Fly by Night (A Gracie Andersen Mystery Book 3) (16 page)

Kim sat in front of Gracie’s desk. Her plump, tear-stained face was streaked with makeup running in different directions. In hiccupping speech, she explained that Renew Earth had withdrawn the settlement offer now that she’d discharged Toby’s mortgage. Dean, who was usually pretty laid-back, told her in no uncertain terms that she’d irreparably damaged the farm’s interests and that she needed his say-so before any more decisions were made. He had reminded her, none too gently, that they could both lose everything if the farm lost the lawsuit.

“I thought I was doing the right thing, Gracie,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “D. B. had designs on Tobias’ property. He even forced more money on him. Told him to get a log splitter and fix up his place. He wanted to make sure Tobias was
really
indebted to him.”

Gracie was at a loss to advise her new friend. She could see both sides, with no easy resolution.

“I’d talk to Nolan if I were you. There must be something he can do.”

“He warned me this would happen, and I was too stubborn to listen. Richter’s wife works for the title company, so she saw the discharge go on record the same day. I was so stupid! I tried to do the right thing.” She covered her face with her hands. Gracie noticed that Kim had already taken off her wedding band. She’d replaced it with a square-cut sapphire set in the crook of a small “J” on a simple gold band.

Gracie sighed and leaned back in her chair. She drummed her fingers nervously on the desk, trying to come up with a plan. There was plenty about Mr. Richter and his organization that smelled funny. Roscoe now had most of the backstory on Richter’s slimy past. She should see how Roscoe was doing on his article.

“You know, I think I’ll have a little talk with this old school friend of mine.” She stumbled slightly on the word “friend,” but recovered quickly. “He’s doing an exposé on Richter for
The Sentinel
. If he has all the research on this guy, you might not have anything to worry about.”

Kim looked at her in surprise. “Really? What kind of research?” She blew her nose loudly and tossed the crumpled tissue in the wastebasket. Her eyes were suddenly bright and full of interest.

“Let’s just say, Richter has a suspicious past. A dead first wife, a history of lawsuits against big farms. He’s been buying up property around the Meadow.”

Kim’s jaw dropped. “Would your friend talk to Nolan about this?” she croaked.

“Probably. I’ll ask.”

*****

Gracie went out to find Jim after Kim left. He was tinkering with the tractor mower, which gave them problems every other week. He looked up from the scattered parts that waited to be reassembled.

“The Beast is acting up again. We’re gonna have to spring for a new one if this keeps happening.”

He grabbed a red rag that lay on the grass and wiped the grease off his hands. He tossed it back on the ground and continued working on the tractor engine.

“Hoo boy,” Gracie commiserated. “That would stink. I was hoping to get through the summer with it.”

The large mower had come with the kennel property, and to replace it meant big bucks.

“Maybe, maybe not. I’ll see what I can do. Reverse on the transmission is pretty much shot on the tractor. The mower deck is falling apart. I guess if I don’t have go backwards ever, it might make it,” Jim grumbled.

“See what you can do, or just use the house mower.”

“I’m not touching your mower. Your dad informed me that he has it running in tip-top condition. If something happens to it when I’m mowing that rough area out back, he won’t be happy.”

“True,” she mused. “If you have to, it’s okay. Just tell him I said so.”

Jim raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “What did Kim want?” he asked, tightening up the mower deck with a ratchet wrench. “She didn’t look so good.”

After she explained the latest dilemma, he stood, grabbing the rag to wipe his hands again.

“That lawsuit is pretty much a no-win situation. Kim did Tobias a big favor, but I can understand why Dean’s mad. That construction activity up above the pond needs to be checked out. If we can get something on Richter, maybe he’ll leave everybody alone.”

“Maybe,” Gracie said, picking at a split fingernail. She chewed off the ragged edge and continued. “I don’t understand why he’d sell out to New Energy now. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It doesn’t, just maybe they made an offer he couldn’t refuse. Who knows? I just want to make sure they don’t ‘accidently’ put a wind turbine or two on Toby’s property. He’s already over the edge about the possibility. We’re going up there tonight to check it out. And by the way, Toby told me that Richter is a decent skeet shooter.”

Gracie’s eyebrows rose with interest. Her hazel eyes brightened. “So, Mr. Richter
does
know how to handle a gun.”

“So it seems. Not so much of a stretch to see him … well ...” Jim coughed nervously.

“Not much at all,” she concurred, picking up on his thought. “I’ll ask Dad if he’s a member of the Valley Gun Club. Maybe he knows something more about this guy.”

