Jo, along with Nash, hung around until the workers were allowed to leave. “Are you comfortable staying here?”
“Yeah,” Leah said.
“You’re sure?” Jo persisted.
“The cops are swarming the place. I doubt whoever attacked Mr. Barr would be dumb enough to try something else.”
“True.” Jo gave Leah a gentle hug. “Get some rest.”
“I’ll try.” Leah mumbled something about having a headache and Jo watched as she walked away, her shoulders slumped and her head down. “This is awful.”
“She’ll be all right,” Nash said. “The police will figure out what happened.”
“I hope so. I want to say goodbye to Dave.” Jo caught his eye and made her way over. “Thank you for standing up for Leah. I know you weren’t around when the officer was questioning her, but I get a bad feeling this investigation will center around her.”
“I knew I should’ve let Barr go. He was heavy-handed toward the workers but, like I said, he got the job done.”
“You can’t hold yourself responsible,” Jo said. “Is there any specific worker who comes to mind, an employee who couldn’t stand the guy?”
Kilwin shook his head. “Based on what my employees told the officers, I have a feeling they talked about him behind his back but not to me, other than their initial complaints. Leah hasn’t complained about him. I’m sure she didn’t want to rock the boat, being the new person and all.”
“We never had any trouble with Leah. Gary adores her.”
“She’s a hard worker and eager to please,” Nash chimed in. “Leah got along with everyone.”
“I figured as much. Gary has done nothing but sing her praises, which is one of the reasons I offered her the position in the first place.” Dave’s cell phone chimed. “I need to take this call. We’ll stay in touch. I’ll keep you posted if there are any new developments.”
Jo thanked him, and on their way back to the farm, she texted Leah, encouraging her to hang in there and reminding her she was only a phone call or text away.
Nash parked the truck alongside the workshop, and he and Jo meandered to the front porch.
“I know you’re worried.” Nash pulled her into his arms. “Leah will be all right. She has us in her corner, as well as Dave. It sounds as if someone either saw an opportunity to get rid of Barr or some sort of argument ensued. His killer snapped and took him out.”
“The fact Leah doesn’t have an alibi and has a criminal record is a serious red flag to investigators.” Jo placed her head on Nash’s chest and closed her eyes. “I was so certain Leah’s transition from here to her new job would go smoothly.”
“Remember how the locals were harassing Sherry when she first moved to her apartment in downtown Divine? You ended up having to get involved to help sort that mess out.”
“How could I forget? Thank goodness we no longer have to worry about her being harassed.”
“You’re a good person, Joanna Pepperdine.” Nash tilted her chin and gently kissed her lips. “Leah is innocent, and it won’t take long for the investigators to reach the same conclusion.”
The kiss ended, and Jo placed a light hand on his cheek. “You sure know how to take my mind off my troubles.”
“That’s the goal.” He leaned in for one more quick kiss. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear investigators figured out what happened to Barr as early as tomorrow.”
“I hope so.” Despite Nash’s optimism, Jo spent a restless night tossing and turning, wondering who had taken Barr out, certain whoever was behind it had patiently waited for the most opportune moment to do so, with all eyes focusing on Leah.
She crawled out of bed early the next morning and found Delta already hard at work in the kitchen.
“You’re up early.”
“It was a rough one.” Jo poured a cup of coffee and sank down in the kitchen chair. “Shane Barr is dead.”
Delta spun around. “What?”
“Someone killed Shane Barr, Kilwin’s supervisor. They strangled him with baling twine late yesterday afternoon.”
“I knew he wasn’t popular.”
“And Barr wrote Leah up shortly before it happened.”
“They think our Leah had something to do with his death?”
“I can’t guarantee it but based on the way the officer in charge was questioning her, I would say so.” Jo briefly filled her in, starting with the frantic phone call she received from Leah and wrapping it up by telling her Dave Kilwin insisted he believed in his new employee’s innocence.
“Have you heard from her this morning?”
“No. I kept my phone on the nightstand last night just in case she called. I thought about texting her, but I don’t want her to think I’m trying to butt into her business. She’s a grown woman and I need to give her space. If she needs me, she’ll let me know.”
“I can see your point. Leah can’t test out her wings if you’re hovering over the top of her.”
“Exactly, although maybe Gary could chat with her, kind of get a feel for how things are going,” Jo hinted.
“I like your way of thinking. Finding out what’s going on without sticking our noses in. I need to tell him what happened. He’s over in the gardens.” Delta dashed out the back door. She returned a few minutes later. “He’s all fired up and is on his way over to talk to Kilwin and check on Leah.”
“Gary and Leah are close. I figured he would want to see how she’s doing.”
“Like a daughter, that one. Maybe he’ll have some good news for us when he gets back,” Delta said.
