Page 52 of Dairy and Deadly

“Nothing. He told Farmer Monty to toss it, so Farmer Monty is recycling it to his pig pen.” It was rather clever of him.

Her face grew ashen. “No!” A keening wail tore out of her. “That can’t be right!”

She looked so distraught that Johnny ushered her into the nearest storage room.

“Start. Talking.” He was beyond caring whether he was being insensitive. Too much was at stake for them to continue walking on eggshells around each other.

“I need to make a call first.” She spoke through bloodless lips as she raised her cell phone to her ear.

He could hear it ringing on the other end.

“Monica?” Ashley’s voice shook. “I need you to sign a form, allowing me to partner with a local private investigator on your case.” She fell silent while she listened. “Yes, I trust him. Implicitly.” She ended the phone call moments later.

“Give us a minute.” She opened a secure app on her phone, punched some buttons, and waited. “There it is.” She clicked open the form and scanned it. Then she pocketed the phone and faced him.

“We need to go have a look at Farmer Monty’s pigs. I’ll explain everything on the way there.”

Chapter 10: Wires Crossed

Johnny reached for Ashley’s hand and ran with her toward his house. Reaching inside his pocket, he pressed the remote button on his key fob to open the garage door. Neither of them spoke another word until they were buckled inside his Jeep.

“I’m a private investigator,” she admitted as he backed out of his garage.

“Figured it was something like that.” It still didn’t explain Caro’s insistence that Ashley might’ve been a dirty cop, but it was nice having at least one mystery solved.

“I didn’t just leave the force because I couldn’t pass my psych eval,” she continued. “I couldn’t bear sticking around while they butchered my partner’s history of selfless service. Police Detective John Bench was one of the kindest, most honest, and truly honorable men I’ve ever met.” The grief in her voice was unmistakable. “I would’ve rather died myself that night than live to see what they’ve put his family through.” She brushed at the wetness forming at the corners of her eyes. “They posthumously stripped him of his rank and awards. They took away his pension and life insurance. His widow got nothing,” she spat. “Nothing!”

Johnny wasn’t sure what any of this had to do with Farmer Monty’s hogs, but he figured she was working up to it. Instead of saying anything, he reached across the console for her hand.

It touched him deeply the way she didn’t hesitate to place her hand in his. It was icy from the cold outside. He closed his fingers around hers to warm them.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she continued in a rush. “I’ve barely been able to eat. The doctors keep telling me it’s because of the trauma, but I think it’s more than that. I witnessed something that night, Johnny. Something I wasn’t supposed to. Something I was supposed to write off as a figment of my tormented imagination in the middle of the horrors we endured.”

He tightened his fingers around hers. “I’m listening if you want to talk about it, Ash.” He sensed that she was finally ready.

“From the get-go, something felt off about the 9-1-1 call.” Her voice grew feverish. “It was the only time in my career I was sent on a so-called drug bust to a dairy farm.” Her voice grew thready. “We stepped into an ambush. Afterward, the only drugs anyone found were the ones on my partner’s remains. It was a setup, Johnny. I know it way down in the deepest parts of my soul. I just can’t prove it.”

Though he knew a thing or two about despair, he’d never heard that kind of despair coming from another person before.

She stared out the window in silence for so long that he squeezed her fingers again to reassure her. “What did you witness that night?”

“Martin was there,” she whispered. “In the days that followed, I assumed my brain had mixed things up…because of how close I came to dying.” She shook her head. “But Martin was no longer my happy place. He hadn’t been for a long time. Our relationship was undeniably on the rocks the night I almost left this world. I should’ve been seeing a bright white light. Not him.”

“You believe he was actually there that night?” Johnny didn’t like where this was heading.

“I do. I believe it with everything in me, but I didn’t know why until you mentioned his jaunt into dairy farming.”

“I’m afraid I’m not following you.” He wanted to, but the dots just weren’t connecting for him.

“My client found a file that revealed her late father was preparing to file a lawsuit against a big pharmaceutical company.” She painstakingly unpacked the details of her case for him. “In an experiment that he agreed to, they were injecting some chemical into the raw milk at his farm that was supposed to accelerate the rapid cooling process. But it didn’t. It introduced a new strain of genetically modified bacteria into the milk, completely ruining it for human consumption.”

That didn’t sound good to him. “What about hog consumption?”

She shook her head drearily. “My gut says the contaminated milk can’t possibly be good for any living creature. Unfortunately, Mr. Clark died before officially filing his case.” She pulled her hand away from his. “And now to find out that Martin is venturing into dairy farming hundreds of miles away from where he lives…it shook a few more details loose from my memories about that fateful night. If Martin was truly present at the so-called drug bust where my partner was executed in cold blood, then he’s somehow tied into this mess. He has to be!”

Johnny agreed, though he wasn’t convinced that a trip to Chester Farm was the next logical step. “You need to take this to the police, Ash.”

“I’m planning to,” she assured him. “Just as soon as I have proof.”

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