2 A Deadly Beef (7 page)

"Of
course we will," I said as I stood, though my grandfather refused to
budge.  "Aren’t you coming, Moose?"

He
appeared to consider it, finally shrugged, and then Moose got up as well. 

Once
we were all outside, Dave’s voice softened.  "I’m sorry
if I was a little touchy a while ago, but it’s been a hard couple of
days."

"We
understand," I said, and after a moment, Moose nodded in agreement as
well.

"We’ll
talk later," my grandfather said.

Dave
clearly wasn’t pleased about that prospect, but knowing my grandfather, I
was certain that he realized that he didn’t have much choice. 

As
Dave made his way to his car, Moose asked me in a soft voice, "What do
you think, Victoria?  Should we follow him?"

I was
quite surprised by my grandfather’s suggestion.  "Is it really
necessary?  Moose, do you actually think he might be the killer?"

"I
don’t know yet, but why don’t we make sure he’s going home
like he said he was?"

"You’ve
been watching too much television lately," I said.  "I’m
going to have to talk to Martha about that."

"Who
do you think has been watching with me?  You never answered my question, Victoria.  If we’re going to trail Dave, we have to make up our minds and do it
right now."

"I
guess it couldn’t hurt," I said, "but I still think that
it’s just going to be a wild goose chase."

"Maybe
so, but it’s as good a lead as we’ve got at the moment."

I just
wished that I had a reason to disagree with his assessment, but I didn’t.

"Give
him a little more space," I told Moose as he started following Dave down
the road a few minutes later.  "We don’t want him to know
we’re tailing him."

"No
worries.  He won’t recognize this truck," Moose said. 
"Your dad has had it parked for months."

"I
still don’t think we should take any chances."

My
grandfather backed off a little, but not enough for my taste.  We followed
Dave through the dark streets, and when we approached his house, I fully
expected him to make a right turn into his driveway, but to my surprise, he
kept going.

"Now,
that’s interesting," Moose said.  "He must not be as
tired as he let on to us earlier."

"Where
could he be going?" I asked.

"I
don’t have a clue, but then again, that’s why we’re following
him, isn’t it?" 

As we
drove farther and farther out of town, I was more and more puzzled by
Dave’s behavior.  "Moose, there aren’t any bars out this
way, are there?"

"No,
it’s mostly just farmland until we get to Molly’s Corners,"
Moose said.  "But I have a hunch he’s not going that
far.  Wally Bain’s place is a mile up the road."

"Do
you think he’s going back to the scene of the crime?  I thought they
just did that in the movies."

Moose
shrugged.  "What if he dropped something after he killed Wally, and
he didn’t realize it was gone until he got to the grocery store? 
Wouldn’t you go back to look for it before the police stumbled across it
if it were you?"

"If
I’d done something
that
careless, I would hope that I would have
taken care of it before now."

"Think
about it, Victoria.  You said yourself that his schedule is as crazy as
yours is most days.  When would he have had the time to revisit the crime
scene?  He’s been working all day at the grocery store."

"I
can’t believe there’s a chance that we’re going to catch a
killer this quickly," I said.

"We’re
due a little luck, wouldn’t you say?  It will be nice clearing our
names so quickly this time."

When
we got to the turnoff to Wally Bain’s farm, I held my breath, waiting to
see the truck turn.  When it continued up the road, I let it all out in a
huff.

"It
looks like we were wrong," I said.

"Maybe,
maybe not," Moose said.  "Just because he didn’t take
the turn to Wally’s doesn’t mean that he’s innocent."

"I
agree with you, but if he’s not headed there, where is he going?"

Our
question was soon answered when Dave’s turn signal popped on, and he
slowed down and pulled into a long drive off the highway. 

I
didn’t need to read the sign to know that we were at Sally
Ketchum’s farm.

"Why
is he going there at this time of night?" Moose asked.  "Do
you suppose they’re seeing each other?"

I had
a hard time picturing Dave and Sally together, at least not that way. 
"I guess it’s possible.  That kind of kills our theory of the
grocer as a murderer, doesn’t it?"

