A Baked Ham (22 page)

“I will,” I said.
 
“I want you behind the wheel in case
something goes wrong.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”
my grandfather asked with a smile.

“Let’s not even think about
that,” I said.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I said as I
started to get out of the truck.

The cab light came on as the door
opened.

“Sorry about that, Victoria,” Moose
said as he adjusted something on his dash.
 
“That won’t happen again.”

“I hope not.”

I looked back once I was near the
front door, but I could barely make out the truck from there, let alone see
that anybody was inside.

Taking a deep breath, I hurried
the rest of the way to the front door.

The lights suddenly came on all
around me, blinding me with their intensity.
 
Was Fred on the other side of the door, watching me?
 
No, the lights had to all be on motion
sensors.
 
Darting forward, I taped the
note to the door, and then I turned and ran back to the truck as fast as I
could.
 
By the time I got to the truck, I
was out of breath, but Moose had been watching me.
 
The truck was already running, and he took
off before my door was even closed all of the way.

“Do you think he saw me?” I asked
between pants.

“I sincerely doubt it.
 
If he had, I’m fairly sure he would have come
racing out.
 
Those outside lights had to
be set with motion detectors.
 
I didn’t
think about that as a possibility.”

“I didn’t either, and what’s
worse, my lights work the same way, so I should have at least considered the
possibility that someone else had done it, too.”

“How could we have avoided it?”
Moose asked.
 
“It’s not as though Fred
had security cameras set up on the porch.
 
Or did he?”

“I didn’t see anything, but then
again, I was pretty focused on taping that note in place and getting out of
there as fast as I could.”

“We’re probably safe, then,”
Moose said, but he didn’t sound all that confident.

“I just hope we have more luck at
the next house,” I said.

“Does that mean that you’re
willing to keep doing this?” Moose asked, clearly surprised by my willingness.

“The theory’s still sound,” I
said.
 
“We need to see this through.”

He patted my knee.
 
“That’s my girl.
 
The rest shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Let’s hope not.”

By the time we finished
delivering all of our notes, we had only one more close call.
 
At Marcus Jackson’s place, as I’d taped the
note in place on his front door, what sounded like a pit bull started barking
on the other side.
 
If Marcus was home,
it would get him there in no time.
 
Once
again, I raced for the truck, and Moose took off before a single light came on
in the house.

“I’m glad that’s over,” I said as
Moose drove me home.
 
“I don’t think I
have the nerve to do that again.”

“And now we wait,” Moose said.

“I’ve been thinking about that,”
I said.
 
“How are we going to know if we
did any good at all with our little replies?”

“There are a couple of things we
should keep a lookout for tomorrow,” Moose replied.
 
“I’d be interested to see if any of our
suspects suddenly take off and leave town.”

“Wouldn’t doing that just make
them look guilty?”

“Sure it would, but I’m counting
on the fact that their self preservation instincts will be too strong to
ignore.”

“It would be great if whoever did
it would just step up and confess,” I said.

“There’s another possibility that
I’m beginning to worry about,” Moose said.
 
“The murderer might choose to fight back rather than leave town.
 
You need to stay on your toes for the next
few days.”

“Surely the killer wouldn’t be
brazen enough to come after me.”

“They threatened you, and you’re
returning the favor.
 
It’s a possibility
that they might see that as an act of aggression.”

“I didn’t full consider that,” I
said.
 

“Maybe it would be better if you
and Greg came over and stayed with Martha and me until this blows over.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m
not leaving my home.
 
If I do that, then
the killer will know that I’m running scared.”

“If you don’t, whoever killed
Benny might do something more drastic than leave you a note next time,” Moose
said.
 
“This could get dangerous really
quickly.”

“If someone comes after me, I’ll
be ready for them,” I said, “but I’m not going to hide.”

“Suit yourself,” Moose said.
 
“You’re going to at least tell Greg about our
talk, though, won’t you?”

“The second I get home, I’ll tell
him everything,” I said.
 
“I’m not going
to let anyone run me out of my own home, but there’s no use being stupid about
it, either.
 
I’ll be curious to see if
any of our suspects come by the diner tomorrow.”

Moose pointed to the clock.
 
It read one forty-five, but until I saw it, I
wasn’t aware of just how late it really was.
 
That must have been the adrenaline.
 
“Today, you mean.”

“It’s going to be a brutal day, I
can tell you that already.”

“At least you’re young,” my
grandfather said.

“Not as young as I used to be,
but I’ll manage.”

We pulled up in front of the
house, and I saw that, as promised, Greg was still up.
 
At least he didn’t have to go in until
eleven.
 
There might be time for him to
catch up on most of the sleep he’d lost waiting up for me, but I was a lost
cause.
 
“I hope this works.”

“What choice did we have?” Moose
asked.
 
“The pot has officially been
stirred, wouldn’t you say?”

“I would,” I said as I leaned
over and kissed his cheek.
 
“Good night,
Moose.
 
Or good morning.
 
