They heard a chorus of tinny voices. "Aye." Then one lone "Nay."
"Rodger Dodger!" Loulou said peeking her little head out of the entrance. She was a feisty mouse and a confident one. Yes.
"We are almost unanimous. We agree to your terms, a free year, but I have a personal favor to ask."
"What?"
"Can you talk to Lucy Fur and Elocution, the Reverend Jones's two cats? My youngest sister's family lives behind the tapestry of the Ascension. Lucy Fur and Elocution hassle them constantly. I'm not asking for a moratorium, just a little less hassle, you know?"
"I don't know those cats," Rodger honestly replied.
"I do," Mrs. Murphy quickly said. "I'll talk to them. You have my word."
"You must have mice at your barn," Loulou pushed.
"I do, but you all are browns and they are grays. I doubt any of your family is out my way."
A pause followed. "You're probably right, but you will talk to these barn cats?"
After a long pause Murphy agreed, "Yes. Now, will you tell us what is in Orion's stall, and whether you remember any of the people involved."
Loulou coughed, clearing her throat. "I was very young. Mother was still alive but I remember it as if it were yesterday. Five years ago last July. Hotter than Tophet. Coty Lamont and a fellow called Sargent dug a deep hole in the corner of the stall. Had to be two in the morning, and about four when they finished. The earth was soft there, so they made good work of it. We could smell how nervous they were. You know, that sharp, ugly odor." She caught another big breath. "They left, then came back with a heavy canvas tarp and a man holding either end. I couldn't see what was in it but I could smell blood."
"Damn," Mrs. Murphy whispered.
Loulou listened to a squeak then said, "Mom and I and the older mice, no longer living, of course, watched from the hayloft. When they lifted the tarp to lower it in, I guess they were tired because they dropped it, and one end unraveled a little. Lots of brassy hair spilled out. Mother got a good look at the face because she ran along the top of the stall beam."
All the animals held their breath as Loulou continued. "It was Marylou Valiant."
Livid, Addie Valiant opened her safe deposit box at Crozet National in the presence of five onlookers. Rick Shaw and bank president, Dennis Washington, stared at the brown-paper-wrapped package. By opening the box in the evening they had avoided the regular ebb and flow of banking traffic, diminishing the chances of someone getting wind of Addie's escapade.
"I don't know why everyone has to be here." Addie pouted. Arthur stood next to Dennis. Chark, arms folded across his chest, leaned against a wall of small stainless steel safe deposit boxes.
Cynthia Cooper held the small brass key. She wouldn't give it back to Addie. "Arthur is your guardian until midnight November fourteenth. And I would think you'd be glad your brother is here."
"I'm not glad."
Rick had waited until the last minute to pull in Charles and Arthur, fearing that the earlier he informed them, the likelier they were to leak the news. That could be dangerous.
Addie's young face wrinkled in rage. "I'll hear about my poor judgment for the rest of my life." She wheeled on Arthur. "And I bet you find a way to extend your trusteeship with help again from my loving brother!"
"You're under duress," Arthur said in a measured voice. "This was an extremely foolish thing to do. As to your money, the wishes of your mother will be followed to the letter."
"I don't believe that. You think I'm stupid about money."
Arthur opened his mouth, then shut it. Addie, fiery like her mother, wouldn't hear anything he said.
"Sis, I ought to wring your neck for this stunt," Chark said through clenched teeth as Cynthia Cooper reached into the deep safe deposit box and lifted out the wrapped kilo.
"It wasn't what you think. Nigel bought this to pay off his debt to Mickey."
"This goes far beyond a debt to Mickey Townsend," Rick replied. "This represents a lot of money on the street."
"He used you!" Chark yelled.
"He didn't use me."
"Let the dead sleep in peace." Arthur held up his hands to stop the argument. "Whatever his intentions were we'll never know."
Rick motioned for Cynthia to lock up the box.
"I have something to tell you all." Rick's eyes narrowed. "And Addie, if you're holding anything back, out with it." She glared at him as he continued. "There is no Nigel Danforth."
"What do you mean?" Alarm flashed on her face while confusion registered on Chark's and Arthur's visages.
"I mean, there is no record of such a person in England. And there is no green card registered to anyone by that name in this country. Our only hope is his dental records, which we have sent out by computer to every police station we can reach, here and in England. A real long shot. His fingerprints are not on file in either the U.S. or England."
Addie sank like a stone. "I don't understand."
Chark caught his sister and gently lowered her in a chair. "He lied even more than I thought," he said.
She put her head in her hands and sobbed. "But I loved him. Why would he lie to me?"
Arthur placed his hand on her shoulder. "Sheriff, might he perhaps be from some British colony—or French colony?"
"Coop thought of that. Can't find a thing. We don't know who this man was, where he came from, or his exact age. All we know is that he gave a kilo of cocaine to Addie to keep for him. Saying he bought it from Linda Forloines—"
"Well, get them!" Addie wailed.
"We tried to arrest them yesterday. They're gone." Rick, embarrassed, saw the dismay on their faces.
"Is my sister"—Chark could hardly get the words out— "under arrest?"
"No. Not yet anyway," Rick said.
"Now see here, Shaw." Arthur stood up straight. "She's been a foolish girl, but many a woman's been led astray by a man. She is no drug dealer. She isn't even a user anymore."
Shaking, tears down her cheeks, Addie choked, "Well—uh, sometimes."
"Then your brother and I will put you in a clinic." Arthur's tone brooked no contradiction.
"What about Camden? Anyway, I only use a little to celebrate. Really. I'm not an addict or anything. Test my blood."
"We'll settle this between us." Arthur took control. "Sheriff, does Adelia have permission to ride in Camden?"
"Yes, but"—he focused on Addie—"don't try anything stupid—like running away."
"Do you think Will and Linda will show up there?" Chark asked.
"I don't know," Rick replied.
"They're out of the country by now." Addie wiped her red eyes. "Linda always said she was going for one last big hit."
"Why didn't she do that a long time ago?" Arthur's voice was hard.
"Because she was using too. She said she'd cleaned up, though. Now it's strictly business. She wanted a haul. And out of here." Addie dropped her head in her hands again.
"There's lots of this around the steeplechase world, isn't there?" Cynthia jotted notes in her book.
Addie shrugged. "Goes in cycles. I don't think there's any more drug abuse on the backstretch than there is in big corporations."
"In that case, America's in trouble," Chark said.
"We'll deal with America tomorrow." Arthur smiled tightly. "Right now my first priority is getting this young lady straightened out. Sheriff, is there any more that you need from us tonight?"
"No," Rick said. "You're free to go."
Later, when Rick and Cynthia were about to get into the squad car, she asked him, "Do you think she's telling the truth? That she really didn't know about Nigel?"
"What's your gut tell you?"
Cynthia leaned against the door of the car. The night, crystalline and cold, was beautiful. "She didn't know."