Murder Most Owl, page 10
Roxy took a step backward. Flossie and Fancy got to their feet, tails wagging.
‘I should go.’ Roxy barely had the words out of her mouth before she turned and broke into a run.
‘Roxy, wait!’
She didn’t even slow down when I called after her.
‘Do you want to volunteer here at the sanctuary?’ I shouted.
This time she paused, just long enough to call back over her shoulder, ‘Maybe.’
Then she tore off around the paddock and disappeared into the woods.
Although tempted to go after her, I hadn’t finished my chores, and I’d left Charlie tethered up in the barn, half groomed. I didn’t like the thought of Roxy roaming the woods when there was a killer on the loose, but I doubted anything I said to her would change her habits. I was lucky she’d stayed and talked to me as long as she had.
Sundance came over and nudged my shoulder. I stroked her nose and promised to bring her a carrot later. With a spaniel on either side of me, I returned to the barn to finish grooming Charlie.
Once I’d brushed all of the donkeys, I tossed their favorite ball into the pasture. I stayed to watch them play, laughing as Charlie grabbed the ball in his mouth and cantered around, grunting and squealing with glee. The other two donkeys followed after him, making their own noises of excitement as they tried to get a chance with the coveted toy.
Eventually, I tore myself away from watching the donkeys so I could get back to work. As soon as I’d completed all my chores, I stripped off my gloves and left them in the barn’s tack room. Without bothering to head over to the farmhouse to change into cooler clothes, I strode into the woods, with Flossie and Fancy on my heels.
I suspected Roxy had already done what I was about to do. I would have liked to believe that she had been in a hurry to get back to school – where she should have been in the middle of a weekday morning – but given that she’d headed into the trees instead of toward the road, and considering our conversation, I very much doubted that was the case.
A frisson of worry passed through my chest. It was one thing for Tessa and me to dig around for information that might help me clear my name – and Aunt Olivia’s too. It was another thing entirely for a teenage girl to go poking around the scene of the murder. I fervently hoped that the killer wasn’t making a habit of lurking in the woods and instead was steering well clear of the crime scene.
When we reached the clearing where Dorothy’s cabin stood, the dogs sat down and whined.
I crouched down and put an arm around each spaniel. ‘I know, sweeties. You miss her. I’m so sorry.’ I hugged them close before standing up.
While trekking through the trees, I’d worried that I’d find crime scene tape strung around the perimeter of the clearing, but if yellow tape had been there previously, it was now gone. Even so, I stood still for a moment, looking around to make sure that there were no police officers – or anyone else – hanging around.
I couldn’t see anyone and all I could hear were the birds twittering in the trees.
A chill ran up my spine and down my arms. This place had seemed so peaceful before the murder, but now it gave me the creeps. I decided to hurry up so I could get back to the farm as soon as possible.
‘You can wait here if you want,’ I told the dogs.
Flossie touched her nose to my left hand and Fancy pressed her snout to my right one.
‘All right,’ I said, understanding. ‘Let’s do this.’
FOURTEEN
When I strode toward the cabin, Flossie and Fancy stayed right with me.
I hesitated at the front door, but then reminded myself that I didn’t want to linger. I kept glancing over my shoulder, worried that Dorothy’s killer might jump out at me from behind a tree. A silly worry to have, probably, but one I couldn’t brush aside.
The door gave a low groan as I pushed it open. A beam of sunlight slanted through one window, highlighting the dust motes in the air, and shining on Dorothy’s bed like a spotlight. The quilt and other bedclothes had been removed, leaving the bed stripped bare. The dining table had also been completely cleared and there were signs of other things being moved around and not put back in their proper places.
I crossed the room to the china cabinet and studied its contents through the glass doors. No delicate teacups sat among the mismatched collection of crockery. I opened the cabinet doors for a closer look, wanting to be sure I hadn’t missed anything. I still couldn’t see any teacups.
I checked every other cupboard in the small cabin without result.
