by Lyndsey Cole
“Wait. Can I see the rest?” Karen asked.
“Sure. The rest of the photos I’ve been taking are for my gallery show, Candid Around Catfish Cove.”
They looked at photos of Heron Lake, tourists around town, all the way back to the day Annie walked in Peter Hayworth’s fields on Wednesday.
“You’re an amazing photographer. Your show will provide a fantastic view of our special town.”
Annie moved back to a photograph of Peter’s blackberry field and zoomed in. She held the camera for Karen to look at and pointed to a shape. “What do you see here?”
Karen squinted. “It looks like a woman.”
“That’s what I thought too.” Annie picked up her bag and slid her camera strap over her shoulder.
“Where are you going?” Karen asked.
“To see a woman.”
Chapter 19
When Annie threw her bag over her shoulder, its weight reminded her about the books with the new messages. If she hurried, she could catch Tyler at the police station before heading to Hazel’s house.
JC was busy at the dispatcher desk, so Annie walked down the hall to Tyler’s office. Her soft tap on his open door distracted him from his paperwork and he looked up and smiled.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, come on in. You just caught me.” He leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. “What’s up?”
Annie sat in the chair opposite his desk and pulled the last two books from her bag, setting them in front of Tyler.
He leaned forward, opening both books and reading the messages. He found his paper with the four original messages and asked Annie to add the new ones.
Annie, Oliver knows what happened
Annie, check the trash
Annie, you need to do some real digging
Annie, it’s not what it seems
She added:
Annie, you’re getting closer. Don’t give up
Annie, be careful who you talk to
Tyler read through the list. “Any ideas?”
“Well, no ideas on the messages, but I have a good idea who sent them.”
Tyler’s forehead wrinkled. “Oh?”
“Jillian. But I didn’t have a chance to ask her any questions about them.” Annie stood up. “Are you and JC going to the fireworks tonight?”
Tyler smiled. “Of course. And Dylan too. He’s beside himself with excitement. See you there?”
“You bet. I have a date with Uncle Sam.”
Tyler’s face twisted in confusion.
“Jason,” Annie clarified as she left his office.
JC had a rare moment of quiet when Annie walked to the front of the police station. “Enjoy the fireworks tonight. I hear Dylan can’t wait.”
JC beamed with happiness. “He’s a new kid ever since Tyler took him fishing. It’s all he talks about. Well, that and the fireworks, but tomorrow he’ll be back on the fishing kick.”
“How about you? Don’t you go fishing with them?”
“Are you kidding? I like that time to myself. Let’s me catch up on baking and cleaning and I always sneak in a few chapters of my favorite book.”
Annie waved. “See you tonight.”
She had debated with herself about showing the photo with the image of a woman to Tyler when she was in his office, but it was too blurry to be sure who it was. Without a positive identification, she decided it pointless to show him. She wanted to get more information first.
Annie and Roxy drove to Hazel’s house. Was it Hazel in that photo?
Zoe barked when she pulled in. She already acted as if she was protecting her territory. When Roxy jumped out the back door of the car, the two dogs took off in a happy game of dog tag around the yard.
The commotion was enough to bring Hazel out of the house. “Checking up on me again?” she asked but without sounding upset.
Annie laughed, trying to dispel her own anxiety and wondering what the best way was to ask about the person in the photograph. No point in beating around the bush.
“No, I’m here about something else. I have a couple of questions.” Annie carried her camera to Hazel who stood on her front step. “Take a look at this.”
Hazel studied the photo.
“I took this before I found Peter unconscious in his blackberry field. Is it you?”
“No.” She looked toward Peter’s field.
“But you know who it is, don’t you?”
Hazel filled her lungs and exhaled slowly. “It looks like Jillian. What was she doing there?”
“Can I come in? I have something else to talk to you about.”
Hazel led the way to the bright kitchen and put the tea kettle on. She moved around quietly, taking cups from the cupboard, adding an assortment of tea bags and a container of honey to a tray. When the kettle whistled, she poured the hot water and brought the tray to the table.
“I started a new book. The main character is a therapy dog. This will be different from anything I’ve written before. The dog is going to help his owner solve the murders, and at the same time help someone else find the strength to move on with their life. Do you think anyone will want to read it?”
“Definitely. It sounds like a scenario that many people will be able to relate to. I'd like to buy the first copy.” Annie realized the book was most likely about Hazel moving on with her own life.
Hazel smiled.
Annie blew on her tea before taking a tiny sip. “I’ve received several, six to be exact, messages printed inside books. One of them was in one of your books.” She kept her eyes on Hazel’s face.
Hazel blinked her intense blue eyes and pinched her lips together. “Can I see it?”
“No. I left them with the police. Well, the last four are at the police station, the first two were stolen from my bag.” She paused to let Hazel digest that piece of information. “Do you know an Oliver?” Annie asked.
“This is Oliver.” Hazel stroked the orange tabby cat curled in her lap.
“A cat?”
“Oliver is Jillian’s cat but he is happy to hang out with me as his second choice. Why?”
