“Yep, pancakes,” Jennifer said, eying the plates. “And my usual downfall—scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon. Now, if I could just restrict myself to one, I’d be okay.”
Kelly didn’t plan to restrict herself at all, and eagerly joined the buffet line. Breakfast had always been her favorite meal for some reason. Maybe because she and her dad always had special breakfasts every weekend. Lots of memories were associated with breakfast.
Donny and Marie scurried back and forth, bringing pans of biscuits and bowls of gravy and platters of fruit.
“Oh, no, not gravy,” Jennifer complained. “I’m doomed. Hand me a biscuit, will you, Kelly?”
“Here, take two, they’re small.” Kelly used tongs to snag two hot biscuits and dropped them onto Jennifer’s plate.
“They won’t be as good as Megan’s,” Lisa said.
Jennifer ladled gravy over the steaming breads. “They’ll do until Megan bakes again.”
Dr. Norcross joined the line. “Well, I have to admit I’ll miss these breakfasts,” the slender professor announced.
“That’s easy for you to say, Professor,” Cassie countered, scooping up fresh fruit into a bowl. “You’re as skinny as a rail. I’ve got to get back to my bran flakes, dull as they are.”
“That’s too virtuous for me,” Jennifer said, snagging some bacon.
“Is Everett in his office this morning?” Dr. Norcross asked Donny as he refilled the juice pitchers. “I wanted to check to see if we could schedule a trail ride before leaving.”
“You know, I haven’t seen him, ma’am,” Donny said, pausing. “That’s kinda unusual, too. He usually takes his breakfast early.”
“Maybe he’s sleeping in this morning,” Dawn said drily. “Sounded like he was on the phone late last night. You could hear him all the way out at the campfire.”
Donny shrugged and returned to the kitchen, clearly not about to speculate on his boss’s late night activities.
Kelly grabbed a glass of grapefruit juice and followed Lisa and Jennifer onto the deck. Noticing several knitted and crocheted afghans draped over the deck railing, she said, “Lisa, don’t forget the blankets and stuff you brought. We left some things on the deck yesterday afternoon when we finished up quickly.”
“Forgive me if I don’t talk,” Jennifer said as she settled at the table. “My face will be in my plate for a few minutes.”
Kelly laughed as she pulled out a chair. It was good to hear Jennifer’s joking comments. It was the first lighthearted comment Jennifer had made since arriving at Cal Everett’s Lazy C Ranch. If it took biscuits and gravy to help Jennifer regain herself, then bring on the gravy.
Swallowing a yummy mouthful of eggs and bacon, Kelly buttered her pancakes and took a bite. “Anybody up for a run this morning?” she asked around the deck. “I don’t know about you folks, but pancakes twice in two days are deadly for me.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Me, too.”
“Hey, it’s the weekend.”
The good-natured comments flowed around the deck as Kelly indulged herself in her favorite “comfort” foods. She was considering going back for the wicked biscuits and gravy, when Lisa spoke.
“Jen, I don’t see your afghan on the railing with the others that I brought. Did you take it inside already?”
Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. “Not yet. I wonder if it blew off last night.”
“Well, it won’t go far,” Cassie observed as she rose from the table, empty plate in hand. “I’m going back for seconds. Can I get some juice for someone?”
“Yeah, some OJ would be nice.” Jane raised her hand.
“Cassie, would you take a look over the side of the deck, please, and see if my afghan fell down there?”
“Sure,” Cassie said, strolling to the railing. “It probably just blew—” Cassie’s sentence was cut short with a gasp.
“Oh, my God!”
Kelly stared at Cassie, who was pointing toward the ground below the deck.
What on earth was there?
Maybe a mountain lion’s leftover, half-eaten carcass. She rose to see what had concerned Cassie, as did Dr. Norcross.
“He’s not moving. Is . . . is he
dead
?”
Kelly raced to the railing and peered over. Cal Everett lay sprawled on the rocky slope below, Jennifer’s pale pink afghan draped across his chest.
Dr. Norcross took in a sharp breath beside Kelly. “Oh, my God. We have to call an ambulance.”
All the women ran to the railing then and leaned over, staring below. Their shocked exclamations broke the quiet.
“Oh, my God!”
“Damn.”
“How awful!”
“Do you think he’s still alive?”
“Not likely. Look at him. His eyes are fixed and staring.”