Flossie and Fancy had followed me into the cabin and were lying on the floor by Dorothy’s stripped bed, their chins on their front paws and their sad brown eyes watching my every movement.
‘The second teacup is missing,’ I said. ‘Do you think the killer took it?’
Both dogs raised their heads, still watching me.
‘That would make sense.’ I stared at the dining table, imagining a possible scenario. ‘The killer came to the cabin. Someone Dorothy knew. She made tea for them both and served it in the two pretty teacups. The killer slipped a sedative into Dorothy’s cup and killed her once she was too groggy to put up much of a fight. They probably left their own tea untouched so as not to leave behind any fingerprints or DNA. Then the killer took the cup with the sedative with them to remove any evidence of the drug and any evidence that a second person had been here. The killer was probably hoping that Dorothy’s death would be written off as natural.’
The dogs continued to watch me. I had a funny feeling that they understood every word I was saying.
‘Come on, girls.’
The spaniels jumped up and followed me out the door.
I made a slow circuit of the clearing, checking beneath the undergrowth at the perimeter, even though I knew the police would have searched the area as part of their initial investigation. It didn’t surprise me in the least that I didn’t find the missing teacup. Maybe the police had already found it, but the information Tessa had gleaned from her cousin suggested that only one teacup had been tested for traces of the drug used to sedate Dorothy.
The dogs nosed along with me as I widened my search area. None of us found anything.
‘For all I know, the killer could have thrown the teacup into the ocean,’ I said to Flossie and Fancy.
The dogs exchanged a glance and then sat down, watching me.
‘I guess we could search the beach.’ I took my phone from my pocket and checked the time. ‘But I need to deliver my completed script to Giselle in a few days.’ Giselle was the producer I was working with on my current project. ‘I still have several pages to write and then I need to edit. In other words, I’d better get to work.’
I struck off along the path that would lead me to the farm. I glanced back to see Flossie and Fancy still sitting at the edge of the clearing.
‘Come on, girls,’ I called.
They hesitated for a split second and then came running to join me.
Even though my thoughts kept wanting to return to the missing teacup, I managed to get the final ten pages of my script written in fairly short order. I made a few notes about scenes and plot issues that I already knew I needed to fix, but I decided to leave the actual edits until the next day.
I got up from the kitchen table, where I’d been working, and stretched my arms over my head. The dogs stirred from their naps and got up and stretched too. I wandered over to the kitchen window, which I’d opened to let in the gentle breeze while I wrote. The sun still shone brightly from a cloudless sky. According to the weather app on my phone, the warm, sunny weather was expected to continue for a few more days.
As I stood at the window, Callum emerged from the trees at the southern edge of the property. The small patch of woodland separated the sanctuary from the asparagus farm next door. Why Callum would have been over there, I didn’t know. Maybe he was looking for an escaped animal, although he walked at an unhurried pace and didn’t appear agitated or concerned. More likely, he’d simply gone for a walk. He was entitled to take breaks from his farm work, after all.
I squinted and realized that he was wearing a toolbelt and had something in his right hand. A drill, maybe.
Perhaps he’d been fixing the shed roof when something in among the trees caught his attention.
I was probably being too nosy. Despite that thought, I kept watching.
Callum headed in the direction of the farmhand’s cabin where he lived. As he disappeared from sight, I finally turned my back on the window. Callum’s plate sat on the kitchen counter, all clean and waiting to be returned. I dug a carrot out of the fridge and grabbed the plate. I smiled when I saw Flossie and Fancy already waiting by the back door, tails wagging.
‘We’ve got a couple of visits to make,’ I said.
The dogs’ bodies wiggled with excitement, making me laugh. They pressed their noses to the door and, as soon as I opened it, they burst out onto the porch and down the steps. I was glad to see them happy again, after their sadness at returning to Dorothy’s cabin earlier in the day.
