6. Hit The Hay
CHAPTER 6
Hit The Hay
I sla felt ridiculous. She’d climbed the ladder without the proper precautions, and then winded herself so completely, that she couldn’t even call out when she’d heard Levi’s voice.
Now, he was calling in the local deputy because he was worried someone was out to hurt her. Sure, a few people didn’t like her much, starting with her family, but she couldn’t imagine any of them caring enough to do her harm. What would be the point? Her father had already disinherited her years ago.
She didn’t want to air her embarrassing family past with anyone, but she suspected she was about to do just that. Annoyed with pretty much everything, Isla turned her attention to the barn and its contents. The tractor that had saved her from a severe fall held her interest.
When she moved to pull off the tarp, Levi stopped her. “I think we should leave everything as it is until Marcus looks things over.”
She clamped her teeth together to keep from snapping at him. “This is ridiculous. Hurting me won’t help anyone. I’m not rich. I don’t have hidden assets. And I haven’t done anything requiring vengeance. The ladder was probably cut decades ago.”
Levi shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s always worth making an official report on things. Makes it easier to track any incidents. Marcus is a good guy, and he’d want to know about this.”
Which made her feel like she had a stalker. Great. That ought to help her sleep at night.
Needing to stomp out the embarrassment and annoyance she felt, Isla headed out of the barn, grabbing a shovel on the way. She wasn’t in the right frame of mind to attempt to put together the greenhouse, and she needed to do something to improve her mood before meeting the town’s deputy.
She didn’t spare Levi a glance as she stomped by him on the way to her little garden patch. When she reached it, she slammed the shovel into the dirt hard enough to nearly dislocate her shoulders. This was probably why she didn’t waste much time on anger. It never led to anything productive.
But annoyance and anger simmered beneath her surface, along with fear. Not from the fall, although that was still there as well. But from the possibility that Levi was right.
Was this another place she wouldn’t fit? Another place where someone would do whatever it took to get rid of her?
She hadn’t been in the state for long, but she’d fallen in love with her tiny cottage and fields. The possibilities excited her. She wanted nothing more than to settle in and lead a normal life. Work hard and sleep peacefully. Apparently, that was too much to ask.
The ground hadn’t been tilled in decades, and it wasn’t impressed with Isla’s pitiful attempts to turn it over. She was wasting her time. A tractor was sitting inside that barn. If she could get it working, this job would take less than an hour. The way she was doing it would take her a week. She kept digging anyway.
When Hopper barked, she saw him staring up the driveway with his tail between his legs. Instead of dropping the shovel, she carried it and stood beside the dog. “It’s okay, Hopper. No one’s going to hurt you.”
Levi hadn’t been in sight, but she felt his presence walk up behind her as she realized the car was a police cruiser. Levi’s friend.
Levi closed the distance to stand beside her, then squatted down to pat the dog. “It’s okay, Hopper. Marcus is a buddy. You’ll like him. He’s an old friend of mine from the military and one reason I moved here.”
Levi’s words were probably meant for her, not the dog. He was trying to reassure her. She had to give him credit for giving her some space to work out her frustration and for telling her about his friend in an easy way.
She eased her hold on the shovel and took a couple of deep breaths to help her relax. This wasn’t an inquisition. There was no proof this place and these people didn’t want her.
The deputy approached with a strong gait, similar to how Levi walked. Aware of his surroundings, confident he could handle whatever came his way. Exactly the way a lawman should be.
When he neared, he nodded at Levi, turned his attention to her and kept his gaze on hers. “Hi. I’m Deputy Marcus Ramirez. Welcome to Phail. I’m sorry we have to meet this way.”
She shook his offered hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Isla Duggan, and I think we’re probably wasting your time.”
That produced an easy grin. “Let’s hope so. But it’s always better to be cautious and take notes in case it is something. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
Isla closed her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. No sense in acting like a child. “I decided to explore the barn this morning because I hadn’t been inside yet. I used the key Tansy gave me to unlock the padlock. It was dark inside, so I unlocked the big doors and shoved one open a little way.” No reason to mention she hadn’t been strong enough to open it any farther.
“I saw the ladder leading to the hayloft. From the bottom, it seemed sturdy enough, so I climbed up. Dumb move, but I was curious.”
Marcus grinned. “Sounds reasonable to me.”