Whatever fits.”

“Sleep well, Victoria.”

“Well, if not long,” I said.

Greg opened the door, and I’d
rarely been happier about having a home, and a husband who loved me.
 
“How did it go?”

“As well as could be expected,” I
said.
 
“We had a few close calls, but
that just made things a little more interesting.”

“Tell me all about it,” he
said.
 
“I’ve got some of my special blend
of hot cocoa waiting for you.”

“That sounds great.
 
I don’t think I could swallow another sip of
coffee or tea.
 
Greg, Moose is worried
about the killer coming here after me.
 
He offered to put us up, but I turned him down.
 
Is that all right with you?”

“That depends.
 
What was your reason for saying no?”

“I won’t have anyone running us
out of our home, no matter what danger it might invite.
 
Am I being foolish?”

“Victoria, you are a great many
things, and most of them are good, but foolish is not a word I’d ever use to
describe you.
 
I’m with you.”

“Are you sure?
 
We could always go, if you’d rather,” I
said.
 
I was beginning to wonder if I’d
been right to rely so much on my pride.
 
In the end when all was said and done, was staying put to make a point
really worth risking our lives?

“Go if you feel like you have to,
but I agree with what you said before.
 
I’m
not leaving.”

I kissed him, and then I took a
small sip of cocoa.
 
“I’m not,
either.
 
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m
going to bed.
 
I might not be able to get
much sleep, but I’m going to at least try to get as much as I can manage.”

“I’m right behind you,” he said.

I’d worried a little about being
able to fall asleep after all the excitement, but I dozed off before my head
even hit the pillow.
 
I was tempted to
sleep in, but when the alarm clock rang the next morning, I felt nearly as good
as if I’d had a full night’s rest, instead of the abbreviated sleep I actually
got.

It was a big day, and hopefully,
Moose and I had lit a fire under the killer.
 

In their haste, maybe they’d make
a mistake and reveal themselves.

If
our plan worked as well as we
hoped.

“Good morning, Sheriff,” I said
the next morning as Sheriff Croft came into the diner bright and early.
 
I’d waved Ellen away so I could wait on him
myself.
 
If I got lucky, maybe he’d toss
a crumb or two of information my way.
 
“Can I get you something to eat?”

“That depends,” he said as he
walked to the counter, took a seat, pulled out the menu, and began to study
it.
 
His reading glasses kept slipping
down his nose, and I wondered if they were new.
 
After a moment, he closed the menu and asked, “Does your mother still
make those cinnamon stick waffles she used to be famous for?”

“They’re one of her specialties,”
I said.

“Good.
 
I’ll take an order of those, a side of crisp
bacon, and some coffee.”

“I’ll get right on it,” I
said.
 
“It’s good to see you this
morning.”

“I was kind of hoping to get a
second to chat with you,” he said as he looked around.
 
“But the place looks like it’s pretty busy at
the moment.”

“Don’t let them fool you.
 
Most of our customers have already finished
eating; they’re just nursing their coffees until they have to go to work.
 
I’ve got a little time to talk right after I
place your order.”

“That would be much appreciated,”
he said.
 
Why was the man going out of
his way to be pleasant and cordial with me?
 
He wasn’t necessarily rude most times, but he wasn’t nearly as nice as
he was being at the moment, either.
 
Either he knew something, or he
wanted
to know something, and I knew better than to push him, either way.

“Order up,” I told Mom as I slid
it across the pass-through to her.
 
“It’s
for the sheriff, so take your time.”

“I can’t promise anything,” she
said with a smile.
 
“You know me.
 
I pride myself on being lightning quick.”

“I know, I know,” I
answered.
 
“Just do what you can,” I said
as I added a wink.

I poured some coffee for the
sheriff, and then I poured a little for myself, too.
 
“Now, what would you like to talk about?”

He reached into his pocket,
pulled out a sealed plastic evidence bag, and then he shoved it toward me.
 
I knew the words printed there by heart,
since I’d delivered that note, as well as three others just like it, the night
before.

I pushed it back to him.
 
“Where did you get that?”

“How many did you and Moose put
out, Victoria?” he asked, his glance never straying in my direction.

“What are you talking about?”

“Is that how we’re playing things
now?
 
Funny.
 
I thought you prided yourself on cooperating
with my investigations.
 
Has something
changed that I don’t know about?”

He was right.
 
This wasn’t the time to be cute.
 
I had given my word long ago that I wouldn’t
knowingly go against him in any of his investigations, and in return, he’d
promised to look the other way sometimes when Moose and I pushed the boundaries
a little too far.
 
“Sorry; you’re
right.
 
That was out of line.
 
Last night a little after midnight, Moose and
I taped one of those notes to the doors of each of our suspects, except
one.
 
Who got that one, and how did it
end up in your hands so fast?”

“Why don’t you let me ask all of
my questions first, and if there’s time, we’ll get around to yours.”
 
It was clear that he was still not happy
about my attempt to hold out on him.