Jo refilled her coffee cup and headed to her office to go over Carli and Courtney Ladeaux’s paperwork. Her niggling of concern over her new residents returned. Was she taking on more than she could handle with twin sisters? She had always embraced challenges and gone with her gut. Her gut told her the sisters desperately needed a break.
She went over their incarceration records and notes again. By all accounts, both were model prisoners. Their lives had been shaped, been controlled by a father who used them.
Jo pulled up the news stories of the last robbery and Larry Ladeaux’s death during a shootout with the police. Carli and Courtney had been with him when it happened. Had they seen their father die?
No matter how bad of a person he’d been, no one wanted to see a loved one suffer, which brought her thoughts back around to poor Leah. Hopefully, Gary would return soon with a positive update.
As soon as she wrapped up her research and made sure the paperwork was in order, Jo headed to the kitchen to help Delta and Kelli set the breakfast table.
Gary returned midway through the meal.
“Well?” Jo asked as soon as he took his place at the table. “How is Leah?”
“She’s stressed out. The police showed up while I was there. They had a bunch more questions for her and the other workers. They were even questioning Dave.”
“Thinking he might be involved?” Jo asked.
“Hang on.” Laverne held up a hand. “I feel like I got dumped in the middle of a conversation I know nothing about. What happened to Leah, and why are the cops involved?”
“Dave Kilwin’s supervisor was murdered yesterday afternoon. He had written Leah up earlier in the day for some destroyed seeds she swears she knows nothing about. Shane Barr had her cleaning up cow manure. After she finished, she waited near the milking parlor for someone to train her on how to clean the equipment.”
Kelli blinked rapidly. “They think Leah killed him because he gave her a crappy job?”
“Possibly. The police seemed interested in Leah’s past and…”
“And what?” Michelle asked.
“No one can confirm where Leah was around the time Barr died. She was alone waiting for him, and never went looking for him when he didn’t show up.”
“They’re focusing their investigation on her because of her background,” Laverne said.
“Reading between the lines, that would be my guess.” Jo sighed heavily.
“I flat out told ‘em Leah didn’t have a mean bone in her body,” Gary said. “I vouched for her and let the detective know I trusted Leah with my life.”
Delta’s eyes shined as she patted her husband’s hand. “You’re a good man, Gary Stein.”
Gary’s eyes clouded over. “Leah was a touch sad to see me go. I feel terrible. She likes her job, likes her co-workers, but now she’s got this big black cloud hanging over her head.”
“And Dave?” Jo asked. “Do you think he still believes she’s innocent?”
“He does, but I’m not so sure about the other workers. When I was over there, I noticed a couple of them standing off to the side watching us.”
Jo’s heart plummeted. She had feared once the other workers found out about Leah’s background, they might shun her, or even be afraid of her. Now with Barr’s death and the investigators questioning Leah, they had to suspect she might be involved, especially if they found out only hours earlier the man had written her up.
“Poor Leah,” Michelle said.
Laverne absentmindedly began tapping the tines of her fork on the edge of her plate, and Jo could almost see the woman’s wheels spinning. “What is it?”
“Huh?” Laverne stopped tapping.
“You. I can see the wheels spinning. What are you thinking?”
“Leah seemed pretty keen on getting the job.”
“Of course,” Jo said. “This is her opportunity to start over. She loves farming, respects Dave Kilwin and wants to stay in the Divine area. It’s the perfect place for her to start putting her life back together.”
“Which means she wouldn’t want to screw things up.”
“I’m sure,” Jo said.
“And getting written up by the supervisor only a day into her job probably didn’t make her very happy,” Laverne said.
“Of course not,” Delta snapped. “What are you getting at?”
“Maybe Leah went ka-ping.” Laverne made a diving motion with her hands. “Something in her broke. She went berserk and killed the guy.”
“Laverne Huntsman.” Jo clenched her jaw. “That is the most horrible suggestion about someone I thought you considered a friend I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“We are friends. I’m not saying Leah is a bad person, but anyone can reach their breaking point. You, me, and especially Delta.”
“What?” Delta roared. “How did I end up getting dragged into this?”
“I’m merely making a point.” Laverne scooched her chair back and stood. “And on that note, I need to head over to the mercantile to start my day.”
Jo stopped her. “Before you go, Carli and Courtney Ladeaux are arriving around noon. Please try to muster up a warm welcome.”
“As difficult as it may be for you,” Delta muttered under her breath.
“I’ll be as warm and fuzzy as a five-star Welcome Wagon lady.” Laverne squared her shoulders and casually sauntered off.
Jo waited until the front door banged shut. “There are times that woman tests my last ounce of restraint.”
“Yours and mine both,” Delta said.
“Laverne is plotting a way to get rid of the chickens,” Kelli said.
“I’m almost certain she let them loose last night and Henrietta went after her,” Jo said. “Nash and I were able to get them back inside their coop. I warned her to leave them alone.”
