Abby couldn’t believe her eyes and looked at Gabe to confirm that she wasn’t daydreaming. By the pleased look on his face, it was all real.
A large truck was sitting next to the bridge while several men in hardhats directed a crane. The huge, concrete barrier that had been sitting on their bridge like a toad dangled from a large hook, and a few seconds later, they watched the bed of the truck bow and settle under its significant weight.
Gabe had pulled off to the side of the road, preferring to wait for the road crew to finish rather than go park at the marina again. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long, and before they knew it, the big rig spouted a plume of smoke and headed off to who-knows-where with the barrier. It took a good fifteen minutes more for the crane to trundle up onto its own truck bed, and then it left as well.
“I can’t believe it,” Abby said softly into the stillness. She continued to watch the now empty road for a moment more before throwing herself into Gabe’s arms, squealing happily. “No more having to borrow your truck!”
“Hey now, it’s not that bad, is it?” Gabe said playfully between Abby’s kisses.
“It was wonderful! But it will be so much better to have my own car back and not have to ask for rides!” Abby said, grinning at Gabe. “Come on, let’s go up and tell Hazel and Mr. Wilberson the good news!”
Gabe eagerly started the truck, but didn’t speed across the bridge. Instead, he set a slow, almost regal pace as he looked around himself and nodded. “Feels good,” he said once they’d reached the other side. “I half expected to plummet into the water, but the old girl didn’t even shiver.”
Abby made a raspberry sound at Gabe’s teasing and tickled him, relishing his warm laughter as he squirmed. “Do not even joke about that before those workmen get out of the county. They probably have super hearing and might come back!”
Before they knew it, they were settled in front of the graceful, old house with Abby leaping out and bouncing about with an excited Cheerio chasing after her. Gabe ran around the truck and picked Abby up, swinging her in his arms in a circle while looking up at her. It was a beautiful moment and Abby wished it would last forever.
“What’s going on out here?!” Mr. Wilberson said in his best grouchy voice, peeking out from his open garage door with one eye squinting suspiciously.
Cheerio, completely ignoring the man’s attempt at being grumpy, ran up and wiggled against his legs before sitting on his feet and looking up. “Wurf,” Cheerio woofed and then let his pink tongue hang out of his mouth as he waited for his chest thumps.
Not even Mr. Wilberson could resist, and after another gallant attempt at glaring, he reached down and thumped the dog’s chest while Cheerio licked his face. When he stood back up, it still took him a moment to piece together what had happened, and Abby watched his eyes widen when he realized Gabe’s truck was sitting in the round about.
“Well, I’ll be snickered!” Mr. Wilberson said before letting the first smile Abby had ever seen grace his lips. He gazed down toward the bridge just to be sure, but when he could see the bridge clear and ready to be used, his smile got even wider. “Hazel is going to be as pleased as punch! Come on, you two, let’s go tell her!”
The three of them plus Cheerio trooped into the house, with Mr. Wilberson leading the way. As was usual for the old man, he went around to the side and opened the kitchen door. Abby and Gabe couldn’t help but smile when he swept up a startled Hazel in his arms and spun her much like Gabe had recently done with Abby, if a bit slower.
Hazel, for her part, was completely taken by surprise and held onto Mr. Wilberson’s shoulders as she laughed. She let him spin her about half way around before she swatted him with a dish towel she’d had in her hands. “Bill? Bill, what on earth are you doing?” she said. “Put me down before you hurt yourself.”
When he did finally set her down, he winced and held his back, but continued to grin at her as he took her hands and spun her in a small dance. “The bridge is clear, Hazel! We’re free! Those fascists can’t keep us down anymore!”
Upon hearing the news, Hazel hooted and then wiggled just a bit more than Abby was comfortable with, but Mr. Wilberson seemed more than happy to encourage. He even spun her once before letting her go. “Thank goodness! I’m going to bake a pumpkin pie for Mr. Carrington!”
Abby and Gabe held each other as they watched the two older people cavort. “I hope I’m half as spry when I’m that age,” Abby whispered, leaning close to Gabe as she spoke.