Annie stood up and watched Roxy and Zoe through the kitchen window. They both were stretched out in the shade of an old apple tree. They must have tired each other out.
“The first message said Oliver knows what happened. Does that make any sense to you?”
“Not really. Oliver sometimes follows Jillian if she walks in the woods, but he never goes too far. Even if he knows something, how would he tell anyone?”
“Good point. Would he follow anyone besides Jillian?”
Hazel considered the question before answering. “Maybe.”
“When I found Peter unconscious, there was an orange tabby cat meowing in the blackberry bushes near him. I think it was Oliver. Peter had been at your house. Do you think Oliver would have followed Peter? Or did Jillian follow Peter and Oliver followed her?”
Hazel stood up and Oliver fled from the kitchen. “What are you getting at?”
“I don’t know, but I want to dig around where Peter fell. It didn’t occur to me before, but he may have buried something before he passed out. Do you have a shovel I can borrow?”
Hazel led Annie to her shed and handed her a shovel. “I’m coming with you.”
The dogs jumped up from their nap and ran ahead into the blackberry field. Annie hoped she could remember the exact spot since every row looked alike. Roxy ran down one row and Annie decided to follow her, hoping she was following a familiar trail. Annie studied the bushes and stopped at the one with fertilizer spread underneath. Sticking the shovel in, she dug in several places but only managed to disturb the fertilizer and stir up the bad smell.
Hazel covered her nose. “What are you looking for?”
Annie leaned on the shovel. “One of the messages said to check the trash, but there were no clues in your trash so I thought it might mean to figure out what should have been in the trash but wasn’t.”
&nb
sp; “You should write mysteries, I’m lost on this train of thought.”
Annie scooped up dirt in a few more spots, carefully dumping the soil and poking around for something that shouldn’t be there. Zoe joined in the fun and started digging with her paws. Annie bent over to push her out of the way but the glint of something just below the surface caught her eye.
Carefully, Annie used her fingers to move the soil until an insulin vial was uncovered. She poked around some more and found a second vial.
Hazel’s eyes were as big as saucers and her hand covered her mouth. “Two vials. I gave him his normal injection.” She stared at Annie. “Who gave the second one? That would kill him. Did Peter take the vials and bury them?”
“That might be the explanation. I’m going to find him and ask some questions.”
Hazel grabbed Annie’s arm. “Is that safe?”
“I think so.” But to herself she said, I hope so.
Chapter 20
Annie walked to Peter’s house with Roxy while Hazel took Zoe back to her house. With every step closer, Annie’s heart beat faster and a feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. What was she doing?
Before she could change her mind, a friendly voice called out to her.
“Annie, what brings you and Roxy this way?”
She saw Peter waving with Logan and Ariel tagging along behind.
He wouldn’t dare do anything in front of his grandkids, Annie decided, and felt some of her tense muscles relax slightly.
Bandit darted from behind the kids, streaking toward Roxy in pure puppy happiness.
“You picked out a winner for the kids. Bandit is a smart one.” Peter chuckled with delight as the kids followed the two dogs, creating a blur of legs and arms. “So, what can I do for you?” He swiveled his head around. “How did you get here? I don’t see your car.”
“I had a few questions for Hazel and I walked from her house. Are you taking a walk? Could I join you?”
“Of course. Maybe Bandit will show you her clever trick.”
“She already knows a trick? You’ve only had her for a few hours.”
“Yeah. She loves it here. She already figured how delicious the blackberries are and can pick her own. I hope she doesn’t eat too many and get sick.”
Peter stopped and let the kids run around with the two dogs before deciding which row to lead everyone down.
They walked in a comfortable silence, giving Annie time to organize her thoughts and her questions for Peter. Kirk’s words about Peter’s anger about the land sale, rang in her ears. Just because she never saw that side of his behavior didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of violence. She had to be careful.
With her camera as a link to one of her questions, she snapped shots of the kids, dogs and Peter. Finally, once the kids slowed to a walk, Annie asked Peter to stand with the two kids in front of a blackberry bush loaded with berries for a family portrait. She snapped several times to be sure at least one photo would capture everyone with their eyes open and natural smiles on their faces.
“Can we see the picture?” Ariel and Logan shouted as soon as Annie released them from the pose.
She crouched down with one knee on the ground and scrolled through the last few photos. They both decided they liked the same one, and Annie had to admit, it was the best one of the lot. Standing, she let Peter view the screen.
“Can you make a copy for me? I’m trying to convince Emily to move here so the kids can get out of the cramped apartment she has and have all this to enjoy.” His arm swooped around to take in all the rows and rows of berry bushes.
“I’d be happy to.” Annie scrolled to the photo from the day she found Peter unconscious. “Here’s another photo I’d like you to take a look at.”
He stared at the blurry figure, moving his head closer as if that would make the image come into focus. “Who is that?”
“I hoped you could tell me. I took this photo before I found you unconscious and I just discovered the figure in this shot. Maybe this person can shed some light on what happened that morning.”
