Chapter 23 #2
“Odd,” she said aloud, but this time Chloe didn’t comment.
She was looking at the field where the alpacas collected near a pine tree and the lone llama, her recent nemesis, stood a few paces off, his head raised, ears pricked forward, silently staring at the two vehicles disappearing around a corner.
Nikki thought about going after the two vehicles, strapping Chloe quickly into her car seat, ordering Phee into the car and hitting the gas, but her niece was nowhere in sight, and the truck and white car were already turning onto the main road. Both in the same direction.
By the time Ophelia did appear, lugging her bag of gear, both vehicles had long disappeared. Too late to follow. However, Nikki couldn’t resist a stab at it. Maybe they’d pulled off a mile or two down the road.
After tossing Phee’s riding gear into the back of the Subaru and ensuring that her niece was buckled in, Nikki drove down the lane a little faster than usual and turned onto the road in the opposite direction from the city. West. Into the sun.
“Where’re we going?” Phee asked.
“Just a little side trip.” Nikki adjusted the car’s driver’s side visor.
“Why?”
“For fun,” she lied, then changed the subject. “So tell me, how was your lesson?”
“Good. You saw,” Phee answered with more than a little pride in her voice. “I got Reggie to jump. First time … I mean for me. Reggie does it a lot with the more advanced riders.”
“Right. Great job.” Nikki glanced in the rearview to catch a glimpse of her niece, who was already taking her phone from her bag.
“I saw one of the Kittle girls, I think it was Shana, riding a big dappled horse and just going for her lesson.”
“Oh, that was Fred.”
“Fred?” Nikki repeated, still thinking of the man in the truck.
“Yeah, we call him Freddie. Beginners ride him.”
Oh. Of course. The horse.
“So you know Shana, right?”
“What?” Phee glanced up from whatever was fascinating her on the cell. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”
“She’s in your class at school?”
“Uh-huh.” Phee was nodding, but still studying the screen. “She started riding lessons later than I did, so she’s in another riding group. The beginners.”
“And her mother drops her off?” Nikki asked, one eye on the road, the other on Phee’s reflection.
Phee lifted a shoulder. “I guess. Yeah, I think so.”
“I saw Naomi there, but she left. Looks like she met a man in a big pickup. A black one.”
“Maybe. I dunno.” Phee was scrolling through her phone. “Yeah. I think.”
“Has it been here before?”
“Uh, I don’t …” Her eyebrows knitted as she thought. “I think so, but … maybe.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“What?” She shook her head. “No. Shana and I don’t really hang out. We know each other, but we’re not really friends.”
“Not friends?” Nikki asked, as she drove around several corners and past two forks in the road. No hint of either vehicle. Even though she’d known the chances were slim that she would discover them, she’d held out more than a little hope. “Thought you might be. Horse riders and all.”
“No … I dunno. She’s … I don’t know.” She met Nikki’s gaze in the rearview. “Does it matter?”
“No. Of course not.” Nikki let the subject drop and gave up the chase.
No sense going any farther. She realized they weren’t far from the Kittles’ house, where only a few weeks earlier she and Pierce had been at Lara’s sweet-sixteen party, on the day Billy Huber’s body had been found.
She drove past the long driveway to the home, but decided against it.
What would she say? She had no excuse, and she had both girls in the car with her.
Another time, she told herself, turning at the end of the Kittles’ lane.
The large house wasn’t visible from the road; it was set back nearly a quarter of a mile, with thickets of pine and oak keeping the property of over fifteen hundred acres private.
According to Pierce, Jamison’s tract was only part of the original parcel owned by the Kittle family for generations.
Pierce had mentioned that Harrison Kittle, Jamison’s father, had split the acreage between his five sons.
Though Jamison had ended up with the house and the lion’s share of land, the estate had to have been immense.
“Can we get ice cream?” Phee asked from the back seat, breaking into Nikki’s thoughts. “I’m starving.”
“Sure. As long as you don’t tell your Mom and eat whatever we’re having for dinner.”
“Okay.” Phee agreed quickly.
Nikki reminded herself that whatever Naomi was doing with the mystery man in the black truck was her own business. The guy could be her brother, or someone who worked for Jamison, or a friend of his. It probably wasn’t a big deal.
Still, her curiosity was on high alert. She only knew the Kittles through Pierce, as he and Jamison went way back.
From their freshman year in college, she thought, as she drove through low-lying farmland back to the city and parked just off of Reynolds Square.
She then walked to Leopold’s Ice Cream and stood in line with locals and tourists, all eager to try the unique and ever-delicious flavors.
Once inside, Phee ordered a cone of Chocolate Chewies and Cream, and Chloe chose her usual scoop of plain old chocolate.
Even Nikki couldn’t resist and opted for a Caffè Leopold, which was a shot of espresso over an ice cream scoop, in this case, Savannah Socialite, which was a blend of chocolates with pecans and bourbon-infused caramel.
Not only was it divine, but it also reminded her of Mavis Greenlee, who had indeed been a Savannah socialite.
And was now dead.
The victim of a vicious homicide.
No. Make that the second victim.
Billy Huber was the first.
She only hoped that there were no more.