Chapter Eleven
“I’ll Tear Down Your Ranch”
I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away.
Janice knew that scolding herself wouldn’t change anything, but she couldn’t help it. If she hadn’t been so busy kissing Theon and sleeping with him, they might’ve even noticed the gnome earlier. And maybe she wouldn’t have found herself in the strange position she’d been a moment ago.
Thank goodness he’d spotted the gnome when he had. Otherwise, she’d still be lying under him, listening to words that couldn’t possibly have come from the Theon Gardener she knew.
They both swung into action, pulling on their clothes as quickly as they could.
She grabbed her gun and they stumbled out of her car, racing toward Benny’s Best. Janice’s heart was jackhammering in her chest by the second.
This was it. In a matter of moments, they just might find their culprit after all.
Fear and excitement flooded her insides, and her body moved almost of its own accord, racing in the direction of the ranch.
They darted past the gates, heading straight for a barn Theon pointed out.
The doors were open only slightly, but that should be wide enough for a gnome.
What was it doing in there? Carrying out another attack?
Janice slowed her movements as she drew closer, bracing herself for the sight of blood.
She crept closer, gun at the ready, Theon right behind her.
Okay, she thought as she arrived at the doors. Here goes.
She reached to pull the door open a little wider, but before she could touch the handle, a voice carried into her ears.
“I did everything you asked me to do.” It was a tiny, high-pitched voice. “I want what you promised.”
Janice cast a glance in Theon’s direction. He nodded. That had to be the gnome. A shiver raced through her body. Other than Theon himself, she didn’t think she’d ever found herself this close to anything supernatural. Should she burst into the barn now?
She decided to remain as she was, keeping her ear to the door.
“You said we had a deal,” the gnome was saying.
“And I meant it,” came a reply. It was a louder, more familiar voice. “Just...not right now, okay? We need to wait for all the chaos to die down.”
Janice’s eyes widened. That voice...
Her gut nearly formed a knot. She knew exactly who it belonged to.
“What?” said the gnome. “You never said I’d have to wait. You said you’d give me all the corn I wanted if I messed up the other farms. Now you’re asking me to wait?”
“Just till after Halloween, at least.” Old Man Benny gave a sigh. “Look, you did a damn good job, I’ll give you that. You made it pretty convincing, too. I got to sell my pumpkins. But the police are still watching. I don’t want to make any suspicious moves for now, okay?”
She and Theon exchanged another look. Benny was behind the attacks? Her mind raced, trying to recall any clues she’d failed to pick up on earlier. He hadn’t seemed the least bit suspicious. But here he was, admitting to having orchestrated the whole thing.
“No,” the gnome said. “I want my payment now. If you don’t, I’ll...”
“You’ll what?”
“I’ll make sure everyone knows what you did.”
Benny gave a scoff. “How? You’re barely two feet tall and you shouldn’t even exist. Think anyone’s going to care about ranch attacks when there’s a talking gnome in town?”
The gnome was silent for a few seconds. Then: “I’ll tear down your ranch.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Yes, I would.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I—”
“Nobody is doing anything!” Janice yanked the door open, rushing into the barn with Theon right behind her. “You’re busted.”
Benny stood by a haystack seven feet away, wearing overalls and a hat. His eyes widened as they landed on the newcomers, and his mouth hung open to reveal his crooked teeth. Sure enough, standing to his right at barely two feet tall was the gnome.
The creature standing before her was nothing like a garden gnome.
He didn’t have on a red, pointy hat or a tunic and boots.
And he certainly didn’t have a beard. The gnome was dressed in rags that barely hung onto his body, his scraggly hair hanging from both sides of his head.
His eyes were wide, an almost feral look in them, and his front teeth were visible.
The gnome took one look at Janice and Theon, then tried to make a run for it.
Janice froze, unsure whether to shoot or chase after him.
But Theon was quicker. He lunged after the creature, reaching him in two easy strides and knocking him to the ground with a single hand.
The gnome kicked and squirmed, trying to break free, but he was pinned completely.
“Let go of me, you bastards!” he screamed.
Janice stared at the creature in shock, half-wondering whether she was imagining the sight before her. If Benny hadn’t moved suddenly, she might not have snapped out of her daze. She swung her gun in his direction, and he held up both hands in surrender.
“Detective!” he exclaimed, breaking into a wide grin. “I’m glad you’re here. You’ll never believe who’s responsible for all these attacks.”
“I think I’ve got a good guess,” she replied, keeping the gun trained on him.
He gave a nervous chuckle. “What, me? You can’t be serious.”
“I heard the whole thing, Benny. Theon and I did. You and that...that gnome are working together. You’re responsible for the destruction of property and livestock on four different ranches.”
“Four?” He shook his head. “I’m a victim, too!”
“You lost one animal,” she corrected. “And only a handful of vegetables. While the other farmers suffered much heavier losses.”
“He asked me to do it!” cried the gnome. “Bastard asked me to cover his tracks by killing one of his cows. Wanted to look like a victim.”
Janice saw the man’s jaw clench. Cursing, Benny lowered his arms, glaring at the gnome.
“I knew I should’ve snuffed you the second you were done,” he muttered. He faced Janice, suddenly looking more annoyed than worried about having been found out. “Yeah, I did it. But I wasn’t hurtin’ anyone.”
She kept the gun trained on him in case he made any sudden moves. “Care to explain why?”
He shrugged. “Why does a businessman do anything?”
“You destroyed crops and killed animals for money?”
“When you put it like that, it makes me sound like a murderer.” He shook his head. “Look, Halloween’s right around the corner. Around this time of year, everyone’s trying to sell as many pumpkins as possible. I figured I’d take out the competition this year, make all the sales instead.”
“So you sent a gnome to destroy the other farmers’ crops and kill their livestock.” Annoyance bubbled in Janice’s gut, and it took her more than a bit of self-control to keep from aiming her gun at his foot and squeezing the trigger.
“Figured if everyone thought something terrible was going on at their farms, no one would want to buy from them. At least, for the time being.”
Janice couldn’t believe it. This whole time, he’d been trying to take out his competition just so he could sell pumpkins for Halloween.
She’d finally solved the case, but she couldn’t help her lingering disbelief.
How hadn’t she realized the culprit was Benny earlier? She should’ve figured it out somehow.
Another question arose in her mind then. “What about the gnome? How’d you find him?”
Benny snorted. “Oh, that ugly little thing?”
The gnome, still trapped under Theon’s hand, said, “I’ll show you ugly, you giant pile of rusty—”
Theon pressed down harder, knocking the wind out of the creature, and he fell silent.
“I found him lurking in one of my barns two weeks ago,” Benny said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“He was eating some of my corn, the nasty thing. I didn’t know what he was, and I was going to blow a hole in him with my shotgun and ask questions later, but he wasn’t trying to harm me.
Said he just wanted to eat, and he’d do anything I asked if I’d give him some food. ”
“So you saw an opportunity then,” Janice said. “You offered him more corn in exchange for destruction.”
“Turns out he’s damn good at it. Little guy can move around mostly undetected. Moves underground like it’s nothing.”
Janice had heard enough. “Get on your knees with your hands behind your head.”
“What?”
“Do it!” she snapped. As he obliged, she said, “Old Man Benny, you’re under arrest. I can’t even begin to list out all the charges, but you’ll be going away for a very long time.”