A Biscuit, a Casket (26 page)

It would never work if she didn’t try. If Stan could knock Leigh-Anne off balance
long enough to dislodge the gun, she had a fighting chance of getting away. She slowed,
let her body sag against Leigh-Anne.

“What are you doing? Stand up!” Leigh-Anne shoved at her—exactly what she wanted her
to do.

Stan hip-checked Leigh-Anne with all her might, knocking her against the railing.
As Leigh-Anne struggled to regain her balance, Stan used the advantage of the small
space and the impact of her elbow to knock the gun loose. She heard the satisfying
clatter of it hitting the platform. With a roar, Leigh-Anne went for it. Stan kicked
it off the edge onto the grass below. She lost her balance in the process, falling
against the flimsy railing. She closed her eyes, waiting for the rail to give and
the free fall to begin. But it didn’t. She ended up on her back on the platform. Opened
one eye to see if Leigh-Anne was coming for her.

But her hip check had been effective. Leigh-Anne had lost her balance, too, and struggled
to regain it and go for the gun at the same time. Stan kicked out with all her might,
feeling her foot connect with Leigh-Anne’s knee. Then watched in horror as the other
woman fell, almost in slow motion, off the other side of the platform.

Into the manure pit.

 

 

Stan heard a scream, then a splash as Leigh-Anne tumbled into the waste below. Then
silence. Stan rolled over to her knees and got to her feet, then screamed at the top
of her lungs, “Help! Somebody help!”

She had to get Leigh-Anne out of there. No one should die that way. But her hands
were still tied. Frantic, she searched for something sharp to slice through the wire
as Leigh-Anne’s cries grew louder, her hands waving as she tried to keep her head
above the stench. Then she heard different shouts and turned.

Tyler Hoffman raced toward her. Stan was so relieved she almost cried.

“In the pit! She fell in the pit!” she yelled. “Hurry, help me get her out!” She had
no idea how long someone survived in a manure pit, but Leigh-Anne wasn’t screaming
anymore. Tyler raced up the steps with a pocketknife and cut her hands free.

“Do you have a cell phone? We need to get her out!”

Tyler hesitated for a split second. “She killed my father,” he said, his voice raw
with emotion.

Stan grasped him by the shoulders. “Tyler. We can’t let her die in there. Your dad
wouldn’t want that. And she needs to pay for what she did.”

He thought about it for the longest few seconds Stan had ever lived through, then
handed her his phone.

Stan punched in 911. Tyler grasped a long pole that was clipped to the side of the
platform. It had a point on the end. He thrust it into the pit, trying to grab Leigh-Anne.
Stan couldn’t tell if she was even able to try swimming. She’d lost sight of her in
the muck.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” the dispatcher’s voice droned.

“There’s a woman in a manure pit at the Happy Cow Dairy Farm! Hurry! Oh, and she’s
a murderer. But she needs an ambulance!” She hung up. Paused. That was quite possibly
the most bizarre phone call she’d ever made.

Tyler still wrangled the pole, trying to find something to grab on to. Stan scanned
the nasty, stinking brown liquid, hoping to see a hand, something. And then, a flash
of blond hair that miraculously had not turned brown, just a split second before it
disappeared again.

“Tyler, there!” She pointed. He balanced on the very edge of the platform, reaching,
reaching. She grabbed his belt so he didn’t fall in, too. And then she saw Leigh-Anne’s
lifeless body, pole hooked to her shirt, being pulled back to the edge of the pit.
Tyler reached in and hauled her unconscious body out. Breathing hard, he dropped her
on the platform.

“You’re amazing. We should get her down on the grass,” Stan said, her stomach turning
at the thought of picking up the manure-covered woman. But she ponied up and grabbed
her feet, trying to keep her balance as Tyler dragged Leigh-Anne down the ladder.
Stan held her feet, inching her down as Tyler reached each step.

“Got her,” he called. “Let go.”

Stan did, jumping the rest of the way down. Tyler dropped Leigh-Anne on the grass.
The stench was overpowering. Stan felt her stomach lurch.

