Ax to Grind Read online

  “This warrants you wanting some security?” I questioned again.

  “Beryle said that if it got into the wrong hands before it was sent off to her editor, then some bad things could happen…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Have you seen it?” I asked.

  “Yes. But she has hidden it or something. I can’t find it anywhere.” Stella and I both looked over at the stage when the speakers screeched as Doolittle took the podium. “I’ve heard rumblings that people know about it. Her words about it getting into the wrong hands really have me worried that someone is going to come looking for it before we can find it.” She drew her hands up to the string around her neck and fiddled with the key that dangled from it.

  It was one of those keys that I’d seen teenagers wear as jewelry.

  “The estate sale is in a few days. Surely that’s enough time to find a book,” I said, wondering what secrets Beryle Stone was hiding since she really didn’t live here most of her life. “Besides, why are you taking it upon yourself to find it when Ruby Smith is the executor? I mean, she is after all Beryle’s third cousin or something.”

  Carefully I watched her body language. It was one of my favorite classes taught at the academy. One’s body language told me a lot more than the words that came out of their mouth. Cecily Hoover knew more than she was telling me.

  “Sheriff Kenni Lowry,” Doolittle’s voice echoed over the speakers bolted to a tripod on each side of the stage, “and Duke.”

  The crowd clapped.

  “I’ll meet you at the estate when I’m finished here. In about an hour or so.” I waved my hand in the air letting her know give or take a few minutes. I’d find that book come hell or high water.

  “I’ll be there.” She stared at me.

  “Sheriff Kenni Lowry,” Doolittle said with a little more oomph in her voice, “and Duke.”

  I walked past Cecily.

  “Don’t wait too long. We’re running out of time.” Cecily Hoover’s words hit the back of my neck and pricked it with goosebumps.

  I stepped up onstage and waved to the crowd before taking my seat next to Finn. Duke came over and sat down next to me. Doolittle introduced Mayor Ryland.

  “Who is that?” Finn’s shoulder leaned close to me.

  “Cecily Hoover.” My eyes gazed over the tops of the crowd’s heads until they stopped at Cecily.

  She crossed her arms and leaned up against a tree. She looked as if she was looking for someone. A couple of times her head bobbed to the right and left as if she seen something that’d piqued her interest.

  “It’s with great pleasure,” Mayor Ryland said, though I knew it was killing him to give Duke this award when he was behind Lonnie Lemar coming out of retirement to run against me, “I am here to give the Paws of Distinction Award to Duke.”

  The crowd clapped and was brought to their feet when I stood up and Duke stood up next to me. He followed me up to the podium, where I gave him the command that Finn had recently taught him.

  “Shhh.” I ordered him to stay still while Mayor Ryland Velcro-ed the ribbon with the medal dangling on the end to his collar. What he really wanted was the treat I’d taken out of my pocket.

  The mayor and I shook hands with Duke sitting pretty between us.

  “Look here, Sheriff, Mayor.” Edna Easterly from the Cottonwood Chronicle stood at the edge of the stage with her camera pointed at Duke and me. She had on a brown fedora with a big orange feather hot glued to the side of it. There was an index card with the word PRESS written with a black Sharpie. Her hunter-green vest looked like something she’d gotten from the Tractor Supply store in the fishing section. She had pens and notebooks hanging out of every pocket. “Smile for the camera.”

  A few clicks later and a couple more congratulations, I scanned the crowd for Cecily while Duke basked in the lavish rubs of hands and a few scratches behind his ears along with some treats from the treat jar sitting on the stage in his honor.

  Edna had even separated Duke from me to get a few photos alone. I swear he looked like he was smiling.

  I looked over and saw Cecily and Darby Gray on the other side of the rock fence standing on the sidewalk.

  “Do you understand me?” Darby stood nose to nose with Cecily, who surprisingly didn’t back down. “This town has a right to know before some outsider buys it!” Darby’s voice escalated.

