A Lethal Time (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 4) (7 page)

Chapter 24

Three Plus One Makes Four?

While the others speculated and bantered back and forth, I went for a leisurely walk in the woods for a much-needed brain-break. Crystal had mentioned there was a small pond on the property in a northerly direction from the house. It sounded restful, so I chose that route. I had to think.

I grabbed a few strawberries growing wild along the way, while stepping around sporadic patches of violets and numerous wildflowers lining the paths and horse trails.

As I munched away, I remembered that I once read that
June's full moon was known as the strawberry moon, a name that was handed down by Native Americans, who were honoring the first edible wild fruit of the season.

I found that interesting. (I read ketchup labels, too.)

I could see why Sally and Tom loved the property. It was like an island unto itself. There was a fork in the path and I chose the one to the right, ducking under branches and stepping over a recently fallen tree blocking the path.

I checked my watch, not wanting to be too late to help with preparing our dinner and kept walking. Periodically, I stopped and listened to the wind rustle the tree branches and the occasional bird feather between them, marveling at how peaceful it was.

In several minutes, I found the small pond. It was flecked with sunlight. I caught sight of a frog leaping from one rock to the next. A crane flew off to my left, startling me. Uneasily, I looked back to the worn path that led me here, committing it to memory. The last thing I needed was to get lost in the maze of paths crisscrossing the property.

Crystal had reassured me before I left not to worry. The well-maintained paths eventually led you back home. So if I lost my way, in time, I would end up back at the house.

Enticed by the serenity I moved on and, before long, the overhead canopy of trees gave way to a fenced-in pasture. I was surprised to discover a corralled area in the middle of Sally and Tom’s forest and wondered why? In seconds, I received my answer as I leaned on the wooden rails. Out of nowhere, a dark, chestnut-shaded horse barreled toward me, snorting and charging the fence.

When he bared his teeth, I jumped back before I was nipped. I threw my hand to my chest, shaken. No one had mentioned a fourth horse. He was magnificent. Was he the black sheep of the farm? He stomped the ground and paced back and forth, but then settled down.

I considered walking away, but then remembered the extra sugar cubes I had in my pocket from earlier in the day when I visited the other three horses. He was taller than Amanda, Sally’s Morgan. Determined not to show fear, I took an insane chance and tentatively stretched out my cube-filled hand, prepared to jerk it back at any time.

To my amazement, he eagerly scooped up the small sugar cubes. Then he abruptly flinched when I raised my hand. He reared up on his hind legs and charged the fence again. Obviously, he wasn’t of the school
don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Chapter 25

A Change Of Heart

With my heart pounding, I stared up at the unpredictable stallion, who was still snorting and stomping the ground right next to where I had stood seconds ago. I was currently sprawled out on the ground, having lost my balance in my kneejerk reaction to his skittish behavior.

No wonder no one had mentioned him when we agreed to stay and watch the place. He definitely would have changed the whole dynamics of the babysit-the-farm deal. I slowly got off the ground, brushed off my jeans, and tried to remain calm. He was more nervous than I was.

Apparently, this was one of Sally and Tom’s horses, but not one they advertised. I could see why. I looked at the horse once again, uncertain. He stood next to the fence, eyeing me as though trying to make up his mind if maybe I wasn’t the threat he originally thought I was. I smiled up at him, and I swear, he smiled back.

I finally found my voice. “Hey there, fella. Have they stuck you all the way back here because you’re not so friendly? I bet you’re not as bad as they think you are.”

He eyed me suspiciously, fussed around, but then settled down once again at my soothing voice and whinnied.

I reached into my pocket for more sugar cubes, knowing I was taking a chance at being charged again, but I wanted to make him understand that I wasn’t a threat. So I slowly reached over the fencing and gradually placed my hand in a flat, opened position, but then didn’t move one iota
.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

After a minute, the dark chestnut beauty cautiously approached and gently nibbled at the cubes. I could feel my heart pounding away as fear pitched through my veins, but was determined to show a calm demeanor outwardly.