“Not a bad idea.” Jim put a foot on the mower’s back tire to tie the laces on his work boot.

“And what about those lights you saw in Hansen’s woods? Are you going to check that out when you go up there tonight?”

“No,” Jim said, shaking his head. “I think it was kids partying or parking in there. They probably heard my truck and took off.” He bent down and tested the mower deck. It seemed satisfactorily attached.

  “You’re probably right.” Gracie’s eyes narrowed. “You said you saw something up there before.”

“I’m sure it was just a small plane or something like that, not a UFO. Come on, Chief; don’t go
X-Files
on me now.” He laughed and climbed on the large mower.

Gracie shrugged and grinned. “I’m not so sure. There are things that can’t be explained, and the universe is pretty big.”

“Sure there are. I still think it’s kids messing around. We found beer cans and ATV tracks on Toby’s property. Kids most likely broke into his place. Hansen’s woods—or, I guess, it’s Richter’s woods now—are a good place for that kind of messing around. I think I remember you and Michael …”

“Right, yes. It’s a good place for that,” Gracie agreed hastily, cutting him off. She put her hands on her hips. “So, when are you going up there?”

Jim looked up, his expression deadpan.

“Toby and I are going to the construction site around 7:30. It’ll still be light, and everyone should be outta there by that time. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

In truth, she wanted to go up and see for herself what exactly was happening.

“If you need some help, I’m available,” she offered.

“Uh … in a word, no. We don’t need any help.” His voice was a little sharp, which surprised her. “I mean, we’re just looking around at property lines and checking to see whose equipment is up there. It’s nothing.” He now sounded conciliatory.

“All right,” she relented, exhaling slowly. “How about if I hang out at Toby’s? You know, like a Command Central, in case you guys get into trouble. Somebody should be there, ready to call in backup.”

“Roscoe will be there for that. It’s all covered.”

“Oh.”

This was extremely disappointing. It was a “no girls allowed” situation apparently. There had to be some way she could stay in the loop on this excursion. Jim was making this way too difficult. She plunged ahead with her next proposal.

“Well, if he’ll be there, maybe we can do a little more Internet research on Richter and that Cynthia Harkness. He might find something that can help Kim. Plus, I need to see if he’ll talk to Kim’s lawyer about what he already has on Richter.”

“We might as well make Command Central over here. You two can do your surfing, and I’ll be back before you know it. Toby doesn’t have any kind of web connection up there.”

“Oh, that’s right. Sure. Have Roscoe come over here. Why not?” Gracie answered dispiritedly.

Seeing relief on Jim’s face made her come to a rather impetuous decision. What could possibly go wrong?

Roscoe rapped on Gracie’s kitchen door, iPad and steno pad in his arms. Haley offered a half-hearted “woof” at his arrival, and then went back to her dish to finish eating. Gracie had him set up at the breakfast bar. She pulled her notebook from the junk drawer that contained her observations. It was time to get serious about this investigation. Then maybe there’d be time for a field trip she had in mind.

“I have all the names of the officers for Renew Earth,” Roscoe said proudly as he plugged his iPad into the outlet above the bar. “It’s an interesting cadre. Sorry, my battery is getting low. Do you mind?”

“No. Go ahead,” she said. “So, who’s on the list?”

“As you might guess, Mr. Richter is the president. Mrs. Richter is the secretary-treasurer. There are two vice presidents; they’re Mrs. Richter’s sister and brother-in-law. Summer Thayer De Franco and Stewart De Franco.”

Gracie plunked down on the stool next to Roscoe to look at the screen.

“See. It’s all right here,” he said, pointing to the webpage from the Department of State.

“Yes, I see. But what’s significant about that? It’s a family business. I think I met the sister at the carnival over Memorial Day. She was handing out information in their tent.”

“Correct,” Roscoe answered officiously. “But now look at this.” He clicked to another page from the Department of Corrections for the state of Vermont. “Mr. De Franco was incarcerated for three years for fraud and identity theft. He was also arrested prior to that for assault.”

“You’re kidding! Really? What about the Richters? Anything on them?”

Gracie’s voice rose in pitch, and Haley was immediately at her knee, whining. She absently stroked Haley’s head, still reading the public information on De Franco’s criminal history.

“Not really, other than they keep an appearance of being law-abiding citizens, but as you can see, their relatives are extremely questionable.” He leaned back with satisfaction, forgetting there was no back to the stool, almost falling on the floor.

“Whoa, Roscoe. Careful.” Gracie tried not to laugh.

“I … um … well, to continue.…” Red crept up his neck and onto his face. “I do have one other, rather startling piece of information on Mr. Richter.”