  Cecily thrust her arms to her sides, palms fisted. “Neither you nor anyone else in this town are going to get your hands on her manuscript. It belongs to the publisher.”

  Darby leaned in. I couldn’t hear what she said, but her lips were moving and her jaw was tense.

  “Over my dead body!” Cecily turned on the balls of her feet and stalked down the sidewalk.

  Chapter Five

  The higher-than-normal-pitched conversation between Darby Gray and Cecily Hoover quickly stole the spotlight from Duke. But it didn’t stop Mama from taking her spot on top of the stone wall with the megaphone up to her mouth while Daddy stood next to her handing out the Vote For Lowry pins. While everyone hung around to get a photo of Duke before they headed over to the church undercroft for the reception, I walked over to get a cup of coffee from Jolee.

  “What was all of that about?” Jolee asked Lonnie and Paige Lemar, who just so happened to be in front of me in line.

  “I don’t know. One thing I do know is that we need more law and order in this town.” Lonnie’s chin twisted to touch his shoulder, making sure I noticed him and what he’d said. “I’m telling you that I know how to stop those types of disorderly conducts and it’s not by just ignoring them.”

  Paige Lemar grabbed the two cups of coffee and gestured for Lonnie to move along.

  “Lonnie, Paige,” I said. “Have a wonderful day.”

  “I have a feeling this town is going a little nuts.” Jolee pointed to the side door of her food truck and left her part-time worker to tend to the line of customers.

  Duke and I met her over there and she gave him a treat, like she always did, and gave me a cup of coffee.

  “I gave you the extra strong blend. I figured you might need it today.” She bent down and gave Duke a nice rub behind the ears before she took a look at his medal. “Look at you getting your own award.”

  “Thanks for the coffee,” I said after she stood back up. “You’re right. Everyone is talking about the Stone estate. I haven’t heard anything about Beryle Stone in years.”

  “She went into hiding years ago after her big novel was made into that movie. She said she didn’t like the spotlight.” Jolee tugged the hairnet off of her blonde hair, letting it fall down around her freckled face, making her green eyes stand out even more.

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “The smut magazines in the checkout line at Dixon’s Foodtown.” Jolee loved those tabloid magazines.

  “Puh-leeze.” I rolled my eyes.

  “I’ve heard that this tell-all has some secrets that will embarrass a very prominent person in the community. I’d love to get my hands on it. If it’s half as good as her novels, it’ll be a bestseller.” She rubbed her hands together. “Apparently she was close to finishing it. She’d been living here for a couple of months without anyone knowing.”

  “That was in the magazine too?” My brows furrowed.

  “Edna Easterly.” Jolee nodded back towards the park.

  I looked around, and there was Edna, with her pen in one hand and her notebook in the other, jotting down all sort of notes as Ruby Smith flapped her lips.

  “She said that after she heard they were having the estate sale, she began to look into Beryle Stone’s past. She claims some things don’t add up around here and she’s going to get to the bottom of it.” Jolee smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I just don’t know why people can’t leave the dead alone.”

  “Me either.” My
brows knitted in a frown. “Me either.”

  I looked over at Poppa. He stood next to Mama with a big smile on his face. Seeing him made me a little nervous. It wasn’t that I didn’t love being with his ghost. I did. I’d take any way to see him since his death, but I couldn’t help but shake the feeling there was a reason he was here. Only because the past few times I’d seen him, it was due to the fact he was here to help me solve a murder. There weren’t any murders in Cottonwood right now, and something made me think there was a shoe about to drop. Whose shoe?

  I looked around at the crowd.

  I patted my leg. “Come on, Duke.”

  “You know, it’s probably all gossip like most stuff around here,” Jolee said. “We only have four days until the estate is sold and all is said and done. After that, the henny-hens will move on to something or someone else.”