It worked. When he was finished he licked my palm and I was finally able to ever so gently stroke his smooth-as-silk coat. He whinnied again and shuffled around and nudged me, lightly. I smiled, but then caught a strange glint in his eye and withdrew my hand instinctively.

In a flash, he charged the fence once more and I turned on my heels and flew down the path retracing my steps, running as fast as I could in case he broke through. I still heard him kicking the fence as I made my way past the pond, not daring to look back, or slow down.

I was still rattled when I reached the flower gardens of the farmhouse and collapsed on a boulder that was used as a bench, trying to catch my breath. I may not know much about animals, but at least I knew when to cut my losses. I would make a point of privately asking Crystal in the morning to find out more about this mysterious fourth horse, who was definitely now on my watch-your-back list.

Chapter 26

Night Stalkers

I guess I was lucky having friends who meant well and encouraged me to try something new, riding. Large animals didn’t faze them much. Me? After my two experiences with horses so far, well, I was sort of in the not-so-sure stage.

If it moved, I’d still prefer it had a key and a brake.

On the other hand, the hitches in having these friends constantly ebbed and flowed, depending on the strange and unexpected events that popped up when we were together. Surprisingly, everything usually worked out in spite of a
little
friendly rivalry going on
…uh, correction, a lot.

Some were even humorous, like this one:

We were sipping our tea by the fire after dinner, still waiting for Clay to come back from Boston and eager to hear what he had found out, when out of nowhere, the most ungodly high-pitched screech came from the barn.

Nobody said anything for a second, wondering what it was. Then we heard it again. By this time, we were on our feet, but I didn’t exactly notice anyone making a move for the back door that led to the barn. It was as though everyone was freeze-framed in place, not sure what to do.

“What was that?” I asked, squeakily.

Crystal set her mug down on the coffee table. “Sally and Tom’s cat just had kittens. It sure sounds like her cat, but she’s safely locked away in the barn with her new litter.”

“Not necessarily,” said Martha, moving from the sofa.

Betty turned to Hazel. “That’s definitely a distress call.”

“That’s a bet I’d put money on,” said Hazel.

We all tensed after hearing it again.

Martha aimed for the door. “I know that sound.”

Crystal was right behind her. “What?”

“Could be skunks are attacking,” said Hazel.

“Or coyotes,” added Betty.

I almost dropped my mug. “What?”

Martha turned back. “Quick! We need a big flashlight!”

Crystal grabbed one on the way out the back porch door.

We all followed each other closely, listening to more howling in the dark, then rushed from the glassed in porch connected to the covered walkway that attached to the barn.

“Shine that light on those barn doors!” ordered Martha.

Crystal did and we stopped in our tracks. There were skunks trying to hold on to a paw of a kitten under the barn door. Well, we all grabbed a handful of stones from the gravel drive and started throwing them, startling the skunks and the paw of the kitten safely pulled back into the barn. Startled, the skunks took off toward the backfield and disappeared
, a scent-free close call.

“That was close. I guess they won’t be back,” I said.

Martha turned. “Are you kidding? Think again, sister!”

Chapter 27

Like Shooting Ducks On A Pond

After checking inside the locked barn to make sure momma and her kittens were fine, Crystal relocked the barn doors, but not before we carried some lumber over to fill in the space where the kitten had snuck under to get out.

Returning back to the family room, Martha wasted no time with Crystal. “You know, now that those skunks know there are kittens in that barn, they are coming back. Trust me, they will find a way into that barn to get at those babies and kill them all for sure.”

“They are a tricky lot,” said Hazel. “And clever.”

“Looked like a whole family of them,” said Betty.

“Have to get rid of them,” said Martha. “Unfortunately, we’re not packing heat, but some rifles might do the trick.”

Crystal looked over to me. “She’s serious, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know how to hunt, skin or mount anything.”

Crystal shook her head. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“You’re not seriously considering it, are you?” I asked.

“If I don’t, my cousin will kill
me
! She loves that cat.”

