Dangers and Empty Mangers: Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Mitzy Moon Mysteries Book 17) by Trixie Silvertale

Author:Trixie Silvertale [Silvertale, Trixie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781952739170
Publisher: Sittin' On A Goldmine Productions LLC
Published: 2022-01-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Udderly Brilliant is not what I expected! I pictured a couple of cows with big bells around their necks, a hand-hewn three-legged stool, and a stainless-steel milk pail. What I discovered is that this dairy is next level.

Quade may have insisted on keeping an artisan feel, but his morning milking did not involve hands-on contact with Bessie, or any of the other five hundred cows housed at Udderly Brilliant.

The barn, if you can call it that, is an industrial-grey building constructed entirely of metal beams and corrugated metal siding. Inside, five concrete platforms stretch the length of the barn and are divided into individual stalls with dedicated milking equipment for each. All the “milkers” feed into a massive collection tank. To be honest, it’s a little Matrix-y.

“This place is huge.”

Quince nods his head and follows that gesture with a lackluster shrug. “Not compared to the big-time players down south.”

I’ll take his word for it. After passing through the large harvesting area, he leads me into a much smaller back room with shelving units that reach above my head, and large stainless steel sinks.

“What’s this area for?”

“Uncle Quade never used any growth hormones, but his cows were on a vitamin regimen and some got special additives to their food specifically for the flavors that would be passed on to the cheese.”

Wow! His verbosity is throwing me for a loop. Either he’s really into making cheese, or he’s taking this investigation more seriously than I thought possible. “But how do you keep it straight, with that octopus milking monstrosity?”

He grins knowingly. “The Classy Gals, as my uncle nicknamed them, were milked separately.”

Ah ha, now I’m going to see my three-legged stool and movie-trope milk pail. “Before you show me that room, is this some kind of cleanup station?”

“Pretty much. Any sterilizing of equipment or individual feed troughs would be done here.” He points to a sturdy shelf above the sink and opens his mouth to speak. No words come out. Consternation squeezes his eyes to slits, and he shakes his head in disagreement with whatever’s going on in his mind.

“What is it?”

“Quade would never leave the chlorine bleach and the phosphoric acid open at the same time. He was very careful with his chemicals. Mixing those two together could create chlorine gas.”

“That sounds deadly.”

“In the right quantity, yah.” Quince nods and moves to put the caps back on the containers.

“Don’t touch anything. I’m calling Erick right now. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it’s not how your uncle would’ve left things, and we have precious little to go on right now. It could be a clue.”

Quince nods and passes his carefully trained photographer’s eye over every inch of the space. He snaps a couple pictures on his phone while I inform Erick of our find.

The sheriff is asking a series of questions, which I have no intention of answering, so I cover the phone with one hand and whisper sharply to Quince. “What are you doing? You don’t take digital pics.

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