  “I’m afraid this might be a long four days,” I said, looking back over to where Edna had been replaced by Mama, Lulu, Mrs. Kim, and Toots Buford, all of them talking at once and probably over the others.

  The fall sun was slowly disappearing behind a gray cloud, adding a light breeze. The chill wasn’t just in the air, it was also deep in my bones.

  “I’ll see you over at the reception.” Jolee disappeared back into her truck and gave one last call for fresh coffee.

  After a short drive back down to Main Street, Duke and I, along with Poppa, parked in the church parking lot. Stella was on the sidewalk in front of the steps that led down to the undercroft directing everyone where to go, as if people didn’t already know.

  “For he’s a jolly good fellow,” the people who’d already gathered at the reception sang when Duke and I walked in.

  Tibbie Bell and Katy Lee, another good friend of mine, greeted us with a bone-shaped cake. They set it on the ground in front of Duke, and he didn’t waste any time gobbling it up.

  “Patty’s Pet Pantry,” Tibbie said, pushing back her brown hair behind her shoulder. Katy Lee stood next to her smiling. She wore her long blonde hair in loose curls that cascaded down her back, giving me hair envy. It was easiest for work that I kept my shoulder-length honey blonde hair up in a ponytail.

  “Patty did a great job,” I said and couldn’t help but laugh when Duke looked up, green food coloring on his nose.

  Patty Dunaway was the local animal expert. She was a dog walker and she boarded animals, baked treats, and sold fun animal items in her boutique store.

  “The human cake is over there.” Tibbie pointed in the direction of the tables that were lined with food where the Sweet Adelines had taken their posts to serve.

  I moseyed over to the tables and took a look at the food. The room was filled with chatter and laughter. I got a few nods and confirmations that I had people’s votes as I passed by. I nodded and smiled and let Duke have his day. I couldn’t help but notice Darby had a filled plate and was sitting at a table in the back. She was alone, probably not for long, so I took the opportunity and walked over to her.

  “Thank you for coming.” I sat down across from her. Her plate of food sure did look good.

  “I wouldn’t’ve missed it for the world.” She used the edge of her fork to cut a piece of the Derby Pie before she stabbed it with the tines. “Duke is a good boy.” She lifted the fork in the air, the piece of pie dangling. “He saved you, didn’t he?”

  I smiled. “That he did.”

  There was no sense in beating around the bush, and she might tell me to jump off a bridge since it was really not my business, but I wanted to know. After all, it was my job to keep the peace. At least that was how I justified being nosy.

  “Do you know Cecily Hoover?” I asked and folded my hands, placing them on the table in front of me.

  “Cecily who?” she asked without making eye contact with me.

  “Cecily Hoover,” I said again and couldn’t help but notice how she used the fork to move the food around on her plate.

  “Nope. Don’t know her.”

  “Really?” I asked and leaned back in my chair. “Because it sure did look like you knew her at the ceremony.”

  “Is that her name?” Darby put her fork down.

  “Don’t let me stop you from eating.” I looked at her fork.

  “I’ve lost my appetite.” She pushed the Derby Pie away from her. “Why are you asking me about that woman? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No.” I shrugged. “I just want to make sure everything goes smooth with the estate sale. She notified me that she’s worried about something going wrong, so I’m just following up on what I’m seeing.”

  “You didn’t see anything. I asked her a question about the sale and she didn’t want to answer. That’s it.” Darby stood up and grabbed her plate. “Have a good day, Sheriff.”

  My eyes narrowed as I watched Darby walk away. She chucked her plate in the garbage and headed out the door. I’d definitely hit a nerve.

  “What was that about?” Finn asked, putting a piece of cake down in front of me.

  He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down with his own piece of cake.

  “Thanks.” I dragged the plate to me. “I needed this.” I took a bite and let it melt in my mouth. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose. “I don’t know what that was about, but I do intend to find out.”

  “Does this have to do with the estate sale?” he asked.