“You will be,” Gabe said, leaning down and kissing her cheek before pulling her into a gentle rocking motion. “I’ll make sure of it. Don’t worry, I’ll have my own garage where I can putter and build things, but I’ll always have a kitchen door to your heart, Mrs. Morgan.”
Abby smiled, nuzzling against Gabe’s half grizzly cheek. “Yes, you will, Mr. Wilson. Yes, you will.”
“How long ago do you think they opened the bridge?” Hazel asked suddenly, turning toward the other two love birds.”
“Just now,” Gabe said. “We pulled up and they were just finishing. I’m surprised they didn’t come up here and let you know the work was being done.”
“That’s not how those government people operate,” Mr. Wilberson growled, slipping back into his comfortable grumpy persona. “They just love to slink around and do things so no one notices.”
“Now, now, Bill,” Hazel chided. “Not every government type is like that. We’ve been blessed to have some fairly reasonable people. I think you even secretly like Sheriff Pearson. You both speak grump.”
Mr. Wilberson looked away but Abby could tell the older man was not nearly as upset as he let on. It was taking time, but she was slowly learning Mr. Wilberson’s mannerisms. “Well, the important thing is that the bridge is clear, and we don’t have to deal with that boat anymore!”
Everyone cheered, and they danced around the room once more in celebration. Suddenly, a buzzing sound went off, startling them all. For a moment they all looked at each other before Hazel chuckled and shook her head.
“Oh, my goodness! That scared the butter out of me,” Hazel said before reaching for the stove and turning off the built-in timer. “In all the excitement I almost forgot I was making a casserole. Well, since we’re all here, why don’t we sit down for dinner? Abby? Can you and Gabe grab the place settings and silverware?”
They both immediately got to work setting the table while Mr. Wilberson and Hazel brought out the food and drinks. They all sat down and had a nice, quiet little dinner. Between the good news of the bridge being cleared and this, Abby almost forgot about all the excitement that had been occurring recently.
Almost.
Chapter 19
The next morning, Abby and Gabe were sitting at the dining room table sipping on two cups of coffee. Abby usually preferred tea, but every once in a while, she liked the taste of coffee and this morning was one of those mornings.
“Do you have to go into work?” Abby asked, thrusting her lower lip out playfully.
Gabe looked over at her from the corner of his eyes and shook his head. “Yes, I have to go into work. Do you want to be responsible for someone getting lost in the woods or eaten by squirrels?”
Abby grinned and shrugged. “It would take a long time to be eaten by squirrels, wouldn’t it?” she said, then blew out a playful sigh. “Fine, I suppose you can go to work and be a forest elf today.”
“Thank you,” Gabe said before taking another sip of coffee.
“You are very welcome, but you tell all those bears and squirrels that they owe me.”
Gabe chuckled and leaned forward, giving Abby a warm kiss. “You do know that bears are hibernating, right? I’ll have to make a list for them.”
“Work is good for you. Keeps you honest.”
“You’re just adding to my work load, now,” Gabe said before standing up. “Are you going to go over to the sheriff’s office today and let them know about Demsey?”
Abby nodded and stood as
well, retrieving Gabe’s coat and handing it to him. She stole another kiss while he put it on, and then walked him to the door. When he opened it, the cold air blew in, battling against the warmth but Abby withstood its assault as Gabe gave her one last hug and kiss before moving to his truck.
“I’ll see you after work, okay? Maybe we can go to Becky’s for dinner tonight?” Gabe said from his truck window. “I have a hankering for that mac and cheese or maybe the ribs.”
Abby nodded and waved as Gabe pulled out, watching as he disappeared down the short, leaf strewn road to the bridge before disappearing out of sight. Afterwards, she quickly closed the door and went upstairs to finish getting dressed. She wasn’t scheduled to work today so she took her time getting ready.
As she came back downstairs, Hazel peeked her head out of the kitchen and smiled, waving at her and Cheerio. “Headed out, dear?”