“And what is that?”

She sat up straight on the stool and brushed some stray crumbs from the countertop into her hand. She’d forgotten to clean up after eating her sandwich earlier. Sliding off the stool, she tossed them into the wastebasket. Haley looked disappointed and retreated to her bed by the fireplace.

“He has large mortgages on the two properties he purchased. He’s also taken out a sizeable line of credit against his residence.”

“Through Deer Creek Bank, right?”

The dramatic scene with Kevin and Richter came immediately to mind.

“Yes. I believe he’s in arrears, but is working out a refinancing arrangement. He’s given the bank a lien on the timber, which he plans to have removed from the wooded property he just purchased to pay off the arrearage.”

Gracie gave the pallid, but earnest Roscoe a look of admiration. “How did you find out all this stuff?” She had to admit that possibly she’d seriously misjudged him.

“Well, I have a source at, you know … at the local restaurant,” he said with reluctance. “Of course, the mortgages are a public record at the County Clerk’s office.”

“Yes, of course, they are,” she said, tapping her fingers on the granite counter. Her mind was whirling with possibilities. “How long has Mr. Richter owned the wooded property?”

“He purchased it three months ago.”

“That’s about the right timeframe then.”

“I don’t understand. What timeframe are you referring to?”

Roscoe adjusted his glasses yet again. Gracie yearned to superglue them to his nose.

“Let’s take a ride up to Hansen’s woods,” she suggested. “It might explain a few things.”

Haley was first in the SUV. She jumped agilely over the console and sat panting on the backseat, ready for action.

The sun was well into its descent. Fingers of sunlight retreated into the growing twilight as Gracie hurried down the rutted dirt road toward her goal. Roscoe was silent after he’d heard Gracie’s explanation for the trip. He looked as if it didn’t sit well, but he hadn’t put up any argument.

His cell phone rang crisply with a techno beat tune as they jostled their way down Jemison Road. It was Jim, calling to let them know they’d met up with the project manager at the pond, who would give them a ride back to Toby’s. There was no need to worry. He’d explain everything when they got back.

Gracie gave Roscoe a warning look and pressed a finger to her lips. Roscoe obliged, revealing nothing about their current location: pulling off Jemison Road and onto an old farm lane, which split into two one-lane roads that wound their way into the woods. It was the perfect hidden parking spot.

“Do you have a flashlight, Grace?” Roscoe queried.

“Oh, crap! No, I don’t. Great!” She was disgusted with herself for forgetting the essential nighttime stealth tool.

“We can use our phones then. Where exactly are we looking for? What kind of equipment?”

Roscoe stepped down from the vehicle, while Gracie put a leash on Haley.

“Jim says and you confirmed,” she said, opening the rear door to let Haley jump to the ground, “that the lights were always seen over Hansen’s woods. I think, if we do a little scouting around, we’ll find it’s all manmade by Mr. Richter.”

Haley tugged at the leash, ready for a run.

“I believe it would have been more prudent to examine this possibility in daylight. We really don’t have much time before it’s quite dark.” Roscoe shivered in the evening air, clutching his phone.

“Yes, but we may catch them in the act.”

The probability of that actually happening hit her full force. She licked her dry lips, tempted to abandon the scheme. But, she reasoned, they were already here. And she just had to find out if her theory was correct.

She peered down the path that led deep into the woods, while Roscoe continued his droning monologue.

“However, there are no vehicles around, and we didn’t meet any on the road. From my research …”

Gracie gave a quick tug on the leash to get Haley to sit.

“I know you’ve researched that they exist,” she groused. “I think it’s more than coincidental that sightings started after Richter bought this land. Let’s get going before it’s really dark.”

She instantly regretted sounding so bossy, but they needed to find out and fast. Jim would be back at the house soon. They couldn’t waste any more time talking.

She and Haley took off at a trot down the well-worn path. She supposed that Roscoe was dragging along behind them, but she wasn’t going to wait for him. A good-sized clearing was her goal, if she remembered correctly from earlier adventures in these woods. It was where the crumbling stone foundation of an old cabin stood, about a half mile into the mostly oak and maple woods. If her suspicion was correct, it was the perfect place to set up a UFO hoax.

Shadows were getting longer. She slowed to a walk, her breathing a little ragged from jogging. She looked back for Roscoe. He was nowhere in sight. It was probably a mistake to bring him, she thought. But, more likely, he’d just turned around and was sitting in the SUV, waiting for her to return.

