Nipped in the Bud Page 8

  “Has anyone from any department of the police gone around asking members of the public if they recognize her? Because if they don’t, it’s going to look kind of funny. Unusual, at least. And definitely suspicious.”

  “Chapin, we know our jobs. It’s likely the woman had contacts in different parts of the community. She was trying to fit in. Maybe she looked for a job, or went to the library. Of course some people may have seen her.”

  “Did she use her real name? Or a fake one?”

  Detective Marcus’s face was growing redder by the minute. “I’m not obligated to tell you about our procedures. What’s your point?”

  “Seems to me like this is a pretty half-assed investigation, and people in the community may notice that. And it’s the narcotics people who are running it. As far as I can tell, they know less about Granford than you do. You know, Larry’s the least likely guy in the bunch to have had any contact, deliberate or accidental, with Jenn Chambers. Larry Bennett is not local. Sure, he’s been in the area for a while, but it’s not like he grew up here, and the time he’s spent here was mainly in a lab at the UMass campus. He doesn’t have a wide circle of friends, and he’s not exactly a warm and friendly guy. The other three are much more sociable, if the partying that goes on is any indication.”

  Meg saw the flaw in Seth’s reasoning just before Marcus opened his mouth. “Detective, do you have any reason to suspect Larry of dealing drugs? Any evidence? I’ll admit that if that was the case, Larry and Jenn might have crossed paths. But I don’t think it’s likely.”

  If Marcus was fixated on Larry, there wasn’t a lot she could do. Meg took a deep breath. “So you want to question Larry?”

  “I do. I realize that both of you are on his side, but that has no legal bearing on the investigation. I’m not planning to arrest him, just talk, but I do need to find out if he had a connection with Jenn. And I’ll ask the same questions of the other occupants of the house. Do you know where I can find Larry?”

  Seth answered him. “If he’s not up at the house, he said he’d drop by here this morning—we’re working on a project together.”

  “And we’re planning the spring orchard activities,” Meg added. “Do you want us to tell him you need to talk to him?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. I’ll find him soon enough.”

  “Do you seriously think he’s going to go on the run simply because a police officer wants to have a conversation with him?” Meg demanded.

  “Meg, I admire your trusting nature, but I may know more about his background than you do, and I’m not predisposed to trust him.” Marcus stood up abruptly. “I should be going. I’ll let you know what develops.”

  Seth saw him to the door, then shut it after him and leaned against the door to look at Meg. “Every time I think that guy might be half human, he goes back to cryptic mode. Why couldn’t he have simply taken ‘no, he’s not here’ as an answer? But no, he has to drop hints about something dark in Larry’s past, and then he doesn’t want either of us to clue Larry in.”

  “Are we going to?” Meg asked.

  Seth looked at her levelly for a few moments. “He’s your employee, so you have the right to choose. You have more to lose.”

  “Seth, that’s not fair! We may not know Larry well, but Marcus doesn’t know him at all. Christopher vouched for Larry, and I think Christopher is a good judge of character and a fair-minded man. If there’s something in his past that is sketchy, I’d like to hear Larry’s version before I throw him to Marcus.”

  Seth finally smiled. “Meg, don’t bite my head off. I happen to agree with you. Of course, Larry may not want to share all his dark secrets and may run anyway, but I’d like to give him a chance.”

  Meg smiled back. “Good, because that’s what I think too. Look, whenever he shows up, would it be better if you talked to him, man to man, or should I do it? I’m not even sure where or how to start.”

  “Well, you can try the obvious: ask him if he knew Jenn.”

  “Seth, that won’t help much if he lies.”

  “Oh. Right. So what do we do? Wait—have we ever seen him with a girl?”

  “He’s almost thirty—I believe the correct term these days is woman. But I rarely see him except here. He did say something about not liking all the noise and stuff that the guys at the house make. He didn’t mention any women there, though, although I assume there have been some. I really don’t feel comfortable with this. I want Larry to believe that I trust him, if I’m going to be working with him.”

