QR Code Killer (6 page)

Closing her eyes, she just enjoyed the
peaceful morning on the farm. She heard the front door open and
close then felt the swing dip as her aunt sat down beside her.

“Thought you might enjoy a glass of tea,
kiddo,” Lena said, pressing a cold glass into Maddie’s hand.

Taking a sip, Maddie smiled in appreciation.
“You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered. Although the guys
like their tea dark and strong, it doesn’t hurt once in a while for
us to enjoy a glass of mint iced tea, with a generous helping of
sugar.”

Maddie laughed and took another sip. “This is
really good, Aunt Lena. You can’t buy a glass of this in
Seattle.”

Lena sat up a little straighter, eating up
the praise. “Glad to hear that, kiddo.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes
enjoying the quiet.

“So, Maddie, what are we going to do with you
the rest of the summer? You can’t go back to work for a while, but
another week and you’ll be climbing the walls, even if it is
one-handed.”

Maddie leaned her head back against the
swing. “I know, Aunt Lena. I’m not used to being idle. Or still. Or
bored. I’ve got to find something to do.”

“Well, it seems to me that you can’t do
anything too strenuous because of your arm, but I can think of a
few things that would probably be fine.”

“Like what?”

“I’m finally going to teach you how to cook.
Starting today. First lesson will be dinner. How does that
sound?”

“Like punishment but I can’t exactly beat you
off now, can I?”

Lena laughed and lightly smacked Maddie’s
leg.

“No, you can’t. You wouldn’t ever stay still
long enough to learn from your mother and you’ve got no excuse
now.”

“Okay. Lesson one at dinner. What else?”

“I think you should take a nice, long walk
every day. You wouldn’t want to lose all those muscles you worked
so hard to build.”

Maddie smiled. Despite her injury, she was
still keeping a fitness routine. She had to. After a couple of
months off work, she was going to be soft enough as it was. Aunt
Lena just didn’t know what Maddie had been doing when she wasn’t
watching. She walked several miles every day, just in fifteen to
twenty minute spurts. That way Aunt Lena didn’t grow suspicious and
accuse her of over doing.

“Right. A nice long walk every day. Then
what?”

“You need some friends, Maddie. People your
own age to hang out with. So I invited one of your old buddies and
his wife for dinner tomorrow.”

Maddie stopped the swing and stared at her
aunt. At least she wasn’t trying to force her to date someone.
Yet.

“Who did you invite?”

“The sheriff.”

“Have I behaved that badly, you had to invite
him?”Maddie asked, trying to keep a straight face. It would be fun
to see her old friend John. Maddie had beaten him in every shooting
competition they entered, but he still let her hang out with him.
It didn’t hurt that he and Zach had been best friends since the
third grade.

Lena laughed again. “No, kiddo, but I thought
you might like to see him. His wife is such a lovely person and I
don’t think you’ve had much of a chance to get to know her.”

“No, I haven’t. They were both at Mom’s
funeral, but I… well… it would be nice to visit with her.”

“Wonderful,” Lena said, getting to her feet.
“Now, how about you go take that walk while I get lunch
started?”

“Sure, Aunt Lena,” Maddie said, handing her
empty tea glass to her aunt and wandering off toward the shop where
the guys were working. Maddie wore cut off shorts, a tank top and
canvas sneakers. Not exactly the best attire for work on the farm,
but there wasn’t much she could do besides stand around and
watch.

Walking in the shed, Zach, Ethan and Erik
were all intently working on the swather, their heads stuck in the
machine.

“If you lean over farther does that help fix
the problem faster?” Maddie asked right behind Zach, knowing he
didn’t hear her approach.

Startled, he jerked and smacked his head.

“What did you do that for?” he grumbled,
rubbing his head as he turned to look at her. “You, of all people,
should know better than to sneak up on someone.”

“I know, but I get so much pleasure out of
tormenting you.” Maddie smiled at her brother in a way only a
younger sister can, and he grinned back, despite the knot forming
on his head.

“If you don’t have anything better to do,
I’ll put you to work,” Zach teased, waving a wrench at her.

“No thanks,” Maddie said, taking a step back.
“Lena decided I needed to take a walk and burn off some
energy.”