  “I think so. I’m not sure, but Cecily Hoover was adamant that we needed to have security because she claims there’s a tell-all manuscript out there that will spill town secrets.” I chewed on my words. “Cecily said that she didn’t know where it was.”

  “Has she read it?” Finn asked a really good question.

  “She said Beryle wouldn’t let anyone read or see it. I told her I’d come out to visit her at the estate.” I tapped the table with the butt end of my fork.

  “Do you want me to go out there with you?” he asked.

  “Nah. You stay around here in case Betty needs you.” I stood up. “I’m going to go on over to the Stone place and see what exactly this Cecily knows.”

  “Great idea, Kenni-bug,” Poppa appeared and called me by my nickname. “I just left there. Maybe two sets of eyes will be better than one, because I didn’t see much. Definitely lived in.”

  I shivered.

  “Are you getting sick?” Finn asked.

  “No. Why? Do I look pale?” I put my hand on my forehead and realized I probably didn’t apply my makeup right.

  “No, you look great. But you shivered,” Finn said.

  I was a little taken aback that he noticed such a small action.

  “Did I?” I tried to play it off since the shivers were caused by the appearance of Poppa. I swear I felt it in my gut that something was wrong. “I’m good. I’m out of here.”

  Duke and I thanked everyone for coming and said our goodbyes as we made our way out of the undercroft and out into the drizzling rain.

  “I’m glad the rain held off,” Poppa said once we’d gotten in the Wagoneer. “Now let’s go find that tell-all.”

  “Do you know anything about it?” I asked. “Maybe you do and that’s why you are here. So we can prevent it from seeing the light of day.”

  “I don’t know anything about a tell-all. Beryle and I were friends, but I never read a thing she wrote.” Poppa completely blew my theory up. “Maybe I’m here to help prevent a crime, like I did before you saw me.”

  That was possible. During my first few years as sheriff there was zero crime. It wasn’t until I saw Poppa’s ghost that he told me that he’d been scaring off any would-be robbers and criminals, until there were two crimes committed at once. Even ghosts couldn’t be in two places at once.

  Maybe he was here to make sure everything went smoothly with Beryle’s estate since they were friends. It was true, we didn’t know all the rules or even if there were r
ules about his being here. He only knew that he was here to be a guardian while I was sheriff and he just so happened to be around whenever there was a murder. An uneasy feeling curled deep in my gut. He was there for a reason. For someone. But who?

  Chapter Six

  The Stone estate was just a couple of acres over from the Inn. The actual property was probably going to bring in a couple million dollars. It was prime real estate that not only had land, but also a nice view of the river.

  The trees this time of year were beautiful, but the tree line next to the river where the trees fed off the rich limestone was gorgeous. It was like a painted picture with the vibrant fall colors of orange, yellows, reds, and deep purples.

  “It was nice going by there earlier since it’s been a few years. Brought back a lot of memories.” Poppa straightened his shirtsleeves as he shifted around the passenger seat to get comfortable, forcing Duke to jump in the back. “I’d forgotten how pretty the drive up to the house was.”

  He was right. The large oak trees stood like soldiers lining the black-topped drive, at least twelve deep on each side.

  “I bet it sure is pretty when the sun shines,” I noted, thinking about the dreary day.

  “It’s gorgeous.” Poppa leaned back as he told me about a memory. “This was Beryle Stone’s family house. Her parents were gone a lot with her younger sister, who sadly passed away when we were seniors in high school.” The edges of Poppa’s lips turned down as if he were remembering the sad event. “Anyways, we used to play tag right along these trees. Freeze tag was what we called it.”

  “I played freeze tag with my friends.” I had forgotten all about that childhood game where we ran around and the person who was “it” tagged you and you had to freeze in place. The only way to get unfrozen and back in the game was when someone who wasn’t “it” crawled through your legs.

  The memory brought a smile to my face, matching Poppa’s smile. I enjoyed listening to his stories.