  Seth smiled. “I think we’re caught in the middle. Marcus is the steady, stern grown-up, and Larry is secretive. They’re not going to mesh well.”

  “That’s all too true. So, we’re going to talk to Larry, and then we’ll decide whether we should share whatever information we get with Marcus. Or maybe Art.”

  “I hate to throw cold water on this, but how much do you trust Larry to tell you the truth?”

  “Seth, I really don’t know.”

  Chapter 11

  Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Larry knocking at the back door. Whatever else he might be, he was punctual and reliable. And Meg didn’t seriously consider him a killer. Did she? Marcus had planted the thought in her head, but he’d been wrong before. But she would have to tread carefully with both Marcus and Larry. Here she’d thought that retiring to the country and tending trees would give her a simpler life, but that certainly wasn’t working out.

  She decided to pretend things were normal. “Hi, Larry—you eaten breakfast?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. Seth, you up for getting started?”

  “Sure,” he said, with an enthusiasm that only Meg would recognize as slightly forced. “Did you have any new ideas after thinking about the layout?”

  “I’d vote for keeping it simple. I like the two-story idea—putting the bed in a loft up above. But downstairs I don’t need much—kitchen, bath, and a room with someplace to sit, maybe a table.”

  “For one person, or more than one?” Seth asked.

  “Like a round table, maybe. More than one chair, but some that could be put out of the way. Look, I don’t have a lot of company.”

  Seth replied, “Still, if I want to show this to other people, so they know what’s possible, they’d probably expect a table with two or four chairs. Don’t panic—I wouldn’t just barge in on you with snoopy people, and we’re a long way from finishing it, much less giving tours. Call this an experiment. If there’s something you don’t like, it’ll be easy enough to change. What kind of windows do you think you want?”

  “Uh, well”—obviously Larry hadn’t thought about that detail—“not too big, to save heat. But enough for some good light. At least there’s nobody who could see in, in any direction.”

  “True. How about a porch in front?”

  “Why?” Larry looked bewildered.

  “It would make it look more finished, without a lot more work. Give another place to sit, when the weather’s nice. Oh, and I’d stick storage spaces inside wherever possible, built in. I know you don’t have much stuff, but other people might, in the future.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I can see that.”

  Poor Larry, Meg thought. He seemed so out of his depth. Had he never considered how he wanted to live? She wondered if he even owned pots and pans to cook with, or plates to eat from. There wouldn’t be room for a washer unless . . . “Maybe a stackable washer/dryer. Mini-fridge or larger?” Meg asked.

  “I don’t eat much,” Larry said.

  “I’d get a small one for now, but leave room for something larger in the future,” Seth told him. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Larry said.

  “While you two big strong men are out there laying out the place and sawing wood, I’ll make lunch,” Meg said. “Isn’t that my job?”

  “Sure, after you’ve milked the cows and baked six pies,” Seth said, grinning. “We’ll be back in a while.” Seth led Larry out the back, talking about measurem
ents and materials.

  He’s really into this project, Meg thought. And why shouldn’t he be? He liked to keep busy, and he liked to make—or repair—things. And this was a practical solution to what would probably be an ongoing problem. With Bree Meg had been able to offer a room and all the conveniences of a house, but now that wouldn’t work, so her employee, whoever it was, would have to fend for himself. The tiny house was a kind of compromise. Even if Larry left at some point in the future, it could still serve as a guesthouse, or worst case, as storage. And knowing Seth, even the outside would be carefully thought out and well assembled—nice to look at. She turned to study the contents of her refrigerator, thinking of what could go into a hearty soup. Lolly checked out what she was doing and went back to sleep, and Meg rubbed her head before returning to menu planning. Soup with corn bread on the side, she decided—she knew she had plenty of cornmeal.

