2 A Deadly Beef (17 page)

"Are
we actually going to take the direct approach with her?" I asked as Moose
pulled up in front of the laundromat.  I could see Penny inside folding
laundry, and at least so far, she hadn’t noticed us drive up.

"With
Penny, it’s probably the only thing that
will
work.  After
all, the woman isn’t exactly an exercise in subtlety herself, is
she?"

"That
sounds like a good plan to me," I said as we got out of the truck and
walked into the laundromat.

Penny
didn’t look all that pleased to see us.  "I know that I
don’t have any laundry orders for either one of you, and I don’t
see any hampers or baskets in your arms.  If it’s not dirty clothes,
what brings you two here?"

"Actually,
we came by to say goodbye," I said.  "You’re leaving
town, aren’t you?"

"Where
did you hear that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Does
that mean that it’s not true?" Moose asked.

"As
a matter of fact, it’s right on the money, but I just made up my mind
this morning."  Penny looked at my grandfather appraisingly for a
moment, and then she asked, "Tell me something, Moose.  Do you have
any interest in owning another business?"

"How
can I own another one when I don’t have one to begin with?" Moose
asked.

"Do
you mean the diner’s not still in your name?" Penny asked, clearly
confused by his confession.

"Nope,
it’s all hers," he said as he pointed straight at me. 
"When Victoria took over, I signed it all over to her, lock, stock, and
barrel."

I’d
paid the princely sum of one dollar, as was tradition in our family, after
running the diner for five years with Greg.  Dad hadn’t lasted the
required number of years himself, nor had he ever really wanted the diner in
the first place.  No one had been happier when he’d witnessed Moose’s
name on the transfer of ownership to me.  I paid Moose a stipend every
month from our profits, and it was a situation that everyone was happy with in
the end.

"Then
how about buying my business as your retirement plan?  It’s steady
income, and while you won’t get rich, your investment will still grow a
bit at a time.  What do you say?"

"I
appreciate the offer, but no, thanks," Moose said.

Before
she could ask me, I added, "I’m afraid that I’m not in any
position to buy the place, either."

Penny
just shrugged, and then she went back to her folding.  "Hey, it was
worth a shot.  Do you know
anybody
who might want the place?"

"I
might be able to come up with a few names for you," Moose said,
surprising both of us.  Was he serious, or was my grandfather just trying
to get in good with this woman?  Knowing Moose as well as I did, I still
had no idea.

"That
would be great," she said, the relief on her face obvious.

"May
we ask why you have the sudden urge to move away?" I asked her.

"There’s
nothing all that sudden about it.  I’ve been thinking about moving
away for months now.  To be honest with you, this place is giving me
nightmares," Penny said, and then she must have realized how that had
sounded.  "I don’t mean the laundromat; I’m talking
about the town itself.  I’ve been playing with the idea of starting
over somewhere else, and then Wally goes and gets pitchforked on his own
property.  Not long after that, a tool chest falls on poor old Ron’s
head.  It’s just not safe around here anymore."

"Are
you and Ron close?" I asked. 

"No,
of course not.  He’s just a field-hand, for goodness sake.  My
bar’s quite a bit higher than that."

"Maybe
so, but you still went out with Wally Bain," I said, gently reminding her
of the fact that in essence, the two men had done much the same work side by
side every day.

"That
was different.  Wally owned the place; Ron was just an employee."

"I
can see why you might want to leave, but what’s the urgency?  If you
try to sell this place too quickly, you have to know that you won’t be
getting the best price for it."

"To
be honest with you, it just doesn’t matter all that much to me
anymore," she said.  "When I’m finished with something,
I’m done with it all the way."  Penny completed her folding
tasks and put the basket on the counter behind her. 

There
were several loads of fresh laundry there waiting to be picked up, and I had a
sudden thought.  "Did you happen to do Wally’s laundry on a
regular basis?  How about Ron’s?"

"I
did them both, as a matter of fact," she said.  "Theirs, and
Sally Ketchum’s, too.  I used to hate how dirty all their clothes
got, but what can I say?  They worked hard on those farms. 
What’s your point?  I do laundry for
most
of the bachelors in
town, and out, too."