Abby nodded and was just about to reach for the door when she paused and turned back, instead. “I am, but I want to talk to you more about your will,” Abby said, almost whispering the words. She still didn’t know how she felt about being Hazel’s heir, but she didn’t want to just let it lie, either.
Hazel took a deep breath and nodded. “We’ll have to make sure no one else is around,” she said. “This isn’t a secret that can be spoken about casually.”
“I know,” Abby agreed. “Maybe we can go for a drive? That way we know no one will be listening or have a chance of it. How about tomorrow?”
“Or just be here around noon today,” Hazel said. “Bill will be headed into town to get a new window, so he won’t be around. Maybe before you go to dinner with Gabe?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Abby confirmed. “I’ll see you then.”
Abby walked out and climbed into the purple PT Cruiser that had been parked for too long. It was good to sit in the driver’s seat of the stylish car with Cheerio sitting in the passenger seat, panting happily. She grinned and started the car, but realized she was going to have to get out and remove some of the heavy leaf and pine-needles that had accumulated on the hood and roof. Shortly after she’d managed to brush the majority of them off, she and Cheerio were driving into town and toward the jail house. She had called Lanie earlier and confirmed she was working in the office, not out on patrol.
Sam greeted her when she came in and buzzed her through a second later. “Lanie’s at her desk,” he said unnecessarily as Lanie bounced up and waved, smiling at her from one of the desks situated behind the intake counter. Abby and Lanie hugged while Cheerio danced around them before retreating to the sheriff’s office. He wasn’t in today, and Abby had indicated it was about one of the cases, so she wanted a little more privacy to talk.
Sheriff Pearson wouldn’t mind, but Abby had to admit it was a little odd to see the young deputy behind the old desk rather than the grizzled sheriff. Still, Lanie got down to business well enough and settled into a good listening pose after asking Abby what she had to report.
Abby recounted everything she could about what had happened at Butters, even going into their hospital visit with the mayor and their confrontation with Detectives Ed and Mike.
As she described the scene with the two detectives, Lanie sneered and nodded her head warily. “Yep,” she said. “The sheriff told me about that. I’m not sure I could have done the same thing after what those two gorillas have been up to, but you have to understand how difficult it is to get things through the state police labs when you’re just a small, podunk town. It’s terrible, and with the senator actively sticking his fat little fingers into our business, it was twice as hard.”
“That’s what he said at the time,” Abby said. “But I wasn’t trying to argue. I’m sure we’re all suspicious of their interest in helping, but he and you all know much better than I do what will and won’t help.”
Lanie smirked. “Well, so says Hurricane Abby, but thank you. He appreciated you not arguing more than you know. I’m amazed he’s actually encouraged you to be involved, but I bet he’d shut down like a bear trap if you started to push too hard.” Lanie smiled before opening up a drawer and pulling out a bag and sliding it over the desk toward Abby. “And since he is being so agreeable, I am going to show you this.”
Abby picked up the bag which held a strange, white plastic thing. It took her a minute to realize it was shaped like a knife, though one without the handle or hilt. In fact, as she turned the clear plastic bag over in her hand, it looked like a knife blade that might have been broken off close to the handle, but it was plastic. “What am I looking at?” Abby asked with a curious frown.
“That is a casting of the knife wound in our very own Mayor Tomlin,” Lanie said. “Or rather, a sad estimate based off of some sketchy ultrasounds they did. It’s almost impossible to get a really accurate reading, except how the point is shaped, and only if you are lucky.”
“So, this could be any knife out there, and look nothing like this?” Abby asked, turning the plastic thing over in her hands.
“Close, but no judge would ever accept something like this as proof. However,” Lanie said, wiggling her eyebrows as she pulled another bag out of the desk drawer and held it up. “This is the knife that was found in our very own Don Buckshire’s back. A knife that bears a striking resemblance to our sad little plastic casting.”
Abby examined the knife in Lanie’s hand, noting how very unlike a kitchen utensil or even hunting knife it looked. She wasn’t an expert by any degree, but she’d seen her share of combat knives when she’d been an army wife, and the knife that Lanie held looked just like those. It was black, mean-looking, and sleek. As Lanie turned the knife in her hand, Abby could see the odd wattling and glinting on the blade from the lights in the room. “Why does the blade shine like that?” Abby asked.
