Page 38 of Dairy and Deadly

“No, but I’ve heard it’s a game changer.” She’d never invested in the equipment for that.

“It is.” He sounded pleased by her response. “Whenever you’re ready to change up your game, drop by my cabin and I’ll brew you a cup.”

“Wow! Thanks.” She twisted away from him, feeling a little off balance. She hoped like crazy that his offer wasn’t some subtle attempt at a romantic overture. It almost made her wish she hadn’t agreed to let him drive her to church.

Since she and he were working their way down the row of milking stations in opposite directions, there was a lull in their chatting until they finished the task.

She straightened and stretched her back. “I’ll go get changed,” she called to him.

Clint gave her a critical once-over from the other end of the barn. “No need. Everyone else is gonna be in jeans.”

“Perfect.” Her thoughts drifted to Johnny while she started sweeping the walkway. She wondered if he attended the same church or attended church at all, for that matter. While she daydreamed about her boss, she mulled over their last conversation. A new possibility popped into her head, making her chew on her lower lip.

If Johnny had truly been strong-armed by his higher ups to attend the Valentine event as Caro’s plus one, it was entirely possible he was also the one who’d been tasked with investigating her anonymous tip to the police. From what she’d gathered, the Heart Lake Police Department was a small outfit. It only made sense they might outsource something like this to a local security firm, especially one that employed a retired sheriff.

Assuming her theory was correct, she needed to find a way to feed Johnny more info about Caro, preferably without revealing her own role as a PI.

She put away the broom and pulled out her cell phone, wondering if she had time to call her client for a quick update. “Hey, Clint! What time are we taking off?”

“Thirty minutes, give or take,” Clint supplied, sounding closer than she’d expected.

“Excellent. I’ll be back in a few.” She hurried from the barn without waiting for a reply, and headed for her cabin. After sleeping the last half of the night next to Brie, she preferred to freshen up before heading to church. Though there was no shame in working as a farm hand, she had zero interest in smelling like one in public.

Can Opener was waiting for her on the back porch. “Hey, big guy!” She leaned forward to cup his furry head between her hands. “Miss me?”

He purred and dashed inside the moment she opened the door.

“I hope you’re not expecting breakfast,” she muttered. “I still haven’t had the chance to make a grocery run.”

He raced around the cabin, sniffed a bunch of stuff, then hopped onto his favorite end of the sofa. She kept a fuzzy brown blanket folded in a big, fluffy square for him there. It was a spare blanket she’d found in the closet, and Johnny didn’t seem to care what she did with any of the stuff she’d found.

She watched him knead the blanket like bread dough before curling up in the center of it. “Be good!” She wagged a finger at him. “I’m going to rinse off.”

She sped through one of the shortest showers of her life and pulled on a clean sweater and pair of jeans. It was so nice to have her laundry washed and folded again.It’s the small things in life.She let out a contented sigh, promising herself she’d never take stuff like that for granted again.

Then she dialed her client.

The late Mr. Clark’s daughter picked up on the first ring. “Ashley?” Monica Poet’s voice was edged with anxiety. “Oh, thank goodness!”

Ashley frowned. “Is everything okay, ma’am?” As soon as she asked the question, she wanted to kick herself. Of course, everything wasn’t okay. Her father was dead.

“I found out something new.” Her client sounded breathless. “But you called me, so if you want to go first…”

“Not at all.” Ashley had never met anyone kinder or more considerate. “You first.”

“Okay.” The woman drew a deep breath. “I’ve been going through Daddy’s things. Donating clothes to charity and what not.” Her voice grew choked. She paused to clear her throat. “I ran across some papers that indicate he was in the middle of filing a lawsuit against some big pharma company. I know it may not have anything to do with our investigation, but…” Her voice trailed off again.

“We’re not ruling anything out at this point,” Ashley assured. In her experience, a pending lawsuit was far from nothing. “What was he suing them about?”

“A new rapid cooling process.”

“Tell me more.” Ashley needed context.

“All dairy farmers have a cooling process for the raw milk they produce,” Monica explained. “It reduces the risk of bacteria growing.”

“Makes sense.” Ashley already knew that from her couple of weeks of working at Johnny’s Dairy.

“It involved a control group of cattle inside daddy’s herd.” Monica’s voice grew more animated. “I can’t believe this is the first time I’m hearing about it. Daddy and I were close. He usually told meeverything!” Her tone dissolved into pure bitterness. “But that was beforeshecame along.”

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