“Well, then, you better get to it,” Zach
said, turning back to the swather.

“Right,” Maddie said, stepping away when her
gaze fastened on Erik’s, causing her heart to beat a little faster
and her palms to get clammy. She backed into the baler and would
have fallen except Erik reached out to steady her.

“Be careful. You wouldn’t want to fall,” Erik
said quietly, letting go of her good arm.

“No,” Maddie whispered. “Falling would be
bad.”

Erik winked at her and returned his attention
to the swather. Maddie gathered what was left of her wits and
walked out of the shop, heading up the hill toward the wind
turbines.

She hated that Erik had that affect on her.
One smile from him, and her insides quivered while she felt like a
school girl with a crush. She’d never felt like that with Devin. To
be honest, she’d never felt like that with anyone. What was it
about Erik that got to her?

Noticing Boone and Rose following her, she
called to the dogs and rubbed first one head, then the other as
they walked up the hill. Maddie thought about Erik. She was good at
reading people. It was part of her job and part of what made her
excel as a cop. Erik was a good guy. She had no doubt about that,
but he was running from something. She knew he had lost a wife and
unborn baby. Aunt Lena said he walked away from his farm in his
grief and hadn’t been back. From watching him work, he was very
knowledgeable about farming. Something, though, was bothering him.
Something that made him pull up his roots and not set them down
again. Maybe it was his grief. Maybe it was something more. She
intended to find out.

Maddie wished he would open up more when he
came in for meals, but he was generally pretty quiet unless they
were talking about farming. When that topic arose, he was a wealth
of information. Her dad and Zach had mentioned more than once that
Erik was turning out to be worth his weight in gold. He wasn’t just
a farm hand. He was a seasoned farmer who instinctively knew what
to do and how best to do it.

Having watched Erik the last few weeks,
Maddie thought she saw some of his sadness lessen. He seemed to
laugh more often. She would have to try to find additional ways to
make him smile. When he flashed those even white teeth at her, she
couldn’t help but smile in return and that was a feeling she
greatly enjoyed.

Walking to the base of one of the mammoth
wind machines, Maddie sat with Boone and Rose next to her, enjoying
the tranquility and the view. The valley was lush and green this
time of year. She could hear the chink-chinking of pivots, the
gentle lowing of cattle and the breeze rustling in the still-green
fields of wheat. Although she had avoided coming home as much as
humanly possible the last few years, she found a peace here on the
farm she was unable to capture anywhere else.

Sitting quietly and soaking in the beautiful
world around her, Maddie lingered longer than she planned. Getting
up to return home, Boone and Rose ran around her barking and
wagging their tails in encouragement.

“Am I walking too slowly for you two?” Maddie
laughed as Boone yipped and continued his antics. Rose slowed her
pace and kept to Maddie’s side as she headed toward the house.

By the time she returned from her walk, Lena
had the table set for lunch and the guys were just coming in to
wash up.

“I was about to send the posse out to find
you, kiddo,” Lena teased. “Looks like you had a good walk.”

“I did, Aunt Lena. Thanks for suggesting it,”
Maddie said, as she carried a plate of biscuits to the table and
sat down.

“Doesn’t she look healthier? I think our
wonderful Walla Walla weather has been good for her,” Lena glanced
around the table after grace had been said.

“Sure it has, Auntie,” Zach said, buttering a
biscuit. “She doesn’t look quite so pasty and gray anymore. Now if
we could just find a cure for her attitude and sass, all would be
right in the world.”

Maddie shot her brother a look that warned
him to keep his mouth shut.

Erik watched the play between siblings and
bit back a smile. He thought Maddie looked amazing. He’d never seen
a woman with such well-defined muscles. When she walked into the
shop this morning, he almost dropped the part he was holding on
Ethan’s foot. Those cut off shorts and tank top accentuated
Maddie’s assets in a most becoming manner.

The summer sun put roses in her cheeks and
spun highlights in her golden hair. He didn’t think Maddie had any
idea how stunningly attractive she was. Looking at her bandaged arm
and shoulder, he wondered again how she had been injured, but
didn’t feel it was his place to ask. Erik hadn’t even asked what
Maddie did in Seattle and no one seemed to want to talk about
it.