"Why’s
that?" Moose asked as he kept driving past Sally’s place.

"Where
are you going?" I asked when I noticed what he was doing.

"You
don’t really expect me to pull in behind him, do you?  I’m
looking for a place to turn around so I can get you back home."

"I
have a better idea," I said.  "Go back toward Sally’s
place, and then pull off the road and shut off the engine before you get to the
turnoff."

"Do
you plan on staying out here all night?" Moose asked, though he did as
I’d suggested and started looking for a place we could hide.

"No,
but we can afford to give it an hour or two, can’t we?"

"I’m
game if you are," Moose said as he pulled off the road a hundred yards
before we got to Sally’s turnoff.  Once we were off the road, Moose
shut the truck off, and then reached behind me, pulling out a pair of blankets
from behind the bench seat.  "Here you go.  It might get cold
with the engine shut off."

I took
the blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders, letting the rest of the
material cover my lap.  "Do I want to even know how you happened to
have two blankets in the back of the truck just when we needed them?"

"You
never know when a blanket emergency is going to pop up," he answered with
a grin.

"You
don’t happen to have any coffee back there too, do you?"

"Sorry,
but I’m not
that
prepared."

"It’s
just as well.  If I have any more, I’ll have a tough time sleeping
tonight."  I looked toward the side road hoping to spot something
out of the ordinary, but it took a few turns soon after it left the main road,
so all I could see was darkness in the direction of Sally’s place. 
"What should we do while we’re waiting?"

"I
didn’t bring any knitting with me, if that’s what you’re
asking," my grandfather said with a smile.

"I
didn’t know you knitted," I said.

"I
don’t, but if I did, the statement stands.  I still didn’t
bring it along."

I
nodded.  "That’s good.  I didn’t bring my totem
pole to work on, either."

"You’re
carving a totem pole?" he asked in wonder.

"No,
but I might take it up, just as soon as you start knitting.  I’m
sorry, I thought we were listing things that neither one of us do."

He
shook his head and laughed softly.  "Victoria, I could never deny
the fact that you’re my kin, could I?"

"Not
if you hoped that anyone would believe you," I replied.  I was about
to say something else when the weeds lit up softly in the night. 
"Is he finished already?"

"It’s
bound to be him."

Sure
enough, three minutes later, Dave’s truck came up the road, hesitated,
and then took off back toward town.  Moose started the truck and followed
him again, using just his parking lights on the road.

"Turn
your headlights on," I said as I fought to see where we were going.

"I
don’t want to arouse his suspicions," Moose said.

"Don’t
you think you’re doing exactly that by running your parking lights? 
He won’t wonder if you flip on your lights, unless you high-beam
him."

Moose
grunted as he turned his headlights all the way on, and I settled in beside
him, happy now that we could both see the road ahead of us. 

Dave
headed straight home, and we watched as he pulled into his driveway before we
drove past him.  There was some kind of container under his arm as he got
out, something I hadn’t seen him leave the grocery store with.

"What’s
that he’s got with him?" I asked Moose.

"Beats
me.  Maybe it’s his dinner."

"Do
you honestly think that Sally’s cooking for him?" I asked. 
"Moose, that doesn’t make any sense."

"Victoria, I’m just guessing.  There’s no way we can know what he has, but
it seems kind of odd to me, doesn’t it feel that way to you?  If
he’s romancing Sally Ketchum on the QT, he’s not investing much
time in the process."

"It
can’t
be that," I said.  "No woman would put up
with it.  There has to be another reason Dave went out there.  What
could be in that container?"

"You
realize that it might not have anything to do with Sally, don’t
you?" Moose asked.  "It might just be a coincidence that he
took it into the house with him after visiting her at her farm."

"You
might be right, but what good does it do us to assume that?  I’m
going to continue believing that the container is related to his visit until I
learn otherwise."

"Well,
think what you’d like, but don’t jump to any conclusions."

"I
won’t."  I had a sudden impulse that I wanted to act
upon.  "Moose, stop the truck."

"What’s
wrong?" he asked as he slowed, and then stopped the truck.

