’t imagine anyone would even consider leaving home if their dog was outdoors in this cold.” She shivered.
“Can I help you?” The three turned their heads simultaneously at the sound of a male voice behind them. The man climbed the porch steps and stood before them.
Heidi reached her gloved hands out to touch the man’s arm. “Jackso
n! It’s me, Heidi Harrison. Remember me from our old 4-H days?”
The man towered over the three of them at about six foot two, if Sammy guessed correctly. He was wearing Carhartt winter overalls over a thick black sweatshirt, and his head was covered in a bright-orange hunting cap. His cheeks were rosy, as if he’d been out in the cold for some time. His expression morphed from confusion to recognition as he pulled Heidi in for a hug, still holding a bundle of mail in his other hand. “Well, for heaven’s sake, I don’t think we’ve seen each other since we were youngsters!” he said after he released her. “Look at you, all grown up now.” He opened the front door. “Come in … please, let’s get in out of the cold.” He gestured with his large, work-gloved hand for them to step inside.
As soon as they stepped inside the modest entryway, Heidi grew serious. “Jackson, we’re so very sorry for your loss,” she said as she reached and touched the side of his arm again with her gloved hand. “This is my cousin, Sammy.” Heidi dropped her hand from his arm, removed her gloves, and gestured toward Sammy. “Your sister Wanda often hung out at her shop—Community Craft on Main Street in Heartsford—and her sister Ellie works there part-time too. We’re all going to miss your sister very much.” Heidi pointed to the casserole. “Ellie made a lasagna for your family. If there is anything else we can do, anything at all …” she added in a sympathetic tone.
“Nice to meet you ladies. I’m sorry we’re not meeting under better circumstances. Thank you,” he said in a low, husky voice. He tucked the mail beneath his arm and removed his work gloves before wiping his dripping nose with the back of his hand. He hung his orange-capped head for a moment before raising his eyes again.
One of the letters beneath his arm fell to the floor, and Sammy reached to retrieve it.
“Where can I set this down?” Ellie asked, the lasagna obviously growing heavy in her arms.