Page 57 of Dairy and Deadly

Ashley’s expression went blank as she digested the information.

“Due to the nature of the case, Miss Perkins, your phone records were subpoenaed, and multiple recent calls were traced back to Mrs. Monica Poet. Naturally, it made you look all the more involved yourself.”

“She’s my client.” Ashley sent a hard-to-read look to Caro. “A woman who doesn’t believe for a second that her father committed suicide. According to my investigation, Caro Madison was employed as his housekeeper when he died. She was also employed as the housekeeper of two other elderly men who died under similar circumstances. Naturally,” she mimicked the sheriff’s tone of voice, “it made her look more involved.”

“I was working on the case undercover.” Caro didn’t sound the least bit concerned over having roused the suspicions of a newly minted private investigator. “Sunrise Solutions was my cover story.”

“I was hired by Mr. Clark’s daughter to investigate you.” Ashley half-covered her face with one hand. “It’s starting to sound like I might owe you an apology.”

The sheriff typed some more on his tablet. “More like an exchange of apologies, since both of you have been barking up the wrong tree.”

Ashley’s fingers parted to send Caro a sheepish look. “Saying I’m sorry doesn’t feel adequate.”

“Whatever.” Caro sniffed. “I vote for moving on. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“Martin,” Ashley exclaimed suddenly, struggling to sit up straighter in bed. Her face went white from the effort. “He’s still out there somewhere.”

“Not for long,” Luke soothed. “I’ve got an APB out for him, roadblocks, the whole enchilada. It won’t be as easy for him to skedaddle in and out of Heart Lake anymore.”

She nodded, frowning. “Have you inspected the milking machines he installed at Chester Farm yet?”

“No.” The sheriff’s gaze sharpened. “Why?”

She quickly brought him up to speed on the mysterious rapid cooling chemical that seemed to be at the root of the matter. “I have a copy of the lawsuit the late Mr. Clark was preparing to file against the pharmaceutical firm in question. I’m not sure what Martin’s connection is to them. It’s possible he represents them. One way or the other, he’s involved.”

“I’ll say.” The sheriff made a call and ordered a raid of Martin’s milking machine setup. Within minutes, Farmer Monty had granted permission for law enforcement to search the premises, circumventing the need to acquire a warrant.

It didn’t take long for one of his deputies to report back with an update. All the milking machines had been removed. Every last nut, bolt, and cord. The holding tank, too.

“Check the hog pen,” Ashley suggested quickly. “Martin claimed the milk wasn’t enough to bottle and distribute and told Farmer Monty to dispose of it, but Farmer Monty is old school. He doesn’t believe in wasting anything. Not realizing it was contaminated, he’s been piping the milk to his porkers. That’s what Johnny and I were at the farm for earlier,” she sighed. “We were hoping to gather samples of the milk for testing. He only agreed to help me under one condition — we were to bring everything we found straight to the police.”

Before the evening was over, it was determined that the hogs in question were deathly ill. A team of veterinarians were called in to treat them.

The sheriff returned to the police department to deploy more resources in his search for Martin Hobbs.

Johnny was left alone with Ashley. Well, not quite.

Caro and Clint continued to linger.

Johnny gave his brother-in-law a dark look. “Still third and fourth-wheeling it over there, eh?” It was a hint for them to vamoose.

“Yep.” Instead of taking the hint, Clint slid an arm around Caro’s waist and moved closer to Ashley’s bed with her. “The sheriff and his posse are gonna get Martin, you hear?”

Though Ashley nodded, it was obvious she was still stressed about discovering he was a criminal. “Please assure me they’ve got a protective detail on Farmer Monty.”

“We do.” Johnny felt guilty about keeping that information from her, but it had been one of those need-to-know things at the time. “My higher-ups have already texted me that they’re adding drive-by patrols to the mix until Martin can be rounded up for questioning.”

The air slowly seeped out of her. “Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s starting to look like Martin is The Black Widow.”

Caro nodded. “Pretty diabolical, isn’t it?”

“We were engaged for five years,” Ashey murmured, looking sick. “Five years that overlapped the timeline of the deceased victims.”

Johnny shook his head in admonishment. “Don’t go there, Ash.” She’d tortured herself enough for one evening.

“I can’t help it,” she cried piteously. “He was setting me up as his fall girl, wasn’t he?”

Sadly, it looked that way.

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