Page 15

Liz, Gloria, Ruth, Margaret, Lucy and Dot fell into step, walking along the driveway toward the mobile home. They veered left, making their way up the incline.

Liz, who was trailing slightly behind, felt a nudge on her ankle. It was a sloppy, wet nudge, followed by a grunt. She pivoted, horrified to discover a pig was hot on her heels. “What in the world?”

Margaret, who was walking on Liz’s right side, scrambled back. “Wild boar!”

“It’s not a wild boar.” Liz attempted to nudge the pesky pig away. “It’s Pepper or maybe Piper. They must’ve somehow escaped from their pen.”

“The gate is open,” Lucy said .

“Great.” Annoyed, Liz marched toward it. “C’mon, little piggy. Let’s go back to our pen,” she coaxed.

The pig moved with surprising speed, easily scampering out of Liz’s reach.

“We’re not playing a game.” Liz’s voice grew firm. “We can’t have you getting lost.”

The pig pawed at the dirt and squealed.

“He thinks you’re playing,” Gloria laughed.

“This is ridiculous.” Liz gritted her teeth and lunged forward.

The pig, anticipating the move, skittered back and grunted loudly.

Liz hit the ground with a thud. “Ooff.”

“You’re doing it all wrong.” Lucy ran to the pig’s enclosure. She filled an empty pail with corn husks and vegetable scraps. “Come here, Pepper, Piper.”

The pig tilted its head, greedily eyeing the goodies Lucy was attempting to entice him with .

“Don’t you want a treat?”

The pig took a tentative step closer, zeroing in on the food. Lucy, anticipating his reaction, took a quick step back and began luring the pig to the open gate.

She strategically placed a trail of enticing snacks, each one a step closer to the pen. With the pig safely inside, joining the other one who hadn’t ventured out, Lucy slammed the gate shut.

She wiggled the latch to test it. “They must have unlatched it with their snouts. You might need to add wire or something to secure it.”

Liz ran inside the barn and dug around until she found a roll of baling twine. She returned to the pen and handed it to Lucy. “Will this work?”

“In a pinch. Floyd will have to come up with a permanent fix.” Lucy wound the twine around several times. “I have to say, you’re some sort of pig magnet, Liz. ”

Gloria leaned in and sniffed Liz’s shoulder. “I think they’re attracted to her expensive perfume.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t your idea to get pigs?” Margaret snickered.

Liz’s eyes narrowed. “This is all on Floyd and another one of his fun surprises.”

“Floyd and his surprises,” Dot laughed. “I have to hand it to him. He likes to keep you on your toes. What’s next? Cows?”

“If he has his way, and probably even a few chickens,” Liz grumbled. “We should change our last name to MacDonald. Liz MacDonald, living her lack of luxury lifestyle in a dilapidated farmhouse. I take that back…in an RV.”

“Not for long,” Lucy said. “The renovations are right on schedule. You’ll have the beautiful luxury home you’ve been dreaming about before you know it. ”

“I hate to complain. Floyd spoils me rotten. I just…I’m not sure this Greenacres life is what I envisioned.”

“Plans change. People change.” Gloria squeezed her arm. “I’m proud of you, Liz. You’re giving it a chance and that’s all that matters.”

The precocious pig stuck his snout through a gap in the fence, searching for more treats. Lucy grabbed another handful. “Pigs are very clean.”

“Is that why they roll around in the mud?” Margaret joked.

“They don’t have sweat glands. Rolling around in mud keeps them cool.” Lucy patted the pig’s head. “They’re also very smart, one of the smartest animals there are.”

“You almost make me like them,” Liz said.

“Let’s buy Lucy some pigs for Christmas,” Gloria teased .

“I’m not setup for farm animals. Besides, I can visit Liz’s pigs whenever I want.” Lucy finished feeding them and wiped her hands on her slacks. “Where were we?”

“Heading over to Echo’s place to snoop,” Gloria said. “Let’s check out the damage to the door first.”

“Follow me.” Liz led the others around to the back of the mobile home and showed them the cracked glass.

“Someone was definitely trying to break in.” Gloria ran a light hand over the jagged edge. “I don’t understand why they didn’t get in. One little nudge and the chunk of glass is going to pop out.”

“Like this?” Liz reached for the broken section and Ruth stopped her. “Try not to contaminate potential evidence.” She handed her a pair of rubber gloves.