She relaxed more at that comment. This wasn’t a grumpy man who blamed women for any trouble that came their way. “I thought so at the time. In hindsight, not so much. When I neared the top, I couldn’t see anything. I took one hand off the ladder to grab my phone. I was planning on using the flashlight app. Instead, my feet went out from under me, and the ladder toppled to the side. I landed on a tractor, so I didn’t fall all the way.”
Marcus frowned. “Are you hurt? Should we call the doctor?”
She shook her head, grateful that Levi didn’t intervene with his opinion. “I’m fine. I didn’t bang my head. Just had the wind knocked out of me.”
Marcus studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, but if you change your mind, we’ve got a doctor in Phail. Lia Moreno. She’s a friend of Tansy’s and she’d be happy to check you out if you need it.”
“Thank you, but I’m fine.”
“Okay. So I assume from Levi’s call that the ladder was tampered with.”
She nodded. “Someone cut the rungs partway through.”
Marcus gestured to the barn. “Do you mind if I have a look?”
Isla kept in the sigh and led the way to the barn. Levi reached over to squeeze her shoulder as they walked. She assumed it was a show of support, and she appreciated it after her hissy fit.
As they approached, Marcus slowed. “Both doors were locked?”
“Yes. There was a padlock on this door. The front doors were padlocked but from the inside. I haven’t gone all the way around, so I don’t know if there are other doors.” Her voice remained stiff, but that couldn’t be helped. She was at least able to be polite.
Hopper leaned into her side, and she reached down to pat his head. “Sorry, Hopper. I’m okay, just grumpy.”
Both men chuckled at her whispered words. Levi reached an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “You’re allowed to be grumpy after a fall like that.”
Even after her show of temper, he hadn’t turned away from her. Hadn’t left her.
Emotion clogged her throat, and she swallowed hard to contain it. She was absolutely not going to sob in front of these two men. With another swallow, she leaned into Levi’s side. His arm tightened even more, and he turned her into a gentle hug.
Another swallow kept the tears down.
For a long minute, she simply stood and let his warmth and comfort surround her.
She wasn’t sure about much at the moment, but she was pretty sure she was falling hard and fast for this man she barely knew.
L evi wanted to rewind time and return to when he’d called in Marcus. Instead of doing that preemptively, he would take the time and do this first.
Hold her. Make sure she was okay emotionally and not just physically.
His military training had taken over, and then he’d grabbed control of the situation when it wasn’t his. Isla had been pissed, but she hadn’t directed that anger at him. Instead, she’d attacked her garden to vent it.
Now, she was taking deep breaths and settling herself in his arms. It felt so right, it was scary. No matter how many times he told himself to stay away from his neighbor, he found himself touching her at every opportunity. And he didn’t regret it.
Dumbass.
When Isla blew out a breath and stood back, he released her. Her smile was small but appeared genuine as she looked up at him. “Thanks. And thanks for coming to my rescue as well.”
He grinned. “Even if you didn’t actually need rescuing. Glad to help anytime.”
Marcus had stepped away to give them a modicum of privacy. He had squatted down and was shining his flashlight slowly over the floor. When they moved, he motioned with his hand for them to follow in his footsteps. “Which way did you come in, Isla? Can you show me which footprints are yours?”
Marcus moved the light to the small door, and Isla pointed. “I started there. I couldn’t see much even using my phone, so I moved to the barn doors and then straight to the ladder.”
Her boot prints were far smaller than his tracks, which he pointed out to them. Levi grunted. “I came in through the front doors. I didn’t spot Isla immediately, so I told Hopper to find her. He came straight to the ladder.”
“He did?” Isla reached down to pat the dog. “Good boy, Hopper.”
Marcus moved the light back and forth slowly over the area. “I think there’s at least one other set of prints, but with all the movement, it’s difficult to tell. Let me take a few photos before we move in.”
Isla frowned. “Does that mean someone else has keys to the building? Or could it be from ages ago? The person who installed the locks, maybe?”
Levi shrugged. “Either option makes sense. Any clues which one it might be, Arrow?”
Isla turned to him with a question on her face. “Arrow?”
Marcus grunted and left Levi to answer. “I think I told you Marcus and I were on the same military team. We all had call signs, and it’s become a habit to use them instead of names.”
Marcus continued to look at the floor, but Levi could hear the smile in his voice. “Ask your neighbor here about his call sign. As if a farmer from Kansas could be anything else.”
