Chapter 16
Sixteen
A fter another sleepless night listening to thunder roar and lightning crack, scaring the crap out of her, Jane finally gave up on sleep.
She lay in bed as long as she could, hoping to catch another hour or two of sleep, but no luck. After glancing at her watch, she realized she must have dozed off. It was already 8a.m., later than she usually got up.
Jane stepped over to the window and pulled back the drape.
The storm had passed. It was going to be a sunny day. From her viewpoint, she noticed that the wind had brought down and scattered a lot of small branches and a couple of big ones. Bucky could probably cut them if she had a chain saw, which she didn’t. A trip to town was warranted.
It would be nice to meet up with some friends to help buoy up her bad mood, so she called Claire and Emily to see if they could get away for an hour.
After making her bed and eating a light breakfast of toast and homemade peach jam, Jane got dressed and headed down to the barn. The fresh, earthy scent of rain lingered in the air, giving her the sense that everything was all right in the world. Well, except for the dead body in her pond and the sheriff, who thought she was a killer. Hopefully, they would resolve that soon. The murderer would be put in jail, and everyone could get on with their lives.
Approaching the barn, she heard the chickens clucking softly as they pecked at some corn on the ground. Bucky was standing by the fence, already feeding them more as the two cats, Clover and Bruiser, wound around his leg. Jane laughed when Bucky named the new cat that, but it fit. He was a bruiser—big and assertive.
“Hey,” Bucky called out when he saw her approaching. “I heard there was a lot of excitement here yesterday.”
Jane blew out her breath. “Is that what they’re calling it?”
“Small town,” he replied with a shrug. “When something like that happens, everyone knows about it.”
He looked over at her, concern in his eyes. “Are you all right? This had to be devastating.”
“It was, and it’s not over.” She shook her head sadly as she watched the chickens scrambling for corn. Rocky the rooster stood in the corner by his favorite lady of the day, glaring at her.
“That rooster hates me,” she said jokingly.
Bucky laughed. “Roosters hate everyone. You know chickens will lay eggs without a rooster, right?”
Jane did know that factoid. She read it in a book. But the advantage of having a rooster was that he’d fertilize the eggs as well as protecting his girls.
Although now that she thought about it, chicks were cheap enough to buy. She only just acquired Rocky—free from a farmer down the road. Now she wondered how much of a patsy she was. Jane had a feeling no one wanted roosters.
As if Rocky read her thoughts, he flapped his wings and crowed loudly at her.
“Back at ya,” she teased.
“Do they know who the victim is?” asked Bucky.
“A David Thornton,” she replied. “He was bidding on the farm against me and lost.”
“Thornton?” Bucky furrowed his brow. He stopped what he was doing to think. “There were rumors going around he was in bed with some nasty characters.”
Jane’s ears perked up. Maybe Bucky could give her some names. Maybe she could ask around town just to get Ethan off her back.
She was a mystery writer, after all, and had knowledge of police procedure and the criminal mentality. It would be a good project to keep her attention off the fact that Ethan thought she was a suspect. And maybe, just maybe, she could help find the killer.
“Do you remember any of the names mentioned?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “Sorry. But I’ll keep my ears open.”
“Thanks.”
“Does the sheriff have any suspects? Any ideas why Thornton was killed?”
“Yeah,” she huffed. “Me, for one.”
Bucky looked shocked. “He can’t believe you had something to do with his death?”
She shrugged.
“I have no idea why he was killed,” Jane replied. The thought of being named a suspect in a murder made her heart pound.
Jane looked at her watch and realized time was getting away from her. She informed Bucky she was going into town to get a chain saw and asked if there was anything they needed. He shook his head.
After walking back to the house, gathering her purse and car keys, Jane was on her way to pick up what she needed. She’d meet Claire and Emily at Wild Bean Roasters a little later.
Her first stop was at the feed store, aka all-around farm equipment store.
The Feed grassy, halfway, when the beans began to yellow; toasty bread, as the beans tanned; and yeasty doughy, toward the end of the cycle.
They used local importers who sourced the different beans. It was the best coffee she ever tasted.
Emily was sitting at one of the wooden tables in the middle of the room.
“Hey, girlfriend,” she said, rising from her seat to hug Jane. “This is a treat. I’ve never been here before.”
“I’ll introduce you to Kai and Rhea if they’re around,” Jane replied. “Oh, and Claire will be a few minutes late.”
Jane took a moment to take in her surroundings. The coffee shop was all rustic pine wood, from the walls to the floor, to the tables and chairs. It was broken up by open shelving on the walls, green plants and a huge blackboard with coffee or tea selections written in colored chalk. She knew there was a good-size red-and-copper roaster in the back room where Kai roasted the beans. Rhea ran the front end. The muted chatter and clinking of coffee cups filled the air and comforted her.
Claire was just entering the shop, and Jane waved her over.
“Oh my, it smells heavenly in here,” Claire said as she sniffed the air. She looked over at the chalkboard and smacked her lips. “I think I’ll try a latte. What are you girls having?”
“I’m getting a cappuccino,” said Emily.
“Both sound delicious,” Jane replied. “I’m going to try the Sumatra Mandheling. It’s described as malty and full-bodied.”
Jane stood. “There’s no table service here. Since I invited you, it’s my treat.” She went to the counter and ordered. As she waited, she gazed at the glass case filled with muffins, scones and pastries. Her stomach growled even though she’d eaten breakfast, so she also grabbed a selection of different muffins to go along with the coffees.
Rhea was just coming out of the roasting room. “Jane! What a pleasant surprise.”
They exchanged greetings while the barista made their order and placed everything on a tray.
“Here you go, the best coffee you ever tasted,” she said as she distributed the coffee and pastries to Claire and Emily.
They softly clinked cups and took sips.
“Oh my, this is delicious,” said Emily and smacked her lips.
Jane laughed and leaned over with a napkin to wipe some foam from Emily’s upper lip.
“So, want to tell us what’s going on?” said Claire. “Dylan mentioned that David Thornton was found dead in your pond.”
Emily gasped.
“Yeah. Even better is the fact that Ethan thinks I had something to do with Thornton’s death,” replied Jane.
Claire scrunched her face in disbelief. “You’re kidding, of course.”
“If only.” Jane sighed. “Anyhow, I thought you two might have heard rumors about Thornton. You’ve both lived here all your lives.”
Claire thought for a moment. “This is just a rumor, but Vanessa Crumb was once romantically involved with David. He almost led her to the altar before dumping her. She’s never gotten over it.”
Wow. Jane could just imagine the feelings of betrayal.
But was that enough motive to kill him? And why now? There had to be more to the story.
“I also heard that when Thornton came back to town, he was courting Vanessa’s cousin, Annabelle, and flaunting it. Apparently, Vanessa hates her,” said Emily.
Small-town gossip. You had to love it. Jane thought that if that happened to her, she’d want to kill Thornton, too. “When did they break up?”
Emily looked over at Claire. “I think a few months ago. Maybe just after you moved here?”
Claire nodded in agreement.
“Does Annabelle live around here?” she asked.
“Yes, just outside town,” replied Claire.
“Why would anyone dump Thornton’s body in my pond?”
“I don’t know why he was found in your pond,” Claire said. “You would have to ask Vanessa or Annabelle if they have any ideas. Or better yet, let Ethan ask them.”
Ethan could do his own investigation. She owed him nothing, especially since he didn’t believe her. First, she’d talk to Vanessa and Annabelle, then maybe pass along the information to Ethan. Or maybe not.