She laughed.
PMS in concert.
Harry and her friends arent like that.
Tucker always defended her human.
No, but think about it: With the exception of Coop, theyve known one another from birth. Miranda used to babysit Harry. Susan and Harry shared a cradle. Different.
Reckon so.
Tucker pushed open the dog door into the barn.
Everybody knows her place.
Mrs. Murphy laughed.
Thats the great thing about being a cat. Im not a pack animal. You and Harry are.
Youre part of the family. Thats a pack.
Im part of the family, but I figure Im always number one. No struggle for place.
Oh, Murphy.
Tucker couldnt understand this.
Tucker, sweetie, dogs are so literal.
Mrs. Murphy rubbed her head on the corgis. Mrs. Murphy then pushed through the second dog door into the tack room. She hurried to the tack trunk, jumped on top, and peered behind it. A fairly large mouse entrance was there.
Hey, you all. Crumbs in the aisleway. You know the deal. You can eat the scattered grain from the horse buckets, but youd better clean it up or Harry will think Im not doing my job.
A tiny set of whiskers appeared, a pair of bright eyes, then the whole mouse emerged.
All right. Anything else?
Nope.
The two friends left the barn, slipped through the dog door in the winter-porch door, cleaned their feet, then pushed through the dog door into the kitchen. Inez, like a teenage girl, was having a sleepover with the Haristeens. She was truly enjoying not having her own house
to manage for a while. Aunt Tallys hundredth had been a good excuse to tarry, visit, talk about everything under the sun.
Harry and Inez were huddled around Inezs laptop. The envelope icon popped up. Harry fooled around and photos appeared: two photos of Flo slumped over her desk.
Inez, this is sick.
Sick or a warning? Inez felt terrible seeing Flo like that.
The loss of Flo affected Inez, even though she was angry at Flo for not telling her up front about her investigation of Mariah. Sometimes you dont know how much someone means to you until theyre gone. As to Mariahs vanishing, Inez didnt know what to think. She liked her well enough, but theyd never clicked the way she had with Flo.
Before we call anyoneI mean the sheriff, whos a good guylets wait until my friend Coop comes home tomorrow. I want her to look at this first.
Are you sure we should wait a day? Inez couldnt look at the photos anymore.
I think so. If I call the sheriff, you give up your computer. I want to look at this with Coop.
If you think its best. Inez breathed deeply. Whoever left this is part of it. Well, I guess thats obvious.
One day, Harry said soothingly.
Harry, one day can be a lifetime.
Inez flipped her phone shut out of nervousness, then opened it again. Well, I can at least tell Tally to be alert. I dont know if shes in danger, but this is much too close for comfort.
C
ooper asked to keep Inezs laptop for a few hours. We have a geek on the force now. Maybe he can retrieve information. Ill have it back by supper.
Of course. Inez, back at Aunt Tallys, had packed her bags. She was returning home to shutter the place, collect some things. She thought it could be done in a day, but she wouldnt really know until she got into the middle of it. Hopefully, shed return for good when Flos killer was apprehended.
Once Aunt Tally had learned of the pictures and seen them, shed insisted Inez not be alone. While the centenarian lived alone, too, Little Mim and Blair were on Rose Hill.
Inez, back with her old friend after her sleepover, also wanted to make sure all was well back in ManakinSabot and to tell Blanca Drabek what she was doing. Liz Filmore, who had stayed over with Terri, was going to drive Inez home.
As Harry had driven Inez over to Rose Hill, she and Cooper drove back. Cooper wanted to talk to Aunt Tally, but it would wait until she returned later with Inezs laptop.
Inez, gazing out the window, never failed to be fascinated by the topographical changes as one left the Blue Ridge Mountains. Steep rolling
hills and ridges that led up to the mountains gave way to land with a softer roll. The soil changed, too. The red clay and stone outcroppings yielded to Davis loam; in some spots, rich brown alluvial deposits beckoned. The red clay did not easily yield supremacy, though.
Thinking? Liz kept her eyes on the road.
Nonstop, Inez, whose light feminine voice had become a touch gravelly with the years, replied. You?
Ditto.
And?
Lizs brow furrowed. In a way, I still cant believe it. Flo was good to me; she shared her knowledge. Liz half-smiled. Sometimes more out of irritation than affection.
Inez hadnt expected such an insight from Liz. Well, dear, you can be persistent on your own behalf.
I like to think its on my clients behalf, but, she paused, Ive benefited. Tim and I have been blessed.
That means profit. Inez noticed the volume of trucks taking the exit to Zion Crossroads. Dear God, how this place has changed. Zion Crossroads.
Twenty years ago you couldnt give it away.
Oh, you werent sentient twenty years ago. Inez crossed her arms over her chest, pressed at her elbows, and released.
Made her tight back feel better.
No, but I listen to those who were. She accepted the teasing comment. Thats why I listened to Flo.
I did, too. She piloted our board through smooth as well as treacherous financial waters. Always timely with her updates, always willing to listen, always had something interesting to say.
A tear rolled down Lizs cheek. I guess I know it was Mariah who killed her.
Innocent until proven guilty, yet she did have a clear motive. You know, Liz, I will never understand why people steal. It takes so much effort, planning, execution. Wouldnt it be easier to apply that to legitimate business?
Liz slowed, because the car in front of her had swerved to the right. Its wheel caught the asphalt edge, and the driver overcorrected.
Wonder what hes on?
Could be exhaustion.
Thats the truth. Were all working ourselves to death, and I really think part of the drug epidemic is to keep awake, keep alert.
Or to escape. Wind down. But back to Mariah. It boggles the mind.
It does, but you asked why people steal when they could put the effort into honest enterprise. One word, Inez, one word: taxes.
Inezs eyes widened; she turned toward Liz. I never thought of that.
I promise you. There will be more and more white-collar crime, drug cartels, more petty cheating. Taxes are out of control. You want to throttle initiative, growth? Raise taxes.
History makes that point abundantly clear. For many reasons, Inez was glad she was at the end of her life, not the beginning; one was that she wouldnt be crushed during her most productive years by unjust taxation.
Some days Tim and I swear were going to chuck it all and move to Costa Rica.
But youre okay.
For now. Do you have any idea how many hours we waste filling out government forms or forms sent to us by Fast Grow, she named an agricultural giant, which are generated ultimately to protect against lawsuits?
So you think Mariahs goal was to keep the fruits of her labors?
Of course. Shed make a much greater profit by selling the fakes. Sure, shed pay taxes on that profit, but it wasnt as though she was taking the risk of selling OxyContin.