“Oh, gross!”
“He had to be drunk.”
Dawn shook her head as she continued to stare down the slope. “A yarn-covered corpse.”
Cassie shuddered as she turned away. “I can’t look anymore.”
Kelly slipped her cell phone from her pocket. She’d make the call, even though she could tell it was too late for an ambulance. Cal Everett’s death-gray face told her so.
Six
Kelly
watched Lieutenant Peterson talking to Dr. Norcross, notepad in hand. She remembered Peterson’s careful procedures when he’d investigated another murder in one of the nearby canyons a couple of years ago. Kelly and Jennifer had found the body of an alpaca rancher friend in her beautiful mountain home—murdered. Kelly wondered what the county police detective would say when he saw her. She had involved herself in some of his other investigations since then.
Kelly and her friends stood in the barnyard as Peterson and two uniformed officers interviewed the workshop attendees and ranch staff. One uniformed county policeman was listening to Donny and busily writing in his notepad. Several feet away, another policeman interviewed Marie, who was wiping her nose with tissues. All the women in the workshop had been interviewed by the officers and now stood in quiet clusters talking and watching the police go about their work.
“What an awful way to end a great weekend,” Lisa said as she observed the proceedings. “I’ll bet he was so drunk he took a header off the deck. I saw him carry a full bottle of liquor to the deck last night while I was searching the slope for more brush to add to the fire.”
Kelly pondered. “Well, that would explain why his voice kept getting louder and louder. He was yelling at someone on the phone several times last night.”
Kelly glanced at Jennifer, who was strangely quiet. She’d barely said a word since Everett’s body was discovered almost two hours ago. “Are you okay, Jen? You still look stunned.”
Jennifer kept staring ahead at the police, then answered in a quiet voice. “Yeah. Kind of.”
Kelly figured her friend was still trying to process everything that had happened this weekend. First, Jennifer was confronted with the man who sexually assaulted her. Then, she shared her story with a group of total strangers. That was out of character for a private person like Jennifer.
And now she saw the man who assaulted her lying dead on a rocky hillside, his body spread out in a contorted heap with her beautiful knitted afghan across it.
Lisa slipped her arm around Jennifer’s shoulders. “I don’t know if this brings closure of sorts, Jen. But it does bring some sort of justice. He was a horrible man who met a horrible end. It must be Karma.”
“Maybe,” Jennifer muttered.
Jane and Sue wandered over to Kelly’s cluster. “Well, I guess we can kiss that morning trail ride goodbye,” Jane said drily. “Looks like everybody will be packing it in after this.”
“I imagine Dr. Norcross will talk to all of us after those detectives are finished,” Lisa said.
“How long do you think they’ll keep us here?” Sue asked, looking anxious. “I’ve got to get back to my job. I work the afternoon shift at Family Times restaurant.”
“Surely we’ll be finished in an hour or so, don’t you think, Kelly?” Lisa asked.
Kelly shook her head. “I don’t know. Two years ago when Vickie Claymore was killed in Bellevue Canyon, Lieutenant Peterson was in charge of the investigation since it took place in the county. He’s really thorough. I expect him to come back and interview some of us after he’s talked with his officers.”
“Oh, brother,” Sue said, clearly unhappy.
Peterson approached his two officers, and they stood apart from everyone else and conferred. Both officers appeared to be reading items from their notepads while Peterson scribbled in his.
Dr. Norcross approached Kelly’s cluster. Her pleasant expression was gone, replaced by worry. “This is quite involved. Detective Peterson was really focused in his questions. I must admit I felt ‘grilled.’ Has he spoken with any of you yet?”
“Not yet,” Lisa replied. “But Kelly here has met him before, and she says he’s not finished questioning people.”
“Oh, dear. I hope it was nothing as traumatic as this event,” Dr. Norcross said, looking at Kelly.
Kelly gave her a wan smile. “I’m afraid it was even more so. Both Jennifer and I were in Bellevue Canyon two years ago with a group of visiting knitters, and we walked in and found a weaver friend dead. Her throat cut.”
“Whoa, that’s ugly,” Jane said.
Sue flinched. “Oooo, how gross.”
“Yeah, it was,” Kelly continued. “Detective Peterson was investigating then, too, and I was really impressed with his thoroughness.”
Dr. Norcross glanced at Jennifer. “What’s your impression of Detective Peterson, Jennifer?”
