Chapter One #2
“How’s Maggie working out?”
“She’s the best. I don’t know what I’d do without her. Not only is she a good employee but she’s a wonderful friend.”
“That’s good. She’s a good person.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Are you free for lunch?”
“I wish, but we have boxes to unpack. Maybe another time. ”
“Definitely. Have a good rest of the day, Vanna.”
“You too. Enjoy your day off.”
Sydney nodded, opened the door, and walked along the sidewalk.
She wanted to stop in The Everyday Grind to see one of her good friends, Celine.
That was how she first met Agent Caysen Anderson.
He was with Killian Doyle, another livestock agent.
Celine met Killian when she kissed him, mistaking him for another man.
Sydney grinned thinking of how so in love they were.
Killian had been in Celine’s shop with Caysen when Sydney entered to get a cup of coffee.
The second her eyes met Caysen’s; she wanted to know more about him.
Sydney had never been one to shy away from expressing her interest in a man. In fact, she had even asked a man out before. But for some inexplicable reason, Caysen seemed to have rendered her speechless.
She pulled open the door of the coffee shop and was greeted by a bustling scene.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee mixed with the chatter of customers filled the air.
It was well past noon, but people were still lining up at the counter for their caffeine fix.
Sydney couldn’t help but think of her mother, who would happily drink coffee all day from her trusty pot with a spout.
Marian Wright was definitely a coffee addict.
“Hey, Syd!” Celine’s voice rang out from behind the counter.
“Hi, Celine. Would you like to grab lunch with me?”
“I wish I could, but we’re swamped right now. Raincheck?”
“No problem. Just thought I’d ask since I’m running errands today.”
“We’ll do it another day for sure. ”
“Sounds good. See you later.” Sydney waved goodbye and stepped back outside, unsure of where to go next in her quest to find someone to have lunch with.
With a heavy sigh, she started walking toward her bookstore; ‘The Wright Bookstore’ which proudly displayed its name on the door in elegant cursive letters.
As she entered, she was met with a busy scene, customers browsing through shelves upon shelves of books, each row filled to the brim.
She glanced over to where there were two sofas and four overstuffed chairs arranged by the front window, inviting readers to settle in and enjoy their books in the warm sunlight streaming through.
Despite her current disappointment in finding someone to join her for lunch, Sydney couldn’t help but feel grateful for the thriving business she had built with her love for literature.
“Hey, Syd,” one of her clerks said.
“Hi, Beth. How’s it going?”
“Busy. Did you need something?”
“No. I’m just checking in. I wanted to grab lunch with one of my friends, but so far, no one is available. I might run over to Paige’s and ask her.
“I cannot go in that place without spending too much money. The lingerie and clothing she has is just so sexy and gorgeous.”
Sydney laughed. “I know. I feel the same way. I think I will head over there. Unless Nick is in town, she should be able to get lunch with me. If not, I’ll head to the diner alone.”
“Have a good day off.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon, Beth.” Sydney walked out the door, strolled down the sidewalk, then crossed the street to the lingerie shop.
*** *
Case drove along the two-lane blacktop for a while before turning into the driveway, then pulled up to a middle barn.
After shutting the truck off, he stepped out and entered the barn and glanced around.
“Could I help you with something?” a deep voice came from somewhere in the dark interior. Once his eyes adjusted, he strode toward the man, then grinned when he recognized him.
“Hey, Brayden. Good to see you,” Case said as he shook his hand.
“You too, Case. What can I do for you?”
“A horse that Sydney Wright got from you was stolen, and if you have any information on who surrendered the horse, I’d like to talk to them.”
“The horse was stolen? Damn.” Brayden removed his hat, raked his fingers through his hair then resettled the hat. “Come with me to my office and I’ll see what I can find.”
“I appreciate that.”
Case followed Brayden into an office and nodded to him to sit down, and he did the same. He watched as Brayden turned on the computer.
“Do you keep all the names of people who surrender their animals?”
Brayden looked at him. “We do. Just in case we have to talk to them to get more information about the animal they surrendered. Of course, we keep the names of the people who adopted them because if they happen to surrender the animal, we make a note not to let them take another animal. Only certain circumstances will change our mind.”
“Good idea. Do you have a lot of surrenders? ”
“A few, but mostly it’s the animals that have been mistreated. We either call you guys or the Sheriff’s office to confiscate them.”
The door opened, making Case look toward it and grinned when he saw Melissa, Brayden’s wife. Case stood up to greet her.
