Page 48 of Dairy and Deadly

“Yeah. A guy by the name of Martin Hobbs.” Farmer Monty studied his expression. “Have you met him yet?”

“Once.”Unfortunately.Johnny was less than thrilled to discover they were discussing Ashley’s ex-fiancé.

So much for my hope that he’s in her rearview mirror!He wondered if Ashley knew her ex was toying with the idea of moving to Heart Lake.

Farmer Monty nodded knowingly. “I reckon it makes sense your paths have crossed. It’s a small town, and you’re both dairy farmers.”

Johnny wasn’t ready to call Martin that. “I believe Martin is an attorney. From a big firm, too.” He gestured grandly with his fork.

“A real bigwig, eh?” Farmer Monty stood and gave the suspenders hooked to his jeans a snap as he marched across the room to fetch two tall mugs of milk. “Guess that explains his idiocy about dairy farming.”

“What do you mean?” Johnny waited for him to elaborate.

Farmer Monty returned to the table to slap the two mugs of milk down on it. “He doesn’t know the first thing about dairy farming, that’s what. After setting up some expensive machines that he can monitor from an app on his cell phone, he told me to dispose of the milk. Just throw it away!” He shook his head in disgust. “Claims it’s not enough to bother with bottling and distributing.”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Johnny wasn’t sure what to make of Martin’s strange request.

“Yes and no. I’ve been piping it to the hog pen.” Farmer Monty shrugged. “But that’s enough with the small talk. How about you tell me what you really came for?”

Johnny hated being the bearer of bad news, but he cared too much about the dear old fella to be anything less than honest with him. “The police received an anonymous tip about one of your employees,” he began slowly.

“You mean Caro?” Farmer Monty’s expression settled into grim lines.

Johnny nodded, choosing his next words carefully. “She may be involved in more than event planning.”

“Not surprised.” Farmer Monty pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“Do you mind me asking why?” Johnny was all ears if the guy was willing to share his concerns.

“Don’t mind at all.” The old farmer folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “After being held prisoner on my own farm a while back and nearly losing everything, I’ve gotten downright religious about vetting every new hire. Background checks. The whole enchilada. Even for the volunteers.”

“Who’s running the checks for you?” Since this was the first Johnny was hearing about them, he was betting it wasn’t the local police doing the honors.

“And old friend in law enforcement.” The farmer gestured vaguely. “He’s not from here.”

“Why?” Johnny demanded.

“Because I wanted more details,” Farmer Monty exploded with such energy that his shaggy beard shuddered. “Those standard checks don’t tell you squat!”

Johnny was almost afraid to ask his next question. “Did Caro’s come out clean?”

“In a manner of speaking,” the old cowboy drawled, looking smug. This time, however, he didn’t make Johnny beg him to keep talking. “We ran across a security clearance.”

Johnny was silent for a moment. “You’re telling me the owner of a glorified housekeeping company has a security clearance?”

“She walks dogs, does personal shopping, and offers chef services, too,” Farmer Monty pointed out like a proud father.

“Sir!”

The man shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Obviously, she’s more than what she lets on, but it can’t be bad, right? With the security clearance and all?”

“You’d think.” Johnny’s thoughts were racing along the lines of the FBI, CIA, or military. “Have you asked her about it?”

“Nope.” Farmer Monty gave a rusty cackle. “But I sure as all get out offered her a raise to move on site and start dusting my bookshelves. She moved into that loft apartment over the main barn yesterday, and I feel safer already.”

“I heard. Clint helped her move in.” Johnny was still puzzling his way through his brother-in-law’s dodgy mood ever since. He initially assumed Clint’s rare silence was due to having his ears barbecued by Caro, but what if something else was troubling the guy?

Farmer Monty gave him a sharp look. “He’s a nice kid like you.”

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