With the plate and carrot in hand, I headed first for Sundance’s paddock to keep my promise to the Quarter Horse. She saw us coming and walked over to the fence to greet us. I offered her the carrot, which she gobbled up in no time. I spent a few minutes stroking her nose and talking with her softly before Flossie, Fancy and I continued on past the barn to Callum’s cabin.
The single-story log cabin had a covered front porch and a red shingle roof. Two rocking chairs sat on the porch and a pair of mud-splattered rubber boots had been left next to the door.
The spaniels ran ahead of me, and seemed to know my destination. They bounced up onto the porch and woofed at me, as if encouraging me to hurry up. I joined them on the porch, not sure if we’d find Callum in the cabin or if he’d gone elsewhere on the farm while I was visiting Sundance.
I soon found out. I didn’t even have a chance to knock before Callum opened the door.
‘I guess Flossie and Fancy announced our presence,’ I said, smiling at the dogs.
Callum grinned. ‘Better than a doorbell. Come on in.’
The second Callum stepped back to make room for us, the spaniels charged inside.
‘I brought your plate.’ I handed it to him as he shut the door behind me.
The cabin had a combined kitchen and living room that took up the front half of the building. I knew from visiting the small dwelling in my teens that two bedrooms and a bathroom occupied the back half. A woodstove stood at the far end of the living room. With a fire going, the cabin was probably nice and cozy in the winter.
I noticed a pair of expensive-looking binoculars hanging from a hook on the wall next to the door. I lifted them off the hook.
‘Are you a birdwatcher?’ I looked closer at the binoculars, surprised. ‘These have night vision?’
Callum set the plate on the counter by the kitchen sink. ‘I like birds, but those are mostly for keeping an eye on things at night.’
I remembered the two times I’d seen him out after dark. On both occasions, he’d either been coming or going from the trees at the southern edge of the property, the same place I’d seen him less than an hour ago.
‘Don’t you ever sleep?’ I asked, although what I actually wanted to know was what he’d really been up to with the binoculars. He couldn’t exactly keep an eye on the farm when he was off among the trees.
Callum laughed. ‘I sleep plenty, but sometimes I like to take a walk before heading to bed.’
I returned the binoculars to the hook on the wall and changed the subject. ‘The brownies were amazing, by the way.’
Callum leaned against the counter and folded his arms. ‘Did they help fuel your writing?’
I smiled at how the dogs had made themselves at home, lying on the area rug in the living room. ‘Definitely, and they helped me recover from the last visit from Chief Stratton.’
‘The police have left you alone since then?’
‘Yes, thankfully.’ My gaze landed on three open boxes sitting on the pine dining table. Distracted, I tried to keep our conversation flowing. ‘Hopefully they’re focusing their investigation elsewhere.’
‘They must be,’ Callum said.
I reached for the door, suddenly itching to get away. ‘I’d better get going. I want to take the dogs for a walk before dinner.’ I stepped out onto the porch. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’
I called to Flossie and Fancy, and they burst out of the cabin to follow me. I set a quick pace for us and glanced over my shoulder.
Callum stood in the open doorway, watching us.
I wondered if he’d realized that I’d seen the open boxes on the table.
Boxes that had once held security cameras.
Once within the shade of the woods, I slowed my pace. I’d used the excuse of wanting to take the dogs for a walk to get me out of Callum’s cabin so I could think, but I decided I really would take them for a ramble.
Aunt Olivia wanted me to stop by her Gins and Needles gathering to meet the members of the group, but I still had time for some exercise and I figured I could do some exploring and searching at the same time. I wouldn’t be able to cover every inch of the woods on my own – that would require an entire team of people and would still take ages – but I could check out the trails that the killer might have taken when leaving Dorothy’s cabin. Maybe the murderer had discarded the missing teacup somewhere along the way.
As the dogs alternated between running through the woods and stopping to sniff at interesting smells, I kept an eye out for any flashes of pink or white among the undergrowth on either side of the path. I wanted to stay focused on finding the teacup, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Callum and his security cameras.