“Melissa, how have you been?
“I’m wonderful. How about you, Case?”
“I’m well, thank you.”
“Did you need something, darlin’?” Brayden asked his wife.
“I just wanted to let you know I’m going to lunch. Do you want something from the diner?”
Brayden grinned. “You know I do. My usual is fine.”
“Okay, I’ll be back soon.” She moved around the desk and kissed his lips, then looked at Case. “It was great seeing you again, Case.”
“You, too.”
“Here you go, Case. This is their names and address.”
Case took the paper from Brayden, looked at it, then nodded. “I appreciate it, Brayden.”
“Anytime.”
“I’ll go and talk to them now,” Case said.
“Alright. Take it easy out there.”
“I will. See you.”
Case walked out of the office, then sauntered along the barn’s aisle and into the sunlight. He climbed into his truck, entered the address into the GPS on the dash screen, then followed the directions.
He slowed to pull into a driveway, then drove up to a small house with a barn sitting across the yard from it. He parked, opened the door, stepped out, and glanced around. With a sigh, he climbed the porch steps and knocked on the door.
When it opened, he saw a woman who looked like she hadn’t slept in months, a lit cigarette in her fingers.
“Yeah?”
Case removed his badge from his belt, and his ID from his wallet. He noticed her looking at his protective vest.
“Are you Mrs. Norton?”
“I am. Why?”
“You surrendered a horse a while back, and someone stole it from the person who adopted it at MERAS.”
“What the hell does that have to do with me?”
“Ma’am, I’m not saying it does, I’m just checking into anything I can.” He looked over his shoulder at the barn. “Is your husband home?”
“He’s in the barn.”
“Alright, I’ll find him. Thank you for your—” The door slammed closed. “time.” He shook his head and walked toward the barn.
As he entered, he looked around but didn’t see anyone, so he walked along the aisle. When he reached the other end, he saw a man leaning against the barn’s wall, smoking a cigarette. The man looked at him.
“What can I do for you?” The man dropped the cigarette on the ground and put it out with his bootheel.
“Mr. Norton?”
“Yes, I’m Roy Norton.”
“I’m Agent Case Anderson with MDOL. I’d like to ask you about a horse you surrendered about three months ago.” .
“Sure. Let’s go into my office.”
“Yes, sir.” Case was glad Mr. Norton was more cooperative than his wife.
After entering the office, Case took a seat in a leather chair across from the desk. He glanced around, then back at Norton.
“So, what do you need to know about the horse?”
“Well, it was stolen from the woman who adopted it.”
“You don’t think I did it, do you?”
“I’m not ruling anyone out, but would you know of anyone who would steal it?”
Norton sat forward, placed his arms on the desk, and looked like he was giving it some thought, then he shook his head.
“Agent Anderson, I have no idea who would steal it.”
“Why did you surrender it?”
“I didn’t. My wife did.”
“Did she give you any idea why she did?”
“Probably because she was pissed at my daughter.”
“ Your daughter? Not your wife’s?”
“My first wife died from breast cancer years ago. My daughter took it hard. It would be an understatement to say my second wife and daughter don’t get along.”
“I see. Did anything major happen right before the horse was surrendered?”
Norton rubbed his chin. “They had an argument a few days before. I tried to talk Tracy out of doing it, but her mind was made up. My daughter won’t speak to me.” He shrugged. “She still doesn’t.”
“How old is your daughter?” Case asked as he pulled a note pad from his back pocket .
“Rachel is nineteen. She moved out right after the horse was gone. She loved that horse and nothing I could say or do would stop Tracy from giving it up. It broke Rachel’s heart.”
“Do you know where she lives now?”
“Yeah.” He gave Case the address and he wrote it down, then got to his feet.
“I appreciate this. I couldn’t get much information from your wife.”
“Tracy is not a people person,” Norton said with a shrug.
“Some people aren’t. I’ll go visit your daughter and take it from there.”
Norton got to his feet and shook Case’s hand.
“I wish you luck, Agent.”
“If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to call me.” Case handed him one of his cards. “You can reach me on any of those numbers, anytime.”
“I hope you find the horse.”
“Me too. Have a good rest of the day.” Case nodded, then walked out of the office and toward his truck.
Tracy Norton stood on the porch, watching him. Taking a deep breath, he removed another card from his wallet, strode toward the porch steps, and handed it to her.
“If you hear anything, you can reach me anytime on those numbers.”