Broken Vows Mystery 03-In Sickness and in Death (21 page)

“I don’t think so. We buy the white ones at the grocery store.”

Something I thought might be doubt twinkled in the back of Leslie’s eyes, but she took a few steps in the direction of the barn. “If you two want to wait here, I’ll get you a carton.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Ray turned to study the house, the fields, and the barn that Leslie had disappeared into. “This is a big farm. They must have help.”

“I think she said they did, but ask her.”

He leaned against the Lexus. “I will.”

I took a deep breath. “Something smells.”

Ray grinned. “Everyone thinks cow manure smells, but they haven’t smelled chicken shit. And chicken coops run a close second to hog farming.”

“You should know.” I chucked him in the arm.

“Nice, Darlin’, really nice. I’m glad you’ve got your sense of humor back.”

I hadn’t realized I’d lost it.

I shuffled my feet in the gravel and wondered how long Leslie would take to retrieve the eggs. “I thought Leslie would have on her new wig and makeup. She was so excited about it yesterday. She looks like her old self today, except for her teeth.”

Ray shrugged. “She’s back on the farm. If you hadn’t called her Leslie, I would have thought she was a man.”

“She has breasts. I could tell when she hugged me the other day. She doesn’t have any facial hair.”

“Her license says different.” Ray continued to lean against the Lexus, his eyes glued to an enormous brown brick of manure mixed with hay drying on the far side of the barn.

“Why are you looking at that?”

He eased off the Lexus. “I was just thinking that’s one place I’d never want to dig for a body.”

Ew.

He went on, “Although, with the lack of oxygen in that pile, the body would probably be perfectly preserved.”

Double ew. Was he trying to tell me something? “You don’t have any reason to search the premises, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” But he continued to survey the area as though trying to think of one. “Tell her you’d like to meet her brother.”

“Okay.”

Leslie reappeared in the barn door, carrying a gray egg carton. She crunched down the gravel drive and held it out to me. “Here you go. They were laid this morning. Can’t get much fresher than that.”

“That’s great, Leslie. Thank you.” I fumbled in my purse, pulled out my wallet, and offered her the two dollars.

She waved me off. “After all you’ve done for me, they’re on the house.”

Ray and I thanked her again. Then Ray raised one eyebrow at me expectantly. He would let me take the lead, but only if I produced some results.

I swallowed and plowed ahead. “Leslie, I’d love to meet your brother. Is he around?”

She rubbed her chin. “He’s milking right now.”

Ray’s eyes never left my face. I knew he was waiting for me to think fast. I did my best. “Could we go in and meet him? I’ve never seen the inside of a cow barn before.”

Leslie picked up her boot and showed us the bottom, which was covered in mud, manure, and hay. “It’s too hot and smelly in there, and you’d ruin your boots and the shine on Ray’s shoes. Besides, we’re a little behind. Our help quit.”

I kept my gaze glued to Leslie’s face. “Why?”

Leslie grinned. “I’m in the middle of a sex change, Jolene. I think that’s a first for Wachobe. I scare the hell out of my neighbors. Even my brother’s struggling to be supportive.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. When I glanced at Ray, he had his “good-cop, bad-cop, whatever-you-need-me-to-be-cop” expression firmly in place.

Since Leslie had opened the door, I decided to keep asking questions. “Is that why you meet with Dr. Albert?”

She nodded. “My last visit is this week. A psychiatrist has to sign off before the final operation. Mine is scheduled for next month. I’m so excited. I’ve been a woman my whole life, but now I’m finally going to look like one.”

I couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

Ray’s eyes narrowed, but he held out his hand to Leslie once more. “Nice to meet you, Leslie. Thanks again for the eggs and good luck with your operation. You’ll have to keep Jolene informed.” He headed for our car.

Surprised, I waved the egg carton at Leslie. “Has your love interest been by for any more eggs?”

A sad expression settled over her homely features as she shook her head. “I may have to buy the Caterham after all.”

I tried to think of a delicate way to phrase the question in the back of my mind. “Does he know about your … upcoming surgery?”

Her expression changed to amused. “He can’t tell me and my brother apart. He thinks we’re the same person. I planned on introducing myself wearing my wig and makeup this week.”

“Well, like you said, we can always get you a Caterham.” Although I still doubted it would make a difference. I thanked her for the eggs again and joined Ray in the car.

Leslie watched as we backed down the drive then waved as we pulled away.

I twisted in my seat to face Ray. “What do you make of her sex change?”

Ray kept his eyes on the road. “It’s definitely a first.”

“We didn’t get to meet her brother. I didn’t want to be too obvious and insist.”

“That’s okay, Darlin’.”

I could tell from his tone of voice that it really wasn’t. “How will we find out if he even exists? She said the guy she’s interested in thinks they’re one and the same person. What if they are?”

Ray braked suddenly, swung the car around in a U-turn and stopped roadside, parallel to the Mennonite farmer who was still in the fields. “We’ll ask her neighbor. Sit tight.”

He climbed out of the Lexus and headed across the field toward the oncoming tractor. The farmer slowed the tractor as he neared Ray and cut the engine.

Ray pointed in the direction of the Flynn’s farm. The farmer nodded.

I saw Ray’s lips moving then the farmer’s. After a minute or two of conversation, Ray waved to the farmer and walked back to the car.

