Teaberry Total Eclipse

by R A Wallace

  “Toast it is.” Ethan lobbed the ball to Cooper. This time, he threw it almost straight up. They both watched as it arced back down and the dog deftly caught it.

  “Seriously. You should know how to cook. You have to eat three times a day for the rest of your life. Knowing how to handle something that basic is a must.”

  “Okay, but I’m not sure what mom had in mind for dinner today.”

  “We have two large brains. We’ll figure it out,” Casey said confidently. “It’s going to be dark pretty soon anyway and the chores are all done. We’ll surprise your mom with dinner when she gets home from her training session.” Although not yet fully dark, the daylight had been increasingly growing dim and darkness came soon at this time of the year. It was time to go inside whether they cooked dinner or not.

  Ethan smiled and held out his arm with the ball in his hand for one last toss before they went in for his first cooking lesson. Cooper wasn’t watching.

  “Coop, ready?” Ethan watched as Cooper began moving quickly toward the house. They could hear him emit a low growl that quickly grew to all-out barking.

  “Ethan, stay here.” Casey took off after Cooper.

  Ethan thought about it for a nanosecond, then took off after Casey. He caught up with him easily but neither one of them could catch Cooper. The border collie rounded the corner of the house and was out of their sight.

  “Coop!” Ethan didn’t like that he couldn’t see him especially since he could hear the dog barking and snarling, as though he had something, or someone, cornered. “Cooper!”

  They heard someone gun an engine and blast a horn. By the time they rounded the corner of the house, all they saw were taillights in the distance.

  “Coop!” Ethan stopped running when Casey did. Cooper was back at his side in a moment. Ethan dropped down on one knee and hugged him.

  Casey waited until he caught his breath, then pulled out his phone. As he dialed nine one one, he began checking out the house.

  ***

  Rhys went down on his haunches and focused his flashlight on the broken window pane in the front door of the farm house. Whoever it was, they were determined to get inside. They would have made it, too, if it hadn’t been for the dog. Ian returned from following the tracks as Rhys was still examining the door.

  “Just as they said. Someone ran to a car out on the road. I can see tracks everywhere from the dog. He definitely caught up to whoever it was.” Ian looked over Rhys’s shoulder at the door.

  Rhys stood. “You think he got a piece of whoever it was?”

  “Hard to say in the dark. I looked everywhere with my flashlight but didn’t see any blood. This time of year, though…”

  “Yeah. Everyone’s bundled up. Might not have gotten his teeth in through the fabric.” Rhys went down the porch steps and walked around the perimeter of the house again. He hadn’t found anything else out of the ordinary.

  “Or, the perp didn’t bleed through their clothes before getting back into their car.” Ian followed Rhys up the stairs of the back porch.

  They tapped on the door and entered when Casey opened it. They saw Marcy inside at the stove with her back to them. Based on the noise she was making with whatever she was doing, she was not happy. Rhys couldn’t blame her.

  Marcy slammed a pot down and turned to face them. “You have to do something.”

  Rhys knew he didn’t have any words to make her feel better. He opted for an ounce of prevention.

  “Have you considered getting a security system here?” Rhys could tell the veterinarian agreed with the idea.

  Marcy wasn’t ready to let it go. “That’s not good enough. There has to be a reason why someone is after my son.”

  Rhys looked over at Casey and wondered. This couldn’t have anything to do with what happened at school, could it?

  Casey knew what the other man was thinking. “Ethan says things have been going well at school.”

  “Still. Might be worth looking into.” He looked back at Marcy. “In the meantime, think about the security system.”

  “Cooper’s been doing a pretty good job with it so far,” Ethan pointed out to his mother.

  Marcy was beyond grateful for what the dog had done but it wasn’t enough. She nodded to Rhys, then watched as the two officers left.

  “Ethan, go get cleaned up for dinner,” Marcy said quietly as she turned her back on him.

  “Mom, I…”

  “Ethan.” Casey nodded toward the door as he walked over to Marcy.

  Ethan paused outside in the hallway and waited a few moments. When he looked back inside, Casey was holding his mom. It looked like she was crying. He silently signaled to Cooper and the two went upstairs.

  ***

  Megan finished making the changes to her client’s web site. She logged out of the system and turned off her laptop. The dishes were all done and put away. Dan had gone out to check on the animals and, no doubt, work on one of his projects in the barn for a bit.

  Megan stood and stretched, then went over to the kitchen window and looked out. With the security lights that Dan had installed on the corner of the barn, she could easily see when Dan was walking back to the house even in the dark. They had talked about adding more security measures, such as an alarm system, for the house. Both had agreed it was a good idea.

  She was about to turn off some of the kitchen lights and go into the living to wait for Dan when she saw him emerge from the barn. She watched as he walked across the barnyard toward the house. Halfway there, he raised his arm and hailed someone. Megan looked at the clock. Who would be here at this time of the evening?

  Megan waited where she was and watched as another figure appeared. She could see through the window that it was Tom with Dan. After speaking for a few moments, they both began walking toward the house. A blast of cold air entered with them. Both men took their coats off and hung them on the kitchen chairs. Megan could tell that Tom was upset just by looking at him. Without a word, Tom sat down heavily in the chair.