“Thanks.” Liz slipped the gloves on, gently pressed against the glass and wiggled it out. She set it on the ground, reached inside, and unlocked the door. “See how easy it would have been?”

“Where’s Echo’s bedroom?” Dot asked.

“Down there.” Liz pointed to the far end. “I’ll show you once we get inside.”

“Before we head in, let’s split up and search the perimeter,” Lucy said.

“Good idea.”

The women spread out in different directions. Lucy stayed closed to the tree line. Gloria headed left. Ruth headed right. Dot stuck with Liz to check for signs of any other exterior damage.

The women finished and returned to their starting point.

“I didn’t find anything,” Gloria said.

“Ditto,” Lucy said.

“Me either,” Ruth reported .

“Be on the lookout for Echo’s insurance policy.” Liz held the door and then followed her friends inside. She gave them a lay of the land while Ruth passed out gloves. Once again, they split up to search.

Liz sifted through the kitchen cabinets, but there was no sign of any sort of DNA evidence or confirmation of Echo’s involvement in Grotto’s death. She wandered into the living room, waiting for the others to join her.

Gloria finished last. “The place is clean. There’s no other damage or anything resembling a possible DNA sample.”

“I wonder what happened to the piece of paper with Grotto’s name and a telephone number on it.” Liz made her way over to the end table and rummaged through the stack of papers. “It’s gone. Echo told me she did some research on him the other day. Maybe she tossed it in the trash.”

“Trash.” Lucy smacked her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that? ”

“We’re losing our touch,” Ruth said. “Investigating 101. Dig through the trash.”

Liz curled her lip. “Seriously?”

“Trash can sometimes turn into treasure when searching for important clues.” Ruth strode to the kitchen, removed the trash can from the broom closet, and carried it to the center of the floor.

The others gathered around, watching as she dumped the contents out and began inspecting every single item before placing it back inside the bag. There were leftovers from preparing the Greek feast, a discarded tea bag, scraps of fabric, a moldy shower curtain.

“I see a recycle bin.” Lucy slid the recycle bin across the room and began sifting through it. “Maybe Echo’s safe place isn’t inside her home.”

“It has to be here.” Dot spun in a slow circle.

“Unless she left it at work,” Gloria said .

“No way. Talk about cross-contamination.” Liz shook her head. “That place could contaminate evidence faster than you can say, Pepper and Piper.”

Lucy finished sifting through the recycle bin and Ruth wrapped up her trash search. “When is trash pickup? Maybe any potential evidence is already gone.”

“Nope.” Liz made a thumbs down. “Pickup isn’t until tomorrow. If Echo isn’t behind this, she has to be scared out of her mind. Her colleague died. The lead investigator in the Appolina case died. Mick Grotto came here from Detroit looking for her and now he’s dead.”

“We know he isn’t the one who tried breaking in through the backdoor,” Lucy said.

“Unless it was Echo. What if…” Ruth pressed the tips of her fingers together. “Let’s pretend Senator Appolina was guilty of taking bribes. A lead investigator found evidence of it. Appolina pa nicked. He killed him or had him murdered and somehow managed to make it look like a suicide.”

Gloria picked up. “Echo and the D3 evidence team were brought in to determine if it was a suicide and found DNA beneath his fingernails. Echo and her colleague contacted Appolina to strike a deal. They would confirm the investigator’s suicide and destroy the evidence in exchange for…”

“Money,” Margaret said.

“It’s possible,” Liz admitted. “Echo told me her boss didn’t believe her and she fled Detroit fearing for her life.”

“Two of the three people who could assist in the conviction or exoneration of Appolina are dead,” Ruth said. “Echo is either running for her life or behind it all.”

“If we could only get our hands on that DNA sample.” Dot placed her hands on her hips. “We looked everywhere. ”

Gloria tapped Liz’s shoulder. “You don’t have any idea where Echo may have hidden it? Think hard. Did she say or do anything that might be a clue?”

Liz struggled to remember, replaying her conversation with Echo that morning before the authorities showed up and then the day before, when they were preparing the Greek feast. “I was here with her for a few hours yesterday afternoon when we were whipping up the meal for Treece. She seemed relaxed, happy. We finished just in time. I packed up some food to bring home because it was getting late.”

She continued. “There was a minor incident. It happened right before I left. I got some stains on my shirt and Echo loaned me her stain stick.” Liz’s scalp started to tingle. “I think I might know where Echo hid it.”