"Do
you do many women’s clothes?" I asked.

"Not
many," she admitted.  "Why does that matter?"

"It
doesn’t," I said.  "I was just curious.  What do
you do when you find things in their pockets?"

It was
an idle question, but Penny shook her head indignantly as I asked it. 
"Victoria, what exactly are you accusing me of?"

"Nothing
at all," I said quickly.  I glanced over at my grandfather and saw
that Moose was watching Penny closely.  

"I’ll
have you know that I never stole a thing in my life," Penny protested,
"though there have been enough temptations over the years.  My
integrity is something I pride myself on.  Now, if you two aren’t
interested in buying this place or having any of your laundry done, it’s
time for you both to move on."

We
were practically ushered outside, and once we got back in Moose’s truck,
he drove away quickly. 

"Where
are we going in such a hurry?" I asked him.

"It
doesn’t matter, as long as it’s out of sight," he said, and
then Moose pulled over once we were safely around the corner.  He stopped
the truck, and then he turned to me.  "What made you ask her about
things being left behind in people’s clothing?"

"I
didn’t mean anything by it.  I swear, I just wondered about it, so I
asked.  She kind of blew up, didn’t she?"

"You
hit a nerve, there’s no doubt about it.  I just wonder if
that’s why she’s leaving town so suddenly."

"Do
you think she stole something of value from one of her customers?" I
asked him.

"I
don’t know, but I kind of doubt it.  I’m more inclined to
believe that she garnered some information from something someone left behind,
and she’s getting out of town while she can."

"Moose,
she was angry, not frightened, when I asked her the question."

"That’s
exactly how some folks react when they’re scared.  Did you see her
eyes?"

I
admitted, "No, I was so shocked by the way she responded to my innocent
question that she caught me completely off-guard."

"Well,
I was looking straight at her, and they dilated the second she heard what you
were asking.  Something’s going on there that we don’t know
about yet."

"I’m
not all that surprised," I said.  "To be honest with you,
I’ve felt lost during most of this investigation."

"It’s
a stumper, there’s no doubt about it.  This does speed up our
timetable, though.  I’ve got a hunch that Penny might be tied into
whatever’s been happening around here."

"Would
you mind sharing with me what you’re basing that on?" I asked.

"Would
you be satisfied if I told you that it was nothing more than years and years of
experience dealing with people of all types?"

"Not
really, but do I have any choice?"

"No,
as a matter of fact, you don’t," Moose said with the hint of a
chuckle in her voice.

"I
didn’t think so.  Where should we go next?  Should we stop by
the hospital and check on Ron?  I’d love to hear exactly what it was
that he was so desperate to tell me."

"I’m
afraid that there’s no need.  I already touched base with
Gracie.  She said there was no change in Ron, and they don’t expect
anything for three or four days."

"I
was afraid of that," I said.  "So, where does that leave
us?"

Moose thought
about it for nearly a full minute before he said, "I think we should take
another swing at Jan Bain.  She should be at Wally’s place by now,
but I’ve got a hunch that she’s not going to be here much longer,
either.  Victoria, if we’re not careful, we’re going to lose
all of our suspects before we’ve had a chance to figure out who was
behind stabbing Wally Bain."

"I
just hope Sheriff Croft is having more luck than we are," I said.

"I’ve
got a bad feeling that he hasn’t," Moose said.

"What
have you heard?" I asked him.

"Not
a thing, at least nothing that you haven’t heard yourself."

"Then
why do you think he’s spinning his wheels as badly as we are?" I
asked.

"Not
only has there been no arrest in Wally’s murder, I haven’t heard a
single rumor around town that he’s even getting close.  Have
you?"

I
thought about it, and then I shook my head.  "Folks have been
surprisingly quiet about who might have killed Wally, now that I think about
it, and I haven’t even heard a whisper that the sheriff’s about to
arrest anyone."

"There
you go," Moose said as he started the truck.  "At least that
means that we’re still in the race."