  “Is everyone okay?” Megan walked over to the chair next to him and sat down. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

  Tom explained what had happened with Ethan and Casey earlier.

  “The police don’t have any clues?” Dan asked.

  “They’re going to look into the angle that it might be school related, but no one really thinks that’s what it is. It certainly wouldn’t explain why someone broke into Caro’s. It’s just that they don’t know what else to do.” Tom rubbed his hand across his face.

  “How can we help?” Megan asked.

  Tom dropped his hand and looked at her. “I don’t know what else to do. The police have no clues. Can you look into it? Maybe you can find something the police haven’t yet.”

  Megan turned uncertain eyes toward Dan. He gave a half shrug. He was leaving the decision to her. Megan didn’t know what she might even be able to do. She doubted that she could find a burglar. But she knew that she couldn’t turn down her friend when he was asking for help. Not after everything he had done for her over the years.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  As quietly as possible, Ethan entered the rear of the house after completing his morning chores. After toeing off his boots, hanging his coat, and wiping Cooper’s paws, he stopped in the bathroom to clean up. When he was done, he moved quietly down the hallway and listened. He didn’t hear any pots or pans being slammed around. He hoped that was a good sign. Cooper went into the kitchen blowing any chance Ethan had of staying out in the hall to eavesdrop, so he followed the dog in and took a seat at the table.

  Marcy lifted the strata from the oven and set it on the kitchen. “Maybe we could call my dad.”

  “I said it wasn’t a problem.” Casey picked up the spatula and transferred a large hunk of the strata to his plate.

  “What’s not a problem?” Ethan took the spatula from Casey.

  “I’ll ask Grandpa to b
e here when you get home from school.” She went to the fridge to take out some juice.

  “I already told her I would be here,” Casey said to Ethan.

  Marcy set the juice container on the table with more force than she needed to.

  Ethan shifted his eyes to Casey but kept his mouth closed.

  Marcy went over to her phone and called her father. Casey and Ethan listened to her half of the conversation as they ate. Marcy sighed when she hung up.

  “You can’t blame him,” Casey pointed out.

  “No, I can’t.” Marcy leaned against the counter and wrapped her arms around herself.

  “He’s just as worried about Caro as he is about Ethan. You’re making it harder on him by asking him to choose between them.” Casey pushed his empty plate away.

  Marcy pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes. “I know.”

  “Even if Caro came here with him, it’s still stressful on the two of them because they shouldn’t have to worry about being attacked by someone at any moment.”

  Marcy dropped her hands to her sides. “How are you going to be here? You have a job too.”

  “I’ll just have to leave work. If necessary, I’ll pick Ethan up and go back to work. We’ll have to wait and see how my day goes.” Casey picked up his empty plate and stood. “I’ll take care of it. He’ll be fine with me.”

  Marcy realized it was the better option. Much better than stressing her father and Caro out. She nodded her head in agreement.

  Casey put his plate and silverware in the dishwasher. “You need to eat.”

  “Would I get to help you with the animals at work?” Ethan asked, excitement at the prospect obvious in his voice.

  Marcy saw the hope in her son’s eyes. She was being an idiot again. Having the chance to shadow a veterinarian at work was an amazing opportunity for him and it would be the safest place for him. She felt the knot in her stomach loosen and reached for the spatula.

  ***

  Casey entered the diner at the peak of lunchtime and took his usual seat at the counter. Instead of waiting for Tyler to make it to him, he caught the younger man’s eye across the crowded diner and pointed at the board listing the special for the day. Tyler wrote up two orders when he saw Cy Douglass enter and take the seat next to Casey.

  “Hear things have been a bit too exciting out your way,” Cy said as he removed his coat.

  Tyler arrived with a fresh pot of coffee and flipped over their cups. “Any news with the break-ins?”

  “Not yet but they’re going to start looking at another angle.” Casey reached for the cup of coffee.

  “They have a lead on something?” Cy grabbed his own cup.

  “Not really, but Ethan was having some trouble in school. They’re wondering if that has anything to do with it.”

  “Hope not,” Tyler said as he took off with his coffee pot.

  “I don’t think it’s connected either,” Casey told Cy.

  “They have to start somewhere, I guess.”

  Casey thought about the three attempts, one at Caro’s and two at the farm. “Yeah, but I just don’t see how this could have anything to do with the kids at school.”

  ***

  Megan greeted Ethan when he opened the door for her then reached down to rub Cooper’s ears.

  “Mom and Casey are in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner.”

  “How are things going here?” Megan slid her coat off and hung it on a tree stand near the door.

  “I got to go to work with Casey for a bit this afternoon. That was pretty cool.”

  Megan knew Ethan liked animals. “I’ll bet. Have you thought about becoming a vet?”

  Ethan led the way to the living room. “I wouldn’t mind it. I’d get to work with Casey more.”

  Megan took a seat as she studied the young man. He seemed to grow taller each time she saw him. He was now about two inches taller than her five five.