“Thorough, just like Kelly said. And he’s actually kind of nice. At least he was when he talked to me. Kind of fatherly-like.”
Jane snorted. “Never met a cop like that.”
“Kelly’s had more experience with police detectives than most people,” Lisa added with a wry smile. “She’s poked her nose into several investigations. We call it sleuthing. And it gets her into trouble sometimes, too.”
“I can imagine,” Dr. Norcross said, looking at Kelly with a smile.
“This investigation should be short and sweet. It’s obvious Everett drank himself into a stupor and fell off his own deck. Finito. The end. Serves him right, I say. Justice at last.” Jane gave a terse nod, features hardened. “I’m just glad I told the bastard off last night when I had the chance.”
“What do you mean, Jane?” Dr. Norcross’s worry lines reappeared.
“I spotted him on the ranch house porch and told him he was a piece of—”
Kelly had to look away to hide her amused reaction as Jane filled in the rest of the sentence with expletives. Succinct and to the point, that was Jane.
“Ahhhh, did he say anything?” Dr. Norcross asked.
Jane shook her head. “Naw. He just scowled at me and ducked back inside. I figure he knew he was persona non grata around here this weekend.”
Kelly noticed Detective Peterson heading their way. She waited until he was closer before greeting him. “Hi, there, Lieutenant Peterson.”
Peterson gave her a little smile. “Ms. Flynn. I never expected to see you and Ms. Stroud under these circumstances again.” He glanced from Kelly to Jennifer. “This is twice you’ve shown up at canyon death scenes.”
“Just bad luck, I guess,” Kelly said.
“I’ve already interviewed Dr. Norcross about the reason why all of you were gathered here this weekend,” Peterson said as he flipped through his trusty notepad. “Why don’t I interview you next, Ms. Flynn, and you can provide the local color.”
Kelly tried not to smile at the detective’s wry comment. “Sure, thing, Detective. By the way, some of the folks here have jobs back in Fort Connor they have to report to this afternoon. Any idea when you will be finished with the investigation?”
Peterson glanced back at the apprehensive faces staring at him. “We’ll probably be finished in about an hour.” Gesturing to the side, he added, “Why don’t we take a little stroll, Ms. Flynn.”
Kelly fell into step beside Detective Peterson and waited for him to begin his questions. She noticed the emergency medical crew loading Cal Everett’s white-shrouded body into the back of an ambulance.
“Dr. Norcross told me that you and Ms. Stroud were accompanying her graduate student Lisa Gerrard here to help teach knitting and crochet to the workshop attendees, correct?”
“Yes, sir. Lisa has asked us to join her for other mountain retreats where we help with the fiber sessions. They’re kind of a relaxing break from the workshop classes.”
“Had you ever met the ranch owner, Cal Everett, before this weekend?”
“No, sir,” Kelly replied. Suddenly concerned that Peterson might ask Jennifer the same question, Kelly added, “He was a stranger to most of us, I think. According to Lisa, Dr. Norcross makes all the arrangements.”
It was a deliberate “fudging” of the facts, Kelly knew, but she was hoping to keep Peterson from stumbling onto Jennifer’s past relationship with Everett. There was no need to put Jennifer through any more emotional pain than she’d been through already. Kelly recognized that she was in full-fledged “rescue mode” but didn’t care. To Kelly’s way of thinking, her friend’s well-being took priority.
“Dr. Norcross said Everett was outside on the deck last night the entire time you folks sat around a campfire. Do you recall seeing Everett with anyone else on the deck? A visitor, perhaps? Someone from the workshop maybe?”
“No, sir. He seemed to be talking on the phone most of the time. He did have a visitor in the afternoon, though. And there was a real heated exchange between the two of them. Apparently Everett was late with his loan payments, and the guy came to collect.”
“Yes, we’ve had several reports of that encounter. Someone named ‘Bill’ apparently.”
“Everett’s voice kept getting louder and louder last night. Sometimes I heard the word
money
floating out on the breeze. Sounded like he was trying to raise cash in a hurry.”
Peterson caught Kelly’s eye and smiled. “Putting things together again, Ms. Flynn?”
“Can’t help myself, Lieutenant,” Kelly admitted with a grin. “And for what it’s worth, I think Everett got so drunk that he tripped and fell off his own deck.”