A Killer Crop (25 page)

“She and her husband were running out of money just before the restaurant was about to open. I suggested that the local farmers could become shareholders of sorts—they’d provide the food up front, and they’d receive a share of the profits later. Everybody loved the idea, and the restaurant opened on time. In fact, a lot of the local growers have already eaten here more than once.”

“What a wonderful idea!”

“I’m glad it worked. Ready to head home? I think we’ve eaten everything on the table except the sugar.”

The cool autumn air outside the restaurant felt wonderful, and Meg perked up a bit. One hurdle surmounted: Elizabeth knew about Seth, and everybody seemed happy. It was a relief, and while she was annoyed at Seth for forcing the issue, apparently he had been right to do so. They drove home in peaceful silence, but when Seth pulled into her driveway, he tensed. Meg followed his glance: her back door was hanging open.

“You two wait here,” Seth said, and climbed out of the car before they could say anything. He approached the back door cautiously, and Max came bounding up to him out of the darkness of the backyard. Seth snared him by the collar and kept a tight grip on the dog as he cautiously entered the kitchen.

Meg relaxed slightly. “Maybe Max has learned to open doors? He’s smarter than he looks.”

They waited for a few moments in tense silence until Seth reappeared. “Did Max let himself out?” Meg asked.

Seth held on to Max, who was eager to greet the women. “I don’t think that was Max’s doing.”

“What? Was it a break-in?”

“That’s my guess, but I think Max scared whoever it was away. Nothing seems to be missing anyway.”

Meg’s warm and fuzzy feeling from dinner evaporated. “So that makes two break-ins in twenty-four hours, here and at Daniel’s house. Do you think they’re connected?”

“Oh, Meg, why would they be?” Elizabeth objected.

Meg shrugged, suddenly tired. “I don’t know. I thought this was a pretty peaceful place, but now I have to wonder. Seth, should we call Art?”

“I think we should talk to him, but maybe off-the-record, since nothing seems to be missing, although you’d better look around to be sure. But I agree with you, Meg—this is kind of an odd coincidence, and it can’t hurt to get his take on it. Maybe he knows of other incidents in the neighborhood.”

“Can it wait until morning?” Meg asked. “If there’s no damage, and nothing’s missing, I’d rather just get some sleep. And I’m sure my head will be clearer in the morning.”

“Good idea. I’ll give him a call when I get home and tell him to swing by on his way to the station in the morning. Does that work for you?”

“That’s fine.”

“Meg, darling, I think I’ll make use of the facilities now so I won’t be in your way later. Good night, Seth—it was a lovely evening. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.” Elizabeth vanished into the house, leaving Seth and Meg alone on the stoop.

“Tactful, isn’t she?” Meg asked, leaning against him.

“Your mother is a delightful woman, and yes, she is tactful. You had me expecting an ogre.”

“Did I? I didn’t mean to. I seem to keep misjudging her. And you.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Meg, it’s never easy to deal with parents, and I don’t think we ever outgrow wanting to please them. Mom and I are close, but sometime I’ll have to fill you in on my father and me. Still, it’s clear that your mother loves you, and I like her, and I’d say that even if she weren’t your mother. I think I should go home now. I’ll stop by in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me. Oh, one more thing.” Meg pulled him closer and kissed him thoroughly, then gave him a small shove. “Now you can go home. See you in the morning.” She turned and went inside as Seth called out, “Lock your doors!”

Meg found her mother in the kitchen when she came downstairs in the morning. “You’re up early,” she commented, helping herself to coffee.

“I had some trouble sleeping. Weren’t you concerned about the break-in?”

“I’m still not convinced that Max didn’t manage to push the door open on his own. In old houses like this, the doors and windows can be pretty loose, and maybe the latch didn’t catch.”

“Or maybe whoever tried to break in wasn’t counting on finding Max waiting for him,” Elizabeth responded tartly.

Meg took a harder look at her mother, who appeared a bit drawn. “But nothing was taken. And Max is a sweet puppy, who probably wouldn’t scare anyone.”

“Maybe.” Elizabeth did not seem convinced. “Anyway, I thought since I was awake, I’d work on the family tree a bit more, but I can’t seem to find my notes. Have you seen them?”

“Where were you working on them?”

“In the dining room, on the table there. I gathered them up and stowed them with your laptop, but they aren’t there now. Maybe I’m just getting old and starting to forget things. Most of the material is in the computer anyway, so I can print it out again. I just don’t like feeling stupid.”

“They’ll turn up. And I wouldn’t worry about losing your marbles just yet. We all forget things. I know I do.”

Her mother gave her a sidelong glance. “You mean, little details like the fact that you’re dating someone?”

Meg felt a curious mix of shame and defensiveness. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about him.”

“Darling, this is your life. I haven’t told you what to do since you were about ten. What’s the problem? Telling me, or admitting that you care about him?”

“A little of each, I guess. I mean, when I first got here, Chandler had just broken things off, and I felt kind of raw about it. I figured I’d throw myself into fixing this place up, as a distraction. And then a lot more stuff started happening—like finding out about the orchard, and trying to make it work. And Seth was kind of wrapped up in all that, but I wasn’t sure if he was just trying to be helpful, which he does a lot, or because of me in particular. I’m still having trouble sorting that out.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the kitchen door: Art, followed by Seth. “Morning, Meg, Mrs. Corey,” Art said. “Seth tells me you had a little problem last night?”

“Hi, Art,” Meg greeted him. “Want some coffee? And I’m still not sure anything actually happened here.”

“Coffee’s good. And don’t worry, this is off-the-record for the moment. I’m on my way to the station, but I just wanted to check in.”