Peter straightened and stepped away from Annie. “What do you mean? Shed light on what?”
Annie sighed and walked toward Peter. “Who killed Robbie.” She reached into her pocket and showed him the insulin vials in her hand. “I found these buried near the bush where you passed out the other day.”
He leaned closer and shrugged his shoulders. “That’s odd and ridiculous. How could you remember which bush it was?”
“The smell isn’t so bad anymore, but it’s still there. Hazel’s dog dug these up. Robbie died from an overdose of insulin. How did these end up under your blackberry bushes?” Annie studied Peter’s face.
The color drained from tan to pale. “I have no idea.”
She knew he was lying. He acted like a little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar with cookie crumbs around his mouth but insisted he never took a cookie. “Peter, who are you protecting?”
He gazed over his fields and stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants.
“You went back into the house after Luke left, didn’t you?”
“Why would I do that?”
Annie patted his arm. “Maybe you need to tell me why. Luke saw you with Jillian at the side of the house and he saw you go back inside.”
Peter’s shoulders sagged, suddenly adding ten years to his age. “Come on kids, we should be getting back to the house. Your mother will be wondering where we wandered off to.” He turned toward Annie. “They had such a good time in the parade, but Emily thought they should have a break here before we head back for the fireworks tonight. I’ll bring them inside and then we can talk.”
As they all walked back to the house, Annie sent a text to Jason telling him where she was, just in case. What did she think Peter might do to her? A shiver traveled through her body. Better not to think about that.
Annie waited outside in the shade with Roxy and Bandit. Peter returned with two tall glasses of ice cold lemonade and two bowls of blackberry ice cream.
“Emily was busy while I had the kids. She whipped up a batch of ice cream. It doesn’t get much better than this,” Peter said as he handed Annie a bowl.
He drained his glass and settled on the grass with his back against the tree. “Okay then, where were we?”
“Why did you go back inside Robbie’s house?”
“Jillian was upset about the fact that Robbie wouldn’t let her visit Hazel and she was tired of sneaking around. Actually, she was furious. She hated how Robbie bossed her mother around. I went back in for her, to find out if Luke got what he came for.”
“What happened inside?”
“Robbie was sitting in his old ragged recliner. He must have had that dirty old thing for fifty years. I suppose Hazel tried to make him get rid of it, but he never listened to her.” Peter tasted his ice cream before continuing. “His eyes were closed and I thought he was asleep. I noticed an insulin vial next to his chair, and when I moved closer, my foot knocked something under the table.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
Annie tried the ice cream. “You’re right about this blackberry ice cream. It’s the best I’ve ever had.”
The sound of their spoons clicking on the bowl and the dogs panting next to them was all that disturbed the silence.
“What did your foot bump into?” Annie finally asked.
“Another insulin vial. I picked it up and put it on the table. I don’t know why there were two.”
Annie nodded. “He died from an insulin overdose. Why didn’t you tell the police about this?”
“I panicked. When I looked closer at Robbie, his skin was gray. I didn’t touch him, but I suspected he was dead. I grabbed the two vials and left as quickly as possible. Everyone knew I was against Robbie selling his land for a condo development. I never kept that opinion to myself. I was afraid I would be a suspect since my fingerprints would be on the vials if I left them there.”
“Did
you bury them under the blackberry bushes?”
“No. I don’t know how they got there. I threw them in some weeds between Robbie’s house and my land.”
“Someone must have seen you and picked them up.” Bandit had her nose in the empty ice cream bowls, licking up any leftover sweetness. “Someone picked out the perfect name for this little thief.” Annie laughed as she shooed the puppy away. She picked up her camera again. “Take another look at the photo I showed you earlier and tell me who you think it is.”
Annie held the camera for Peter while he studied the photo. “It’s so blurry. I’m not sure, but if I had to make a guess, I would say it was Hazel. She’s always walking in the woods with her cat. It’s kind of creepy sometimes how she suddenly appears out of the blue.”
Annie sat forward. “Her orange cat?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I found him in my barn when I came back from the hospital on Wednesday. I don’t know how he got way over here.”
Annie’s phone vibrated in her pocket. A text from Jason read, I’m home, want to meet me for dinner?
She sent a quick message back, On my way.
Peter picked up the bowls and offered a hand to help Annie up. “I hope, for Jillian’s sake, that Hazel didn’t finally lose it and give Robbie an overdose.”
“One more question, Peter.” Annie waited until Peter met her eyes. “What’s your relationship with Hazel? You seem to know a lot about her.”
“It’s complicated. She doesn’t want anything to do with me, and I understand, but Jillian fills me in once in a while. I truly want Hazel to be happy, and as long as Robbie was alive, she wasn’t going to ever move out of his ugly shadow.”
“You think the last straw was Robbie selling the land? That might have made her give him an overdose?”
He shrugged. “Have you read any of her books? There’s always a murder with a complicated trail of suspects.”
“But why would she pick up the vials after you threw them away and bury them right where you passed out? She was with me when Zoe dug up the vials. She acted genuinely surprised.”