“Don’t take it out of the bag, but here, take a look,” Lanie said, handing the knife to her friend. “The metal forging is called pattern welding, or maybe Damascus. I had to look it up, but it gets that really cool coloring because different metals are welded and forged together.”
“It’s pretty,” Abby said, shrugging and handing it back. “Does it do anything special?”
“Depends on the metals used,” Lanie said, taking the knife back. “This one is apparently made very well. But what you’ll probably notice, is that it looks an awful lot like our plastic casting.”
“Wait, do you think it was done by the same knife?” Abby asked with a sense of confusion. Did someone in the sheriff’s office take the knife out to attack the mayor?
Lanie quickly shook her head. “No way. That thing’s been under lock and key since Don’s murder. To tell you the truth, I look at it every day. Only partly because it’s pretty, but I know it’s been here. No, I’m thinking there are two knives.”
Abby and Lanie sat and stared at each other as that information sank in. Finally, Abby looked back down at the plastic casting she still held. “Two knives? Didn’t the sheriff say the knives were custom made?”
Lanie nodded. “Yes, and right now I’m trying to figure out where this knife was made but so far, no luck. I don’t see any brand name or stamp except this odd little mark here,” Lanie said, holding the knife forward and pointing to a strange, obviously purposeful marking, except Abby couldn’t tell at all what it was.”
“It looks like a bush,” Abby said hesitantly.
“Or a tuft of grass,” Lanie agreed, nodding. “I’ve done some searches online and nothing comes up. It might just be some sort of weird decoration. I just have no idea.”
“Maybe you could go to a gun or knife show and ask around?” Abby suggested with an uncertain grimace. Knives were really out of her area of expertise, but it seemed like a good idea to her.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Lanie said, brightening. “I hadn’t even thought about that, but it is a good idea. I’ll do some research and see if I can find one in the area. In the meantime, how would you like to ride up to the ranger station to see your man and that deer he’s got on i
ce?”
Abby brightened. She loved the idea of seeing Gabe, and she had been curious about the deer since it had been her idea to see if the knife might match whoever had butchered the deer. “I’d love to!”
“Great! Let me drive,” Lanie said with a mischievous grin.
Abby didn’t understand why, until Lanie led her and Cheerio out into the motor pool and headed toward the sleek, black and gold high-speed pursuit vehicle that the senator had used as a bribe in his attempt to split the town. Lanie climbed in to the driver’s seat and flipped down her sunglasses, gesturing for Abby and Cheerio to get in. With no small bit of excitement, Abby jumped into the passenger seat with Cheerio wagging his tail excitedly at the new experience.
A moment later, Lanie had pulled out onto the highway that ran through town and was heading up to the ranger station, grinning like a madwoman. Abby couldn’t argue as she felt her own smile smeared across her face. She could understand why Lanie didn’t want to send the car back. It was quite a rush.
Chapter 20
Abby gave Gabe a warm hug when he met them outside of the ranger’s station. “Hey! Long time no see,” she said with a big smile.
“Hey, yourself,” Gabe said, then whistled as he laid eyes on the police car they’d rode in. “Wow, this thing looks like it will go fast.”
“You bet she will,” Lanie said, thumping the roof. “It’s so hard to go the speed limit!”
“Should that be something a police officer says?” Abby said, giving Lanie a sardonic look.
“No,” Lanie said, grinning. “But it’s true. You have no idea how badly I want to chase down some speeder when I’m in this baby!”
Gabe shook his head and rolled his eyes. “The forest service would never have a vehicle like this,” he said, running his hand along the fender. “It wouldn’t last a week.”
“It’s not designed for off-road work, Mister Ranger,” Lanie said, defensively. “I’m sure you would have gotten some giant four-wheel-drive jeep with lights pointing in every which direction and that could climb ninety-degrees up a cliff face.”
Murderous Intent and Deadly Desires Page 7