The Lexus sank on the left side when he got in and slammed his door. “Theory one shot to shit.”

“What?”

“Leslie and her brother are
not
the same person. This guy says they’re identical twins, and he’s definitely seen them both at the same time as recently as yesterday.”

“Identical twins means one egg?” How odd that one half of the same egg would turn out so differently.

Ray twisted the ignition key. “One egg, same sex twins. That’s what I remember from biology class.” He gunned the engine and took off like we were in the Indy 500.

My right leg instinctively tried to brake. Too bad the brake was on his side of the car.

He accelerated through a curve.

I gripped my door handle. I’d had enough G-forces for today. “Ray!”

“Sorry.” He slowed down to fifty.

I tried not to notice the road signs recommending thirty-five miles an hour for the curves. I could take the speed. It was the curves that killed me.

Ray drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m moving Leslie and her brother up on my suspect list.”

“Why? Leslie was very open with us. She’s having a sex change operation, which is definitely not a crime. Her brother exists. And none of the girls at The Cat’s Meow could tie either of them to Jessica James, right?”

“True, but according to the neighbor, Leslie’s brother’s name is Peter.”

“Peter?” My heart dropped.

“That’s what the guy said.”

“Another P name, like on the key chain.”

Ray nodded, a grim expression on his face. “Exactly, but there’s more to it than that.” He gestured to the fields outside my windows. “Do you know what’s just over there?”

“The Flynn farm?”

Ray gave me the look, the incredulous, you-are-so-naïve look. “Yes, Darlin’, but think about this farm in relation to the rest of the countryside. Think about the other side of this hill, at the bottom of the road, maybe a mile or so from here. What do you see?”

I gazed out the window. All I saw was fields, maybe a few cornstalks on the horizon. If he turned me around twice, I’d be clueless. “I have no idea. Tell me.”

“The Cat’s Meow.”

While I waited for
Cory and Danny to finish up in the garage, Ray headed back to the sheriff’s office to discuss our findings with the sheriff and the deputy in charge of investigating Jessica James’ disappearance. I could tell Ray wished he was in charge. He’d caught the scent and clearly wanted to be the one to follow the trail.

I, on the other hand, still smelled manure. The smell had attached itself to my cardboard carton of eggs, the eggs my new friend Leslie had given me. I think I had some actual manure squished in my tire treads, too. We’d probably picked some up left behind by a horse and buggy on one of the curves Ray flew through.

But just because something smells, it doesn’t mean it’s bad, I thought as I locked up the shop an hour later. And just because someone’s different doesn’t mean they’re dangerous. Leslie’s gender change was unusual, but it didn’t necessarily indicate she had any other issues—surely not those of a killer. She simply wasn’t happy with herself and had found a way to solve the problem. I couldn’t see any more in her actions than that. Leslie had no reason to kill Jessica James.

And her brother had even less reason, as far as I could tell. But it bothered me that his name was Peter. Why couldn’t the first letter of his name have been anything other than a P? There were twenty-five other choices, for Pete’s sake.

Ha! For Pete’s sake. I smiled as I slid into the Lexus where Danny waited with his backpack full of partially completed homework.

“What’s so funny?”

I met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Nothing. How far did you and Cory get on the bodywork repair?”

“Cory said we’ll sand it tomorrow.”

I pulled out onto Main Street and headed toward home. “Have you ever done bodywork before?”

“No.”

“What’d ya think?”

“I like it. Cory said I could work on the race car with him, too, if you said it was okay.”

I slowed for a turn, flipped on my signal, and watched for an opportunity, checking the rearview mirror for any suspicious cars behind me, particularly any with guns pointed out the window in my direction.

“Is it?”

I swung onto North Street. “Is it what?”

“Okay?”

“Sure, of course.” I looked in the rearview in time to catch the broad smile that crossed his face. “So you guys got along okay today, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Cory’s pretty nice, right?”

“He’s cool.”

I let it go, pleased and relieved Cory had won him over. But then, what’s not to like about Cory? He was like an adorable puppy. You just had to love him.

As I made the turn onto our street, a multitude of colored and clear Christmas lights sparkled from rooflines, fences, bushes, and trees. Several windows featured lit trees as well as doors and fences with wreaths and bows. Overnight, our street had become a winter wonderland, even though the temperature said Indian summer.

I checked the rearview mirror again. My car was the only one in sight. The gunman wouldn’t have much opportunity to hide from my neighbors anyway. Not a day went by that I didn’t see at least one face in a window, watching Ray and me come and go. Of course, most of our neighbors were elderly. What else did they have to do? Still, I kinda welcomed the unofficial neighborhood watch program. In all likelihood, it was in place all over town now, more in the spirit of stamping out crime than saving me.

I soaked in the neighborhood decorations and felt better for it. Christmas was still my favorite time of the year, even though my mother had killed herself on Christmas Eve. I couldn’t believe the season had arrived already—the wreaths with red velvet bows, the evergreen scent, the sparkling white lights, and the atmosphere of goodwill towards man. Thanksgiving had been late this year, and tomorrow was December third already. The annual Wachobe Dickens festival had kicked off this past weekend with carolers dressed in period costumes greeting people on the streets. Now our neighborhood was getting into the spirit as well.