  Chopping vegetables gave her time to think. Or forced her to think—she’d already been doing too much of that lately. It had been a hectic few months recently. Getting married to Seth had certainly been a major distraction, but, she realized, she’d known him for quite a while by the time they had decided to make it official. It hadn’t been an overnight decision, or a moment of headlong passion. In fact, he hadn’t much liked her when they’d first met—how trite was that? She wasn’t looking for anything like a relationship then, and he’d already been divorced. But things had kind of happened, over time. She’d gotten to know his family, and he had encountered hers, in the midst of a murder investigation. She’d struggled to figure out how to run an orchard, and he’d given her space to learn—not that he knew any more about growing apples than she did. They’d built a foundation for a life together step by step, without hurrying.

  So why had she made such a leap of faith with Larry? She’d gone solely with Christopher’s recommendation and her gut. Well, for one thing she felt sorry for Larry. He was pretty close in age to her, but he seemed oddly naïve, and kind of lost. She hadn’t wanted to pry about his upbringing, but she’d gotten the impression that it was lonely. He had trouble making friends, or maybe he simply didn’t want to. She wasn’t about to judge him as long as he could do the job she’d hired him for, and Christopher had promised her that he could.

  But had she failed to do her homework? Job application? References (beyond Christopher’s)? Academic record? Did he, heaven forbid, have a criminal record, juvenile or adult? Marcus would find out easily, if such a record existed. She’d kind of thrown herself on the mercy of fate, hoping for the best, and shutting her eyes to the worst. It had worked pretty well—until now. Still, while she respected Marcus’s abilities as a police officer, she didn’t quite trust him as a judge of character. He wasn’t the type to fixate on the first available suspect, but neither was he equipped to understand the real person, and certainly not on short acquaintance. “Just the facts, ma’am”—wasn’t that a catchphrase from some old television show? Facts had their place, but so did empathy. Seth definitely had more empathy than Marcus. Meg was glad he was on her side about Larry—and had her back. Now there was a muddled metaphor.

  She went back to chopping. Onions, carrots, dried beans, herbs, stock. Potatoes could go in later. Maybe it wasn’t an inspired mix, but it was hearty and filling. Good country food. Well, she was a farmer. She’d said so on her tax return!

  A couple of hours later Seth and Larry came back in. Larry looked more animated than he had earlier. Maybe he and Seth had bonded over carpentry. “Something smells great!” Seth said.

  “Soup and corn bread. I could make brownies for later, unless of course you’ve finished the whole thing already.”

  “Not quite. Larry’s going to make a run to the box stores to get some items I forgot. He can look at appliances while he’s there.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Meg said, ladling soup into earthenware bowls. “Eat first.”

  It didn’t take long for the soup to disappear. Larry finished first and carried his dishes to the sink. “I’ll head out now,” he told Meg and Seth, “so maybe we’ll have some time to work some more after I get back, while there’s still light.”

  “Thanks, Larry,” Seth said. “Why don’t you take the truck? Here are the keys.” He tossed a small bunch to Larry, who caught it skillfully in one hand.

  “See you later,” Larry said as he left.

  Once Larry had maneuvered Seth’s truck out of the driveway, Meg and Seth remained sitting across from each other at the table. “Anything to report?” Meg asked.

  “Apart from the fact that I feel guilty trying to pry information out of Larry? I can’t say he’s hiding anything, or if he is, he’s doing a good job of it. But he’s pretty closemouthed anyway, so it’s hard to tell.”

  “What did you talk about? I mean, you did talk while you were measuring and cutting and all that stuff?”

  “Some. You know, man stuff. We grunt now and then, and point.”

  “You’re kidding?” Meg asked.

  “Of course I am. Mostly we talked about his life growing up, and how he learned about orchards. More the latter than the former. He didn’t say much about his childhood, but I’d guess it wasn’t exactly happy. To his credit, he didn’t slander either of his parents. But it sounds like he didn’t have a lot of friends, because he always had to help out on the farm. Maybe that’s why he’s having trouble adjusting to living in a house full of guys. He’s just not used to it.”

  “Think he’ll loosen up with time?”

