Page 7

Liz raced down the hill, praying Sheriff Joe Nelson wasn’t on her doorstep to deliver bad news. “What’s going on?”

“I was wondering if you had a minute so I could have a word with you in private.”

“Yes, of course.” Liz accompanied the sheriff across the yard and to his patrol car.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the attack of Mick Grotto, a Detroit area man.”

“I have.” Liz could tell from the way the sheriff studied her face he was searching for some sort of reaction. “It’s frightening to know someone out there is attacking people.”

“Mr. Grotto has a criminal past.”

“I believe I heard that, as well. ”

“Did you know Mr. Grotto?” the sheriff asked.

“No.”

“We found your address on a slip of paper inside his van. You didn’t know the injured man or have any prior contact with him?” he probed.

Liz dabbed at the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Officer Nelson knew. He knew Mick Grotto had visited the farm. “I. He was here the other day, looking for my tenant.”

“Echo Quigley.”

“Yes. He was giving me a funny vibe. I told him she didn’t live here, which is technically the truth.”

“Did he give you a reason why he was looking for her?”

“He didn’t.”

The sheriff shifted his gaze. “Ms. Quigley lives in the mobile home up there on the hill.”

“She does,” Liz said. “Echo works at Rasmussen Farms for my husband and his family. ”

“Is she home?”

“I…” Liz’s eyes flitted to Margaret and Lucy, who were hovering nearby. “She was here but left. I’m not sure if she was heading back to work or somewhere else.”

The sheriff reached into his pocket, pulled out a card and handed it to Liz. “When she returns, could you please ask her to call me?”

“I will.”

“This is my cell phone number. She can call it anytime.”

“I…” Liz abruptly paused.

“What?”

“I hope you figure out what happened to Mr. Grotto.”

“We will. We’ll track down whoever is behind the vicious attack.” The sheriff climbed into his patrol car and drove off, his words, a promise or a threat, echoing in her ears .

“Hey.”

Liz turned to find Lucy and Margaret standing behind her.

“That looked like a pretty intense conversation,” Margaret said.

“Nelson wants to chat with Echo.” Liz rubbed her brow. “I told him that Mick Grotto had been here looking for her and now he wants to talk to her. I hope I didn’t throw her under the bus.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong.” Lucy touched Liz’s arm. “If Echo is lying to you, hiding something about her past and this man, don’t you want to know?”

Liz thought about the slip of paper Gloria had found inside Echo’s home with Grotto’s name and a phone number scribbled on it. Echo knew the man, or at the very least, knew something about him. Ever since he’d shown up, she’d been acting oddly. What was she hiding? Her gut told her Echo’s past had followed her to West Michigan. “I think she is hiding something.”

“Maybe she was never an evidence technician and is a criminal,” Margaret said.

“Ruth did some digging around. She’s telling the truth.”

“Or maybe she was fired from her job.” Lucy tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Ruth’s handy-dandy super spy software didn’t list a current address for Echo?”

“You know, now that you mention it, I’m not sure.” Liz ran inside the RV and grabbed the information Ruth had given her. She handed it to Lucy.

“I don’t see an address listed.”

“It’s right there…11721 Presque Street, Detroit, Michigan. The place burned,” Liz said. “We found out it caught fire, and the fire was ruled arson. ”

Margaret blinked rapidly. “Someone set Echo’s home on fire?”

“According to the authorities, her place was one of several in a string of arson incidents.”

Lucy’s cell phone rang. “It’s the plumber. He’s asking for a picture of the downstairs bathroom plumbing.”

“It all needs to be replaced,” Liz said. “Tell him we want all new plumbing.”

Lucy gave a thumbs up and headed inside.

Margaret lingered. “You have a big heart, Liz, offering to rent Echo a place she can afford, but you should be careful.”

“I will. I mean I am. Until I can figure out how Echo knows this Mick Grotto, I should probably sleep with one eye open.” Liz watched as Margaret followed Lucy inside the house, her mind whirling.

What if Echo was an ex-con? Horrible thoughts flitted through her head .

Don’t be silly. Echo is not a killer. Yes, maybe she’s hiding something, but everyone has a secret.

Echo was dragging her feet, in no hurry to apply for an evidence technician position. There was no way the young woman preferred doing manual labor at a farm versus returning to a career she clearly enjoyed. Something wasn’t adding up.

The RV offered little in the way of protection if someone wanted to break in and get to her and her husband.

Liz fixed a sandwich and caught up with Margaret and Lucy, who were also taking a lunch break, on the back porch.

They chatted about the week’s to-do list. Liz still struggled to visualize the end result, even though Lucy and Margaret had created a vision board, showing her exactly what her chateau / farmhouse would look like .

Ting. Ting. Liz was on her way back to the RV when her cell phone chimed. It was Floyd. “Hello, my beautiful bride. Where are you?”

“Home.” Liz tapped the speaker button. “Are you still at the farm?”

“I am. I’m getting ready to leave.”

“Is Echo there?”

“She left a few minutes ago. Why?”

“Officer Nelson is looking for her. I left her a message, but she hasn’t returned my call.”

“Maybe she never got it. I’m sure she’ll be home soon.” Floyd told her he was on his way and asked her to stick around because he had a surprise for her.

“What kind of surprise?” Floyd and surprises were a mixed bag. Her dilapidated chateau home being a case in point.

“A good one.” He hurriedly ended the call, which sent Liz’s anxiety level up a notch. Sudden movement caught her eye. It was Christi on a pedal bike. She gave a friendly wave as she cruised down the road, her binoculars dangling from her neck.