That was fine by him.

A little mystery suddenly seemed quite
appealing.

<><><>

Mid-afternoon, the guys trooped in for a
break and brought in the mail. While Lena poured tea and set out a
plate of cookies, Maddie sorted through catalogs, bills and
letters. A small, plain brown envelope addressed to her caused
Maddie to catch her breath.

Turning her back, she pulled out a single
piece of cardstock, the size of a business card, with a QR code
printed in a neat square.

Taking her phone from her short’s pocket, she
scanned the code and braced herself for whatever would come.

A photo of the farmhouse popped up followed
by a message:

“
What a lovely farm you have, my dear,
Maddie. And such a sweet aunt. Don’t get too used to having her
there…”

Maddie sucked in a gulp of air and felt her
legs give out beneath her. She sank onto the nearest chair and
quickly turned off her phone, shoving the code and envelope into
her pocket.

Erik watched Maddie’s face turn a sickly
shade of white and beads of perspiration pop out on her upper lip.
He worried she might faint and passed her his glass of tea.

She looked at him with pain-filled eyes and
accepted the glass, holding it to her cheeks before gulping down
the icy drink.

“You okay, Maddie?” her dad asked, noticing
her pale skin.

“I’m fine, Dad,” Maddie lied, getting up from
the table, and feeling woozy. “Maybe I got a little too much sun. I
think I’ll go rest for a while.”

Erik stood and watched her wobble around the
table. “Do you need some help?”

Maddie looked back at him with a weak smile.
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”

Going to her room, she called her boss and
let him know she received another QR code. She sent him the code
from her phone and they discussed the danger her family could be
in.

“Maddie, like it or not, you need some
protection out there. Let me get you set up with a few men on
guard.”

“Tom, I know you mean well, but I don’t want
my family terrified of something happening every time they stick
their nose outside the door. I don’t want them to know what is
going on. All Dad knows is that the guy who shot Mom got away. He
doesn’t know about Zeus and I want to keep it that way.”

“But what about the threat to your aunt in
this code? I just don’t feel right not giving you any
protection.”

“I know, Tom, and I appreciate it. But I’ll
just have to be on guard. I’ve got a friend here that will help,
too.”

“Let me send just one guy, Maddie. With your
arm in a sling, Zeus knows you are vulnerable. If I send someone in
undercover, could you convince your dad and brother you need
another hired hand?”

“Possibly,” Maddie said, mulling over the
idea. She did like the idea of having an added gun on the place if
Zeus showed up. One who knew how to handle someone like him. “Okay,
you send someone as a summer farm hand and I’ll make sure dad hires
them.”

“Fine. I’ll try and have someone there
tomorrow. If not, the following day at the latest. I’ll send you
the files once I’ve got everything in place.”

“Thanks, Tom. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” Tom said, concerning
filling his voice. “And Maddie, please be careful. You know how
dangerous Zeus can be and he seems to have a singular intent to get
to you.”

“I know.”

Hanging up, Maddie felt exhausted and
stretched out on the bed. Closing her eyes just brought back
visions of all the encounters she had endured with Zeus, including
the moment she could have shot him and ended it all.

“You should have seen her,” John, the
sheriff, laughed as he told another Maddie story. He seemed to be
full of them this evening and had kept everyone in stitches from
the time dinner started right on through dessert. “Weighing ninety
pounds soaking wet, she took down the star of the wrestling team
and ground his face in the mud. What was it he said that made you
so angry, Maddie?”

Maddie shot John a glare that would have made
most men squirm in their seats. Her old friend didn’t appear to be
bothered in the least.

“Oh, come on, Maddie, what did he say that
made you so mad?” Zach teased. “Something about running funny.”

“He said I ran like a girl,” Maddie ground
out, irritated at John and her brother. They both knew that story
from start to finish including what made her tackle that blow-hard
Drake and show him a thing or two about wrestling moves he didn’t
know. He made sure to avoid Maddie after that. Not that she was
trying to impress Erik, but John and Zach were not painting a very
flattering picture of her tonight.