“Is she breathing?” Stan asked, but her words were drowned out by sirens. Lots of
them. Two police cars crashed right through the field, lights flashing, followed by
an ambulance. Jessie Pasquale was out of the car running toward them before it had
fully stopped, her weapon in her hand but by her side. When she saw Tyler she raised
it. Stan raced toward her and planted herself in front of the boy. “It’s her! She’s
the murderer!” she shouted, pointing at Leigh-Anne’s still frame on the grass. “Not
Tyler!”

The other cops swarmed out of the cars, followed by the EMTs. “Cuff the one on the
ground,” Stan heard her tell them. “And the boy, too, just until we know what happened
here.”

“He didn’t do anything! He just saved her life,” Stan yelled.

Pasquale sent her a warning glance, then nodded at the other cop, who followed her
instructions. “Get a hose?” Pasquale shouted, wrinkling her nose as the stench of
manure wafted toward her.

“How did you get here so fast?” Stan asked. “I just called.”

“Your friend called us. Justin.” At Stan’s blank look, she said, “He sent me the documents
from Hal’s computer. I won’t ask how you—or he—came across them. But there was enough
evidence to send us looking for Leigh-Anne.”

“Thank God.” And thank God for Justin’s computer skills. “Em’s tied up in the barn.
With one of the workers,” Stan said. “I don’t know if she hurt them. And Roger . .
.” She gulped. “I think he’s dead. Leigh-Anne shot him.” She took a breath, realized
she wasn’t making any sense.

Pasquale stared at her, then pulled out her radio and repeated everything. “We’ll
find them,” she said. “Go wait with Tyler. Or maybe you want to go rinse off. Hang
on.” She went back to the cruiser, emerged with a towel. Stan accepted it gratefully
and attempted to wipe her hands and sleeves.

“Stan!” She turned at the sound of her name. Jake raced across the field toward her.
She’d never seen him move so fast. He didn’t stop until he reached her, despite his
sister yelling at him to stay out of her crime scene.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Fine. Smelly. I—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence before he yanked her into
his arms, stench and all. And kissed her.

 

The line snaking around the Happy Cow Dairy Farm reached all the way into the street.
The whole town had turned up for the grand reopening of the haunted corn maze. Em,
Tyler, Stan, Jake, and Brenna, along with what seemed like half the town, had spent
the last few days getting the maze ready. Em planned to let it remain open until Thanksgiving
or until weather prohibited, whichever came first.

“This is great, isn’t it?” Brenna clapped her hands in delight. “I’m so glad we got
to do this, Em.”

Em, Brenna, and Stan stood near the ticket booth, watching Jake oversee Tyler and
Danny as they collected money. Jake also wrangled Duncan and Henry. Stan and Scruffy
were in charge of the spooky music.

“Me, too,” Em said. “And it wouldn’t have happened without all of you. Especially
you, Stan.”

Stan shook her head. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Are you kidding?” Em exclaimed. “You figured out it was Leigh-Anne in time to save
us! Lord knows what she would’ve done if you hadn’t distracted her. They had already
hurt Miguel, poor kid.”

“Will he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine. Nasty bump on the head. But he’s already looking forward to coming
back to work.”

“Well, I hope she gets a million years in jail,” Brenna said. “I’m glad you saved
her sorry life, Stan. She should pay for what she did.”

“Tyler saved her life,” Stan said.

“Not without your coaching.” Em wagged her finger at Stan. “I know my boy. He’s a
teenager, and he runs on emotion. He would’ve probably left her there. Regretted it
later, sure, but then it would be too late.”

Stan shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “Well, it will be one count of murder
and one count of attempted murder, since Roger survived. Not to mention kidnapping
and assault, I would think.”

“How’s Tyler doing?” Stan asked.

Em sighed. “Okay. He’s still processing. He told me he’s leaving school and moving
to California.”

“California!” Brenna and Stan said together.

“He wants a change of scenery. Can’t say I blame him.” Em looked around wistfully.
“It’s going to be difficult. Even with the changes I’m sure we’ll be making.”

“What changes?” Stan asked.