I should have checked to see if he’d installed the cameras on the exterior of the cabin. I’d have to do that later, on my way back to the farmhouse. It seemed odd to me that he might feel the need for such security measures on the farm, but maybe Dorothy’s murder wasn’t the only recent crime in the area. I made a mental note to ask Aunt Olivia if she’d had any problems on the farm that would warrant the installation of security cameras.
Although I wanted to believe that Callum had bought the cameras to make the farm safer, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had another motive entirely. What that might be, I didn’t know. But between the cameras, the night-vision goggles, and Callum’s frequent trips into the heavily treed swath of land between the sanctuary and the neighboring asparagus farm, my thoughts had taken a suspicious turn.
I remembered how much I’d enjoyed sitting on the porch steps, chatting with him. My heart was telling my head that I didn’t need to worry about Callum, but I couldn’t let myself get distracted by his good looks or that one conversation. If he was up to something shady, I needed to be careful. I didn’t want Aunt Olivia or the sanctuary to suffer in any way because he wasn’t who he claimed to be.
The path ahead of me dipped downward and I smelled salt on the breeze. I’d now trekked farther through the woods than I had since I’d arrived in Twilight Cove. A few more minutes and I would reach the ocean. In some areas along the local coastline, steep cliffs provided a barrier between land and water, but in other parts, like in the center of town and where I was heading, broad hills sloped gently down to the beach.
Water gurgled and rushed somewhere nearby. I rounded a bend and spotted a ravine off to my right. Moving carefully, so I wouldn’t crush any plants or get my clothes snagged on branches, I made my way off the path and closer to the edge of the gully. Down below, a creek rushed along, splashing over rocks, heading toward the ocean.
I turned back, intending to return to the path, when Flossie let out a sharp bark. Both dogs bounded down into the ravine.
‘Flossie! Fancy!’ I called.
They didn’t reappear. I picked my way through the underbrush, closer to the edge of the ravine again. Flossie and Fancy stood on some rocks at the edge of the creek. Fancy raised her nose to the sky and let out a long howl.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
Flossie barked and Fancy howled again.
I slid and stumbled my way down the side of the ravine, almost losing my footing a couple of times. When I arrived at the edge of the creek, a bit dirty but unharmed, I saw what had the dogs so worked up.
On the rocks in front of the spaniels were the shattered remains of a pink and white teacup.
FIFTEEN
‘You OK down there?’
My head jerked up at the sound of Callum’s voice. He stood at the edge of the ravine, looking down at me and the dogs.
‘We’re fine,’ I called back over the sound of the rushing water. ‘Come on, girls,’ I added to the spaniels.
Flossie and Fancy bounded up the side of the ravine without a problem. It took me a little longer to climb up. When I’d nearly reached the top, Callum offered me a hand and pulled me up the rest of the way.
‘Thanks.’ I brushed some dirt from my arm.
‘What were you doing down there?’ Callum’s question sounded casual enough, but my heart was beating a little faster than it should have been, and not just from my climb up the ravine.
How had he found us here, off the trail? Had he followed us?
‘We were out exploring,’ I said, trying not to let my wariness show. ‘Then we found a teacup smashed on the rocks by the creek.’
Callum took a step closer to the edge and peered down into the ravine. ‘Is that significant?’
I pulled my phone from my pocket. ‘I think it was Dorothy’s teacup.’
Callum said nothing as I phoned Aunt Olivia, but I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He’d probably figured out that I thought the teacup had something to do with Dorothy’s murder, but I felt like there was more than that going on in his head. I just didn’t know what.
I’d left Chief Stratton’s business card back at the house, but I got his direct number from Aunt Olivia and dialed it. Even though the information I had was important, I wasn’t sure that it qualified as an emergency. If the police chief didn’t answer his phone, I would call 9-1-1 to report the teacup. Fortunately, I didn’t have to take that step. Stratton answered on the third ring.