Meg’s mother stood up. “I’ll get the coffee. And it’s Elizabeth, please.”

“I didn’t want Max branded as a criminal,” Seth joked. “You didn’t notice anything else unusual around the house, Meg?” he asked more seriously.

“Sit down, both of you. No, nothing missing, nothing disturbed, unless you count Mother’s genealogy notes, which she can’t find. Who on earth would want those? Half the people around here probably know a lot more than we do about local kinship in Granford. She probably just put them down somewhere and forgot where,” Meg said. Elizabeth made a face at her daughter.

“Just walk me through what happened last night, Meg.” Art accepted the mug of coffee that Elizabeth held out to him.

“There’s not much to tell,” Meg said, and gave him the scant details from the night before. “So, as I was just telling my mother, I’m not convinced that Max didn’t do it himself.”

“No scratches on the door,” Seth noted. “Are you saying that Max got the door open on the first try?”

“I guess I’d rather not think that there’s been someone prowling around here and breaking in for no apparent reason then leaving without taking anything. Art, have there been any other incidents like that?”

“Nope. Pretty quiet, even with the tourists coming up for all the leaves, not to mention the apples. I just wanted to make sure.”

“Art,” Meg said slowly, “did you hear that Daniel Weston’s house was broken into the night before last?”

“In Amherst? No, I didn’t. Hmm. That puts things in a different light. You’re connected to both of the break-ins, one way or another. Or your mother is. All the more reason to be careful. You do keep your doors locked, right?”

“Of course I do. And the locks are new since I moved in.”

“Anybody else have keys?”

“I have one. Bree has one. I gave Mother one. And Seth, of course—he’s got keys to all the buildings here. That’s all that I know about.”

“Is there a spare?”

“Sure, somewhere. You want me to dig it up?” Meg paused, vaguely disturbed. “Art, why are you making such a big deal of this? Nothing’s missing, nothing’s damaged. Maybe I was sloppy and forgot to put the dead bolt on last night when we left.” Maybe Seth’s unexpected arrival had flustered her, Meg thought. “Look, I do appreciate your concern, but I think this is probably an innocent mistake.”

Art smiled. “If it was anybody but you, Meg, I’d probably agree, but you do seem to attract problems. Well, I’ve got to get to work. Thanks for the coffee, Elizabeth. You enjoying your stay?”

“I am. And I’m beginning to like Granford.”

“Always good to hear that. I’ll be on my way. then.”

Art left in a flurry of good-byes. Seth stood hesitating by the door.

“What, you, too?” Meg asked. “I mean, it’s nice of you all to worry about me, but can’t you save it for something more important?”

“If you’re sure it’s nothing. Just make sure you lock your doors if you go anywhere. See you later.” Seth, too, headed out the door toward his office across the driveway.

When Meg returned to the table, Elizabeth said dryly, “I see what you mean about everybody here knowing everybody’s business. But it is nice of them to care, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” Meg took a deep breath. “Okay, Mother—I’ve come clean about Seth and me. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on with you and Daddy?”

Elizabeth regarded her levelly. “I had to worm it out of you, dear. And as I told you before, nothing is going on with Phillip. We’re fine, Meg. Maybe it seems odd to you that he’s been out of touch for so long at this particular time, but if you find yourself in a long-term relationship—and I hope you will one day—you’ll discover that you both benefit from a little time on your own. Marriage doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re permanently joined at the hip and have to do everything together. Phillip had planned this trip some time ago.”

“But, Mother, shouldn’t Daddy be back by now?”

“Any day now, I expect. Darling, please don’t worry about us. We understand each other. “

There was no point in belaboring the issue, and Elizabeth had already been more honest with her than at any time Meg could remember. “I’m glad. I’ll try to stop back here for lunch. Do you have any plans?”

“More genealogy, I suppose. That’s more than enough to keep me busy.”

“Keep your eyes open, will you? Just in case Art’s right and the two break-ins are connected somehow. Please don’t take any chances.”

“Of course. I’ll be fine, Meg. You go get some work done.”

Meg found Bree at the top of the hill, already engaged in a heated discussion with a couple of pickers, whose body language clearly said they disagreed with her. “I don’t care if that’s the way you’ve always done it!” Bree said, her voice barely below a shout. “I’ve tested the sugar three ways, and I say the Cortlands are ready to pick now. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be done with them.”

Meg hung back until the men had turned away and picked up their bags. “Problems?”

Bree shook her head. “They think they know more than I do. Maybe that’s true for some things, but I’ve been as careful as I know how in choosing what comes next, and they’ve got to follow my orders. Right?”

“I’m relying on you, Bree. Just try not to piss them off too much, will you? We can’t afford to lose any hands at this point.”

Bree bristled. “You think I don’t know that?”

“Of course you do. Listen, there’s something I should tell you. Last night Seth stopped by to pick us up and left his dog Max in the kitchen.”

“Whoa, Seth has a dog? When did that happen?”

“Recently. But the point is, when we came back from dinner, the back door was open and Max was running around outside. You didn’t by any chance stop by and forget to lock the door?”

“No way. I left before you, remember? And I spent the night in Amherst. You think it was a break-in?”

“Maybe, but nothing was taken, as far as I can see. We told Art, just in case. He didn’t seem too worried until I mentioned the break-in at Daniel’s house.”

“Weird.” Bree stated the obvious. “Well, let’s get going. I’d like to get this section done before noon.”

Meg hoisted her apple bag and hooked the straps over her shoulders, then headed for the nearest tree.

Bree followed. “You know, if you assume the two break-ins are connected, and nothing was taken, it kind of sounds like somebody was looking for something.”

“But what?”

“I dunno. But it’s got to be related to the dead guy, whatever it is.”