“Well, Teddy and I”—Em blushed a little just saying his name—“are going to consolidate
our operations. We haven’t quite figured out what that means yet, but I think it’ll
be for the best. Oh, look! Char’s here.”

Char came up behind Stan and laid a hand on her shoulder. “What a great turnout! So
proud of y’all!” Char stood behind her, beaming, dressed in a bright orange dress
and black scarf. “And, Stan! You deserve a medal of honor.”

“Yes,” Patricia Connor said, appearing behind Char. “You certainly do.” And she reached
over and hugged Stan.

Stan couldn’t keep her mouth from dropping open. She finally remembered to hug her
mother back. “Thanks, Mom. And I don’t deserve a medal. I just did what I needed to
do.”

“Well, I’m proud of you,” Patricia said.

Stan again was speechless. Especially since her mother didn’t seem to have trouble
saying the words.

“Thanks,” she managed.

Patricia studied Stan’s face. “You look happy.”

“I am happy.” Stan couldn’t resist a glance over at the ticket booth. Jake happened
to be looking in her direction at the same time. He winked at her.

Her near-death experience with the manure pit had been a good thing for them. They’d
spent a lot of time together over the past few days. Stan hated to jinx anything,
but there was a good chance they might be casually dating. When she turned back to
her mother she was smiling. “I like it here.”

“You like the bar owner. Perhaps more than the town. And I think that’s great.” She
leaned over and kissed Stan’s cheek.

Maybe her mother had actually thought about what it would be like to lose her daughter
for good, and this was her attempt to tell her that. Maybe it was time for them to
start fresh, too.

“About Tony,” Patricia began, but Stan shook her head. “Mom, you don’t need to explain.
You have just as much right to be happy. Just make sure he’s not a sketch. He was
hanging out with Leigh-Anne when I met him.”

“I know. He feels terrible about that. He’s known her a long time and never suspected.
It’s so troubling, how people are able to hide their true selves. Oh, I think your
friend is waiting for you.” She pointed. Stan turned to see Izzy waiting behind her.

“I didn’t want to interrupt,” Izzy began, but Stan motioned for her to join them.

“Come over and meet my mother!” She made the introductions. “So how are you? You look
great!”

Izzy did. Dressed to the nines in pink jeans, a white jacket, and a green scarf, her
long braids gathered together in a high ponytail, she looked better than she had in
weeks. The twinkle was even back in her eye.

“So what’s the story? Any good news to report?” Stan walked her a little way from
the crowd, leaving Scruffy with Brenna, so they could talk.

“Actually, yeah. Really great news.” Izzy took a breath. “I think I have a solution
for the real estate stuff. And I’m going to be able to have my bookstore after all.”

“Really? That’s great!” Stan hugged her friend. She deserved to be happy. “So what’s
the solution?”

“Well, it’s all because of you, girl. Really. You had the idea. I just had to get
the guts to follow through.”

“Aww, Izzy. You have plenty of guts. You just needed to hear the options. So what’d
you do? Contact a local bank?”

“Nope. I went to see Jake. We talked for a long time.”

“Wow. Really?” Jake hadn’t mentioned it. “Fantastic. Did he have a lead for you?”

“Not exactly.” Izzy took a deep breath. “We’re going into business together.”

Ingredients
:

Bowl One:

In a separate bowl combine:

Grease and flour the bottom of a 9-x-11-inch cake pan.

Combine all cake ingredients. Do not overmix. Pour into pan and bake immediately at
350° F for 40 minutes. Let cool completely before turning out. Cut out bone shape.
Wrap and freeze.

 

Frosting is best to work with at room temperature. Only frost a frozen cake. Frost
by adding small amounts of frosting by hand to the cake and spreading, creating a
smooth bone shape.

 

Trim as desired.

 

 

Batch: This recipe will produce approximately 24 large cookies.

 

Ingredients
:

Mix all ingredients in stand mixer and knead for 4 minutes. Ensure dough is pliable
and not fracturing. If dough fractures, add small quantities of water and mix. Bake
at 350° F for 25 minutes, then check. Dehydrate for minimum 10 hours.

 

 

Recipes courtesy of the Big Biscuit.