  “Maybe. I don’t think he feels very secure about his life, where he’s going. Like whether you’ll keep him on. He seems to keep expecting the worst.”

  “I don’t pick my employees based on personality, you know.”

  “Meg, you’ve hired all of two people—and both of them were more or less handed to you by Christopher. I’m not saying he was wrong about either of his candidates, but you can’t exactly take the credit.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I could have said no.” Could she? she wondered. “Bree worked out well enough.”

  “Yes, she did, but you were lucky.”

  “Seth, what are we talking about here? I trust Christopher, and I want to think that most people are decent and hardworking and will do what they promise to do. Bree did. I want to believe that Larry will. So what’s the argument here?”

  Seth sat back in his chair and stretched. “Maybe I’m not being fair—to you or to Larry. But when somebody is found shot dead in my backyard, I start feeling suspicious of everyone. I don’t like it. Plus—don’t laugh—I feel it’s my job to protect you.”

  Meg absorbed Seth’s words with mixed feelings. First came happiness—it was sweet of him to worry about her. Second came annoyance: she was an independent woman capable of taking care of herself, and she didn’t need a man to take care of her. Third came confusion: Was she supposed to thank him? Argue with him? Change the subject to something neutral like the weather? None of those seemed right. His response was predictable: caveman protecting his mate, and all those future generations of little cavepersons who would grow up to be modern Homo sapiens. And that’s the way the human race was hardwired, no matter what feminists had to say. But wanting to protect her meant that Seth loved her, and that was worth something. Finally she said, “I hope I won’t need that, but thank you. And I’d do the same for you, as far as I am able.”

  “If I remember correctly, you already have.”

  “Oh, right. Well, there was that. Don’t let it be necessary again, please!”

  He came around the table, and when she stood he wrapped his arms around her and simply held her, and she relaxed against him. Yes, this is good. This is the way it should be. Just as long as he remembers I have a brain too.

  “So, what do we do about Larry?” he murmured into her hair.

  Meg took a step back. “Way to break the mood, buddy! But if you’re asking seriously, I’d say we tell him that Marcus is looking for him and why and see how he reacts. There might
be a simple explanation. Or he might panic and walk out the door and disappear. If that happens, do we have to tell Marcus that we tipped him off?” Tell him that we chose to bank on instinct rather than his rather sparse facts?

  “I hope not.”

  “Did you make a plan to get together with him again?” Meg asked.

  “He’s going to bring back the materials today, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be too late to start on anything. The weather’s supposed to be decent tomorrow, so we can start in the morning.”

  “Does he—I’m not sure how to put this—seem to feel a sense of ownership of the house yet?”

  “Frankly I think he’s incredulous that anyone would do something like this, just for him. Poor kid—maybe he’s never owned anything, or never felt he belonged anywhere.”

  “He’s not exactly a kid, but I know what you mean. Do you think he’ll loosen up once we get to working in the orchard?”

  “Maybe. I hope so. He’s a good kid.”

  Chapter 12

  After a quiet evening, Meg and Seth went to bed early, and the next morning Seth was already up and bustling around in the kitchen below when Meg woke up. Meg was happy to see that the day promised to be sunny, which meant that Seth and Larry could make some progress on their construction project. She assumed Seth was handling all the permits and permissions to move forward, but given his position as councilman in the community, he’d do it all by the book. Which was as it should be. He was an honest guy, and he wanted people to know that.

  She scrambled out of bed, threw on some warm fleece clothes, and went down to the kitchen. Max was asleep on the floor, next to his empty dish. He looked up when Meg walked into the kitchen, but once he’d identified her he went back to sleep, so Seth must already have fed him, or he’d be gnawing eagerly at her ankles. Lolly didn’t seem to be hungry either: in her favorite nook on top of the refrigerator she was busy giving herself a thorough bath. Meg looked out the window and was not surprised to see the goats munching on their daily allotment of hay. Where did Seth find the energy to get all these things done? At least she could tell that he’d eaten breakfast—and hadn’t washed his dishes. So he was human after all.