"Harry, Toby thinks that Hy plans to ruin his vines. He said Hy sent Concho to spy on his place."
"Hy knows a lot. He's smart enough to cover his tracks. He'll have the best vineyard in Virginia by ruining the rest of us!"
"Arch, you haven't said anything." Alicia smiled at him.
"Hy is very knowledgeable." Arch retained noncommittal.
Harry wondered what Arch was doing here with Toby.
"Guys, forgive me, I don't know so much about growing grapes. If Hy wanted to harm your vines, how would he do it?"
"Simple!" Toby's eyes blazed. "He'd sneak into the rows, dig up a vine, and plant an infected one. Could be infected with anything. God knows, there're enough diseases to go around. But all he has to do is introduce diseased stock. You know, Arch has some downy mildew."
"Hy dug up vines with black rot." Arch tried to introduce this as a counterweight to Toby.
It was, but Toby, too upset to appreciate it, launched off the sofa and stood up. "Ha! He put that there himself to throw us off!"
"I see." Alicia maintained a calm tone.
Arch spoke again as Toby dropped back so hard into the sofa that Arch bounced up slightly. "There's bad blood between Hy and Toby. Hy could introduce infected stock or insects, but I don't think he would, because it could backfire."
"What do you mean backfire? He would bring me down." Toby gripped the edge of the sofa cushion.
"He might bring himself down, too." Arch kept his eyes level with Alicia's. "Hy knows that one mistake, one spore on his pants leg, and he risks his own vines. That's why I think his revenge—if he really is planning to do something—will be in a different form."
"Like what, for goddamned example!" Toby raised his voice, then lowered it. "Sorry, ladies."
"That's all right, Toby. This is unsettling. After all, your livelihood could be in jeopardy."
"Like what?" Toby tried to sound reasonable.
"Well," Arch measured his words, "Toby, you can't do anything but worry about Hy, at least that's how it looks to me. So as I see it, he's winning. Your mind is not where it belongs—on your vines, on your business."
"Hard not to worry when he killed Professor Forland."
"Toby, you don't mean that," Alicia blurted out.
"Yes, I do. Professor Forland was on to Hy. He knew he was intent on ruining me." Toby offered no explanation as to how Professor Forland could know this, but then Toby, seemingly irrational, was not asked for one.
The humans were quiet for a moment, since no one knew what to say to this ludicrous accusation.
As the humans talked, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter ran the length of the stable, leaping up at the barn swallows, who swooped down to bedevil them. Great fun that it was, it became tiring.
The two cats repaired outside to take a sunbath, the mercury hovering at sixty-five degrees with not a hint of breeze. The skies, robin's egg blue, arched over a perfect spring day.
"Look at those stupid dogs,"Pewter sniffed.
"Better hope it's a cast-off shoe, or someone will pay."Mrs. Murphy wondered how any self-respecting creature could sink his jaws into one end of a shoe and tug while the other dog did the same at the opposite end.
The growling sounded ferocious.
"Ha!"Pewter laughed, because Max had dragged Tucker, who refused to release her grip, across the cobblestone walk.
Never one to lay about, Mrs. Murphy roused herself, stretched, then shook. She sauntered to Arch's truck; the window was open, but that was a higher leap than she cared to make. She knew she could do it if pressed, but no one was chasing her, nor was there anyone for whom she could show off. Instead she leapt onto the hood to peer into the interior. Then she jumped up on the cab top, leaned over to slide into the open window. Tricky, but easy for her.
His captain's chair was empty. A nice pair of sunglasses rested on the dash. The passenger seat overflowed with notebooks, soil maps, a tin containing small vials for soil samples, a laminated page with pictures of insects. A worn leather vest lined with fleece had slid onto the floor.
Nothing interested Mrs. Murphy there, so she hopped back to the hood, then to the ground, and jumped up on Toby's new green Dodge to look through the windshield. His interior, pin-tidy except for mud bits on the driver's floor, offered no tidbits. She had hoped for some Fritos or even a sandwich. The center armrest was pulled down. She repeated her feat of going from the cab top into the wide-open window.
Pewter lifted her head to watch. Curious, she sat up.
"Hey,"Mrs. Murphy called. "Come here." She had popped up the lid of the armrest.
Pewter walked over."What?"
"You gotta see this."
Pewter measured the distance to the truck's hood. Her rotundness crossed her mind. She might be able to jump on the back bumper, haul herself into the truck bed, then jump onto the cab hood. This lacked appeal.
"Openthe door."
Truck doors were easy pickings for a smart cat. Mrs. Murphy pushed forward the latch, then pushed open the door. The bell announcing the door was open while the keys were in the ignition started ringing.
"I'd cut the wires to that darned thing. How can someone be so dumb they don't know their truck door is open?"Mrs. Murphy hated the sound."Pewter, look here."
Pewter peeked into the middle armrest storage bin. A brand-new Ruger P95PR 9mm handgun nestled inside, the blued steel accentuating the efficient design of the Powerful weapon. Some ten-round magazines were also there.
"Golly,"she exclaimed.
"That could put a serious hole in someone."Mrs. Murphy felt uneasy, not because of the $445 gun but because of Toby's mental state. The animals could smell fear and agitation when they were around him.
"Run!"Pewter heard and saw Harry come out of the main entrance, followed by the other humans.
The two cats shot out of the seat, ducked under the truck, and scooted out the back. They reached the dogs before the humans noticed them.
"I know I closed this door." Toby started to slam the door shut, then noticed the center console open. "Hey, hey, there's my new gun. I thought I'd lost it. How can it be here?"
"Ghost trick," Arch said. He knew better than to make a joke about Toby's state of mind.
Alicia and Harry walked over while Toby lifted out the good-looking gun. "In my truck."
Fearing his moods, Alicia smiled. "I find things all the time. Little leprechauns live in Virginia, I swear it."
His eyes bulged a moment. He started tosay something, when Arch stepped in. "You're lucky to find it. That's a nice piece."
Toby studied the blued steel, the textured nonslip hold. "You know, the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command picked five thousand of these for a field assignment."
"There's even a Picatinny rail under the barrel so I can mount a weapon light."
"That's something." Harry admired good equipment.
"Well, ladies, back to it." Arch smiled and got into his truck.
Toby, still puzzled about his P95PR, climbed into his truck, placed it in the center console, and closed the lid.
After the men drove off, Alicia showed her babies to Harry, who thought they were everything that Alicia said they were.
"Who's the elegant fellow?"
"Ah, that's by Lycius. He's by Mr. Prospector out of Lypatia, who, as you know from your study, was by Lyphard. You know how much I prize that Lyphard blood. He lived a long and useful life, that stallion."
"Who is the mare?"
"Party Girl. Remember when you were a kid, Mary Pat imported that gorgeous Irish mare, Peat's Girl? She wanted to hunt her, but the mare met with an accident in the pasture, fractured her cannon bone. Not the whole way, more of a splint. Anyway, Mary Pat didn't want to pound on her even after she healed, so she turned her into a broodmare. This is the fourth generation."