Levi wanted to sigh, but Isla’s face showed interest, not fear, and for that, he’d answer the question. “You ever see the Wizard of Oz?”
“Of course. It’s one of my favourite movies. What does that have to do with your call sign?” Then she held up her hand to stop him from answering. “Wait. Let me think. Farmer from Kansas. Uncle Henry? Your call sign was Uncle Henry?”
Levi heaved a dramatic sigh that had her smiling. “Thankfully, no. Just Oz. But that’s bad enough.”
She patted his arm. “I like it. That movie is all about good defeating evil, being smart and brave, and about possibilities. The power of love and home. It’s a great name.”
That was a better way of looking at it, instead of thinking he’d been stuck with the name from a kid’s book. Levi ignored Arrow’s soft huff of breath and squeezed her hand. “Thanks. They mostly use it because it bugs me, but now I’ll think of it your way.”
Marcus stood up. “I’m going to walk around to see if there are other entrances before I walk over what could be evidence.”
Levi realized he hadn’t told them he’d already toured the building while Isla attacked her garden with a shovel. “I did a walk-about a few minutes before you got here. No other entrances, but there are a few weak spots in the foundation.”
“Big enough for a person to get through?”
“Maybe.”
They all walked back outside with Isla in the middle. Even Hopper seemed to be taking up guard duty, walking along at her side. She was too busy inspecting the stone foundation itself to notice.
Marcus spoke as they walked. “A while back, we had an incident at the sawmill on Tansy’s Midnight Lake property. Someone had used the loose stones in the foundation to sneak into the mill. I wonder if someone did the same thing here.”
The land sloped to the back of the barn, and the stone foundation was taller to keep the floor level. The grass and weeds had no flat spaces to check for footprints, but Levi kept his eyes moving to search for anything that might have been dropped. They could get a metal detector and sweep the area if they found an opening big enough for an adult.
Sure enough, there was a section near the southeast corner of the barn where the stones were loose. With gloves on, Marcus lifted one out and then another.
Isla twisted her hands together. “Be careful. Isn’t that supposed to hold up the barn? I don’t want it to fall on you.”
Marcus smiled but kept checking the stones, leaving Levi to explain. “One small section isn’t going to cause enough weakness. The structure’s weight spreads evenly over all the walls, so this will be fine.”
She nodded but continued to look nervous, and her glance kept going from Marcus to the barn above him.
Levi turned his own attention to the surroundings. Mostly fields that wouldn’t offer any concealment for someone on a stealth mission. However, several stands of trees along both property lines separated Isla’s farm from the land on each side.
The property he was going to use on the south was wide and open, but the one on the north side was narrow, like Isla’s. Beyond it was a forest area with a wide variety of trees. He hadn’t walked to the end of his field, but Sean said there was a decent- sized creek back there. Not big enough to be called a river, but deep and wide enough for a fishing boat. Someone could access the property from there and get through without much risk of detection.
He wondered how far Isla had gone out. She said she hadn’t walked around the barn, but maybe she’d checked out the land and hadn’t paid much attention to the buildings.
Marcus grunted. “Definitely a way in this way, but I can’t tell if anyone has used it recently. I’m going to grab some of the big flashlights from the cruiser. I might be able to tell more once I set those up.”
Isla’s face and body language were set to pensive rather than fear. “Tansy didn’t say anything about anyone else wanting this land. I got the impression it’s been empty for a long while. I’ll call her to see if anyone else was interested in buying it.”
She wandered to the side to make the call, leaving him and Hopper studying the barn. Possibilities ran through his mind. Maybe someone was using the empty barn for a hiding space and had needed time to get rid of his items. A hangout place for teenagers was another possibility, but they wouldn’t be the type to pull that stunt with the ladder. Unless they were pranking friends. But that was a hell of a prank.
He discounted several more possibilities. The sabotage of the ladder had been clearly aimed at the owner of the land. The act was intended to injure whoever climbed the ladder. Was it designed to look like an accident? Who wanted to hurt Isla, and why?
It could be a personal grudge against her. Or was it solely about the land? But that didn’t make sense if it had been sitting empty.
Levi tried to reserve judgment until Marcus found some proof one way or the other, but his gut told him this was about Isla.
He patted the dog. “Come on, Hopper. While we’re waiting for Marcus, we’ll search the area to see if we can find something to help.” Because Isla wasn’t facing this on her own.