Liz watched in horror as the bike wobbled. Christi struggled to maintain control. The binoculars went flying and whacked her chin.

Christi instinctively released her grip on the handlebars. The bike tipped over, taking her neighbor down with it. Both landed with a thud .

Liz ran to her side and dropped to her knees. “Are you all right?”

Christi let out a low moan as she lifted her head. Small pebbles were embedded in her cheek and in the palms of her hands. “I wish they would pave our road.”

Liz extended a hand and helped Christi to her feet. “Bikes and loose gravel don’t mix. I’m sorry if I distracted you.”

“It’s not your fault.” Her neighbor winced. “I’m a klutz. ”

Liz couldn’t entirely disagree. It did seem that the woman injured herself at the most inopportune moments. “Maybe you should invest in bubble wrap.”

“Or a suit of armor.” Christi grinned, and Liz couldn’t help but smile back. “How does my face look?”

“Not too bad.” Liz eyed the red bumps forming on her face and chin.

Christi ran a light hand over the injured area. “Like road rash?”

“Maybe. I’m sure it will fade fast.” Liz pulled the bike upright, deeming it no worse for the wear. “A helmet with a chin guard might be in order.”

“And knee pads. I better head inside and clean the cuts. Last time I got road rash, it became infected, and I ended up in the ER. You should see my bathroom. It looks like a walk-in clinic.” Christi grabbed the handlebars and limped toward her driveway .

Liz caught up with her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”

“You were laughing with me,” Christi said. “I’ll be fine. It’s nothing a tube of antibiotic ointment and a little gauze can’t fix.”

Liz told her to call if she needed anything and returned home. She was halfway up the driveway when she heard tires crunching on gravel.

Echo stopped near the turnoff and rolled the window down. “Hey, Liz. Sorry I didn’t call you back. I was at work and my phone was in the locker.”

“No problem. Is everything all right?”

“Yes. No. I got myself into a pickle,” Echo said. “I invited Treece to dinner. He’s coming over tomorrow night.”

“How fun.” Liz clapped her hands, thrilled at the thought of a budding romance between Echo and Floyd’s son, who was also single. “What are you making? ”

“I don’t have a clue.” Echo bit her lower lip. “I was hoping you could give me a few ideas. I’m not a very good cook.”

Liz remembered the charred grilled cheese sandwiches from her recent cooking endeavor. “Neither am I.”

“Great. Maybe I should order takeout and pretend it’s mine.”

“No.” Liz shifted her feet. “You need to make something special, something that will knock Treece’s socks off.”

Echo began shaking her head. “I’m getting heart palpitations just thinking about it. I could take him out to dinner instead.”

“Don’t do that. I’ll help with the cooking. Seriously.” Liz slipped her cell phone from her pocket and tapped the screen. “What do you like to eat?”

“Greek is my fave, but I’ll eat just about anything. I’m not fussy. ”

“I know Treece likes Greek food. We took him to a fabulous Greek restaurant this spring for his birthday.”

Echo brightened. “Greek sounds good.”

“We need an easy, breezy, impressive Greek recipe.” Liz swiped through the recipe results. “I found one. Chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce prepared in less than thirty minutes. The chicken used in the recipe is already roasted. Homemade meets helping hand. ”

“Sold.” Echo smacked her lips. “Mediterranean sampler sauces would go perfectly with the dish.”

Liz continued scrolling the screen. “How does hummus, tzatziki sauce and an Italian herb dipping sauce with pita chips sound?”

“It sounds delish.”

“The decision is all yours. I say we give it a go,” Liz said .

“You’ll help?” Echo pressed a hand to her chest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll forward the recipes so you can see what we’re signing ourselves up for.”

“I’ll need to plan a trip to Meijer to buy the ingredients,” Echo said. “You wouldn’t happen to want to go with me, would you?”

“Sure. We might want to pick up a little extra in case we mess up.”

“ When we mess up. If it involves me in the kitchen, I can guarantee this won’t go smoothly.” Echo shifted into drive. “I better get going. I’m sure Teddy needs to go out.”

“I let him out earlier.” Liz remembered the sheriff’s visit. “Sheriff Nelson stopped by looking for you.”

Echo’s eyes widened. “Looking for me? Why?”

“Mick Grotto. The police found our address on a slip of paper inside his van.” Liz studied her tenant’s face. “I had to tell him that the man was here looking for you.”

“I…”

Liz held up a hand. “Echo, if you know him, know something, you need to tell the authorities. Someone hurt the man and we don’t know why, or at least I don’t.”

Echo silently nodded. “Thanks, Liz,” she said in a small voice. “I’ll take care of it.”

Liz watched as Echo headed home. She had seen something in her eyes. Was it fear? Was Echo in trouble?

She ran inside to call Gloria and filled her in on what had transpired and about Nelson’s surprise visit. “Echo almost looked afraid. I can’t help but think she’s hiding from someone.”

“Be careful, Liz. Trouble could have followed her here.”

“I hope not. ”

Toot. Toot. Liz ran to the window, watching as Floyd’s truck jostled down the driveway. “Floyd’s home. He has a surprise for me.”

“Oh no,” Gloria laughed.

“Oh yes.”

Floyd sprang from the truck and made a beeline for the back.

“He brought the farm’s trailer home.” Liz craned her neck and watched as he opened the rear cargo doors. He lowered the ramp and stepped aside.

“You have got to be kidding me.”