Page 83 of Exposure of Murder

“How much money are we talking about?” Ethan asked. This could be the link they needed to tie the case together, and if he were a betting man, this man was probably tied to the gang Sean was looking into.

“Thousands.”

“Still doesn’t explain the events at Jane’s farm.”

Adam raised a finger. “It does if this Viper and Thornton were trying to buy the farm and then oversell it or use it to launder money or … there’s something on it one of them wanted.”

“Okay. I’ll go along with that. Why don’t you check the county clerk’s office and tax assessor’s office records and see if anything pops up? Also, back issues of the newspaper. Go back as far as you can.”

“Will do,” replied Adam.

“Jimbo, anything?”

“Nothing. It’s impossible to know who’s new in town, just visiting, or passing through. There’ve been no incidents of any kind. Emmett’s still checking, but that’s going nowhere.”

“Okay, I’m going to check with Sean and see if that name rings a bell,” Ethan said. Crap. The list of information they didn’t have was growing, and Jane’s life was still in danger.

Forty-Two

The next day, Bucky was feeling well enough to go home. Jane stood on the porch and bid him goodbye as the crisp morning air nipped at her cheeks. She winced as he cautiously eased himself into the driver’s seat. Since his car was already at the farm, he drove himself home.

Snow would fall soon, and she needed to get some sort of plow for the tractor, but that discussion could wait until Bucky returned to work.

Ethan spent the night as promised. She felt safe in his arms. This morning, he left early for work. The scent of his cedar and spice soap lingered in the bathroom. There was something intriguing about masculine scents.

Jane knew Sean would be there the next day to install the security cameras and was relieved that there would be additional security around the farm.

Needing a distraction from the memory of the fire, Jane called Claire and Olivia. She arranged to meet them for lunch at the Harvest Moon.

Friends and a bowl of the diner’s homemade soup and freshly baked bread were exactly what she needed. And a bonus—Leah would be getting off work by the time they got there, so she could join them.

Jane busied herself with chores, feeding the chickens and sheep, reveling in the familiar sounds of the hens clucking and the bleating of the sheep. The routine felt comforting without the distraction of fire and smoke. She could almost forget the chaos—almost.

Afterward, she walked back to the house to take a shower. The warmth of the shower washed over her, soothing her tense muscles. She took her time dressing, pulling on a soft green sweater and leggings.

Then her thoughts drifted to dinner. Tonight, it would just be her and Ethan, so she wanted to make it special. Not sure what Ethan liked, although he seemed to like everything, she figured she couldn’t go wrong with some sort of meat and potato dish. Maybe he’d like roast beef with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans sauteed with mushrooms. It would be a perfect meal for a quiet evening in front of the fire. Yum. She could pick up the ingredients while she was out.

On her way to town, the landscape blurred, a mix of bare trees and fields so different from a couple of months ago. She passed the horse farm, which was quiet today—no lessons in the ring—past the Browns’ farm with its silo standing like a sentinel. She wondered if it was worth the money to build one. Decided no. There were too many other projects that needed to be done first.

Reaching downtown, she maneuvered her car through a small traffic jam. And wasn’t that a laugh? Traffic jam. There were probably ten cars waiting for a maintenance man to fix a traffic light. Nothing like the gridlock she was used to in Boston.

Jane parked on the street and walked into the Harvest Moon. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and apple pie filled the airand relaxed her. Claire and Olivia were already seated in one of the booths.

“Over here, Jane,” Claire called out and waved. Jane slid into the booth next to Olivia, the leather seat creaking beneath her.

“I’m so glad you two could make it,” Jane said with a smile. “Leah will be finished in a few minutes and is going to join us.”

“Great,” replied Olivia. Her eyes narrowed in curiosity. “Sooo, tell us what happened?”

Jane knew the fire would be a hot topic of discussion, especially since Olivia was a journalist. She described how they saw the fire and rushed over to find the greenhouse ablaze.

“Ohhh, that’s awful. Who would do such a thing?” Olivia asked.

Jane shook her head and hesitated, felt her pulse quickening.

It wasn’t public knowledge that the fire was suspected to be foul play. Ethan hadn’t said anything about discussing it, so she had to be careful.

“Olivia, we don’t know for sure what happened. The fire chief is going to inspect it to determine if it was foul play or not.” It was a little white lied but she thought Ethan wanted to keep it out of the paper for now.

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