  “Did your grandfather tell you he came to see me?”

  “Yeah, sorry about all this.” Ethan took a seat across from her.

  Megan gave a half shrug. “It’s not your fault. I’m just not sure what I might be able to do.”

  “Do you think there’s a connection between the break-in at Caro’s and the attempts here?”

  “Well, that’s a good question, actually. What are the common elements, do you think?”

  Ethan hadn’t expected the question and he frowned as he gave it serious thought. “Not me,” he said slowly. “I wasn’t at Caro’s.”

  Megan had thought of the same thing but she didn’t want Ethan to begin worrying about his grandfather either. The only common element she could come up with was Tom.

  “So, you don’t think someone is trying to steal the family jewels?” she said with a smile.

  Ethan made a face. “Hardly. I did get a new telescope for my birthday, though.” He frowned again.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We didn’t tell Grandpa this but, it doesn’t work.”

  Megan thought about the telescope she’d had as a kid. In the country, away from the city lights, it seems like there are more stars in the sky. She always loved looking at them. She made a mental note to mention it to Dan. Maybe they could make some family memories with their own telescope when their children get older.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with it?” Megan asked.

  “I wanted to look it up but haven’t had time yet with everything going on.”

  Megan stood. “We can take a look at it together. I can still ask questions while we’re doing that.”

  Ethan stood quickly. He’d really like to figure out what was wrong with it so he didn’t have to tell his grandfather it didn’t work. He led the way upstairs.

  “Your grandmother’s sewing room?” Megan asked when she stepped inside.

  “Grandpa said it was okay.”

  Megan walked over to the telescope. “Yeah, it’s perfect. You’ll be able to move it out to the balcony when you want to use it.”

  She leaned over and looked through the eyepiece. She couldn’t see anything. Assuming that the lens cap was still on the front, she straightened and reached around to remove it but it wasn’t there. She frowned as she considered the options.

  “Do you think something is broken inside?” Ethan asked. He’d been trying to figure the problem out in his head for days and it was the only thing he could come up with.

  “I was wondering the same thing. Want to take the tube off the mount and see if we can hear anything inside? That might be the easiest way to tell.”

  Ethan shrugged his agreement. It was worth a try. He began loosening the mount screws, handing things to Megan as he did. Then he lifted the tube and gently tilted first one end up and then the other. Nothing happened. He frowned. He had really hoped that might be the problem. Wondering what else it could be, he continued tilting it back and forth as he examined the tube from all angles. After several tilts, something made a noise inside.

  Ethan froze. “What was that?”

  “It sounded like something moved inside, but it was kind of muffled.” Megan looked closer at the tube wondering how they could get inside to check.

  Ethan looked at the cabinet behind him. “Grandma kept her tools in there for the sewing machine. I think there’s a small screwdriver set in there.”

  Megan retrieved the set and got to work on removing the endcap of the tube. Once she had it off, Ethan tilted the tube again and they listened to the mystery object bounce its way down the tube. It barely made a noise as it hit the carpeted floor. Megan picked the package up and unwrapped it. The colorful stones inside were brilliant.

  Ethan looked down, his eyes widening in surprise as his brain struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. “Is that a real diamond? That thing is huge.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  After finding what looked like a diamond and several other stones in the telescope, they had called Rhys and Ian out to the farm. Both officers had questioned them exte
nsively before leaving with the jewels.

  On the next day, Megan waited until the afternoon to go to the police station to see if they had learned anything about the jewels. She knew that Rhys would be starting his shift soon but also wanted to touch base with Erica before she left for the day. She checked in with Martha at the front desk and waited until Erica came out to get her. She had only a moment to notice that Erica looked tired before she followed her back to the main office area.

  Once there, she saw Jerry working on his computer at his desk. Erica gave a quick nod in his direction as they passed him. “He’s working on the reports of what we’ve found so far.”

  “Are you getting any closer with the murder case?” Megan wondered why Erica looked edgy in addition to tired.

  Erica led Megan to a small room that looked like it was used for interrogations. She closed the door behind them and nodded to a chair next to a table. Megan took the seat. Erica began pacing.

  “No, not really.”

  “Are you okay? You seem a little tense.”

  “Yeah, no doubt.” Erica stopped pacing and turned toward Megan. “Do you remember my first partner?”

  “That’s the man that was killed, right?”

  “Jimmy, yeah.”

  “He was your partner when you first started here.” Megan wasn’t sure where they were going with the conversation, but it was obvious that Erica wanted to talk about it.

  “Yeah, he was. Apparently, my impression of that partnership was different than his.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I found out from Martha that a lot of the old timers didn’t want me working here.”

  Megan thought about it. “I guess it was thirteen years ago, but still…”

  “From what I’m told, being young and female were only part of the problem.”

  Megan was clueless. “What else could there be?”

  “Josh.”

  Suddenly it made sense. “I’m sorry. I never thought about that. He was pretty wild. I can imagine how that would have looked at the time. They must have been worried that either you were as wild as he was, or that you would have tried to keep him out of jail if they did catch him doing anything.”