"I
need to see what’s in that container," I said.

"Have
you lost your mind, Victoria?  What are you planning to do, go up and ring
the doorbell, then ask him nicely to let you have a peek at what he brought
home?"

"I’ll
think of something when I get there," I said.

"Wipe
that thought from your mind right now, Victoria.  You’re not going
there alone," Moose said firmly.

I
couldn’t let him tag along, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to say it
without hurting his feelings.  "He might talk to
me
, Moose,
but he’s not going to do it if you’re standing right there beside
him.  You’re too intimidating."

"I’m
not sure that I agree with that, but there’s another possibility
you’re failing to take into consideration."

"What’s
that?" I asked.

"Dave
might decide to grab you if he thinks that you’re alone, and I for one am
not going to explain to your grandmother how I let something happen to
you.  Either I go with you, or I take you home right now.  It’s
your call."

"Will
you at least stay out of his line of sight if you come with me?" I
asked.  I’d been planning to get a peek inside his house by looking
through a window before I rang the bell, but that clearly wasn’t going to
work now. 

I
couldn’t see Moose practicing stealth in any way, shape, or form.

"I
suppose I could stand nearby in the shadows," he said, "but the
second you cross that threshold, I’m stepping in."

At
least I knew the ground rules.  "It’s a deal," I
said.  "Don’t park in his driveway, okay?  I want to
catch him off guard if I can."

My
grandfather shrugged as he pulled the truck up to the curb a dozen feet from
Dave’s place.  "Come on.  Let’s go."

"You’ll
follow my lead and not interfere unless it looks as though I might be in
danger, right?"

"Right,"
Moose said.  

I
didn’t like the cavalier way he’d said it.  "Do you
promise?"

"Victoria, I said I would," Moose said.  "Is my word not good enough for
you these days?"

"Of
course it is," I said.  "I just know how enthusiastic you can
get sometimes."  Honestly, that was the mildest word I could choose
for my grandfather’s behavior.

He
approved of it with a nod.  "You know, that’s as good a way to
describe me as any."

I
walked to the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dave before he could see that
I was watching him, but the front porch light flipped on the second my foot hit
the welcome mat.  Moose was as startled as I’d been by the sudden
explosion of light, but he neatly stepped into the shadows on one side of the
railing and out of Dave’s direct line of sight.  I knew he was
there, but I wasn’t at all certain that Dave would be able to see
him. 

I was
about to knock when the door opened, but just a little bit.

"Victoria, what are you doing here?" he asked, not at all pleased with my sudden
appearance on his doorstep.

"I
came by to apologize," I said.  It was the first thing that popped
into my mind.  What on earth was I going to apologize for?

Dave
looked equally interested in my explanation.  "I wasn’t aware
that you did anything wrong."

"It’s
not me.  It’s Moose."

I held
my breath as I waited for an involuntary reaction from my grandfather at the
sound of his name, but he managed to keep quiet. 

At
least so far, anyway.

"What
about Moose?"

"He
was a little abrupt earlier, but I wanted you to know that his heart’s in
the right place."  It was true enough, but I wasn’t sure how
Moose would handle hearing it coming from my lips.

There
was still silence from the shadows, so that was good.

"Don’t
worry about it.  I’ve known your grandfather for a long time,"
Dave said with a soft smile.  I could see his shoulders ease a little, and
I knew that I’d taken the right path with him.

"I
appreciate that more than I can say."

"Victoria, would you like to come in for a minute or two?  I just picked up some fresh
cider from Sally Ketchum’s farm tonight.  She’s been after me
to start carrying it in the store for years, so I finally tasted it tonight,
and the stuff’s really good.  I even bought half a gallon of it from
her to drink here at home."

"Thanks,
but I really do have to get home," I said.  "Greg’s
waiting for me."

"Surely
he wouldn’t mind if you had a sip or two before you left," Dave said. 
Was the man that lonely?  Since his marriage with Trudy had dissolved, I
knew that he’d kept pretty close to himself, but I wasn’t the
answer to
any
of his problems.