"I
wouldn’t mind losing it, to be honest with you," I said. 
"All I want is for Wally’s murderer to get caught and go to
jail."

"Then
we both need to keep digging," Moose said.

"Let’s
go see Jan," I agreed.

Chapter 11

"Is
that smoke ahead?" I asked as we headed down the highway toward Wally
Bain’s farm.

"It
is," Moose said as he sped up.  Behind us, I heard first one siren,
and then another.  "We’ve got to hurry."

"Is
it Wally’s place, or Sally’s?" I asked.

"From
here, it might even be Abel’s house," Moose said.  "We
won’t know until we get closer."

I
thought about the eccentric old man’s living quarters, and how proud he
was of where he lived.  I would hate to see him lose the place, since
he’d been so ingenious developing it all.  It was literally a
lifetime of work for him, and I knew that if something happened to his
homestead, there would be no way that he’d ever be able to ever replicate
it.

As we
got closer, Moose said, "Well, at least it’s not Abel’s
place.  It’s too close to the highway."

I
wasn’t sure why, but I was a little relieved to hear the news. 
Someone was going to lose something that mattered to them, but at least it wasn’t
the old man that I’d recently grown so fond of.

The
closer we got to the smoke, the more I began to realize that it was Wally
Bain’s property, though I still wasn’t sure if it was his house,
his barn, or both. 

"Do
you think Jan made it out in time if she was in there?" I asked.

Moose
just shrugged.  "It’s too soon to tell.  I just hope
we’re in time if somebody needs our help."

As we
pulled into the drive in front of the house, I saw a sudden movement back in
the woods away from the house. 

Someone
was running away! 

"Moose,
look over there!"

He
followed my pointing finger, and a split second later, the person I’d
spotted was gone.

"Did
you see who it was, too?" I asked, feeling sick to my stomach about who
I’d just witnessed running away from the burning house.

"It
was Abel Link," Moose said, his voice heavy with sadness.  "I
can’t believe that he’d do something like this."

"It
doesn’t make any sense," I said as the volunteer fire trucks
started to arrive, with Sheriff Croft’s police cruiser not far behind
them.

At
least Jan’s car was nowhere to be seen.

We got
out of Moose’s truck and were immediately met by the sheriff. 
"Any idea what happened here?" he asked us as we all stared at the
blaze. 

The
fire chief, a man named Simon Hester who carried the insurance policy on our
diner in his day job, came over before we could answer the sheriff. 
"Is there anybody inside?"

"Not
that we know of," I said.  "But we just got here."

That’s
when Jan Bain drove up in her Cadillac.  She got out of her car and
started toward the house.  I could feel the heat radiating from the blaze
onto my face, and the smells coming from the inferno were entirely
unpleasant.  There were pops, bangs, and even a small explosion or two as
the fire began to consume the house in real earnest now.

"What
happened?" she asked in disbelief.

"We
don’t know yet," Chief Hester answered.  "Jan, do you
have any reason to believe that anyone might be inside the house?"

"Nobody’s
in there," Jan said as she kept her gaze on the leaping the flames.

"Are
you absolutely sure?" Chief Hester asked again.

"If
they are, they had to have broken in to get there.  I deadbolted the door
behind me when I left the place two hours ago, so I’m as sure as I can
be."

The
fire chief nodded, and then he started walking back toward his men, shouting
directions as he walked.  It was clear that they were making no effort to
save the structure.

Jan
shouted after him, "Aren’t you going to do
anything
to try
to stop the fire?"

"There’s
nothing we can do about the house," Chief Hester said calmly. 
"We’ll keep the ground wet between the house and the barn, but
there’s nothing we can do to save your brother’s house. 
It’s too far gone.  I’m truly sorry."

Jan
couldn’t believe it.  "Do you honestly mean to stand there and
tell me that you’re not even going to try?"

He
sighed heavily, and Sheriff Croft stepped in.  "Ma’am, there
are no fire hydrants out here, so all they have is what’s in their pumper
truck.  All anybody can do is to watch it as it burns, and try to make
sure that it doesn’t spread."