“Henrietta knows a bad egg when she sees one,” Michelle joked. “I thought she liked Leah.”
“I believe she does, or at least as much as Laverne can like anyone,” Jo said. “I suppose her comments were her way of voicing her opinion.”
Raylene stayed behind to help Jo and Delta clean up while the other women, along with Gary and Nash, headed out to start their day.
“Leah sent me a text earlier,” Raylene said. “She’s worried the cops are going to come after her.”
“I know she is,” Jo said. “There’s not much anyone can do until they wrap up their investigation.”
“Which is what I told her. I also told her to let me know if she needed my help. My best advice was for her to keep her nose to the grindstone and try to ignore the noise.”
“Thank you for being such a good friend,” Jo said. “Leah’s strong. She has a level head on her shoulders and will make it through this.”
Pastor Murphy called Jo near noon to let her know he was running behind. He planned to pick the Ladeaux sisters up around one and they would reach the farm in the early afternoon.
Restless, Jo wandered from the mercantile to the bakeshop, stopping by Nash’s workshop and then to the gardens to check on Gary. With each stop, she was asked if she’d heard from Leah, which she hadn’t.
She’d been tempted to text her, but figured Leah knew Jo was there and willing to help. All she had to do was ask.
She also knew Leah needed to stand on her own two feet and would have to learn to deal with co-workers who were leery of her and fight back against potential discrimination because of her past.
A bright red minivan pulled into the driveway, and Carrie Ford emerged. At first, Jo didn’t recognize her, with her almost jet-black hair piled high atop her head and framing a pair of sunglasses that nearly covered Carrie’s face.
She tottered across the driveway, her heels clickety-clacking when she reached the sidewalk.
“What did you do to your hair?”
“Do you like it?” Carrie ran a light hand along her long strands. “I got tired of the blondes-have-more-fun-look. Besides, Charlie likes his women dark and sassy.”
Jo wasn’t sure how to respond to Carrie’s comment about her boyfriend, Centerpoint Chapel’s caretaker, and vaguely nodded.
Carrie barely took a breath. “I’m glad you’re here. I heard about Shane Barr’s shocking murder and how the police suspect Leah might be involved.”
Jo said the first thing that popped into her head. “Already?”
“Of course, I defended Leah. There’s no way that sweet young woman murdered lecherous old Shane Barr. Whoops.” Carrie’s hand flew to her mouth. “I didn’t mean lecherous old Shane. Although it’s a fact he was the biggest womanizer this side of the Mississippi, cheating on his wife and taking up with Robyn Colburne.”
“Hold up.” Jo lifted a hand. “Barr was cheating on his wife?”
Carrie nodded her head, her dangling silver earrings clanging loudly. “Everyone in town knew about it. His wife left him months ago. As soon as I found out about his death, I got on the horn with Evelyn McBride, the sheriff department’s dispatcher, and made sure she knew about Robyn. She said she would put a bug in Detective Vine’s ear.”
“Detective Vine. Why does his name sound familiar?” Jo snapped her fingers. “I know why. He investigated Harrison Cantwell’s death outside the movie theater. I remember him now.”
“Evelyn said he’s a hard nose, by the book kinda guy.” Carrie leaned in and lowered her voice. “They’re looking at Leah, seriously. I thought you might like to know.”
“Leah is innocent. She barely knew the guy.” Jo shifted her feet. “You and Dave Kilwin are friends.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve done several taxidermy pieces for Dave. He has excellent taste in forever pieces. Why, just last month, he had me work on Molly the Moo Cow. Poor thing. Her heart gave out on her. At least she lived a good life. Dave had her head mounted and I believe he was going to put it in his office. I had to add a triple mounting kit on the back. She was a heavy gal.”
“Back to the farm. Have you met any of Dave’s employees?”
“Yeah. Sandi works in Dave’s office. Buzz has been an employee for a while now and then there’s Jase, who has been working at Kilwin Farms for even longer. He’s also Dave’s nephew.”
“I think I remember hearing that,” Jo said. “You seem to be somewhat familiar with the situation. Who do you think hated Barr enough to kill him?”
Carrie made a clicking sound with her teeth. “I’m not sure. I do know that no one who worked under Barr liked him.”
“Dave basically told me the same thing.”
“I’m sure the police are taking a closer look at more than one of the farm’s employees.” Carrie crooked her finger. “The reason I’m here is I was hoping you could help me.”
“Help you?” Jo asked.
Carrie grasped Jo’s arm and nearly dragged her to the back of the minivan. She took a quick peek inside and then flung the door open. “I found this little fella almost dead on the side of the road and nursed him back to health. No one seems to want him and I was hoping I could send him back into the wild here at your farm.”
Jo stumbled back, clutching her chest as the animal inside the cage hissed at her.