I focused on Hazel, Betty and Martha. “At your age, you should be darning socks and knitting, not brandishing rifles and stalking wild animals in the dark, you know that?”

Crystal looked my way. “Got any other alternatives?”

“No, not really. And I don’t do the rifle thing, either.”

“Who said you had to?” said Martha. “We’ll handle this. You just need you to stay here for when Clay returns.”

“But you three are elderly and so….”

“And so what?” Hazel laughed. “So lady-like?”

That had crossed my mind, but she beat me to it. “Yes.”

Betty patted my arm. “We can handle guns, trust us.”

“I do and I don’t, if you know what I mean.”

Martha turned to Crystal, “Can you drive the tractor?”

She laughed. “There’s nothing I can’t drive.”

“Well, then, how about we rumble, people?”

Within minutes, I watched as they made their way under the barn to where the tractor was parked. What a sight they made. All of them carried rifles from Tom’s gun cabinet. Crystal threw hers in the tractor bucket. Hazel and Betty were wearing,
you guessed it
, their long coats and goggles, and Martha was wearing her chaps and jeans. All of them walked behind Crystal, who drove the tractor.

In minutes, the group had disappeared beyond the house spotlights and all I heard were voices yelling out and the sound of the tractor engine with its headlights glaring in the distance, as they traversed the far back field. I had no idea what they were doing, but hoped
they
did.

Then I heard several shots ring out and cringed, praying they wouldn’t shoot each other. I had visions of dialing 911, trying to explain why three senior citizens and our Harley girl were out target shooting in the dead of night.

I came up short.
…Oh, my God, what was that smell?

Chapter 28

Aftershock & Aftermath

Running from room to room, I slammed shut all the open windows, then heard shouting and pounding coming from the lower, side garage door. Female voices were arguing and yelling at each other, while obviously taking turns beating the door with their fists. I flew down the garage steps, raced over, and whipped the door open.

Oh, my!

I was momentarily speechless. I won’t even attempt to describe the rank odor that slapped me breathless, nor the explicit visuals of the four naked women before me, all holding rifles. There were no descriptive words available that would do this unexpected image justice. Let’s just say, that the thirty something, Crystal, was easier on the eyes.

“What the…?” I said, pinching my nose. I couldn’t talk.

“Well, just don’t stand there! Let us in,” yelled Martha.

I was unceremoniously shoved to the side as the four smelly women scrambled past me and raced up the stairs.

Crystal turned to me. “We buried our clothes with the skunks in the back field because they sprayed all of us.”

There were four full baths in the house, and in seconds I could already hear showers running, while trying not to gag from the residual smell still lingering in the garage.

A half an hour later we all gathered in the family room with glasses of wine, one beer, and a lot of perfume. Heads were still dripping from their multiple shampoos. I served cheese and crackers, but to tell you the truth, they were only interested in the alcohol. I couldn’t blame them. Now cleansed and detoxed, they were quite animated.

Martha was smiling triumphantly. “We got them all!”

Crystal took a swig of beer and gestured toward the trio.

“You do realize the three of them are all crazy, right?”

I was trying not to laugh. “Was it that bad?”

“I’ve been in cycle accidents that have scared me more.”

Betty appeared exhilarated by the whole ordeal. “Why, Samantha, it was the most exciting encounter, and when we were done, we jumped into the tractor bucket and Crystal raced back to the barn. Although naked to the elements, it certainly felt liberating racing back across those fields.”

Hazel pushed back some damp, stray hairs. “We got the drop on them. Unfortunately, all six of them sprayed us before we got off our second round.”

“Luckily, I am a crack shot,” said Martha grinning. “We caught them in the back field. They were as sly as foxes, but thanks to the driving skills of Crystal and…” she turned to Hazel and Betty, nodding, “excellent reinforcements, we nailed those suckers and did the big three’s mighty quick.”

“What are the big three’s?” I asked, pulling a blank.

“Out west it means, shoot’em, shovel’em, and shut up.”

Well, I guess that about sums up this chapter, doesn’t it?