Walking quickly through the gloominess of the trees, she tried to remember where the turn was to the clearing. Haley, sensing her urgency, pulled on the leash, sniffing the ground constantly. Gracie gave the dog more slack and quickened her pace again. She thought she saw the glow lights off to her left as she pushed through a small grove of pine trees. The ground dipped sharply, and she slid through slippery pine needles, almost losing her balance. She stopped and regained her footing. Reaching into a jeans pocket for her cell phone to give a little more light, it slipped through her fingers and onto the ground.

“Rats,” she complained to herself, dropping to her knees to search for the phone. “Come on, Haley, help me find that phone,” she hissed to the dog, who could barely be seen.

The sound of voices made her stop. Haley sniffed the ground, then raised her head and rumbled a low growl. Her hackles rose, as did the volume of her throaty growl. Gracie strained to hear where the voices were coming from. She held the cotton web leash tightly, shushing the dog which continued to rumble softly.

Still hunting through damp leaves and pine needles for the missing phone, Gracie’s fingers finally found the hard plastic rectangle covered with dirt and leaves. She breathed a sigh of relief, brushed it off on her pants, and wedged it uncomfortably into her bra.

A yellowish light flickered again off to her left and then glowed steadily. Two voices, one male and one female, rose and fell, a faint echo of their unintelligible conversation bouncing through the trees. Haley whined and pulled at the leash. Gracie inched forward, taut leash in one hand, and the other arm stretched out trying to maintain her balance down the slippery grade. The conversation was still too faint to make head or tail of it. Haley panted heavily and growled intermittently. She needed to get closer, but with Haley’s unpredictable vocalizing, she wasn’t sure what a safe, but audible distance was. Discovery wasn’t ideal at this point.

The sharp sound of a snapping twig halted her progress. Hardly daring to breathe, she clutched the leash and put a restraining hand on Haley’s muzzle, willing her not to bark. The voices stopped, and the light glimmering through the trees ahead of her went out. Now in complete darkness, Gracie crouched down with her dog. After what seemed forever, the voices resumed in more hushed tones, and the light reappeared. Her leg muscles protested, and it felt like a charley horse was imminent. Rubbing her thigh, she craned her neck toward the voices. It was no use; she still couldn’t make out a word. Grabbing the leash, she crept forward toward the light, dragging Haley with her. A strong breeze rustled through the leaves, providing some white noise to cover her movement. She half-ran to a thicket of bushes on the perimeter and crouched down again to peer through the leaves.

The bushes turned out to be a bad choice since they were fully armed. They had to be blackberry or raspberry bushes. Thorns snagged her arms, and she bit back an “ouch” as she carefully tried to disengage herself from the prickly mess. Haley wisely backed away. She’d stopped growling, but still intently watched the movement through the foliage.

Rubbing the long, stinging scratches on her arms, Gracie leaned forward again, her eyes adjusting slowly to the dim light. She struggled to identify the male figure, seated on an ATV. A smaller, obviously female person appeared from behind the deteriorated foundation, carrying an object Gracie couldn’t identify. An explosion of light hit the four-wheeler, exposing the pair in glaring whiteness. A deep male voice ordered everyone to stay where they were. Gracie, shocked out of her mind, stood, stepped back, and promptly fell backward over Haley. The dog yelped in surprise and ran toward the lights, jerking the leash from Gracie’s hand. Gracie landed onto the ground with a resounding
whump
, knocking the wind out of herself.

The man with the deep voice identified himself as Investigator Markowski of the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department. He was of average height, dressed in a dark shirt and jeans. Several more uniforms appeared from the woods, with guns and spotlights. The large man on the ATV sat motionless, his back to Gracie. The young woman began crying hysterically. Gracie slowly raised herself up, her elbows supporting her upper body. Her breath came in rasps. She felt like her heart was about to explode from her chest.

“Miss, get up and come with me,” a stern voice ordered her from behind.

“Let me get my breath. Give me a hand, will you?” she gasped.

A strong arm pulled her up, and she bent over, clutching her stomach and then her back.

“Are you all right?” A tall, gray-haired deputy stood next to her with some concern on his face.

“I th-th-th-think so. I fell and… and… oh, my back hurts.”

Actually it was her glutes that were throbbing. That fall was going to leave a mark. At least nobody would see the bruise.

The deputy guided her into the harsh light, where she stood with the couple, their heads hung, while a short, mustached deputy read them their rights.

Gracie shaded her eyes against the glare to get a look at the couple. She brushed debris from her jeans and T-shirt. She gaped, incredulous at the sight.

“Duane Jackson! What are you doing here?”

The young man’s look of surprise matched her own.